Knights of Columbus Council 13341

Pope Leo XIV meets with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on June 11, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 11, 2025 / 13:57 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday received U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in an audience held in the study of the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican.

Guterres subsequently met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state of the Holy See, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for relations with states and international organizations.

Although the Vatican did not provide details about the private meeting with the pontiff, it indicated that during the conversation with the Secretariat of State the Holy See’s support for the United Nations’ commitment to world peace was expressed.

Some ongoing processes and upcoming summits organized by the United Nations were also discussed as well as the difficulties the organization faces in addressing current crises around the world.

During the course of the conversation, specific situations of conflict and instability were also discussed.

The United Nations was established in 1945 with the aim of fostering international peace and security. Currently 193 countries are members of the organization, which has its headquarters in New York.

Various initiatives promoted by the U.N. clash head-on with Christian values, such as the demand for the decriminalization of abortion under the euphemism of “sexual and reproductive health,” its explicit support for gender ideology, and the promotion of the 2030 Agenda, which clashes in essential aspects with the doctrine of the Catholic Church.

Since 1964, the Vatican has held the position of permanent observer to the U.N., which means the Holy See is not a full member of the organization but rather an observer state.

The current permanent observer, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, participates in its debates by contributing ideas but does not have the right to vote.

Guterres, 76, is the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations, a position he assumed on Jan. 1, 2017. He was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1949. In addition to being a politician and businessman, he is also an electrical engineer and professor.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

A group of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square. / Credit: EWTN News

Vatican City, Jun 11, 2025 / 11:32 am (CNA).

“Rome ’25-the Way of St. James ’27-Jerusalem ’33” is the name of an initiative led by young people who, through pilgrimages, evangelization, and healing, aim to “restore the soul of Europe.”

The initiative encourages young Christians from across the continent to open up a pathway to faith and hope for a new European generation in preparation for the Jubilee of Redemption, which will be celebrated in 2033.

“It’s not just about making the pilgrimage but about rediscovering God and our Christian identity, walking the pilgrim paths of Europe with a new, courageous, and joyful perspective,” the young people stated in a press release issued by the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, one of the promoters of the initiative.

Young Christians in Europe ‘raising their voices’

In this way, young Christians in Europe “are raising their voices” to tell the world that another Europe is possible and to reconnect it “with the beauty, truth, and love of Christ,” especially in a time of distractions, uprootedness, and “hidden wounds.”

Fernando Moscardó, a 22-year-old medical student, has been the architect of this “revolution of the youthful spirit” on the old continent. Speaking with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, he explained that the idea arose from seeing the pessimistic figures of an increasingly secularized Europe.

“Recent surveys tell us that more than 70% of young Europeans declare themselves nonreligious, an unprecedented figure. Furthermore, young people feel lonelier than ever, and we see that 42% of Europeans say they feel their lives lack meaning,” he noted.

“Fer,” as his friends know him, was clear that the answer to healing these wounds must be a spiritual one. He also pointed out that Bishop Mikel Garciandía, head of the Spanish bishops’ conference’s committee on pilgrimages and also in charge of the project, refers to this “lack of meaning” as “a spiritual orphanhood.”

Manifesto of the young Christians of Europe

They consequently decided to embark on this journey of renewal in preparation for the Jubilee of Redemption in 2033, the 2,000th anniversary of Christ’s redemption.

“We couldn’t wait until 2033 to get started, so we outlined a project consisting of three stages: The first is in Rome, with this year’s Jubilee of Hope, with which we kick off the event.” It will then take place in Santiago de Compostela (the Way of St. James pilgrimage route) in 2027 and, finally, in Jerusalem in 2033.

During this month of June, local pilgrimages are taking place throughout Europe, culminating on Aug. 1 with the proclamation of a manifesto of the Young Christians of Europe in St. Mary’s Basilica in Trastevere, Rome.

“On that day, together we will tell the world what we believe, what we dream, and what we are ready to live out. Every step we take is for those who no longer believe they have hope. This revolution of the spirit aims to make the invisible visible and give a voice to those who unknowingly seek God,” he said.

So that this declaration, drawn up on the basis of pilgrimages, truly serves as the voice of a generation, it will be published digitally during the month of July so that young people around the world can read and sign it.

“We want this to be the most widely supported youth declaration in the history of Europe, and only then will the words we speak on Aug. 1 have the weight of a multitude that believes, dreams, and journeys together.”

Furthermore, the project is also organized around a large network of Christian pilgrimage routes, including the historic Michaelmas Axis, which links shrines of St. Michael the Archangel from Ireland to Jerusalem.

This “spiritual sword” symbolizes a Europe that is once again turning heavenward. Monasteries, cathedrals, and parishes will become points of light, welcoming those who go through life in search of meaning.

Three pillars of the project

Moscardó also explained that the initiative is based on three pillars: pilgrimage, healing, and evangelization. “These are the three pillars we are taking as turning points to bring about change in this lost Europe,” he emphasized.

