Category: Diocese of Scranton News

VATICAN CITY (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV will preside over a worldwide rosary for peace May 30, uniting Marian shrines across continents in simultaneous prayer to close the Catholic Church’s month of devotion to the Virgin Mary.

The pope will lead the prayer from the Lourdes grotto in the Vatican Gardens at 7 p.m. local time on Saturday, with participating shrines joining via livestream. In the United States, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington will take part at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

The livestream will be available at vaticannews.va and via the Washington basilica at nationalshrine.org/mass, where those gathered in person will pray from the Great Upper Church.

Coordinated by the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization, the rosary initiative brings together some of the most visited Marian pilgrimage sites in the world, including the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Fatima, Portugal, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France and the Sanctuary of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In war-torn Ukraine, the Sanctuary of the Mother of God in Zarvanytsia will take part, as will the Shrine of St. Charbel Annaya in Byblos, Lebanon.

Other participating sites include the International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo, Philippines, and the Pontifical Shrine of the Holy House in Loreto, Italy.

Pope Leo will pray the joyful mysteries, with each of the five decades dedicated to those suffering the effects of war and violence, and entrusted to the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace.

The first decade is offered for victims of war, with particular attention to the most vulnerable. The second is for those who bring words of hope and the comfort of faith to populations living under conflict. The third decade honors medical personnel, paramedics and volunteers providing humanitarian aid in war zones.

The fourth mystery is dedicated to prisoners, those enduring violence and all who suffer humiliations that violate human dignity. The fifth and final joyful mystery is for an end to war and the establishment of lasting peace throughout the world.

All people and all shrines around the world are invited to join the pope in praying the rosary for peace. Parishes who participate are asked to inform the Vatican’s Dicastery of Evangelization after the event via an online form.

Limited free tickets are also available to join the pope in prayer in the Vatican Gardens. People are also welcome to participate from St. Peter’s Square, where large screens will broadcast the pope’s rosary.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – A French blockbuster is coming to theatres in the U.S. just in time for the consecration of the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and premieres for U.S. audiences in June.

Released in France on Oct. 1, 2025, the docudrama “Sacré Coeur,” subtitled “His Reign Will Have No End” focuses on the apparitions of Jesus Christ to a French Visitation religious sister, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, showing his heart to her between 1673 and 1675, in Paray-le-Monial, in the French region of Burgundy.

“Sacré Coeur” will be shown in theaters June 9-11 and June 14 via KREA Film-Makers, Saje Distribution and Fathom Entertainment. Tickets and theater information is at sacredheartfilm.us.

The showings coincide with the U.S. bishops’ June 11 consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Produced to mark the 350th anniversary of the apparitions, the docudrama combines historical reenactments, testimonials and expert analysis. It gives ample space to accounts of personal encounters with Jesus Christ, often during adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

The witnesses and speakers are very diverse, ranging from Father Matthieu Raffray, a French traditionalist priest known for his strong views on social media, to prisoners, members of parliament and a former drug dealer from Bondy, a town in the northern suburbs of Paris known for its high crime rate.

The film’s directors, Steven and Sabrina Gunnell, were inspired to produce the film after their visit to the Burgundy shrine. Steven Gunnell is a former member of the French 1990s boy band Alliage. He converted to Catholicism and now works with his wife Sabrina to produce films related to their deep Christian faith.

The film places great importance on the shrine of Paray-le-Monial. Entrusted to the Emmanuel Community since 1985, the shrine welcomes tens of thousands of pilgrims each year. It was the site of a highly successful jubilee celebration for the 350th anniversary of the apparitions from December 2023 to June 2025.

The jubilee was closely linked to the late Pope Francis’ last encyclical, “Dilexit Nos,” subtitled “On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ,” published in October 2024.

(OSV News) – Catholic bishops are welcoming Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, dedicated to safeguarding human dignity by invoking Catholic social teaching as a framework for anchoring artificial intelligence.

The document is a “powerful reminder that no technology can replace a child of God, and all technology should be placed at the service of helping humanity thrive,” said Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The archbishop shared his thoughts in a May 25 statement issued minutes after the official release of the pope’s highly anticipated encyclical on AI “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.”

