Spanish bishop calls for a vigil for peace, justice, and stability in Ceuta after immigration crisis
The apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Cádiz and Ceuta in Spain, Bishop Ramón Valdivia, called for a vigil for peace, justice, and stability in Ceuta, the Spanish city located in northern Africa and the site of a recent immigration crisis.
In a letter addressed to the priests, religious, and faithful of Ceuta, where the recent arrival of thousands of illegal migrants led to an overwhelming breach of the city’s maritime border, Valdivia invited the faithful to pray on the eve of the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, celebrated on Aug. 15, following a suggestion made by Pope Leo XIV.
“As a proposal for ecclesial action in response to this humanitarian and confidence crisis, I believe it is necessary to turn our gaze toward God,” Valdivia wrote, expressing his desire that this prayer take place “with the intention not only of seeking protection for the city of Ceuta but also so that we may become aware of the importance of maturing in the faith we have received and ask for the necessary light so that, united, we may experience these moments as a new cultural beginning and not simply as a crisis, which one hopes will prove temporary.”
“These events seem to me to reveal the depth of the cultural change that is taking place. For this reason, now more than ever, we need to lift our eyes and pray together the Our Father, saying: ‘Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!’” he insisted.
In the letter, Valdivia, who is also the auxiliary bishop of Seville, acknowledged that he needed time “to reflect on and understand the scope of what we have suffered and, at the same time, to try to understand, with the light available to me, the repercussions that go beyond what the media have been showing.”
The bishop pointed to “the humanitarian disaster generated by ambition and corruption” in which “young people without a future threw themselves into the unknown, driven only by political slogans or ill-intentioned promises” while adults “took advantage of the lack of government control to flee the criminal responsibilities of their own country, perhaps aided by a premeditated pardon arranged for this occasion.”
He also wrote of minors who, “abandoned by their families, become easy prey for predators” and, referring to the residents of Ceuta, “people who have felt their own space violated.”
‘Our Lady of Africa has been our stronghold’
In his reflection, Valdivia shared that what arose in his heart was “gratitude born of faith,” emphasizing that “from the very first moment, Our Lady of Africa has been the stronghold in which we can find refuge.”
“I have been able to perceive how the mother and patroness of Ceuta has once again, throughout history, become the lighthouse guiding us as we navigate stormy seas,” he added.
The auxiliary bishop of Seville also highlighted the way Catholics have faced the challenge of the arrival of a group nearly as large as Ceuta’s own population: “It is only right that we all send a message of gratitude to this small Christian community, so that they may receive strong encouragement from the rest of the diocese and continue to keep alive the witness of faith.”
“I want to believe that both the floral offering and the celebration and procession with the image of Our Lady of Africa were not merely a passing sigh but rather a catalyst for breaking the inertia generated by fear, the spark that awakens awareness of what faith contributes to the rebuilding of the city, the greatest challenge facing society and the Church in this time that the Lord has given us,” Valdivia 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.
Massachusetts becomes 11th state with no abortion limits as Gov. Healey signs bill
Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill allowing abortion at any point in pregnancy in the state of Massachusetts, making it the 11th state to impose no limits on abortion.
The legislation signed Aug. 10 removes all of the state’s restrictions on abortion after 24 weeks. An elective late-term abortion may be done based upon “the professional judgment of the physician” performing it, under the law.
“It should shock the conscience that tens of thousands of unborn Americans are barbarically dismembered limb by limb and torn apart every single year. Sadly, that number will only increase with Gov. Healey’s approval of the Abortion Up Until Birth Bill,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement.
The state Senate sent the legislation to Healey’s desk on July 31 for her signature.
Under the previous statute, state law allowed abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy if a physician says it is necessary to preserve the life, physical or mental health of the woman, because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis, or because the fetus wouldn’t likely survive outside the uterus.
“Today, mothers and fathers and families who experience these devastating diagnoses — and they are devastating, heartbreaking — now theyʼll be able to make their own choices,” Healey said at a press conference on Aug. 10.
