The Vatican City’s Governor’s Palace (Palazzo del Governatorato in Vaticano), the building that is the seat of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State in the Vatican Gardens. / Credit: Some pictures here/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 11, 2025 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has approved a series of measures that benefit Vatican employees, expanding paternity leave, the rights of parents with disabled children, and granting family subsidies.

A document published Aug. 11 and signed by Maximino Caballero, prefect of the secretariat for financial affairs of the Holy See, lists the “Provisions for the Family” approved by the Holy Father following an audience on July 28.

These resolutions were previously unanimously accepted by the council of the Labor Office of the Holy See (ULSA, by its Italian acronym), a body composed of representatives from various entities of the Holy See and the Vatican Governorate as well as their respective employees.

Regarding paternity leave, the pontiff established that a father is entitled to five days of 100% paid leave after the birth of a child. 

The text specifies that the days off are “understood as working days and may be taken sequentially or one at a time in full days and not by hours, and not beyond 30 days from the birth of the child, under penalty of forfeiture of the right.”

In January, Pope Francis extended paternity leave from three to five days, a measure already modified in 2022, when it was increased from one to three days.

Parents of children with proven severe disabilities will be entitled to three days of paid leave per month, which may be taken in a row as long as the child is not hospitalized full time.

In addition, a monthly subsidy was introduced for families with severely disabled or incapacitated members as well as for pensioners in the same situation.

The document also redefines the concepts of disability and incapacity, specifying that the assessment will be carried out by a Vatican Medical Association, whose decision will be “without appeal.”

Finally, to facilitate assistance to family members with disabilities, it is stipulated that the time off granted for this purpose cannot be used to work another job. 

Regarding the family subsidy, Pope Leo XIV has expanded the right for adult children who are students. They may receive this aid until the age of 20 for secondary school studies and until the age of 26 for university studies or equivalent studies recognized by the Holy See. 

The provisions, approved by the pope, will go into effect upon their official publication in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis (Acts of the Apostolic See).

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols (pictured celebrating a Mass in 2021) condemned in an Aug. 8, 2025, statement Israel’s plans to take over Gaza City. / Credit: Mazur/cbcew.org.uk

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 11, 2025 / 16:32 pm (CNA).

Archbishop of Westminster in England and Wales Cardinal Vincent Nichols has issued a statement condemning Israel’s plans to take over Gaza City.

The statement came after Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan on Aug. 8 to take control of Gaza City and expand military operations.

Israel’s five-step plan includes disarming Hamas, releasing all remaining living and deceased hostages, demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, establishing temporary Israeli control over the enclave, and eventually replacing Hamas with a friendly Arab civil administration.

“Today, and in these days, I weep for the people of Gaza as they face not just a continuation of their immense suffering but an escalation in their hardship and desperation,” Nichols said in the Aug. 8 statement.

“To increase the destruction of Gaza City and then the rest of its territory, in order to defeat a terrorist organization and movement, is a development that is rightly being condemned around the world,” he added.

“There must be a better way,” said Nichols, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, calling for an alternative strategy “that does not heap yet further suffering and misery on so many people who are not combatants but defenseless in face of the perpetrators of violence in their midst.”

“Already too much innocent blood has been shed; too many lives destroyed; too much hunger and starvation,” he continued. “This war must be ended not increased.”

Nichols expressed solidarity with the faithful in Gaza as well as the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, whose “consistent appeals for peace,” aid delivery, and support of Holy Family Parish in Gaza City, he said, should “evoke from us all our practical help and our prayers.”

The archbishop of Westminster further invoked the prayers of Our Lady of Gaza and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, a Jewish convert to the Catholic faith whose feast day was Aug. 9.

The latest developments come just under a month after an Israeli strike “mistakenly” hit Gaza’s only Catholic Church in Gaza City, resulting in three deaths and 15 injuries.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), called for peace and an “immediate ceasefire” following the strike, stating: “With the Holy Father, the Catholic bishops of the United States are deeply saddened to learn about the deaths and injuries at Holy Family Church in Gaza caused by a military strike.”

USCCB Chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace, Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan, has also called for an end to the war and the “immediate expansion of humanitarian assistance through all channels in Gaza.”

