Category: Diocese of Scranton News

FLORIDA, Uruguay (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV made a pilgrimage to Uruguay’s national Marian shrine Nov. 8, where he shared a message of hope for mothers who feel the grief of seeing their children fall away from practicing the faith they were raised in.

“I know that many of you carry a very specific sorrow. You taught your children to pray, and today they no longer do so. You used to attend Mass together, and it has been years since they entered a church. You spoke to your grandchildren about God, and now you do not know if those words left a mark. Sometimes you wonder if you did something wrong or if it was all futile,” Pope Leo said in his homily.

The pope pointed to the witness of St. Monica, who “prayed for years for a son who seemed to be drifting further and further from God, but she never stopped trusting in his grace.”

“Mothers and grandmothers: never tire of passing on the faith! Preach with your lives as well as with your words. Insist on prayer, love, and hope; insist on them in season and out of season (cf. 2 Tim 4:2). Do so with patience, without harshness or discouragement. Even if your loved ones seem far from God, continue to place them before him. Do not stop blessing them, accompanying them, and simply reminding them of what they once received,” Pope Leo said.

“There are doors that you cannot open, but God can,” he added.

In his homily, the pontiff also offered words of encouragement to fathers and grandfathers, urging them to imitate St. Joseph.

“Dear fathers and grandfathers, young people need to see that you pray, receive the sacraments, treat your wives with respect, ask for forgiveness and live with integrity, even when doing so requires sacrifice. Children learn a great deal by seeing that their father can kneel before God without feeling that he is any less of a man for doing it,” Pope Leo said, to loud applause from those gathered at Mass.

“Your children and grandchildren need to see that the faith occupies a genuine place in the lives of the men in your family,” the pope added.

— Pope Leo at the beloved Uruguayan pilgrimage site —

The pope celebrated an outdoor Mass with 50,000 people in front of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three, the cathedral basilica of the Uruguayan city of Florida on the morning of Nov. 8, the date of the country’s annual national pilgrimage to the Virgin Mary, which is closely tied to Uruguay’s historic struggle for independence from Brazil.

At this beloved pilgrimage site, Pope Leo renewed the consecration of Uruguay to the Virgin Mary, first made by St. John Paul II in 1988, imploring God that through Our Lady’s intercession “he may thwart the works of the evil one and preserve beloved Uruguay from whatever might lead it away from Christ.”

The unique Marian title of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three takes its name from the image from the 33 revolutionaries whose 1825 campaign sought to free the territory then known as the Eastern Province from the Brazilian Empire.

The Assembly of Florida, which declared independence Aug. 25, 1825, met beside the town’s church, and its members venerated the Marian image preserved there.

“This small image is linked to a decisive moment in Uruguay’s history. In 1825, those who were fighting for the freedom of this land also turned to Mary, to place the beginning of their efforts under her protection. That gesture reminds us that the history of peoples, too, cannot be fully understood without reference to God,” Pope Leo said.

“Since that time, generations have come and gone, circumstances have changed, including the relationship of many Uruguayans to the faith. Yet she has remained here.”

— Virgin of the Thirty-Three, the liberator of Uruguay —

The current cathedral basilica in Florida building was built in 1887, but the wooden image of the Virgin Mary preserved inside the national shrine traces its history back further to the late 18th century and has become closely associated with Uruguay’s national story. Carved from Paraguayan cedar, it is a small representation of the Immaculate Conception believed to have originated in the nearby Jesuit missions.

“This devotion did not originate in any miraculous event or an apparition, as many Marian devotions do,” Father Gabriel González Melano, a priest of the Diocese of Florida, told OSV News.

“It was the people who began to identify her with that campaign,” Father González said. “From 1825 onward, they gradually began to call her the Virgin of the Thirty-Three, with many also dubbing her the liberator of Uruguay.”

— Pilgrims overjoyed to meet the pope —

Martín Lage Ponce de León, who came on pilgrimage to the shrine with his family from the capital city of Montevideo, told OSV News that Our Lady of the Thirty-Three “represents a lot for all the people in Uruguay.”

“We are really excited about receiving Pope Leo,” he said. “It’s something that we are really grateful that he chose Uruguay to start his trip in South America. And we consider that this is because of something Uruguay really needed … his words of mission.”

Twenty-six-year-old Ximena Tejeria watched eagerly from her wheelchair as Pope Leo greeted the crowd of thousands waving Vatican flags from the popemobile. “This is my first time seeing the pope,” she said of Pope Leo. “I previously met Pope Francis, and now we get to see (Pope Leo) up close, which is wonderful for all of Uruguay, too. It’s been many years since a pope visited, so this whole event is a source of joy for everyone.”

Natalia Baccino, 45, from the capital city of Montevideo has made many pilgrimages to Florida’s Virgin in her life, but this was the first papal Mass at the shrine.

“I woke up really early at 4:30 a.m. to arrive here because … the routes, there were too many people coming here,” Baccino told OSV News.

— Argentina is next stop for Pope Leo after Uruguay —

The pope traveled about 60 miles by car from Montevideo to arrive at the shrine. The road included one pit stop to pray in the parish of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, or Santa Teresita, in Juanicó, to greet the mayor and to offer a blessing to people gathered there.

“The principal reason for Leo visiting the shrine is, of course, that the pope is coming to Uruguay, so he had to visit the country’s patroness,” Father González said. The convergence of her feast and the national pilgrimage, he added, makes the occasion particularly significant.

St. John XXIII authorized the image’s canonical coronation in 1961 and declared Our Lady of the Thirty-Three patroness of Uruguay in 1962. In 1975, Uruguay’s government designated the cathedral and the image national historic monuments, and in 1994 the cathedral became the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three.

