An increase in religious persecution around the globe was fueled in part by a rise in authoritarianism, according to a recent annual report.

In the latest comment from the Vatican on “Fiducia Supplicans,” the controversial declaration issued by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in December 2023 that includes guidelines on the blessing of same-sex couples, Pope Francis clarified that he didn’t allow blessings of “the union” but of “each person.”

The pilgrimage is part of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative launched in 2022 by the U.S. bishops to inspire a deeper love and reverence for Jesus in the Eucharist, after a Pew Research Center survey found only one-third of U.S. Catholics believed the church’s teaching of Jesus being truly present in the Eucharist.

In full vestments and flanked by pines, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens held high the Eucharist in a golden monstrance, making the sign of the cross over the stream that flowed gently from the placid lake behind him. Next to him, a signpost read, “Here 1,475 FT above the ocean, the mighty Mississippi begins to flow on its winding way 2,552 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.”

Take advantage of conflicts since they require people to come together and cooperate, Pope Francis told a delegation from Loyola University Chicago.

Joshua’s first Communion in the hospital connects strongly to his healing, noting that the “extraordinary grace of holy Communion is a gift not only to his soul, but to his body.”

Under a cold drizzle, scores of Catholics in New Haven sang and prayed while following the Eucharistic Jesus in procession. This May 18 display of faith marked the first Eucharistic procession of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s eastern route.

The southern arm of the national pilgrimage launched from the tip of Texas in Brownsville — nearly half a mile from the U.S.-Mexico border — and will wind around the Gulf of Mexico and traverse the country’s southeast on its way to Indianapolis to attend the July 17-21 10th National Eucharistic Congress.

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone told pilgrims at a Pentecost Mass launching the western route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage — the St. Junipero Serra Route — that the faith publicly lived in love has the “power to change history.”

Empowered and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, Christians are called to develop the gentleness needed to proclaim the Gospel to all, Pope Francis said.