Pew profiles U.S. adult Catholic convert population
Pew Research Center profiled the U.S. adult Catholic convert population and noted some of the differences between converts and lifelong Catholics.
Converts to Catholicism account for 1.5% of U.S. adults. Converts make up 8% of the nation’s Catholics, and the remaining 92% of Catholics are “cradle Catholics,” who were raised in the faith and still identify with it today.
Pew detailed “key facts about converts to and from Catholicism” in the U.S. drawn from the center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS) and previous pew reports.
The RLS is a study intended to provide estimates of the U.S. population’s religious composition, beliefs, and practices. It was conducted from July 17, 2023, to March 4, 2024, with a nationally representative sample of 36,908 respondents.
The survey’s margin of error for results for the full sample is plus or minus 0.8 percentage points and had a 20% response rate.
While Catholic converts account for a small share of the country’s adult population, the number of converts to Catholicism is on par with, or larger, than the number of Americans who identify with some Protestant groups, including Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Reformed Christians.
The research found that the most common reason converts joined the faith was due to a Catholic spouse or a desire to get married in the Church. In the U.S., 1 in 4 married Catholics are married to a non-Catholic, including 1% who are married to someone from a non-Christian religious background.
The RLS found that about two-thirds of Catholic converts were of a different Christian tradition before converting.
More than half (59%) of converts told Pew that they were raised Protestant, and 9% were raised in another Christian tradition, such as Orthodox Christianity or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
About 1 in 5 Catholic converts (22%) did not have any religious affiliation as a child.
Characteristics and practices of cradle Catholics versus converts
Pew noted differences between converts and cradle Catholics, including that converts are more likely than those raised in the faith to be Republican.
Among Catholic registered voters, 60% of converts identified as Republican or leaned toward the Republican Party as of Pew’s 2023-24 study. Of lifelong Catholics, 52% said they identify the same.
Of cradle Catholics, 43% identified as Democratic or Democratic leaning, compared with 35% of Catholic converts who reported the same.
Most Catholic converts who responded are white (67%), compared with 20% who are Hispanic, 3% who are Black, and 4% who are Asian.
In contrast, 53% of cradle Catholics are white and 37% are Hispanic.
The research also found that 79% of converts were born in the U.S. and 18% were born outside of the country, compared with 67% of cradle catholics who were born in the U.S. and 30% who were born outside the nation.
Pew also found that Catholic converts attend Mass more regularly than cradle Catholics.
Of adults, 38% of converts attend Mass at least weekly and 58% receive Communion every time they go to Mass, compared with 28% of cradle Catholics who attend at least weekly and 34% who receive Communion every time.
Converts also go to confession slightly more, with 29% reporting they go at least once a year compared with 23% of cradle Catholics.
Catholic leaders call for prayers, support for Philippine earthquake victims
MANILA, Philippines — Catholic Church leaders, various religious congregations, and associations have called for prayers and support for all those affected by the powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck parts of Mindanao, southern Philippines, on June 8 leaving many communities in fear and uncertainty.
The offshore earthquake severely impacting General Santos City on Mindanao, the Philippines' main southern island. The tremor caused casualties and structural damage and triggered tsunami warnings.
As of this writing, at least 32 people have been killed, 12 are missing, and 200 others have been injured due to building damage and a 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami hitting nearby coasts.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos suspended school classes in affected areas of Mindanao and urged people in coastal areas to evacuate immediately. He also assured citizens that the government will provide necessary aid to people in need.
Bishops call for immediate assistance
Expressing his solidarity with victims and all those impacted, Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila said: “With deep sorrow, I join our brothers and sisters in General Santos City and the surrounding communities who have been affected by the recent earthquake.”
He appealed for help for survivors. "In these difficult moments, may we draw strength from our faith and from the solidarity of one another,” he said. “I also encourage all people of goodwill to extend whatever assistance they can to those in need.”
In addition, Bishop Leo Dalmao of the Prelature of Isabela de Basilan issued a pastoral letter calling for a second collection during Masses on Sunday, June 14. The collection will be sent to Caritas Philippines for relief assistance.
“The prelature joins the nation in prayer for the victims, the injured citizens, displaced families, and those people on the front line,” the prelate said.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic Church in the United States, is coordinating with its partners to assess humanitarian aid in Mindanao.
Churches damaged
At least three parishes in the Diocese of Marbel, which comprises the civil provinces of South Cotabato, Sarangani, and parts of Sultan Kudarat, reported damage following the earthquake.
An outdoor statue of Jesus at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, was also partially damaged. The pilgrimage site was temporarily closed due to the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks, shrine authorities said.
At Holy Cross Parish in Calumpang, General Santos City, parts of the church ceiling fell during the tremor, said Brother Jerson Nunez, a member of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ.
Damage was also reported in some parts of the exterior structure and ceiling of Santa Teresita del Niño Jesus Parish in Tupi, South Cotabato, in Davao Occidental.
Civil authorities are still assessing the impact of the earthquake that was felt in several provinces in Mindanao.
Meanwhile, officials of the Church and local authorities have yet to give a full assessment of the damage in the areas affected.
