U.S. Vice President JD Vance and wife Usha welcome fourth child
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, announced the birth of their fourth child, a baby boy named Alec Neel Vance, on Sunday, July 19.
In a statement shared on social media, the couple wrote: “We are excited to announce that our baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning. Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother.”
The Vances are already parents to Ewan (9), Vivek (6), and Mirabel (4). Vance was received into the Catholic Church in 2019 and recently released a book about his faith journey, titled “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.”
Usha Vance, who is Hindu and has said she has no plans to convert, has shared that the family attends Mass together and sends their children to Catholic schools.
She said in a June 2025 interview with Megan McCain that after her husband converted, “we had to have a lot of real conversations about how” to raise their children.
“When you convert to Catholicism it comes with several important obligations, like to raise your child in the faith and all that,” she said.
The couple allows their children to discern whether to be baptized; their son Ewan has since chosen to become Catholic.
Vice President Vance has long spoken of children as a profound blessing and vocation.
In a March interview with podcaster Benny Johnson, Vance reflected: “If I have one regret, it’s that I wish we had started earlier and had more, because it’s the most rewarding thing; it’s the coolest thing.”
He said his three children, who have “their own little personalities” are “so quirky and fun.”
To young men thinking of becoming fathers, but waiting until “everything in your life is perfect,” Vance had this to say: “I think that’s a ridiculous attitude … You’re never ready. There’s no point at which you can sort of get all your little ducks in a row and get … your financial situation in a row. Whenever you have a baby, whatever stage of life, it will be shocking, it will be crazy, it will be the most difficult and the most rewarding thing that you’ve ever done.”
“You have kids, you figure it out,” he continued. “They’re the thing that perfects life. Fatherhood is the absolute best motivator.”
His words on fatherhood align with his public advocacy for a renewed culture of life. In his first public address as vice president at the National March for Life in January 2025, he declared: “I want more babies in the United States of America. I want more happy children in our country and I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them.”
The Vance’s happy news arrives against the backdrop of America’s ongoing demographic challenges.
According to the latest CDC provisional data, U.S. births fell 1% in 2025 to 3.6 million, with the general fertility rate dropping to a record low of 53.1 births per 1,000 women ages 15–44. The total fertility rate remains well below the replacement level of 2.1, continuing a decline since 2007.
Catholic leaders have repeatedly called attention to this trend as a spiritual and cultural crisis.
Pope Leo in May decried “the time of drastic sterility” in which we are living, emphasizing that discouraging demographic data “are not merely statistics but speak of fatherhood, motherhood, and children. And children are the future!”
The Church’s teaching affirms openness to life, the gift of children and the vocation of marriage and family as a “domestic church.”
U.S. President Donald Trump offered warm congratulations to the couple in a post on Truth Social: “Congratulations! A perfect baby boy for the wonderful Vance family,” accompanied by a photo of the newborn with two of his siblings.
Usha and JD Vance’s baby is the first in modern U.S. history (and the first in over 150 years) for a sitting American vice president’s family. The last time a baby was born to a U.S. vice president was in 1870, when Vice President Schuyler Colfax (under President Ulysses S. Grant) and his wife Ellen welcomed a son, Schuyler Colfax III.
U.S. bishops' Natural Family Planning Awareness Week campaign begins
“Designed by God, Guided by Love, Open to Life” is the theme of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) 2026 Natural Family Planning (NFP) Awareness Week campaign.
The bishops' annual NFP campaign, taking place July 19-25, highlights God’s design for married love, the gift of life, and the Church’s teaching on NFP methods.
To educate people on the matter, the NFP Program of the USCCB develops a poster each year with supportive materials to be displayed in parishes, hospitals, NFP classrooms, marriage preparation sites, doctors' offices, family life centers, and campus ministry centers.
In 1981, the Catholic Church in the U.S. worked to strengthen efforts to make NFP and Church teaching more widely known and used. To further the mission, the bishops’ conference established the NFP Program.
