Thousands sang and applauded as Italian teen Carlo Acutis was beatified in a town dear to him and to many Christians around the world: Assisi.

For Acutis’ mother, Antonia Salzano, the heartbreak that all parents experience over the loss of a child has been mingled with serenity and joy as she prepared to see her son beatified Oct. 10 at the Basilica of St. Francis.

The treatment that President Donald Trump has received to fight COVID-19 has turned the focus on an experimental drug that shows promise in combating the coronavirus but is raising ethical questions about the cell line that helped researchers develop the medicine.

A Michigan Catholic bishop and the leadership of the Adrian Dominican sisters offered prayers of thanksgiving that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was safe after the FBI foiled an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan’s chief executive.

After he was asked to retire by Pope Francis for allegations of embezzlement, Cardinal Angelo Becciu denounced several media reports accusing him of using Vatican funds for other questionable purposes.

The COVID-19 pandemic, abortion and the Supreme Court, and race were among the top issues debated by Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, and Vice President Mike Pence Oct. 7 at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

The moving documentary “Pray: The Story of Patrick Peyton” (ArtAffects) lucidly chronicles its subject’s life and feels imbued with his warm and fervent spirit.

The president of Catholic Charities USA said the agency would turn to Capitol Hill to get a pandemic relief bill passed after it called President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend talks on the legislation “heartless.”

An eventual vaccine for COVID-19 would belong to the world and should not be hoarded greedily by countries hosting the lab or labs that develop it, Pope Francis said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly advise the wearing of face masks to prevent the coronavirus transmission.