Cause opens for beatification of Prayer and Life Workshops founder
Father Ignacio Larrañaga Orbegozo, a Capuchin priest and founder of the Prayer and Life Workshops, has formally begun his journey toward beatification and canonization. On Oct. 6, the Mexican Archdiocese of Guadalajara opened the diocesan phase of his cause.
During the ceremony held at the archdiocesan curia, the “nihil obstat” (“no objection”) from the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for the Causes of Saints was read, along with the decree from Guadalajara Cardinal Archbishop Francisco Robles Ortega, ordering the opening of the process.
The decree noted that the archdiocese has the authority to conduct this cause, as Larrañaga passed away within its territory in 2013. In accordance with the 2007 Vatican instruction Sanctorum Mater, which governs diocesan procedures for canonization causes, it is generally the responsibility of the bishop of the diocese where the servant of God died to conduct this stage of the process.
‘A tireless seeker of God’
Representing Robles Ortega, Auxiliary Bishop Juan Manuel Muñoz Curiel of Guadalajara also took part in the event. During his remarks, he remembered Larrañaga as a “tireless seeker of God.”
He further described him as a “mystic of our time who, through his warm words and profound contemplative experience, taught millions of people how to pray and live in intimacy with the Father.”
“He knew how to translate sublime Franciscan mysticism into a simple, accessible method so that the ordinary person could encounter the Lord face-to-face,” Muñoz Curiel stated.
However, he clarified that the aim of initiating Larrañaga’s cause is not to “raise a man to the altars to be admired from afar” but rather to remember that the call to holiness is a “vocation for every baptized person, as he himself used to teach us.”
Muñoz Curiel stated that life was remarkable not because Larrañaga “was free of difficulties but because, amid his weaknesses and the exhaustion of his tireless apostolic work, he knew how to entrust himself with total confidence to the hands of the Father.”
Inspired by this testimony, the prelate invited those present to “break free from spiritual mediocrity and courageously embrace our own vocation to holiness” and asked God that, “if it be for his greater glory and the good of the Church, he might deign to glorify his servant Ignacio.”
What happens next in the process?
As the first procedural step, Monsignor Óscar Sánchez Barba, the diocesan postulator for the cause, formally presented an initial list of 50 witnesses from 10 countries, as well as 47 books and booklets written by Larrañaga, along with other documents and publications regarding his life and work.
Through an established tribunal, the list of witnesses will be interviewed and the texts examined in order to subsequently produce a document known as the “positio,” which will be sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
If, following the study at the Vatican, it is determined that Larrañaga lived the Christian virtues to a heroic degree and the pope authorizes the corresponding decree, the servant of God will be considered “venerable.”
To subsequently advance toward beatification, the recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession will be required.
Who was Ignacio Larrañaga?
Larrañaga was born on May 4, 1928, in the province of Guipúzcoa in Spain’s Basque Country.
In 1940, at the age of 12, he entered the Capuchin Seraphic Minor Seminary in Alsasua and later continued his formation in Fuenterrabía. He subsequently entered the Capuchin novitiate in Sangüesa, where he made his first religious profession in 1948.
The following year, he took the religious name Friar Jesús María de Azpeitia and continued his theological studies in Pamplona, where he was ordained a priest on Dec. 20, 1952.
It is said that “from the beginning of his priesthood, he felt a strong desire to dedicate himself to evangelization and, especially, to deepening his practice of contemplative prayer.”
This led him to travel to the Americas. He arrived in Chile in September 1959, where he “participated in popular missions, visited families, and preached in parishes.”
In 1955, he was appointed director of the Center for Franciscan and Pastoral Studies for Latin America (CEFEPAL). From there, he promoted Franciscan “Fellowship and Renewal Weeks,” initiatives that subsequently spread to various countries across Latin America and Europe.
From 1970 onward, Larrañaga was deeply engaged in work as a preacher and spiritual guide. He traveled to numerous countries in the Americas and Europe, conducting courses and gatherings focused on spirituality.
In 1974, he launched the “Encounters with the Experience of God” in Brazil, which were gatherings centered on silence, prayer, reflection, and listening to the word of God. These encounters began to spread widely.
In Santiago, Chile, in 1984, he developed Prayer and Life Workshops. These workshops were designed to teach the laity various methods of prayer and to help them deepen their Christian lives.