The program, which is a part of the USCCB’s Secretariat for Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, releases resources for dioceses and organizations to use including the posters, homily notes, social media files, and ideas for celebrating and promoting NFP.
The campaign encourages parishes to provide introductory sessions on the science and ethics of NFP and host retreats for married couples.
The USCCB also suggests that parishes offer opportunities for prayer, including Masses, rosaries, Eucharistic adoration for marriage and NFP intentions, and novenas for strengthening marriage, such as those to St. Anne, St. Joachim, and the Blessed Mother under the title of the Annunciation.
The dates of the annual campaign highlight the anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical on the regulation of birth, Humanae Vitae, which was published on July 25, 1968.
Natural Family Planning
NFP invites couples to cooperate with God’s plan for married love, which the USCCB says, “is a ‘great mystery,’ a sign of the love between Christ and his Church (Eph 5:32).”
NFP relies on observing and measuring a woman’s natural signs of fertility, such as basal body temperature and hormone levels, in order to identify fertile and infertile phases of her menstrual cycle.
Unlike chemical or mechanical contraceptives that suppress or block fertility, NFP works with the body’s natural rhythms in keeping with Church teaching.
As the U.S. bishops have previously said, “NFP respects the God-given power to love a new human life into being even when we are not actively seeking to exercise that power.”
Published research has also revealed that married couples who practice a method of NFP experience improved couple communication, more openness to life, and have lower divorce rates.
East Africa Catholic bishops commit to young people as pastoral priority for next 4 years
NAIROBI — The Catholic bishops of Eastern Africa have committed the next four years of their regional pastoral mission to accompanying young people, making them their top pastoral priority as they seek to strengthen the Church through listening, dialogue, and synodal accompaniment in one of the worldʼs youngest regions.
Announcing the decision during the opening Eucharistic celebration of the 21st Plenary Assembly of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) on July 19, Bishop Charles Sampa Kasonde said the bishops had intentionally adopted this pastoral focus because young people are central to the future of both the Church and society.
“We, the bishops of the AMECEA region, make young people our pastoral priority over the next four years for three reasons,” Kasonde, the AMECEA chairman, said during the Eucharistic celebration at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in Kenya’s Archdiocese of Nairobi (ADN).
Kasonde, who is also bishop of Zambia’s Catholic Diocese of Solwezi said the first objective of the four-year pastoral commitment is to strengthen young peopleʼs sense of belonging to the Church.
He explained that the bishops’ commitment seeks to affirm “that it is worth the effort of young people to have a sense of belonging to this Holy Mother Church, the Catholic Church, for the future of humanity and indeed the future of the Church.”
He added: “The future of the Church lies in the hands of those who are strong enough to give the coming generations reasons for living and hoping in faith.”
Kasonde said the bishops' decision is also informed by Africaʼs demographic reality, recalling the reflections of Catholic bishops in Africa during the Golden Jubilee of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).
“Our continental bishops heard the plain fact that six in 10 Africans are under 25 years of age. This reality calls for a preferential option for the youth,” he said.
Reflecting on the theme of the July 19–26 Plenary Assembly, “AMECEAʼs Synodal Journey with Young People: Building Bridges of Communion, Hope, Justice, and Good Governance,” Kasonde said the Churchʼs mission among young people must be rooted in listening and accompaniment.
“The Synod on Synodality has taught us that the Church discerns Godʼs will by listening,” he said.
Referring to Pope Leo XIV, who sent a message to the plenary asembly encouraging the Church to trust young people “to be agents of transformation," the AMECEA chairman said new technologies can also contribute to fostering dialogue despite growing social fragmentation.
“Pope Leo XIV even spoke about making use of the Internet and new technologies to enhance dialogue amid the many interests that fragment our relationships,” he said.
He underscored that listening and accompaniment are inseparable dimensions of the Churchʼs synodal mission.
“Synodality without accompaniment is a theory. Accompaniment without listening is control. This theme holds both together, journeying with our young people, not merely speaking about them,” Kasonde said.
