Pedestrians walk past the emergency entrance at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, March 16, 2010. The 160-year-old hospital closed the following month. (AP/Kathy Willens)

How a long-closed NYC Catholic hospital still provides lessons for the church

Culture

Even though New York's St. Vincent's Medical Center has shuttered, Seton Hall University historian Thomas Rzeznik says the hospital continues to provide important insights for other Catholic institutions today.

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Q&A with Sr. Joanna Okereke, educating US bishops on hidden communities

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A person carries an American flag at the Great American State Fair, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

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We ask Catholic leaders: What's your hope for America at 250?

"What is your hope for America at 250?" Read responses from political leaders (including two former speakers of the House), leaders in ministry, Catholic activism, and Catholic colleges and universities.

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Most Read Stories

Excommunicated Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta elevates the host during an illicit consecration Mass in Écône, Switzerland, celebrated by the Society of St. Pius X on July 1, 2026. The following day, the Vatican declared the four new bishops and those who consecrated them to be schismatics, as well as all the clergy and lay faithful who adhere to the schism. (Courtesy of the Society of St. Pius X)

#1
Vatican declares SSPX bishops, priests schismatic, says lay faithful risk excommunication

After the Society of St. Pius X created four new bishops in defiance of Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican declared that the bishops, the men who consecrated them and the priests and laity who adhered to the schism, had been excommunicated.

ByJustin McLellan
The newly consecrated SSPX bishops process to the seminary courtyard after the July1 consecration outside St. Pius X seminary, in Econe, Switzerland, July 1, 2026. (Courtesy of Society of Saint Pius X)
Vatican News

#2
Defying pope and facing excommunication, SSPX consecrates bishops at huge outdoor Mass

"We want the faith of the church in order to remain in the church, and we want the church within the faith, even if those opposed to us refuse to understand this," said the group's superior general.

ByJustin McLellan
In a combination photo Pope Leo XIV is pictured speaking in northern Italy, June 20, 2026, and Fr. Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, is pictured in 2018 in Econe, Switzerland. (OSV News/Vatican Media/Mario Tomassetti and CPP/KNA/Jean-Matthieu Gautier)
Vatican News

#3
Pope Leo warns traditionalist Catholic group on eve of schism: 'Please turn back!'

"With a sorrowful yet hopeful heart, I feel it is my duty, through the authority received from Christ, to ask you to desist from your intended act," the pope wrote.

ByJustin McLellan

#4
Canon lawyer: Vatican's SSPX schism decree necessary for church unity

#5
SSPX doubles down on defiance of Vatican II in open letter

#6
Listening and courage: How to heal church's rift with Society of St. Pius X

Opinion

Podcast: 'What kind of people does God intend us to be?' asks Wes Howard-Brook

Guest Voices

The Society of St. Pius X shows itself out the door

NCR Voices
Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims holding a flag of the United States as he arrives in St. Peter's Square on the popemobile for his general audience at the Vatican June 18, 2025. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Pope Leo received the Liberty Medal. Here's what 3 previous popes said on US freedom.

NCR Voices

Pope Leo XIV will be honored as a recipient of the Liberty Medal by the National Constitution Center on July 3. The last three popes have all made serious attempts to address the idea of America in its own terms.

Was George Washington Catholic? Unlikely, but his religious tolerance predated Vatican II.

Guest Voices

For Catholics at America's 250th, our faith calls us to 'a more perfect union'

Guest Voices
A July 1776 printing of the Declaration of Independence: The Exeter Broadside hangs on the wall during a press preview at Sotheby's in New York City, January 17, 2025. (OSV News/Reuters/Adam Gray)

Editorial: Fight for democracy remains urgent as US marks 250 years

Editorial

The question we need to pose this July Fourth, one that previous generations of Americans have had to pose and answer, is this: What are we celebrating?

Vatican

Vatican News

Vatican unveils agenda for global family summit marking 'Amoris Laetitia' anniversary

The Vatican has released the framework for a fall meeting with the heads of Eastern Catholic Churches and presidents of bishops' conferences, marking the 10th anniversary of Amoris Laetitia and focusing on the Church's pastoral approach to families.

Vatican News

Pope visits US embassy July 4 for discussion on peace and freedom, with a side of apple pie

After spending the morning praying for migrants on the island of Lampedusa, Italy, Pope Leo XIV celebrated the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See and his family.

ByOSV News

Pope heads on vacation after decisive flexing of papal muscle on international and church stage

Pope Leo XIV began a summer vacation on Sunday, capping a whirlwind finale to the first half of 2026 in which he emerged as a powerful global statesman on issues from artificial intelligence to war and flexed decisive papal muscle to govern internal church problems.

ByNicole Winfield, Associated Press
Pope Leo XIV pays tribute at the cemetery and on little Joussef's grave, in Lampedusa, Sicily, southern Italy, Saturday, July 4, 2026, during a one-day pastoral visit to an island that has become a symbol of the risks faced by migrants trying to reach Europe by sea. (Pool photo/Ciro Fusco, via AP)
Vatican News

Pope Leo visits Lampedusa, migrant hotspot, on July 4

Leo, who said religion must never justify discrimination, symbolically took up the mantle of his predecessor, who placed migration at the center of his pontificate by visiting the island in July 2013.

