Category: Diocese of Scranton News

HAZLETON – On the weekend of the Third Sunday of Lent, hundreds of people in the greater Hazleton area encountered the story of a modern-day saint whose devotion to the Eucharist continues to inspire believers around the world.

Parishioners from the Hazleton Deanery and beyond were invited to visit Most Precious Blood Church March 7-9 to view an exhibit on Saint Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint to be canonized by the Catholic Church.

The traveling display, on loan from Malvern Retreat House in southeast Pennsylvania, features more than 100 Eucharistic miracles that Acutis researched and cataloged before his death from leukemia in 2006 at the age of fifteen.

Using his skills in computer programming, the Italian teenager designed a website to share the stories of these miracles – a project that continues to evangelize people today.

The exhibit was put on display as part of the Hazleton Deanery’s ‘Road to Resurrection’ initiative for Lent 2026 – a series of opportunities for the faithful to deepen their relationship with Christ during the Lenten season.

The ‘Road to Resurrection’ events began on March 5 with a Holy Hour at Saint John Bosco Church, where more than 300 people gathered in prayer with the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton.

For Father Anthony Generose, pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish, said the activities all came together as the result of a Spirit-led collaboration across the deanery.

“This has all come together by God’s grace and the Holy Spirit,” Father Generose said.

Father Generose said he was particularly touched by a video on Saint Carlo Acutis that was part of the exhibit.

“When you watch the video, you get to see this child that can connect with adults and with youth,” he explained. “I sat there and I wept. I’ve never had the experience of listening to the mother of a saint speak about her son and his friends and the adults that grew up with him in Italy.”

Parishioner Maureen Franzosa suggested bringing the exhibit to Hazleton after encountering it while visiting family near Philadelphia. Franzosa first experienced the display while visiting her granddaughter, who had been asked to reflect on Acutis as part of her Confirmation preparation.

“I walked in and got this serene feeling of peace,” Franzosa said. “I couldn’t believe everything that this young man, in his short life up to 15, had done to try to connect us to the Eucharist.”

She believes the young saint’s witness offers an important connection for youth today.

“He’s a millennial saint. I think he could speak to our youth who need some kind of connection today,” she added.

That same hope inspired members of the Our Lady of Peace Parish Vocation Ministry Team, who helped welcome visitors throughout the weekend.

“One of the target groups for us, as a vocation committee, is the young. We want to bring more teenagers back to the church,” parishioner Nicole Composto said.

As visitors moved from panel to panel, they encountered detailed accounts of Eucharistic miracles from around the world – events recognized by the Church as scientifically inexplicable signs connected to the Blessed Sacrament.

“The displays, the pictures, (they’re) all beautiful,” Composto expressed. “I didn’t realize how many Eucharistic miracles there were. It’s overwhelming to walk through and see how many.”

Judy Kotzer, 84, was also struck by the number of Eucharistic miracles.

“A lot of times we go to Communion and don’t really realize what is there,” she said. “But this really shows us.”

DUPONT – Two newly linked parishes in Luzerne County joined forces at the start of Lent to offer something they had not experienced in years – a parish mission designed to renew hearts and strengthen unity in Christ.

From Feb. 26-28, parishioners from Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, Dupont, and Queen of the Apostles Parish, Avoca, gathered for “Return to the Heart of the Father,” a three-day Lenten retreat led by national Catholic speaker Allan Wright.

Hosted at both parish churches, the retreat featured opportunities for Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Stations of the Cross, a communal penance service and multiple presentations – along with shared meals that gave parishioners time to connect.

“We decided to begin Lent with three days of prayer to reflect upon God’s love for us as we return to the heart of the Father,” Father Thomas Petro, pastor of both parishes, said.

This marks the first Lent the two communities are together in a formal linkage, and the retreat was planned intentionally to build a sense of togetherness.

“It was our hope to allow the parishioners from both parishes to come together and get to know each other in a better way, but also find unity in Christ,” Father Petro added.