Calls for prayer
In a separate social media post, Archbishop Alberto S. Uy of Cebu said: “An earthquake reminds us how small, fragile, and vulnerable we truly are.”
“Our lives can be taken away in an instant. That is why there is no reason for us to be proud, arrogant, or abusive towards others,” he added.
The Archdiocese of Cebu also issued a prayer petition for all to recite in families and churches since June 8. Prayers were also included for authorities, rescuers, and volunteers that they may be guided and given strength, safety, and understanding to help those in need.
“In the aftermath of an earthquake, we all are called to remain strong in faith and express solidarity, support, and compassion to every family affected in Mindanao,” Michael Vildal, a Catholic from the Diocese of Marbel, told EWTN News.
“We all unite in prayer for those who have lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods in compassion, offering comfort and hope to those who are suffering,” he added. “It is time to unite in generosity, sharing our blessings with those who have lost so much.”
Meanwhile, in a social media post, the Dominican Province of Philippines, the Order of the Preachers, said: “We stand helpless against earthquakes, and we call upon the mighty name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to save us. Please protect our families, our homes, the cities and towns we live in, as well as all the infrastructure within them.”
The Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines also made an appeal.
“In this difficult time, let us come together in prayer for the safety, protection, and healing of all those affected,” a statement released on June 8 said. “May the Lord strengthen rescue workers, comfort displaced families, and grant wisdom to leaders and responders as they provide aid and assistance. Let us stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Mindanao — not only through our prayers but also through acts of compassion and support,” the press note added.
Cardinal Czerny beatifies Czech priests killed by communists, hints more may follow
A major spiritual event in the Czech Republic and the biggest day in the history of the Diocese of Brno drew thousands of people and the attention of national media in one of Europeʼs most secular societies.
The beatification Mass of two priests killed by the communist regime in Czechoslovakia was not “the Church moralizing” but “an offer of forgiveness and hope,” as the martyrs showed that “conscience is not luxury.”
That is what Cardinal Michael Czerny said in a homily on June 6 in his hometown of Brno, where, as papal legate for Pope Leo XIV, he declared Jan Bula and Václav Drbola the first beatified of the diocese and the first martyrs of the past totalitarian regimes on the territory of todayʼs Czech Republic. The two will be commemorated annually on June 17 in the Churchʼs liturgical calendar.
“Blessed Jan and Václav call us not to sell truth for comfort or to avoid conflict, not to exchange faith for the approval of others, not to choose silence where witness should be given, not to sacrifice conscience for comfort, career, or conformism,” the cardinal stressed.
“These all look like good sense,” the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development admitted, yet they “are really foolish betrayals of human dignity, freedom, and integrity.”
The priests Jan Bula (1920–1952) and Václav Drbola (1912–1951) were popular with their parishioners, active in community life, and loyal to the bishops. They were imprisoned without cause and accused of complicity in the killing of three communists, although they were already in prison at the time. They were executed after a staged trial in the early 1950s.
“Their guilt, in the eyes of the regime, did not consist in violence but in the fact that they refused to betray their priestly conscience. They did not wish to become instruments of ideology and repression,” the cardinal clarified.
“Each of us is invited to identify with them, with their time and place,” he suggested, adding that “when they were martyred, I was a 5-year-old boy with my family who had fled [communist Czechoslovakia] in 1948 and taken refuge in Montreal, Canada.”
Czerny was born in Brno 80 years ago and was naturalized in Canada. As he told EWTN News, celebrating Mass for the occasion in his hometown was “very moving.”
He even practiced Czech in recent months to read the homily in the Slavic language. The Mass drew 13,000 people and was widely covered by national media in one of the most secular countries in Europe.
Asked by a local outlet whether other Czech priests killed by communists might be beatified, the cardinal responded that “you can assume that it will happen, but we cannot comment,” referring to the strict criteria for beatification, which fall to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
Pope Leo XIV jokes in Spain that AI still thinks Pope Francis is in charge
Pope Leo XIV’s lunch with Spain’s bishops at the apostolic nunciature in Madrid offered a glimpse of the pope’s more informal and humorous side.
Yago de la Cierva, who is overseeing the organization of the pope’s trip to Spain, said Leo broke the ice before blessing the meal with a comment that drew laughter from those present.
“He said that before leaving for the trip, he had contacted artificial intelligence to ask: What should the pope say to the Spanish bishops? And artificial intelligence told him: Pope Francis would say ... So he stopped it and said: ‘I think there is another pope.’ And then artificial intelligence said: ‘Ah, that’s right, now it’s Pope Leo,’” de la Cierva recounted with a smile.
Leo XIV was elected the successor of Peter on May 8, 2025, though artificial intelligence has at times appeared slow to register the change. National Catholic Register journalist Jonah McKeown saw this firsthand when, like many users, he asked ChatGPT, OpenAI’s widely used artificial intelligence tool, about Pope Leo XIV.
“There seems to be some confusion with the name, since there has never been a Pope Leo XIV. However, there have been several popes named Leo throughout history,” the chatbot responded in one test.