Pope Leo joined senior Vatican officials, theologians and Christopher Olah, one of the founders of the AI research and safety firm Anthropic, for a press conference at the Vatican at which the encyclical was publicly presented.

“Magnifica Humanitas” invokes the wisdom of the Church’s social teaching — which articulates the means of building a just society and living out holiness in modern life — as a framework for shaping AI amid rapid technological advances, a fractured global order and accelerating threats to human dignity.

“The Holy Father’s teaching on safeguarding human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence speaks to a critical need and brings clarity to a confusing landscape,” said Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia said in a May 25 statement posted to CatholicPhilly.com, the digital news outlet of that archdiocese.

“Pope Leo emphasizes with crystal clarity that the sanctity of human life must remain paramount as artificial intelligence systems continue to develop and become more closely integrated into nearly every aspect of our lives,” said Archbishop Pérez.

AI’s benefits to healthcare, education and evangelization are accompanied by the technology’s “significant moral and ethical pitfalls that must be navigated and reflected upon,” he said. He encouraged “all people to read it with care and reflect on its vital message.”

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, also exhorted the faithful to read the document, which is available online at the Vatican website.

In his May 25 statement, posted to Arlington Diocese’s website, Bishop Burbidge said he was “grateful” for Pope Leo’s attention to “issues of profound concern to the human person, most especially our innate desire for God and everlasting happiness.”

He said the encyclical is “especially welcome in this time of tremendous social and technological change, especially concerning artificial intelligence and the right use of such tools.”

Bishop Michael T. Martin of Charlotte, North Carolina, said Pope Leo’s text was “so helpful at this historic time in our world.”

In a May 25 statement emailed to OSV News, Bishop Martin, a Conventual Franciscan, observed that like the Industrial Revolution — which Pope Leo XIII addressed in his 1891 encyclical “Rerum Novarum” — AI is “revolutionizing the world as we know it.”

The Church “then and now stands ready to offer safeguards that value human dignity above all else,” said Bishop Martin.

He clarified that Pope Leo’s new encyclical “isn’t the Catholic Church lamenting progress,” but it is “our pontiff calling humanity to live into its best expression for the common good while never disregarding the importance of the person.”

In a May 25 post in Spanish on the X social media platform, Mexico’s Catholic bishops said the encyclical “offers a profound and enlightening perspective on our times, demonstrating that emerging technologies can become allies of human dignity when oriented toward the common good.”

“The text combines lucidity with hope: it analyzes real risks, but, above all, points to concrete paths for safeguarding the human element in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI),” said the Mexican bishops. “Its strength lies in its capacity to integrate doctrine, discernment, and social responsibility.”

“It is too early to say how the AI revolution will pan out,” Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of Philadelphia told OSV News, “but the optimism and embrace for human discovery that Pope Leo combines with deep anthropological, cultural, social, moral and spiritual reflection is something that is welcomed — because it is deeply needed.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – At a time when digital technologies are developing at a rapid and unpredictable pace, every single person must decide if she or he will be: a passive bystander; an unhelpful commentator; an avaricious architect of a new “Tower of Babel”; or a patient, hope-filled builder of a “civilization of love,” Pope Leo XIV said in his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas.”

In the 82-page document, released May 25, the day after Pentecost, the pope also asked forgiveness for the Church’s long tolerance of slavery, and he declared that its “just war theory” was now outdated.

“Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the ‘just war’ theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated,” he wrote.

“Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness. The use of force, violence and weapons reflects a relational poverty that always has disastrous consequences for civilian populations,” the pope’s new document said.

The document, signed May 15, marked the 135th anniversary of his namesake’s landmark social encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” which reflected on society, the economy and politics, and ushered in what is now known as the “Social Doctrine of the Church.”

“When some objected that the Church should not waste energy on worldly matters, but instead focus on communicating the message of eternal life, Leo XIII responded with realism and wisdom, saying that the proclamation of the Gospel cannot overlook the concrete lives of people,” Pope Leo XIV wrote.