Addressing the young delegates participating in the 21st AMECEA Plenary Assembly, he acknowledged that although only a limited number were present, they represented thousands of young Catholics across the region.
“You are few in this hall, but you are not few in Godʼs eyes or in this assembly. You stand here to represent thousands of young Catholics across the 11 countries in Eastern Africa who could not travel to Kenya, but whose hopes you carry. Your bishops are seeing you and listening to you,” he said.
Encouraging them to embrace their vocation in the Church and society, the AMECEA chairman cited St. Paulʼs exhortation to Timothy: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.”
Reflecting on AMECEAʼs 65-year journey, Bishop Kasonde described the regional association as the realization of a vision of ecclesial collaboration that continues to unite the Church across national borders.
“Sixty-five years ago, the bishops of Eastern Africa dared to imagine a Church working together across our borders and cultures. Today, here in Kenya, we are the fruit of that dream. For 65 years of growth in faith, in numbers, and in holiness across our member episcopal conferences, God alone be praised,” he said.
He also thanked Pope Leo XIV for his spiritual closeness to the AMECEA Plenary Assembly through his representative, Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Cardinal Parolin, and expressed gratitude to the Catholic Church in Kenya for accepting to host the gathering on short notice.
Turning to the challenges that the region faces, Kasonde said the AMECEA Plenary Assembly could not overlook the suffering caused by conflict, displacement, and violence.
“Our hearts cannot ignore the wounds of our region and our world — conflict, displacement, families torn by violence,” he said.
Entrusting the region to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he prayed that the gathering would contribute to peace in Eastern Africa.
“Through Mary, Queen of Peace, we ask God for peace in every troubled corner of Eastern Africa and that this Plenary itself become an instrument of that peace,” he said during the opening Holy Mass of the 21st AMECEA Plenary Assembly on July 19.
On his part, welcoming participants in the Plenary Assembly to Kenya, the Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, reaffirmed the Churchʼs confidence in young people and encouraged them to play an active role in the life of the Church and society.
“The Church loves you, and we invite you to participate fully in the life of the Church and the life of your respective countries, that we may grow together in love, in justice, in unity, in faith, and in moving our society forward based on our Catholic and Christian values,” the archbishop said.
The host of the 21st AMECEA Plenary Assembly, Archbishop Philip Subira Anyolo of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi (ADN) described the gathering as “a great blessing and an honour” and invited participants to model their synodal journey on the disciples' encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus.
“May we find Him within us. May we feel our hearts burning as we listen to him. Above all, may we continually discover Jesus as the disciples of Emmaus did at the breaking of bread,” Anyolo said.
He encouraged young people to remain steadfast in faith despite contemporary challenges.
“Do not be afraid to live your faith to the full. Allow the Holy Spirit to inspire you and guide you to joyful and courageous witness,” he said.
AMECEA is comprised of the Episcopal Conferences of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia — with Djibouti and Somalia participating as affiliate members.
During the week-long Assembly, bishops and delegates are examining key pastoral and social issues affecting young people, including governance, unemployment, migration, social exclusion, safeguarding, mental health, evangelization in the digital age, and missionary vocations.
The plenary will also review the implementation of previous resolutions, consider reports from the AMECEA Secretariat and its institutions, deliberate on revised statutes, approve its final resolutions and communiqué, and elect a new AMECEA Chairman.
The assembly is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, July 26, with a closing Eucharistic celebration to be presided over by the new AMECEA chairman, who will be elected during the ongoing plenary assembly.
The current chairman of AMECEA, Bishop Kasonde, was re-elected during the July 2022 20th Plenary Assembly of the nine-nation eight-conference association that was held in the Catholic Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania.
This article was orginally published by ACI Africa, EWTN News’ service in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News English.
Pope Leo XIV makes private visit to St. Benedict's tomb, prays for peace
Pope Leo XIV made a private visit on July 20 to the Abbey of Montecassino, where St. Benedict of Nursia is buried.
