St. Mary's Church

El Papa León XIV presidirá el rezo de la oración mariana del Ángelus el domingo 15 de junio en el Vaticano.

Chicago, Ill., Jun 14, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV delivered a video message June 14 to thousands of Catholics gathered in his hometown of Chicago, making a special appeal to young people to be “beacons” of Christ’s hope for others.

“You are the promise of hope for so many of us,” the pope told young people attending the “Chicago Celebrates Pope Leo XIV” event at Rate Field, the home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team.

“The world looks to you as you look around yourselves and say: We need you, we need you to come together to share with us in this common mission, as Church and in society, of announcing a message of true hope and of promoting peace, promoting harmony, among all peoples.”

The pope acknowledged some of the difficulties facing youth today, from isolation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic to dwindling communities of faith. He invited young people gathered to look into their own hearts to see that God is present and “is reaching out to you, calling you, inviting you to know his Son, Jesus Christ.”

In turn, the pope said this discovery of Christ’s love can inspire young people to serve others.

“And in that service to others we find that coming together in friendship, building up community, we too can find true meaning in our lives,” the pope said. “To share that message of hope with one another — in outreach, in service, in looking for ways to make our world a better place — gives true life to all of us and is a sign of hope for the whole world.”

The eight-minute video message from Pope Leo XIV, who was seated and clad in white, was the first time the Chicago native has directly addressed the people of his hometown and home nation as pope.

And although he wasn’t in person to deliver it, the pope’s message made an impact on young people in attendance.

Michael Wyss, an 11-year-old student at Queen of Angels School in Chicago, said he was encouraged by the pope’s message to “stay faithful” and be a witness of Christian love to those going through hard times.

“You’ll be sharing hope with them and that hope could go on and be shared with everyone else,” said Wyss, who was in attendance with his father, Joe.

Matthew Gamboa, a 15-year-old who attends St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, said he was inspired by the pope’s encouragement to be “a beacon of light,” even though he might be only a high schooler.

“I too should be a part of that and continue to spread God’s message throughout our communities,” said Gamboa, who said he felt inspired to engage in more service projects and possibly lector at Mass after hearing the pope’s message.

Pope Leo XIV’s unprecedented address was also the highlight of pre-Mass programming at the afternoon celebration.

Emceed by Chicago Bulls play-by-play announcer Chuck Swirksy, the program also included musical performances by a local parish and Catholic school as well as an original piano ballad in honor of Pope Leo called “One of Us,” written and performed by the pope’s fellow Augustinian Brother David Marshall.

Sister Dianne Bergant, Pope Leo XIV’s former teacher, and Father John Merkelis, a fellow Augustinian and high school classmate of the pope, also shared insights into their friend during a panel discussion.

Outside the stadium, Chicago-area members of the Neocatechumenal Way celebrated the new pope with songs and dances of praise, while others tailgated in the baseball stadium parking lot. White Sox jerseys with “Da Pope” and “Pope Leo” emblazoned on the back were spotted throughout the crowds.

At the start of Mass, Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich said that Pope Leo was aware of and grateful for the celebration taking place at Rate Field.

A fan of the White Sox, the pope attended a World Series game at the stadium in 2005 when he was prior general of the Augustinian order and recently donned the ball club’s trademark black hat for a photo op outside of St. Peter’s Basilica. White Sox Senior Vice President Brooks Boyer, a Catholic and former Notre Dame basketball player, also took the opportunity at the Chicago event to publicly invite the South Side native to come back to Rate Field and throw out a ceremonial first pitch.

The Vatican has not indicated that Pope Leo has any plans to visit the United States. When Lester Holt of NBC News asked Leo at a May 12 Vatican audience if he would come to the U.S. soon, the pope responded: “I don’t think so.”

Nonethless, the pope’s sports fan credentials may help him connect with young people in his homeland and beyond.

During his video message the pope also encouraged the youth of Chicago and the whole world to grapple with the “restlessness” they might experience, just like St. Augustine did.

“That restlessness is not a bad thing, and we shouldn’t look for ways to put out the fire, to eliminate or even numb ourselves to the tensions that we feel, the difficulties that we experience,” he said. “We should rather get in touch with our own hearts and recognize that God can work in our lives, through our lives, and through us reach out to other people.”

Before concluding by imparting his apostolic blessing via video, the pope invited those gathered to “take a moment” and open their own hearts to God’s love, “to that peace which only the Lord can give us.”

