Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich baptizes an adult man in the baptismal font of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris during Easter Vigil April 4, 2026. (OSV News/Courtesy Archdiocese of Paris/Liam Hoarau)
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What will Pope Leo tell France's surging Catholic converts?

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The pontiff's comments to people preparing for baptism will suggest where he wants to lead the next generation of Catholics and shape their spirituality.

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Pope Leo XIV greets people attending the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, hosted by the Catholic lay movement, Communion and Liberation, in Rimini, Italy, Aug. 22, 2026. (CNS/Vatican Media)

In Focus

Pope Leo once impersonated a Blues Brother. Now, he's met the real thing.

Renowned saxophonist "Blue Lou" Marini, who was part of the Blues Brothers band, gave Pope Leo XIV a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses similar to a pair Leo sported as a young seminarian, when he was dressed up as a member of the Blues Brothers. 

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Most Read Stories

#1
San Antonio priest laicized, excommunicated after calling Popes Francis and Leo 'usurpers'

A priest of the Archdiocese of San Antonio who was "found guilty of schism" has been removed from the clerical state and excommunicated, according to the archbishop of the archdiocese.

BySimone Orendain, OSV News
Portraits of Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the Society of St. Pius X, flank a crucifix in the community room at St. Michael the Archangel Chapel in Farmingville, New York, Feb. 1, 2009. (CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)

#2
Former SSPX member says unity with Catholicism means more than valid ordinations

Louis Massett recounts his formative years and experiences as a young adult immersed in the world of the Society of St. Pius X in the new autobiography Traddyland: The Memoir of a Radical Traditional Catholic.

ByBrian Fraga
The sun sets over the main building and Basilica of the Sacred Heart steeple on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, Nov. 23, 2025. (OSV News/Courtesy University of Notre Dame/Matt Cashore)
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#3
Pope Leo names 3 Notre Dame-affiliated experts to advise major Vatican office

The first U.S.-born pope on Tuesday tapped three experts from U.S. institutions to advise the Catholic Church's central office dedicated to promoting social justice. All three are affiliated with the University of Notre Dame.

ByJustin McLellan

#4
They built careers and their own lives. The call to the priesthood came later.

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Women recall behind-the-scenes work for Archbishop Sheen, ahead of beatification

#6
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Opinion

Vatican

Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly delivers his annual report Aug. 4, 2026, at the 144th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Denver. (OSV News/Denver Catholic/André Escaleira Jr.)

Pope Leo places Knights of Columbus leader on Vatican office for laity

Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly will join the Vatican office responsible for engaging with the Catholic laity and families, another high-profile Vatican appointment from the Catholic Church in the U.S.

Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich baptizes an adult man in the baptismal font of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris during Easter Vigil April 4, 2026. (OSV News/Courtesy Archdiocese of Paris/Liam Hoarau)
Vatican News

What will Pope Leo tell France's surging Catholic converts?

The pontiff's comments to people preparing for baptism will suggest where he wants to lead the next generation of Catholics and shape their spirituality.

ByJustin McLellan
Pope Leo XIV greets people attending the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, hosted by the Catholic lay movement, Communion and Liberation, in Rimini, Italy, Aug. 22, 2026. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Pope Leo once impersonated a Blues Brother. Now, he's met the real thing.

Renowned saxophonist "Blue Lou" Marini, who was part of the Blues Brothers band, gave Pope Leo XIV a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses similar to a pair Leo sported as a young seminarian, when he was dressed up as a member of the Blues Brothers. 

ByNCR Staff
Pope Leo XIV greets visitors and pilgrims during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Aug. 19, 2026. (CNS/Vatican Media)
Vatican News

Pope Leo calls sacred music 'a treasure of profound value'

"Indeed, singing and playing a musical instrument are acts of prayer," the pontiff said. "Music thus fosters our unity in praising God and opens our hearts to be fashioned by his grace."

ByCarol Glatz, Catholic News Service

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EarthBeat

A woman prays as people work together to search for their loved ones amid debris in La Guaira, Venezuela, July 20, 2026, following the aftermath of the June 24 earthquakes. (OSV News/Reuters/Gaby Oraa)

Venezuelan archbishop says hope endures as church rebuilds from catastrophic quakes

One priest told Valencia's archbishop: "We cannot go rescue people; we do not have the machinery, and we do not know how to rescue those who might be under the rubble. But we can, and we do know how to console people."

