Piarist Fathers demand Cuban regime return their cloister and school
The Piarist (also known as the Escolapios) Fathers in Cuba have demanded that the government return ownership of their cloister and school so they can rescue them from the ruin into which they have fallen due to state neglect.
In 1961, Fidel Castroʼs communist regime confiscated hundreds of schools and other assets from the Catholic Church, among them the cloister and school that the Piarist Fathers maintained in the Guanabacoa district of Havana.
However, the prolonged economic crisis and the negligence of the authorities have led to the gradual deterioration of both buildings.
Compounding this situation was the looting of the Piarists’ church in October 2025, during which criminals stole “candelabras for the Blessed Sacrament, vestments, and fans, smashing display cases and windows.”
“We filed a complaint, but only a few items could be recovered,” they said.
Next came a fire in March of this year at the old cloister — “abandoned for over a year by the municipal department of education without maintenance or security” and a blaze on April 9 that damaged the church door after unknown individuals set fire to trash accumulated in the street.
In their post, the Piarist Fathers warned that what is being destroyed is the first Teachers College for Cuba and Latin America founded by the order in 1857 and declared a national monument in 1990. “Nationalized in 1961, state ownership brought only neglect and, now, destruction,” they charged.
They said the parties responsible for the situation are the municipal department of education and the municipal government; for while the former “abandoned the building without protection,” the latter “ignored repeated warnings from the cultural heritage authorities as well as our own.”
Furthermore, they noted, “the [Communist] Party condones criminal inaction: Promises ‘fade into bureaucratic silence’ while the looting is carried out in plain sight.”
The Piarist Fathers said they have spent “months working to reclaim these places to restore them and breathe new life into them in the service of Guanabacoa.”
They are demanding of the authorities the “immediate return of the cloister and school to the Piarist order,” an “end to empty promises,” and that “public accountability for criminal negligence” be established.
“This is not a demand [in the name of the Catholic religion]; it is the very identity of all the people of Guanabacoa that is fading away. Enough with the complicity. There is still time,” they urged.
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.
Haitian prime minister meets Pope Leo, inaugurates new Vatican embassy
Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé discussed peace and strengthening relations with the Holy See in Rome over the weekend. The head of the transitional government was received by Pope Leo XIV on Saturday and then spoke with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.
In a brief conversation with EWTN News, Parolin revealed that “we also talked about concrete initiatives regarding peace” with the prime minister, such as a conference on peace in Haiti, but “there is nothing in particular at the moment.” The secretary of state acknowledged that the local Church “is certainly active, helps, and contributes” on the ground.
“During the cordial talks,” the Holy See Press Office said in a release, both sides appreciated “good relations,” stressing the “valuable contribution that the Church offers to the country at this particular time.”
They touched upon “the socio-political situation and problems in the humanitarian field, migration, and security fields” while mentioning “the necessary contribution of the international community to face current difficulties,” the communiqué concluded.
Haiti is experiencing a multidimensional crisis. The country was struck by a devastating earthquake in 2010 and a subsequent cholera outbreak. In 2021, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, and the security and political situation deteriorated. Armed gangs control large parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and there have not been general elections for a decade. The next general elections are scheduled for Aug. 30.
“We want to organize elections, ensure security, and move from receiving humanitarian aid to entering the commerce and market,” the prime minister said after the Mass for peace in Haiti, presided over by Parolin in the Basilica of St. Mary Major following the audience at the Vatican.
Fils-Aimé added that the audience with Pope Leo “was very emotional.” He appreciated “the exceptional relation with the Holy See,” highlighting that “the morale of the Catholic Church” is a “positive” factor in Haitian society.
“Looking at the current international situation,” Parolin said in his homily, “we can all recognize how much our world needs Godʼs presence and, therefore, the gift of peace.”
The Vaticanʼs secretary of state said that “peace is the first gift of the Resurrected” and so “we are called to bring Christʼs peace to the world.” Quoting St. Augustine, the prelate underscored that “peace is not a mere absence of war, as it has a profound significance and challenges all of us.”
