The St. John Paul II National Shrine in Northeast Washington officially opened its retreat house Aug. 26 with a Mass, a blessing and prayers invoking the intercession of St. John Paul II and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

On Aug. 26, social media giant Meta — owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Threads and more — agreed to settlements paying out approximately $18 billion, ending a landmark federal trial that began Aug. 18.

Pope Leo XIV encouraged members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to follow the example of its namesake by giving witness to their faith through serving the poor.

The FBI “took minimal corrective action” after a controversial leaked memo discussed “radical traditionalist” Catholics, the Department of Justice said Aug. 28.

Blessed Stanley Rother’s witness in the face of persecution in Guatemala hits home, said Gaby Damasceno, who has family in Nicaragua where the Church is facing increased persecution.

The nearly 1,000 songs Dolly Parton recorded during her long career covered a wide range of topics. She not only dealt with the humiliation of poverty, harassment in a dead-end job and romantic rivalry, she also felt at home with such explicitly Christian numbers as 1989’s “He’s Alive” and “There Was Jesus,” released 30 years later.

As Hurricane Lala barreled across the Hawaiian Islands Aug. 15-16, several Catholic organizations kept close watch over one of the hardest-hit areas — Hawaii Island’s Kau district, home to Sacred Heart Church in Naalehu and Holy Rosary Church in Pahala.

The Church has long offered Masses that recognize special occasions and special needs. Among such Masses are those for professional groups, traditionally popularized by names of a color: Red Mass (lawyers and politicians), Blue Mass (first responders), White Mass (healthcare community) and Gold Mass (scientists).

Pope Leo XIV expressed his sadness by the devastation wrought by a glacial collapse in the Nepal-China border, causing a deadly wave of floods and mudslides that killed 168 people with hundreds more feared dead.

The Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, is remembering the late Dolly Parton — whose career as a singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman and philanthropist spanned decades — as “one of our own.”