ByJustin McLellan

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

After defying Pope Leo and causing schism, SSPX defends its actions

Vatican News

Pope Leo on eve of US 250: Keep working for liberty despite 'ever new challenges'

Canon lawyer: Vatican's SSPX schism decree necessary for church unity

EarthBeat

Workers remove trash from a clam-farming area in Vinh An, Vietnam, on June 17, 2026. Farmers say plastic waste and other flood-borne debris have contributed to declining harvests. (Joachim Pham)

As plastic chokes Vietnam's seas, people of faith cast their nets for hope

Vietnam is among the five largest contributors to marine plastic pollution globally. For local fishing communities, the consequences are becoming impossible to ignore. Every trip brings encounters with floating debris.

Reeling from Venezuela's earthquakes, churches rush to inspect buildings, distribute supplies

Despite the fact that many Venezuelan faith leaders have been themselves impacted by the ongoing disaster, they’ve sprung into action to provide food, psychological support and other basic needs to the large population of victims.

ByAleja Hertzler-McCain, Religion News Service

Pope Leo XIV calls for solidarity, prayers after deadly Venezuela quakes

Pope Leo XIV offered prayers for the victims of devastating twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela as the death toll continues to climb and rescuers race to save people trapped under collapsed buildings.

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News
Mount Cristo Rey protest

Bishops plan Mass on pilgrimage mountain Trump administration seeks to seize

As the Trump administration moves to seize a diocesan pilgrimage site for the border wall, bishops from New Mexico and Texas are calling on the faithful to join them for Mass on the mountain.

ByGina Christian, OSV News

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Catholic dioceses race for solar credits ahead of GOP tax law's early phaseout

Archbishop calls for prayer, solidarity after twin earthquakes devastate Venezuela

With Cuba in crisis, faith groups work to influence policy, deliver aid

Culture

Pedestrians walk past the emergency entrance at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, March 16, 2010. The 160-year-old hospital closed the following month. (AP/Kathy Willens)

How a long-closed NYC Catholic hospital still provides lessons for the church

Even though New York's St. Vincent's Medical Center has shuttered, Seton Hall University historian Thomas Rzeznik says the hospital continues to provide important insights for other Catholic institutions today.

The Fairfield University Art Museum exhibition "For Which It Stands" includes these works at the university's Walsh Gallery. (Left): Danielle Scott, False Flag, 2020, photo transfer and found objects (shotgun shells) on US flag. Courtesy of the artist. © Danielle Scott. (Center): Imo Nse Imeh, and i'll be there with you, 2021, charcoal, India ink and conte crayon on unstretched canvas. Courtesy of the artist. © Imo Nse Imeh. (Right): Sara Rahbar, I don't trust you anymore, Flag #59, 2019, mixed media

At a Jesuit university, American flag art exhibit explores patriotism and protest

The wide range of reactions to the American flag through painting, photography, print, video and mixed media make the 74-piece exhibit at Fairfield University as diverse as the country itself.

ByChris Herlinger
Disclosure Day still

Religious groups are more prepared for aliens than you think

Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day' asks: If intelligent life were to be discovered beyond Earth, would it shatter religious traditions? Most faith practitioners say no.

ByJack Jenkins, Religion News Service
Norway fans perform a viking boat row before the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Ivory Coast and Norway in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas June 30, 2026. (AP/Jessica Tobias)

On my road trip to the World Cup, the fans defined the experience

The soccer tournament "can demonstrate the pleasures of connection and offer us spaces to come together in community," writes Michael O'Connor.

ByMichael O'Connell

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Book Reviews

'What Grows in Weary Lands' is a satisfactory, if incomplete, look at monastic thought

The homilies and addresses of Pope Leo XIV are now coming to English readers

World Cup: Superstars are fun to watch, but underdogs make the sport great

Sr. Joanna Okereke, assistant director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees and Travelers, speaks to a group of bishops Nov. 12, 2024, in Baltimore, about the different hidden communities the subcommittee works with. (GSR photo/ Rhina Guidos)

Q&A with Sr. Joanna Okereke, educating US bishops on hidden communities

In her work for the pastoral care of migrants at the U.S. bishops' conference, Sr. Joanna Okereke leads workshops that "create awareness for the bishops to know these ministries exist, that these people are in need."

White vans parked outside the immigration courts in Harlingen, Texas, means there are unaccompanied minors with immigration hearings that day. The children travel in the vans from shelters where they stay until they can be placed with relatives or a guardian, or be deported. (Courtesy of Rose Kuhn)

For migrant children facing deportation alone in court, a Catholic nun shows up

"I'm not a hearing officer, I have nothing to do with the whole process," Sr. Rose Kuhn tells unaccompanied minors facing deportation in court. "I'm here to accompany you."

ByDan Stockman
"Entree de Jesus-Christ dans Jerusalem" (1890) by P. Bineteau (Artvee)
Columns

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Life in the Spirit and rest in Christ

Theologians' Corner - Jesus' gentleness and humility are not weaknesses. They are signs of  divine strength expressed in love.
 

By
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission logo is seen in this illustration photo. (CNS/Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Catholic sisters use shareholder activism to press Palantir, GM on human rights

"Raising the moral questions at the boardroom level is so important because you don't know what the impact would be if those questions weren't on the table," said Sr. Susan Francois.

ByDan Stockman

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Disarming the way we see and learning to see anew

As US turns 250, Catholic nuns reaffirm values of justice that shaped their ministry

My Uncle Matt and the work of remembering