A person uses an umbrella for shade from the sun while walking near Pike Place Market June 29, 2021, in Seattle. The unprecedented heat dome that summer baked the Pacific Northwest for weeks in record-breaking extreme heat. More than 650 people died across the U.S. and Canada, including at least 19 in Spokane. (AP/Ted S. Warren)

Amid extreme heat trend, Gonzaga University secures law to cool Spokane renters

"I didn't realize how many people were just sweating it out miserable in Spokane because it is so common to just not have any air conditioning in the [rental] unit," said one student who helped promote the ordinance.

ByBrian Roewe

Conversion of heart needed to end wars, heal Earth, pope says

War and environmental destruction are not just political failures, but symptoms of a deep moral crisis in the human heart, Pope Leo XIV said in his message for the 2026 World Day of Prayer for Creation.

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

Colombia: Bogotá archdiocese launches 'spiritual first aid' mission to quake-hit cities

Dozens of clergy from the Archdiocese of Bogotá embarked on a five-day pastoral mission to cities in Colombia devastated by the Aug. 10 earthquake.

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

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University of Dayton returns to its roots with campus farm that feeds its Ohio community

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Pope Leo XIV offers prayers, condolences as bishops urge solidarity following Colombia earthquake

Culture

Fr. Stanley Rother is seen in an image from the documentary "American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story," which is scheduled to be released in theaters nationwide Aug. 25-27. Rother was martyred in 1981 and beatified in 2017. (OSV News/Archdiocese of Oklahoma City)

Review: "American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story"

The documentary, in limited release Aug. 25-27, tells the story of the Oklahoma priest who was martyred in 1981 while serving in Guatemala.

The Italian tailor Filippo Sorcinelli has worked with three popes over two decades, but the biggest change he's seen has been in himself. (Courtesy of Filippo Sorcinelli/Giovanni DeSimoni)

Meet the master tailor who dresses Pope Leo

Italian designer Filippo Sorcinelli talks with NCR about sacred beauty and creating vestments for three different popes.

ByTulio Huggins
Cam Obi, a music producer and musician who has worked with some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B, converted to Catholicism at the Easter Vigil. He was baptized at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Courtesy of Cam Obi)

Grammy-winning rap music producer Cam Obi on his conversion to Catholicism

The producer, rapper, husband and father has been on a spiritual journey for several years, culminating in his conversion to Catholicism this year at the Easter Vigil. 

ByNate Tinner-Williams, Black Catholic Messenger
Julius Rinzel and Ivan Howe play teenage altar servers in "The Saviors," written by Bubba Weiler and directed by Jack Serio. The off-Broadway show is produced by the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City. (Ahron R. Foster)

In 'The Saviors,' a playwright makes space for questions of faith

Bubba Weiler's off-Broadway show is about two eighth-grade altar servers whose encounter with a homeless man in the church leaves them asking questions about Catholicism, God and, ultimately, themselves.  

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Book Reviews

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Salvatorian Srs. Amitha Polimetla (standing, fourth from right) and Sudha Rani Sankili with members of the Nee Thodu Society at their Sustainable Livelihood Centre in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, southeastern India. (Courtesy of Amitha Polimetla)

Q&A with Sr. Amitha Polimetla, accompanying transgender persons in India

"Most transgender persons do not want charity. They want love. They want their parents to accept them, their siblings to stand beside them, and society to treat them with dignity," said Sr. Amitha Polimetla.

Sr. Mary Jo Sobieck, in an image shared on social media by the Chicago White Sox, takes aim before throwing the ceremonial first pitch at the White Sox game Aug. 11. (Courtesy of the Chicago White Sox)

Monday Starter: Nuns spend summer on the pitcher's mound

Plus: Italian mayor's fight with nuns over beach space and Australian documentary spotlights Sisters of Charity of New York.

ByDan Stockman, Rhina Guidos
Daughter of Charity Sr. Oanh Tran cleans up her hair styling station at the Fr. Virgil Cordano Center June 10, 2026, in Santa Barbara, California. (GSR photo/ Rhina Guidos)

With haircuts and healthcare, Catholic nun ministers to Santa Barbara's poor

In her cosmetology and health ministry, Daughter of Charity Sr. Oanh Tran restores clients' dignity, cutting like a surgeon through matted hair, washing and sometimes mending their feet, and listening to their stories.

ByRhina Guidos
Light shines upon a church pew in a dimly lit church interior. (Unsplash/Josh Applegate)
Columns

When liturgy welcomes us — and when it doesn't

Sr. Jane Marie Bradish was invited to address a local parish group. The topic? Inclusion and exclusion as experienced in liturgy. "Don't jump to conclusions," she writes. "This was not liturgical bashing."

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