Healey and supporters of the measure said the change in the law was needed because Massachusetts hospitals were increasingly refusing to provide abortions for women who already qualified for post‑24‑week abortions under existing law and that doctors needed clearer authority to reaffirm that medical judgment governs late‑term abortion decisions.
Healey, who is an outspoken supporter of abortion access, has served as the state’s governor since 2023.
Responding to the enacted legislation, Dannenfelser urged that the GOP “must abandon the ‘leave it to the states’ position — a stance that permits egregious late-term abortion laws like this one — and advance national protections for unborn children.”
SBA Pro-Life America highlighted that abortions done during the second and third trimesters are generally done by dismemberment of the baby or labor, noting that inducing labor may result in a live birth.
“Without a minimum national standard, the United States remains 1 of only 8 countries worldwide that allows abortion at any point in pregnancy,” Dannenfelser said.
According to a 2024 study from the Charlotte Lozier Institute, 46 of 50 countries in Europe limit abortion after 15 weeks –– a point by which the baby feels pain. The institute also found that over 60,000 abortions occur after 15 weeks each year.
“We must do all we can to turn the page on America’s ugly chapter of late-term abortion,” Dannenfelser said.
Earthquake in Colombia causes at least 20 deaths, partial collapse of neo-Gothic cathedral
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake shook several regions of western Colombia on Monday, Aug. 10, killing at least 20 people and causing severe damage to many buildings, including the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as the Manizales Cathedral, in the department of Caldas.
The earthquake occurred at 7:34 a.m. local time, and its epicenter was the municipality of San José del Palmar in the department of Chocó, located on the Pacific coast.
On its social media, the Archdiocese of Manizales shared a video showing cracks in the facade and the partial collapse of one of the side towers of the 390-foot-high neo-Gothic church, the tallest cathedral in Colombia and the tallest neo-Gothic church in the Americas.
Instagram post
The death toll remains unknown as local and national authorities continue to gather information in order to get a complete picture of the number of victims and the structural damage caused by the earthquake, considered the strongest in the last decade.
Colombia’s newly elected president, Abelardo De La Espriella, said on social media he has “personally taken charge of the emergency response in San José del Palmar” and has ordered the “establishment of a Unified Command Post to coordinate the response to the damage and assist those affected.”
“You are not alone,” wrote De La Espriella, who is Catholic. “The state is present and acting.”
The Archdiocese of Manizales called on the population to pray “for all the people and families who may have been affected, for those who today feel fear and uncertainty, and, especially, for those who need help.”
“May God protect Manizales and Colombia, strengthen our hearts, and grant us serenity, solidarity, and hope. Lord, we place Colombia in your hands,” the archdiocese said in its post.
The governor of Chocó, Nubia Córdoba, stated on her social media account that “in the capital, Quibdó, there are injuries and serious damage to buildings.”
In its first report, the Civil Aeronautics Authority of Colombia reported that the earthquake affected the facilities of “the airports of Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura.”
“For safety reasons, air operations at these terminals remain suspended until structural damage to the infrastructure is assessed,” the group stated.
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.
EWTN News explains: What does it mean that the pope is both head of state and head of the Church?
Unique among world leaders, the pope serves simultaneously as the universal spiritual head of the Catholic Church and as the head of the Holy See, a distinct sovereign entity under international law that serves as the central government of the Catholic Church.
So what do these multiple roles mean in the context of a pope’s day-to-day work as the visible leader of the world’s Catholics?
Andreas Widmer, a former Pontifical Swiss Guard who served St. John Paul II and who now teaches at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., told EWTN News that the papal states once formed a substantial territorial kingdom in central Italy with the pope as its temporal ruler.
Following Italian unification in the 19th century and the loss of most of those lands in 1870, the Church further developed the concept of the Holy See as an enduring international presence independent of extensive territory.
The 1929 Lateran Treaty formalized the creation of Vatican City State — a tiny sovereign territory of approximately 109 acres centered on Vatican Hill — providing the pope with just enough independence to exercise his universal ministry free from external coercion.
“From then on, the pope filled two distinct roles,” Widmer said. “He’s the spiritual head of the Catholic Church, and he’s the head of state of Vatican City — the only absolute sovereign in Europe.”
In principle, the Church could lose the territory of Vatican City and still retain its international juridical personality and diplomatic relations through the Holy See — much as a sovereign could continue to exist and maintain diplomatic relations even without a fixed territorial capital.
“The Church could give up the Vatican and still have the ambassadors, because it’s the Holy See,” Widmer noted. “Anywhere the pope is, there the Holy See is.” This arrangement ensures the “libertas Ecclesiae” — the freedom of the Church.
In addition, the pope’s status as a recognized foreign head of state confers immunities under international law that place him outside ordinary civil obligations of his country of origin, such as the obligation to vote or the payment of taxes.
The pope may still retain citizenship of his home country, in addition to the Vatican citizenship he automatically acquires upon his election as pope.
Andrea Gagliarducci, a Vatican expert and EWTN News contributor, said that this unique position also explains why attempts to treat the pope as a corporate executive in civil lawsuits ultimately fail: As both a sovereign head of state and the institutional embodiment of the Holy See, all relevant immunities apply to him.
The personal immunity of foreign heads of state is a customary principle of international law that guarantees full exemption from criminal, civil, and administrative jurisdiction in another state and covers both official and private acts.
The small territory of Vatican City, in the words of Pope Pius XI, provides “just enough body to keep the soul united,” allowing the successor of Peter the freedom necessary to shepherd the universal Church without being bound by any single nation’s interests.
In practice, the Holy Father focuses primarily on his pastoral and moral leadership. When he addresses questions of war, peace, or human dignity, he does so first and foremost as vicar of Christ.
As Andrea Tornielli of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication has pointed out, the pope in his leadership of the Church invites the world to higher principles of justice and fraternity, while the practical diplomatic machinery of the Holy See operates in service of that mission.
Pope Leo XIV: Stop vicious cycle of violence in Sudan and Ukraine
During his Sunday Angelus address on Aug. 9, Pope Leo XIV appealed for peace amid a serious humanitarian situation in Sudan, where a prolonged military siege has left more than 500,000 people without access to basic supplies.
“I continue to follow with concern the tragic situation in Sudan, especially in the city of el-Obeid,” Leo said in English after praying the Angelus. “In expressing my spiritual closeness to all the people of the nation, I renew my appeal to those in authority to guarantee humanitarian corridors for the civilian population.”
His remarks follow the worsening situation in Sudan, marked by drone warfare, sexual violence, and starvation, as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), who control the city of el-Obeid.
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Continued appeals for peace between Ukraine and Russia
The pope also addressed the war between Ukraine and Russia, lamenting the escalation of violence as casualties continue to rise.
“These incidents are occurring one after another; indeed, they are multiplying, resulting in ever-increasing numbers of civilian victims, including children,” he said.
In light of the rise in attacks, Leo renewed his call for respect for international humanitarian law.
“In the face of so much anguish, I renew my heartfelt appeal for humanitarian law to be respected and for both sides to cease attacks on civilian targets,” Leo said.
“War only begets more war and causes immense suffering,” he said.
Jesus never abandons us
In his preaching during his Angelus address, Leo encouraged the faithful to welcome God humbly into their hearts through prayer and the sacraments.
The pope also discussed the Gospel, which recounts Jesus walking on the water toward his disciples. He explained that the disciples were transformed by Christ’s presence and that miracles like this can teach the faithful not to despair in difficult times.
“Whatever the circumstances,” Leo said, “Jesus does not abandon us, and if we humbly welcome him into the boat of our lives — through prayer, the sacraments, and listening to his word — in him, we will find peace, light, and strength for our journey.”
This story was first published in two parts by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated, combined, and adapted by EWTN News English.
Nigerian bishop in Muslim-majority region says being ‘creative minority’ is key to diocese’s mission
KIGALI, Rwanda — The pioneer bishop of Nigeria’s Diocese of Katsina said the young diocese is building its future around the vision of becoming a “creative minority,” seeking to transform society through education, faith formation, interreligious dialogue, and witness rather than being discouraged by its small Catholic population.
Speaking to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, at the Aug. 3–8 SIGNIS World Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, Bishop Gerald Mamman Musa said the diocese, erected in October 2023, has chosen to focus on its mission instead of dwelling on the challenges Christians in northwestern Nigeria are facing.
“Even though Katsina has a small population of Christians or Catholics, we want to be a creative minority,” Musa said, explaining that Catholics should resist defining themselves by their numerical weakness or the hardships they face.
“Sometimes we can be lamenting about the fact that we are very few. We can be lamenting about the fact that we are oppressed, persecuted, or discriminated against. We must not focus on all those negatives,” he said.
Instead, he urged Catholics to ask, “What can we do in this society? How can we, few as we are, change society positively?” adding that the concept of a creative minority is rooted in investing in people through education and formation so they can become agents of transformation.
Illustrating that vision, Musa, who serves as the president of the Commission for Social Communications of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), cited a Sudanese proverb on the role of parents.
“The role of parents is to give children two things: to give them roots and to give them wings. Roots to know where they are coming from, to know their faith, to know their values, and then wings to empower them to be role models within the society,” the bishop said.
Musa, who was consecrated a bishop in December 2023, said that laying a solid foundation has been the dioceseʼs immediate priority since its creation. He recalled that the diocese adopted a 10-year strategic plan during its first general assembly to guide its pastoral mission.
“Our main task is to set the foundation. Setting the foundation, what I consider paramount and probably the greatest need of the diocese, is concentrating on children and youth,” the bishop told ACI Africa.
Education, he added, remains central to that vision, particularly for children who cannot afford schooling.
“We have a responsibility to send more children to school, especially those who are not able to afford education. My biggest pastoral need now is to set up a secondary school for girls, where they can get a very good faith formation,” Musa said.
He also underscored the role of communication in presenting a fuller picture of life in Katsina, where public attention is often dominated by reports of insecurity.
“Our communication department has been in touch with ACI Africa. We send news from time to time. But something very interesting about the news we send is that the communication department is focusing on constructive news, if you may call it positive news, good news that is coming from that side,” he said.
While acknowledging the reality of banditry, killings, kidnappings, and displacement in Katsina state, Musa said these challenges should not eclipse the signs of hope emerging in the diocese.
“We acknowledge all these things are happening, and we are in a very difficult time in Katsina. But on the other side, we want to emphasize that in the midst of all this darkness, God is at work in Katsina Diocese,” he said, citing baptisms, confirmations, the Church’s educational initiatives, and other expressions of the diocese’s pastoral mission.
As part of its pastoral strategy, the diocese is also strengthening relationships across religious communities.
“We are making an effort to develop interreligious dialogue between Christians and Muslims and between Catholics and other Christians within the diocese,” the bishop said.
He also expressed optimism about the growth of priestly vocations in the young diocese.
While the Katsina Diocese continues to rely on support from neighboring dioceses because of a shortage of clergy, the number of seminarians has nearly doubled since its establishment.
“The good news is that while we inherited 21 seminarians, today we have close to 40 seminarians,” he said. “This is impressive, and that tells us that our Church has great potential. We are looking forward to a Church that is not only self-sufficient but also a Church that will be willing to give out priests to help others.”
Musa went on to encourage the people of God entrusted to his pastoral care to remain hopeful despite their limited numbers and resources.
“The message of hope that I have for my people in the Diocese of Katsina is that we are few in number. We have very few resources, but we must always remember that little is much when God is in it,” he told ACI Africa at the congress.
Held under the theme, “Digital Communication for Cultural Harmony and Environmental Well-Being,” the six-day SIGNIS World Congress concluded on Saturday. Organized every four years, it “provides a platform for participants to engage in substantive discussions, exchange ideas, and contemplate the future trajectory of media and communication,” according to a SIGNIS report.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
Denver healing could move a nun jailed by communists toward sainthood
Blessed Zdenka Schelingová, a Slovak religious member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross (SCSC), may be one step closer to sainthood.
The postulator of her cause, Father Lucián Bogucki of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, handed the “positio super miro” to the archbishop of Bratislava, Stanislav Zvolenský, last month. The document, whose Latin title refers to a purported miracle, describes an alleged healing said to have occurred through her intercession in Denver.
“The very fact that the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints is dealing with the extraordinary healing through the intercession of Blessed Zdenka Schelingová is a gift from God and a great encouragement,” Zvolenský told EWTN News.
The date for the meeting of the commission of cardinals that will discuss the document and the reported miracle is not yet known but may come within a few months. The final decision on canonization rests with the pope.
The cause is an opportunity to enter “spiritual communion with those whom the Church presents to us as saints and blessed, so that we can also turn to them with a request for their intercession,” the archbishop said.
Zvolenský encouraged the faithful to “admire God’s goodness as he always gives us extraordinary signs of his love.”
A martyr under communism
Born Cecília Schelingová on Christmas Eve 110 years ago in the village of Krivá, in modern-day Slovakia, the future sister joined the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross and worked as a nurse and later in a hospital laboratory. She helped a Catholic priest escape from a hospital and attempted to do so again; the second time it was a trap, and she was arrested. She was tortured, accused of treason by the recently established communist regime, and imprisoned in various jails across then-Czechoslovakia.
Sister Zdenka was released in April 1955 and died on July 31, 1955, from the effects of torture and her ruined health. She was exonerated of all charges against her in 1970 and was beatified in 2003 by Pope John Paul II.
Respect and admiration for Sister Zdenka “is growing,” as “we have seen this now during various events on her liturgical feast,” which falls on July 30, said Sister Mária Terézia Dobrovičová, provincial superior of the Slovak province of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross. The congregation was founded 170 years ago in Switzerland, and soon afterward the sisters were invited to what is now Slovakia, she explained.
Bishop Tomáš Galis of the Diocese of Žilina celebrated Mass on the feast day, quoting Sister Zdenka: “Forgiveness is the greatest thing in life.” The Confederation of Political Prisoners of Slovakia also organized a conference on the religious sisters who lived in secret under the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
Pilgrims are visiting sites associated with her, including her native village of Krivá; Podunajské Biskupice, where her remains rest; and Trnava, the seat of the congregation in Slovakia.
Sister Mária Terézia said the sisters “receive various requests from people to pray for the intercession” of Sister Zdenka, “but we also have various testimonies about how prayers for her intercession have been heard.” This is encouraging, “and we are happy about it,” she stressed.
The official website dedicated to Sister Zdenka’s memory, zdenka.sk, shares several testimonies from people whose prayers were answered after they prayed to her. It does not, however, include the case contained in the “positio super miro.”
The Denver healing
A man in Denver was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and sent home. His wife knew someone who was a distant relative of Sister Zdenka and, together with her colleagues, reportedly began to pray for him.
The man had his tubes removed and was ready to die, yet his appetite returned and he regained his strength. He later suffered an embolism and died, according to one Slovak daily, which, however, did not cite a source. An autopsy confirmed that he had been cured of cancer, with no trace of the disease, and died three years after his recovery, though from a different diagnosis.
EWTN News contacted Bogucki for details about the case and the alleged healing. Instead, the priest — who is of Polish origin, lived in Slovakia for many years, and served as a confessor at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome — asked for prayers for the final phase before Sister Zdenka’s possible canonization.
Study shows society’s religious norms can affect children’s anxiety
Religious faith in society may do more than provide spiritual comfort and moral guidance; it could also help protect against anxiety disorders, according to a recent study published in Developmental Science.
The research published in March explored if there were links between what societies value — such as independence and community — and anxiety disorder rates among children and adolescents over three decades.
The study by Leonard Konstantin Kulisch, Ana Lorena Domínguez Rojas, Silvia Schneider, and Babett Voigt analyzed preexisting records and data during the years 1989 to 2022 from the World Value Survey, Global Burden of Disease study, Human Development Report, and Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study.
The research found an emphasis on independence was linked to higher anxiety rates in “WEIRD” (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) nations, while a greater emphasis on religious faith and interdependence correlated with less anxiety disorders globally.
It also found that the importance of religious faith in socialization, and its link to interdependence, was associated with fewer anxiety disorders across 70 of the countries examined.
The study did not compare religious versus nonreligious people or compare specific countries.
While the effect sizes were small, it did find that “in countries where emphasis on religious faith in childrearing declined, youth anxiety rose,” Brandon Vaidyanathan, professor of sociology at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News.
Country-based disparities
In WEIRD nations, the societies that have norms that are oriented toward independence were associated with more anxiety disorders, but the analyses found no significant association among the non-WEIRD countries.
In “developing societies [a] shift toward independence accompanies gains in growth and quality of life that may offset its psychological costs, but in already developed societies, it may only intensify competition and achievement-pressure,” Vaidyanathan explained.
“The difference between WEIRD and non-WEIRD societies on the independence finding is quite interesting, and the authors suggest that it is stage-dependent,” Vaidyanathan said.
“But religion is universal in providing goods that do not depend on development stage” including “belonging, order, meaning, purpose, routine.”
Family versus society predictors
The study reports that religious socialization may serve as “a protective factor” against anxiety issues in children and adolescents, which “is at the communal level much more than the individual level,” Vaidyanathan said.
So much so that the U.S. data suggested the societyʼs religious norms predicted childrenʼs anxiety better than the motherʼs own beliefs.
“The religiosity of the surrounding social environment was a stronger predictor of childrenʼs anxiety level than the familyʼs own faith, suggesting the protection comes from the society more than family,” Vaidyanathan said.
The global protective factor was not communal values in general but religious faith specifically, which Vaidyanathan called “textbook sociology” of religion.
“Since Durkheim, sociologists have shown that integration into [a] shared moral community buffers individuals from anomie” or “normlessness,” he said.
“Where the community has clear norms, attachments, obligations, limits … the individual doesnʼt have to shoulder the burden of ordering life themselves —which is where anxiety comes in.”
“Thatʼs why the protection is at the group level more than individual or family level, and that is what gets eroded in a secularized society,” he said.
Vaidyanathan also pointed to Peter Berger, a sociologist and Protestant theologian who coined the term “plausibility structures,” which are the social, cultural, and institutional environments that make certain values or religious beliefs seem believable and normal to a group of people.
Bergerʼs “famous concept of ‘plausibility structures’ helps us understand that a religious framework reduces anxiety, only while the surrounding society keeps it plausible — when the surrounding community keeps talking and living as if it were true.”
“When that fails, religion becomes one option among many and even a devout householdʼs commitment to their faith is not enough to shield a child in that society. So this is why community norms [or] religiosity matters much more than family belief,” Vaidyanathan said.
The Hillbilly Thomists hit the road with new album ‘Strange Land’
Between ministering to their communities and traveling down the southern interstate from Macon, Georgia, to Birmingham, Alabama, the Dominican friars of The Hillbilly Thomists are balancing full-time religious life with the whirlwind of a regional tour.
The music group’s latest project, “Strange Land,” was released as a surprise drop just a couple of days into their summer tour, offering listeners a blend of deep theological reflection and traditional Americana music.
The surprise drop decision was driven largely by their demanding schedules. After writing and recording the tracks a year prior, the postproduction process had to fit around their primary duties as “hounds of the Lord.”
“The postproduction process just takes a while because we are all full-time preachers and teachers and chaplains and pastors,” said Dominican Father Justin Bolger, who spoke with the National Catholic Register, the sister news partner of EWTN News, along with his band brothers while on the road.
“After this kind of two-week stint that we do in the summer, the music takes a backseat to that ... So it kind of came out when it came out.”
Musically, “Strange Land” ranges from spiritual anthems like “In-A-My Soul” and “Gloria” to playfully titled tracks like “Garrigou” and “Good Old Elvis.”
Dominican Father Thomas Joseph White, one of the founding members of the band who also serves as rector at the Angelicum in Rome, noted that the variety reflects the band’s distinct personalities while remaining grounded in shared themes.
“There are some themes that show up, like pilgrimage and hope and struggle, that are in all the songs,” he explained. “It’s very consistent with what we’ve done on other albums, and it just comes out organically or naturally from our songwriting.”
The record marks a step forward in technical execution for the ensemble.
White described the album as representing a “slightly higher echelon of musical sophistication,” aided by tighter harmonies and complex arrangements. Unlike previous albums where the friars handled all engineering themselves in retreat houses, they hired a professional recording engineer for “Strange Land.”
“It frees up more of the band to just focus on the music and to collaborate and just have that be the focus,” Bolger added.
That spirit of collaboration is rooted deeply in their shared Dominican vocation. “We’ve known each other for years, and we’re all united in the Dominican order, so it just makes for a real atmosphere of ease,” said Dominican Father Jonah Teller, describing the mutual trust involved when bringing personal songs to the group.
As the band’s popularity grows, so does a devoted grassroots fan base. White observed a natural overlap between people interested in Catholic intellectual life — such as participants in the Thomistic Institute — and fans of their bluegrass music.
That enthusiasm has even spilled over into unofficial merchandise crafted by fans. At recent shows, custom fan art has begun to emerge, including T-shirts designed by a college student featuring torch-bearing dogs alongside the caption “I’m a dog for my Lord,” as well as custom “Good Tree” hats.
“You do see some kind of fan art emerge at these shows, which is charming,” Bolger noted.
White deadpanned that the order was engaged in a “very serious lawsuit” to confiscate the student’s assets and protect its intellectual property, prompting laughter from the rest of the band.
The group’s reach has extended all the way to the Vatican.
Recalling a past meeting with Pope Leo XIV, White shared that while most gifts were set aside, the pontiff asked to keep The Hillbilly Thomists’ CDs close by.
“So I don’t know if he listens to them, but I do know he made the point of keeping them,” White joked, adding: “It’s unclear at this point in time whether any of our lyrics will be quoted in forthcoming encyclicals, but there’s some speculation.”
When asked about playing traditional American folk and bluegrass music, especially as the nation celebrates 250 years of independence, singer and mandolin player Dominican Father Austin Litke pointed out the unique place the band occupies within the genre.
“The Christian part of American culture has not always been predominantly Catholic,” Litke noted.
“To be able to take up that form of music and infuse it with Catholic doctrine, Catholic culture, and certainly Thomistic culture ... we hope is part of the genius of the creativity that’s come out of our fraternal work.”
The 11-show tour concludes on Saturday, Aug. 8, fittingly on the feast of St. Dominic, with a performance alongside the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia at the Dominican Campus in Nashville, Tennessee.
As for how fans can support the new release, Bolger kept his message simple: “Let all the old people and the young people know that they can find it on Spotify.”
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
Beatification process begins for American missionary Juan Tomis
Chiclayo, Peru, Bishop Edinson Farfán Córdova announced that in the coming months his diocese will begin the cause for the beatification and canonization of Monsignor Juan Tomis Stack.
Tomis, an American missionary priest who was born and raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut, dedicated more than two decades of his life to northern Peru and has been cited by Pope Leo XIV on various occasions as a major inspiration for his own missionary vocation.
The announcement was made on Aug. 4 during Farfán’s homily for the feast of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. At the Mass, Farfán highlighted the witness of the man who founded Chiclayo’s St. John Vianney Parish and asked the faithful to entrust the upcoming process to God.