The mission was made possible through a grant from the Catholic Ministries Appeal.
Wright, an author, adjunct professor at Seton Hall University and Executive Director of the N.J. Family Policy Center, brought Scripture to life through real life stories.

He encouraged participants to recognize the “silent witnesses” of the Gospel – figures such as the servants at Cana and the friends of the paralytic – who made a difference without saying a word.

He also focused on practical reflections of family life and discipleship.

“So much of what Jesus does takes place in the home – his teaching, healing, forgiving, sharing meals – it doesn’t take place on the sandy shores of the Galilee or the bustling streets of Jerusalem but in the home,” he added. “How can we bring our faith alive in the home?”

Parishioners said the retreat left a lasting impression.

“I thought it was fantastic,” parishioner Gary Beccaloni said. “I loved his presentation, his humor, it was an amazing three days.”

Scott Hilenski, who attended all three days, appreciated the insights Wright provided.

“He had a great way of portraying images through meditations that he’s had from different parts of Scripture that you usually don’t hear about,” he said.

In the days since the retreat ended, Father Petro said it offered much more than simply words of positive feedback.

“This retreat, for us, provided us with a great gift – inner renewal,” Father Petro stated. “I could really feel among our people a certain joy and lightness of spirit.”

WILKES-BARRE – Each Friday during Lent, the faithful gather at Saint Robert Bellarmine Parish for a tradition that blends prayer, sacrifice and fellowship.

Known as ‘Stations and Soup,’ the weekly gathering begins with Stations of the Cross at Saint Aloysius Church at 12:10 p.m., followed by a simple meatless meal shared among parishioners and visitors.

“It’s a meager meal,” Father Richard Cirba, pastor of Saint Robert Bellarmine Parish, said. “During Lent, there is obviously no meat on Friday, so the people who make the soup prepare things like clam chowder or cream of broccoli.”

While the meal offers nourishment, the focus of each week’s gathering remains on the centuries-old devotion of the Stations of the Cross, which invites the faithful to reflect on Christ’s journey to Calvary.

“The Stations are a powerful devotion because they allow us to walk the road with Jesus – the 14 Stations of the Cross,” Father Cirba explained. “We do it out of love for Him and because He died for our sins and for our salvation.”

Following the prayer service, parishioners gather to share soup, bread, and conversation.

“We usually have five different types of soup,” parishioner Peg Warmouth said. “It’s nice because it gets people together that we don’t see every day because we all go to different Masses. We also have people who don’t belong to our parish who come. Everybody is welcome.”

Barbara Flora, another parishioner who helps prepare soup for the gathering, said the meal reflects the spirit of sacrifice that marks the Lenten season.

“It is my little offering that I can do, and I bring it here to share it with people,” Flora said.

For many participants, the gathering offers more than a meal – it provides an opportunity to build relationships within the parish community.

“One of the sweetest things is the camaraderie,” Flora added. “You get a chance to speak with people that you don’t get a chance to see during the week. You see them at Mass, and you see them for Stations – but you don’t know their names yet – so you can sit with them and enjoy being together with one another.”

In a busy world, Father Cirba believes the ‘Stations and Soup’ tradition offers an opportunity to pause, pray, and remember the meaning of the Lenten season.

“We live in a world that is in desperate need of peace and justice,” he said. “This is one of my favorite devotions during Lent because it helps us to grow in our love for Jesus and the cross.”

VATICAN CITY (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV announced March 19 that he is asking the presidents of all bishops’ conferences around the world to convene in Rome in October to renew and deepen the Church’s discussion on marriage and family in light of “Amoris Laetitia.”

The pope issued the invitation at the end of a message marking the 10th anniversary of the signing of “Amoris Laetitia,” Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the pastoral care of families published after the 2014 and 2015 Synods on the Family.

“In light of the changes that continue to impact families, I have decided to convene the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences from around the world in October 2026, in an effort to proceed, in mutual listening, to a synodal discernment on the steps to be taken in order to proclaim the Gospel to families today, in light of Amoris Laetitia and taking into account what is currently being done in the local Churches,” Pope Leo said.

