As Pope Leo XIV begins his pontificate with an emphasis on peace, justice and bridge-building, the Vatican has reaffirmed its “unwavering support for the mission of the United Nations” amid conflict and other urgent challenges facing the global community.

Catholics in Normandy commemorated the 100th anniversary of St. Thérèse’s of Lisieux’s canonization with three days of solemn celebrations May 16-18. These included a live broadcast of Pope Leo XIV’s May 18 inauguration Mass on giant screens in the Basilica of St. Thérèse in Lisieux.

A move to hold talks between Ukraine and Russia at the Vatican appeared to gain momentum May 19, following a call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Those were, in a sense, the marching orders for the eight young adult Catholics sent forth hours later from St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis on a 36-day National Eucharistic Pilgrimage that will cross 10 states — Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

Former U.S. President Joe Biden, the nation’s second Catholic president and a Wilmington resident, revealed May 18 that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and it has metastasized to his bones.

This is the full text of the Regina Caeli address given by Pope Leo XIV May 18 at the end of the Mass for the Inauguration of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome.

Hundreds of Catholic humanitarian workers are rallying to prevent further — and more permanent — reductions in U.S. federal funding for international aid, which has been slashed under the Trump administration as part of its “America First” policy.

The election of Pope Leo XIV made Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, recall a vivid memory that went all the way back to first grade at the former St. Ann School in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent, bipartisan U.S. government commission that monitors religious freedom around the globe, praised Pope Leo XIV May 16 for demonstrating the Vatican would continue its advocacy for international religious freedom during his papacy.

Pope Leo XIV has named Cardinal Baldassare Reina grand chancellor of the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences.