Seminary administrators weigh in on downward trends
By Madalaine Elhabbal Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 3, 2025 / 13:35 pm Seminaries and their formators are beginning to rethink what formation should look like in the U.S. following reports that enrollment at graduate-level seminaries is continuing to decline. The fall 2025 CARA report released by the Center for Applied Research in the …
“Never again war!” Pope Paul VI’s unheeded and still urgently relevant appeal
Sixty years ago Pope Paul VI addressed the United Nations. By Andrea Tornielli “Never again war, never again war!” Sixty years have passed since Paul VI, Bishop of Rome, raised his cry for peace at the United Nations Headquarters. It was Monday, 4 October 1965. Only twenty years out of the immense …
Pope Leo XIV: Elderly are a blessing to Church’s missionary dynamic
Pope Leo XIV meets with participants in the Second International Congress on the Pastoral Care of the Elderly, and invites the Church to make space for the elderly in her missionary outreach. By Devin Watkins The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life is hosting the Second International Congress on the …
Relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux begin U.S. tour at basilica named in her honor
By Martin Barillas Ann Arbor, Michigan, Oct 2, 2025 / 17:02 pm The faithful are gathering in Michigan, where the relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux are on display at the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak, near Detroit. A Mass of installation was celebrated on Oct. 1 by …
The Uncelebrated Roots of Holy Days
“Walk with your feet on earth, but your heart in heaven.” —St. John Bosco Six-year-old Peter sat listening to his older brothers and little sister chat excitedly about Santa. It was early October, not even close to Christmas, but they exchanged stories of hearing reindeer on the roof and how …
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi (Prayer for Peace)
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so …
Obituary: Deacon Willard “Bill” Brunsman
Deacon Willard “Bill” Brunsman, a deacon of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, died on September 28, 2025 at the age of 89. Deacon Brunsman was ordained September 26, 1976 by Archbishop Joseph Bernardin. He served the Archdiocese as a permanent deacon for forty-nine years. Upon ordination, he was assigned to St. …
A Return to the Sacraments
by Marybeth Sproull It’s common to see a squirming child during Mass and to smile. Perhaps you offer a prayer for the parents doing their best to corral the child’s energy. Some children outgrow their Mass wiggles, but some retain for life that inability to focus or sit still. It’s …
Book Review: Sigrid Undset’s trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter
Two of the most intriguing women characters in all of world literature are the eponymous protagonists of Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina (1878) and Sigrid Undset’s trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter (1920, ’21, and ’22). Both novels deal with similar themes: Christian faith, wealthy families, stormy marriages, and the cultural and social …
How to pray the St. Thérèse of Lisieux novena
By Francesca Pollio Fenton CNA Staff, Oct 1, 2025 / 05:00 am The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, also known as the Little Flower, on Oct. 1. Born to Zelie and Louis Martin in 1873 — both canonized saints — Thérèse was the youngest of five siblings. …
