The “whole situation” in the Middle East “is very serious,” Pope Leo XIV told reporters after Israel launched an attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar.

When their bishop challenged them to perform 1 million acts of mercy and kindness during the 2025 Jubilee Year and document them on a public website, Catholics in the Diocese of St. Petersburg on Florida’s Gulf Coast took him up on it — and how.

They also came to celebrate the life and ministry of Father Patrick Peyton (1909-1992), a Holy Cross priest, a Notre Dame graduate and sainthood candidate named “Venerable” in 2017.

When people of different religions work together to serve people in need, they show the world that faith promotes peace and not hostility, Pope Leo XIV said.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has moved closer to a resolution of its long-running bankruptcy case, announcing a proposed multimillion dollar settlement for abuse claimants Sept. 8.

Remembered for her passion for charity, teaching music and unwavering humility, the Duchess of Kent — a senior Catholic member of the British royal family — died Sept. 4 at age 92.

The funeral service for Fletcher Merkel, 8, was held Sept. 7 at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, just over a mile from Annunciation Catholic Church, where he and another student were shot and killed during an Aug. 27 all-school Mass.

In a Jubilee year dedicated to hope, Pope Leo XIV and Christian leaders will commemorate “new martyrs and witnesses of the faith” — people whose lives were signs of hope to the people around them and who died firm in the hope of being welcomed into God’s presence, said the secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

The Department of Education will issue new guidance “protecting the right to prayer” in public schools, President Donald Trump said Sept. 8 during remarks at the Museum of the Bible for the Department of Justice’s Religious Liberty Commission.

The Catholic Church needs the theological study and model of Mary, Pope Leo XIV said, calling for a great promotion of Mariology in parishes, religious life and educational centers.