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National Catholic Register

Mary Amid the Ashes: ‘Am I Not Here, I Who Am Your Mother?’

Erick Doxey
A statue of Our Lady remains untouched in front of a burned-out home in the Balboa neighborhood of Spokane, Washington, on Aug. 2, 2026.

COMMENTARY: Faith does not require pretending that loss is small. It insists only that loss is not the whole story, and Mary constantly reminds us of this.

Pope Leo’s Visit to France Highlights Venerable Robert Schuman

Robert Schuman poses for a portrait in 1958, the year he became the first president of the European Parliamentary Assembly.

A founding father of the European Union, the French statesman, who died in 1963, was dedicated to making war ‘not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible.’

Pope Addresses ‘Surprising’ Catholic Growth in Secular France

A participant takes a video recording of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to the Institut Catholique de Paris on Sept. 26, 2026. The Pope met with members of the provincial Synodal Assembly, catechumens, and the newly baptized.

Leo met members of a Church assembly examining a decade-long rise in Catholic baptisms.

Pope Leo Hears Testimony of Migrants in Paris: God Opened ‘a New Path for Me’

Pope Leo XIV prays with the staff and volunteers of the Maison Bakhita Center for Social Support and Integration in Paris, France, during his visit on Sept. 26, 2026.

Leo visited a center offering support and integration to immigrants in the Archdiocese of Paris, on the second day of his Sept. 25-28 journey in France.

150,000-Plus Visitors Prepare to Welcome Pope Leo in Lourdes

Pilgrims gather at the foot of the grotto in Lourdes where Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858 on Sept. 25 as they wait for Pope Leo's visit as part of his three-day papal trip to France.

As Pope Leo XIV makes his way to Lourdes later on Sept. 26 as part of his four-day trip to France, pilgrims, local residents, and business owners in the famous town prepare with excitement.

PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV Visits France’s Restored Notre-Dame Cathedral

Pope Leo XIV stands outside Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Sept. 25, 2026 to pray the Salve Regina before the statue of Our Lady and the Infant Jesus. Commissioned in the early 19th century and crafted by goldsmith Charles-Nicolas Odiot, the statue survived being thrown from the archbishop's palace during the riots of 1831 and later narrowly escaped being melted down.

Pope Leo XIV is visiting France from Sept. 25–28 and elebrated Vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris Friday evening, becoming the first pope to visit the church since it was rebuilt.