One by one, inside the University of Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart March 16, a flock of priests gently patted the pall atop the casket as they descended from the altar following the funeral Mass for legendary football coach Lou Holtz.

On March 17, as the world’s 80 million people of Irish descent celebrate Ireland’s national patron St. Patrick — a Briton who brought Christianity to the island in 432 — the Irish convent school that gave the world Oscar-winning actress Jessie Buckley is brimming with pride.

Conscience protections for faith-based health providers remain a key religious freedom concern, witnesses at a March 16 meeting of the Department of Justice’s Religious Liberty Commission said.

As the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown, advocates from across the nation gathered in Arizona to discuss pastoral strategies for understanding and applying Church teaching to mass deportations.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced late March 16 that it will hear oral arguments in April on whether the Trump administration can end a program temporarily shielding eligible Haitians living in the U.S. from deportation.

Pope Leo XIV will travel a total of more than 11,000 miles on 18 flights across four African countries in April on a 10-day trip that highlights peace efforts, the works of mercy, and the Catholic Church’s vibrant presence on the continent.

Addressing the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors March 16, Pope Leo XIV underlined the importance of preventing abuse in the Church, insisting that such responsibility must be concretely confronted and not delegated.

Pope Leo XIV has urged the media to show the human face of suffering amid war and to verify news so as not to recirculate “propaganda” or become a “mouthpiece for those in power.”

The practice of surrogacy violates the dignity and rights of both women and children, while tearing at family bonds, said the Vatican’s top diplomat to the United Nations.

As the U.S. marks its 250th anniversary, Pope Leo XIV will be honored in the nation’s former capital of Philadelphia for his efforts to promote religious liberty as well as freedom of expression and conscience.