At the end of Mass, Bishop Alfonso María Bauer Ormazábal of Florida told Pope Leo, “We are a country of close-knit communities, of sharing mate, and of gatherings of friends. And that country was born here, in Florida: next to the so-called ‘Altar of the Motherland,’ our Independence was declared, under the gaze of the Virgin of the Thirty-Three.”

“Today, we face different struggles, and we ask Mary to accompany us in these as well:
the poverty of so many children and the lack of work, loneliness and a sense of meaninglessness, addictions and mental health issues, social fragmentation, and violence. With her, we wish to defend the dignity of every person, daughter and son of God,” the bishop said.

The Mass in Florida marked the final public event of Pope Leo’s Nov. 7-8 visit to Uruguay. After Mass and lunch with local bishops, he is scheduled to fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he will meet President Javier Milei in the afternoon.

Uruguay’s national Marian shrine is one of three Latin American pilgrimage sites Pope Leo is visiting during his Nov. 6-17 tour of South America.

In Argentina, Pope Leo is expected to celebrate Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, the country’s national Marian shrine. In Peru, he intends to visit Zaña, where relics of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, the missionary archbishop of Lima and patron of the Latin American episcopate, are preserved.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (OSV News) – The stadium built for the first-ever FIFA World Cup in Uruguay was filled with cheers on Saturday night, not for a soccer match, but for Pope Leo XIV, who told the 70,000 people inside that becoming a saint is the ultimate goal.

“Be saints!” the pope told the joyful crowd in Montevideo’s historic Centenary Stadium Nov. 7. “Do not settle for a merely decent life or for a habitual faith, content with doing only the essential. Do not give God only a part of yourselves — give yourselves completely!”

In a country where soccer is sometimes treated as a religion, the pope urged people not to settle for a mediocre life, but to discover a full and free life in Jesus Christ.

“Saints are men and women who overflow with the abundance of life in Christ,” he said. “They are free and authentic people whose lives make it attractive to say a resounding ‘yes’ to love, truth and happiness. Do not be afraid, then, to aspire to holiness. Christ did not call us to mediocrity; he called us to a new and full life like his own.”

Centenary Stadium was built in 1930 to host the soccer matches for the first FIFA World Cup. The open-air stadium in Uruguay’s capital city of Montevideo has been designated a world soccer monument by FIFA, the organization that organizes the World Cup.

Cardinal Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, the archbishop of Montevideo, said that hosting the pope in the iconic soccer stadium is “a spectacular goal!”

“Soccer is very important in our culture; we even speak about life using the language of soccer,” the cardinal said.

“We have not come merely to cheer from the stands. We don’t want to just stay on the bench. Christ invites us to step onto the playing field of life — a match played out in our neighborhoods, our families and our workplaces,” he added.

The night was filled with musical performances, cheers, fireworks, and classic Spanish Catholic hymns. Many people in the stands sipped on yerba mate, a beloved drink in Uruguay, and held their cell phones in the air to illuminate the stadium.

“If the pope tries my mate, I’d be very happy,” 15-year-old Eros Recalde from Montevideo told OSV News. “I think Pope Leo would like mate.”

“This moment is very special because it’s been a long time since a pope came here to Uruguay; the last time was in 1988, quite a long time ago. And being able to experience this with my friends, with my companions, is really nice,” he added.

In his speech in the stadium, Pope Leo underlined that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist and encouraged people to seek out Eucharistic adoration.

“That same Jesus who was born in Bethlehem, who died and rose again, lives forever and remains with us. He awaits us, truly present in the Eucharist,” the pope said.

“Today, therefore, we can continue to encounter him — so near and so humble — in every tabernacle. Seek him there, in Eucharistic adoration. Speak to him as you would to a friend, and let him look upon you,” he added.

Among those in the crowd was Ericka Cajo Cieza and her mother-in-law, Rosa Elena Castro, from Chiclayo, Peru, who now live in Uruguay. They have fond memories of attending Mass with the future Pope Leo when he was bishop of Chiclayo and were excited to be seeing him for the first time as pope.

“He is a pope who is deeply loved by everyone in Chiclayo, very humble, very loving,” Cajo Cieza said.

“He is a very humble priest, very charitable in everything,” she added.

For 14-year-old Illiana Alvarez, seeing Pope Leo in the soccer stadium was “a wonderful experience.” She has attended soccer matches in Centenary Stadium before, but this was the first time praying with a pope in person.

Her fellow high school classmates from Colegio Pio in Montevideo all agreed Pope Leo is better than Argentina soccer legend Lionel Messi.

“The pope is the best! Messi? So-so,” 13-year-old Franciso del Campo declared.

The students were among the many young people cheering loudly when Pope Leo arrived in the stadium in the popemobile.

During the prayer vigil, Pope Leo heard testimonies from young people who discovered the Catholic faith in their 20s, as well as a married couple with five children.

Twenty-two-year-old Giovanni shared why he recently made the decision to get baptized.

“In my family, no one practices the faith, except for my grandmother. I was not baptized, and I attended a secular school. I did not have a personal encounter with God until I was 20. I always felt a void that I tried to fill with fleeting things. I only heard about God through my grandmother, who prayed to the Virgin Mary for me, which sparked a desire within me that I did not understand,” he said.

“In 2023, I transferred to the University of Montevideo, where, for the first time, I encountered a chapel and a priest. A friend encouraged me to speak with the chaplain, and that was when I realized that what I had always been searching for was very close: It was God,” he added.

A Catholic family of seven, whose parents have been married for 30 years, huddled together on stage to share their testimony with the pope. The parents spoke about the realities of family life in the most secularized country in Latin America, describing Uruguay as a nation with “few marriages and a declining birth rate” where “ideological currents call into question the value of life, marriage and the family.”

In his speech in the stadium, Pope Leo addressed Uruguay’s secularization directly, saying, “When we try to build a world without God, we run the risk of leaving humanity without a place as well.”