On Monday, five Al Jazeera journalists and a freelance journalist were targeted and killed by Israel Defense Forces in a press tent outside Al Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, according to Reuters. Israel claimed one of the journalists, Anas al-Sharif, was a Hamas operative, though Al Jazeera denied this. The airstrike was widely condemned by journalists, human rights groups, and the U.N.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Syracuse, New York. / Credit: Mahmoud Masad/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 11, 2025 / 16:02 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Syracuse, New York, announced on Aug. 9 that Bishop Douglas J. Lucia has taken on the additional job of parish priest at three churches in Baldwinsville, New York. 

The diocese announced a number of changes to pastoral assignments that went into effect on Aug. 1, including Lucia serving as pastor at St. Augustine Church, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, and St. Mary of the Assumption Church. The three churches are part of the same parish and share various initiatives and resources.

“Certainly, a crucial component in our parishes is the priest. Without the priest, there is no Mass; and without the Mass there is no Eucharist, no food for the journey,” Lucia wrote in a recent letter to the churches’ parishioners.

After announcing that the previous pastor, Father Joe O’Connor, received seminary work as a new assignment, Lucia wrote to parishioners: “I know you have been wondering what is next for the Baldwinsville parishes.”

“I am able to share the news that I will be your new pastor,” Lucia said. “Although I was called to be the bishop of the Diocese of Syracuse six years ago, it has always been with the hope of continuing to be a parish priest and I guess God has taken me at my word.”

While Lucia is taking over as priest at the parishes, Father Benjamin Schrantz will remain the parochial vicar of the churches, and retired priest Father Thomas Ryan will continue to offer sacramental assistance.

The diocese did not specify exactly why Lucia will be taking the place as pastor but shared that “the needs of the Baldwinsville area must be fully developed while considering both pastoral and financial resources.”

With help from parish deacons, parish trustees, and the presidents of the pastoral councils, Lucia planned and announced a new Mass schedule. “I am committed to providing the best pastoral care for the Baldwinsville area within the means we possess.”

The schedule that will take effect at the end of August “will allow that no more than two priests will be needed for the celebration of Sunday Mass … each weekend.” Lucia added: “I am also aware that I must take into account the age, health, spiritual, and emotional well-being of our priests.”

“An important step in the pastoral planning for the diocese must allow for balanced lifestyles for clergy and parish staffs as well as the ability to serve Christ’s faithful both in our urban and rural settings,” Lucia wrote.

While it is not common for a bishop to take the role of parish priest to multiple churches, Lucia is not new to taking on various roles. Since he was ordained a priest in 1989, Lucia has simultaneously served in pastoral and administrative roles across northern New York and Canada.

In 2006, the bishop was both chancellor and episcopal vicar for the Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York. He also previously served as pastor to multiple churches at once in the New York area while still continuing his other diocesan responsibilities.

Lucia will continue to serve the nearly 200,000 Catholics who reside in the seven counties of the diocese as bishop while also working as a pastor.

Miguel Uribe Turbay. / Credit: LuigiVenegas, Original uploader (2019), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 11, 2025 / 14:40 pm (CNA).

Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay died Monday morning, Aug. 11, just over two months after being shot by a hitman, his wife, María Claudia Tarazona, confirmed. The politician was hospitalized at the Santa Fe Foundation Hospital in Bogotá.

“You will always be the love of my life. Thank you for a life full of love, thank you for being a father to the girls, the best father to Alejandro. I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you,” Tarazona wrote on Instagram early this morning.

Born on Jan. 28, 1986, in Bogotá, Colombia, Uribe Turbay was the son of businessman Miguel Uribe and journalist Diana Turbay, who was murdered in 1991 after being kidnapped by the order of Pablo Escobar, the head of the Medellín Cartel. 

Uribe Turbay, whose family background is Maronite Catholic, held various public offices until he was elected to the country’s Senate in 2022 as a candidate for the Democratic Center political party — led by former President Álvaro Uribe — and had strong prospects ahead of the 2026 presidential elections.

On June 7, as part of his campaign to get on the ballot, he participated in a political event in Fontibón on the west side of the Bogotá capital district where he was the victim of the attack that claimed his life early this morning after nearly two months in critical condition.

In addition to his wife, Uribe Turbay is survived by his young son, Alejandro, and three daughters from his wife’s previous relationship.

Cardinal Rueda: It’s a time to unite as a country

The archbishop of Bogotá and primate of Colombia, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio, urged the country to hold on to hope despite the pain caused by Uribe Turbay’s death. “Is not this the time to call on all Colombians to reject all forms of violence and walk together in hope. This is not a time for us to be divided, it is a time to unite,” he said.