Over the years, the workshops spread across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. In 2022, they received approval from the Holy See as an International Private Association of the Faithful of Pontifical Right.
During his final years, Larrañaga continued to travel, offering retreats and formation gatherings.
In October 2013, he traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico, to participate in one of these gatherings. He passed away in the early hours of Oct. 28 at the age of 85 after 60 years of priesthood.
He authored books such as “Sensing Your Hidden Presence: Toward Intimacy with God,” “From Suffering to Peace,” “The Silence of Mary,” and “Brother Francis of Assisi,” among others, addressing themes such as prayer, suffering, trust in God, conversion, and the pursuit of inner peace.
Regarding Larrañaga, Muñoz Curiel stated: “His work continues to convey that invitation to discover God as Father and to live out one’s faith through a deep, trusting, personal relationship with him.”
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.
FOCUS names Jonathan Reyes as new CEO
FOCUS, one of the largest Catholic outreach and missionary organizations in the world, announced Oct. 7 that Jonathan Reyes will serve as the organization’s next chief executive officer, effective Nov. 16.
“Decades ago, I joined FOCUS at Curtis Martin’s invitation to support the important work of missionary formation. That invitation changed my life in ways I never could have imagined,” Reyes said in a press release. “Over the years, I have watched God use this apostolate to transform thousands of lives on college campuses and in parishes. That fruit is a sign of God’s blessing and a testimony to the faithful leaders and missionaries who have given themselves completely to the Great Commission. It is a privilege to serve alongside them, and I pray God will continue to bless FOCUS for generations to come.”
Curtis Martin, who founded FOCUS in 1998, announced on Dec. 13, 2025, that he would be stepping down from his role as CEO. He said he would continue to serve the student ministry group as its founder and as a board member.
“I have been blessed to know Jonathan for more than 25 years,” Martin said. “Jonathan has extensive leadership experience working with the Church and a deep desire to help others encounter Jesus Christ. Please join me in praying for Jonathan as he helps lead FOCUS and carries this mission forward.”
Reyes has devoted his career to the Catholic Church and returns to FOCUS after previously serving as the organization’s vice president of ministry and formation, where he helped shape the formation of missionaries who accompany college students.
His most recent position was that of senior vice president of communications for the Knights of Columbus. Before joining the Knights, Reyes served the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB), first as the executive director of the Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development and later as the assistant general secretary for Integral Human Development.
In 2005, Reyes co-founded and served as the first president of the Augustine Institute, which is a private Catholic graduate school of theology. In 2011, he founded Christ in the City, a nonprofit and missionary formation program that focuses on street outreach to homeless individuals. He also previously taught history at Christendom College.
Archbishop Paul Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and president of the USCCB told EWTN News: “I welcome with great joy the appointment of Jonathan Reyes, Ph.D., as the new CEO of FOCUS. The friendship Jonathan shares with Curtis Martin gives this transition a special continuity.”
“Jonathan’s experience in various apostolates, most recently the world’s largest fraternal organization, the Knights of Columbus, has prepared him well to lead in this moment,” he added. “My brother bishops and I rely deeply upon lay movements such as FOCUS to help bring the Great Commission to fruition in every generation. May the Lord bless Jonathan and the entire FOCUS family as they continue forming missionary disciples for Christ and his Church.”
Monsignor James Shea, president of the University of Mary in North Dakota, told EWTN News: “Jonathan Reyes is an exemplary choice to lead FOCUS into its next chapter. He was there early on, understands the charism from the inside, and shares deeply in the vision that has animated Curtis Martin’s remarkable work from the start. I have been so grateful for his wisdom and friendship as a trustee of the University of Mary, where I have seen firsthand his rare combination of intellectual depth, apostolic zeal, sound judgment, and genuine humility.”
“Jonathan is a man of the Church, a gifted leader, and, above all, a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ,” he added. “He understands that the great strength of FOCUS has always been its capacity to awaken in young people a love for Christ and a desire to share that love with others. He will lead this extraordinary apostolate into a new season of growth and fruitfulness.”
“I’ve known and admired Jonathan Reyes for many years, both as a lay leader and a friend,” said Archbishop Emeritus Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia. “He’s a man of exceptional Christian character, intellect, apostolic energy, and professional skill. He knows the founder’s vision and the wonderful FOCUS staff and missionaries from long personal experience, and he’ll build on that to make the work of FOCUS even more fruitful in the years ahead. The FOCUS Board made exactly the right choice in a next-generation leader.”
Reyes succeeds interim CEO Tim Thoman, who has led FOCUS during the board’s national search since December 2025.
Pope Leo XIV receives relic of Blessed Fulton Sheen from Peoria Bishop Louis Tylka
Pope Leo XIV received a relic of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen from leaders of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, this month, marking a poignant moment involving the Catholic Church’s first American-born pope and one of the nation’s most iconic modern evangelists.
Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, accompanied by Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, met with the Holy Father in a private audience Oct. 5.
The audience followed the long-awaited beatification of Sheen, a pioneer of Catholic radio and television whose cause for sainthood was championed by his home diocese in central Illinois. The encounter carried added significance given that both Pope Leo XIV and Blessed Fulton Sheen trace their roots to the state of Illinois.
Following the audience, Tylka highlighted the deep spiritual connection and Church tradition tied to the gift.
“It was a profound joy and privilege to meet with our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, and to present him with a relic of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen on behalf of the Diocese of Peoria and all those who have prayed for and supported Archbishop Sheen’s cause,” Tylka said.
“There is a beautiful tradition in the Catholic Church of presenting the Holy Father with the relics of the saints and blesseds, and this particular moment carried special meaning for me. Pope Leo XIV has spoken of Archbishop Sheen on several occasions and has expressed his appreciation for Archbishop Sheen’s extraordinary witness of faith, his ability to proclaim the Gospel through the means of communication available in his time, and his missionary heart. In the days surrounding the beatification, the Holy Father again pointed to Archbishop Sheen as an example of finding new ways to spread the Gospel.”
Gray underscored the historic resonance of placing the relic of the Illinois-born preacher into the hands of an American pope.
“I am deeply grateful for the Holy Father’s interest in Blessed Fulton Sheen and for his support that allowed us to celebrate this long-awaited beatification,” Gray said.
“To place a relic of this son of the Diocese of Peoria into the hands of the first American pope, both of whom are from Illinois, was an especially moving moment. My hope is that this relic will serve as a reminder of who Fulton Sheen was and of the mission he embraced so completely: to bring Jesus Christ to the world. The Holy Father’s own interest in Archbishop Sheen reminds us that his witness continues to speak to the Church today and challenges all of us to proclaim the Gospel with the same conviction and joy.”
The presentation of the relic stands as a lasting symbol of Blessed Fulton Sheen’s legacy as a master communicator, whose impact continues to resonate across the universal Church from his native Illinois to the Vatican.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
Pope Leo XIV: We need more beauty in age of technology
Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday urged patrons of the Vatican Museums to rediscover beauty in an era dominated by technology.
The pontiff held a private audience on Oct. 7 at the Vatican with the Louisiana chapter of the patrons during their pilgrimage to Rome. The Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums, founded in 1983, is an international group of benefactors who fund the conservation and restoration of the Vatican’s art collections.
Leo, in his remarks, thanked them for their collaboration and support for the Vatican Museums and invited them to create spaces of beauty in a world where technology is often preferred.
“In an age dominated by technology, in which efficiency and profit often take precedence, it is so important that we continue to cultivate a spirit of contemplation and allow time and space for beauty,” Leo said.
He also added that fostering this attitude would “greatly help humanity, especially young people, not only to discover the ability of art to uplift and reveal the depths of the human spirit.”
“Ultimately,” Leo added, “contemplation presents a marvelous opportunity to encounter the God who is beauty, whom St. Augustine described as ever-ancient and ever-new.”
Leo’s recent comments on classical art
Leo’s remarks followed his address during a private audience with artists on Oct. 2 in which he explained the difference between authentic art and art created by artificial intelligence (AI).
“There is an ontological difference — even before an aesthetic one — between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others. Algorithms lack the spark of the human, whereas ‘authentic culture and art preserve this spark,’” Leo said, quoting from his encyclical on AI, Magnifica Humanitas.
Pope warns that ‘watering down’ Christianity’s demands won’t make it more attractive
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday called on Christians to be capable of “viewing the world in a positive light,” while urging them to be actively committed to transforming society according to the spirit of the Gospel, without watering down the Christian message.
“It is certainly not by watering down the content or softening the demands that Christianity can be made attractive,” he recalled on Wednesday, citing the address he delivered to the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Section on Fundamental Questions Regarding Evangelization in the World, on May 28.
During the general audience held in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 7, the pontiff resumed his catechetical series dedicated to the texts of the Second Vatican Council, following last week’s pause, when he reflected on his apostolic journey to France.
Leo thus continued his catechesis on the conciliar constitution Gaudium et Spes. In particular, he focused his reflection on Chapter 4 of the first part of the document, which is devoted to the Church’s mission in the contemporary world.
“It is the task of the whole people of God, especially pastors and theologians, to discern what in the cultures of our time is worthy of consideration, always taking the word of God and the tradition of the Church as the supreme criteria for discernment. This requires a balanced mind, free from cultural trends, capable of viewing the world in a positive light whilst remaining steadfast in preserving and presenting the Gospel message in its entirety,” he said.
We ‘cannot accept the oppression of the weak’
Before thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Leo XIV reflected on the vocation of the lay faithful in the world and recalled that Vatican II fostered a new awareness of the responsibility of all the baptized in the Church’s mission.
Referring to the concrete demands of the Christian faith, Leo XIV said that, by worshipping Christ, “the believer cannot accept the oppression of the weak and the poor, nor the unjust structures that perpetuate conditions of dependence and injustice.”
“The social doctrine of the Church guides the actions of Christians, who collaborate with all people of goodwill in promoting the common good,” he added.
The principal settings for this evangelizing mission, the Holy Father recalled, are the family and the workplace, though it extends to every sphere of life.
The Church’s purpose is not political
The pontiff also made clear that the Church’s purpose is not political in nature but consists rather in bearing witness to faith and charity.
“The council fathers remind us that the Church’s mission is fulfilled also in contributing to the construction of the earthly city. However, her methods and aims are not primarily of a political order; rather, they consist in bearing witness to faith and charity, together with commitment for justice, peace, and fraternity,” he said.
The Church’s ‘first mission’
Leo XIV further explained that the Second Vatican Council reminds us that the Church is neither “above” nor “beside” the world but is, as it were, grafted into it.
In this sense, he emphasized that the Church “journeys through history in the midst of peoples and cultures,” though its “first mission” remains “to help people be attentive to the profound questions of life: those concerning our origin and our destiny, as well as those concerning the meaning of love and suffering.”
“The logic of profit at all costs and the manipulation of information risk exerting undue pressure on people to conform to a lifestyle centered on the consumption of material goods, but our hearts are made to look upwards,” he said.
Consistency between the ‘faith we profess and our lives’
Leo then recalled that proclaiming the Gospel requires consistency of life on the part of believers. To carry out the Church’s evangelizing mission effectively, the pontiff said, “it is necessary for every baptized person to commit to cooperating with the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that their faith may be living and expressed in consistent behavior.”
In this context, he recalled that the council fathers stated that the discrepancy between professed faith and daily life “deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age.”
The importance of the rosary
During his greetings to Italian-speaking faithful after the catechesis, the pope recalled the Oct. 7 liturgical memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary and emphasized the importance of this traditional Marian prayer, noting that it is “greatly cherished in the Church’s tradition.”
The Holy Father stressed that Mary is a “sure refuge amid the difficulties of life.” The memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, celebrated each year on Oct. 7, recalls the special protection of the Virgin Mary over the Church and encourages devotion to the holy rosary as a path of contemplation, conversion, and the strengthening of faith.
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.
Australian bishop jailed for sexually abusing young aboriginal men
Bishop Christopher Saunders, who led the Diocese of Broome in Australia for more than two decades, was sentenced Wednesday to six years and six months in prison for sexually abusing two young aboriginal men.
Judge Martin Flynn of the District Court of Western Australia set a non-parole period of four years and six months, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Saunders had been in custody since his August conviction.
The jury convicted Saunders of 13 offenses: one count of sexual penetration without consent and 12 counts of unlawful and indecent assault. The offenses involved two men. He was not convicted on charges involving a third man. Saunders, 76, pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations.
Flynn noted a statement from one of the victims saying Saunders had violated their autonomy over their body, ABC News reported.
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said the sentence and the judgeʼs remarks recognized the gravity of the offenses and their profound impact on the victims and survivors.
“We are sorry for the pain and suffering that was inflicted on you,” Costelloe said in a statement. “We are sorry that your trust was so directly and profoundly betrayed by a leader of the Church.”
