At a shrine topped by a 28-foot-tall statue of Our Lady of Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV listened to stories of unshakable faith amid war, injustice and suffering.

Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Bishop W. Michael Mulvey, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas, and has appointed Bishop Mario A. Avilés, currently auxiliary bishop of Brownsville, Texas, as his successor.

Acknowledging the existence of “circumstances that are highly complex, conflictual and uncertain,” Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lebanon preaching peace.

On his first foreign papal trip, Pope Leo XIV showed reporters that the inflight news conferences of his predecessors would continue.

As he had done throughout his visit to Turkey, Pope Leo XIV spent his last morning in the country reaffirming the Catholic Church’s commitment to the search for Christian unity.

Celebrating Mass Nov. 29 in Istanbul’s Volkswagen Arena, Pope Leo was joined by laypeople, priests and bishops from the Latin, Chaldean, Armenian and Syriac Catholic churches.

The hit French film “Sacré Coeur” (“Sacred Heart”) is set to reach American audiences next spring, with a U.S. release planned for June 12, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Mario J. Paredes, CEO of SOMOS Community Care in New York, is the recipient of Catholic Extension Society’s 2025 New York Spirit of Francis Award in recognition of his yearslong commitment to “safeguarding the health and well-being of countless families in need.”

The Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis was often filled with laughter and loud, excited talk as thousands of teens made their way back and forth through its wide hallways during the National Catholic Youth Conference Nov. 20-22.

Although the ancient city of Nicaea lies in ruins and the geographic center of Christianity has shifted West, Pope Leo XIV and Christian leaders gathered at an archaeological site in Turkey to celebrate the enduring faith set out in the Nicene Creed.