“I entrust this journey to the intercession of Saint Joseph, guardian of the Holy Family of Nazareth,” he added.

“Amoris Laetitia,” Latin for “The Joy of Love,” was signed by Pope Francis on March 19, 2016, and released publicly the following April. The document, which runs more than 50,000 words, addressed married life and love, children, extended family, education and related pastoral challenges, with special attention to integrating wounded or marginalized families into the life of the Church.

“Our era is marked by rapid changes which make it necessary, even more than ten years ago, to give particular pastoral attention to families, to whom the Lord entrusts the task of participating in the Church’s mission of proclaiming and witnessing to the Gospel,” Pope Leo explained in the message.

He added that there are “places and circumstances in which the Church ‘can become the salt of the earth’ only through the lay faithful and, in particular, through families.”

“For this reason, the Church’s commitment in this area must be renewed and deepened, so that those whom the Lord calls to marriage and family life can, in Christ, fully live out their conjugal love, and that young people may feel attracted, within the Church, to the beauty of the vocation to marriage.”
At the time of its publication, “Amoris Laetitia” garnered an uneven reception. While Church leaders generally praised the exhortation’s aim of improving pastoral care for families, it met swift and sharp criticism for some ambiguities that appeared difficult to reconcile with Church teaching, especially pertaining to divorced Catholics in new civil unions, without a prior declaration of nullity, and their reception of the Eucharist. Disagreement among theologians and Church leaders persists over these elements.

Pope Leo called the document “a luminous message of hope regarding conjugal love and family life” adding that both “Amoris Laetitia” and St. John Paul II’s 1981 exhortation, “Familiaris Consortio,” “strengthened the Church’s doctrinal and pastoral commitment to the service of young people, married couples and families.”

“On this 10th anniversary, we give thanks to the Lord for the stimulus that has encouraged reflection and pastoral conversion in the Church, and ask God for the courage to persevere on this path, always welcoming the Gospel anew in the joy of being able to proclaim it to all,” Pope Leo said.

(OSV News) – Registration for public events during the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage opened March 18, revealing abundant opportunities for Catholics to join the nine “perpetual pilgrims” traveling the East Coast route from Florida to Maine that culminates in an Independence Day weekend celebration in Philadelphia.

The pilgrimage runs May 24-July 5. As in the two previous pilgrimages held in 2024 and 2025, the 2026 pilgrims and their chaplains will accompany the Eucharist throughout the route, even as they travel in their van. Public pilgrimage events focus on the Eucharist with Mass, adoration and processions, as well as charitable service and fellowship.

The public can register to attend pilgrimage events at eucharisticpilgrimage.org.

“In the past few years we’ve witnessed a powerful renewal of Eucharistic faith across the country,” said Jason Shanks, National Eucharistic Congress president, in a March 18 statement. “The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is one of the most visible expressions of that renewal, as believers bring Jesus in the Eucharist out into our streets and communities and inviting people everywhere to encounter Him.”

With the theme “One Nation Under God,” the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage route commemorates key Catholic landmarks and events in American Catholic history as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The pilgrimage’s route includes public events in 18 dioceses and archdioceses and two Eastern Rite eparchies in 13 states and the District of Columbia.

The pilgrimage will launch Memorial Day weekend with Mass at Our Lady of La Leche Shrine at Mission Nombre De Dios in St. Augustine, Florida, the site of the first Mass celebrated on American soil in 1565. It will also include commemorations of the Georgia Martyrs, five Franciscan missionaries who were killed for their faith in 1597, whose beatification is expected Oct. 31; the celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi in the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia; and stops in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the nation’s first Catholic diocese and home to the United States’ first Catholic cathedral.

Other stops include a blessing over Washington from the Arlington Memorial Bridge, a Eucharistic procession through downtown Washington, and, in Boston, a Eucharistic procession along the Freedom Trail and an outdoor Mass on Lexington Battle Green.