In a video released by the Archdiocese of Bogotá, the cardinal also expressed his solidarity with the Uribe Turbay family and assured them that the Church is praying for the senator’s eternal rest.

“I also invite all families in Colombia to pray. Let us pray for Colombia. Let us pray for the children. Let us pray for the youth. Let us pray for peace. And let us pray to God to give us a renewed heart and a new conscience so that we may be able to work for the unity of Colombia, reject all forms of violence, and be able to meet and dialogue together in the midst of conflict,” he said.

Father Ramón Zambrano, founder of the television channel Cristovisión, also expressed his condolences. “May Miguel Uribe Turbay rest in peace. May he enjoy eternal life that the Lord grants to the just. May God bless and strengthen his wife and his entire family,” he wrote on X.

“May the blood of the martyrs be a seed of hope so that we may commit ourselves to forging a country where we don’t turn our backs on God,” he added.

Colombia mourns

Other political leaders also expressed their condolences following the death of the Colombian senator. Former President Álvaro Uribe posted on X: “Evil destroys everything; they have killed hope. May Miguel’s struggle be a light that illuminates the right path for Colombia.”

Former Colombian President Iván Duque said that “terrorism robbed us of a promising figure for Colombia and a leader of integrity and transparency… Colombia mourns but will not surrender to the criminals who snuffed out the life of an admirable young man.”

Carlos Galán, mayor of Bogotá and son of Luis Carlos Galán — a presidential candidate assassinated on the orders of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in 1989 — recognized Uribe Turbay as “a great human being, an honest and courageous leader, a politician with a true vocation for service.”

“His assassination should be a turning point for Colombia. We cannot accept violence in our country,” he added, calling for this crime to not go unpunished.

Colombian authorities have arrested members of the crime gang accused of organizing the assasination, which was carried out by a 15-year-old boy. 

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Bishop Yaacoub Camil Afram Antoine presides over a Mass celebrating the launch of the Association of Hebrew Catholics on Aug. 8, 2025, at St. Thomas Syriac Catholic Church in Jerusalem. / Credit: Yarden Zelivansky

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 11, 2025 / 12:19 pm (CNA).

A group dedicated to providing a welcoming space for Jewish converts to Catholicism has launched in Israel.

The Association of Hebrew Catholics celebrated its official launch with a Mass on Aug. 8, the eve of the feast of its patron, St. Edith Stein, who was a Jewish convert to Catholicism.

The Syriac Catholic Exarch of Jerusalem, Bishop Yacoub Ephrem Semaan, acted as host for the event and celebrated the Mass, which took place at St. Thomas Syriac Catholic Church in Jerusalem. 

Yarden Zelivansky, a Jewish convert to Catholicism and member of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who worked to bring the Association of Hebrew Catholics to Israel, told CNA that about 30 people attended the event.

Zelivansky said he hopes that as the group grows, its major events planned throughout the year will attract more people.

“Here in Israel, we’ve chosen as the local patron St. Angelus of Jerusalem, who was a Jewish convert to the faith and grew up in Jerusalem,” Zelivansky said, noting the Carmelite saint’s record of evangelism with the local Jewish community.

“Almost all of the Hebrew Catholic saints are Carmelites,” he added.

The Association of Hebrew Catholics was founded by Carmelite priest Father Elias Friedman, OCD, a Jewish convert to Catholicism who lived at Stella Maris Monastery on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.

The group plans to host many events, including the celebration of St. Angelus’ feast day as well as observing some of the major Jewish holidays. “We plan to see how we can celebrate [Jewish holidays] in the light of Christ,” Zelivansky said.

“A lot of us see within the Jewish liturgy and within the Jewish holidays, since they are originally from the Old Testament, very, very strong Christological elements,” the Tel Aviv native continued. “So we plan to celebrate all these holidays in a modified way, which brings out Christ that’s already in them, as we see it.”

As a lay apostolate, the group will not set up parishes or facilitate the sacraments. The Vicariate of St. James the Just, founded similarly for Hebrew-speaking Catholics and which is part of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, is in place to do that already.

“We are trying to set up this space where we will be focusing more on Jewish culture, which may or may not be in Hebrew,” he noted. “There are a lot of people who came in recent years from the Soviet Union whose Jewish identity is very important to them, so we may end up having activities in the Russian language as well. Our focus is not linguistic, it’s cultural.”