While his turn-of-the-last-century predecessor focused on the industrial revolution’s impact on the human being and society, Pope Leo looked at the consequences of the digital revolution in the 21st-century and how best to safeguard “the human person in the time of artificial intelligence.”

Pope Leo used nearly the first half of the document to outline the role and development of the church’s social teaching, and why and how it continues to be needed in a world facing both old and new challenges.

“Today, the Social Doctrine of the Church is a legacy of wisdom, where we find principles for thought, criteria for discernment and judgment, and concrete guidelines for action” to “clearly interpret the challenges of the present and identify appropriate ways for living out a clear Christian witness, with joy and in service to the world,” he wrote.

“It is not an inert set of concepts, but a living corpus of truth that safeguards and interprets humanity’s vocation to a full and just life. I therefore wish to add my own voice to this living tradition,” he added.

Listening to and engaging with the wider world, especially those active in the fields of science, technology, academia and politics, he wrote, is crucial to a process of “shared discernment” to identify and heal the spiritual and cultural roots of present-day problems rather than issuing reactive pronouncements or “risk letting the succession of emergencies dictate the direction of our path.”

While the Church is concerned with theological, “anthropological” and social questions, it is also “necessary to establish adequate regulatory tools capable of upholding justice and curbing the distorting effects of technological power,” the pope wrote.

“Nevertheless, the issue is not limited to regulation. As Pope Francis warned, we must realistically ask ourselves who holds this power today and how they use it,” he added.

“Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together,” he wrote. Every generation has the same duty of “guiding history to become a place where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted and fraternity is made possible.”

While the document was embedded “in a time of artificial intelligence,” it also included a wide gamut of ongoing, lingering ills such as: the exploitation of people and nature; war; the arms race; disrespect for human life; threats to democracy and the common good; discrimination against the poor and women; and new forms of slavery.

“Human trafficking must be recognized as a contemporary form of slavery and a grave violation of human dignity. Failing to respond firmly, or tolerating these practices in any way, is in some way to become complicit in today’s sins, which are akin to those of the past when slavery was being concealed and justified,” Pope Leo wrote.

While the Catholic Church constantly affirmed the dignity of every human being, he wrote, “neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery,” noting it wasn’t until the 19th century “that a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated, notably under Pope Leo XIII.”

“This development offers a clear example of the Church’s growth in understanding the perennial truths of Revelation that she safeguards,” he wrote, “even if it took eighteen centuries for its full incompatibility with slavery to be explicitly recognized.”

“This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached,” he wrote, and “for this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”

It is “a shared responsibility,” he wrote, of all members of the human family to come together and discern “Where are we going? Toward what goal do we wish to orient ourselves? What direction should we choose as a people and as a human community?”

“The search for the truth in public life, education in the digital environment, the transformation of work, the fragility of families and new forms of slavery are not isolated phenomena,” he wrote. “Rather, they reflect a common underlying issue, namely that if technology becomes the ultimate criterion, the human person risks being reduced to data, a cog in a machine or a commodity.”

“If, however, technology is integrated with a wise perspective, it can become an instrument of growth, justice and fraternity,” he added.

Innovation can genuinely serve integral human development and integral ecology, Pope Leo wrote, “rather than becoming a source of exclusion and dominance.”

Referring often to St. Augustine’s teachings, Pope Leo clearly defined the two “cities” people today must choose to contribute to: either a worldly, selfish land dedicated to building a “Tower of Babel” or a Christian “civilization of love in the digital age.”

He decried today’s “culture of power” that was “normalizing” war, ballooning military arsenals, and fomenting fear and polarization; he reinforced the Vatican’s long-standing opposition to leaving the decision to use lethal force to AI or “to opaque or automated processes.”

The pope also condemned today’s “false realism,” calling it “truly irresponsible” to stoke resignation by pretending war is inevitable and peace and dialogue are “utopian or irrational positions that ignore the risks at stake.”

“In fact, peace is neither a naïve hope nor merely the absence of war; instead, it is always possible as the fruit of justice and charity,” he wrote.