Shrines and basilicas that the pilgrimage will visit also include the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington and the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

The route ends with 24 hours of Eucharistic adoration in the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia followed by a closing Mass and Eucharistic procession through the streets of the city.

In the National Eucharistic Congress’ statement, Archbishop Nelson J. Perez of Philadelphia said hosting the pilgrimage’s closing events is a “joy” for him and his local Church. He noted that his diocese is the only in the country to house two saints, St. Katharine Drexel and St. John Neumann.

Philadelphia is “the place that Catholics can reference to remember our history in this great country and the future we are building here,” he said. “We will humbly and proudly bring Our Lord into the streets of this historic city to commemorate what is equally our heritage and our call as Christians to live as One Nation Under God.”

The route is dedicated to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, an Italian-American religious sister who cared for the immigrants and poor in New York during the turn of the 20th century, and who was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint. Pilgrimage events in Philadelphia include multiple showings of “Cabrini,” the 2024 biopic of her life.

The National Eucharistic Congress nonprofit organizes the pilgrimage, which first took place in 2024 ahead of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis as part of the National Eucharistic Revival, and which returned last summer with a route from Indianapolis to Los Angeles.

Dioceses and archdioceses with stops along the route are St. Augustine; Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Arlington, Virginia; Washington; Baltimore; Wilmington, Delaware; Camden, New Jersey; Paterson, New Jersey; Springfield, Massachusetts; Manchester, New Hampshire; Portland, Maine; Boston; Fall River, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; and Philadelphia.

This year’s pilgrimage will take place in solidarity with the U.S. bishops’ call to consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It also aims to broadly involve the Church in the U.S. through a campaign to offer 250,000 Holy Hours “for the renewal and blessing of America,” according to its website.

Catholics can also participate spiritually through submitting prayer intentions and attending an online lecture series highlighting “the enduring Christian and Catholic ideals that define and sustain America’s national identity,” according to organizers. The free, weekly lectures will be available on the National Eucharistic Congress’ Manna app.

“As we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation, this pilgrimage is a powerful reminder that the deepest foundation of our country is our dependence on God,” said Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, who is chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress, in a statement. “By carrying the Eucharist across our nation and gathering in prayer, we are asking the Lord to renew the Church and to bless our country so that we may truly be one nation under God.”

Online merchandise for the pilgrimage is also available at the National Eucharistic Revival Store, which currently lists shirts, mugs and pins with the “One Nation Under God” Cabrini route logo.

According to organizers, the site of the 2029 National Eucharistic Congress will also be soon announced.

(OSV News) – While the religiously unaffiliated are on the rise globally, something curious is also happening: Some dioceses have reported significant upticks in adults preparing to enter the Catholic Church this Easter.

Sherry Anne Weddell, the co-founder and executive director of the Catherine of Siena Institute in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and an expert in Catholic evangelization, said that the “high point” of adult Catholics joining the Catholic Church in the U.S. was in 1999, with 172,000 adult baptisms and receptions.

“And then there was just a steady sort of decline,” she said.

That has since changed.

“There was significant growth between 2023 and 2024,” she told OSV News. And while the data for 2025 and 2026 have yet to be published, “the numbers that are being reported are getting bigger and bigger.”

The 2024 Official Catholic Directory reported that in 2023, 619,775 people entered the Catholic Church in U.S. Latin-rite dioceses. Of those, 77.6% were infant baptisms, 9.5% were baptisms of minors, 4.8% (29,752) were adult baptisms, and 8.1% (50,490) were receptions into full communion from another Christian tradition, which could include adults or minors.

In 2024, adult baptisms and receptions (adults and minors) increased again to 34,552 and 55,453, respectively, according to the 2025 Official Catholic Directory.