“Everyone in our diocesan Church of Chiclayo knew Father Juan Tomis. I want to ask that we learn from him. If all goes well and the Lord accompanies and blesses us, the process for his beatification and canonization will begin before long,” the prelate stated.
The bishop also highlighted that Tomis left his home country to dedicate his life to the most needy in Peru.
“How beautiful that he was born in those lands. He came from the United States to serve these communities in Santa Cruz — in the highlands — and later in our beloved Chiclayo, which holds him so dear. I pray, through the intercession of St. John Vianney, that we may begin this process with joy, gratitude, and hope,” Farfán added.
The news comes just days after the presentation of the Spanish edition of the book “Bridgeport to Peru,” originally written in English in 1989 by Monsignor Stephen M. DiGiovanni under the title “Bridgeportʼs Peru.”
During the book’s presentation, organized by the Friends of Father Juan Tomis group, journalist and researcher Larcery Díaz explained that the translation “was born as a tribute of gratitude to mark the centennial of the birth of the man who was the guide and spiritual father to all the inhabitants of this area: Monsignor Juan Tomis Stack,” he stated.
Díaz recalled that it all began in 1963, when Bridgeport Bishop Walter Curtis, inspired by the Second Vatican Council, decided to send missionary priests to Latin America.
“The book tells us a story that began with a courageous ‘yes,’” Díaz noted. Among those first volunteers was “a young, enthusiastic priest of Slovak descent, filled with faith: Father Juan Tomis.”
The researcher recounted that the priestʼs early years were marked by enormous challenges in the province of Santa Cruz, Cajamarca.
The missionaries encountered a population lacking electricity and potable water, nearly impassable roads, high rates of childhood malnutrition, and strong resistance to any pastoral or social change.
In the face of these challenges, Tomis spearheaded road construction, fostered priestly vocations, helped build a clinic to care for the poorest, and worked to recover Church property that had been illegally occupied.
“Upon arriving during a cold winter, the missionaries faced a reality very different from what they had envisioned. Yet, it was their perseverance that allowed the seed of the Gospel to bear fruit on Peruvian soil,” Díaz noted.
In 1967, the mission relocated to Chiclayo, where Tomis founded St. John Vianney Parish, a community that, as Díaz recalled, he never wanted to turn into merely an institution.
“He did not want just an institution, but a ‘parish family.’ His tools were active charity and human kindness,” he explained.
From there, he spearheaded initiatives that remain etched in the memories of thousands of Chiclayo residents: the Useful Vacations program for children, the establishment of Scout troops, medical clinics, libraries, religious song festivals, and fondly remembered televised Masses.
“Father Juanʼs work transformed Chiclayo. That is undeniable,” the journalist affirmed.
His dedication was also recognized by the Holy See: In 1979, Pope John Paul II bestowed upon him the title of monsignor.
Tomis passed away on June 29, 1986. His funeral drew a crowd of some 20,000 people who accompanied the procession through the streets of Chiclayo, one of the largest outpourings of affection the city has ever seen.
“The outpouring of people from the entire community was spontaneous,” Díaz recalled, reading from an article he wrote 10 years after the priestʼs death.
“I can still see the thousands upon thousands of white handkerchiefs fluttering in the wind, bidding him a final farewell, Díaz recalled. “He was a priest who came to fulfill his duty, always bringing a delicate touch of tenderness, a warm spirit of love for his neighbor, and an unwavering devotion to the needy and the downtrodden,” he continued.
The journalist noted that Tomis “sowed love because he loved love, the hallmark of Christianity” and affirmed that his legacy lives on through the pastoral, social, and educational initiatives he spearheaded in Chiclayo.
At the conclusion of the book’s presentation, Díaz summarized the priestʼs impact in a sentence that takes on special significance today, following the announcement of his future cause for beatification.
“Today, as we open these pages, we do not merely read a historical chronicle; we reconnect with the friend, the teacher, and the guide. This book stands as a testament to how the love of God, when translated into service, can change the history of a community.”
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.