He ended his homily with the hope that “peace may reign in Haiti forever.”
New embassy inaugurated near the Vatican walls
On Sunday, May 10, the prime minister and Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs Minister Raina Forbin inaugurated the new seat of the embassy of Haiti to the Holy See, located just off the Vatican walls.
“It is not just a simple change of address,” said the embassyʼs chargé dʼaffaires, Marie Guerline Janvier, adding that it shows “a political will to strengthen traditional and privileged relations with the Holy See.”
In this way, Haiti hopes to increase its visibility at the Holy See and to facilitate dialogue and collaboration.
Historic parish in Toronto Archdiocese to finally break ground on new church
After well over a decade of prayer, planning, and perseverance, a historic parish in the Archdiocese of Toronto, St. Patrick’s Parish in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, will officially break ground on its new church May 24.
For many, the project’s next — and most important — step marks a joyous continuation of a dream long held by generations of parishioners and clergy alike.
Celebrations will take place on Pentecost Sunday with Mass at the current St. Patrick’s Church, followed by a procession to the new site located at 150 Martin Byrne Dr. for the formal blessing and groundbreaking ceremony. There, Toronto Auxiliary Bishop Ivan Camilleri will preside, joined by parishioners, major donors, local mayors, and councillors. The day will conclude with a festive barbecue, live music, games, and family activities back at St. Patrick’s.
Monsignor Owen Keenan, pastor of St. Patrick’s, the archdiocese’s second-oldest parish, said the long-awaited moment is deeply meaningful for all. He spoke to Canadaʼs The Catholic Register about the parish communityʼs vision for a larger church, dating back to the 1980s, with planning truly intensifying in 2015 under the late Father Vito Marziliano.
Unfortunately, misfortune befell the project even in its earliest stages.
“ First, our architect Renzo Pianon died at 47, and then COVID hit us hard with the drop in attendance and various fundraising challenges before Father Vito left us far too young,” Keenan said. “There were moments of asking what is next? How much more can the community endure?”
Still, the community persisted through Marziliano’s Loaves and Fishes Campaign — a project solely dedicated to St. Patrick’s mission of building a new, larger church property to serve a growing local population.
Speaking to The Catholic Register in October 2025, Keenan revealed that the City of Brampton, Region of Peel, and the City of Caledon anticipated an increase of between 50,000 to 60,000 people within the confines of the parish in the next 15 to 20 years. He also shared the growing interest from parishioners — and pledges of $1 million to be paid upon the start of construction and an additional $1 million in bequests from an anonymous parishioner and an area business, respectively.
While the community has continued to rally behind the cause — including a promising showing and fundraising efforts at last year’s gala in October —Keenan concedes that a sense of restlessness has been creeping in.
“ Weʼve managed to maintain and reestablish a good level of fundraising after COVID, but weʼve run out of runway — people are only going to throw money at a question mark for so long. Thus far, we have around $350,000 worth of new donations already, with more expected as we go and as we break ground,” he said.
In total, the project has amassed several million dollars for the project.
Despite the impressive figures, Keenan reiterated that rising prices have played a role in the project’s delay. Even as the market shows itʼs a good time to build, a 32,000-square-foot project in 2018 was estimated to cost $12.9 million, but by 2024, a reduced 28,000-square-foot building was estimated to cost as much as $26.5 million, leading the parish to scale its operation back from wants to needs.
Still, the new church itself is set to be Marziliano’s swan song and become something truly unique as his original vision promised.
“He was quite an artist, and so the design for the new church will be based on a 19th-century reconstruction of a sixth-century church in the Holy Land, specifically the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish in Tabgha, Israel,” Keenan said.
The extensive project involves building a bigger version that remains faithful to the original design, complete with a traditional Romanesque style, rounded apse, cruciform shape, and pillars up the aisles.
Now, the project that required a true test of the communityʼs resiliency, patience, and faith will reach its most defining moment with May 24’s first dig.