As announced by the Holy See Press Office, the pontiff made the trip while on vacation at Castel Gandolfo, where he will remain from July 5-27. At Montecassino, he prayed at the tomb of St. Benedict, considered the father of Western monasticism, “entrusting him with his plea for peace in those regions of the world marked by bloodshed and conflict.”
The pope also enjoyed lunch with the Benedictine community at the abbey.
Leo’s surprise visit to Montecassino was his first since his election to the papacy in 2025. While on vacation that year, he also made a surprise visit to the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie della Mentorella in Guadagnolo, where he also prayed for peace.
The Abbey of Montecassino, founded by St. Benedict in 529 AD, will celebrate the 1,500th anniversary of its founding in 2029.
Leo’s visit to Montecassino was also his third public appearance (outside his Sunday Angelus) during his Castel Gandolfo vacation, following his lunch with the poor on July 11 and a summer concert on July 18. Except for his Sunday Angelus, all private and public audiences, including the Wednesday general audience, are suspended during his vacation.
Tweet
New Pope Leo XIV medal on sustainability to debut in Rome in October
A new medal named after Pope Leo XIV to recognize individuals who have worked toward ecological sustainability will be introduced in October 2026.
The pontiff will personally present the “Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal” at the International Sustainability Conference, to be held at the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome from Oct. 12–15. The award ceremony will take place on Oct. 13 in the Borgo Laudato Si’ garden, part of the Pontifical Gardens in Castel Gandolfo.
The award and conference were established by Villanova University, a Catholic liberal arts university in Pennsylvania. This is where Leo XIV, formerly Robert Prevost, earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1977 and an honorary doctorate in 2014. The Dicastery for Integral Human Development will also sponsor the event.
The inaugural Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal is a permanent award that will be presented by the university every two years.
An award to reflect the care for our common home
In a July 20 press release, Villanova University’s president, Father Peter Donohue, OSA, explained that the medal will recognize individuals who embody the university’s core belief in ecological stewardship and the common good.
“The Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal reflects a deeply held belief at Villanova University: that care for our common home and care for one another are inseparable,” Donohue said. “By recognizing leaders whose work advances both environmental stewardship and the common good, we hope to inspire meaningful and lasting impact in communities around the world.”
The conference, themed “Responding to the Cries of the Earth and the Poor,” will gather more than 300 academics, church officials, and stakeholders for discussions on integral ecology.
The recipient of the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal may come from any field and will be evaluated based on their efforts to advance sustainability and equity.
Another Villanova initiative to honor Leo XIV
The medal is not the only recent initiative by Villanova University to honor its most famous alumnus.
In July 2026, the university co-sponsored the 38th Annual Liberty Medal ceremony in Philadelphia, which awarded the pope the Liberty Medal ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
On Nov. 1, the university’s basketball team will open its NCAA season in Rome with a men’s and women’s doubleheader against Notre Dame. The initiative was also inspired by Leo XIV, who will meet both teams in an audience ahead of the games.
9 tips to combat pornography during summer vacation
With summer vacation time in full swing, the Spanish foundation Dale una Vuelta (“Give it some thought”), dedicated to combating pornography, has compiled a list of practical tips for adults, young people, families, and educators.
“The summer vacation time is perhaps always more conflict-ridden. This is because there is more free time and more opportunities [to fall into watching pornography]. The heat itself plays a role, too. There are many factors that make it easier to get hooked or stay hooked on pornography,” Jorge Gutiérrez, the organization’s director general, told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.
Although vacations can increase the risk of falling into pornography use, a change in routine can also become an opportunity to leave the habit behind.
“It’s an ideal time to focus more on hobbies, your own family, and many enjoyable, pleasant activities rather than isolating yourself and ending up watching pornography,” Gutiérrez said. He explained that this addiction “has a lot to do with emotional factors such as tension and anxiety and the desire to escape unpleasant moods.”