After the joke, the pope — who is no technophobe and has repeatedly encouraged the proper use of artificial intelligence, including in his May 25 encyclical Magnifica Humanitas on the human person in the age of AI — turned to a technological image to deliver a deeper message to the bishops.
“Then he told the bishops that we have another algorithm, and that other algorithm leads us to love people, to accompany them, and to become servants of the word,” de la Cierva said.
Shortly after addressing Spain’s Parliament in the Congress of Deputies, Pope Leo XIV met with the country’s bishops at the headquarters of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, where he called on the Church, “in this time of increasingly drastic polarizations and oppositions,” to offer “a witness to unity in diversity.”
That communion, the pope said, comes from the awareness that the Church walks with the Lord, “as members of one body.” He added that such communion also has “missionary vitality.”
“A Church that is interiorly at peace can speak more freely to brothers and sisters of other Christian denominations and other religions, to those who do not believe, to civil authorities, and to all people of goodwill who work for the common good,” Leo said.
The pope told the Spanish bishops that their ministry carries a particular responsibility in this work of communion.
“We are called to be a visible sign of communion,” he said, first with Christ, then with “the successor of Peter and with the universal Church,” as well as with priests, diocesan communities, consecrated life, movements, associations, and every authentic charism given by the Holy Spirit for the common good.
“Your mission calls you to safeguard unity, foster dialogue, heal divisions, and accompany the journey of the people entrusted to your care,” he said.
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.
Pope Leo XIV tells Spain’s parliament every human life must be protected
MADRID — Pope Leo XIV made history Monday by becoming the first pope to address Spain’s Congress of Deputies, delivering a forceful appeal to the country’s political class to defend human dignity and protect life “from conception to its natural end.”
The June 8 address, given before about 700 guests amid tight security, drew a standing ovation that lasted nearly seven minutes, with shouts of “Long live the pope!” echoing through the chamber.
In his speech, Pope Leo warned lawmakers not to subordinate human dignity to “shifting social consensus or the whims of the majority at any given moment,” insisting that “every truly just society is built upon the recognition of the inviolable dignity of the human person.”
“In this sense, if life ceases to be recognized as a fundamental value, what future can our societies have?” the pope asked. “Can a community that casts into the shadows the unborn child, the elderly, the sick, those who suffer in silence, or those who depend entirely on the care of others be called fully just?”
“The defense of human life is neither a partisan issue nor a confessional interest: it is a goal of civilization,” he said.
The pope’s remarks came as Spain’s socialist-led government has been advancing efforts to enshrine abortion protections in the country’s Constitution. Such a reform would require broad parliamentary consensus, including support from the center-right People’s Party.
“Every human life must be recognized and safeguarded from conception to its natural end, in every circumstance of its existence,” Pope Leo said. “When this certainty is obscured, the most vulnerable are the first victims, and the law loses its deepest meaning: to serve and protect every person.”
“For this reason,” he added, “the moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile.”
The pope also defended the family as “the primary human reality and the natural foundation of the community,” saying that “where the family is upheld, the spiritual and social stability of nations is also strengthened.”
“The family will always be the first school of humanity, where one learns, before anywhere else, the basic grammar of living together: welcoming life, caring for others, forgiving, serving and belonging,” he said.
Pope Leo drew on Spain’s intellectual and Catholic heritage, citing Cervantes, St. Teresa of Ávila, Miguel de Unamuno and the School of Salamanca, especially the 16th-century Dominican friar Francisco de Vitoria.
From that tradition, he said, Spain helped shape “a legal and moral consciousness capable of remembering that authority always entails responsibility and that every human being must be recognized as a subject of rights and duties.”
The pope said that legacy remains alive whenever lawmakers ask “how to ensure that what is possible is just, that what is legal is truly humane, and that the will of the majority safeguards those goods that belong to all and respects that which no majority can legitimately violate.”
He also cited his recent encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas,” published May 25, saying that in an age of artificial intelligence, biotechnology and rapid technological change, political discernment must focus on “the place of the human person in our decision making.”
The pope devoted part of his address to migrants and refugees, a major theme of his trip to Spain, which will conclude with visits to Tenerife and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, a key entry point to Europe for migrants.
“The situation of migrants and refugees calls for a response that focuses on people, addresses the root causes that force them to leave, and goes beyond the mere management of migration flows,” he said.
He called for “safe and legal pathways, a respectful welcome and real opportunities for integration,” while also promoting “the right to remain in one’s own land,” so that no one is forced to leave home because of war, insecurity, poverty or the effects of the climate crisis.
Pope Leo also warned that many migrants remain “prey to traffickers and smugglers who take advantage of their desperation,” calling for stronger prevention, rescue and assistance efforts.
“No nation can face a challenge of this magnitude on its own,” he said.
Turning to global conflict, Pope Leo said the world is undergoing “a profound spiritual and cultural crisis” marked by violence, polarization and mistrust.
“Every war constitutes, ultimately, a painful defeat of the capacity to negotiate and also of that common human consciousness that recognizes bonds of justice among nations,” he said.
“Weapons may impose a temporary silence; but they can never build a genuine and lasting peace,” the pope said, warning that “in various parts of the world — and in Europe as well — rearmament is once again being presented as an almost inevitable response to the fragility of the international situation.”
