Under a scorching sun, 500 pilgrims mark St. Thomas feast in Pakistan
Despite a summer heat wave, about 500 Catholics from Pakistan’s Punjab province traveled to the ancient city of Taxila to mark the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle at a site long associated with the apostle’s mission in the Indian subcontinent.
The faithful from St. Francis Xavier Parish in Gujranwala arrived in eight buses on July 4 at the archaeological site of Sirkap, where Christian tradition holds that St. Thomas preached at the court of King Gondophares before continuing his mission to India.
“The Gospel reached the far corners of the world through the companions of Christ, and that same mission has been entrusted to us,” Father Yousaf Yaqoob, the parish priest who celebrated the Mass, told the pilgrims.
He encouraged the faithful to visit Christian pilgrimage sites across Pakistan.
“The relics and even the air at pilgrimage sites are a source of blessing. In this digital age, people speak of the Gospel but have largely forgotten the great sacrifices and miracles behind it,” he said. “A nation that forgets its history is forgotten by history.”
After the Mass, pilgrims toured the Taxila Museum and the sacred sites at Sirkap, through which, according to Christian tradition, St. Thomas passed in the first century while proclaiming the Gospel in the Indo-Parthian kingdom ruled by King Gondophares.
Why Taxila draws Christian pilgrims
The Acts of Thomas, an early Syriac Christian text, recounts that the king gave the apostle money to build a royal palace. Instead, Thomas distributed the money among the poor. Enraged, the king ordered his execution. However, after the king’s brother, Gad, miraculously returned to life and described a heavenly palace built through the apostle’s charity, Gondophares pardoned Thomas and, according to tradition, embraced Christianity along with many of his subjects.
The Punjab Archaeology Department also preserves a local tradition that St. Thomas built a 3-foot-high stone throne at Sirkap and preached there for four decades. Two brick baptismal basins near the throne are still used for infant and adult baptisms.
According to archaeology officials, more than 25,000 visitors had visited the site by July 4.
The parish charged each pilgrim 1,700 Pakistani rupees (about $6), covering transportation, refreshments, and visits to Sirkap and Shahdara Valley, a popular tourist destination in the Margalla Hills near Islamabad.
Braving the summer heat
Sagar Rahat, the parish choir leader, joined fellow pilgrims in collecting small twigs and stones from around the stone throne.
“We keep them as souvenirs and blessings. Our hearts are filled with pride, passion, and honor simply by standing at a place visited by one of Christ’s apostles,” the 34-year-old told EWTN News.
Rahat, who has made the pilgrimage annually for the past decade, said the lack of basic facilities continues to trouble visitors. With the mercury climbing to 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), the water in pilgrims’ bottles quickly turned warm under the blazing sun.
“There is no shade, so we have to bring umbrellas. There are no water coolers, and the water in our bottles becomes warm in the direct sunlight,” he said.
In a July 2 message marking the feast, Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi said St. Thomas’ witness continues to inspire Christians, especially young people and families, to remain courageous in bearing witness to Christ.
“The example of St. Thomas invites us to profess our faith courageously, remain committed to sincerity and sacrifice, continue proclaiming the good news, and persevere despite opposition and hardship,” the archbishop said.
Taxila, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its Buddhist and Gandharan ruins, also occupies a unique place in Christian tradition because of its association with St. Thomas and King Gondophares.
Although historians continue to debate the historical details of the apostle’s visit, the tradition remains an important part of South Asia’s Christian heritage.
In 1935, a farmer plowing a field near the ruins discovered a cross that was later presented to the Anglican bishop of Lahore. The relic, known as the Taxila Cross, is now preserved in the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection in Lahore, the Punjab capital.
This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of July
Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of July is for respect for human life in all circumstances.
“Both you and I have received the most beautiful gift of life — your breath, your heartbeat, your smile, all that you are is God’s work of love,” Pope Leo said in a video shared on Instagram.
The Holy Father asked the faithful: “Will you help me protect this precious gift?”
“This month I invite you to pray for our commitment to respecting and protecting human life in all circumstances,” he said.
In the full video shared on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention:
“Lord of life,
You created us in love and called us to live in fullness.
Each person is a sacred gift that reflects your face,
from the first instant of existence
to the final breath of their journey on earth.
Today we ask for the grace to recognize and protect
the unique and unrepeatable value of every human being.