This year, the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, is among dioceses reporting an uptick in Catholic conversions, with 1,701 individuals preparing to join the Church — a 30% increase since 2025, a 48% increase since 2024 and a 72% increase since 2023. Of those, 645 catechumens will celebrate the sacraments of baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist during the Easter Vigil on April 4 –a 14% rise since 2025, a 41% rise since 2024 and a 75% rise since 2023.

Father Armand Mantia, the archdiocese’s director of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults — the Catholic adult initiation process — says the Church’s lasting stability contributes to the rising numbers.

“In this nebulous world of gray, the Catholic Church has offered some black and white,” he said. “They see in the Catholic Church a consistency in teaching, a consistency in values, a historical provenance and scriptural providence to what we’re doing.”

In Ohio, the Diocese of Cleveland has more than doubled its OCIA “class” since 2023. In Virginia, the Diocese of Richmond is touting a “record” 900 to be baptized at Easter. In Indiana, the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend held its 2026 Rite of Election outside its cathedral — in a larger parish church — to also accommodate growing numbers.

In the Archdiocese of Boston, more than 680 catechumens plan to join the Church at Easter, an increase from last year’s 450, and previous years’ average of 250-300. Boston Archbishop Richard G. Henning “has been saying that there’s some sort of revival,” said Patrick Krisak, the archdiocese’s director of faith formation and missionary discipleship.

“There may not be a revival across the country, but there are revivals,” he said. “And at what point do all of those pockets of revival that we’re seeing all over the country add up to a revival?”

Krisak cited liturgy, certainty amid change and moral leadership as possible attractions. There is also old-fashioned rebellion, he said.

“There’s also the sense in which generations like to be countercultural,” he said. “If you’re rebelling against the folks who rebelled against the establishments, then you’re in some sense perhaps turning back to some aspects of the establishment.”

In the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, the one of the largest OCIA groups in recent memory attended this year’s Rite of Election, where catechumens present themselves to their local bishop as they begin their final preparations to join the Church.

The rise began in 2023, when the number was about 700. That grew to 1,000 the following year, then 1,200, and this year to 1,700 registered.

Last year, Archbishop Alexander K. Sample told the new converts it was their turn to bring someone to the Church. It appears to have made an impact, Father Randy Hoang, the Portland Archdiocese’s assistant director of the Office of Divine Worship, told OSV News.

“We are witnessing a broader renewal among our people,” he said. “Many are beginning to live what was once a largely private faith more openly in daily public life, and that witness is now bearing fruit.”

In the Archdiocese of Denver, catechumens jumped from 669 in 2022 to 936 in 2024. Andrew McGown, the archdiocesan executive director of mission and evangelization, said the Denver Archdiocese has indeed “seen a statistical increase, but when you average that out around our 120 pastorates, it’s really only three people per parish more than we had three years ago — so it’s not staggeringly larger numbers.”

However, he added: “What I know is happening in our parishes is that we have a considerably larger amount of energy being put into trying to offer programs, initiatives, events that are geared towards those who are not in the community.”

Several of the diocesan representatives who spoke with OSV News noted that their increased OCIA numbers are not attributable to a post-COVID postponement of sacraments, as that time has passed.

Catholic ministries on college campuses are reflecting growth as well. St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M University brought 70 people into the Church this past November, while at the University of Notre Dame, 125 new Catholics — the largest group there in at least 25 years — received the sacraments last Easter. This year, Notre Dame expects to surpass that number with 163 catechumens and candidates.

This past semester, Arizona State University’s Newman Center welcomed 52 students into the Church, and they are expecting 50 more for the 2026 Easter Vigil. The previous record for any year was 39 in 2019. Ben Power, the OCIA coordinator at ASU’s Newman Center, attributes that growth to “relationships and communities that are being built and spread across ASU’s campus.”

Reports of more adults joining the Catholic Church “is true not just in the U.S., but in significant parts of Europe,” Weddell said.

The Archdiocese of Paris will welcome 788 converts this Easter, its largest group ever. The Archdiocese of Westminster, England, reported its highest number of converts since 2011 and a 60% increase from 2025 to 2026. Dioceses in Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands have also reported increased numbers of people joining the Church in recent years.

