Michigan Wolverines guard Charles Matthews tries to defend a shot from Villanova Wildcats guard Donte DiVincenzo in the 2018 NCAA men's basketball championship in San Antonio. Villanova defeated Michigan, winning its second championship in three years. Villanova, Pope Leo XIV's alma mater, and the University of Notre Dame are finalizing an agreement to open the men's and women's seasons Nov. 1 in Rome. (OSV News/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters/Robert Deutsch)

Villanova, Notre Dame, eye basketball season opener in Rome, with a papal cameo

Vatican

 Organizers have invited Pope Leo XIV to attend the Nov. 1 basketball doubleheader featuring his alma mater.

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Pope Leo XIV waved 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 photo/Vatican Media)

In Focus

No US trip for Pope Leo in 2026, Vatican says

Pope Leo XIV "will not go to the United States in 2026," the Holy See Press Office said Feb. 8 in response to questions about the pope's travel plans.
 

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Most Read Stories

Pope Leo XIV blesses the faithful following a Mass marking the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the Vatican celebration of the 30th World Day for Consecrated Life in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Feb. 2, 2026. (OSV News/Reuters/Vincenzo Livieri)

#1
Pope Leo pulls back from the press in messaging shift

Pope Leo XIV's pullback from directly engaging with the press on the global news cycle raises questions about how the Holy See will position its voice on the world stage.

ByJustin McLellan

#2
Is church unity worth a Latin Mass?

They should know that we are Christians by our love, not know that we are Catholics by our fights.

ByThomas Reese, Religion News Service
Washington Cardinal Robert McElroy gives the homily at the Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington Oct. 5.

#3
McElroy: Catholic colleges, universities must help restore 'order of grace' to nation, world

The nation's colleges and universities "have a critical and substantive role to play in arresting the eclipse of the order of grace in our society," Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said in his homily at the opening Mass of the 2026 annual meeting of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.

ByMark Zimmermann, OSV News, Catholic Standard

#4
Traditionalist Catholic society announces bishop consecrations in defiance of Rome

#5
Bruce Springsteen provides a soundtrack to the liturgy of the streets

#6
Sister Connie's life and death taught me that grief is not an enemy, but a companion

Opinion

Dear fellow Gen Z Catholic converts: Don't settle for fundamentalism

NCR Voices

The Epstein files and before: How do we process political scandals?

NCR Voices
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with reporters as the House votes to end the partial government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington Feb. 3, 2026. (OSV News/Reuters/Kylie Cooper)

Speaker Johnson's response to Pope Leo reveals Christian nationalism

Guest Voices

"This rebuke is designed to support a political agenda, with specific beneficiaries and targets. Christian obligation is individualized; the state's coercive power is maximized. In fact, the dynamics of power favor the state's ability to place religion at its service."

Gospel nonviolence is a source of joy in dark times

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Gospel nonviolence is a source of joy in dark times

Columns
Several U.S. coins against a dark background (Unsplash/Chris Briggs)

Podcast: Scripture scholar Ched Myers calls Christians to learn 'Sabbath economics'

Guest Voices

On this week's episode of "The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," John Dear hosts Ched Myers to speak about his new book on the Gospel of Luke and "Sabbath economics" that resist the idolatry of wealth, greed and war.

Vatican

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Fr. Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, are pictured at the Vatican Feb. 12. (OSV News/Courtesy Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith)

Vatican extends olive branch to traditionalist group threatening break from Rome

The Society of St. Pius X, which denies key teachings of Vatican II, has said that it would consecrate new bishops without papal approval on July 1.

Epstein files reveal ties to Catholic conservatives' anti-Francis campaign

The newly released Epstein files show that Jeffrey Epstein and Steve Bannon discussed opposition to Pope Francis, including a move that Bannon claimed would ‘take down Francis.’

ByClaire Giangravé, Religion News Service
The tower of the Institute for the Works of Religion, often referred to as the Vatican bank, is pictured in this 2019 photo file photo. (CNS/Paul Haring)

Vatican launches Catholic stock indexes to measure ethical investments

The primary holdings in the index include the companies Meta, Amazon, Tesla and JPMorgan Chase.
 

ByJustin McLellan
Michigan Wolverines guard Charles Matthews tries to defend a shot from Villanova Wildcats guard Donte DiVincenzo in the 2018 NCAA men's basketball championship in San Antonio. Villanova defeated Michigan, winning its second championship in three years. Villanova, Pope Leo XIV's alma mater, and the University of Notre Dame are finalizing an agreement to open the men's and women's seasons Nov. 1 in Rome. (OSV News/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters/Robert Deutsch)

Villanova, Notre Dame, eye basketball season opener in Rome, with a papal cameo

 Organizers have invited Pope Leo XIV to attend the Nov. 1 basketball doubleheader featuring his alma mater.