May we learn to welcome life unconditionally,
to tenderly care for fragility,
to accompany each stage with respect,
and to bravely defend those who have no voice.
Forgive us, Lord,
when we fall into indifference or the culture of discard,
when we fail to see in others a being worthy of love.
Give us a new heart, always ready to choose life,
and generous hands that protect it through concrete actions.
Make your Church a living witness of the Gospel of life,
an open home where every life is celebrated,
where no one feels unwanted,
and where dignity is always honored and protected.
Lord Jesus,
may we love life as you love it:
with tenderness, fidelity, and self-giving.
May we proclaim, in words and actions,
that every human life is worth the total gift of ourselves.
Amen.”
“Pray with the Pope” is accessible on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and its digital platforms.
In Canada, intensive summer seminar trains journalists to report Catholic news
In an era of remote work, particularly for writers and journalists, Laura Ieraci says the “newsroom experience” is markedly beneficial for those learning how to report.
At this year’s Canadian Catholic News’ “God in the City: Catholic Journalism Summer Seminar,” taking place Aug. 9–15 in Toronto, the students are given just that opportunity.
A newsroom lets students learn “how we really learn from each other and build off each other’s ideas and resourcefulness and creativity to help each other along and really get the best stories that we can,” Ieraci said.
A veteran Catholic journalist with more than two decades of experience, Ieraci serves as the founding coordinator of the intensive one-week seminar, which launched in 2025.
The program grew out of online classes starting in 2023. A group of students and instructors in that program met at a bar one night where one student remarked: “Wouldn’t it be great if we could have classes like this in person?”
“That’s where we decided we would try to do that,” Ieraci said.
The weeklong course is held in the largest city in Canada. “The reason we call it ‘God in the City’ is because the participants have to go out in the city and find stories on the Church, or a Church organization, or a Church apostolate, or some issue of importance to the Church, and bring those stories back and report on them,” Ieraci said.
Most of the students in the program are “not local to Toronto,” she said, and “some of them are a little nervous about being in a foreign city.” Facilitators in the program help students navigate both the city and the newswriting process.
“The instructors will accompany the students in finding sources,” she said. “If they run into any snags with their stories, we’ll help them adjust, pivot, course-correct, find other sources, and work alongside them.”
Some of the students in the course are just starting out in journalism, but others “aren’t necessarily novices,” Ieraci said.
“Some just want that extra formation, that extra knowledge,” she said. “Perhaps they’ve come into journalism from another discipline and they have to navigate it by themselves. Perhaps they’ve studied it but haven’t worked in journalism for a long time and just want to freshen up their skills.”
‘A dream I’ve had for a long time’
Among past participants in the program is Charlotte Taillon, an Edmonton, Alberta, resident who previously took a webinar with Canadian Catholic News.
“When I first saw the flyer for the summer intensive I was about 20 weeks pregnant with my sixth daughter and thought there was no way,” she told EWTN News.
“But about a month and half before the summer intensive, Laura reached out to me to see if I was interested,” she continued. “I kept trying to talk myself out of it, but the opportunity just wouldnʼt leave me alone. I was surprised how supportive my husband had been as well.”
Currently a communications professional, Taillon said the seminar was her “first experience in the world of journalism,” a vocation she said she’s always aspired to pursue.
She described the experience as “very informative” and one that gave her “the confidence to pursue a dream I’ve had for a long time.”
Upon arriving in Toronto, “they immediately put us to work finding a story, and it was intimidating at first but there was always someone ready to answer a question or encourage us,” she said.
“That support made all the difference. Even at 34 weeks pregnant I was able to get a story on the streets of Toronto” even in near-90-degree heat, she said.
She described the group of journalists as “very supportive and encouraging” and has remained in touch with them via a group chat. “We came from different backgrounds, but we all shared a passion for telling stories that matter,” she said.
Taillon said she will pursue journalism further after returning from maternity leave. Reflecting on how she happened to join the seminar, she said: “Looking back, I think God was gently reminding me that he has bigger plans for me.”
‘The basics’
Ieraci said part of the course involves teaching “a sense of the basics” to those considering journalism.
“We teach them the mental skills for journalism — making sure they have a basic skill set, how to write a news story, how to do interviews, along with the ethics of journalism,” she said.
The seminar does not include an explicit faith formation component, she said, but “we encourage people to be formed in their faith and practice it. We have daily Mass, daily prayer, reflection, a chapel on-site.”
Students have reported that they “get a lot out of it,” Ieraci said.