Looking back on the multigenerational effort, Keenan is grateful for the patience and steadfast support of parishioners who have sacrificed for this new church over a decade.
“ We are all very excited, and I canʼt say enough about the good people of this parish who have been wanting this for so long. There are lots of good people for whom weʼre enormously grateful,” he said.
“We want a place for families who are stressed to be able to come together to appeal to the Lord. Letʼs find our identity in Christ, as St. Paul says, and letʼs truly rejoice together.”
This story was first published in Canadaʼs The Catholic Register and has been adapted by EWTN News. It is reprinted here with permission.
Pope names U.S. Bishop Lopes to lead Australia’s Anglican ordinariate
Pope Leo XIV on Monday appointed Bishop Steven J. Lopes, bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, to also lead the Anglican ordinariate in Australia, effective immediately.
There are three personal ordinariates erected for former Anglicans who convert to Catholicism: the Chair of Saint Peter for the United States and Canada, Our Lady of Walsingham for the United Kingdom, and Our Lady of the Southern Cross for Australia.
The Vatican also announced on May 11 that Archbishop Anthony Randazzo — who was named prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts in March — has concluded his role as apostolic administrator of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, which began on July 1, 2023.
Each of the three Anglican ordinariates is a personal (non-territorial) jurisdiction, similar to a diocese but defined by people (those with an Anglican background who have entered full communion with the Catholic Church) rather than by strict geographical boundaries. Any Catholic may belong to or attend an ordinariate parish.
“As I conclude my time as apostolic administrator, I give thanks for the grace-filled growth of the Ordinariate [of Our Lady of the Southern Cross] and the faithful witness of its clergy and people,” Randazzo wrote on his Facebook page on May 11.
“It has been a privilege to serve the Ordinariate during this period of renewal and hope,” he said. “I am encouraged by the strong foundations laid and the emerging signs of vitality, and I remain confident that its mission will bear fruit well into the future.”
The Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross is based out of a suburb of Sydney. Randazzo was also the bishop of Broken Bay, Australia, from 2019 to 2026.
Lopes, who was ordained a bishop for the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter in 2016, wrote to members in an email on May 11 that he has been privileged to come to know the Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross over the years and to now “be its custodian for a while.”
Lopes has been appointed apostolic administrator “sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis,” which means “the see being vacant and at the disposition of the Holy See.”
Lopes, who is originally from California, has a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Ordained a priest in 2001, he served as an official at the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2005 until his appointment as bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, of which the mother church and cathedral is in Houston.
The Vatican reaffirmed its support for the Anglican ordinariates in a document issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in March.
In “Characteristics of the Anglican Heritage as Lived in the Ordinariates Established Under the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus,” the Vatican highlighted key characteristics of the Anglican patrimony as lived in the ordinariates, including a distinctive “ecclesial ethos” in which both the laity and the clergy participate actively in Church governance, and a focus on evangelization through beauty in worship, music, and art.
Pope Leo XIV urges Christians, Muslims to turn indifference into solidarity
Pope Leo XIV called on Christians and Muslims to resist the growing danger of apathy in modern society, warning May 11 that the constant stream of images of human suffering can “dull our hearts rather than stir them” and urging believers to “transform indifference into solidarity.”
The pope made the appeal during an audience with participants in the eighth colloquium between the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, held under the theme “Human Compassion and Empathy in Modern Times.”
In his address in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father said compassion and empathy are essential for “what it means to live a truly human life.”
The pope noted that the Muslim tradition associates compassion with mercy, “as a gift bestowed by God in the hearts of believers,” and that compassion “always has its origin in God himself.”
Likewise, he said, the Christian tradition’s sacred Scripture “reveals a God who does not remain indifferent to suffering.”
“In Jesus Christ, this divine compassion becomes visible and tangible,” he said. “God goes beyond seeing and hearing by taking on our human nature in order to become the living embodiment of compassion.”
Following Jesus’ example, Leo said, Christian compassion “becomes a sharing in or ‘suffering with’ others, particularly the most disadvantaged.”