In the United States, some 92% of Catholics are “cradle Catholics” — people who say they were raised Catholic and also say they are Catholic when asked about their religion today. The remaining 8% are converts to Catholicism.

“What if, instead of 8 or 9%, we went to 20%?” asked Weddell. “It changes the dynamic.”

“Traditionally, almost all Catholics were cradle Catholics,” she explained. “We could be moving into a new kind of American Catholic culture, in which intentional Catholicism is much more common than inherited Catholicism.”

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, a national, nonprofit research center that conducts social scientific studies about the Catholic Church at Georgetown University, counseled that reports of increased numbers of converts are still at this point anecdotal. The nation’s nearly 200 dioceses and archdioceses will not begin formally reporting 2025 sacramental data until early 2026, and those figures will only be publicly available with the release of the 2026 Official Catholic Directory later this year.

And yet, “There’s this growth in the numbers,” affirmed Weddell, who visits dioceses from coast to coast. “Many of the parishes I’ve talked to say, ‘Yeah, we’re seeing it — in our own small way.'”

(OSV News) – One by one, inside the University of Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart March 16, a flock of priests gently patted the pall atop the casket as they descended from the altar following the funeral Mass for legendary football coach Lou Holtz.

The gentle yet firm sign of respect, which invoked an image of a heavenly high five, seemed most appropriate given the life Holtz had led.

However, as Notre Dame’s president, Holy Cross Father Robert Dowd, told the packed basilica, football stood yards behind Holtz’s most important legacy.

“We are here to commend to God a man who was a Hall of Fame football coach, a United States Medal of Freedom recipient, one of the most inspiring speakers of his generation, a man of remarkable wit who appeared regularly on late-night television shows, and, in his later years, a celebrated sports commentator,” Father Dowd said. “That was the Lou Holtz the world knew, and all the accolades are justified.

“Today, however, in this funeral Mass, I want to speak about another side of Lou Holtz that was not always on public display. I will speak of a man of faith whose faith guided his life; a man of love who showed that love to everyone he encountered; and a man committed to excellence not just for himself, but for everyone around him.”

Holtz, described as a motivator, taskmaster and perfectionist, championed his Catholic faith both privately and publicly. He died March 4 in Orlando, Florida, after more than a month in hospice care. He was 89.

One of the most decorated college football coaches of all time, Holtz completed a career of more than five decades with 249 victories, a national championship during his 11 years at Notre Dame, numerous prestigious awards, and the distinction of being the only coach to lead six programs to bowl games and four programs to top-15 final rankings.

Father Dowd painted a human portrait of a man who grew up in Ohio during the Depression yet rose to uncommon heights in the game he loved.

“My intention today is not to paint a halo around Lou’s head and gloss over his faults,” Father Dowd said. “Lou’s tough love was indeed genuine and deep love. He wanted you to be the very best version of yourself and refused to accept anything less.”

Father Dowd spoke about Holtz’s generosity. He would travel to help former players build businesses and, with his late wife, Beth, supported the South Bend Center for the Homeless and the Lou and Beth Holtz Homeless Center in Columbia, South Carolina.

Liz Holtz told Father Dowd that she recalled her father approaching panhandlers in cities not with spare change, but with encouragement and support.

“Rather than simply handing over spare change, Lou would give the person a vintage Lou Holtz pep talk about cleaning up, getting some new clothes and getting their life back,” Father Dowd said. “And then he would give them $200 to help them do just that.”

Holtz, who attended daily Mass regardless of schedule, lived the Gospel message.

“‘I give you a new commandment,’ Jesus told us. ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ Lou’s daily effort to put that into practice grew out of a faith that was the center of his life.”
Faith and prayer, said Father Dowd, were not “additions” to Holtz’s life. “They were its foundation,” he said. “They made him the man he was.”