Bishop Tim Norton of Broome apologized to the victims and survivors and acknowledged that the sentence could not repair the harm caused. He said the diocese would consult local people about rituals and processes to address anger, loss, confusion, and grief across the diocese.
Saunders stepped aside from governing the Broome Diocese in 2020. Pope Francis accepted his resignation in August 2021.
As EWTN News previously reported, Western Australia Police investigated allegations against Saunders in 2018 but did not initially bring charges.
The Vatican ordered an investigation under Vos Estis Lux Mundi in 2022. It provided the report to civil authorities in 2023, and police reopened their investigation. Police arrested Saunders in February 2024.
After the August verdict, Costelloe said the Churchʼs own investigation could resume and that Rome would determine Saunders' position in the Church.
The Australian bishops renewed their commitment Wednesday to healing, reconciliation, safeguarding, accountability, and transparency throughout the Church.
Bishop Munilla shares 5 reasons to pray the rosary every day in October
On his Radio María program, Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of the Diocese Orihuela-Alicante in Spain recently shared five reasons to pray the rosary during the month of October:
1. The Blessed Mother herself has repeatedly made the request.
The Spanish prelate pointed out that the fact that over the centuries the Virgin Mary has repeatedly asked for the rosary to be prayed “should have already been enough" for Christians to take up the beads every day.
He proceeded to review some of the instances where she had made this request, either explicitly or implicitly. “She did so with St. Dominic of Guzmán around the year 1208, when she asked for that prayer in the face of the Cathars,” he noted.
At Lourdes, in 1858, there was no explicit command and yet, Munilla recalled, “the rosary was at the heart of the 18 apparitions to Bernadette.”
Some 21 years later, during an 1877 apparition in Gietrzwałd, Poland, the Virgin was cited saying directly: “I desire that you pray the rosary every day” and “pray the rosary with fervor.”
As Munilla sees it, the apparitions at Fátima in 1917 constitute “the central case” in the matter, because it was there that the Virgin insisted upon the practice.
Munilla recalled that on May 13, 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary said: “Pray the rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war. She repeated this in June, July, and October, and on Oct. 13, she revealed herself as the Lady of the Rosary.”
Munilla went on to reference what the Virgin Mary said in 1980, in the town of Cuapa, Nicaragua. There, “the Virgin Mary asked Bernardo Martínez to pray the rosary every day — not merely reciting it straight through, but meditating on the mysteries” — as well as “promoting it within the family and the parish.”
In Kibeho, Rwanda, in 1981, she also made a request to pray the rosary, but with a distinctive feature: “There, the emphasis was not so much on the standard rosary but rather on the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows” of the Virgin.
Likewise, the prelate referred to the apparitions between 1983 and 1990 in San Nicolás, Argentina, where “the Virgin appeared under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary and the messages urged that it be prayed.”
Munilla also referred to Medjugorje, where the Church has not issued a ruling on the supernatural nature of the alleged apparitions but has approved the religious and pastoral experience taking place there. It is an experience characterized, he said, by “an insistence on the daily recitation of the rosary.”
2. In praying the rosary, one contemplates the face of Christ with Mary.
The second reason put forward is that praying the rosary allows one to contemplate the face of Christ with Mary through meditation on the joyful, sorrowful, glorious, and luminous mysteries. St. John Paul II affirmed this in his 2002 apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae.
“He points out that the rosary, while Marian in form, is Christocentric; it is a summary of the Gospel,” Munilla noted.
“Each decade presents a mystery from the life of Jesus — joyful, luminous, sorrowful, or glorious — which is meditated upon while reciting the Hail Mary. It means letting the Gospel enter through humble repetition, contemplating the face of Christ with Mary,” he explained.
3. It is accessible to everyone and fosters a familiar relationship with God.
Addressing this point, the Spanish prelate recalled how Sister Lucia, the visionary of Fátima, had explained: “If daily Mass and Communion had been required of us, many would not have been able to fulfill the obligation, because not everyone has access to a daily celebration of the Eucharist.”
However, she continued, “the rosary, by contrast, fits into any state of life, at any time, and in any place.” So much so that Sister Lucia considered it — after the Mass — to be “the prayer most pleasing to God and most beneficial for the soul.”