The pope also warned against the use of artificial intelligence in warfare, saying new technologies in the military sphere require “rigorous ethical oversight, so that decisions regarding life and death are never left to automated systems nor removed from the moral responsibility of the human person.”
Addressing Spain’s polarized political climate, the pope urged lawmakers to resist contempt for political opponents.
“Political pluralism should not degenerate into the constant disparagement of one’s adversary,” he said. “In a mature society, even conflict can become a path to peace, when differences are softened by listening and directed toward recognizing the needs, aspirations and capabilities of all.”
“Firmness does not require contempt; disagreement does not entail humiliation,” he added.
Only two left-wing parties, Podemos and the BNG, which together account for six lawmakers out of more than 600 parliamentarians, chose not to attend the pope’s address.
Pope Leo also made a strong appeal for religious freedom, calling freedom of thought, conscience and religion “a fundamental right that protects the most intimate sphere of the person.”
“The freedom upon which the contemporary state is built, if it is authentic, recognizes the religious dimension of the human person, respects it and protects it legally,” he said. Authentic freedom, the pope added, “ensures that faith is not a reason for which a person has to forfeit his or her contribution to society.”
“Faith does not seek to impose itself through privileges or coercion; yet neither can it be silenced as if it were irrelevant to public life,” he said.
The pope also defended the sacramental seal of confession, saying it “holds special importance for the Catholic Church” and forms part of the broader sphere of religious freedom.
“To protect it legally, as is done in a similar way in some professions, means preserving a sacred space of inner freedom, where the believer can open his or her soul to God without fear of external pressures,” Pope Leo said.
The remarks came shortly after French bishops criticized a June 1 proposal in France’s National Assembly that they said could have endangered the seal of confession. The proposal was later withdrawn.
Near the end of his address, the pope invited Spanish lawmakers to “lift your gaze to the world around you,” not to escape reality, but to remember that every public decision “affects real people, especially those who have less power to make their voices heard.”
“A law does not attain its true greatness merely by having been formally enacted,” he said. “It attains it when, in addition to being valid in form, it can stand before the dignity of the person and pass that test without shame.”
The pope concluded with a blessing for Spain, praying that the nation “never lose sight of its roots nor the courage to look to the future.”
“May Spain continue to be a land of encounter, of culture, of solidarity and of hope,” he said. “And may its public life always know how to unite the firmness of convictions with the nobility of dialogue and the greatness of service.”
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.
A quarter of Irish Gen Z will have no children, new report says
One in 4 members of Ireland’s Gen Z demographic are expected to be childless by age 45, according to a new report from Dublin’s Iona Institute, which promotes marriage, freedom of conscience, and religion in society.
Gen Z generally refers to people born between 1997 and 2012.
Drawing on cohort-level data from the Human Fertility Database (HFD), as well as using demographic modeling, the instituteʼs "Choice or Circumstance? Rising Childlessness in Ireland" report, released in May, charts a huge increase in the number of Irish women who are childless.
Among those born in the late 1950s, only 30.9% were childless by age 30, rising to 63.6% for those born in the early 1990s. This trend suggests 25% of women born in the late 1990s will be childless when they reach age 45.
Breda OʼBrien of the Iona Institute told EWTN News that “a huge question is whether this will be by choice or circumstance."
"Much will be unplanned and forced by circumstance, such as the cost of living," she said. "It’s worrying and weʼre sliding into it without too much discussion. Before the 1930s, we had similar rates of childlessness in Ireland, but that was because of extreme poverty, late marriage, and low marriage rates. Weʼre supposed to be in an era where women have every possible choice.”
She continued: “The choice to have children, which is fundamental, is being taken away from young women. Itʼs being painted as a kind of freedom. I donʼt think young women themselves consider it to be a type of freedom, and I think a lot of them are worried about it."
According to Central Statistics Office data, the average man’s age at marriage is now nearing 38 and the average womanʼs age is almost 36.
A 2022 Amarach Research poll for Iona showed that 85% of people want to have at least two children and only 2% expressed a wish for no children.
Births in Ireland have fallen by almost 18% in the last decade, according to Central Statistics Office.
With clear indications that the longer a person delays having children, the less likely he or she will have any, O’Brien said “itʼs part of the whole growth of individualism and this idea for kids, from the time theyʼre tiny, [that] you get your education, you travel, you have your career in order, you have fun, you donʼt tie yourself down, and then sometimes in your 30s, you think about settling down. But a lot of women in their mid-30s realize that it is increasingly difficult to conceive.”
She added: “The fertility industry is booming, which does show us that people are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to have children, but the life script theyʼve been presented with is actually working against their best interests. Nature has no knowledge of this life script that young people are being presented with.”
“The longer you leave it, the more chances there are of miscarriage, of complications in labor, and of medical intervention during birth, if you get that far. So itʼs not consequence-free,” she said.
O’Brien told EWTN News that there needs to be debate about why this is happening as a society. "It is a phenomenon we should discuss far more widely if our aim is to help people achieve their eventual life goals. I think among people of faith, they are still prioritizing children and family, and marriage. The Catholic Church needs to support those young families in every way possible.”