Pope Leo underlined the need for everyone to take responsibility in building a better world by quoting the wizard Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings. The Return of the King.” “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.”

Pope Leo then proposed five paths toward daily and public responsibility: “the need to disarm words; building peace through justice; adopting the perspective of victims; cultivating a healthy realism; and reviving dialogue and multilateralism.”

Fundamentally, he added, what is needed is the Christian view of humanity and understanding of God’s plan for his creation.

“As a believer among believers, I invite everyone to contemplate, in the face of the Son of God, the grandeur of humanity that shines a light also on the era of AI,” he wrote. “In Christ, we are called to cooperate in the work of creation, rather than be disinterested observers of technological processes that limit our freedom and responsibility.”

“The dignity inscribed in each of us by the Holy Spirit can also be seen in our capacity to reflect critically, choose and love freely, and form authentic relationships,” Pope Leo wrote.

“No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil,” he wrote. “Even when machines excel in efficiency, a human face that asks to be gazed upon remains the center of our history.”

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (OSV News) – A softening of hearts toward the Eucharist, a greater sense of unity in the Church, and a “fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit” — these were the intentions held in the hearts of perpetual pilgrims as they set out on the third National Eucharistic Pilgrimage from St. Augustine May 24.

Under the bright Florida sun, on the grounds of the Mission Nombre de Dios and the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, Bishop Erik T. Pohlmeier of St. Augustine celebrated Mass to kick off the 2026 pilgrimage on the feast of Pentecost — nearly 500 years after the first Mass of Thanksgiving there in 1565 in what is now “the oldest site of continuous Catholic presence in the United States.”

In attendance were the nine “perpetual pilgrims” of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage who will be traveling with the Eucharist — which Catholics believe to be Jesus Christ truly present in his body, blood, soul and divinity — for six weeks on the “St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Route” up the East Coast, ending in Philadelphia over the July 4 holiday. Also present were officials connected to the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and the Diocese of St. Augustine, and as many as 1,500 pilgrims gathered for the first leg of the 2026 pilgrimage.

“Today, on the feast of Pentecost, I’ve really just been praying for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit: that we would be really filled with his gifts, and would experience peace and joy and freedom, and that that comes by living in an authentic relationship with Jesus,” said Mary Carmen Zakrajsek, a perpetual pilgrim from the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, at a press event at the start of the day. “And so that is my intention today, is that all of us here will allow Jesus to breathe new life into us through the Holy Spirit, and draw us into an even deeper relationship with him.”

Zakrajsek, 26, told OSV News that being at Mass at the Mission Nombre de Dios is a “very surreal moment.”

“To be in the place where the first Catholic Mass was celebrated centuries ago in this country is really historic and unique,” she said. “And I think we as pilgrims are on this pilgrimage, we as a country are also on a pilgrimage, right? And it’s a beautiful full-circle moment to see where we started, and where we are now, and where the Lord wants to take us in the future.”

During Mass, umbrellas blocked the sun in chairs near the altar, while worshippers — seated on beach and lawn chairs, or crowded on blankets — sought out any available shade under surrounding trees or tents. A steady breeze blew in from the nearby Matanzas River and, beyond that, the Atlantic Ocean. Participants ranged from families to the elderly, from Knights of Columbus to women religious.

Sister Mary Faithful Virgin, a member of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara, a missionary order founded in Argentina, told OSV News she traveled from central Florida, where she is based, with 40 parishioners.

“It is a beautiful opportunity to be part of this moment of history and to pray for our country and our nation, that we can live truly ‘One Nation under God,'” she said, referring to the 2026 pilgrimage’s theme.

Buddy Odom and his wife, Gina, traveled from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to St. Augustine for the launch of the pilgrimage. “We wanted to be part of the beginning of it,” Buddy told OSV News. “It’s really a wonderful thing to be a part of: to see everybody coming together for Christ and to demonstrate that to others.”

Maria Basilice attended the Mass with her husband and nine children. The family had participated in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage when it went through Springfield, Illinois, in 2024.