“One of them said, ‘Now I know I don’t want to be a journalist,’” she said with a laugh. “Another said it was instrumental in helping him get his current job.”
The program does not function as a “job-placement agency,” she noted, but “we’re happy to help our students navigate possible job opportunities.”
Above all, the program helps prospective journalists to consider the craft “from a Catholic point of view.”
“How will you interview someone as a Catholic journalist?” she said. “What kind of questions might you ask in that context of a faith-based reporter?”
“Because that’s what we’re doing,” she said. “We’re doing faith-based reporting, and our particular faith is Catholic.”
Application deadline for this year’s summer seminar is July 10. For more information visit here.
Vatican October meeting to focus on divorce, other family issues
VATICAN CITY — A Vatican meeting of bishops in October will focus on divorce and separation, among other family-related issues, according to the preparatory document published Monday.
The gathering of presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences will be a forum to discuss the application today of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’ controversial 2016 apostolic exhortation on marriage and the family.
The Vatican announced July 6 that the Oct. 7–14 meeting will center on five themes, including accompanying and supporting families “in the difficulties of life.”
The gathering will include a discussion about “walking with families in complex situations,” such as “abandonment, separation, and divorce,” so that they can feel listened to and involved in the Church, according to a press release from the Secretariat General of the Synod and the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.
It will also discuss cohabiting couples, openness to welcoming children, the decline in marriage among young people, and the transmission of the faith to new generations.
Pope Leo announced at the end of his second consistory of cardinals on June 27 that several families will also take part in the meeting with the Roman and Eastern Catholic bishops.
The presence of families “is essential,” he said. “At the same time, I hope that all those who come will prepare by listening closely to, and bringing with them, the experience of the families in their own Churches.” The pope also explained that the purpose of the event will be “to assess the progress made since Amoris Laetitia.”
In Amoris Laetitia, Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis sparked controversy when he wrote that even people in an “objective state of sin” could be eligible to receive the “help of the sacraments.” He later authorized an interpretation of that language that made it possible for some people in irregular unions to receive Communion after a process of discernment with a priest.
Previous popes had said divorced and civilly remarried Catholics could not receive Communion unless they lived as brother and sister.
According to a July 6 press release, the October gathering, while not a synodal assembly, will be carried out in a synodal style “because it shares the spirit of the Synod’s implementation process, marked by listening, prayer, and discernment.”
While organizers of the meeting did not specify, by a “synodal style” they likely meant a methodology used at the Vatican during the Synod on Synodality, and at the pope’s two consistories of cardinals this year, of breaking participants into small groups for highly moderated discussions at round tables.
Released the same day, the meeting’s “thematic framework” is intended to prepare and guide the discussions at the Vatican in October.
“The aim is to discern the direction in which the Holy Spirit is leading us today, so as to recognize, support, and foster what He is already accomplishing within families and to appreciate their contribution to the mission of the Church,” the framework document states.
The rapid changes of our era, the document continues, call “for attentive listening to the concrete lives of families and to the experience of those who accompany them, recognizing together both the beauty of love as it takes shape in daily life and the fragilities that often affect it, including precarious employment and housing, illness, the challenges of raising children, emotional loneliness, and the care of family members with disabilities, the elderly, or those who are not self-sufficient.”
“Failure, fragility, the gap between the ideal and reality, and the complexity of life situations also become places in which the work of God’s grace may be recognized and where persons can be accompanied with respect, patience, and hope,” the preparatory document says.
The full titles of the five themes of the meeting, as found in the text, are:
1. Families today: reality, beauty, and challenges — Discerning the signs of the times through the experience of families and the Church’s pastoral commitment today
2. Young people and the discovery of the vocation to marriage — Listening to young people and accompanying them in discovering the value of marriage
3. Married life. The first years of marriage: a decisive time — Listening to and accompanying couples in the early years of married life and at every stage of life
4. In the difficulties of life: accompanying and supporting — Walking with families in complex situations
5. Christian families as subjects of the Church’s mission — Embracing conjugal and family love as an impetus for mission
Pope Leo XIV blesses Slovak pilgrimage as thousands mark Sts. Cyril and Methodius feast
Pope Leo XIV sent his blessing to Slovakia’s national pilgrimage in Nitra, where Cardinal Ladislav Nemet urged the faithful to reflect on their Christian roots and bear witness to the faith as tens of thousands marked the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius across Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
The feast, July 5, is a public holiday in both countries. The main celebrations took place in Nitra, home to the oldest diocese in present-day Slovakia, founded in 880, and in Velehrad in the Czech Republic.
