The Holy Spirit, and not the need for recognition, must be the primary motivation in one’s religious life, Pope Francis told consecrated men and women.

Xavier University of Louisiana was among a group of several historically Black colleges and universities in the United States that received bomb threats.

Pope Francis recited a prayer he said he has recited every day for more than 40 years. But while he was reading it, a man in the back of the audience hall began shouting, including about wearing masks. Vatican police escorted him out of the building.

Mercy Sister Janet Mead, who earned gold records for her 1974 hit version of the Our Father, died Jan. 26 in her native Adelaide. She was 84 and had been battling cancer.

Catholic Health Association officials said the organization supports provisions in the President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act that would expand health care access and affordability as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The president of the Irish bishops’ conference used the 50th anniversary of the unlawful killing of 14 unarmed Catholics by the British army in Northern Ireland to criticize the fact that no one has ever been prosecuted.

When done right, the collection of taxes can promote a culture that protects the well-being of all, especially the poor and least fortunate, Pope Francis said.

Edmonia Lewis, the first African American and Native American sculptor to achieve international recognition through works that reflected her Catholic faith and the dignity of people, is being commemorated on a new postage stamp.

Catholic communicators must help provide correct and truthful information about COVID-19 and its vaccines and do so in a way that avoids oversimplification and creating conflict, Pope Francis said.

Presenting a budget projection that foresees a deficit of $37.1 million in 2022, the prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy said he believes the Vatican is on the path to honesty and transparency in financial matters.