4. It is a powerful prayer of intercession.
Praying the rosary “is a weapon called for to secure peace and for spiritual combat,” the bishop added. “Leo XIII dedicated a dozen papal documents to it and proposed it as a remedy for society’s great evils. John Paul II linked it again to peace,” he added.
5. Repetition brings inner order.
Fifth, Munilla proposed that praying the rosary “helps us guard our hearts. It sustains faith, hope, and charity. It helps us preserve these three theological virtues and avoid being consumed by the spirit of this world.”
“Repetition brings order to the inner self,” the Spanish prelate continued, emphasizing that “meditation on the mysteries turns oneʼs gaze back to what endures, and Maryʼs intercession sustains what one cannot uphold alone.”
As St. John Bosco would say, Munilla concluded, “the rosary is as necessary for the health of the soul as bread is for the body.”
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.
7 common myths and facts about the rosary
October is designated by the Catholic Church as the month of the rosary, and Oct. 7 is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Here are seven common myths and facts about this popular devotion and prayer:
1. Only Catholics can pray the rosary.
False. While rosaries are typically associated with Catholics, non-Catholics can certainly pray the rosary — and in fact, many credit it to their conversion. Even some Protestants recognize the rosary as a valid form of prayer.
2. Praying the rosary is idolatry.
False. Some have objections to the rosary, claiming it idolizes Mary and is overly repetitive.
Just like any practice, the rosary can be abused — just as someone might idolize a particular pastor or priest, a form of worship, or fasting. But the rosary itself is not a form of idolatry.
The rosary is not a prayer to Mary — it is a meditation on the life of Christ revealed in five mysteries “with the purposes of drawing the person praying deeper into reflecting on Christ’s joys, sacrifices, sufferings, and the glorious miracles of his life.”
When we pray the Hail Mary, we are not adoring Mary; we are asking for her intercession — just as we might ask a friend or family member to pray for us.
Second, any prayer can lose its meaning if we do not intentionally meditate on it. Focusing on the mysteries with purpose and intention is key to the rosary’s transforming power. As one author encourages: “The rosary itself stays the same, but we do not.”
3. You can wear a rosary as a necklace.
It depends. It is typically considered disrespectful and irreverent to wear a rosary around one’s neck as jewelry, even though the Church does not have an explicit declaration against doing so.
However, Canon 1171 of the Code of Canon Law says that “sacred objects, set aside for divine worship by dedication or blessing, are to be treated with reverence. They are not to be made over to secular or inappropriate use, even though they may belong to private persons.”
It is important to treat the rosary with respect and intention. If you intend to wear the rosary as a piece of jewelry, this would not be respectful and should be avoided. It goes without saying that wearing the rosary as a mockery or gang symbol would be a sin.
But if it is your intention to use the rosary and be mindful of prayer, then it could be permissible. It is not uncommon in some cultures, like in Honduras and El Salvador, to see the rosary respectfully worn around the neck as a sign of devotion.
Rosary rings or bracelets might be a better option if you want to keep your rosary close at hand as a reminder to pray, as they are kept more out of sight and would not be as easily misconstrued to be a piece of jewelry.
4. The rosary is an extremist symbol.
False. Back in 2022, a widely-shared Atlantic article went viral for accusing the rosary of being an “extremist symbol.”
“Just as the AR-15 rifle has become a sacred object for Christian nationalists in general, the rosary has acquired a militaristic meaning for radical-traditional (or ‘rad trad’) Catholics,” the article read.
The author also cited the Church’s stance on traditional marriage and the sanctity of life as evidence of “extremism” and claimed that Catholics’ tendency to call the rosary a “weapon in the fight against evil” as dangerous.
As EWTN News reported in 2022, popes have urged Catholics to pray the rosary since 1571 — often referring to the rosary as a prayer “weapon” and most powerful spiritual tool.
5. The rosary is not biblical.
Untrue! Most of its words come directly from Scripture.
First, the Our Father is prayed. The words of the Our Father are those Christ taught his disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9–13.
The Hail Mary also comes straight from the Bible. The first part, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” comes from Luke 1:28, and the second, “Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,” is found in Luke 1:42.
Finally, each of the decades prayed on the rosary symbolizes an event in the lives of Jesus and his mother. The decades are divided into four sets of mysteries: joyful, luminous, sorrowful, and glorious, the majority of which are found in Scripture.