The organization’s approach to freeing oneself from porn is based on two ideas: releasing “your best dopamine through activities and relationships that you genuinely enjoy and that help you become freer” and seeking the meaning of life.
“‘Know yourself, love yourself, better yourself’ is the best recipe for overcoming porn,” the organization advises.
‘Humanize the way you look’ at other people
For adults who have fallen into pornography use, the organization offers nine basic recommendations:
1. Identify triggers. Pinpoint the “situations, objects, places, or people” that spark the desire to consume pornography in order to anticipate them or replace harmful habits.
2. Learn from relapses. Make the most of your relapse by asking yourself questions that help you understand why and for what purpose you consume pornography.
3. Strengthen personal relationships. Devote time to social interactions, maintaining contact with friends or forging new connections.
4. Organize your day. Avoid letting your vacation days pass without a plan; pay attention to your diet, rest, and hobbies.
5. Avoid isolation. During vacations, be wary of the most secluded areas of the house, experts warn, noting that “pornography thrives on solitude and isolation.”
6. “Humanize the way you look at others.” Strive to “see beyond sexual pleasure,” recognizing the other person as “an individual with their own life story, family, problems, etc.”
7. Train your willpower. Delay any urge — whether it’s eating a sweet or watching pornography — by five minutes to strengthen your self-control.
8. Understand the reality of the pornography industry. Educate yourself on the dark reality of this industry, because that time spent is “invested in your recovery.”
9. Accept discomfort without giving in. When the urge to consume arises, “accept it without having to satisfy it; tolerate the discomfort,” remembering that it’s possible to experience a sense of lacking something and at the same time, be happy.
The ‘Bermuda Triangle of Porn’ for young people
In addition to these recommendations, Dale una Vuelta offers others specifically for young people.
Tips include seeking out screen-free leisure activities and getting at least a half an hour of exercise daily. It also helps to have three planned activities ready if faced with relapsing, with the rule that they must be “anything other than digital.”
Along with recommendations to avoid sleeping with a mobile phone in the room and to turn off notifications, the organization emphasizes the importance of planning one’s day, noting that “boredom, loneliness, and curiosity make up the ‘Bermuda Triangle of Porn.’”
Advice for parents and educators
For parents and educators, Dale una Vuelta recommends avoiding “long periods where your child spends hours not knowing what to do,” establishing guidelines for mobile phone use, getting to know their friends, and talking to them about sexuality.
The organization also urges parents to get their children into “action mode” to help “release tension and relax the mind and body” while simultaneously encouraging an “inner journey” through connecting with the beauty found in nature, art, and music.
Encouraging reading — “the best vaccine for almost everything,” including pornography as well as building mutual trust and promoting deep conversations — is also among the recommendations.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Bishops embrace proposed grant rules to restrict gender ideology, oppose migrant provisions
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops submitted a public comment on proposed changes to federal grants, expressing support for restrictions on gender ideology and abortion but opposing restrictions for groups that work with migrants who are in the country unlawfully.
The bishops submitted the public comment to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on July 8. The proposed rule change regulates the activities of organizations that receive certain forms of federal assistance, which includes Catholic charities, schools, and healthcare providers.
Areas of agreement
The bishops support a provision that bans federal funds from being used on efforts that deny “the sex binary in humans” or express the notion “sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic.”
“We fully support this provision, which is prudently designed as a restriction on the scope of activities that may be supported by federal awards rather than as a prohibition on speech or conduct outside the scope of the award,” the bishops’ comment stated.
The bishops also support a provision that bans organizations from charging federal awards for costs “associated with elective abortions … except as expressly authorized by federal law.”
However, they also commented that the rule should be “even stronger in protecting innocent human life” by at least aligning fully with the Hyde Amendment, which would prohibit funds for abortions, with the exception of unborn children conceived in rape or incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger.
They also stated that OMB should clarify what “associated with” means, warning the language does not appear as strong as the gender ideology provision.
