Cindy Wooden

Mary’s “yes” to God, to life and to love continues “in the martyrs of our time, in witnesses of faith and justice, of gentleness and peace,” Pope Leo XIV said as he celebrated Mass on the feast of Mary’s Assumption into heaven.

Pope Leo XIV was elected May 8, making Aug. 16 the 100th day since he stepped out on to the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as the new pope. He will celebrate his 70th birthday Sept. 14.

While enjoying a summer break from school or work, Catholics should not neglect “the Lord’s invitation to prepare our hearts by actively participating in the Eucharistic sacrifice and by doing generous acts of charity,” Pope Leo XIV said.

The scars still borne by survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and still visible on the cities’ streets and buildings are a plea to pursue peace and disarmament, Pope Leo XIV said.

The Holy Year 2025 can have a lasting impact on the world’s poorest countries if governments and international institutions embrace a key element of the biblical concept of jubilee by forgiving, restructuring or pausing foreign debt repayments, said a report commissioned by Pope Francis.