The young man reiterated that this is “a project of young people and for young people” and said that it has had “a very beautiful start,” with work teams throughout Europe supported by the bishops’ conferences.

“We thought that people today were going on pilgrimage for tourism, for social interaction, and we were forgetting that the most important thing when going on pilgrimage is to be aware that we do not walk alone, that we walk with Christ, and that we can pave the way for that personal relationship with him,” he explained.

He also noted that more than 600 people participated in the first pilgrimage, which was to Mont Saint-Michel in France. “We’re having a very beautiful and quite large response.”

On June 11, the project’s promoters are scheduled to be received by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. He also explained that they are already working on a website to provide all the necessary information about the activities as well as on their social media channels, which will be called J2R2033 (Journey to Redemption 2033).

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV speaks at a Wednesday audience with the public on June 11, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 11, 2025 / 09:12 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Fuzhou in China, the Holy See announced on Wednesday.

The Vatican credited the Sino-Vatican deal, signed in September 2019 and renewed for a third time in October 2024, for Lin Yuntuan’s June 5 appointment.

The Vatican announced “the recognition of the civil effects and the taking of possession of the office of Monsignor Joseph Lin Yuntuan.” The announcement said the Holy Father made the appointment “in the framework of the dialogue regarding the application of the provisional agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.”

Lin Yuntuan, 73, was ordained a priest for the Fuzhou Archdiocese, located in China’s Fujian Province, in 1984 after completing four years of studies in the local seminary. He was clandestinely consecrated a bishop in 2017. 

From 1984 to 1994 and 1996 to 2002, Lin Yuntuan was appointed parish priest for several parishes spread across the Fuzhou Archdiocese.

Other roles he held include a teaching role at the Fuzhou seminary in 1985, two terms as deputy director of the diocesan economic commission from 1994 to 1996 and 2000 to 2003, and as diocesan administrator from 2003 and 2007.

Prior to his clandestine consecration as bishop in 2017, Lin Yuntuan served as apostolic administrator of Fuzhou from 2013 to 2016.

Archbishop Joseph Cai Bing-rui currently leads the metropolitan Archdiocese of Fuzhou, which was erected in 1946. 

Globally, 84 new bishops have been elected in 2025. To date, Pope Leo XIV has appointed 15 new bishops in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the U.S. 

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims from the back of a pickup style popemobile before his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 11, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 11, 2025 / 05:50 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV reflected on Christian hope — one of the three theological virtues, along with faith and charity — during his general audience on Wednesday. 

“There is no cry that God does not hear, even when we are unaware that we are addressing him,” the pope said, illustrating this idea with the story of Bartimaeus, described in the Gospel of Mark as a blind beggar who encountered Jesus as he was leaving Jericho. 

Pope Leo explained that this story helps us understand that “we must never abandon hope, even when we feel lost.” 

The Holy Father today spoke on the healings performed by Jesus and invited Catholics to bring before the heart of Christ their “most wounded or fragile parts” or those areas of life where they “feel paralyzed or stuck.” 

“Let us ask the Lord with trust to hear our cry and heal us!” the pope said. 

Pope Leo focused on the attitude of Jesus, who does not immediately approach Bartimaeus but instead asks him what he wants. “It is not obvious that we truly want to be healed of our illnesses — sometimes we prefer to remain as we are so as not to take on new responsibilities,” he said. 

“It may seem strange that, faced with a blind man, Jesus does not immediately approach him. But if we think about it, this is how he helps reactivate Bartimaeus’ life: He prompts him to rise and entrusts him with the ability to walk,” the pope added. 

Indeed, the pope said that Bartimaeus does not only wish to see again — he also “wants to regain his dignity.” 

“To look upward, one must lift one’s head. Sometimes people feel stuck because life has humiliated them, and they simply want to regain their worth,” the Holy Father said. 

For this reason, he called on the faithful to do everything they can to obtain what they seek, “even when others scold you, humiliate you, or tell you to give up.”

“If you truly desire it, keep crying out!” he said. 

The pope stressed that what saves Bartimaeus is faith. “Jesus heals us so that we may be free,” he said. 

Exposing ourselves to Jesus with all our vulnerabilities 

Leo XIV also reflected on Bartimaeus’ gesture of casting off his cloak in order to stand up.

“For a beggar, the cloak is everything: It is security, it is home, it is the protection that shields him. In fact, the law protected a beggar’s cloak and required that it be returned by evening if it had been taken as a pledge,” he explained.

The pope compared the beggar’s cloak to the illusion of security that people often cling to.

“Often what holds us back are precisely these apparent securities — the things we have wrapped around ourselves for protection, which in reality prevent us from moving forward,” he said.

Pope Leo noted that, in order to go to Jesus and be healed, Bartimaeus “must expose himself to him in all his vulnerability” — a fundamental step on any path to healing.