She pointed out that having fewer children “has very significant social and economic consequences because of the effects of an aging population and growing loneliness.”
The report highlights a series of demographic issues related to childlessness and to Ireland’s already-aging population. Lower fertility rates, combined with rising childlessness, mean that the ratio of working-age adults to elderly dependents is set to worsen. Fewer births today mean fewer workers in 20 to 30 years.
O’Brien said: “In Ireland, thereʼs still a degree of respect for older people, but one of the awful possible consequences is that younger people will start to resent older people.”
The Iona report highlights the situation where a smaller working-age population will be asked to support a larger elderly population, putting pension sustainability, healthcare, and long-term care provision under growing financial pressure.
The instituteʼs findings also highlight the effect on housing and household-formation patterns. A rise in the proportion of adults who never have children increases demand for smaller dwellings and single-person households.
Additionally, in recent decades, inward migration to Ireland has been an effective and economically rational response in periods of strong demand. However, it is not a response to childlessness.
O’Brien pointed to other countries and the demographic shifts they are facing with an increasing aging population.
“Other countries are further along the road than we are. South Korea, or even Japan, where theyʼre repurposing childcare facilities for eldercare facilities, moving from baby formula to fortified drinks from the elderly, and from producing diapers for children, to producing incontinence products for the elderly — this is not a good road that weʼre on,” she said.
Over 1,000 people process with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist through Washington, D.C.
More than 1,000 people processed through the streets of downtown Washington, D.C. on Saturday morning as the third annual National Eucharistic Pilgrimage made its way through the nation’s capital.
“Today we are going to bring Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament to the streets of Washington, D.C.,” Father Charles Trullols, director of the Catholic Information Center, said in a homily during the June 6 morning Mass before the procession began.
The procession offers “public witness to our faith,” Trullols said, displaying “the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, body, blood, soul, and divinity” to each person the procession passes by. Dozens of onlookers stopped to watch the procession, with many taking photos and videos.
The route began outside the Catholic Information Centerʼs K Street headquarters and walked past Lafayette Square, which faces the White House. It also passed Farragut Square, McPherson Square, and the Veterans Affairs building.
Children who had recently received their First Holy Communion laid flower petals on the ground and the procession was led by cross and candle bearers, followed by religious sisters, the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance, the priests, the choir, and the rest of the pilgrims.
“I think it’s just a great opportunity to be a witness for Christ to a city that is so lost and while we were out there I was praying that someone who was out there would see it and come back to the Lord and find peace in the Lord and Christ,” Katie, from Jacksonville, Florida, told EWTN News.
“It’s just a beautiful witness out here today and Iʼm so grateful this was available especially to those who need it,” she said.
John, from Maryland, highlighted the significance of processing with the Eucharist in the nation’s capital less than one month before the country celebrates the Fourth of July.
“I think it’s very cool that this being the 250th anniversary of America we can do something like this,” he said. “It shows the freedom of religion in this country, and that it’s a great country to be in.”
The procession was one stop in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, a project of the National Eucharistic Congress that is bringing processions to dioceses across the country. This year’s route focuses mostly on visiting the original 13 colonies of the United States to honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Trullols noted in his homily that the pilgrimage theme is “one nation under God,” which he said is “not merely a patriotic slogan,” but an invitation to place our lives, our families, and communities under Christ.
A nation under God “does not sustain itself automatically,” Trullols said. Rather, it can only be sustained “if its people choose to place God first.”
The Catholic Information Center has held a Eucharistic procession in downtown Washington for four straight years, initially independent of the broader pilgrimage. Trullos told EWTN News that the pilgrimage reached out to the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., which then reached out to the center to partner this year on the procession.
“This procession is an expression in our capital for the love of our country and the desire to pray for our people and our nation,” Trullos said.
He estimated the attendance was around 1,300 people, noting it’s growing “much bigger” every year they host it.
There are nine perpetual pilgrims traveling with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage for the entire journey, which began in St. Augustine, Florida, less than two weeks ago and will conclude in Philadelphia on the Fourth of July weekend.
Mary Carmen Zakrajsek, a perpetual pilgrim originally from Carmel, Indiana, said in a news conference after the procession that bringing the Eucharist into the streets has captivated people who encounter it: “Jesus walked this earth and he’s walking it again. He has not abandoned us.”
Zakrajsek called the pilgrimage a “unifying moment” and echoed the language in the Declaration of Independence that rights are endowed by our creator.
“Our moral authority does not come from the State,” she said. “It comes from God.”
Antonio Banderas tells Pope Leo XIV: 'I am a victim of God’s spell’
MADRID — This cityʼs Movistar Arena became a kind of modern “Court of the Gentiles” on Sunday, where faith and contemporary art met to explore the mystery of the human person under the guidance of Pope Leo XIV.
The gathering brought together leading figures from Spanish culture with an international profile, including actor Antonio Banderas. Sports were represented by legendary badminton player Carolina Marín, a three-time world champion, while academia was represented by José María Coello de Portugal, vice rector for planning, coordination, and institutional relations at the Complutense University of Madrid.