In addition to having the support of the Syriac Patriarchate, Zelivansky met with and secured approval for the group with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, and several other heads of smaller faith communities within the Catholic Church, whom he said “have all been very excited to see where this is going.”

Since most of the group is canonically Latin, Zelivansky said he wanted to have the patriarch’s approval. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who was not himself of a Jewish background who understood this issue so well,” Zelivansky said of Pizzaballa. During their meeting, he recalled speaking with Pizzaballa about the group, theology, the current state of the Church, and Pope Leo XIV.

“It was a wonderful conversation,” he recalled. “[Pizzaballa] is a delightful man, and it really was a pleasure to see how deeply he understands this issue.”

Reception in Israel 

Reactions to the Association of Hebrew Catholics will likely be “mixed,” according to Zelivansky. “Like any other country in the region, Israel is made up of a lot of different subcultures.” 

For example, he said, while secular Jews will likely remain indifferent, the religious Jewish community might take issue with the group, not because it is a Christian community but because it is a community of Jewish converts. However, he said the goal of the association is not to evangelize but rather to reach Jews who have already converted.

Ultimately, what Zelivansky is “most excited for” is to see how Christians who have a Jewish background or Messianic Jews will react to the association. 

“I think what a lot of people don’t appreciate, Jews have historically often rejected Christianity, not just for the theology but for the culture,” he explained. “Because for Jews, their heritage and their culture are not just an ethnic thing.”

Jews have often “rejected Christianity because they were forced to assimilate or they were expected to assimilate when that happens,” he continued. “And it’s unimaginable for them to stop being Jews because it’s their inheritance from God.”

“I think being able to maintain that inheritance while being orthodoxly Catholic, once the Church really knows how to facilitate that for the people of Israel, it’s going to be a historical moment,” he stated.

Origins

“The idea [for the association] is that every culture that Catholicism, Christianity, was brought to, the faith was inculturated into whatever the culture was,” Zelivansky explained, pointing to the expressions of various rites within the Church, which may be distinguished by their liturgies and musical expression.

However, he said, “for the vast majority of Christian history, Jews who converted were simply not afforded that opportunity for different reasons.” Jewish converts to Catholicism who lived in France, Italy, or Germany “were expected to just assimilate into whatever the local culture was.” 

“Eventually, a few converts realized that there’s a need to create this space to see what it would look like if Jews could keep their Jewishness as Catholics,” Zelivansky said. “And that’s what the [association] is about, creating that space where you can bring the Jewish culture into the faith, into the Church, and see what that looks like in practice.”

He pointed out that the Vicariate of St. James the Just ministers to Hebrew speakers, regardless of whether they are Jewish. 

While the Vicariate does necessary work to ensure the sacraments are available to Hebrew speakers, the Association caters to Jewish converts to the faith, “so as to preserve Jewish identity,” Zelivansky said, noting the Association and Vicariate are “parallel and non-competitive."

The parish priest of St. Patrick in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, Canon John Murray, is in a “serious but stable” condition in hospital following the Aug. 10, 2025, assault in which his fingers were broken while defending himself. / Credit: Pacemaker

Dublin, Ireland, Aug 11, 2025 / 11:27 am (CNA).

A 77-year-old parish priest in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland, sustained head and hand injuries following a violent attack as he was getting ready to say Sunday morning Mass.

The parish priest of St. Patrick in Downpatrick, Canon John Murray, is in a “serious but stable” condition in the hospital following the Aug. 10 assault in which his fingers were broken while defending himself.

In a separate incident that police believe to be connected to the assault on Murray, a murder inquiry is underway after a man was found dead in a house in the County Down town, RTÉ News reported.

In a statement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said inquiries are ongoing: “At this time, we suspect this may be connected to a serious assault in the St. Patrick’s Avenue area of Downpatrick on Sunday.” St. Patrick’s Avenue is where the church is located.

“Detectives from our Major Investigation Team have launched a murder investigation following the death of a man in Downpatrick,” District Commander Superintendent Norman Haslett said.

“Following a report of a deceased man at approximately 12 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 10, a 30-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody assisting with enquiries,” according to police.

It was reported to police at around 10:10 a.m. on Sunday that a man had walked into the church on St. Patrick’s Avenue and hit the priest in the head with a bottle before leaving.

