The months leading up to the October world Synod of Bishops in Rome offer an opportunity for the faithful “to live more intensely our response to divine grace,” the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said May 31.

Once a Catholic giant, Ireland is becoming less religious, census data shows. Just over half of the residents of the Irish capital, Dublin, now self-identify as Catholic, according to data released May 30 by the country’s Central Statistics Office.

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Trevor Williams, known for his devout Catholic faith and prominent tattoos, expressed his disappointment with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ decision to re-invite and honor a controversial group called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

The Central Office of Church Statistics, a department of the Vatican Secretariat of State, keeps track of baptisms, first Communions, confirmations and Catholic marriages reported by dioceses around the world.

Catholic artists, poets, writers and filmmakers serve the church not by trying to “domesticate” Christ but by helping people challenge and expand their knowledge of the Lord, Pope Francis said.

One year after the Uvalde mass school shooting, which left 19 students and two teachers dead, officials with Chicago-based Catholic Extension visited the Texas city to renew the organization’s solidarity with a community still in the process of healing and announce its financial and tangible support will continue.

Ahead of the U.S. bishops’ meeting in Orlando, Fla., June 14-16, Bishop Joseph N. Perry said that new investigations by church institutions into their involvement with slavery and Indian boarding schools are “very healthy” and aid a collective examination of conscience.

Thousands flocked to a rural Missouri monastery over the Memorial Day weekend to venerate the apparently incorrupt body of a Benedictine nun with visitors telling OSV News the experience has been spiritually powerful for them.

The most powerful and effective method of evangelization is to live according to what one teaches and preaches, Pope Francis said.

Cardinal Arborelius and Bishop Varden visited Ukraine May 9-10 on behalf of the Nordic bishops’ conference, which comprises Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. The purpose of the visit, Cardinal Arborelius said, was “to convey our solidarity and prayers to the faithful of Ukraine.”