For a priest who never expected to focus his ministry on vocations, Father Michael Romano has become a leading figure in shaping the next generation of Catholic clergy – and now he’ll do it from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, as rector of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.
Colleges
Catholic universities look to support foreign students amid Trump visa crackdown
Amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign student visas, at least two Catholic universities contacted by OSV News said they are actively seeking to support affected students.
Future pope helped found Villanovans for Life, marched against Roe v. Wade
The four years Robert F. Prevost spent at Villanova University in Philadelphia — from the fall of 1973 until May 1977, when he graduated with a degree in mathematics and began his novitiate with the Augustinian order — included the opening salvos of the pro-life movement.
Trump ban on Harvard international students to hurt chaplaincy’s missionary reach
As Harvard University battles a Trump administration ban on international students, the head of the school’s Catholic chaplaincy has a message for those affected.
Popular priest podcaster takes ‘Parables’ tour cross-country to sold-out crowds
Now in his 20th year of “Bulldog Catholic” campus ministry, Father Schmitz has seen steady and encouraging growth — defying the prevailing narrative that 85 percent of Catholic college students will likely lose their faith before they graduate.
Catholic University cuts 7 percent of workforce amid $30 million deficit
The Catholic University of America in Washington has cut 7 percent of its workforce, as part of a financial restructuring to tackle a $30 million deficit amid declining enrollment revenue and rising overall costs.
Angelicum rector: Pope’s election ‘greatest mercy God has ever shown on Catholic Church in America’
While no one from then-Father Prevost’s time at the Angelicum is still teaching there, Father White is proud that Leo XIV is the second contemporary pope to be an Angelicum graduate in recent decades.
‘He’s always been a brother to us’: Villanova Augustinian prior reflects on future Pope Leo XIV
Augustinian Father Robert Hagan said that fellow order member Pope Leo XIV has “always been a brother to us” — one who encouraged him from his early days to his own leadership role in the order.
Catholic college commencements feature gold medalist, healthcare executives as speakers
Maryland’s four Catholic universities will feature a gold medalist, two healthcare leaders and a noted biblical scholar as their 2025 commencement speakers.
In historic move, burgeoning Phoenix Diocese opens new Nazareth Seminary
In an era of vocations undeniably impacted by a statistically declining priesthood, it’s perhaps among the rarest of Catholic news headlines: Seminary opens.
Campus Catholic ministry shelters students amid mass shooting at Florida State University
The Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee is calling for prayers following an April 17 mass shooting at Florida State University’s main campus in Tallahassee, while a campus Catholic ministry is sheltering students and staff amid the lockdown.
Daughters of Charity, DePaul University expand digital collection of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s papers, letters
As the 50th anniversary of the canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton approaches Sept. 14, many of her family’s documents are being made public digitally.