“To recognize that while we do nothing to earn God’s love, God in his own generosity continues to pour out his love upon us. And as he gives us his love, he only asks us to be generous and to share what he has given with us to others.”

Líderes católicos de Minnesota (EE.UU.) respondieron con oraciones y llamados a la paz, luego que las autoridades reportaran tiroteos con motivaciones políticas contra legisladores estatales que han dejado dos muertos.

El Papa León XIV alentó a los jóvenes a ser faros de esperanza en el mundo de hoy, en un video mensaje emitido en el estado de los White Sox de Chicago, durante una celebración por su ministerio petrino y por la solemnidad de la Santísima Trinidad.

Esta semana, Mons. Gomez había instruido a las parroquias de toda la arquidiócesis que celebraran Misas especiales por la paz y la unidad, e invitó a los católicos y a todas las personas de buena voluntad a orar por la paz en medio de los disturbios

La familia de Violeta Chamorro informó que la expresidenta de Nicaragua falleció este sábado 14 de junio, a los 95 años, en la ciudad de San José, capital de Costa Rica, tras una larga enfermedad

CNA Staff, Jun 14, 2025 / 15:16 pm (CNA).

Catholic leaders in Minnesota responded with prayers and calls for peace following what authorities said were the politically motivated shootings of state lawmakers that left two dead.

Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed early on Saturday in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also shot early on Saturday in their home in Champlin, with both reportedly expected to survive after surgery.

Authorities said they engaged the suspect at Hortman’s home, but the alleged killer was able to escape on foot. Police reportedly discovered a list of possible additional targets in the suspect’s car, including state Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.

A manhunt for the killer was still underway on Saturday afternoon.

‘We must do everything in our power to regain a sense of civility’

On Saturday, St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda in a statement called on “all people of goodwill to join me in prayer for the repose of the souls of Minnesota House Speaker-Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, along with prayers of recovery for Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.”

“I also ask you to pray for the members of law enforcement who are putting themselves at risk hunting down the person, or people, who inflicted this violence and terrorized communities,” the archbishop said. “There is absolutely no reason for someone to commit such senseless violence on anyone, particularly those who are involved in public service.”

Hebda described Hortman as “an honorable public servant” who met regularly with the Catholic bishops of the state.

“Although we disagreed on some issues, we worked collaboratively to find common ground on others in pursuit of the common good,” he said.

Hoffman, meanwhile, “is always generous with his time, as well, meeting with the bishops whenever they are at the Capitol. He is a strong advocate for the most vulnerable, and Minnesota continues to need his leadership.”

“At this time of fear and uncertainty, we need to rely even more on our loving God and that begins with prayer — both privately and communally,” the archbishop said.

Also on Saturday, Jason Adkins, the executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, said he was “deeply saddened and angered” by the shootings and killings, describing Hortman as a collaborative lawmaker and Hoffman as “a champion of vulnerable people” and “a friend.”

“Resorting to violence in public life is never acceptable and begets more violence,” he said. “Unfortunately, we, as a society, have increasingly embraced violence as a means of solving problems because we have lost a sense of the dignity of every human person created in the image and likeness of God.”

“Until we recover a deeper sense of our common humanity and fraternity, we will continue to see the collapse of both civic discourse and the ability of our political process to mediate conflict and achieve the common good,” Adkins said.

In a statement on Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz said: “We are not a country that settles our differences at gunpoint.”

“We have demonstrated again and again in our state that it is possible to peacefully disagree, that our state is strengthened by civil public debate. We must stand united against all forms of violence — and I call on everyone to join me in that commitment,” he said.

Este sábado, León XIV se dirigió a los peregrinos del Jubileo del Deporte en una audiencia jubilar realizada en la Basílica de San Pedro, invitándolos a conectar “de forma más radical” el mundo de Dios con el nuestro, en el marco del Año Jubilar de la Esperanza

El Papa León XIV nombró al sacerdote Alfonso García López, sacerdote exorcista de la diócesis de Istmina-Tadó y nacido en el Chocó, nuevo Vicario Apostólico de Guapi en el Cauca. Es el segundo obispo afrodescendiente del país.

Durante su catequesis en la audiencia jubilar de este sábado, con motivo del Jubileo del Deporte, el Papa León XIV se refirió a la escalada de violencia entre Israel e Irán en los últimos días, haciendo un llamamiento “a la responsabilidad y a la razón”