6. A rosary bead, or pea, can kill you.
Somewhat true. A rosary pea, or abrus seed, is a vine plant native to India and parts of Asia. The seeds of the vine, which are red with black spots, are often used to make beaded jewelry — including rosaries. Rosary pea seeds contain a toxic substance called “abrin,” which is a naturally-occurring poison that can be fatal if ingested. However, it’s unlikely for someone to get abrin poisoning just from holding a rosary made from abrus seeds, as one would have to swallow them.
Today, most rosaries are made from other nontoxic materials, such as olive wood or glass — eliminating this concern.
7. The rosary can help protect you.
True. Praying the rosary has proven to be a miraculous force for protecting those of faith and bestowing upon them extra graces, such as the victory of the Christian forces at the Battle of Lepanto after St. Pius V implored Western Christians to pray the rosary.
Many great saints across history, including Pope John Paul II, Padre Pio, and Lucia of Fátima, have also recognized the rosary as the most powerful weapon in fighting the real spiritual battles we face in the world.
We know that spiritual warfare is a real and present danger: “For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens” (Eph 6:11–12).
“The rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep oneself from sin … If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors,” Pope Pius XI said.
This story was first published on Oct. 1, 2022, and has been updated.
Tennessee bishops call for end to death penalty; Trump approves military firing squad execution
Tennessee’s Catholic bishops asked the state of Tennessee this week to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment.
In a statement issued Oct. 2, the Tennessee Catholic Conference argued that life imprisonment without parole “serves justice, protects society, and respects the dignity of every human life.”
“Accountability for grave wrongdoing is necessary, but it does not require the taking of another life,” they wrote. “An execution cannot restore the life taken, and the uncertainty, prolonged proceedings, and suffering surrounding the death penalty can deepen the anguish of everyone involved, including victims’ families, prisoners’ families, and those charged with carrying out executions.”
The bishops’ letter comes after the state’s recent failed attempt to execute the first woman in over 200 years, 50-year-old Christa Pike.
After two doses of pentobarbital failed to kill Pike on Sept. 30, the execution was halted. She remains on a ventilator in critical condition.
The botched execution was the second for Tennessee this year and led to the resignation of Frank Strada, the commissioner of the Department of Corrections. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee placed a moratorium on executions for the rest of 2026.
In 1995, Pike and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, tortured and then murdered Colleen Slemmer, Pike crushing her skull with a piece of asphalt. Sentenced to death in 1996 at the age of 20, Pike later attempted to strangle a fellow prisoner, Patricia Jones, in 2001. Pike, convicted of attempted murder, also tried to escape in 2012, according to ABC News.
“The fundamental moral question,” the bishops wrote, “is whether the State should continue to take lives when it has another means of protecting the public and imposing a serious, lasting punishment. Life without parole provides that alternative. It holds those convicted of the gravest crimes accountable and protects society while preserving the possibility of repentance.”
They wrote that “even those who commit terrible crimes retain their human dignity,” reflecting the Church’s revised stance on capital punishment.
Church teaching has changed on the death penalty
Paragraph 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, revised in 2018, states that the death penalty is no longer admissible because “the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes” and states should administer punishments that “do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.”
According to the catechism, “recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.”
However, Pope Francis argued in his “Address to Participants in the Meeting organized by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization” in 2017 that the “death penalty is an inhumane measure that, regardless of how it is carried out, abases human dignity.”
The catechism now states that “more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens,” and urges the Church to work for the abolition of the death penalty.
Trump approves military execution by firing squad
President Donald Trump meanwhile approved an execution by a military firing squad.
On Oct. 5, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell reported on X that Trump approved the execution by military firing squad of “convicted terrorist” and “jihadist” Nidal Malik Hasan, the former U.S. Army major who shouted “Allahu Akbar” while murdering 13 people and wounding 32 others at Fort Hood, an army base in Texas, on Nov. 5, 2009.
Following a court martial, Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013. Parnell said the secretary of the Army will determine the date and location of the execution.
Fort Worth Diocese presses FedEx on risk of shipping mifepristone to states that restrict abortion
Catholic investors are urging a major shipping company to account for the legal risk of carrying abortion drugs across state lines.
At FedEx’s annual meeting on Sept. 28, the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, sponsored a shareholder proposal asking the company to analyze the regulatory and reputational risks of continuing to ship the abortion pill mifepristone into states where abortion is illegal.
