Nearly 15,000 military personnel from some 40 countries will gather at the French Marian sanctuary in Lourdes May 24-26 for the International Military Pilgrimage. After the Bastille Day celebration July 14, France’s biggest national holiday, the Lourdes military pilgrimage is the most important gathering of its kind for the army.

Catholics fighting against human trafficking must work together in order to be truly effective against this “odious” crime, Pope Francis told an international network of religious working against human trafficking.

Louisiana lawmakers approved legislation May 23 that would classify drugs used for both early abortion and miscarriage as controlled dangerous substances, and would criminalize improperly possessing the pills, such as lacking a valid prescription or their use outside the context of a professional medical practice.

Poland’s bishops have warned of growing conflict with anti-clerical politicians if they press ahead with plans to remove public crosses and curb religious education in the traditionally Catholic country, as church leaders across Europe also cautioned against the “marginalization” of Christianity.

On May 23, Pope Francis formally recognized a second miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis, clearing the way for him to be formally recognized as a saint of the Catholic Church.

In their first week, pilgrims on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage have faced blisters, a busted toe and thunderstorms, but those “hiccups” along the routes are “all gifts from God,” said Jack Krebs, a perpetual pilgrim on the pilgrimage’s St. Junipero Serra Route.

An embattled nun in Texas at the center of a yearlong controversy can remain in the Carmelite order, according to a Vatican decree publicized May 21. The decree nullifies a decision issued last year by Bishop Michael F. Olson of Fort Worth to dismiss the nun from the Carmelites.

The U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference, alongside other Catholic groups, filed suit May 22 against a federal agency for including abortion in regulations implementing a law meant to add workplace protections for pregnant workers.

In addition to clearing the way for the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, Pope Francis signed decrees in seven other sainthood causes, including that of Blessed Giuseppe Allamano, founder of the Consolata Missionaries, who also is now ready to be declared a saint.

Pope Francis formally recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian teenager whose birth in 1991 will make him the first “millennial” to become a saint.