He also encouraged young people not to be afraid of the challenge of giving up “time, money, comfort and plans to serve others” and to embrace a lifelong vocation.

“Young people, dare to take the step of marrying and starting a family yourselves. Do not be afraid of ‘forever,'” the pope said. “Married couples, open your home to life, even when the world tells you that a child is a burden.”

“Jesus Christ is our hope. Society may find many valuable things in other institutions, but none can replace the proclamation that God’s love is stronger than death, hatred, violence, war and sin. This is the joy we bring; the pope has come to remind you about this joy,” he said.

Pope Leo led the stadium in praying the Our Father prayer before giving the final blessing.

Pope Leo began his first full day in Uruguay on Saturday morning with a flight from Montevideo to the city of Paysandú, a cultural and economic hub on Uruguay’s border with Argentina, where he celebrated an outdoor Mass with 40,000 people. Upon his return to the Uruguayan capital in the afternoon, the pope visited a poor barrio of the city called Casavalle, where spoke with local residents, and later gave a speech at the Catholic University of Uruguay.

Before departing for Argentina on Nov. 8, Pope Leo will celebrate a morning Mass in honor of Uruguay’s patroness, Our Lady of the Thirty-Three, on the date of the annual pilgrimage to the national Marian shrine. Pope Leo will visit Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Lujan, Argentina Nov. 8-11 before ending his apostolic journey in Peru Nov. 11-16.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV arrived in Uruguay on the afternoon of Nov. 6, telling journalists aboard his 13-hour transatlantic flight from Rome that he was “convinced that this trip had to go forward” following lung cancer surgery a little more than three weeks earlier.

“I know some people were doubtful about this trip taking place. I confess that from the first day I had no doubt and was convinced that this trip had to go forward,” Pope Leo told journalists as the papal plane flew over North Africa.

“And I’m very happy to say, praise the Lord, and thanks to wonderful medical assistance, I’m here today, I think, in fairly good shape. So you’re the witnesses of that.”

The 71-year-old pope appeared energetic as he interacted with journalists aboard the plane at the start of his 12-day journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, scheduled for Nov. 6-17.

— Pope Leo’s advice when facing a cancer diagnosis —

Asked by OSV News during the flight what advice he would offer people facing their own cancer diagnosis, Pope Leo responded, “Not to be afraid.”

“Early detection is obviously the best way to go, and so regular check-ups are a blessing. And, take care of yourselves,” Pope Leo added.

A journalist from NBC News asked the pope what was his secret to making such a quick recovery. He responded, “Trust in God, good doctors, good surgeons, and overall, a healthy lifestyle.”

The pope said that faith gave him the strength to face difficulties. “It is faith,” he said. “And the Lord who is very generous to me.”

Pope Leo also told OSV News that during the pilgrimage to the Marian shrine of Lourdes during his last international journey to France in late September, “there were no signs of any difficulties” with his health.

“I was much more concerned about the health of those there,” he added, referring to the many sick and disabled pilgrims who traveled to Lourdes to pray with the pope at the Marian apparition site.

Pope Leo told The New York Times that the experience of being sick gave him “a sense of commitment of wanting to continue to be close to those who are sick.” He added that he planned to speak in Uruguay about “how healthcare should be a right of all people.”

The pope is making the trip just 24 days after undergoing a lobectomy surgery for a localized lung adenocarcinoma on Oct. 13. During the surgery, doctors removed the lower lobe of the pope’s right lung. The pope’s doctors confirmed the following week that the pope did not require further oncological treatment after surgery.

Asked by the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, what he read while recovering during his five-day hospital stay after cancer surgery, the pope responded, “my breviary, a prayer book, and newspapers.”

— Pope Leo says he is ‘proud to be an American’ —

Several journalists aboard the plane asked Pope Leo about his decision to vote in the U.S. midterm elections, to which the pope replied to CNN, “I’m proud to be an American and to exercise the right” to vote. But when asked about the election results in Texas, Pope Leo replied, “No comment.”

Pope Leo, who became a naturalized citizen of Peru in 2015, noted that he did not vote in the Peruvian presidential elections earlier this year because it was not possible, adding that he would have voted if he could have.

— Pope calls Peru ‘one of my many homes’ —

The trip marks Pope Leo’s first visit to Latin America since his election and brings him back to a region that shaped his ministry as an Augustinian missionary priest and bishop in Peru. The final and longest leg of the journey will take him to Peru, where he spent decades as a missionary priest and later led the Diocese of Chiclayo.

Reflecting on the trip ahead, Pope Leo said that he was happy to be returning to Peru, which he called “one of my many homes.”

The pope did not reveal much about where he plans to travel next in 2027. Asked if he would like to travel to Santiago de Compostela for the jubilee year of the Spanish pilgrimage destination, the pope said he wanted to go, but added that wanting to go is different from being able to go.

— Pope wants to proclaim ‘the good news’ in secular Uruguay —

The papal plane, a chartered ITA Airways flight, touched down in Uruguay’s Montevideo-Carrasco International Airport a little before 4:20 p.m. (2:20 p.m. EST) after flying more than 6,900 miles over France, Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal, the Atlantic Ocean and Brazil.

The motto for the pope’s trip to Uruguay is “I bring you good news of a great joy” (Lk 2:10), underscoring the importance of evangelization during Pope Leo’s visit to the most secularized country in South America.

Christians make up 44% of the population, the lowest share in Latin America, according to the Pew Research Center. The visit will be the first papal visit to the country since St. John Paul II visited in 1988.

In his comments to journalists, Pope Leo repeatedly emphasized his desire to proclaim the Gospel during his apostolic journey.