“Given its prevalence as one of the largest shipping services in the United States, we wanted to highlight the risk that FedEx may be posing for its shareholders if the Comstock Act is enforced and it continues to ship mifepristone, one of the key drugs used in the abortion pill regimen,” Bishop Michael Olson wrote in a letter to other Catholic bishops, asking them to vote for the proposal if their dioceses own shares in the company.
Olson told EWTN News he posted the letter on a bishops-only website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Citing the U.S. bishops’ Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines, he called the proposal “part of the process of exercising stewardship over” the diocese’s public equities and “an opportunity to further the culture of life.”
The proposal asked FedEx’s board to report within a year on how it oversees the legal, regulatory, and reputational risks of transporting mail-order abortion drugs. It did not ask the company to stop shipping the drug. The board opposed it. Final votes had not been tallied when the diocese spoke with EWTN News.
The issue stems from the Comstock Act and the Biden Justice Department’s interpretation of it. Passed by Congress in 1873, the law criminalized using the postal system to send obscene, lewd, or indecent materials; information or devices related to contraception; and items or information intended to induce abortion.
More than 20 states restrict or prohibit abortion-inducing drugs within their borders. In December 2022, the Department of Justice under the Biden administration issued a memorandum opinion stating that the Comstock Act “does not prohibit the mailing of certain drugs that can be used to perform abortions where the sender lacks the intent that the recipient of the drugs will use them unlawfully.”
The Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, stopped enforcing its in-person dispensing rule for mifepristone in April 2021 for the rest of the COVID emergency, and in December of that same year said it would permanently drop that requirement, allowing the drug to be prescribed and shipped to a patient without an office visit.
“Nevertheless, the Comstock Act is still law and could be interpreted and enforced more vigorously by this or a future Administration,” Pia de Solenni, who presented the proposal on the diocese’s behalf, said in a letter that accompanied Olson’s.
In that letter, she told the bishops: “Your institution has a unique opportunity to leverage its ownership of FedEx to ask for a risk analysis that not only protects the value of the company but also disrupts the delivery of a drug regimen that harms women and destroys unborn human life.” She called the proposal a “unique opportunity to slow down the distribution” of abortion drugs.
Olson wrote that “Sadly, since the overturning of Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs decision in 2022, abortion rates in the United States have increased about 20%, due largely to the government’s decision to relax the rules around the distribution” of abortion drugs.
De Solenni, who has a doctorate in moral theology and is the former chancellor of the Diocese of Orange, California, is vice president of corporate engagement at IWP Capital, a for-profit firm that does screening, proxy voting, and corporate engagement for institutional investors, consultants, and asset managers.
She said the company “only does corporate engagement with a Christian understanding of human flourishing” based on the bishops’ Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines, first published in 1991, revised in 2003, and updated in 2021.
She told EWTN News that she spoke only for about three minutes during the 20-minute meeting and the company responded for about three minutes.
She said the diocese’s proposal was the only one to which the company responded. “It is challenging to get a proposal on a ballot in the first place,” she said. And once it is there, “it is very unusual for companies to respond to shareholders. They usually let proposals die.”
She called the effort a “moral victory.”
“If Christian institutional investors would show up, we would be changing these companies,” she said. “If we all voted our proxies, if these companies were hearing from us, they would have different leadership and would make different decisions.”
De Solenni said in a separate engagement with Costco, over whether its stores would carry the abortion pill, the first reason the company gave for not carrying it was that “they were unsure about the Comstock Act.”
“Our long-term strategy,” Olson said, is “responsible stockholding, keeping our investments clean and in line with the Gospel and the integrity of the Church’s teaching.”
He said that Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, was supportive of the proposal, which Olson said is “part of our whole strategy as a diocese to live by Rerum Novarum,” Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical published in 1891.
Whatever the final tally, he said the diocese would keep “continued vigilance, and the continued exercise of the prophetic voice in these areas that are overlooked and even taken for granted.” As an institutional investor, he said, the diocese is “very scrupulous about this” and tries to avoid “formal cooperation with evil, or even material cooperation with evil. We certainly check twice.”
On Sept. 30, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, joined by the attorneys general of Alabama and Arkansas, filed two lawsuits over abortion pills mailed into states that restrict abortion: one at the Supreme Court against shield laws in New York, California, and Massachusetts, and another against providers accused of shipping the drugs.