A murdered Nigerian seminarian had the courage of a martyr, his bishop said after three men were arrested for murder and kidnapping.

On May 16, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington — the largest Catholic church in North America and one of the 10 largest churches in the world — marks the 100th anniversary of the blessing of the land on which it was built.

At a time of global “tragedy and suffering” because of the coronavirus, and in view of the long-term impact it will have, believers of every religion should beg mercy from the one God and father of all, Pope Francis said.

Flood said having the opportunity to get to know the cardinal was deeply inspiring, and that his service as liaison officer was an was an honor and a privilege.

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the encyclical on the care for the environment, Laudato Si’, Pope Francis has invited Catholics to participate in a nine-day global campaign of prayer and action from May 16-24. The theme of the week is “everything is connected.”

The coronavirus pandemic has drawn well-deserved attention to nurses and midwives, who are among “the saints next door,” dedicated to helping people in some of the most joyful or painful moments of their lives, Pope Francis said.

Catholic bishops have distanced themselves from a letter in which several prominent Catholic clergy warned there were attempts to use the COVID-19 pandemic to create a “world government beyond all control.”

In oral arguments May 11, the Supreme Court examined, and seemed divided about, laws governing church and state in its look at two California Catholic schoolteacher firings where the teachers claimed they had been victims of job discrimination.

In a joint service marking the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, Christian churches in Germany issued a call for a commitment to work for peace, reported the German Catholic news agency, KNA.

In the silence of the Cathedral of Christ the King, Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, a former principal of Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, was installed May 6 as leader of the 1.2 million Catholics in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.