“The primary reason for making this trip is to continue the mission of the bishop of Rome — of the pope — in sharing the joy of the Gospel, announcing the good news, and walking together with people, expressing that closeness which is so important for people, whether in their moments of joy or in their moments of sorrow, that they very much are looking for the message of hope in today’s world,” Pope Leo said.

The pope also took the opportunity to personally introduce the new prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, Maria Montserrat Alvarado, whom he called “Montse.”

“Now we have the wonderful experience, the creativity, and the life and liveliness of Montse, who will be accompanying us on this trip and helping the Vatican and myself in the very important dimension of communications, so welcome Montse,” he said.

— Three days in Uruguay before heading to Argentina —

Montevideo is Uruguay’s capital, principal port and most populous city. The pope’s first stop in the capital will be Independence Square for an official welcome ceremony, where he will address Uruguay’s civil authorities before meeting one-on-one with President Yamandú Orsi.

The pope will next meet with the local Catholic community in Montevideo’s Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and Sts. Philip and James before ending a long day of travel at the country’s apostolic nunciature.

On Nov. 7, the pope will fly to the city of Paysandú, a cultural and economic hub on Uruguay’s border with Argentina, to celebrate Mass. Upon returning to Montevideo in the afternoon, he will visit Casavalle, a poor neighborhood of the city, where he will hear testimonies from local residents before presiding over an evening prayer vigil at the soccer stadium that hosted the first World Cup.

On his final day in Uruguay, Pope Leo will celebrate the country’s patroness, Our Lady of the Thirty-Three, on the morning of Nov. 8. The date coincides with the annual pilgrimage to the national Marian shrine, which is closely tied to the country’s independence movement. The pope will then fly to Argentina, where he will visit Nov. 8-11.

Asked by The Washington Post whether the Argentina leg of the trip would be about remembering Pope Francis, Pope Leo reiterated that spreading the Gospel is the main reason for the apostolic visit.

“I’m sure there will be many important connections (with the late pope), but it’s not the primary business” of the trip, Pope Leo said, adding that the visit’s main purpose is to proclaim the Gospel.

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV departed Rome for Uruguay on the morning of Nov. 6 at the start of a 12-day trip to South America, the longest international journey of his pontificate, a little over three weeks after undergoing surgery for lung cancer.

The Nov. 6-17 trip will be his first visit to Latin America since his election as pope, bringing him back to the continent that shaped his life and ministry, first as a missionary priest then bishop in Peru, where he will spend the final and longest leg of the trip.

The papal plane, a chartered ITA Airways plane, took off from Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport at 7:05 a.m. Rome time at the start of the apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru.

The 13 hour and 30 minute flight will bring the pope across the Atlantic Ocean, flying more than 6,900 miles over France, Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal, and Brazil before arriving in Uruguay’s capital city of Montevideo at 4:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. EST).

It is the first of 14 flights Pope Leo will take in an ambitious itinerary that will bring the 71-year-old pope to a new destination nearly every day, including a 2,200-mile flight from Buenos Aires to Lima and a military helicopter flight Nov. 14 to the Andes mountain town of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, Peru.

The pope is making the trip just 24 days after undergoing a lobectomy surgery for localized lung adenocarcinoma on Oct. 13 in which the cancerous lower lobe of the pope’s right lung was removed. Pope Leo’s doctors confirmed the following week that the pope did not require further oncological treatment after surgery.

Vatican officials said that no changes were made to the pope’s schedule in South America to account for his recent hospitalization.

“He is clinically fit to undertake this trip,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists on Nov. 3.

His doctors “are very confident and he’ll have plenty of medical care on board should something happen. But we don’t see that in his prognosis,” Maria Montserrat Alvarado, the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, added.

Pope Leo will start his journey in Uruguay — the most secularized country in Latin America. It will be the first papal visit there since St. John Paul II’s in 1988. Pope Leo will visit Montevideo, the capital and largest city; Paysandú, a cultural and economic hub on the border with Argentina; and Florida, home to the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three on the Nov. 8 date of the annual national pilgrimage to the Marian shrine.

In Argentina, where he arrives on the afternoon of Nov. 8, he will meet a challenge of stepping into the land of his predecessor Pope Francis, the Argentine pontiff who never visited his homeland as pope, and a country that Archbishop Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva of Buenos Aires recently described as “a wounded Argentina, a divided Argentina.” St. John Paul II made the last papal visit to Argentina in 1987, nearly four decades ago.

Pope Leo will visit Buenos Aires; Córdoba, the country’s second-largest city; and Luján, where he will celebrate Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Luján, Argentina’s patroness and one of its leading pilgrimage sites.

The trip culminates with Pope Leo’s homecoming to Peru, where he first arrived as an Augustinian missionary priest in 1985, including a two-day stay in Chiclayo, where Pope Leo served as bishop from 2015 to 2023.

In Peru, where he holds citizenship , the pope will also visit Lima, the capital and largest city; Chiclayo; Cusco, the former Inca capital in the Andes; and Pucallpa, a city on the Ucayali River in the Amazon rainforest that has long been a center of Catholic missionary outreach.

During the 12-day trip, Pope Leo will celebrate nine public Masses, visit seven cathedrals and preside over two stadium prayer vigils before returning to Rome on the morning of Nov. 17.

Pope Leo asked for prayers for the fruitfulness of his apostolic journey in his Nov. 4 general audience ahead of the papal trip.

“I entrust myself to your prayers, that this trip may strengthen faith, renew hope, rekindle the fire of charity, and serve as an impetus to continue proclaiming the Gospel with joy,” Pope Leo said.

BARTO, Pa. – The National Centre for Padre Pio will host a special Holy Relics Exposition Nov. 5 – 8, 2026, inviting visitors to venerate over 600 major relics of saints and blesseds of the Catholic Church.

