Pope Leo XIV has named Father Ralph O’Donnell as the new bishop of Jefferson City, Missouri, four months after then-Bishop W. Shawn McKnight was named archbishop of Kansas City, Kan.

Pope Leo XIV paid a private visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace of Mentorella, high in the Monti Prenestini mountain range of central Italy.

President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a delegation of European leaders Aug. 18 following his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin a few days prior as he seeks a resolution to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Some pregnancy centers hope to use those new strategies and services to reach women impacted by state laws that limit or ban abortion or by the recent federal law that cuts funding for Planned Parenthood.

Efforts to serve, defend and build up the Catholic community in the Amazon region must be centered on the proclamation of the Gospel, Pope Leo XIV said.

At the start of final submissions in his landmark trial, Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was provided with medication and a heart monitor Aug. 18, after health concerns had delayed proceedings the previous week.

Spending the day with the poor, Pope Leo XIV prayed that Catholics would make sure their parishes are welcoming of all people and would be “on fire” with God’s love.

In largely Latino communities across Southern California shaken by weeks of immigration enforcement raids on city sidewalks and local businesses, the fear has forced unauthorized immigrants inside, shut out from work, from church, from life.

The Alaska summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held on Aug. 15 has ultimately failed to address the “fundamental moral and geopolitical questions” of Russia’s multiyear war on Ukraine, said Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia.

Recently, Michael Bell, executive director of the of the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, began researching Father Lafleur’s life and service and presented his findings during a special reception on July 31.