“For our traditions, human compassion and empathy are not something additional or optional but are a call from God to reflect his goodness in our daily lives,” the pope said.
Addressing Jordan’s Prince Hasan bin Talal, who was present at the audience, the Holy Father expressed appreciation “for the generous efforts of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in welcoming refugees and assisting those in need in difficult circumstances.”
Leo lamented that “compassion and empathy are sadly in danger of disappearing today” in a society marked by technological advances that, in his view, “have made us more connected than ever before, but they can also lead to indifference.”
“The constant flow of images and videos of the hardships of others can dull our hearts rather than stir them,” he warned.
In the face of this reality, Leo said Christians and Muslims are called to a common mission: “to revive humanity where it has grown cold, to give voice to those who suffer and to transform indifference into solidarity.”
“Compassion and empathy can be our instruments as they have the power to restore the dignity of the other,” the pope added.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News’ Spanish-language sister service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Czechs turn ‘symbol of division’ into ground for Catholic-Protestant unity
Czech and Slovak Christians gathered for ecumenical prayers on Friday at the site of the 1620 Battle of White Mountain and in some 10 cities across the Czech Republic, marking a historic Catholic-Protestant wound as an occasion for reconciliation.
The Habsburg victory at Bílá Hora — Czech for “White Mountain,” on a hill outside Prague — ended a Bohemian Protestant revolt and led to the forcible re-Catholicization of the Czech lands. The event is sometimes referred to as the Czech “national trauma” and helped shape anti-Catholic sentiment that has marked Czech religious identity for centuries.
The May 8 events took place on the Bílá Hora hilltop, which is now part of Prague, and on city squares and in churches across the country. At the main gathering, the Slovak Christian band Timothy performed, joined by other musicians and pilgrims.
The lay group Smíření Bílá hora — Czech for “Reconciliation White Mountain” — has organized the annual events since 2020. On the 400th anniversary of the battle that November, Archbishop Jan Graubner of Prague and the head of the Czech Ecumenical Council of Churches, Daniel Ženatý, presided at an ecumenical prayer service on the hill. Chief Rabbi Karol Sidon represented the Jewish community, and the Czech Bishops' Conference co-organized the event.
A reconciliation cross was installed at the site as “a permanent reminder” and “a place for symbolic events,” according to Father Stanislav Přibyl — then-general secretary of the Czech Bishops' Conference and now archbishop of Prague — speaking to the Czech weekly Katolický týdeník. He called the cross “part of the Czech spiritual tradition.”
When commemorative gatherings resumed in May 2021 as COVID-19 restrictions eased, the then-apostolic nuncio to the Czech Republic, Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo, sent a letter to the lay organizers conveying that Pope Francis appreciated their prayers, “particularly when they are linked to a genuine wish to reconcile” people and “to heal the past wounds, accompanied by concrete gestures of forgiveness and meeting.”
Spreading reconciliation across the regions
Diocesan support has gradually widened.
The Archdiocese of Olomouc and the Diocese of Ostrava-Opava told EWTN News that while they do not organize anything specifically tied to Bílá Hora, they support all initiatives aimed at reconciliation. The Archdiocese of Prague is “supportive, including bishops, as well as the clergy and consecrated people, so not only laypersons,” its press office told EWTN News. Former archbishops of Prague Cardinal Miloslav Vlk and Cardinal Dominik Duka met with Protestants at Bílá Hora in 2000 and 2010, respectively, the archdiocese recalled.
“We support our local service rather symbolically — through promotion,” the press office of the Diocese of Ostrava-Opava said. In the city of Ostrava, the May 8 gathering is led by an ecumenical community on the conviction that “reconciliation begins in families and small communities and can gradually spread further through churches and into society.”
The eastern Czech diocese held a separate Lenten reconciliation event in the Opava co-cathedral marking its 30th anniversary, asking forgiveness for the sins “which hurt brothers and sisters from other Christian churches,” its press office said.