Held in celebration of All Saints’ Week and the Feast of the Holy Relics, the four-day exposition offers an extraordinary, potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for prayer and reflection before relics of many of the most important and influential figures in the history of Catholicism.

The exposition is a special part of the Centre’s Year of Saint Pio, which began June 16, 2026, and culminates June 16, 2027, with the 25th anniversary of Padre Pio’s canonization.

Through special events, Masses, and devotions, the Centre is inviting pilgrims to deepen their faith and draw closer to Christ through the life and intercession of Saint Pio.

The collection includes authenticated relics associated with Jesus and the Holy Family, some dating to biblical times, as well as relics of the apostles and evangelists.

Among the featured relics are the blood of Padre Pio, the hair of Pope Saint John Paul II, linen from the deathbed of Saint Carlo Acutis, and the hair scarf of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini.

The veneration of relics is a longstanding tradition within the Catholic Church, honoring the saints whose lives bear witness to the transforming power of God’s grace. Relics offer a tangible connection to these holy men and women, whose bodies were temples of the Holy Spirit.

Through veneration, the faithful honor God’s work in the saints, seek their intercession, and find encouragement to follow their example of faith, love, and perseverance. This exposition invites pilgrims to encounter that tradition personally and deepen their relationship with Christ.

“Each of these 600 relics tells the story of someone who said yes to God. The saints show us that redemption and holiness are possible for every one of us. This exhibition is a unique opportunity to encounter saints whom we’ve read about our entire lives,” said National Centre for Padre Pio Executive Director Deacon Jim Friend. “I encourage you to join us to learn more about them, ask for their intercession, and leave inspired to deepen your relationship with Christ.”

As pilgrims prepare to celebrate Padre Pio’s canonization anniversary, the exposition invites them to reflect on the communion of saints and the call to holiness in their own lives. Individuals, families, and parish communities are welcome to make these days an occasion for spiritual renewal.

Exposition Hours will be as follows: Thursday, Nov. 5 – Saturday, Nov. 7 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

Exposition Hours on Sunday, Nov. 8 will be from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

The National Centre for Padre Pio is located in Berks County at 111 Barto Road, Barto, PA 19504.

For additional information, visit www.padrepio.org or call (610) 845-3000.

EAST STROUDSBURG – More than 300 young people in grades 7-12 have registered for the fourth annual Diocesan Youth Rally, which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, at Notre Dame Jr./Sr. High School in East Stroudsburg.

The theme for this year’s Youth Rally is “Do Whatever He Tells You.”

The participants – which come from 17 parishes throughout the Diocese of Scranton – will participate in ice breakers, small group talks, Adoration, Mass and more.

Participants will be invited to dive deep into prayer. When the wine runs dry in our own lives — whether that is when prayer becomes difficult, when our circumstances seem to overwhelm us, or when we deeply need God to meet us wherever we find ourselves — we can look to Mary to point us back to her Son by her instruction to “Do whatever He tells you.”

This day will focus on who God is, how to listen to His Voice, and how we as the Young Church can more fully align our wills to the will of God. It will be a day for students to deepen their faith, make new friends, and experience fun and fellowship.

The 2026 Diocesan Youth Rally will begin at 11:30 a.m. and run through 8:00 p.m.

Check-in will open at 11:00 a.m.

Youth will hear from several engaging speakers and musicians. The speakers for this year’s Youth Rally are Conall Hughes, evangelist and Director of Advancement for Damascus Summer Camps, and Natalie Garza, evangelist and teacher who has spoken at several youth conferences in the United States. Conall and Natalie plan to speak about the importance of cultivating a personal relationship with Christ, why it is important to “Do whatever He tells you”, and how to cultivate a deep prayer life.

Music will be led by Maria Salamida, from Franciscan University, and her Steubenville Worship Band!

EAST STROUDSBURG – The Northeast Pennsylvania Mental Health Ministry team will hold a Mass for Suicide Healing and Remembrance on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. at the Church of Saint John, located at 5171 Milford Road, East Stroudsburg.

The Mass will serve to remember loved ones lost to suicide, and to promote healing for those who grieve their passing.

Rev. Dave Cramer, Pastor of the Church of Saint John, will be the celebrant for the Mass. Deacon Ed Shoener, President of the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers and Deacon at the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Immaculate Conception Parishes in Scranton, will serve as homilist.

All are welcome to attend.

(OSV News) – Flying to South America a little over three weeks after his surgery for lung cancer, Pope Leo XIV is going “personally enthusiastic about this trip” with “the ordinary medical assistance” in force, Vatican communicators confirmed during a Nov. 3 briefing in the Vatican Press Office.

The Nov. 6-17 trip will be the first papal visit to Latin America of Pope Leo’s pontificate. Over 12 days, he will celebrate nine public Masses, visit seven cathedrals and preside over two stadium prayer vigils.

Matteo Bruni, Holy See Press Office director, said “about 36 speeches” of the pope will be delivered during the journey.

Maria Monstserrat Alvarado, who assumed her position as prefect of the Dicastery for Communication Nov. 1, told journalists that “he’s going to give you a lot of improvised texts to work with” – something she noted is a “beautiful thing” as “he wants to share his heart and we want to help him do that.”

The pope, she said, will be “giving away his heart in a language that is true to him,” like he did in Spain. “You will see that again, but in a totally different way, because he knows these streets.”

Pope Leo first arrived in Peru in 1985 and the missionary work shaped his vision for the universal Church. There he was appointed bishop and there he experienced challenges and joys of shepherding his flock.

— Pope Leo fit to undertake the trip without special equipment needed —

Speaking to journalists for the first time in a press conference after assuming her role as the first laywoman prefect of the Vatican dicastery, Alvarado said the pope is “excited” before his longest trip of the pontificate so far, and “confirmed this trip with no changes,” adding that he’s “grateful” for the prayers and medical concern.