“It’s a beautiful thing,” Basilice told OSV News about Jesus Christ being brought to the streets of the U.S. through the Eucharist. “Other people who may not ever encounter Jesus will get to.”

In his homily, Bishop Pohlmeier focused on two effects of Pentecost: the “missionary impulse because of the coming of the Holy Spirit” and “the divine power of the Church’s work because of the coming of the Holy Spirit.”

“From the beginning, we see that the Church is able to carry out the mission entrusted by God himself — able to carry it out because God provides,” he said. “And what God asks is that we faithfully receive the gifts that He gives. That in receiving those gifts, we step out in faith, allowing God to work in us.”

Following Mass, Bishop Pohlmeier processed throughout the grounds of the shrine with the Eucharist to the “Rustic Altar,” a memorial of where Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales celebrated St. Augustine’s first Mass Sept. 8, 1565. From there, Bishop Pohlmeier carried the Blessed Sacrament to the altar in the historic chapel of Our Lady of La Leche, where he placed Jesus at the foot of the iconic image of Our Lady holding the Child Jesus to her breast.

Jason Shanks, president of the National Eucharistic Congress organization, which operates the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, said they wanted to begin the 2026 leg in St. Augustine to “highlight the Catholic contribution to this American experiment before there was even a Declaration of Independence” as the U.S. prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary July 4.

“The Catholic contribution for us started with Mass,” he told OSV News. “I think with these times of polarization and ideology … it’s really important for us to go back to the roots. And for us as Catholics, it’s going back to the roots of Mass and the Eucharist.”

Shanks also wanted to “lean into the cultural diversity” of the Church. He said, “We felt it’s important to tell that the Catholic story in America has always been culturally diverse.

“It’s missionary — it started with missions there in Florida — and it’s bigger than any sort of region or ethnic group,” he added. “Through the Eucharist, there is unity in diversity in how our faith is expressed.”

Pilgrim Zach Dotson, who drove the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage van outfitted with a monstrance from its resting place in Zionsville, Indiana, to St. Augustine earlier this week, told OSV News that it’s fitting the pilgrimage should begin in a place named for the saint who himself described the Church as being a people on pilgrimage.

Just like a pilgrimage, he said, with our earthly lives “we’re heading towards that end goal, which is hopefully to heaven, to full communion with God, to join the community of saints.”

Dotson told OSV News he hopes the witness of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will inspire all people, whether they are Catholics, other fellow Christians, those fallen-away from the faith or those with no faith.

“You don’t celebrate, for nearly 500 years, the Mass for a symbol,” he said, referring to how long Catholics have celebrated the Eucharist in what is now the U.S. “You don’t follow behind in procession a symbol or a piece of bread. People don’t fall on their knees or lie prostrate for a symbol; but we do for our Lord and Savior, for the King of Kings. We follow after him. We lie prostrate for him. … So I hope that is the true witness: people seeing us live our faith authentically in our worship and in our adoration of our Lord, especially in the Blessed Sacrament.”

Following a period of Eucharistic adoration at the shrine, the pilgrimage continued with a one-mile procession down San Marco Avenue to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine where Jesus Christ in the Eucharist would be adored by those keeping watch with him overnight.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV celebrated Pentecost by highlighting the role of the Holy Spirit in his repeated calls for peace in recent months, saying the spirit also guides the Church to truth amid a world marked by war, division and ideological fragmentation.

During Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope said the Holy Spirit continues Christ’s work in the world by restoring peace through forgiveness and transforming fear and confusion into communion with God and others.

“Pentecost truly appears as the feast of the New Covenant, the Covenant between God and all the peoples of the world,” the pope said May 24 in his homily marking the end of the Easter season.

Reflecting on the Gospel passage of Christ appearing to the apostles after the resurrection, Pope Leo said Jesus restored peace between God and humanity through his Paschal Mystery and poured that peace into the world through the Holy Spirit.

“This peace stems from forgiveness and leads us to forgiveness,” he said, emphasizing that Jesus first offered forgiveness even after being “betrayed, condemned and crucified.”