The Czech Bishops' Conference confirmed to EWTN News that it is no longer involved in organizing or coordinating the Bílá Hora events directly.
A wound rooted in the Thirty Years' War
The Battle of White Mountain took place on Nov. 8, 1620, near Prague during the early phase of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), a religious-political conflict that ravaged Europe.
The war was ended by the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which reaffirmed and extended the principle of “cuius regio, eius religio” — “whose realm, his religion” — first established at the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, under which the ruler of a given territory determined the religion of its subjects.
The Catholic Church remains the largest religious community in the Czech Republic, but the country is one of the most secular in Europe. According to the 2021 census, about 22% of Czechs identified as religious, and Catholics made up roughly 9% of the population, down from nearly 40% in 1991. About 30% of respondents declined to answer the religion question.
Cardinal Bo: Myanmar in ‘polycrisis’ 5 years after military coup
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the archbishop of Yangon and Myanmarʼs first cardinal, told the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference on May 8 that his country is enduring a “polycrisis” five years after the military coup that toppled its civilian government.
Speaking on the opening day of the biannual plenary assembly in Sydney, Bo described overlapping economic, employment, social, health, and education crises gripping the southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma.
More than 3.5 million people have been displaced and basic healthcare and education systems have collapsed in much of the country, the cardinal said.
The figure has risen from the nearly 3 million Bo cited in a May 2024 interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, underscoring the worsening trajectory of the conflict.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck central Myanmar in March 2025, killing thousands, compounded the suffering. Bo at the time described “apocalyptic scenes.”
“Among young people in particular,” he told the bishops on May 8, “daily life is increasingly defined by insecurity, psychological strain, and a loss of trust in the future.”
“We remain a people of hope,” Bo added.
The cardinal thanked Australian Catholics for what he called the “unwavering solidarity” of Catholic Mission, the Australian arm of the Pontifical Mission Societies, which has long partnered with the Archdiocese of Yangon on education initiatives.
“Your solidarity is not an abstract idea … it is a light in the darkness,” he said. “Your support … reminds our suffering people they are not forgotten by the universal Church.”
Bo linked his appeal to the centenary of World Mission Sunday, established by Pope Pius XI in 1926 and to be observed worldwide on Oct. 18.
“Mission,” he said, is “not the work of missionaries but the responsibility of the whole Church.”
“Your partnership with us is not just charity,” he added. “It is communion.”
A voice for peace amid civil war
Bo then led a short ceremony to commission Peter Gates as the new national director of Catholic Mission Australia in the presence of Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of Perth, the conference president. Like Bo, Costelloe is a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
Myanmar has been engulfed in civil war since the military seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, deposing the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Bo has repeatedly called for nonviolence and dialogue, urging both the junta and pro-democracy forces to step back from further bloodshed. Pope Francis visited the country in 2017. In November 2025, Pope Leo XIV appealed to the international community not to forget the people of Myanmar.
Born in Monhla Village in 1948, Bo joined the Salesians of Don Bosco as a young man and was ordained a priest in 1976. He was appointed archbishop of Yangon by Pope John Paul II in 2003 and was created cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015. He served as president of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences from 2018 to 2022.
The Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference plenary continues in Sydney through May 13.
As churches close in Europe, debate intensifies over their future
As Europe prepares to honor this yearʼs European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Awards, widely regarded as the continentʼs highest heritage distinction, the winning projects raise a broader question: What should become of sacred buildings as church attendance declines and religious communities diminish?
The annual awards, co-funded by the European Unionʼs Creative Europe program, recognize outstanding conservation projects, often bringing international visibility, tourism, and funding to heritage sites.
Among the 30 laureates selected from 18 countries this year, two projects have emerged as symbols of Europeʼs rich Christian heritage and the growing challenges surrounding its future: the restoration of the 18th-century dome of the Church of Escuelas Pías in Valencia, Spain, and the adaptive reuse of the Benedictine Monastery of San Benedetto Po in northern Italy.
