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National Catholic Register

America at 250: The Freedom to Build Something Lasting

Future Bishop Earl Fernandes (right), age 3, stands with his siblings on the front porch of the family’s home during the U.S. bicentennial celebration on Independence Day, July 4, 1976.

COMMENTARY: People continue to stream to the United States not only because of what she was or is, but also because of what she will be.

The US Catholic History You (Probably) Didn’t Know

Illustration by Melissa Hartog/National Catholic Register
From St. Katharine Drexel and John Wayne to the Mississippi River and Philadelphia, the U.S. is full of fascinating Catholic people and places.

AMERICA AT 250

SSPX Rejects Vatican’s Excommunication, Calls It ‘Objectively’ Unjust and Invalid

Society of St. Pius X clergy process during the consecration ceremony of four new bishops of the society on July 1, 2026, in Ecône, Switzerland.

In a letter addressed to Pope Leo XIV, released on July 3, Father Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the SSPX, justified the episcopal consecrations that prompted the Vatican’s decree.

Pope Leo XIV Accepts Constitution Center’s 2026 Liberty Medal: ‘I Am Honored’

Simone Risoluti
Pope Leo XIV delivers remarks upon accepting the 2026 Liberty Medal in a livestreamed ceremony between the Vatican and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on July 3, 2026.

The Pope delivered livestreamed remarks, praising the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence: the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Pope Leo XIV Congratulates the U.S. On Its 250th Anniversary

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer from a window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square on the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29, 2026.

The Pontiff's letter stressed religious freedom, the right to life, and the contributions of Catholics and immigrants to American history.

The Declaration of Independence Packs History-Changing Power

Detail of John Trumbull’s 1819 painting “Declaration of Independence,” detailing the five-man drafting committee — John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin — presenting the Declaration to John Hancock and the Congress.

COMMENTARY: That power resonates beyond the shores of the United States 250 years later.