“God’s holy law is inscribed in our hearts, engraved by the spirit with letters of love in the flesh of Christ and in his body the Church,” Pope Leo said. “This law is the rule of peace: It is the twofold commandment of love that the spirit reminds us of with every heartbeat.”

Turning to the Church’s mission, the pope said Christians are called to continue proclaiming Christ through acts of mercy, virtue and witness in daily life. Calling the faithful “coworkers of the Gospel,” he said the Holy Spirit transforms believers into agents of reconciliation and hope.

“The work of God, therefore, is each one of us, who came here today from all parts of the world, invited to the Lord’s table, gathered to listen to his word and called to bear witness to it everywhere,” he said.

The pope also described the Holy Spirit as the source of unity and truth within the Church, warning against “partisanship, hypocrisy and fads that obscure the light of the Gospel.”

While acknowledging that some changes in the modern world have brought “error and violence,” Pope Leo said the Holy Spirit continues to renew humanity and introduce salvation.

“The Church’s mission bears witness to this offer, thereby transforming the world’s confusion into communion with God and among ourselves,” he said.

Concluding his homily, the pope prayed for the Holy Spirit to free the world from war, misery and sin.

“Dear friends, with fervent hearts, let us pray today that the spirit of the Risen One may save us from the evil of war, which is overcome not by a superpower, but by the omnipotence of love,” he said.

In his Regina Caeli address after Mass, Pope Leo said the Holy Spirit “opens doors,” saying it gave the apostles the courage to leave the locked room following Jesus’ death and proclaim Christ.

The pope said the Holy Spirit opens three doors: the door to encountering God personally, the door of the Church so it can remain welcoming to all and engaged with the modern world, and the door of the human heart, overcoming “selfishness, mistrust and prejudice.”

“We need to rediscover God as the father who loves us, so that we can form a Church where everyone feels at home, and build a fraternal world where peace reigns among all peoples,” he said from the window of the Apostolic Palace, a day before releasing his first encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” on the care of the human person in the time of artificial intelligence.

After the Regina Caeli prayer, Pope Leo commemorated the Day of Prayer for the Church in China and prayed for victims of a mining accident in northern China that reportedly killed 82 people. He also prayed for Christian communities in the Holy Land, Lebanon and across the Middle East suffering due to the ongoing conflict.

(OSV News) – Catholic bishops in Uganda have urged the people to remain calm after the government postponed the annual Martyrs Day celebrations, following an Ebola outbreak in the East African region.

The epidemic caused by Bundibugyo virus — one of the several that cause the disease in humans — has hit Congo and Uganda.

By May 20, at least 139 people had died out of the suspected 600 cases in Congo. Of the 600 suspected cases, the WHO said 51 had been confirmed in the country’s northern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu.

An American doctor who contracted Ebola in Congo has been flown to Germany for treatment, along with his wife and four children. Peter Stafford, a surgeon and leader of the Christian missionary group Serge, operated on a patient with Ebola — not knowing the patient was infected and before the outbreak was detected, The Guardian reported.

But as the disease spreads, its impact is being felt among the Catholic community in Africa, as it forces the postponement of the Uganda Martyrs Day celebration. The event, marked every year on June 3 at Namugongo Shrine near Kampala, the capital, is one of the most important in the African Catholic and Christian calendars.

Millions of pilgrims travel for the event, with thousands walking long distances to the shrine, but now those who had started the journey this year have been urged to turn back.

Bishop Joseph Anthony Zziwa of Kiyinda- Mityana, president of the Ugandan bishops’ conference, urged the people to remain calm, prayerful, united and hopeful following the postponement.

“The witness of the Uganda Martyrs continues to inspire the Church and the nation, reminding us that true faith is lived daily through love, sacrifice, truth and fidelity to God,” said the bishop in a May 18 statement.

Bishop Zziwa encouraged the faithful to celebrate the day in parishes, following the guidance of the diocesan bishop and relevant government authorities, while stressing the commemoration as a profound witness of faith, courage, fidelity to Christ and “steadfast commitment to Christian values.”