Representatives of labor unions and employers’ organizations also presented the pope with their concerns and challenges, with the aim of working together to build a society oriented toward the common good and capable of overcoming fragmentation and polarization.
Their presence was itself a sign that encounter remains possible even in a divided society.
The historic meeting reflected the theme of the first papal trip to Spain in 15 years — “Lift up your gaze” — and Pope Leo XIV’s call to weave networks among different social actors, showing that beyond legitimate differences there is a firm desire to build strong, cross-sector alliances to face the challenges of the future.
One of the highlights of the event was Banderas’ address, in which he recited a text on the bond between faith and culture.
“I confess that I am a victim of God’s spell,” the actor said, looking directly at the pope.
Banderas, who the previous day had directed the cast of the musical “Godspell” in a special performance during a prayer vigil with young people in Madrid’s Plaza de Lima, also evoked the popular piety of his native Málaga and the Holy Week processions that marked his childhood.
In his remarks, Banderas stressed art’s ability to raise deep questions.
“In a world that at times is overly simplified, art helps us recover the depth and the soul that is trying to be stolen by artificial intelligence,” he said.
Earlier, Cardinal José Cobo, archbishop of Madrid, presented Pope Leo XIV as a reference point in the fight against extremism. Along those lines, the pope made clear that the Church has stood, from its earliest days, on the side of culture and art, fostering the encounter of different sensibilities in a shared search for transcendence.
The Church’s “longing” to remain in dialogue with the contemporary world
“The Church, conscious both of her successes and her failures throughout history, longs to remain in dialogue with the contemporary world,” Pope Leo said.
In his address, the pope invited the world today not to dismiss the Church’s “centuries-old experience,” which he said has always “proposed paths for a dignified life and the common good.” In that context, he recalled St. Paul VI, who before the United Nations noted that, whatever one’s opinion of the Roman Pontiff, his mission is well known.
Pope Leo also cited his encyclical “Magnifica humanitas,” published May 25, 2025, to return to a central question: “What does it mean to be truly human?”
To that question, he offered a clear answer: “The Church shares with humility, but also with firmness, what she has discovered through the experience of faith: that Jesus Christ responds to the great questions about human life and its fullness, already in this world and unto its fulfillment in eternity.”
To face these questions, the pope proposed a form of social dialogue that he compared to the art of weaving networks, based on “encounter, listening, dialogue, and respect.” The approach is not new to his visit to Spain. It was already present in his episcopal coat of arms and has been confirmed since his election as Roman Pontiff — a word meaning “bridge builder” — as one who builds a bridge first with God and then with people, societies, and cultures.
In concrete terms, he explained that “weaving networks” means that “the university does not live with its back turned to the world of work or renounce the truth; that business activity does not see the employee as just another factor in the equation of its interests; that art does not have only the elites as its goal; that sport is not reduced to spectacle or turned into mere business; that technological progress takes into account the elderly, the poor, and those who have no voice.”
In that context, the pope — a mathematician by training — recalled with admiration the great classics of Spanish literature, citing Lope de Vega, St. Teresa of Ávila, St. John of the Cross, and Calderón de la Barca. He also recalled the serenity of the prose of St. Thomas Aquinas, from whom the Church has inherited the beautiful hymns of Corpus Christi, the solemnity celebrated Sunday.
For the pope, weaving networks also means “serving in a disinterested way,” as men and women moved by faith have done throughout the centuries by founding hospitals, schools, and charitable initiatives. He therefore invited participants to ask honestly whether Europe could have forged its identity “without the spiritual imprint that has marked its history.”
“This is not a provocation, but an invitation to consider whether eternity, which broke into time and space through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, can once again be reconciled with everyday life,” he said. “Is it really possible to believe that Europe — which we love so much — would be itself without the imprint of faith? Why fear that eternity might permeate daily life?”
Finally, the pope said Christ restores the common good to its central place as an arbiter that “calms the greed of some and nourishes the hope of others, while desiring to save them all.”
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.
Pope Leo XIV in Madrid: Corpus Christi must not become museum of the past
Madrid, Spain, June 7, 2026 — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called on Spain to renew its historic Eucharistic faith, warning that the country’s centuries-old religious traditions must not become “a museum of the past to be visited” but remain “a school of faith from which to draw even today.”
The pope made the appeal while presiding over Mass, a procession, and Eucharistic blessing for the solemnity of Corpus Christi in Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles, one of the Spanish capital’s most emblematic sites.
“As I begin my visit to Spain, it is with a heart filled with joy that I preside over this celebration on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi,” the pope said in his homily.
Corpus Christi has deep roots in Spain and throughout the Catholic world. The feast originated after the efforts of St. Juliana of Cornillon, a Belgian religious sister who promoted a liturgical celebration dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament. Pope Urban IV confirmed the feast for the universal Church in 1264, and within decades it had reached the Iberian Peninsula. King Alfonso X, known as “the Wise,” took part in a Corpus Christi celebration in Toledo in 1280.
