CRS receives State Department funds to ‘significantly expand’ humanitarian aid to Cuba July 22, 2026By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, World News Catholic Relief Services is welcoming federal support that will help “significantly expand” humanitarian aid to Cuba, as the Caribbean nation battles multiple crises.
Pope Leo XIV makes surprise visit to pray for peace at the tomb of St. Benedict July 21, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV made a surprise visit to the Benedictine Abbey of Montecassino July 20, where he prayed for peace at the tomb of St. Benedict.
Ukraine remains hopeful for a papal visit, ambassador says July 21, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his government’s representative to the Holy See are hopeful that Pope Leo XIV will visit Ukraine despite no firm indication from the Vatican that a visit is in the works.
Attacks on human dignity can never be normalized, say 2 US bishops after deadly ICE shootings July 21, 2026By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Feature, Immigration and Migration, News, World News Two U.S. Catholic bishops are lamenting recent deadly immigration enforcement encounters, calling for God-given human dignity to be respected in every individual.
Lebanon’s cardinal urges prayer, guidance as its president visits the White House July 21, 2026By Dale Gavlak OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, World News Lebanon’s Cardinal Bechara Rai, the patriarch of the country’s Maronite Catholic Church, has urged for prayer and guidance as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun makes a critical visit to the White House July 21 to present President Donald Trump with a plan on how to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group and secure Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
Catherine Gietka, foundation president and mother of $183 million lottery winner, dies July 21, 2026By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Feature, Local News, News, Obituaries Catherine “Kate” Gietka, who as president of her family’s charitable foundation helped direct nearly $2 million in grants to local parishes, pro-life causes and other nonprofit groups after her daughter won a $183 million lottery jackpot, died July 17.
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.
Women religious sue New York over law they say would force them to assist in patient suicides July 20, 2026By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Respect Life, World News Four orders of women religious and Catholic healthcare ministries sued the state of New York July 17 over a new law allowing physicians to aid terminally ill adults in dying by suicide.
Vice president JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance welcome birth of their 4th child July 20, 2026By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, World News Second lady Usha Vance gave birth July 19 to the couple’s fourth child, Vice President JD Vance announced on X.
New book fills in gaps of history of Mount St. Mary’s July 20, 2026By Katie V. Jones Catholic Review Filed Under: Books, Colleges, Feature, Local News, News, Western Vicariate For a university founded in 1808, Emmitsburg’s Mount St. Mary’s University has surprisingly few books telling its story. That bothered alumnus John Singleton, Class of 1986, enough that he wrote one himself.
St. Katharine Drexel parishioners close the school year with a gift to eliminate public school lunch debt July 20, 2026By Rita Buettner Special to the Catholic Review Filed Under: Feature, Local News, News, Western Vicariate Feeding the hungry has become an important part of the outreach at St. Katharine Drexel in Frederick. The parish is especially focused on making sure students at Yellow Springs Elementary, which is nearby, have food to eat on the weekend.
For Gaza Christians, World Cup final offers brief respite from horrors of war July 20, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, World News Heated rivalries among soccer fans bubbled to the surface in the lead-up to the World Cup Final that ultimately saw Spain clinch a 1-0 victory over Argentina in an intense match. Yet for Christians in Gaza, the final game was a much-needed moment of joy and a reprieve from the hardship and suffering of war.