“When he hears those messages of concern, questions about the doctors, all he hears is the way that people love and have hope for what this journey will bring,” Alvarado said.

During the press briefing Nov. 3, journalists repeatedly asked about the health challenges of changing altitudes and helicopter flights into the Andes region for the pope roughly a month after removing part of his lung during the Oct. 13 surgery.

Bruni confirmed that “there’s no particular accommodation or particular equipment which is being used” medically wise and that “the pope was pretty clear” in his Oct. 26 statement that “the plan is as it is” and no changes to the initial schedule are planned due to his recent hospital stay.

The nature of the surgery, Bruni said, is that it “does not create a permanent condition,” adding that Pope Francis was missing part of a lung and was traveling without disruptions.

“Were any special medical arrangements needed for those journeys? Take our trip to the Holy Land, for example: We packed a week’s worth of events into just three days. It is a condition that allows one to go about life without needing any particular precautions,” Bruni said.

“Should anything change, I will be sure to let you know, but as things stand — based on what the doctors have told us — no therapy is required, and he is clinically fit to undertake this trip,” the press director said.

Alvarado meanwhile mentioned the Nov. 2 Campo Verano Cemetery All Souls’ Mass: “I don’t know if you all watched yesterday’s Mass. His stamina is fantastic,” she pointed out.

“The way that he’s singing is incredible. And you can only sing if your lungs are really strong,” Alvarado said, adding the pope “was past the days of recovery that were required, the 14 days to be able to test him.”

His doctors, she said, “are very confident and he’ll have plenty of medical care on board should something happen. But we don’t see that in his prognosis, the way that he’s acting.”

The journey to Latin America begins Nov. 6 with a flight of more than 14 hours and 6,900 miles from Rome to Montevideo, Uruguay. The return flight from Lima, Peru, to Rome covers 6,700 miles. In between, the pope will travel to a new destination nearly every day, including a 2,200-mile flight from Buenos Aires to Lima and a military helicopter flight Nov. 14 to the Andes mountain town of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, Peru.

By comparison, Pope Leo traveled 11,000 miles over 11 days during his trip to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea earlier this year. The trip culminates with a return to Chiclayo, Peru, where he served as bishop from 2015 to 2023.

— Pope Leo coming home with a message of peace —

Asked about the objectives of the trip, Alvarado said there are “two really important parts of what he wants this trip to be.”

First is the homecoming of a pope with Peruvian citizenship to Latin America. “He feels that very deeply,” she pointed out, as “this is a place that gave him his ministry and inspired who he is as a pastor.”

She said the continent taught the pope “the way that he views encounter and the … diverse needs of the Church” and “opened his eyes in a way that’s new and different.”

Reaching for her phone, Alvarado read the second objective and what she said the pope asked her to share with journalists — to help “share his message of peace and encounter with the world” — something she pointed out “is expressed in Latin America through its diverse people and cultures.”

She said the pope hopes “that everyone will be able to see the importance of encounter, for healing and for peace, and why dialogue is so important and the elements of the trip really bring about.”

Pope Leo will start his journey in Uruguay — the most secularized country in Latin America, where his journey will bring him before a small Marian image that Uruguay’s determined secularization could never entirely separate from the country’s national identity — the Virgin of the Thirty-Three.

In Argentina, where he arrives Nov. 8, he will meet a challenge of stepping into the land of the Argentine pontiff, Pope Francis, who never visited his homeland as pope, and a country that Archbishop Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva of Buenos Aires recently described as “a wounded Argentina, a divided Argentina.”

In Peru, he will visit Lima, Chiclayo, Santa Cruz de Succhabamba and Cusco in the Andes and Amazonian Pucallpa, skipping Chulucanas and Trujillo where he served as missionary.

Bruni said while the trip’s program includes “some elements of the pope’s personal history,” it is also “an opportunity to reach those places that normally are not reached,” giving the pope an opportunity to be “following the footsteps of those missionaries who wanted to reach places where Christ had not been taken before” showcasing a “sense of gratitude towards their huge work, the huge work that was done in the beginning of Christianity in Latin America.”

“You’re seeing this balance between Prevost and Pope Leo XIV,” in the trip’s schedule, Alvarado said, referencing the pope’s given last name.

“He belongs to the world. And as much as his heart is in certain places in Peru, he also has to perform the pastoral duties of gathering himself with the individuals who lead these countries and have invited him to these countries,” she said, adding that “there’s a real balance there in terms of where he would love to go … as well as the duties he must perform as the Holy Father.”

— Alvarado’s first trip in the official papal entourage —

Asked about her own emotions prior to the first official trip with the pope, she said “it is an incredible honor and privilege to to be seated as part of his entourage.”

“It’s incredibly emotional to think about a journey that is going to tell us so much about his heart,” she said.

Pointing to one of the earlier questions about Uruguay — the most secularized country on the apostolic trip itinerary, Alvarado said: “Why not? Everyone needs to hear the message of Jesus Christ, and that is part of who Pope Leo is.”

She said the pontiff “understands that he’s not only going to talk to countries and representatives there, he’s going to meet people and meet hearts and hopefully inspire them to look again for the places where the Church was big and now is small” and “reconsider.”

“That’s very much a part of where my heart is and why I said yes to this job.”

(OSV News) – Surrounded by the tombs and monuments of Rome’s largest cemetery, Pope Leo XIV offered All Souls’ Day Mass Nov. 2, saying prayer for the dead helps lead our loved ones toward full communion with the Lord.

“Dear brothers and sisters, our faith in Christ tells us that our bond with the faithful departed is not severed, but transformed,” Pope Leo said at the Mass in the Campo Verano Cemetery, which covers more than 200 acres.

