Pope Leo XIV honors Our Lady of Almudena with Golden Rose, reflects on Spain’s Christian heritage
For more than a thousand years, generations of Catholics in Madrid have turned to Our Lady of Almudena in times of celebration, hardship, and prayer. On June 8, that enduring devotion received one of the Church’s highest marks of recognition when Pope Leo XIV bestowed a Golden Rose upon the historic statue.
“As a symbol of the pope’s filial love for the Virgin Mary, I will place a Golden Rose at her feet,” Leo said during a ceremony at Madrid’s Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena.
The papal honor — one of the highest distinctions a pope can bestow upon a Marian image or shrine — recognizes the deep devotion generations of Spanish Catholics have shown to the Blessed Virgin under the title of Almudena.
The exact origin of the gifting of a Golden Rose is unknown, although it is considered one of the oldest papal traditions. The earliest reliable record dates to 1096, when Pope Urban II sent one to Fulcone d’Angers.
Hidden in the citadel wall
Addressing the faithful gathered in the cathedral, Leo reflected on the image’s unique place in Madrid’s history.
“For centuries, countless generations of Madrileños have venerated this image of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her divine Son in her arms and presenting him to us,” the pope said.
According to long-standing tradition, the devotion dates to the early centuries of Christianity in Spain. When Muslim forces conquered much of the Iberian Peninsula in A.D. 712, Christians in Madrid reportedly concealed the statue within the city’s defensive walls to protect it from destruction. The image remained hidden for centuries as Christian kingdoms gradually sought to reclaim territories across the peninsula during the Reconquista.
The wall that fell
In 1083, after King Alfonso VI of Castile recaptured Madrid, Christians searched for the long-lost statue. Tradition holds that after days of prayer, a section of the city wall suddenly collapsed, revealing the image preserved within. Witnesses reported seeing lights near the site, and the statue was discovered largely intact despite centuries of concealment.
Recalling the story, Leo noted that “during challenging periods for the Christian community, the statue of the Virgin Mary was hidden in a niche of the citadel wall for protection. It remained concealed for some time, until parts of the wall collapsed and it was miraculously discovered intact.”
The title “Almudena” derives from the Arabic word “al-mudayna,” meaning “citadel” or “fortress,” a reference to the location where the image was found.
A message for today
In his homily, the pope used the collapse of the wall as a spiritual lesson for modern society.“
It was thanks to a collapsed wall that the Mother was reunited with her people,” Leo said. “This event is providential, because it points to the path that Jesus, through his most holy mother, invites us to follow.”
Leo connected that image to challenges facing the modern world, observing that “there are still many walls that do not protect but rather divide, separate, and isolate.”
The ceremony also highlighted the popeʼs connection to Spain, a nation whose Catholic heritage has profoundly shaped the history of the Church. By honoring one of Spain’s most beloved Marian images, the pontiff underscored the enduring importance of popular Marian devotion and the Christian roots that continue to influence Spanish culture.
Renewing faith and hope
Beyond its historical significance, the story of Our Lady of Almudena continues to resonate with Catholics today. The devotion recalls themes of perseverance, hope, and trust in God’s providence, themes Pope Leo himself highlighted as he encouraged the faithful to remain steadfast in faith, charity, and hope.
Calling the devotion a source of hope, Leo described it as “a sign of the Christian roots that characterize you and give you life, but also of the great hope which continues to motivate you to move forward.”
He concluded by encouraging Catholics to remain steadfast in faith, charity, and hope, asking that the intercession of Our Lady of Almudena strengthen believers in their love for Christ and help them “form bonds and restore the universal language of communion, fraternal love, and harmony.”
13,000 gather at Knock in Ireland for largest Catholic rally since papal visit
In the largest gathering of Catholics in Ireland since Pope Francis’ visit in 2018, the annual All Ireland Rosary brought over 13,000 people to Knock Shrine on June 6 in a joint prayer for peace.
Speaking to EWTN News after the rally, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland Eamon Martin said: “It was a very special joy for me to preside at the Eucharist in Knock at the rosary rally. I felt a tremendous sense of joy and hope among the people who were gathered there. And it was especially gratifying to see many young people, including the childrenʼs rosary group, who made a very important and beautiful contribution to the day.”
The archbishop added: “I really felt that Knock was alive, and it makes me realize that our Blessed Mother continues to speak into the troubled world in which we live, with many new problems and new challenges. From the point of view of Ireland, itʼs very important for us to have a gathering like this, to affirm the very many people who have remained strong and steadfast in their faith and who need this kind of gathering in order to give them encouragement and a strong sense of mission.”
Martin said the word “mission” stayed with him after leaving the rally. “Thatʼs a word that I went home with in my head,“ he said. ”There is a wonderful mission involved in the rosary rally. Itʼs about gathering people but also about sending them back into their homes, parishes, and communities, to continue to make the beautiful graces of our Blessed Mother well known, to continue to pray for peace.”
Turning to the practical ways in which people can make a difference in their local parishes, Martin said: “I personally would invite people to restore the practice of the First Saturday devotions. This would be in fulfillment of our Blessed Motherʼs own wish, but it would also provide a new and further structure for parishes to gather, to pray the rosary, to have adoration, to have the sacrament of reconciliation available.”
Martin also expressed hope that other countries might be inspired by the example of the All Ireland Rosary Rally.
In his sermon during the Mass at the shrine on the day of the rally, the archbishop encouraged the congregation of thousands to pray often, in union with Mary, for the protection of humanity in this technological age.
Echoing the words of Pope Leo XIV in his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, he said: “Artificial Intelligence is already shaping human life in homes, workplaces, and communities; in hospitals, public services, and economies. AI can do remarkable and helpful things. It can even mimic human behavior and voices, but it cannot love, suffer, forgive, pray, or hope as humans can, nor can it be truly ‘wise.’ AI does not have a conscience.”
Together with Bishop Donal McKeown and Bishop John Buckley, Martin led the renewal of the consecration of Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the culmination of the rosary procession.
Speaking to EWTN News, Christine O’Hara, a secondary schoolteacher in Cork, Ireland, said: “The rosary rally was a very blessed and grace-filled day, and thereʼs a number of things that weʼre really hoping people will take away from the event. The first being that people will feel inspired to pray the rosary every day.”
O’Hara, who runs a childrenʼs rosary group and two First Saturday communities, added: “Our Lady said in Fátima, pray the rosary every day to obtain peace in the world and an end to the war. Itʼs the desire of Archbishop Eamon Martin that the renewal of the First Saturday devotion would happen in this country. Weʼre really hoping and praying that one of the fruits, and Iʼm sure there will be many fruits from this rosary rally, but weʼre really hoping and praying that people will feel inspired to start the First Saturday devotion in their parish.”
OʼHara also said she hopes more people will be inspired to start childrenʼs rosary groups as well as rosary groups for adults in their parishes.
The huge crowd also heard from an inspiring panel of international speakers. Bishop Oliver Doeme spoke to the crowds about the power of the rosary in strengthening the faith and courage of the people of his diocese in Nigeria who live in daily fear of murder at the hands of Boko Haram terrorists.
Nikki Kingsley shared her remarkable conversion journey from the Muslim faith in her native Pakistan to being received into the Catholic faith. Her moving and inspiring story focused on the power of the rosary and her devotion to Our Lady.
Other speakers included Father Chris Alar, the provincial superior of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, who talked of the importance of Marian devotion, and Sister Ângela de Fátima, vice postulator for the cause of the three Fátima children.
Church in Mexico: ‘Enjoy the World Cup without losing sight of what’s truly important’
Just four days before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Primatial Archdiocese of Mexico called on Mexican Catholics to enjoy the championship but at the same time to “not lose sight of what is really important, which is what remains after the final whistle.”
In a June 7 editorial, the archdiocese stressed that “the emotions of these days will remain in our memories but our children will still be there waiting for our attention, our parents needing a call, our grandparents longing for a visit, our spouse waiting for some time together, and our daily responsibilities demanding our presence.”
The Archdiocese of Mexico stated that “the world once again comes to a halt before the playing field. Millions of people will gather in front of a screen to celebrate, suffer disappointment, feel the excitement, and share the passion that soccer brings out.”
“Mexico, like many other participating nations, is undergoing challenges that call for unity; the entire world, caught up in scenarios of war and inequality, is in urgent need of reconciliation,” the editorial noted.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, the worldʼs premier soccer championship, will have three host countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The opening match, between Mexico and South Africa, will take place on June 11 in Mexico City. Thirteen matches total will be played in Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara.
After acknowledging the frequent divisions caused by “politics, social media, economic disparities, or the wounds we carry in our personal and community relationships,” the archdiocese noted that during the World Cup weeks, “we will see entire families sitting together in front of the television, neighbors gathering to watch a match, and people who don’t usually agree on things celebrating the same goal.”