“Let us join in prayer for our nation, health workers and all those affected by the circumstances that necessitated the postponement,” said the bishop.

Earlier, the nation’s President Yoweri Museveni had announced the postponement of observances to a later date, reportedly after consultations with the national epidemic response task force and religious leaders.

“This decision was made because Uganda receives thousands of pilgrims annually from Eastern Congo, which is currently experiencing an Ebola outbreak. To safeguard everyone’s lives, it is essential that this important event be postponed,” said the president on May 17.

“I encourage those who had begun their journey to return home, continue observing the precautionary measures, report anyone who is sick, and encourage those who are ill to seek medical care.”

The latest outbreak is the 17th since 1976 when Ebola was discovered in Congo. The most common clinical signs of the disease are fever, headaches and vomiting.

The current disease is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, which was identified in 2007 and is considered rarer, and there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for it.

The Congolese Ministry of Public Health officially declared the new outbreak May 15. The World Health Organization May 17 further declared it a public health emergency of international concern, but said it had not reached pandemic levels.

According to an overview from the Provincial Health Division in Ituri, Congo, the first case was reported in late March in a town located some 50 miles from Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri.

Since then, reports indicate that the epidemic is concentrated in the region characterized by severe overcrowding and intense population movement. It is in Ituri where an American doctor contracted Ebola.

Archbishop Marcel Utembi Tapa of Kisangani, Congo, said the people, especially those in Ituri province, were afraid of the virus, fearing that many in Mongwalu and Bunia towns were infected.

“As a church, we are calling on the government and the international community to step up efforts and work together to stop the epidemic,” Archbishop Tapa told OSV News.

The archbishop said he was pleased that the government was giving attention to the epidemic and some help was coming from outside. He urged the affected countries to work together against the epidemic.

“May God help his people,” said the archbishop.

Meanwhile, Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. Church’s overseas relief and development agency, said it was rapidly mobilizing to support communities and limit further spread of the virus.

“It started slowly, but it is spreading quickly,” said Rafaramalala Volanarisoa, CRS’ head of office in Congo in May 20. “The fear is that there are many more unidentified cases. At the same time, health workers lack the equipment needed to protect themselves and care for patients.”

CRS is leveraging partnerships with local church networks in Ituri and North Kivu, including local Caritas branches, to reach communities in remote and high-risk areas, where trust is critical.

“The Catholic Church is deeply rooted” in Congo, said Volanarisoa. “Forty-five percent of health centers here are run by the Catholic Church. They can reach the remote villages, and people trust them. Those connections are going to be key to resolving this crisis.”

Amid fear and increased misinformation, the organization is supporting community awareness and education, and delivering lifesaving information and early Ebola detection.

SCRANTON – The faithful are invited and encouraged to attend Memorial Day Masses that will be celebrated at each of our Diocesan Cemeteries on Monday, May 25, 2026.

From Scranton to Moscow, Drums to Wilkes-Barre, and Carverton to Old Forge, the Masses will take place at the times according to the above graphic.

All are welcome to participate in these liturgies to pray for and remember the faithfully departed, especially our veterans.

The Catholic Cemeteries of the Diocese of Scranton offer complete and compassionate service and are prepared to provide for all your burial needs. It is our privilege to assist families in planning the final resting place for their loved ones.

SCRANTON – On June 11, Catholic Bishops across the United States will take part in a rare and historic spiritual moment – consecrating the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the country prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Locally in the Diocese of Scranton, Catholics are being invited to participate in this moment in a special way as well.

For the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will celebrate Masses at the Diocese’s two parishes dedicated to the Sacred Heart – located in Peckville and Dupont – as Catholics throughout the country unite in prayer for healing, renewal, and hope.

The national consecration, organized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), will take place on Thursday, June 11, 2026, during the Bishops’ Spring Assembly in Orlando, Florida.

Because Bishop Bambera will be unable to attend the meeting due to a previously scheduled commitment connected to ecumenical dialogue in Rome, his absence from the gathering has created an opportunity for Catholics in northeastern Pennsylvania to celebrate the Solemnity with him close to home.