“Through our prayers for the dead, we accompany our loved ones toward full communion with the Lord — that communion which we truly already taste here, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist,” he said. “Inspired by this faith full of hope, we continue our earthly journey, awaiting the day when He will wipe away every tear, when ‘there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’ (Rev 21:4).”

On All Souls’ Day, or the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, the universal church prays for the souls of all those in purgatory. On that day and throughout the entire month of November is customary for Catholics to go to pray in a cemetery and to ask for Masses to be said in remembrance of those who have died.

In his homily in the cemetery, Pope Leo reflected on how “the Beatitudes are the path to a full and fulfilled life, both now and for eternity.”

“Among the eight Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew, there is one that touches us in a special way today: ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted’ (Mt 5:4),” the pope said. “At this moment, we wish to pray for all those who have recently lost a loved one; in particular, for those from whom a loved one has been torn away by the senseless violence of war.”

He added, “May the tears of so many mothers, so many children, and so many elderly people touch the consciences of those who have the power to silence the weapons.”

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the vicar general of Rome, and the parish priest of the nearby Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, were among those who concelebrated the outdoor Mass with the pope as the sun began to set on the overcast day in Rome.

On Nov. 5, the day before leaving for South America, Pope Leo will celebrate a morning Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the cardinals and bishops who have died during the past year.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (OSV News) – Five Franciscan friars killed in present-day Georgia for defending Church teaching in 1597 were beatified Oct. 31 in a Mass where Church leaders considered their witness amid historical complexities and contemporary challenges.

The Mass at the Savannah Convention Center began at 11 a.m. with Cardinal Frank Leo of Toronto, the papal delegate, as principal celebrant.

“The 16th-century Franciscan friars from Spain, courageous missionaries ministering to the Guale people in La Florida, are bright lights for our journey of faith, as they reflect the light of Christ into the challenges and complexities of a wounded world,” he said in the homily. “It is imperative to remember those blessed souls who have gone before us, marked with the sign of faith, especially those who gave the supreme witness of their very lives.”

Concelebrating bishops included Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, papal nuncio to the U.S.; Bishop Stephen D. Parkes of Savannah; Bishop J. Kevin Boland, bishop emeritus of Savannah; Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer of Atlanta; Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo of Mérida and Badajoz, Spain; and Archbishop Joan-Enric Vives i Sicília of Urgell, Spain, a delegate of Spain’s episcopal conference.

Also concelebrating the Mass were Father Michael Perry, provincial minister of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe of the Order of Friars Minor, and Father Giovangiuseppe Califano, the order’s postulator general, along with dozens of other priests. The liturgy included both English and Spanish, with Latin included in the hymns.

— ‘Unconquered heralds of Christ’ —

Near the beginning of Mass, Bishop Parkes made the official request for beatification to Cardinal Leo, briefly outlining the history of the friars’ cause. He noted that the Church is celebrating a Jubilee Year marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscans.

Bishop Perry read short biographies in English of each of the Georgia Martyrs, drawn from contemporary accounts and records, followed by the biographies in Spanish read by Father Pablo Migone, the Diocese of Savannah’s vicar of mission advancement and one of the driving forces behind the effort to recognize the Georgia Martyrs formally as saints of the Church.

Cardinal Leo then read aloud Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic letter proclaiming the five friars beatified. Archbishop Hartmayer, a Conventual Franciscan friar, read the letter in English, and Archbishop Vives i Sicília read the letter in Spanish.

The letter, which Pope Leo signed in Rome Sept. 30, 2026, the feast of St. Jerome, called the Georgia Martyrs “unconquered heralds of Christ” who “placed the saving truth of the Gospel before their own safety.” It also established Sept. 22 as the martyrs’ liturgical memorial.

With the official proclamation, the official beatification image of the five friars was unveiled to the hymn “Holy God, we praise thy name.” Drawing on traditional depictions of the martyrs, the artwork “The Georgia Martyrs” by Savannah artist Jared Matthew Seff won a contest for the official image held this year by the Diocese of Savannah.

— 1597 Guale Uprising —

In 1597, the Spanish Franciscans Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, Miguel de Añon, Antonio de Badajoz and Francisco de Veráscola were ministering at five missions along the coast and barrier islands of present-day Georgia when they were killed out of hatred for the faith by a band of Indigenous men between Sept. 14-17.

The friars’ murders were prompted by Father de Corpa angering the heir to a Guale chiefdom, Juanillo, by telling him that as a baptized Christian, he could not follow his culture’s custom and take a second wife. Juanillo and his men killed the priest at a mission near the contemporary city of Eulonia, Georgia, before killing four of the other five Franciscan missionaries ministering in the area. The sixth friar, Francisco de Avila, was kidnapped and tortured for months before being set free. The incident is known as the 1597 Guale Uprising.

At the time, the Spaniards knew the wider coastal area as La Florida, home to the settlement of St. Augustine, established in 1565. By 1595, the friars had established five missions along the coast. Prior to their murders, the six Franciscans appear to have lived among the Guale and other indigenous peoples in peace, without a military presence, for two years.

The beatification Mass drew around 10,000 attendees. The processional cross was adorned with palms, a traditional sign of martyrdom. The liturgy included a choir and orchestra. A setting of Psalm 116 in Spanish by Marc Cerisier and a motet for Communion titled “Eternal Glory” by Jessica French were composed for the liturgy.

— Martyrs’ witness to Church teaching on matrimony —

In remarks after the beatification rite, Bishop Parkes said, “I truly believe that through the intercession of Blessed Pedro de Corpa and four companions there will be greater respect for the dignity and character of the sacrament of holy matrimony.”

He continued: “May the witness of these holy men inspire fidelity between spouses, called into the covenantal bond of holy matrimony and help to create a renewed commitment to the growth of faith-filled families in the state of Georgia and beyond.”

