St. Mary's Church

“San Juan Pablo II, el Papa de la Misericordia” es el tema de las reflexiones de la novena a Karol Wojtyla, que se realiza del 13 al 21 de octubre, en preparación para la fiesta del pontífice, que la Iglesia Católica celebra el 22 de octubre.

Con un llamado a “construir puentes de diálogo y caridad” en ambientes de violencia en México, diversos movimientos católicos liderados e integrados por laicos, se reunieron del 10 al 12 de octubre en la capital del país.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 15, 2025 / 18:22 pm (CNA).

The oldest Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher learning in the United States, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., has named Eduardo Peñalver, current president of Seattle University and former dean of Cornell Law School, as its 49th president. 

“We are pleased to welcome Eduardo Peñalver to Georgetown University,” Thomas A. Reynolds, chair of the board of directors, said in a press release announcing the decision. “President Peñalver is an exceptional leader steeped in the Catholic and Jesuit tradition who brings a wealth of experience in higher education, a global mindset, a commitment to social justice and academic excellence, and a bold vision for Georgetown’s future.”

Peñalver will assume his new role on July 1, 2026.  He has served as the 22nd president of Seattle University, also a Jesuit institution, since 2021. He succeeds Georgetown’s interim president, Robert Groves. 

“I’m deeply honored to have the privilege of serving as Georgetown’s next president,” Peñalver said in the release. “I would like to thank the Presidential Search Committee and Georgetown’s board of directors for entrusting this role to me at such a pivotal time for Georgetown and for higher education.” 

In the university’s announcement, Peñalver said he would apply his experience as leader of a Jesuit institution to his role at Georgetown. “At the center of our work, [Jesuit universities] share an interest in students as whole persons, focusing on their experiences both inside and outside the classroom,” he said.

He continued: “We share an aspiration to do more than teach a skill or impart knowledge, but to get students to grapple with the deeper questions, to pursue more ambitious goals like wisdom and understanding and meaning, in their academic work and in their lives.”

The incoming president said today “is an exciting moment in Georgetown's history,” citing the expansion of the University’s Capitol Campus, as well as the establishment of interdisciplinary programs, and increased efforts to make attendance more affordable for students. 

“I look forward to working with the students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of Georgetown to deepen the university’s impact on our country and on our world,” he said. 

Peñalver was raised in a Catholic family in Puyallup, Washington. He graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University in 1994, before earning his law degree in 1999. He then clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and for Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, according to the release. 

He later taught at Fordham Law School, the University of Chicago Law School, and Cornell Law School, where he was appointed dean in 2014. 

Obispos y sacerdotes de varias diócesis de México y Estados Unidos animaron a organizar una vigilia católica por los migrantes para el 22 de octubre para manifestar su solidaridad con estas personas y pedir políticas migratorias adecuadas.

CNA Staff, Oct 15, 2025 / 15:41 pm (CNA).

A priest with a passion for historical artifacts has curated the largest collection of papal memorabilia outside of Rome — and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis just announced it will be on display there this winter.

This winter, Catholics can head to the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, where Father Richard Kunst’s collection will be available for viewing from Jan. 10 to Feb. 1, 2026, according to a recent archdiocesan announcement. 

Spanning 19,000 square feet, the “Vatican Unveiled” exhibit features “artistic items with old-world craftsmanship” as well as “papal artifacts that show the humanity behind the leaders,” according to an Oct. 13 press release from the archdiocese. 

"Vatican Unveiled", according to Archbishop Bernard Hebda, will be a “very special celebration — the 175th anniversary of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.”

“It is a special exhibit of the largest collection of papal and other artifacts outside of Vatican City, the home of the Catholic Church,” Hebda said in an Oct. 13 announcement. 

The collection of about 300 items includes artifacts such as Pope Pius XII’s radio microphone and a papal ring, as well as an extremely rare historical Swiss Guard uniform. 

For Kunst, who caught the collector’s “bug” in high school, the display is the culmination of years of collecting.

“The collection is always growing,” Kunst said in a press release.

He first began by collecting presidential autographs, but eventually sold his collection and turned to Catholic artifacts.

“I continue my search for old, rare, and unique papal items, from documents to papal clothing,” Kunst said. 

Kunst hopes to eventually donate the collection to the Church, “where it may be enjoyed forever,” he said. 

“In the meantime, I am happy to share my collection with the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis as they celebrate their 175th anniversary, and I welcome everyone to come see some interesting artifacts at Mall of America,” he said. 

Kunst’s collection has also been displayed in Duluth, Minnesota, his hometown, in 2022. 

The archdiocese currently has a ticket presale waitlist for the exhibit, where attendees “will experience interesting historical perspectives” and which “is open and welcoming to all,” the archdiocese said.

La Conferencia Episcopal Boliviana (CEB) alentó a sus compatriotas a participar de manera pacífica, responsable y respetando “la voluntad del pueblo”, de la segunda vuelta el domingo 19 de octubre en la que se elegirá al nuevo presidente del país.

Con el fin de ser solidarios con el prójimo, la iniciativa el Pan de San Antonio ha lanzado una nueva campaña que este año busca reunir 15.000 panes para ser entregados el 25 de octubre a personas necesitadas de Colombia, Ecuador y México.

El Vaticano anunció este miércoles 15 de octubre que el Papa León XIV nombró al P. Ignacio Wu Jianlin como Obispo Auxiliar de Shanghái el 11 de agosto, y que su ordenación episcopal tiene lugar hoy en el marco del Acuerdo Provisional con China.

New York City, New York, Oct 15, 2025 / 13:26 pm (CNA).