The celebrations are expected to become much more than ordinary feast day observances. Pastors at both parishes say the occasion will offer Catholics an opportunity to rediscover a Church devotion that has been around for hundreds of years.

“I am very excited,” Father Andy Kurovsky, Pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Peckville, said. “I hope people get as excited about it as I am, because it really is a great thing.”

Bishop Bambera will celebrate a Vigil Mass for the Solemnity at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, in Peckville.

During the liturgy, Father Kurovsky said the parish itself will be formally consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“Even though our parish is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I can find nowhere where it’s been consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” Father Andy explained. “So, we’re going to do that during the Mass. That involves all of us being led by the Bishop in a special prayer of consecration of the parish to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”

The long-time pastor hopes the parish consecration will inspire families to continue the devotion in their own homes.

“We then want to encourage our families to go home and consecrate their families and their homes to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” he added. “We are finding that our young people are really intrigued by practices that people in my age group took for granted because we grew up with them.”

Father Kurovksy said his own devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus began during his childhood at Sacred Heart Church in North Wilkes-Barre, where Eucharistic Adoration, Benediction, and Sacred Heart novenas were common parish practices.

“There is nothing more beautiful – when you think of any image of Jesus – than to talk about His heart, which is about love,” Father Kurovsky reflected. “That is what the Lord is for us – our life-source.”

One day later, Bishop Bambera will celebrate the Solemnity Mass at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, June 12, at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Dupont.

For Father Thomas Petro, the celebration continues a long-standing parish tradition centered on prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, and hospitality.

“For many years, Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Dupont has had a whole day of prayer dedicated to our patronal feast,” Father Petro explained.

The parish will begin the day with Mass at 7:30 a.m., followed by Eucharistic Adoration throughout the day. Benediction will take place shortly before the evening Mass with Bishop Bambera. A parish gathering and potluck meal will follow in the parish picnic grove.

“We would very much like to welcome people who perhaps have never been to Dupont or been to our church, to pray with us and then to share with us a meal afterwards,” Father Petro said. “It’s just a time for us to get together, and to welcome the faithful from outside our parish to come and celebrate this important day.”

Like the Bishops’ national consecration, Father Petro said devotion to the Sacred Heart calls Catholics to deeper conversion and prayer for the nation.

“Devotion to the Sacred Heart focuses so much upon reparation for sin – our own sins, and those of other people, our country, our culture,” he said. “I think it’s a great way for us to realize who we are as Catholics, who we want to be as Catholics, and where we’re all going together as Americans.”

Father Petro also believes the devotion speaks powerfully to the present moment in American society.

“I really think this is a great time in our American history to acknowledge that we need God more than ever,” he said. “We need to humble ourselves. We need to listen to His call as Christians and as Americans – and also – we need to focus upon His great love for us.”

Both pastors hope the celebrations will draw Catholics from throughout the Diocese of Scranton.

“This is something that is really positive for our children and families,” Father Kurvosky said.

“We’re trying our best to make it a real wonderful, welcoming experience,” Father Petro added.

SCRANTON – Twelve priests who are celebrating milestone anniversaries of their ordination year will be recognized during the 2026 Mass for Priest Jubilarians at 12:10 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will serve as principal celebrant and homilist. During the Mass, the Bishop will recognize a combine 600 years of service to the priesthood.

For generations, these faithful priests have baptized our children, celebrated our marriages, comforted us in times of loss and guided countless souls closer to Christ.

The faithful are encouraged to fill the Cathedral with gratitude and prayer as we honor the extraordinary witness and lifelong service of these dedicated shepherds.

Reverend Joseph J. Adonizio will be recognized for 70 years of priestly service. Father Adonizio was ordained a priest on May 29, 1956.

In addition to Rev. Adonizio, priests who are celebrating 65-, 50- and 25-year ordination anniversaries will be honored at the Mass.

The Mass will be broadcast live by CTV: Catholic Television and will be available for viewing on the Diocese of Scranton website, YouTube channel, and links will be made available across all Diocesan social media platforms.