The archdiocese recalled that Pope Leo XIV, in his prayer intention for June, “reminds us that ‘in life, as in the game, no one is saved alone. We need others to grow, to learn respect, to overcome our limits, and to celebrate together the victories we achieve.'"
The archdiocese acknowledged that “the World Cup can be a great celebration” yet noted that “any celebration has meaning when it strengthens the bonds that sustain our lives.”
In this spirit, it extended an invitation to Mexican society, urging that “these weeks help us sit down together at the table as a family more often, reconcile with those from whom we have drifted apart, pick up conversations we had put on hold, and rediscover the joy of sharing.”
“Sport need not be a reason to distance ourselves from those we love, to isolate ourselves, or to shut ourselves away for hours in front of the television, shunning human contact or neglecting what requires our attention,” the editorial pointed out.
Both while the World Cup is underway as well as after it ends, “the people who are with us on the journey today remain essential.”
“We still need peace in our communities. We still need to be close to those who suffer. We still need to value and defend human life and dignity. We still urgently need reconciliation in our country. And the love we build each day in our homes remains irreplaceable,” the archdiocese emphasized.
The archdiocese encouraged people to both enjoy the soccer matches and celebrate “the fraternity it can inspire,” without forgetting “that trophies are fleeting and that the most valuable things in our lives are built day by day in family, friendship, honest work, and everyone’s commitment to building a more united society.”
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 addresses difficult questions about selfishness, suicide, and forgiveness
In Barcelona on Tuesday evening, Pope Leo XIV addressed the concerns of three young people who shared their personal struggles in a powerful dialogue marked by sincerity, pain, and hope.
During the vigil held at the cityʼs Olympic Stadium — on the fourth day of his apostolic journey to Spain — the pontiff answered direct, profound, and heart-wrenching questions with the voice of a shepherd, human sensitivity, and moments of stirring intensity.
Discovering one’s vocation in a selfish society
Ferrán — baptized this past Easter — asked Pope Leo XIV for guidance on how to keep his gaze lifted in order to discover his vocation, “when society pushes us to look constantly at the ground or only at ourselves.”
Leo XIV highlighted the fact that “many young people and adults are rediscovering the Christian faith” and noted that “our desire for truth and happiness requires a broader horizon. And this restlessness is a gift that God himself has given us: We are made for the infinite.”
Leo XIV offered two ideas: It is necessary to cultivate that healthy restlessness, and to do so within one’s own specific circumstances.
Regarding the first point, he warned that “the idolatry of profit and performance, the drive to constantly produce and come out on top, as well as the cult of one’s own image, are nothing more than anesthetics” that numb the conscience.
For this reason, he added that those who allow themselves to be enlightened by the Gospel “also develop a critical perspective regarding a social system that does not place the person at the center and gives rise to situations of injustice and existential poverty on various levels.” This critical capacity means that “restlessness — as well as the discovery of one’s inner self, of spirituality, and even more so of the Gospel — can be frightening,” he added.
Secondly, the pope urged everyone to “cultivate this restlessness and make room for it” in their own concrete realities — by creating moments of silence, reading the Gospel daily, speaking with God, and “trying to walk this inner path alongside others, allowing ourselves to be accompanied on ecclesial journeys and engaging in dialogue with priests, religious, and people who, like us, have embarked on this path.”
God neither abandons nor desires human suffering
The second question came from Carmina, a secondary school teacher who described how depression led her to view “the idea of disappearing” as her only way out: “One Friday night, I lost the battle and tried to take my own life.” Yet, she continued, “God gave me a second chance.”
Drawing on this lived experience, she asked — amid the profound silence of those present: “Where can we see God when the darkness is absolute and we can go on no longer? How can we trust in God when it seems that nothing — not even oneself — is worth anything?”
After a pause, Leo XIV responded by expressing gratitude for the effort involved in sharing an experience of such magnitude: “You have risen and resumed your journey, and this is a wonderful miracle that we see in many figures in the Gospel.”
The pontiff highlighted the need to “become aware of how mental health is increasingly threatened within societies considered advanced” — a fact that signals “something deeply amiss” in them, subjecting people “to pressures, expectations, and tensions that compromise fundamental forms of balance.”