The bishops also support a proposal to ban federal agencies from discriminating against or disfavoring faith-based organizations in award applications but urged OMB to strengthen this language too by expressly applying the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
“Even when the law places religious and secular entities on equal footing, RFRA prohibits the federal government from substantially burdening religious exercise unless doing so serves a compelling governmental interest and is the manner of doing so that is least restrictive of that exercise,” the comment added.
It also encouraged a revision in the language to ensure that religious organizations do not get accused of bias against other religions.
Areas of disagreement
The provision receiving the strongest opposition from the bishops is one that prohibits funds from being used to encourage or facilitate “illegal immigration,” noting that Catholic charitable groups have been accused of doing that.
“Providing for the basic human needs of immigrants, without regard to their immigration status, is integral to the mission of the Catholic Church and her ministries,” the comment stated.
“Religious entities that provide food, shelter, or other humanitarian aid to immigrants, or transportation related to such aid, may reasonably fear that their ordinary ministries could be characterized as facilitation of illegal immigration or as an initiative that compromises public safety,” it added.
“Under these same interpretations, even ensuring the full inclusion of undocumented immigrants in the sacramental life of the Church or providing for the education of undocumented children could be misconstrued as ‘encouraging’ their presence in the United States without authorization,” the comment continued.
The bishops also oppose a ban on funding that encourages “anti-American values,” warning it is unclear what this means.
In their comment, they also opposed mandatory e-verify, saying it “may chill lawful hiring, burden nonprofits and religious organizations, create confusion over contractors and indirect-cost employees, and encourage discriminatory over-screening.”
Steubenville Youth Conference marks 50 years, reaching over a million young people
In 1976, Franciscan University of Steubenville held its first youth conference on its campus in Steubenville, Ohio. This summer, the Catholic university celebrates 50 years of a conference that has changed many lives.
Since its founding, the youth conferences have helped over 1 million young people encounter Jesus Christ through dynamic talks, the Mass, Eucharistic adoration, confession, prayer, and fellowship.
The inspiration for the conference for young people came after Father Michael Scanlan, TOR, former president of Franciscan University, held a conference for priests and asked them what the university could do for them. Their response? They wanted some kind of event for young people — specifically teenagers. The next year the first youth conference was held.
“Itʼs really a beautiful testimony to Godʼs faithfulness,” Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, current president of Franciscan University, told EWTN News.
“I was thinking the other day that the teenagers that came to the first youth conferences are now in their late 60s, almost 70 years old,” he added. “So thatʼs half a century of young people whose hearts have been touched, who have encountered Jesus in the sacraments, who have encountered him in the community gathered of young people … itʼs just a tremendous milestone for the young people. Now, the fact that Franciscan University has been able to be a part of that and we had the vision to be able to provide this opportunity, I think, is just a great grace for us as well.”
This summer, Franciscan University hosted four sold-out conferences on its campus in Steubenville with an additional 15 conferences taking place in cities across the United States.
Youth conference speakers this summer include Father Mike Schmitz, host of “The Bible in a Year” podcast; Chris Stefanick, author, speaker, and television host; Father Leo Patalinghug, author, podcast host, and priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore; Katie Prejean McGrady, author and Catholic radio host; Paul J. Kim, speaker, author, and musician; and many more.
Brian Kissinger, executive director of conferences at Franciscan University, told EWTN News that “at the heart of our conferences, at the heart of this experience for young people, is the Blessed Sacrament.”
He explained that they also try to keep the conferences “as invitational as possible.”
“We know teens are coming from a million different places — not just geographically but emotionally, spiritually, catechetically. Some have great formation and loving Catholic homes, others are not Catholic but were just brought there by their Catholic friends,” he explained. “So we really try to make the weekend as invitational as possible, to preach the Gospel message, which never changes, but always approaching the presentation of kerygma assuming that a teenager does not know the whole story.”
One of the most impactful moments that takes place during the conference, Kissinger said, takes place during the closing Mass when the presiding priest invites young men and women to come forward if they heard during the weekend an invitation from God calling them to the priesthood or religious life.
