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.

The event, which gathered Catholic physicians and their families, followed the theme “Imago Dei: Made in His Image, Male and Female He Created Them.”

A North Dakota judge overturned that state’s near-total abortion ban Sept. 12, ruling the state’s constitution permits abortion until viability.

Rock legend Jon Bon Jovi reportedly saved a woman’s life when he talked her into stepping off the ledge of a bridge over the river in Nashville, Tennessee, Sept. 10.

The March for Life Education and Defense Fund named Jennie Bradley Lichter as its new president-elect Sept. 12, and announced its current president Jeanne Mancini, will leave the role following the organization’s 2025 national March for Life event.

Amid an unprecedented U.S. presidential election cycle, Catholic voters should reflect on fostering key principles of Catholic social teaching — such as respect for human life, solidarity and the common good — through dialogue and civic engagement, panelists said at a discussion event Sept. 11 hosted by the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University.

At the funeral Mass of deceased brothers Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau Sept. 9 at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Media, however, it was their wives who emulated the aforementioned attributes as they took turns giving words of remembrance for their fallen husbands.

As the superior general of the Sacred Heart order appealed to Polish authorities to ensure an arrested Polish priest’s “dignity” is “respected,” defenders have accused the country’s government of using Father Michal Olszewski as a political prisoner and urged the Catholic Church to speak up on his behalf.