The sixth annual Eucharistic procession organized by the Napa Institute took place in New York City on Oct. 14, a day after a Nor’easter soaked the tristate area. Organizers praised God for holding back the rain during the event and for allowing the procession to take place peacefully in Times Square during the 5 p.m. rush hour.

Organized by the California-based institute, a crowd of an estimated 2,000 people gathered in St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a Holy Hour and Mass followed by a procession.

During the Holy Hour, those in attendance listened to a talk by Cardinal Giorgio Marengo of the Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, a missionary jurisdiction that covers the entire country of Mongolia.

He told the story of a theft that took place in a “precarious hall” in Mongolia in 2003 because the church had not yet been constructed. 

“One night, someone managed to force open the front door and break into the wall-mounted tabernacle to steal a small monstrance,” the cardinal recounted.

Marengo said the parish priest sent a catechist to report the theft to the police the next day. The catechist told them that thieves had stolen “the most precious thing we have.” When the police asked for a description of the object, wondering if it was gold or precious stones, the catechist said: “No, it is thin, unleavened bread.” 

The police sent him away, thinking the man practiced a strange religion.

“But yes, that consecrated bread is the Church’s immeasurable treasure,” Marengo said. “It is the real presence of Christ, the Lord, among his people.”

Father Ambrose Criste, a Norbertine priest from St. Michael’s Abbey in Orange County, California, then spoke on the theme of profit and gain, and how in 1626, a Dutch colonist purchased the Island of Manhattan from the Lenape Indians for $24.

“Here in Manhattan, the property value — that excludes the parks, roads, and highways — was estimated back in 2014 at $1.74 trillion. When Mother Teresa of Calcutta visited here not too many decades ago, she didn’t observe how rich we are but rather how poor we are. In fact, far poorer than the lepers and those who were dying, whom she knew so well,” he said.

Criste stated that the poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty; it is one of loneliness and of spirituality.

“There is a hunger for love as there is a hunger for God,” he said. “There is nothing on this planet, nothing in the entire country, nothing in the entire universe that can surpass the value of the holy Eucharist. There is nothing that can give us life, nothing else that can satisfy our hunger for love,” he said.

Attendees expressed surprise when they found out that Jonathon Roumie, the actor who portrays Jesus in the TV series “The Chosen,” was there to speak. Roumie began by highlighting St. Carlo Acutis’ words that “the Eucharist is my highway to heaven.”

“As a New Yorker, I too, have a similar kind of sentiment, that the Eucharist is my express train to heaven. Probably the 3 train, for obvious reasons. Unless it is the weekend, and there are closures. Then you have to take the 2, get on a shuttle to Grand Central, get the 4 and the 5, and see how that ends up,” Roumie said to the chuckles of New Yorkers.

“Or if you haven’t been to confession, you should probably take the bus. It’s a whole other direction,” he said, to even more laughter.

Roumie reminded the audience that “you don’t have to play Jesus on TV to be Jesus to the world around you. And that we can do this by making the Eucharist part of our daily life, like St. Carlo.”

“This became my own endeavor in the last six months, filming the penultimate season of ‘The Chosen, Season 6,’ which we completed one month ago. It centers on the Crucifixion. It was by far the hardest thing I have ever done as an actor and as a Christian man. The intensity of portraying Christ’s passion, suffering, and death on the cross was one which challenged me and necessitated a level of strength that I, on my own, do not possess, but only Christ himself,” he said.

The only way that Roumie could sustain himself, he said, was by partaking in the Eucharist as often as time would allow. 

“Confession, the Eucharist, and adoration became my very food and drink. Without these, I would surely have starved and perished: perished in the abyss of my own mental approximation of our Lord’s crucifixion and death. But by seeking the healing of the deep wounds of sin within myself through the sacrament of reconciliation, receiving the Eucharist almost daily, it was Christ who then took over and further fashioned my soul to reflect more of him within me,” he said. “It is Christ whose light shines within.”

Roumie reminded the audience that Jesus made a promise 2,000 years ago not to leave us or forsake us.

“For 2,000 years, he has kept his promise. He is with us,” he said.

Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the recently retired cardinal of Boston, presided and the Mass and gave the homily, which continued with the theme of Jesus’ promise to stay with us always in the Eucharist. He recalled an event that happened when he had been a bishop in the West Indies. 

“I once had a friend, Father Fox from Washington, D.C., who had a magical personality and was a joy to be with. One morning, I was at my desk, and a call came in saying that Father Fox had died of a heart attack,” he said.

O’Malley recalled that he had to go to the post office that same day to pick up the mail, and to his surprise, he found a letter from Father Fox.

“It seemed he had sent me a letter from the grave,” the cardinal said.

As he read the letter, he could almost hear his friend’s voice and laughter.

“It occurred to me that this letter was like the Eucharist: a sign of love and friendship and desire to communicate. But in Jesus’ case, it was planned. The letter that he sends us is himself: the Word made flesh, made Eucharist. And God has been preparing that letter for all eternity,” he said.

After Mass, the Eucharistic procession spilled out onto Fifth Avenue, with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal singing in English and Spanish. Tourists snapped pictures while some New Yorkers stopped and stared. University students from Fordham University waved Vatican flags. Missionaries of Charity nuns mixed with families, and drones hovered above the crowds.

The procession ended with benediction by New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan back at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the crowd numbers at 5,000; it was about 2,000. Also, an earlier version incorrectly referred to Cardinal Marengo as the youngest cardinal; he is the second youngest cardinal. (Published Oct. 15, 2025) 

Miles de devotos del Señor de los Milagros recorrerán Roma este domingo hasta la Plaza de San Pedro, en una de las expresiones más multitudinarias de fe del Año Santo