According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate’s (CARA) 2026 survey of newly ordained priests, 18% of priests ordained this year attended a Franciscan University of Steubenville Youth Conference during their vocational journey.
Separate CARA studies found that 21% of women religious and 15% of religious brothers who recently professed perpetual vows also attended a Franciscan youth conference. Combined, 18% of newly professed religious men and women reported participating in a Steubenville Youth Conference — more than any other Catholic conference ministry in the United States.
So what is the secret to the Steubenville Youth Conference’s success among young Catholics?
“People will often ask me, ‘Whatʼs the secret sauce of the conferences?’ But honestly, thereʼs nothing complicated about it,” Pivonka said. “What we do is we gather young people and we provide an environment where they can encounter Jesus. We do that through the sacraments. We do that through adoration. We do that through the sacrament of reconciliation. We do that through worship. And in the best way that we can, to kind of take down the barriers that might exist between that encounter.”
“So, I’d like to say that thereʼs some secret sauce but itʼs really just providing an environment for encounter for the young people,” he added.
“I also donʼt buy into the whole ‘young people arenʼt zealous or you canʼt challenge them,’” he continued. “I mean, we present the teachings of the Church without any hesitation. And what weʼre finding is that young people respond to that.”
From reluctant attendee to joyful disciple
Elizabeth Feulner, an 18-year-old student from Syracuse, New York, has attended two Steubenville Youth Conferences.
In an interview with EWTN News, she shared that she was forced to attend the conference her first year. The youth group at her parish was just starting up and her mom received an email from the youth group leader giving her details about the conference.
“My mom was like, ‘Youʼre going to this. This sounds like a great opportunity. I wish Iʼd had this when I was your age.’ And I was like, ‘Wow, this is very short notice; I donʼt know if this is going to be my favorite thing.’ So it wasnʼt really my choice the first year,” Feulner said.
However, looking back at the first experience, she said it helped her “grow in my personal relationship with Jesus and in more outwardly showing that and being confident in that in a lot of ways in my life.”
She pointed out that attending by herself the first year allowed her to “really sit there and feel the presence of Jesus and feel him working in my life,” which then motivated her to find relationships “centered in God” when she returned home.
Feulner recalled the one moment that impacted her the most during that first conference: Eucharistic adoration.
That year, she attended the conference with a dislocated knee and had to walk with crutches. Adoration took place in the evening but during the day she had walked a lot and was in a lot of pain and was exhausted by the evening.
“I was sitting there during adoration; I was really emotional and the monstrance just stopped right over me and it just felt like for a moment it was just me and God and he was like, ‘I see you and Iʼm here,’” she shared.
“I think that moment has shown me — and Iʼve continued to try and allow it to show me — that heʼs always there,” she added. “And so that physical representation of him being there, looking at me through the monstrance, itʼs like itʼs me and him. And thatʼs continued to shape how I view my relationship with God especially through struggle and throughout my life.”
When Feulner attended this year, she expressed having a completely different perspective and feeling extremely thankful for all the work God had done in her life since attending the first time the previous year.
Since then her youth group has formed and through that she has received Christ-centered friendships, her boyfriend of two years has now converted to Catholicism, and her younger sister was able to attend the conference with her this year.
“I just felt so thankful for the past year and for the community that I, honestly, never thought I would have as a youth,” she said. “This past year has been so fundamental in finally having a community in Christ and in my faith and friendships that are just so unwavering.”
Feulner said she hopes that for those who attend a Steubenville Youth Conference that they would have an “experience at some point that showed them that they know that they are worthy of his love, no matter what theyʼve done and that they know that he sees them, whether they had that moment in adoration or not, that he truly sees them every single day and in everything they go through and that he loves them not in spite of that but because of that.”
Information about upcoming Steubenville Youth Conferences can be found here.
Ferrán Torres, the Catholic forward who won the World Cup for Spain
Ferrán Torres is the Catholic forward who secured a 1–0 victory for Spain over Messiʼs Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, played on Sunday, July 19, in New Jersey.
