Four hundred years after its consecration, St. Peter’s Basilica is getting a 21st-century upgrade, with the Vatican unveiling plans for AI-powered translation services, expanded pilgrim access and high-tech structural monitoring as part of yearlong anniversary celebrations.

So began the first steps on the artistic road that led Moran, 62, a parishioner of Our Lady of Grace in Edina, to complete an oil painting of Pope Leo for the refectory of the Pontifical North American College, the major seminary for American seminarians studying in Rome.

After Pope Leo XIV proclaimed the Jubilee Year of St. Francis from Jan. 10, 2026, to Jan. 10, 2027, the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary also issued a decree granting a plenary indulgence to mark the 800th anniversary year of the popular saint’s death.

As Catholics in France prepare for a nationwide prayer and fasting initiative Feb. 20 in anticipation of the final vote on a bill that “leads our country down the path of euthanasia and assisted suicide” and to “ask the Lord to enlighten consciences on the gravity of the challenges posed by this proposed law” — numbers of euthanasia procedures spike around the world.

A key national pro-life group released polling Feb. 19 it said shows a potential failure by the Trump administration to act on pro-life policy priorities may demotivate Republican primary voters in the upcoming midterm elections.

Twenty-one state attorneys general and 60 members of Congress were among the Republicans who filed amicus briefs in support of Louisiana’s efforts to roll back the Biden administration’s eased restrictions on mifepristone, a drug commonly, but not exclusively, used for most first trimester abortions.

The Society of St. Pius X has rejected a Vatican offer of dialogue and said it will move forward with plans to ordain bishops without a papal mandate this summer.

After months of trying, religious and clergy were finally able to enter the processing center for migrants without papers on the outskirts of Chicago on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18. They gave Communion and distributed ashes to those inside.

Numerous American bishops have collectively and individually stated their concerns regarding the nature of immigration enforcement taking place and mass deportation.

Pope Leo XIV will travel to six destinations across Italy this year, the Vatican announced on Feb. 19, journeying from the shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii in the south to the tomb of St. Augustine in northern Italy.