Father Eddie McGee, spokesman for the Diocese of Down and Connor, told CNA: “The parish priest of Downpatrick, Canon John Murray, was approached earlier this morning by a gentleman asking him to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation on the way into the church, at which stage Canon John was attacked.”

“Canon Murray sustained a serious head injury and is currently in hospital receiving treatment. His situation remains serious but stable,” he said. “Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with Canon John Murray.”

“It’s very concerning and disturbing that this attack occurred towards a priest who was vulnerable in the course of his ministry and service to the local community,” McGee told CNA.

McGee confirmed that Murray was due to retire as parish priest in the coming weeks and will continue to serve in the local family of parishes until then.

“As parish priest of Downpatrick, Canon Murray is very well known and very well liked and parishioners and others from across the community have been in contact today to assure him of their ongoing prayers and support at this time,” McGee said.

“The diocese has received the devastating and shocking news that another man in Downpatrick has been murdered in what appears to be a related incident,” McGee continued. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family and indeed all affected by this attack resulting in the loss of life.”

Appealing for anyone with further information to contact police, Detective Chief Inspector David McBurney said: “This was a completely shocking and brutal attack and has left the priest with a serious head injury.”

The deceased has been named locally by The Independent as Stephen Brannigan.

Cardinal Fernando Chomali, archbishop of Santiago, Chile. / Credit: Courtesy of Archdioceses of Santiago, Chile

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 11, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

“The Christian of the 21st century will either be a martyr or will not be a Christian,” the archbishop of Santiago and primate of Chile, Cardinal Fernando Chomali, said during a seminar about the role of faith in public life. 

The cardinal made the remark during his presentation at the seminar “And in Everything Charity,” which took place on the occasion of the centenary of Pope Pius XI’s encyclical Quas Primas.

The seminar’s title was inspired by a quote from St. Augustine. Organizations including the Catholic University of Chile’s law department, Community and Justice, and the ConBoca Foundation collaborated to host an event highlighting charity as the central pillar uniting social, cultural, and political efforts.

Chomali opened his presentation with a statement about the current reality: “We are glutted with everything: with words, with discourse, with so-called freedoms. But at the same time, we are full of nothing.”

Referring to the role of faith in today’s society and the need for a solid spirituality, the cardinal noted that “today we need witnesses. More than teachers, people who know Jesus, who love him, who follow him. Not with ideas, but with their lives.”

He also warned about two common temptations surrounding faith: spiritualizing everything and retreating into small circles. “The Church cannot be closed off. It’s not about doing missions from time to time but about living with a missionary attitude. What attracts people are not speeches but actions,” he observed.

Chomali affirmed that “the Christian of the 21st century will either be a martyr or will not be a Christian,” clarifying that “it’s not about seeking persecution but about living radically; obeying God before men.”

‘Evangelizing is by nature a political act’

The archbishop of Santiago elaborated on the importance of faith in social transformation, affirming that “every human project without grace ends in frustration.”

He warned that charity cannot be reduced to cordiality or philanthropy but rather “must be the soul of Christian politics” and that this requires “formation, prayer, and consistency.”

Making a distinction between politics and ideology, the cardinal asserted that “evangelizing is by nature a political act, because it seeks the common good.”

The best thing we can offer society, he maintained, is to proclaim Christ, because “from him we understand human dignity. And only from him can we live with hope.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared to meet in Alaska Aug. 15, Pope Leo XIV prayed that world leaders would recognize the impact their actions have on the local population.

"May those who make decisions always keep in mind their responsibility for the consequences their choices have on populations. May they not ignore the needs of the most vulnerable and the universal desire for peace," the pope said Aug. 10.

After leading the recitation of the Angelus prayer with visitors in St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo mentioned the Aug. 6 and Aug. 9 commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The commemorations have "awakened in the world a rightful rejection of war as a means of resolving conflicts," the pope said. "Let us continue to pray for an end to wars."

Pope Leo did not mention Trump and Putin by name nor did he pray specifically for an end to Russia's war on Ukraine. 

The pope did congratulate Armenia and Azerbaijan for signing a peace agreement during a ceremony hosted by Trump at the White House Aug. 8. Pope Leo prayed that "the event may contribute to a stable and lasting peace in the South Caucasus" after decades of conflict.

And he appealed to the international community to act swiftly to bring peace and stability to Haiti.