ByJustin McLellan

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EarthBeat

Heidi Kühn (right), founder of Roots of Peace, with a local farmer in Quang Tri, Vietnam, in 2020 (Courtesy of Thi Binh)

Heidi Kühn had a vision. Crops now flourish in past war zones once planted with mines.

Roots of Peace has a straightforward proposition: remove lethal land mines and replace them with agriculture. Clear contaminated land, then plant high-value crops that can support families and local economies.

Maternal health (GSR graphic/Olivia Bardo)

Kenyan nuns fill the maternal health gap in climate-stressed regions

Across northern and eastern Kenya, prolonged droughts have stretched for years, and communities are forced to move constantly in search of water and pasture. For pregnant women, the consequences are severe.

ByGitonga Njeru
Troy Hernandez, an environmental justice activist with Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization shows a piece of lead pipe obtained from his residence during his home renovation, April 9, 2021, in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. (AP/Shafkat Anowar)

Chicago Christian leaders urge rapid replacement of state's toxic lead water pipes

Ecumenism Metro Chicago, a coalition of Chicago Christian leaders, is calling on federal and state lawmakers to "make every effort to replace all the lead water pipes in Illinois as quickly as possible."

ByBrian Roewe
Students at the University of Notre Dame built St. Olaf Chapel out of snow and ice on the campus' North Quad over six days at the end of January and the beginning of February 2026. (University of Notre Dame/Michael Caterina)

At Notre Dame, student-built ice chapel draws 2,000 to snowy outdoor Mass

Some 2,000 members of the Notre Dame community gathered in subfreezing temperatures to celebrate a candlelit Mass at St. Olaf Chapel, a student-constructed fleeting house of worship made from snow, ice and faith.

ByBrian Roewe

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Culture

Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California. (AP photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance delivered a message for such a time as this

GSR columns editor Helga Leija reflects on the role of Bad Bunny in Latin American culture.

Bruce Springsteen poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" during the London film festival in London, Oct. 15, 2025. His single "Streets of Minneapolis" released Jan. 28, 2026. (AP/Invision/Scott A Garfitt)

Bruce Springsteen provides a soundtrack to the liturgy of the streets

In his latest single, "Streets of Minneapolis," Bruce Springsteen offers Americans a soundtrack to the liturgy of protest.

ByPatty Breen McNeil
A memorial marks the 1981 massacre site at El Mozote, Morazan, El Salvador. U.S.-trained Salvadoran troops killed 1,000 people there. (Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0/Eric Rojas)

Alma Guillermoprieto on Romero, drug cartels and reporting on Latin America

"In the midst of this prolonged train crash of Latin American history I managed to stay interested and not cynical," the veteran journalist and author of The Years of Blood tells Jason Berry.

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People stand around black coffin that has row of flowers on top.
Book Reviews

'Liturgies of the Wild' makes the case for myth

In a new book, mythographer Martin Shaw says humans need stories that reflect back to us the challenges we know we must face. 

ByEric Clayton

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Book Reviews

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Sisters serve on the front lines of Vietnam's shifting HIV crisis

Catholic sisters in Vietnam volunteer as nurses, counselors and emotional anchors for HIV/AIDS patients — many of whom arrive frightened, ashamed and utterly alone.

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What 18,061 days of sobriety have taught me

Soon, I will be sober for 50 years. I am able to achieve sobriety on a daily basis through my faith in God, and my heart is full of gratitude.

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Sr. Roswin Joy, a member of the Congregation of the Mother Carmel, poses at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale pavilion in Kochi, Kerala, southwestern India. Her sculptures and drawings are on display at India's largest contemporary art exhibition featuring 66 artists from across the world. (Courtesy of Roswin Joy)

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Her participation in the Kochi-Muziris Biennale "allows my life as a nun to enter into dialogue with the global art community," she said.

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Statues of St. Benedict and his sister, St. Scholastica, above the entrance of the Church of the Annunciation, also called "St. Gabriel Church," in Prague (Wikimedia Commons/ŠJů)

St. Scholastica's courage to speak invites us to a deeper discernment

In a political and ecclesial climate marked by abuse, fear and the suffering of vulnerable communities, I often wonder why some people choose to speak out while others choose to remain silent.

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