Lebanese Catholics yearn for the upcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV to achieve something lost in recent years. Signs bearing the pontiff’s photo along newly rebuilt roadways express their longing: “Lebanon wants peace.”

For anyone who has not attended the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, the number of young Catholic participants can be overwhelming. A group of four first-timers from Cristo Rey Parish in Florence, Ky., certainly thought so.

Celebrity Chef Lidia Bastianich knows what it’s like to be in a strange land, without a home. OSV News recently spoke with the Italian-American — who has become famous as a television host, author and restaurateur — about her own experiences as an Italian immigrant fleeing communism in the former Yugoslavia, and her current work as a board member for Jesuit Refugee Services/USA.

Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics to join him in praying for Christians living in areas of war or conflict, especially in the Middle East.

The Vatican reported that it ended 2024 with a 1.6-million-euro surplus ($1.85 million) compared to a deficit of 51.2 million euros ($59.3 million) in 2023.

Thanksgiving is a “beautiful feast” that reminds everyone to be grateful for the gifts they have been given, Pope Leo XIV said.

A “sickness” that is widespread in the world is not believing in the meaning and beauty of life, and, consequently, lacking the courage to live and to generate life, Pope Leo XIV said.

Congressional Republicans are demanding a “robust” investigation of federal safety standards and health risks connected to mifepristone, a pill commonly, but not exclusively, used for early abortion.

Facing east toward the altar of the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, Deacon Roy Callison burned cedar as his wife, Susan, recited the first of the four invocations in the Prayer in the Four Directions, a traditional spiritual practice rooted in Indigenous culture.

The foundation of sacramental marriage is the unity of the spouses, a bond so intense and grace-filled that it is exclusive and indissoluble, said a document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.