Leo XIV then turned his attention to the “hours of darkness, anguish, and pain that Jesus experienced as the hour of his death drew near,” affirming that “this is not merely a matter of personal suffering”; rather, the Son of God takes upon himself, in his own flesh, all the anguish, pain, and suffering of humanity.
“The cross of Jesus tells us that God does not abandon us,” the Holy Father continued, noting that “he remains crucified with us in moments of pain and extreme loneliness.”
“When God seems absent, we must once again entrust to him the burdens we carry in our hearts — even crying out to him,” he added.
He also recommended “opening ourselves to someone who can help us offer a simple prayer, who can accompany us discreetly — without rushing to explain that pain — and who can take us by the hand and help us move beyond that cry.”
Regarding this experience, he warned against the temptation to “spiritualize pain” by superficially reducing it to the “will of God,” as this risks minimizing and silencing suffering. “God does not desire suffering; he bears it with us and invites us to trust in him perseveringly,” he declared.
How can I forgive my father and reconcile with God?
The third young person to address Pope Leo XIV was Desirée, who recounted how her father had tried to kill her mother — an event that drove her mother into drug addiction and landed Desirée in a juvenile detention center, where she gradually opened herself to faith and was baptized.
Her story moved those present to tears; they interrupted her account several times with applause expressing affection and support.
During her adolescence, she had rebelled against God. Now, with a faith renewed following a retreat, she asks God: “Where were you when I was a child?” She posed two questions to the pope: How can I forgive my father? How can I truly reconcile with God?
The pope reframed the first question, encouraging us to ask ourselves how we — as human beings — become “prisoners of evil, to the point of being violent toward others” and “fail to cultivate love” while respecting the dignity and freedom of others.
After condemning “a poisoned atmosphere in family relationships — characterized by abuse, oppression, and, in particular, violence against women” — the pope emphasized that “we cannot attribute to God what has been entrusted to our own responsibility.”
He thus recalled that human beings have been endowed by God with intelligence, will, conscience, and dignity, and noted that God has, above all, “come to meet us to show us — in his Son, Jesus Christ — the path to follow,” in addition to gifting us the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, he affirmed, these questions must be directed “at ourselves, at the dynamics of our society, at the culture of individualism, and at the temptation to violence — not at God.”
Regarding forgiveness, the pontiff emphasized that it is part of a journey. He warned that if one reads the Gospel “as a book of instructions, commandments, and duties,” one runs the risk of “causing ourselves great discouragement and frustration” upon discovering that we are incapable of the forgiveness to which the Lord invites us.
He added that “we must, above all, ask the Lord for forgiveness” so that he may “expand the space for love within us precisely where we have been wounded” and thus, gradually, “transform resentment into mercy and compassion.”
“We must not lose heart: In forgiveness, we advance in small steps,” for it is a gradual process that does not always mean returning to the previous situation “or living in a full relationship with those who have hurt us, especially when the incident involved violence.”
Nevertheless, he noted, it is possible “to maintain a good disposition of the heart toward the person, reject all forms of hatred or vengeance, strive to mend the relationship as much as possible, and perhaps pray for him or her.”
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.
PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV meets lawmakers, visits historic Catholic sites in Madrid, Barcelona
Pope Leo XIV continued his seven-day trip to Spain with visits to Catholic sites, meetings with numerous communities including abuse victims, and a historic address to the Spanish Parliament.
The Holy Father will continue the apostolic visit through June 12. His events so far in the European country have also included a massive gathering with young people in Madrid and a visit to the historic Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia in Barcelona.
See below for photos of Pope Leo XIVʼs activities in Spain.
Catholic scientists meet to discuss identical twins, AI, and the unity of truth
CHICAGO — What does a 17th-century anatomist-turned-bishop have to do with the future of Catholic science? Quite a lot, according to Nuno Castel-Branco of All Souls College, Oxford, who was one of the presenters at the ninth annual Society of Catholic Scientists conference held June 5–7 at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois.
About 130 scientists gathered for this yearʼs conference for talks that touched on the deeply Catholic history of science, the moral dilemma of identical twins, how science and faith are one in their pursuit of truth, how AI fits into the grand scheme of things, and how key mathematical discoveries reveal God’s beauty and infinity.
The Society of Catholic Scientists (SCS) exists to correct the false characterization of faith and science as opposed, and how to combat this myth was a constant topic in both formal presentations and informal conversations. All presentations can be seen on the recorded livestream.