"The situation of the population in Haiti is becoming increasingly desperate," the pope said. "Reports continue of killings, all kinds of violence, human trafficking, forced exiles and kidnappings."

"I make a heartfelt appeal to all responsible parties that the hostages be released immediately, and I call for concrete support from the international community to create the social and institutional conditions that will allow Haitians to live in peace," the pope said.

In his main Angelus address, commenting on the day's Gospel reading, Luke 12:32-48, Pope Leo XIV said that while giving money to charity is a good thing, God expects Christians to do more by giving of themselves to help others.

"It is not simply a matter of sharing the material goods we have, but putting our skills, time, love, presence and compassion at the service of others," the pope told the crowd in St. Peter's Square.

Jesus, he said, invites his followers to "invest" the treasure that is their lives.

"Everything in God's plan that makes each of us a priceless and unrepeatable good, a living and breathing asset, must be cultivated and invested in order to grow," he said. "Otherwise, these gifts dry up and diminish in value, or they end up being taken away by those who, like thieves, snatch them up as something simply to be consumed."

"The works of mercy are the most secure and profitable bank" for investing those treasures and talents, the pope said, "because there, as the Gospel teaches us, with 'two small copper coins' even the poor widow becomes the richest person in the world."

Pope Leo urged people to be attentive so that no matter whether they are at home or work or in their parish they do not "miss any opportunity to act with love."

"This is the type of vigilance that Jesus asks of us: to grow in the habit of being attentive, ready and sensitive to one another, just as he is with us in every moment," the pope said.
 

Pope Leo marks 80 years since atomic bombings with prayer for peace

Pope Leo marked 80 years since the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan with a prayer for peace today.

The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration from the Our Lady of Solitude Monastery in Tonopah, Arizona, accompanied by their local priest. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother Marie Andre Campbell

CNA Staff, Aug 11, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Aug. 11 the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Clare of Assisi, a woman born into a noble family who was moved by St. Francis’ preaching and decided to embrace a life of poverty, founding a cloistered contemplative order of religious sisters called the Poor Clares.

The order spread rapidly throughout Italy with young noblewomen selling all their possessions to take on the habit of a Poor Clare. In 1218, the order began to spread outside the Italian border. Agnes of Assisi, Clare’s sister who also became a Poor Clare soon after she did, introduced their way of life to Spain. Soon monasteries in Belgium, France, and other European countries began to open.

Branches within the order include the Colettine Poor Clares, Capuchin Poor Clares, and the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration.

The Poor Clares follow the Rule of St. Clare — which was approved by Pope Innocent IV two days before Clare’s death in 1253 — and take vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity.

Mother Marie André is a Poor Clare of Perpetual Adoration at the Our Lady of Solitude Monastery in Tonopah, Arizona. She has been a religious sister for 31 years and abbess of the monastery since 2016.

The third of four daughters, Mother Marie André grew up in a military home as her father was in the Navy. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara, she wanted to enter a government service such as the CIA, Drug Enforcement Administration, or FBI. 

“I actually interviewed with all those,” she told CNA. “And every time I did, something strange would come up and it would never go through.”

While working in San Diego and feeling “a little frustrated because I didn’t know what the Lord wanted of me,” Mother Marie André went on a trip to Irondale, Alabama, to visit her best friend, who had just entered Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, the monastery Mother Angelica founded in the 1960s. (Mother Angelica later launched EWTN from the monastery in 1981.)

“I had met Mother Angelica and she had said to me, ‘We’ll take care of you.’ And I thought, well, it probably was that I would be working at the network,” Mother Marie André explained. “So, I left and when I got home just a couple weeks later, I really felt like the Lord called me to that life like a bolt out of the blue. That was March of 1994. I entered in September of 1994.”

Mother Marie André explained that she considered becoming a Dominican sister; however, the contemplative life appealed to her. Additionally, growing up in California, she was surrounded by the missions, which were founded by Franciscan priests; cities there were named after Franciscan saints; and, surprisingly, each of her sisters was born on a Franciscan feast day.

“I felt like the Lord had maybe planted the seed long before, and then it bloomed as I got older,” she said.

The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration originated in France and was founded on Dec. 8, 1854, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, by Pope Pius IX. Mother Marie Claire Bouillevaux, the order’s foundress, wanted to start an order that combined the Franciscan form of living with a special devotion to Eucharistic adoration in the spirit of thanksgiving.