Over the centuries, the tradition became firmly established in Spain, making the country one of the great centers of Eucharistic devotion. During the period of the Council of Trent, when the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist was contested in parts of Europe, Spanish popular piety continued to exalt it through processions, music, art, and public expressions of faith.
In Madrid, Pope Leo said Corpus Christi is “more than just another celebration on the liturgical calendar.”
“It is a way of returning to the heart of the faith to renew our love and fidelity to God,” he said.
“The solemn processions held on this day have for centuries shaped the piety, art, music, architecture and life of the Spanish people,” the pope continued. “Even today, they still express and manifest the spiritual sentiments of this country through the beauty and elegance of the floral carpets, the altars erected in the streets, the carefully crafted monstrances and stands, the hymns and the liturgical vestments.”
The setting itself added a striking backdrop to the celebration. Plaza de Cibeles, crowned by the statue of the Roman goddess in a chariot drawn by lions, is known internationally as the place where Real Madrid celebrates its titles. On Sunday, however, the square’s focus was Christ in the Eucharist.
One participant joked that with Pope Leo XIV in Madrid, the Spanish capital had three lions.
The pope said the Corpus Christi procession is not “an exhibition, a remnant of folklore or a simple display of beauty.”
“It is a profession of faith in the presence of the risen Lord, who is alive and continues to walk among us, who becomes bread to satiate our hunger for life, and visits the recesses of our hearts and history, even those shrouded in darkness,” he said.
The procession route, about 600 meters along Calle de Alcalá, one of Madrid’s central thoroughfares, was adorned with 16 floral carpets — eight on each side — made with more than 30,000 carnations. Numerous faithful joined the pope, including many boys and girls who had recently received their first Communion.
Pope Leo said the procession reveals that Christ “is not confined to the church, but comes out to meet us.”
“Jesus travels the streets, crosses the squares and visits our neighborhoods, dwelling in the settings of our daily lives,” he said. “He is a God who is close to us, who walks with his people, the Lord of history.”
The pope also connected Corpus Christi with charity, noting that the Church in Spain has long associated the solemnity with the Day for Charity.
“The Christ who processes through the streets in the monstrance is the same one who identifies with the poor, the downtrodden, those who are alone and forsaken,” he said.
“It is not merely a matter of bringing out the monstrance,” Pope Leo emphasized, “but of allowing ourselves to be brought out of our selfishness and indifference, of a comfortable, private faith, so as to respond to his invitation to conversion, to change our perspective, and to welcome his presence which transforms us and makes us builders of a new world.”
Among the faithful who took part in the celebration was Sister Maribel, a member of the Monastic Family of Bethlehem, whose community is opening a convent in Huelva.
Speaking with emotion, she summed up her experience to ACI Prensa: “I loved everything. It was extraordinary. I need to read and reread and pray with the Holy Father’s homily. It was very intense. Above all, I leave with the motto ‘Lift up your gaze.’ I don’t know — it is a phrase that encompasses life and every detail.”
The pope said the historical memory of Spain’s Corpus Christi processions “is not confined to wistful nostalgia.”
“Instead, it stands as an invitation in the present moment, in our daily lives, in our relationships, in society, and in the building of the future,” he said.
That, he added, is the task facing Spain today and tomorrow: “to ensure that the religiosity which has shaped and defined this country for centuries is not a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today.”
The pope described that school of faith as one that “teaches us to kneel before God and before our neighbor, because no one can kneel before the Lord and despise their brother.”
It is also, he said, “a school that teaches us of the gratitude of love that becomes a gift, so that it may flow among us and break the chains of all selfishness.”
From the Eucharist, he continued, Catholics learn “that God is a real presence and that we too are called to be present in the realities and challenges of society, not shying away, but personally committing ourselves to the building of the common good.”
Pope Leo also recalled St. Manuel González García, the Spanish bishop known as “the bishop of the abandoned tabernacle.”
“His life reminds us that the Eucharist should be honored not only during great celebrations or on special occasions, but also through the silent fidelity of those who accompany the Lord with a humble and quiet friendship that is nourished day by day,” the pope said.
The pope also cited St. John of the Cross, recalling that while imprisoned in harsh conditions in Toledo around the time of Corpus Christi in 1578, the Spanish mystic recognized the hidden presence of the Lord even in darkness.
“The Eucharistic Jesus is ‘that eternal spring that is hidden’ — a spring that flows and quenches thirst, yet without blinding, without imposing itself through outward power, without presenting itself in a spectacular way,” the pope said.
Pope Leo closed by urging the faithful to return to Christ in the Eucharist with “sincere love.”
“Let us open ourselves to the encounter with him, let us allow him to quench the thirst of our hearts, so that we may then go forth into the paths of life and history, bringing to the people this stream of fresh water, a stream of love, peace, justice and joy,” he said.
“Let us drink anew from this Eucharistic spring, which does not enclose us in private devotion, but sends us out to refresh our brothers and sisters, our families, the poor, the suffering, and those who have lost hope,” the pope said. “Eucharistic grace transforms us and makes us protagonists of the transformation of history, a sign of hope for those we meet.”