Castel-Branco told the story in his Saturday morning talk of St. Nicolas Steno, a revolutionary scientist who is considered the father of geology and comparative anatomy. This brilliant researcher converted to Catholicism after witnessing a Corpus Christi procession in Italy, going on to become a bishop and then a saint.
The same research skills Steno used to understand the natural world, Castel-Branco said, became his path to heaven as he turned his intellect toward studying the Church fathers and theology.
Later on Saturday afternoon, Maureen Condic, neurobiology professor and bioethicist at The Catholic University of America, presented her solution to the “twin problem.” Identical twins pose a moral dilemma: If one embryo can divide into two distinct persons, how does that square with the belief that personhood begins at conception?
Condic pulled from the newest research in molecular developmental biology and the ancient wisdom of Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics to present a sophisticated answer that affirms the dignity of human life at all stages, arguing that the splitting of an embryo to become identical twins is an act of biological regeneration, comparable to asexual reproduction. Thus an embryo becoming identical twins is not the division of one human person but the spawning of a second individual from a first.
Ignasi Rosell, a particle physicist and one of several visitors from the society’s Spain chapter, explained how scientists can understand their work in light of St. John Henry Newman’s vision of the university, saying: “Truth is one. Newman was not defending theology against science: He was defending the unity of knowledge. The university remains the privileged place where that unity is sought.”
Two talks addressed artificial intelligence, one addressing trustworthy scientific inference given the scope of AI and the other attempting to place machine intelligence on Aristotle’s “Great Chain of Being” that classified all living and nonliving things into a hierarchical scale based on the complexity of their souls.
The conference also turned to the philosophy of mathematics in a presentation that revealed how religious faith brings new understanding to every field of scientific inquiry. Gregory F. Johnson, principal software engineer at Zap Surgical Systems, a spin-off of the Stanford Medical School, discussed “The Mathematical and Philosophical Revolution Launched by Gödelʼs Incompleteness Theorem,” a theorem published in 1931 that fundamentally altered the philosophy of mathematics.
“The key thing Gödel showed was that mathematics has sort of infinite realms where weʼre being asked to explore more and more deeply,” Johnson told EWTN News. “Gödel thought — he was a man of faith, a man of religious belief — that, in a way, God created an abstract realm to go with the material physical realm, where he was just opening doors for us to explore more and more deeply into his truth and his presence."
Participants called the conference “joyful,” “refreshing,” and “genuinely interdisciplinary.”
“Itʼs just a joyful sharing of the intersection of faith and science,” Alexander Webber, a research fellow at the Food and Drug Administration, told EWTN News. It was Webber’s fifth year attending the conference, and he said he frequently encourages friends and colleagues to come too.
“Itʼs just an incredible experience every year, gathering with highly qualified scientists who are also believers,” he said. “We always have wonderful conversations — not only on how our faith informs our work but also how our work reveals more about our faith. I always leave feeling edified. It’s very much unlike other conferences. Nobody here is really putting on any pretenses.”
Other attendees said they enjoy being with other serious scientists who are devout Catholics and who share their understanding that faith and science go hand in hand.
Robert Scherrer, a physics professor at Vanderbilt University, said: “Thereʼs this myth that science and religion are opposed to each other. A lot of atheists have a very simplistic view of religion: The religion they donʼt believe in is not the religion I do believe in. But young people see this myth and think, ‘I have to pick which team Iʼm going to be on.’”
Chris Clemens, an astrophysicist and former provost of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, was one of the first members of the SCS. He said it was hard to find other Catholic scientists at first, but now it has grown and draws more members every year.
The organization has seen enormous development in its international chapters. The president of the Spain chapter, the second-largest chapter after the U.S., gave a presentation about its growth and success at the conference.
Scherrer, another founding member of the SCS, said he greatly enjoys the event’s interdisciplinary nature. “All the other conferences I go to are in my specialty, and itʼs fun, but it’s the same topics every time,” he said. “Whereas here, Iʼve heard talks about bees, and the Great Lakes, and lobster brains, and all sorts of things that you just donʼt get in your normal run of your life, so itʼs much more interesting. It reminds me of when I was a kid and was interested in science. I didnʼt just do physics; I was interested in all science. It feels like a chance to get back to that.”
SCS members have initiated a number of projects to share more broadly the compatibility of faith and science, from a “Faith, Science, and Reason” high-school textbook written by Chris Baglow, who directs the Science & Religion Initiative of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, to a new training this year that prepares scientists to give lectures on the unity of faith and science.