In 1921, the first American foundation was established by Mother M. Agnes in the Diocese of Cleveland. From there a foundation was established in Canton, Ohio. By 1962, Mother Mary Angelica was the abbess of the new foundation in Birmingham, Alabama: Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. In 1981, Mother Angelica founded Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), the first Catholic cable satellite network. Then in 1987 she founded an order of priests and brothers, known as the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word (MFVA).

To allow for the growth of both EWTN and the MFVA friars, Our Lady of the Angels Monastery transferred to a new location in Hanceville, Alabama, in late 1999. It is from Our Lady of the Angels Monastery that the Our Lady of Solitude Monastery in the Diocese of Phoenix was established in 2005.

“That is our whole life — of thanksgiving, reparative thanksgiving, where our life really cycles around Our Lord’s presence,” Mother Marie André explained.

Mother Marie André expressed that next to the Mass, adoration is “the most important aspect of our faith because we have before us Our Lord present in the holy Eucharist, body, blood, soul, and divinity.”

The monastery sits just six miles away from a major highway in Arizona. Mother Marie André shared that many times she finds herself wondering if the people driving by “know who’s in the midst of them as they’re driving back and forth.” 

The religious sister encouraged anyone seeking the Lord to “just set a little bit of time aside for him.” 

“It’s difficult times we live in. Just pop your head in to see him and I guarantee that he’ll assist you. His loving presence will fill you with peace and grace. All we have to say is, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,’ and in any difficulty, any trial, any blessing, too — you won’t regret it.”

The sisters start their day early and follow a regulated schedule of prayer, daily Mass, mealtimes, work time, Holy Hours, and recreation. 

“I have always believed, from when I entered years ago, that it was the perfect balance of the day, and that’s because I’m called to live it,” Mother Marie André shared.

When asked what she would tell someone discerning religious life, she said: “Step out in courage and faith.”

“We have to kind of slow down, walk beside him or even behind him saying, ‘Lord, you know whatever you want. I say yes,’” she explained. “All, really, that matters is that you say yes to the Lord and you are able to receive the grace to say, ‘Whatever you want. May your holy will be done.’”

It is for this same reason that Mother Marie André sees St. Clare as such an important saint.

“She really put all of her trust in the Lord — total trust in his divine providence,” she said. “That’s what Mother Angelica did and that’s what we’re all required to do. The way is not always clear. It wasn’t clear for holy Mother Clare, but we just have to be patient and trust. And that’s what she was because she really believed with Jesus that we don’t have anything to fear.”

Today there are 27 monasteries of Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration around the world in countries including France, Bangladesh, India, Germany, and Poland.

This story was first published on Aug. 11, 2023, and has been updated.

Pope Leo XIV in his Sunday Angelus on Aug. 10, 2025, urged the faithful to reflect on how they invest the “treasure” that is their life. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Aug 10, 2025 / 08:20 am (CNA).

In his Angelus address on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to reflect on how they invest the “treasure” that is their life, challenging Catholics to share not only material possessions but also their skills, time, and compassion for the good of others.

Drawing on the Gospel reading from Luke 12:32-48, the pope emphasized that generosity and love are the keys to fulfillment, reminding the crowd that these gifts must be cultivated and put at the service of others rather than hoarded or misused.

“Sell your possessions and give alms,” Jesus exhorts in the passage. Pope Leo made clear that this invitation extends beyond charitable donations, pressing his audience to offer their presence, love, and talents to those most in need.

“Everything in God’s plan that makes each of us a priceless and unrepeatable good must be cultivated and invested in order to grow. Otherwise, these gifts dry up and diminish in value,” he warned.

The pontiff’s remarks on Aug. 10 echoed the teachings of St. Augustine, whom Leo quoted verbatim: “What you give will certainly be transformed ... it isn’t gold, it isn’t silver, but eternal life that will come your way.”

Drawing on St. John Paul II, Leo also emphasized the spiritual transformation that results from acts of mercy. Highlighting the example of the poor widow from Mark’s Gospel, Leo XIV called works of mercy “the most secure and profitable bank” where believers can place their lives’ treasures.

The pope also underscored the importance of vigilance in daily life — at home, parish, school, or workplace — encouraging all “to grow in the habit of being attentive, ready, and sensitive to one another.” He invoked Mary, the Morning Star, as a guide for the Church’s mission of mercy and peace in a world “marked by many divisions.”