The Byzantine brothers, who devised an alphabet for the Old Slavonic spoken across Great Moravia, are believed to have been active in Nitra, Velehrad, or both in the ninth century.
Nitra’s national pilgrimage
In 2025, Cardinal Robert Prevost had been expected to preside over the Nitra Mass. He was instead elected Pope Leo XIV that May and was unable to attend.
This year, the Mass on Saturday, July 4, on the main square in Nitra was celebrated by Nemet, the archbishop of Belgrade, Serbia. Slovak bishops and the apostolic nuncio to Slovakia, Nicola Girasoli, concelebrated, while the current and former presidents of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini and Ivan Gašparovič, joined several thousand people for the liturgy.
Girasoli delivered the papal blessing. Citing Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, the nuncio said Christians are called to “disarm” their words and temper aggression in public life and the media.
In his homily, Nemet said the feast is an opportunity to reflect on one’s own roots and on the mission of Christians today, who should not live in isolation but bear witness to the faith and values of the Gospel.
Sts. Cyril and Methodius were able to proclaim the Gospel in the mother tongue of the people of Great Moravia, which, the cardinal explained, opened the way to a deeper acceptance of the Christian faith among the Slavs.
“Culture must be respected and developed,” he said. “Culture is created by man, and therefore we have a calling to shape our own culture — to bear witness to how we believe in God and to live as good Christians in peace and cooperation with all.”
The mission, Nemet said, “belongs to every baptized person,” begins “where we are” in everyday life, and shows itself in “how we speak, how we forgive, how we live, how we love.”
During the traditional three-day celebration, which featured an artistic, cultural, and spiritual program, the local bishop, Viliam Judák, unveiled a milestone marker on the Sts. Cyril and Methodius pilgrimage route, which crosses Europe.
Organizers also set a national record when 32 people named after the saints gathered in one place. Each received a T-shirt reading “I am Cyril” or “I am Methodius.”
A concert by church choirs presented works inspired by the saints, and the bishop’s palace opened its doors to visitors as usual.
Across the border in the Czech Republic
In Velehrad, Czech Republic, Archbishop Stanislav Přibyl of Prague celebrated Mass on the feast itself, July 5. Alongside other Czech bishops, including one from Slovakia, organizers counted approximately 20,000 pilgrims.
The bishop of Brno, Pavel Konzbul, who was entrusted with the homily, pointed to the legacy of the learned St. Cyril, also known as Constantine. Konzbul quoted what he called a contemporary American journalist who said a nation that reads little knows little and makes poor decisions “at home, at the shop, in court, and at the ballot box.”
“St. Cyril knew that language and education are the means by which faith becomes a personal, comprehensible, and intimate matter,” Konzbul said.
The bishop advised pilgrims to take a book on holiday to help them enter “the realm of silence, about which St. Augustine wrote: ‘Entering silence means entering joy.’”
Konzbul said society is “facing individualism reinforced” by social media and “a crisis of values and meaning,” and that “many are beginning to realize again that freedom must be defended.” He acknowledged that it is hard not to be afraid at such a time, yet said fear need not paralyze people and can be turned into a driving force.
“Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to give us courage, as he did to St. Methodius, to make the right decisions even in the realm of fears and uncertainties.”
During the two-day celebration in Velehrad, Archbishop Josef Nuzík of Olomouc, president of the Czech Bishops’ Conference, presented the “Velehrad Appeal” for reconciliation and understanding. It responds, he said, “to the growing polarization, aggression, and mistrust in society” and calls on people of goodwill to respect one another “even if they think differently,” to look for what unites them, and to “strive for reconciliation, hope, and peace.”
The text stresses that “our country does not need more division” but “more people who will look for what unites them,” and it presents reconciliation, dialogue, and mutual respect not as a sign of weakness but as “a condition for a good future for our country.” The appeal was supported by the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic.
National Eucharistic Pilgrimage 2026 ends in Philadelphia, mission of evangelization continues
Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead, Father Matt Brody of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia surveyed the throng of faithful making their way down Philadelphia’s Broad Street praying the rosary.
“People want to know why they are braving the heat to follow a canopy,” he explained to EWTN News. “I’ve already explained to three people what the Eucharist is. They are curious about the monstrance, and this gives a chance to evangelize.”