Itinerary confirmed for Pope Leo XIV’s trip to France: Paris, Lourdes, and Metz
Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich has confirmed that Pope Leo XIV will visit the French capital on Sept. 25 and 26 as part of his apostolic journey to France.
The prelate made the announcement via his official X account, noting also that the pontiffʼs presence would be “a source of comfort and encouragement for many.”
The confirmation coincides with an announcement from the French Bishops' Conference, which stated via social media that the pope will participate in five major gatherings during the visit.
On Sept. 25, the pope will preside over vespers at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame and take part in an evening event with young people; on the 26th, he will celebrate an open-air Mass in Paris; on the 27th, he will celebrate the Eucharist at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes; and on the 28th, he will preside over Mass at Metz Cathedral.
“We can now give free rein to our joy, as we are able to publicly confirm that Paris will welcome the Holy Father on Sept. 25 and 26 as part of his apostolic journey to France!” Ulrich wrote.
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The archbishop noted that the announcement follows several weeks of preparation in his archdiocese and highlighted the importance of the Holy Fatherʼs “pastoral and fatherly care” for French Catholics.
Ulrich expressed pride in the choice of Paris as one of the key stops on the journey: “We know that Paris is just one of the dioceses in France and that each particular Church reflects the face of Christ in its own way.”
He added that the Church in Paris must prepare itself and “work wholeheartedly to create the conditions for a true encounter that transcends our own boundaries.”
Encounters with young people and a large-scale Mass
As the archbishop explained, on Friday, Sept. 25 — prior to vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris with priests, deacons, consecrated religious, and seminarians from across France — the pope will have an encounter with the faithful.
On Saturday, Sept. 26, the pope “will preside over an open-air Mass in the heart of Paris, to which I invite you to join — either by attending in person, if you are able, or through prayer,” Ulrich stated.
Call for volunteers and prayer
The archbishop noted that many logistical details are still being finalized, but he invited the faithful to get involved in organizing the visit.
He also asked for financial support to help welcome the many pilgrims expected to attend the events. Finally, he urged Catholics to support the preparations through prayer.
"Above all, I ask you to join in this preparation through prayer: prayer for the Holy Father ... and prayer for all those ... who will be involved in organizing this visit,” he wrote.
Ulrich concluded by asking for prayers for the Church in France, that it may remain “united behind the bishops in full communion with the successor of Peter” and preserve, “amid all the storms of our time, its faithful joy in the Lord’s Gospel.”
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.
Vice President Vance says ‘soul-searching’ brought him to Catholic Church: ‘I felt at home’
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said this week that he was drawn to the Catholic faith in part because of its centuries of tradition and because it “felt like home” to him amid his own faith journey.
The vice president told Fox News host Jesse Watters on “Jesse Watters Primetime” on June 8 that he attended Christian churches while growing up but that he “wasnʼt properly formed in my faith” and that he eventually fell away from Christianity.
“I had a lot of people who just did not, I think, properly support me in my own faith journey. And so I kind of just lost it,” he told Watters.
Vance said he experienced considerable career success as he grew older and became a lawyer. “I was professionally very successful. I was making a lot of money. Iʼd gone to all the right schools,” he said.
But “I realized that American elite culture was forming me to be kind of a bad person.”
When his wife, Usha, gave birth to their first baby, Vance said he began thinking about “how to be a good person, how to be virtuous, how to be a good and supportive husband, how to raise [their] son to be a good man himself.”
These questions led him to consider returning to the faith, he said; he ultimately converted to Catholicism in 2019.
“It felt like the world was changing so fast,” he said. “And what I loved about Catholicism is that you had this beautiful ancient Church, and you had all of these traditions that were very firmly rooted, some of which went back literally thousands of years. And I just really loved that sense of tradition.”
He admitted that itʼs “possible sometimes to think too much about this stuff” and that ultimately he joined the Catholic faith because “when I went to a Catholic church, I felt at home.”
“[A]fter a lot of soul searching, thatʼs just what felt like home to me,” he said.
Vance added he enjoys the “dynamism” that comes from the religiously pluralistic culture of the United States.
“Certainly it has been true for me that while I made my home in the Catholic Church, some of my best friends and some of the most influential people Iʼve met ... have been Protestants. So I think thatʼs going to continue to be true,” he said.
Vanceʼs wife, Usha, is Hindu, which Vance said “brings a lot” to their marriage.
“Itʼs definitely dynamic to have a Hindu [mother], a Catholic father, two Catholic kids, and one 4-year-old girl who hasnʼt figured it out yet,” he said. “But I wouldnʼt take it any other way.”
Watters noted that he himself is Protestant but that his wife is “kind of trying to get me to convert to Catholicism.” He joked with Vance: “Iʼm not there yet. Maybe Iʼll get there one day.”
“Weʼll talk,” Vance replied with a laugh.
Vanceʼs upcoming book, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith” will be released on June 16. Vance said earlier this year that the book will explore the “story of how I regained my faith.”
"I’m a Christian, and I became a Christian because I believe that Jesus Christ’s teachings are true,” Vance said when the book was announced. “But I didn’t always think that, and by sharing my journey I might be helpful to others — Catholic, Protestant, or otherwise — who are seeking reconciliation with God.”
Federal court in New Mexico lets Nigerian priest remain in U.S. during visa case
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico issued a temporary restraining order staying the expiration of a Nigerian priest’s student visa while the archdiocese petitions to sponsor his R-1 religious worker visa.
The court’s June 4 decision to issue a temporary stay for Nigerian priest Father Martin Umeatuegbu’s student visa comes after the Trump administration issued proclamations placing a hold on all visa adjustment of status applications and restricting entry for all foreign nationals from “high-risk” countries, including Nigeria.
The 14‑day stay, granted in response to the archdiocese’s May 22 emergency request for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order, gives the Archdiocese of Santa Fe time to petition the U.S. government to upgrade Umeatuegbu’s student visa to an R‑1 religious worker visa, a five-year visa typically held by foreign-born priests while serving in the U.S. and applying for green card status.
The outcome of Umeatuegbu’s case could set a precedent for other foreign-born priests from countries designated by the U.S. as “high risk.”
Umeatuegbu’s visa was set to expire on June 4. The Archdiocese of Santa Fe had filed its petition to upgrade his visa to R-1 status on Dec. 31, 2025. Umeatuegbu was ordained to the priesthood on May 23 and has been assigned to St. Anne Parish in Santa Fe.
Umeatuegbu obtained a master of arts degree in theology from Mount Angel Abbey Seminary and was ordained to the diaconate on June 5, 2025, according to the seminary’s website.
The archdiocese did not return EWTN News’ request for comment.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Gonzales wrote that “the archdiocese is likely to succeed on merits under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act” and said the policy of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services “infringes on the archdiocese’s right to select its minister of choice.”
Gonzales said the U.S. government “is unlikely to demonstrate that the policy is the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling governmental interest,” especially since it has already lifted adjudicative holds on other categories of petitions.
Patriarch of Jerusalem ordains 4 priests from Neocatechumenal Way
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, ordained four priests trained at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Galilee — part of the Neocatechumenal Way — on Saturday, June 6, at the Church of the Twelve Apostles within the Domus Galilaeae International Center.
At this significant site of the Neocatechumenal Way on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in the Holy Land, the cardinal conferred priestly ordination upon Francisco Hurtado Cárdenas (Colombia), José Pablo Morera Mesén (Costa Rica), Adolfo René De León Salguero (Guatemala), and David Sotgiu (Italy).
In his homily, Pizzaballa highlighted the providential nature of the date — the eve of Corpus Christi — and emphasized that “there is no Eucharist without a priest, nor a priest without the Eucharist.” The Italian cardinal also stressed that “love cannot be locked within itself; it must be communicated, it must become a gift,” according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
The cardinal also emphasized that the priesthood is not a personal possession but a received gift that must be safeguarded. “If you keep it for yourselves, it will be stifled; it must always become a gift,” he warned the new priests.
Pizzaballa also encouraged the new priests to remember “what the Lord has done for you,” so that they do not forget the journey they have traveled or the people who have supported and accompanied them.
He also emphasized that a priest must lead people to an encounter with Christ through his witness and by helping communities live out the faith as something vibrant within the Church.
At the end of the homily, the patriarch highlighted both the beauty and the demanding nature of serving the Church in Jerusalem — a small, complex reality wounded by many situations. “Here, it is necessary to go to the very depths, to live the life of God to the fullest, right where the Word became incarnate and became tangible and real,” he emphasized.
In June of last year, in the same church, Pizzaballa conferred priestly ordination upon John Oscar Nuñez (Philippines), Giacomo Pagliariccia (Italy), and Lucas Solbach (France), who were also trained at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Galilee.