800 years after St. Francis’ death, Franciscans to mark his ‘Transitus’ — so what is it? October 1, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: News, Saints, Vatican, World News Each year on Oct. 3, the followers of St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) — friars; nuns; laypeople — mark the globally popular saint’s own journey from life to death, his “Transitus” as it is known in Latin, through special community commemorations.
AI is generating a mental health crisis, warns Divine Mercy University president September 25, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: AI, Colleges, Feature, News, World News The ever-increasing presence of artificial intelligence, with AI in every sphere of daily life, is generating a mental health crisis that threatens adults and children alike, according to Father Charles Sikorsky, president of Divine Mercy University, a private Catholic graduate school of psychology and counseling in Sterling, Virginia.
Victim 0001: Friends recall Father Mychal Judge’s 9/11 loss and legacy September 6, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: 9/11, Feature, News, World News The offering placed before the altar on Sept. 11, 2001, was unlike any ever seen at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Manhattan’s Financial District: the lifeless body of 68-year-old Franciscan friar and New York City Fire Department Chaplain Father Mychal Judge.
Meta $18 billion settlement over child safety raises questions about its real impact August 31, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, social media, U.S. Congress, World News On Aug. 26, social media giant Meta — owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Threads and more — agreed to settlements paying out approximately $18 billion, ending a landmark federal trial that began Aug. 18.
USCCB’s education director reflects on Catholic school landscape as school year begins August 18, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Schools, World News With a new school year on the horizon, OSV News asked John DeJak, director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Catholic Education, to provide an overview of Catholic education in America. As a former teacher and administrator who has served in both diocesan and independent schools since the late 1990s, DeJak is uniquely positioned to assess the state of the nation’s approximately 5,800 Catholic schools, which educate nearly 1.7 million students. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Catholic Scouting in US has new name, same adventurous mission July 24, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, World News In June, the National Catholic Committee on Scouting announced it has a new name: Catholic Scouting America. While the original name will remain the same for legal purposes, the new public name is meant to both clarify and strengthen the organization’s 100-plus-year commitment to faith, family and adventure through the values-based lessons of Scouting — all grounded in the Catholic faith.
Can’t go to Assisi? Visit a US replica of the tiny church where St. Francis founded order July 20, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Saints, World News In Assisi, one of the main pilgrim draws is a tiny church dwarfed by its expansive surroundings, the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels near Assisi, Italy.
Canada’s Catholics await high court decision on religious liberty and Bill 21 July 9, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, World News In Canada’s province of Québec, Bill 21, officially known as “An Act Respecting the Laicity of the State,” prohibits public servants in positions of authority — such as teachers, police officers, and government lawyers and judges — from wearing religious symbols at work. The law also extends the ban to staff at subsidized day cares, private schools and professional development centers.
After the Vatican declares SSPX in formal schism, what’s next for the Church? July 3, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Following the July 1 illicit consecration of four bishops at its seminary in Écône, Switzerland, by the now-schismatic traditionalist Society of St. Pius X — an action without papal approval that incurred automatic excommunication — that question isn’t simply one of Church politics.
Outreach 2026 conference highlights LGBTQ discipleship, community, ministry efforts June 26, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, World News Conor J. Reidy, the executive director of Outreach, a ministry for Catholics who identify as LGBTQ that seeks “to foster a Church where all people know they belong,” had a simple message for June 19-21 attendees of the Outreach 2026 Conference at Georgetown University: “Do not be afraid.”
‘Communion’: JD Vance’s spiritual memoir released as 2028 race heats up June 15, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: Books, Feature, News, World News On June 16, Vice President JD Vance will release his second book, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith” (HarperCollins). As a presumed 2028 U.S. presidential candidate, the timing couldn’t be more critical for Vance, who joined the Catholic Church in 2019.
Pope Leo’s summer spiritual reading list recommendation: ‘The Practice of the Presence of God’ June 5, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: Books, Feature, News, Vatican It’s a slim volume; the Ascension Press edition of “The Practice of the Presence of God” by the 17th-century French Carmelite friar Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection runs just 131 pages in the print edition, with notes.