Family was “the anchor of his life,” Father Dowd said, his “most cherished and indispensable team.” Beth, his wife of 59 years, was his “partner, confidante, counselor, the love of his life. It could not always have been easy to be married to someone with Lou’s charisma, drive and uncompromising commitment to excellence. Beth’s calm, prayerful, steady, strong demeanor was the perfect match.

“Lou Holtz made people around him better,” Father Dowd added. “Beth Holtz made Lou better.”

Echoing his father’s legacy, his son Skip — one of seven pallbearers — delivered a eulogy.

“For 89 years, he had the opportunity to live his ‘dash,'” Skip said. “He was a complicated man. I think everybody in this church maybe has seen a different side of him. As his children, we’ve seen them all — and I mean all of them. He was complicated, yet he was simple. He was old school. He believed that circumstances don’t define who you are — but choices do.”

Skip admired how his father embodied Notre Dame’s values.

“He loved his family,” he said, referring to his four children, nine grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and late wife. “He was an author of five books … served in the Army … a builder.

“If he were a shoe salesman, he would fit everybody in this church with a size 24 DD, because he believed you could grow into it.”

PHILADELPHIA (OSV News) – As the U.S. marks its 250th anniversary, Pope Leo XIV will be honored in the nation’s former capital of Philadelphia for his efforts to promote religious liberty as well as freedom of expression and conscience.

The National Constitution Center will bestow its Liberty Medal on Pope Leo July 3 during a public ceremony outside its location at Independence Mall in Philadelphia, part of Independence National Historical Park, home to several sites of historical significance in the nation’s founding.

Following the ratification of the Constitution, Philadelphia was the nation’s capital from 1790 until 1800, when that designation was transferred to Washington.

Established in 1988 to mark the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, and hosted by the center since 2006, the Liberty Medal honors both individuals and organizations “who strive to secure the blessings of liberty to people around the globe,” said the National Constitution Center in its press release.

The center — a private nonprofit that promotes constitutional education and civic debate — announced its decision March 16, noting that the ceremony will take place amid the Independence Week events set to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The pope is set to deliver live acceptance remarks from the Vatican, which will be livestreamed to in-person attendees and online at the center’s website.

Vince Stango, the center’s interim president and CEO, described Pope Leo as a “consistent advocate for religious liberty, freedom of conscience, and human dignity.”

“In formal Vatican statements and public addresses, His Holiness has affirmed that peace cannot exist without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, and freedom of expression, principles that closely align with constitutional protections guaranteed by the First Amendment,” Stango said in a statement.

In its release, the center also noted that since his May 2025 election, the pope “has made interfaith and ecumenical dialogue a defining priority of his pontificate, engaging leaders from Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and other religious communities to promote mutual respect and peaceful coexistence.”

“His outreach reflects a broader moral vision that frames religious liberty not as an abstract right, but as a lived expression of human dignity, particularly for marginalized communities, including religious minorities and those affected by conflict,” said the center.

“As the first American pope, Pope Leo XIV brings a distinctive perspective shaped by democratic ideals and a lifelong commitment to promoting interfaith dialogue,” it added.

Pope Leo is only the second religious leader to receive the award, preceded by 2015 recipient the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Other past recipients include Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Senator John McCain, U.S. Representative John Lewis and human rights advocate Malala Yousafzai.

The Liberty Medal is typically accompanied by a prize sponsored by philanthropists Ira Lubert and Pamela Estadt, with contributions from corporations, foundations, and individuals.

In a statement to OSV News, the center confirmed that the medal “traditionally includes a $100,000 prize,” adding that “the Holy See has not yet indicated how it may be used.”

“Any decisions regarding the prize will be made by the Vatican, and we will share additional information when it becomes available,” the center told OSV News.

A statement in the center’s press release attributed to the Holy See Press Office said Pope Leo was “deeply grateful” for the award during “such a meaningful anniversary for the American people, as they are called to reflect on the 250 years of their history holding the Constitution of the United States and Liberty as hallmarks of their heritage for future generations.”

(OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV called for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East and condemned the “atrocious violence” of the U.S.-Israeli-led war on Iran, which has spread across the region.

After praying the Angelus with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square March 15, the pope expressed his alarm about the deteriorating situation in Lebanon and called for “lasting solutions to the serious ongoing crisis for the common good of all Lebanese people.”

“In the name of the Christians of the Middle East and of all women and men of goodwill, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict: Cease fire! Let the paths of dialogue be reopened,” he said.

As the conflict enters its third week, Tehran accused the United States of launching attacks from the United Arab Emirates, further escalating tensions that have sent global oil prices into a volatile spiral.

According to a March 15 report by The Associated Press, President Donald Trump confirmed the U.S. “obliterated” military sites on Iran’s Kharg Island and warned that the country’s oil infrastructure could be the next target if interference with shipping in the Strait of Hormuz continues.

In response, Iran threatened to retaliate against U.S.-linked energy assets across the region, while Trump has called on international allies to deploy warships to secure the vital waterway, which carries one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Pope Leo’s appeal for peace, particularly in Lebanon, comes after the recent death of Lebanese Maronite Catholic priest Father Pierre al-Rahi, who was killed March 9 after sustaining wounds from Israeli tank fire on a house in Qlayaa, a village in southern Lebanon.

“Thousands of innocent people have been killed, and many others forced to abandon their homes,” the pope told the faithful. “I renew my prayerful closeness to all those who have lost their loved ones in the attacks, which have struck schools, hospitals and residential areas.”

Calling the escalating conflict in Lebanon “a matter of great concern,” the pope appealed for an end to the war and for those involved to return to the negotiating table for the sake of the people.

“Violence can never lead to the justice, stability, and peace that the people await,” Pope Leo said.

(OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV moved into his new apartments at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace March 14, the Holy See Press Office announced that afternoon in Rome. Pope Leo’s new quarters include several rooms, among them the private study — where the pope appears at the window to lead the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square every Sunday — a library and a small chapel. According to Italian media, the apartment also includes a home gym.

With Pope Leo’s return to the Apostolic Palace, his rooms will be different from those of Pope Benedict XVI, the last pope to live in that space. Instead of occupying the traditional papal living quarters, Italian media has reported that Pope Leo will live in a loft, or attic, above the “Third Loggia,” or top floor, of the building. Vatican media has reported that Pope Leo will live with his private secretaries, Msgr. Edgard Rimaycuna and Father Marco Billeri.

Pope Leo’s choice to live in the Apostolic Palace marks a change from his immediate predecessor and a return to more than 100 years of tradition. Pope Francis lived his entire pontificate in a suite in the Vatican guesthouse, formally known as the Domus Sanctae Marthae, preferring to be residing within a larger community.

Pope Leo’s move takes place after months renovation at the Apostolic Palace — and accompanying speculation — during which the Holy Father continued to live at his apartment at the Vatican’s Palazzo del Sant’Uffizio, where he had already been residing while serving as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.

In 1903, St. Pius X became the first pope to live in the apartments overlooking St. Peter’s Square. The apartments were completely remodeled by Pope Paul VI in 1964 and have undergone smaller modifications by each pope since, according to “Mondo Vaticano,” a Vatican-published mini-encyclopedia about Vatican buildings, offices and tradition.

On May 11, 2025, Pope Leo removed the seals that had been placed on the door of the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace on April 21, following the death of Pope Francis.

In St. Peter’s Square on the evening of March 14, it was business as usual as tourists milled around taking in the sights — mostly unaware that a major shift in the life of the pope was happening nearby. A group of Romans who learned from OSV News that the pope was moving into the apostolic palace that day were very excited to hear the news.
And though Pope Leo’s bedroom — for reasons of security and privacy — won’t be as public as that of his predecessors, a small light in the palace was visible from the square — an indicator that the space officially is in use once again.

Vatican News, Catholic News Service and Paulina Guzik, OSV News international editor, contributed to this report.