Evangelization was the chief mission of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage 2026, which ended Sunday after passing through 18 dioceses since it began on May 24 in St. Augustine, Florida.
The final stop in Philadelphia took on a patriotic theme in the City of Brotherly Love as about 2,000 believers squeezed into the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul for Mass. Beforehand, sisters knelt before the relics of St. Katharine Drexel, one of America’s first saints. This year’s pilgrimage placed special emphasis on the American saints who have contributed not only to the Church but also to the American story.
Pope Leo XIV delivered remarks by video at the beginning of Mass encouraging his fellow Americans to “cultivate a Eucharistic life … with eyes fixed on the heavenly one.” Leo mentioned Sts. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Katharine Drexel, and John Neumann, among others.
The pilgrimage has drawn both believers and those who want to believe in something higher than themselves. This is what drew Erin Daly and her two daughters, Elsa and Lydia, to join the procession immediately following the Mass on Sunday. They were at Pope Leo’s first Corpus Christi Mass in Rome last June and wanted to be in town for this special occasion. Elsa, a student at the University of Dallas, was one of many young people holding signs with spiritual messages of hope and faith.
Another banner waver, Amear Mottley, explained that he had been to Mass that weekend, was curious to know more, and joined the procession because he wanted to be close to Jesus. Asked if he was Catholic, he responded: “I don’t know what I am.”
Marchers came from neighboring dioceses and from across the country. Deacon Dave Matour was with his wife, Sue, and 25 people from their parish in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and the Diocese of Oakland, California, was represented by 28 Catholics in matching pink T-shirts.
Many chose to wave American flags and wear their patriotism on their sleeves. Kevin and Janet Daly from Michigan were among those who wore the “One Nation Under God” motto.
The procession eased down Broad Street under a sweltering sun with Philadelphia’s City Hall behind it. A loudspeaker bellowed the Hail Mary in English and Spanish through the air while pilgrims withstood the heat, not complaining, and offering one another water, being vigilant of the elderly walkers who may have needed extra attention.
The procession turned on Girard Avenue for the final stretch to the National Shrine of St. John Neumann, the pilgrimage’s final stop where the final Benediction would take place. Trumpets greeted marchers as they made their way up the steps into the church, waving their Mass programs as makeshift fans.
When the monstrance was held aloft and blessed the crowd, the heat inside the church subsided for a moment, and the exhausted gatherers got a sense of refreshment.
“We made it,” joked Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Perez, who carried the Blessed Sacrament for the entire last leg of pilgrimage on Sunday and concluded the day with remarks mixed with levity and awe at the impact the processions have had on the communities visited: “The pilgrimage is over, “he said, “but our journey continues because Christ walks with us.”
Catholic Charities Fort Worth expands research-backed anti-poverty program to Illinois
In the heart of one of Chicago’s most challenged neighborhoods, a proven, dignity-centered approach to breaking the cycle of poverty is about to take root.
Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago recently announced a major partnership with Catholic Charities Fort Worth (CCFW) to bring the innovative Padua program to the greater Englewood community in south Chicago.
Named after St. Anthony of Padua, patron saint of the poor, the program pairs participants with a team of two dedicated caseworkers for long-term, client-led support, with no arbitrary time limits. The only eligibility requirements for the program are that the client be 18 years old and willing to work.
The collaboration marks a significant expansion of the model, which was developed in 2015 by CCFW and validated through a randomized controlled trial by the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO).
Participants in the study were 25% more likely to achieve full-time employment, earned 46% higher incomes, and were 64% more likely to secure stable housing.
Brendan Perry, director of Padua National at Catholic Charities Fort Worth, told EWTN News that the program was in response to the nonprofit “seeing a lot of repeat customers,” which, “in the nonprofit world is not a good thing.”
“We weren’t truly creating economic mobility,” Perry recalled of the organization’s earlier efforts. “Padua was our answer to that challenge.”
Perry said the program was born from a simple but powerful question: What if?
“What if the way we’ve always addressed poverty isn’t the way it has to be?” he explained. “What if we created a program where clients set their own goals, timelines were built around people instead of funders, and we holistically addressed a client’s root issues instead of just the symptoms of their poverty? And what if we could prove it through research and create a model that was replicable?”
Unlike many short-term workforce programs, Padua’s two-person case management teams (a case manager and caseworker) provide holistic support in employment, housing, education, and emotional resilience. Clients define their own goals and remain in the program for as long as needed.
Perry said that people begin their journey with Padua from many different places and often come from a place of crisis. While Padua “is not a crisis program,” Perry said the program helps clients get to a place of stability.
“Once theyʼre there, weʼre gonna be sticking with you for the long haul to get to a point of strength and of prosperity.”
One client who has benefited from the Padua program is Lisa, a divorced mother of three who faced single parenthood, housing instability, unemployment, and mental health issues among her children.
“When I was in my marriage, there was a lot of breaking up and getting back together,” Lisa said. “There was a lot of moving around, and I believe thatʼs how my son developed separation anxiety, which led to depression, and [he] became highly suicidal.”
Lisa’s caseworker helped her find counseling for her son as well as for Lisa, who learned coping skills that helped her better care for her son.
“I pour into his life daily by reminding him that you are handsome, you are smart, you are capable, you have a mum and a family that loves you. You are loved, you deserve to be alive. This world needs you,” she said.
The Padua program helped her attend culinary school and taught her financial skills like budgeting and saving.
Lisa is now employed, has a stable home for her children, and has attended a culinary arts program with dreams of becoming a catering and private chef.
She gives credit to her caseworker, Taelor: “I call her my guardian angel because … sheʼs just been so loving and supportive.”
Perry added that the partnership with Goodwill reflects a shared commitment to human dignity.
“We’re not just expanding the program — we’re ensuring more families have access to the tools they need to build bigger, brighter futures.”
Clayton Pryor, chief mission officer for Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago, emphasized how naturally the program aligns with their existing work.
“At Goodwill, we believe lasting change starts with meeting people where they are,” Pryor told EWTN News. “Padua allows us to go deeper with individuals who need more intensive, long-term support. It’s client-led, research-backed, and focused on real stability — not just a job, but a foundation for life.”
The Illinois program is scheduled to launch in October out of Goodwill’s new Neighborhood Opportunity Center in Englewood. Pryor said the organization aims to serve 50 clients in the first year, scaling to more than 200 over five years.
Pope Leo XIV praises U.S. Eucharistic pilgrims, highlights country’s ‘strong Eucharistic heritage’
Pope Leo XIV on July 5 praised Eucharistic pilgrims in the U.S. for walking thousands of miles with Christ as part of a “great legacy of faith” amid the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
The pilgrimage, which carried the theme “One Nation, Under God,” began in St. Augustine, Florida, in May and went as far north as Portland, Maine, before turning south and finishing in Philadelphia.
In a video message played at the concluding Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Leo XIV — the first pope in Catholic Church history from the United States — said the pilgrimage, which traced a route through the original 13 colonies that rebelled against England in 1776, was “particularly appropriate” to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary of its founding.
The U.S., the pope said, “has been imbued with a sense of faith that recognizes God’s sovereignty even before its formal establishment.” The Holy Father cited a Mass of Thanksgiving held in 1583 in St. Augustine, Florida, by Spanish explorers.
“This historical event, accompanied by many others, attests to the strong, though largely unknown, Eucharistic heritage of the United States of America,” the pope said. “This heritage, far from being forgotten, must continue to serve as a source of both renewal and unity.”
That history, the pope told the pilgrims, “has continued to bear fruit by leading new generations of American Catholics to Jesus Christ.” He also cited the examples of U.S. martyrs and U.S.-born saints, including St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and St. Katharine Drexel.
“The intense apostolic activity of these holy men and women, and others like them, would not have been possible without the strength they drew daily from moments of silent prayer before the tabernacle,” he said.
The pope said the Eucharistic pilgrimage helps “carry on this great legacy of faith.” The Eucharist is “an invaluable gift,” he said, one that the Church in the U.S. will use to “find strength to carry on her charitable service to the wider society.”
Leo urged the pilgrims to “place your lives under God’s loving providence as you return to your homes.” He also urged them to “cultivate a strong Eucharistic life among your families, friends, and communities.”
After the U.S. pilgrimage began on Pentecost in St. Augustine — the site of the 1583 Thanksgiving Mass referenced by Pope Leo XIV — it worked its way up the Eastern Seaboard, stopping at multiple U.S. dioceses and holy sites.
The route drew thousands of pilgrims in locations including Williamsburg, Virginia; Baltimore; and Boston. On June 6 the pilgrimage passed through the streets of Washington, D.C.
Along the way the pilgrimage gave recognition to uniquely American aspects of Catholicism, such as the Georgia Martyrs, who are scheduled for beatification on Oct. 31.
Pope Leo XIV dines with U.S. ambassador on Independence Day
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV had dinner July 4 at the private residence of U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch, the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See said.
The dinner took place at the ambassador’s residence on the Janiculum Hill in Rome on the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.
“I am deeply honored to celebrate this special day with a fellow American and the bishop of Rome,” Burch said.
The pope’s visit came after a day trip to Lampedusa, where he addressed migration and prayed for those who have died crossing the Mediterranean. Images of Pope Leo XIV standing on the island’s rocks and looking out over the sea circulated widely after the visit.
After returning to the Vatican, the pope went to the ambassador’s residence for the evening meal. Photos released by the embassy showed Pope Leo XIV with Burch and members of his family.
Burch, a Catholic and father of nine, is co-founder of CatholicVote, an organization that says its mission is to encourage Catholics in the United States to live their faith in public life through education, advocacy, and civic engagement.
Burch presented his credentials to Pope Leo XIV as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See in September 2025.
Pope Leo XIV says Christ is hope amid the scourge of war
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday said Christ remains the Church’s hope amid war, slavery, sin, and the wounds of history, urging Christians to learn from Jesus a “school of freedom” rooted in the cross.
Speaking at the July 5 Angelus in a sunny and hot St. Peter’s Square, the pope reflected on the day’s Gospel, Matthew 11:25–30, in which Jesus praises the Father, “Lord of heaven and earth.”
“The Son of God made man reveals his love by including all creatures in this act of thanksgiving,” Pope Leo XIV said.
The pope said the Gospel reveals God’s preference for the humble and the small.
“The simplicity of such a spontaneous and joyful gesture reflects God’s way of acting: He delights in revealing himself ‘to infants,’ while remaining hidden ‘from the wise and the intelligent,’” he said.
Those who are “filled” with their own ideas, the pope said, fail to recognize Christ.
“Human wisdom thus becomes arrogance, and doctrine degenerates into pride,” he said. “By contrast, God’s true wisdom is revealed in the humility of the Incarnation, and his teaching is addressed above all to those who struggle: ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,’ says the Lord.”
Pope Leo XIV said going to Jesus “means responding to his love and sharing in his life, even to the cross.”
“How can the weight of the cross be ‘easy’ and ‘light’?” the pope asked. “For one reason alone: because the Lord himself carries it with us, never leaving us alone in what burdens us.”
The pope said Christ takes upon himself “humanity wounded by evil in order to heal and care for it.”
“For this reason, our journey of following Christ is not an asceticism that mortifies,” he continued. “Rather, it is a school of freedom that takes seriously the drama of history and continually sheds light on its meaning, especially in its darkest moments.”
“Indeed, only in the cross of Jesus is evil overcome; only in his passion does our mortal weariness find consolation and redemption,” he said.
The pope then pointed to Christ as the answer to the world’s deepest suffering.
“In slavery, Christ is liberation. Amid the scourge of war, Christ is hope. In the hour of sin, Christ is forgiveness,” Pope Leo XIV said. “This is true wisdom and the path that we wish to walk together, united as disciples in his name.”
After the Angelus, the pope recalled the July 2 beatification of Father Francis Xavier Tru’o’ng Bǚu Diêp at the Shrine of Tac Say in Vietnam. The Vietnamese diocesan priest was killed in 1946 in hatred of the faith.
“Amid oppression and violence, he defended the rights of the people and did not abandon his parishioners,” the pope said. “May his intercession and prayers strengthen all those who proclaim the Gospel in situations of persecution today.”
Pope Leo XIV also greeted pilgrims from Brazil and the Choir of the University of Mérida in Venezuela, and renewed his prayers for the Venezuelan people.
“I continue to remember in my prayers the victims of the earthquake and all the Venezuelan people,” he said. “May the Lord sustain them in this time of great hardship.”
The Angelus came shortly before the Prefecture of the Papal Household announced that Pope Leo XIV would transfer Sunday afternoon to the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo for a period of rest until Monday, July 27.
During that period, all general, private, and special audiences will be suspended. General audiences will resume Wednesday, Aug. 5.
The Prefecture of the Papal Household also said the Sunday Angelus prayers during July will be prayed in Piazza della Libertà in Castel Gandolfo.
This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.