“The goal is the least important thing; right now, all I want is to grab that trophy and squeeze it as hard as I can, because I believe it represents the dream of the 47 million people we were representing on the pitch today — because I think we deserved it and we gave it our all,” said Ferrán Torres after the final.
Torres, who plays for Barcelona in Spain, also said that the goal brought him a sense of relief, given the heavy criticism he had faced during the World Cup. “Thank God, He always gives me the strength to keep going, and in the end — as I always say — God grants things to those who deserve them most,” the forward emphasized.
Days before the final, a video was released in which Torres spoke about the importance of God in his life. “I have a cross and an image of the Virgin Mary; ultimately, I think having such strong faith gives me great support — it is something very important to me,” remarked the Spanish forward, who was named the final’s Superior Player of the Match.
Tweet
Torres stands out for his Catholic faith within the Spanish national team, alongside coach Luis de la Fuente — who, at the press conference prior to the semifinal match where they defeated France 2–0, stated that he prays “every day, but not because I am at a World Cup or in order to get a result.”
“I give thanks every day — every day I wake up and find myself well, I look at myself and say: ‘Another day I can enjoy life.’ I give thanks for those little things. I pray—because I do pray every day — not to ask for more help,” the Spanish head coach explained at the time.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Bishops of Peru pray for victims of earthquake that leaves at least 5 dead
Peruʼs bishops offered prayers and expressed their solidarity with the victims of an earthquake that struck Saturday night in the Junín region — located in the countryʼs central Andean zone — leaving at least five people dead, more than 20 injured, and hundreds affected.
The earthquake, which occurred around 9 p.m., was centered in the district of Chongos Bajo, in the Chupaca province of the Junín region — situated in Peruʼs central Andes, some 193 miles east of Lima — according to the National Civil Defense Institute (INDECI, by its Spanish acronym).
“We share in the grief of the families mourning their loved ones, offering our prayers for the eternal rest of the deceased, and we ask the Lord to grant everyone strength, comfort, and hope,” the bishops stated in the aftermath of the disaster.
“We express our spiritual closeness to all those affected, to those who have lost their homes, and to those generously participating in rescue, care, and relief efforts,” said Bishop Carlos García Camader, president of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference.
After encouraging Peruvians to show solidarity with those affected, the bishops urged them not to lose hope and pray “that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope, may intercede for all those affected and accompany our beloved people of Junín.”
Junín’s 5.1-magnitude earthquake
Rescue operations involving the police, firefighters, and the Peruvian army are ongoing, and authorities are assessing the damage — particularly in the Pumpunya area of the Chongos Bajo district, where approximately 50 homes have been affected.
In an interview with Radio Programas del Perú, Hernando Tavera, president of the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP, by its Spanish acronym), stated that the extent of the destruction in this area is due to the fragility of the houses, most of which were built using substandard materials.
“When structures are built according to standards and proper engineering, they obviously yield better results than those constructed using local materials,” which makes them prone to easy collapse, Tavera explained.
So far, the IGP has recorded 12 aftershocks. The strongest measured 3.7 and 3.4 in magnitude.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Luis Enrique Arroyo Sánchez headed to the Chongos Bajo district alongside Defense Minister Amadeo Flores and INDECI chief Luis Enrique Vásquez “to oversee the response to the 5.1-magnitude earthquake and coordinate assistance for the affected population,” according to the Office of the Prime Minister.
Historic cross collapses
As a result of the earthquake, the historic Cani Cruz — known as the Lord of Cani Cruz — collapsed. The cross, erected in 1534 and located in the main square of Chongos Bajo, is one of the regionʼs oldest religious monuments, according to local media reports.
Carved from limestone and featuring reliefs of the crucified Christ and the Virgin Mary, in 1990 it was declared a national cultural heritage site, alongside the main church of Chongos Bajo and the El Copón Chapel.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.