“May the Lord Jesus, present in the Eucharist, transform you into bread that is broken, given, and offered,” he concluded, “so that a life of fullness may spring forth for you, for your families, and for your country.”
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.
‘You are so loved’: New film reveals enduring power of the Sacred Heart
A new movie called “Sacred Heart: His Reign Has No End” will be hitting theaters across the United States this month after experiencing tremendous success in France and other countries.
Directed and produced by Steven and Sabrina Gunnell of KREA Film-Makers, “Sacred Heart” was released in Europe in October 2025 and became a box office success selling nearly 1 million tickets.
The docudrama retells Christ’s apparitions to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque — the 17th-century French nun who received the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Through testimonies, accounts of Eucharistic miracles, historical analysis, and reenactments, the film explores the moment when Christ revealed his heart to the world and its burning love for humanity.
The film will be in U.S. theaters June 9–11 and June 14.
The Gunnells spoke to EWTN News and shared that the inspiration for the film came from personal testimonies they heard from two Missionaries of the Sacred Heart while at Notre-Dame du Laus (Our Lady of Laus), a Marian sanctuary located in the Hautes-Alpes region of France. That same evening, the married couple, along with their extended families, discovered the consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the first time and consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart.
The French filmmakers began to think about the possibility of making a documentary about the Sacred Heart. They began seeing the image of the Sacred Heart appear everywhere around them in their daily lives, which they took as a sign from God to make the film.
“In the moment where we said yes [to Jesus], in an instant, we had the story of the movie. We knew exactly what we would make for the movie,” Steven said.
Steven, 51, had his own powerful conversion story — thanks in part to the Sacred Heart of Jesus — when he was in his 20s.
Born in Annecy in southern France, he was raised solely by his mother — his father was in a rock band that toured most of the year. Despite the fact that his mother had been baptized a Catholic, she fell away from the faith and became part of a demonic sect, which she was a part of for roughly 25 years. This caused Steven to have a strained relationship with his mom, and at the age of 21, he left his home and moved to Paris in hopes of becoming an actor.
When he arrived in Paris he started to audition for roles, and during one he was asked if he could sing. It was this audition that landed Steven in the popular French boy band Alliage for three years. He soon became wealthy and famous with many fans. But eventually a shift in musical trends left boy bands as an outdated fad and life as he knew it came to an end — no more concerts, no more albums, and he was out of a job.
Steven went to London to escape his problems but became depressed, began to drink excessively, and started thinking about suicide.
One day, after years of not speaking, he called his mother from a phone booth. He told her he was going to do something bad because he couldn’t handle life anymore. Much to his surprise, his mother told him to go into a church and just take a moment before he did anything else. So he did. He went into the first church he saw, sat down, and ended up falling asleep. About four hours later, he woke up and was no longer suicidal.
Looking back on it now, he said he knows this was thanks to “resting in the Holy Spirit.” He recalled waking up and feeling “light, restored, and peaceful.”
Steven went back to this church every day for weeks. He ended up finding a job, and after about five months he called his mother again and asked her if could move back home.
“My mom said, ‘Your bedroom is waiting for you,’” he shared.
Once he arrived home, his mom took him to a small chapel dedicated to St. Rita, the patron saint of impossible causes. He was shocked to see his mother join about 400 other people in praying a rosary held in the chapel. Steven began to walk around the chapel and came face to face with a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“I’m kneeling at this moment, and I begin to cry with all my soul, all my blood, all my everything,” he said. “I met Jesus that day.”
Moments later a priest walked up to him from behind, put his hand on his shoulder, and asked him if he was Steven Gunnell.
“I said, ‘Yes. How do you know me, Father?’”
The priest responded: “Your mother has come here for one year now, every single day, because she has been praying for you … She prayed the rosary for you every day at 4 o’clock. And now you’re here — first miracle. Second miracle, you are here in the Chapel of St. Rita, the saint of impossible causes — welcome to the club.”
The priest went on to remind Steven of the sacraments he received as a child.
“‘You may have forgotten everything, but you are Catholic and God didnʼt forget you,’” the priest told him.
At that moment, Steven made his confession with the priest and after the rosary ended, he attended the Mass. The reading for that day? The story of the prodigal son.
“This story happened 26 years ago now and itʼs changed my life,” he said.
From there, Steven went on to meet his wife and together they began to create films “for the kingdom,” he said.
Now, he said he hopes this movie on the Sacred Heart will inspire others to realize how short their lives are and the importance of returning to Christ.
“Today we are here; tomorrow weʼre gone. Itʼs ridiculous when you think about it. You have no time to lose ... Go to church and just take a moment to give a few minutes in front of the tabernacle, the presence of the holy Eucharist, and take a few moments with him to say to him you love him and just hear in the silence, inside, the love he has for you.”
Sabrina added that she hopes viewers will leave knowing “that the love of God is more powerful than every evil thing in the world.”
“We have this heart, this God, who came as a human being and he has a heart of a human being and he can understand all our moods, all our difficulties, and we are so loved. You are so loved,” she said. “Everyone is so loved by God and we just want the people who come out of the cinema to feel full of love, burn about this love, and go out into the world to spread that.”