A symbol restored
In Valencia, the domeʼs restoration sought to preserve the Church of Escuelas Pías as an active sacred space while introducing carefully managed cultural activities to support long-term sustainability.
The landmark structure, one of the largest masonry domes in Spain, underwent a meticulous restoration combining traditional craftsmanship with modern conservation techniques. Thousands of tiles were individually examined and replaced, while the dome itself was stabilized and renewed.
Professor Jacek Purchla, chair of the Europa Nostra Awards Jury, told EWTN News the project stood out for both technical quality and symbolic value. “The dome is a defining element of Valenciaʼs skyline and belongs to the European tradition of monumental domed architecture that emerged in the Renaissance,” he said. “It holds strong symbolic value for the city.”
The restoration also emphasized community engagement. Seminars, guided visits, and exhibitions attracted more than 46,000 visitors while the church stayed open for worship.
The projectʼs architect, Luis Cortés-Meseguer, told EWTN News that the aim was never to transform the church into a purely commercial or secular space.
“The challenge was to preserve its liturgical and symbolic identity while opening it to compatible cultural uses that could guarantee its long-term conservation,” he said.
In a paper shared with EWTN News ahead of publication, Cortés-Meseguer describes the approach not simply as “reuse” but as the “re-employment” of sacred space, a model intended to revitalize historic churches while preserving their original identity.
From decline to renewal
In contrast, the Benedictine Monastery of San Benedetto Po in Italy illustrates how adaptive reuse, which gives historic buildings new civic, cultural, or commercial functions, can also play a central role in preserving religious heritage.
Founded in 1007 and once one of medieval Europeʼs most important monastic centers, the vast complex had fallen into serious decline by the early 2000s. Following a major earthquake in 2012, nearly 20,000 square meters (about 5 acres) became unusable.
After being listed among Europa Nostraʼs “7 Most Endangered” heritage sites in 2013, a long restoration effort gradually transformed the monastery into a vibrant civic and cultural center. Today, the complex houses a museum, library, music academy, and exhibition spaces.
“Our international jury selected the monastery as a clear example of adaptive reuse that respects historical integrity,” Purchla said, describing it as a “transferable reference model for endangered heritage sites across Europe.” The restoration, he added, demonstrates how “heritage conservation can coexist with new cultural and social uses.”
More than architecture
Across Europe, declining church attendance, shrinking religious communities, and rising maintenance costs are leaving many religious buildings underused or at risk of abandonment.
Yet not all forms of reuse are equally welcomed. In the Belgian city of Ghent, the redevelopment of the 19th-century Sint-Anna church into a supermarket, restaurant, and wine bar has reignited debate over the transformation of sacred spaces. The Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize secured a 99-year lease and began renovation work in early 2025, with reopening planned for autumn 2027.
Supporters argue the project offers a viable future for a building that might otherwise face vacancy and deterioration. Critics question whether commercial uses risk eroding the cultural and spiritual significance of former places of worship.
At stake, heritage experts say, is more than architecture.
“Across Europe, churches and religious heritage sites are not only historical monuments or architectural structures, but places that carry a soul, a memory, and a vital social function for communities,” said a spokesperson for the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE).
In 2018, the Pontifical Council for Culture published Guidelines for Decommissioning and Cultural Reuse of Churches, the Holy Seeʼs standing reference document on the question.
Seeking common ground
As debates over reuse intensify, organizations including Future for Religious Heritage and COMECE are increasingly working to develop shared approaches to how churches can be preserved, adapted, and sustained while respecting their historical and spiritual identity.
“There is no single approach to adapting or adding new uses to religious buildings,” Jordi Mallarach, executive officer at Future for Religious Heritage, told EWTN News. Successful projects, he said, ultimately seek to preserve the “spirit of the place,” maintaining the symbolism and historical identity of sacred spaces even as new uses are introduced.
Through initiatives including the New European Bauhaus Lab, COMECE says it is bringing together churches, heritage organizations, public authorities, and local communities to reflect on sustainable solutions for Europeʼs religious heritage.
Questions surrounding the future of Europeʼs sacred spaces are expected to feature prominently during the European Cultural Heritage Summit 2026, where this yearʼs winners will be honored from May 26–30 in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Colombia to be consecrated to Immaculate Heart of Mary on May 13
On May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fátima, Colombia will be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as part of the fourth national rosary for peace and reconciliation.
The theme for the rosary event, organized by various lay groups and supported by the Colombian bishops, is “Colombia’s Peace and Reconciliation Are Built Upon the Conversion of Your Heart.”
The country has been plagued by violent Marxist guerrilla groups and drug trafficking for decades.
The day’s events will consist of two main parts. The first will take place at the Bogotá cathedral at 11 a.m. with the recitation of the rosary, the celebration of Mass, and the consecration of the country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The rosary will be led by the cathedral’s parish priest, Father Sergio Pulido Gutiérrez. The president of the bishops’ conference, Archbishop Francisco Javier Múnera Correa, will celebrate the Mass and make the act of consecration.
The second part will begin at 5 p.m. in Bogotá’s Plaza de Bolívar, where Eucharistic adoration, a candlelit procession, and the recitation of the rosary will take place. The organizers said that during this Marian prayer, Our Lady will be asked to intercede “for the conversion of Colombians, in order to achieve peace and reconciliation.”
Múnera invited Colombians living both within and outside the country to “join in on May 13 for the great act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary.”
“We will ask the mother of the Lord to rekindle hope within us, sustain unity, and intercede for the reconciliation and peace of all Colombians,” the president of the bishops’ conference stated.
More information can be found on the national rosaryʼs YouTube and Instagram channels.
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.
After stillbirth loss, mother of 7 returns to school to help others heal
After experiencing an unimaginable loss, Kelly Helsel felt called to begin a new chapter. Following 17 years as a stay-at-home mother, she returned to school to pursue her dream of becoming a counselor — hoping to offer others the same compassionate support and Catholic guidance that helped bring healing to her own life.
In 2023 Helsel’s daughter, Mary Catherine, was stillborn. The experience and grief was ultimately “a huge catalyst to me going back to school,” Helsel told EWTN News.
“I think death has an interesting way of snapping your priorities in line,” she said. “And through the death of our daughter, I understood that tomorrow was not promised. And I had been holding this dream very closely for 17 years, just trusting,” she said.
“Much of my healing process after the stillbirth of our daughter was helped along by solid Catholic counseling,” she said. “So I just felt a whisper at first, and then I felt like, ‘I can turn around and be this for someone else in need.’ And so I did.”
Path back to school
A native of Arizona, Helsel met her now-husband, Doug, in high school. She then attended Northern Arizona University to receive a bachelorʼs degree in psychology with the hopes of becoming a counselor, but motherhood ultimately became her first priority.
“My firstborn … was born during finals week of my bachelorʼs degree,” Helsel said. “I actually had a positive pregnancy test the day before I was scheduled to take the GRE [Graduate Record Examination].”
“I just knew that motherhood was the priority and that Godʼs timing would take care of things. So I stayed at home,” she said.
Helsel decided to put her plans of working as a counselor on the side and focus on her growing family. She and her husband had seven children over the next 17 years, but after the loss of their sixth child she felt called to switch her plans and return to school.
“We just started taking one step in front of the other,” she said. Helsel started by applying to the University of Mary’s master’s program for counseling about six months after her daughter’s passing but was thrown an unexpected “curveball” during the process.
“On the feast of the Annunciation, I got in. But then I also had a positive pregnancy test with my daughter, Isabel, on the very same day.”
“I remember standing in the bathroom with my husband with my phone in one hand with an acceptance letter, and on the counter was a positive pregnancy test with our seventh baby.”
Motherhood provided ‘the skills to be a fantastic student’
Despite navigating grief, welcoming a new baby, and continuing to care for the rest of her family, Helsel not only decided to return to school but also opted for a five-semester accelerated program.
