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National Catholic Register

Pope Leo XIV Says Christ Is Hope Amid the Scourge of War

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on July 5, 2026.

The Pontiff prayed the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square before traveling to Castel Gandolfo for three weeks of vacation.

Pope Leo XIV Dines With U.S. Ambassador On Independence Day

Pope Leo XIV with U.S. Ambassador Brian Burch and his family at the ambassador's residence on July 4, 2026. U.S. Embassy to the Holy See

The Pope visited the private residence of U.S. Ambassador Brian Burch after returning from Lampedusa.

Pope Leo XIV: Migrants Lost at Sea Are Victims of Choices Made and Unmade

Pope Leo XIV with a family of migrants at the Gateway to Europe monument, which commemorates migrants lost in the Mediterranean, on the Italian island of Lampedusa on July 4, 2026.

Celebrating Mass on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, Pope Leo XIV urged Europe to respond to migration with long-term policies rooted in human dignity.

How Benjamin Franklin Picked America’s First Catholic Bishop

L-R: A portrait of Archbishop John Carroll by Gilbert Stuart and painting of Benjamin Franklin, ca. 1785, by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis

So how did a lapsed Congregationalist and one of the least religious of the Founding Fathers end up picking the first Catholic bishop of America?

America at 250: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Event Worth Celebrating

‘Washington Crossing the Delaware,’ 1851, by Emanuel Leutze

COMMENTARY: On this 250th Independence Day especially, we should focus on the tremendous good this country has done and the debt we owe to our fellow citizens.

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.