When the sea is rocky, distributing Communion during Mass aboard a cruise ship can be challenging, but Father Bill Reynolds maintains a steady presence.

Author Rebecca W. Martin has debuted her first novel, “Love in the Eternal City” (Chrism Press), a Catholic romance that not only tells the love story between a Swiss Guard and an American expat, but also serves as Martin’s own love letter to the city of Rome.

Decades of conflict ahead of independence in 2011, followed by civil war and famine, has taken its toll on South Sudan’s education and health systems.

During a September visit to Ukraine, OSV News sat down with Bishop Stepan Meniok, a Redemptorist and bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church’s Donetsk Exarchate.

A consecrated virgin in Ukraine told OSV News she is grateful for her vocation, which enables her to “give all, day and night,” to those impoverished by Russia’s decade-long war against her nation.

Asked what a U.S. Catholic given a choice between voting for a person who supports abortion or one who supports closing borders and deporting migrants, Pope Francis said one must choose “the lesser evil.”

More than 100 people, including a Catholic religious sister, are still listed as missing after Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful storm to hit Asia this year, left at least 233 dead in northern Vietnam.

The excitement is mounting in Paris ahead of the Dec. 8 reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral with only a few cranes remaining on the outside of the iconic French church.

The 87-year-old Pope Francis not only survived the longest trip of his pontificate, but he drew energy from the crowds who came to see him, and he seemed to enjoy his 12-day visit to Asia and the Pacific.

Before leaving Singapore, the most religiously diverse country on his trip to Asia and the Pacific, Pope Francis urged young people to approach others with courage and friendship.