She graduated on April 25 with a 4.0 GPA and her whole family by her side. It was all possible not in spite of her 17 years as a stay-at-home mom but because of the experience.
“I actually think that motherhood, 17 years of motherhood, gave me the skills to be a fantastic student,” she said. “I learned time management. I learned prioritization. I learned how to ask for help. I learned all kinds of things in the trenches of motherhood that gave me the opportunity to really thrive at UMary.”
“I guess the loss of my daughter really showed me that like all things are ‘figure-out-able,’” she said. “When youʼve gone through something like that, it makes you unafraid to do really big things.”
“I knew that I could just cannonball into the deep end and we could do this. And my husband was an amazing support throughout the program. But, Isabel was the curveball of all curveballs,” she said.
“She was born during Christmas break and I just jumped back in in January. I didnʼt take any time off,” she said. "I would be in a rocking chair breastfeeding her, and my laptop is sitting next to me and Iʼm listening to a lecture.”
“I became a pro at using the dictation tool on Microsoft Word” so “I could hold my baby and dictate a paper,” she said. “It was just a really wild time. I learned to be extremely flexible and gentle with myself ... But I just knew God was like, ‘go, go right now.’”
“It was super bumpy at some points,“ she said. ”But I chose the University of Mary because I feel like [University of Mary president] Monsignor [James] Shea and the university really put their money where their mouth is in terms of supporting nontraditional students — especially mothers.”
“All of my professors were extremely accommodating with extensions if I needed one. A few professors gave me early finals because Isabel was born right at the end of that first semester,” she said. “So the University of Mary was really crucial to my success because everyone was behind me.”
Helsel noted that her professors, especially counseling professor Olivia Wedel, and other facility members and students were champions in cheering her “all the way to the finish line.”
Waddell “would always remind me that ‘Iʼm surrounded by support,’” Helsel said. “When youʼre super tired and youʼre on your fourth Crock-Pot meal of the week and you donʼt have anymore bandwidth left, I just thought, ‘I am surrounded by support.’”
“Jesus is real and his promises are too,” Helsel said. “I just remember really having to trust the Lord in a new way and also having to be very open to my dream not looking exactly like I wanted.”
“So yes, I went back to school and I got a masterʼs degree, but it looked absolutely nothing like I thought it was going to, but it was also better, just like he had promised me.”
“Your dreams matter to him,“ she said. ”Trust him, and especially Our Lady, with your dreams. Because he wants both. He wants your motherhood and your dreams.”
Catholic counseling offers ‘the keys to real human flourishing’
Officially a licensed counselor, Helsel is ready to jump in headfirst to help others in need by utilizing the guidance offered by the Catholic Church.
“I believe very deeply that the Catholic Church has the keys to real human flourishing,” she said. “So I knew I wanted to become a mental health professional with those guardrails in place, because I benefited so much from Catholic counseling.”
“I want to turn back around and help the next woman or couple or … anyone in line that needs to hear the good news, coupled with solid mental health formation. Like St. Thomas Aquinas says, ‘faith and reason.’ We need both.”
With her “perinatal mental health training,” Helsel hopes to primarily work in the womenʼs health category “to support other women, pregnant women, postpartum women,” she said. “And obviously I have a love for people who may have lost a child in a particular way.”
Helsel is interested in helping those discerning vocations, as her oldest son plans to apply to the priesthood. She is also hoping to support the vocation of marriage as it is “under a particular attack at this time.”
To accomplish all of this, Helsel has already started her own private practice called Concordia Counseling.
“I chose Concordia because Mary Catherine had a congenital heart condition,” she said. “Concordia means heart to heart or to bring two hearts into harmony. I wanted to honor my baby in heaven and Our Lord with my work. And so I started Concordia Counseling.”
“Iʼm just getting it started. I have a caseload of about 10 clients, but Iʼm hoping to accept more,“ Helsel said. ”I know that the work I want to do most of all involves not just mental health but the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
“I just think the framework needs to be formed properly, and that is the Catholic understanding of the whole person. And from there we can jump off anywhere,” she said.