In the homily, preached in English and Spanish, Cardinal Leo spoke about the martyrs’ witness to the truth of Church teaching and how their lives 400 years ago challenge Christians to more deeply embrace their faith today. In Spanish, the cardinal sent a special greeting to the delegation that came from Spain to share in this moment of faith and joy.

With their beatification, “these newly minted blesseds are constituted powerful intercessors and extraordinary examples for every believer,” he said.

“Fidelity to Christ himself is the glory of the martyrs,” Cardinal Leo said. “The Church considers martyrdom an exceptional gift, and as the fullest proof of life.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that martyrdom “is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith. It means bearing witness even unto death,” he said, quoting paragraph 2473. “The martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose, to whom he is united by charity. He bears witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine. He endures death through an act of fortitude.”

“For those who have not entered into the mystery of God in Christ, their death might seem as a total and utter catastrophe, but it is not so,” he said.

Pointing to the Mass’ Gospel reading from John 15:18-21, Cardinal Leo said, “St. John sets the record straight.”

“Whoever is begotten by God conquers the world, and the victory that conquers the world is our faith,” he said. “Who indeed is the victor over the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

“Very often today, aspects of the Catholic faith are challenged by many, and in countless ways we are cajoled and tempted to water down the very demands of the Gospel — to compromise the integrity of our faith, and to conform ourselves to the spirit of this age,” he continued.

With the martyrs’ witness, “we come to comprehend more clearly” the need to conform one’s life to Christ, “and to see everything and anyone in our life — relationships, studies, work and ministry — in relation to him and to his eternal kingdom.”

— Faith the greatest gift to share —

Cardinal Leo noted that the beatification coincided with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in the United States and the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ death.

“Of the many gifts we can give to others, the faith is among the greatest,” he said. While Christians can share their time, resources and belongings, “preaching, teaching, sharing and witnessing to the faith is truly No. 1 on the list,” he said.

The martyrs’ example helps young people in particular, he said, “to appreciate that no greater treasure can be found in this earthly existence than following Jesus with an undivided heart and using generously our gifts to serve others and to build up God’s kingdom. The meaning, the purpose, and the joy we experience in living for the Lord is unparalleled.”

He concluded: “There are still some things today worth living and dying for.”

— Trees at beatification to be planted at martyrs’ monument —

As the Mass ended, Bishop Parkes gave thanks to God for the witness of Blessed Pedro de Corpa and his four companions. He recognized the Church dignitaries present at the beatification and the work of those who helped to advance the martyrs’ cause and efforts to prepare the beatification liturgy.

He said that the eight palm trees used during the beatification to adorn the convention center would be transplanted at the Georgia Martyrs’ monument at Nativity of Our Lady Catholic Church in Darien, Georgia.

“If you happen to be driving by, perhaps you will stop, say a prayer and give thanks to God for the graces received and for family life,” he said.

— A long road to beatification —

Reports from civil and religious leaders in the months and years after the Franciscans’ deaths reveal that the slain friars’ contemporaries saw them as martyrs. New research in the 20th century about the history of La Florida and the Georgia Martyrs bolstered efforts to move forward with a cause for their beatification.

The Mass program recognized the many people over decades who were instrumental to the martyrs’ cause, dating back to Bishop John M. Gannon of Erie, Pennsylvania, who served as that diocese’s shepherd from 1920-1966, proposed that the U.S. bishops petition the Holy See for the Georgia Martyrs’ cause.

The names of the Georgia Martyrs were included in two efforts in the early 20th century to launch canonization causes for people, many of whom were missionaries, martyred for the faith over the course of several centuries in the United States and surrounding countries. After neither effort moved forward, the Franciscans decided to focus their efforts on a group of martyrs who died for the same reason, honing in on Blessed Pedro de Corpa and companions.

With the support of the Order of Franciscans Minor, the Diocese of Savannah opened the cause for the martyrs’ canonization in February 1984 under Savannah’s Bishop Raymond W. Lessard, who died in 2016. In January 2025, Pope Francis authorized the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to formally recognize the five friars’ martyrdom “in hatred of the faith” and they received the title “venerable.”

The Mass’ program also recognized the contributions of Franciscan Father Conrad Harkins, the former vice-postulator for the cause who died in 2020, and David Hurst Thomas, senior curator in residence for North American Archaeology at the American Museum of Natural History, “for their extraordinary contributions” to the cause. “Their work on the ruins of Mission Santa Catalina de Guale shed new light on the intersection of Chiefdom, Crown, and Church during the Spanish mission period on the Georgia coast,” it stated.

— Location of Georgia Martyrs’ relics a mystery —

While what was recovered of the martyrs’ relics was linked to miraculous cures, their current location is unknown. Remains of all the friars but Friar Francisco were identified after their deaths, and their relics and some other personal items were collected in the months and years that followed and brought to St. Augustine. Some scholars speculate that Franciscans took the martyrs’ remains with them to Cuba when St. Augustine transferred to British rule in 1763. A skull recovered at the Fort King George State Historical Site in Darien may have belonged to one of the friars and is being tested to learn more about its origins.

On Nov. 1, Archbishop Hartmayer will preside over, with Bishop Parkes concelebrating, a Mass of thanksgiving at 11:30 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, which will also be livestreamed at the cathedral’s website, savannahcathedral.org.

The Georgia Martyrs’ beatification was the second beatification to take place in the United States this year. In September, Blessed Fulton J. Sheen was beatified by papal delegate Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.

Beatification is the second-to-last stage in the process that seeks canonization, by which the pope proclaims that a person is truly in heaven. A beatification comes after the person’s life, reputation and writings are investigated. For martyrs, beatification does not require the confirmation of a miracle attributed to their intercession. However, a miracle is usually required for canonization.