Finally, the pope called on the faithful to trustingly bring to Jesus “our illnesses, as well as those of our loved ones,” and “the pain of those who feel lost and without a way out.”

“Let us cry out for them as well, and let us be certain that the Lord will hear us and will stop for us,” he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV address papal representatives on June 10, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 10, 2025 / 14:11 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV received papal representatives at the Vatican on Tuesday, reminding them that the Church “will always defend the sacrosanct right to believe in God” and that this life “is not at the mercy of the powers of this world.”

In the June 10 speech delivered in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, he thanked the papal nuncios and international organizations around the world for their work.

The pontiff noted that “there is no country in the world” with a diplomatic corps as universal and united as that of the Holy See: “We are united in Christ and we are united in the Church.”

“I say this thinking certainly of the dedication and organization, but, even more so, of the motivations that guide you, the pastoral style that should characterize you, the spirit of faith that inspires us,” he added.

He particularly thanked them for being able to rely on the documentation, reflections, and summaries prepared by the diplomats when faced with a situation that concerns the Church in a particular country. “This is for me a cause for great appreciation and gratitude,” he reiterated.

‘Always be the eyes of Peter!’

Pope Leo XIV then shared with those present the account from the Acts of the Apostles (3:1-10) of the healing of the paralytic, a scene that, in his opinion, “describes the ministry of Peter well.”

For the pontiff, the man who begs for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple represents “the image of a humanity that has lost hope and is resigned.”

“Even today, the Church often encounters men and women who no longer have any joy, whom society has sidelined, or whom life has in a certain sense forced into begging for their existence,” he lamented.

After looking into his eyes, the pope recounted, Peter said to the paralytic: “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, [rise and] walk.”

After quoting this passage, Pope Leo noted that “to look into one’s eyes means to build a relationship. The ministry of Peter is to create relationships, bridges: and a representative of the pope, first and foremost, serves this invitation to look into the eyes.”

“Always be the eyes of Peter! Be men capable of building relationships where it is hardest to do,” the pope exhorted them, asking them to do so with humility and realism.

The Holy Father also placed his trust in the diplomatic corps of the Holy See so that “everyone may know that the Church is always ready for everything out of love, that she is always on the side of the last, the poor, and that she will always defend the sacrosanct right to believe in God, to believe that this life is not at the mercy of the powers of this world but rather is traversed by a mysterious meaning.”

He also encouraged them to “always have a blessing gaze, because the ministry of Peter is to bless, that is, always to know how to see the good, even that which is hidden.”

“Feel that you are missionaries, sent by the pope to be tools of communion, unity, serving the dignity of the human person, promoting sincere and constructive relations everywhere with the authorities with whom you are required to cooperate,” he urged.

In conclusion, he reiterated that their work “always be enlightened by the sound decision for holiness.”

After the speech, the papal representatives received a ring bearing the inscription “sub umbra Petri” (“under the shadow of Peter,” cf. Acts 5:15) from the pope as a sign of communion.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Statue of St. John the Baptist with golden cross, Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic. / Credit: Oldrich Barak/Shutterstock

Vatican City, Jun 9, 2025 / 15:31 pm (CNA).

How to communicate with hope in today’s Europe? That is the question a group of Church communicators and journalists tackled during a June 3–5 meeting in Prague organized by the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe.

Within the framework of the Jubilee of Hope, experts from 18 European Union countries gathered to reflect on communication that “restores meaning” to people’s lives; that is, communication that speaks of God.

Daniel Arasa, consultor to the Dicastery for Communication and dean of the faculty of institutional social communication at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, opened the meeting with a presentation titled “The Service of Ecclesial Communicators to the Church in the Current Context.”

In a conversation with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Arasa addressed one of the main problems facing institutional communicators: the lack of trust in institutions. In light of this, he emphasized the importance of renewal focused on three lines of action.

A call for ‘cultural reforestation’

First, he called for “cultural reforestation,” a metaphor that refers to the replanting of core values ​​in society “that give meaning and unity to coexistence.”

He specified that the loss of these values ​​has not only been due to religious ignorance or de-Christianization but also the process that began in the 1960s “with gender theories, radical feminism, the exacerbation of individualism, and relativism.”

Arasa explained that these phenomena have emptied concepts such as man, woman, family, and love of anthropological content. Such concepts “until recently were shared worldwide and allowed for dialogue and social coexistence. Now they have been emptied of content,” he pointed out.

When these “trees” are removed, the communications expert added, “the mountain collapses.” Therefore, he emphasized the responsibility of ecclesial communicators to “culturally reforest society.”

In his presentation, Arasa also emphasized the need to foster creativity and empathy in communication.

Finally, he cited four qualities that a religious communicator must possess: “a desire for ongoing formation, service, unity with the Holy Father, good humor, and joy.”

In the face of wars and secularization in Europe, he clarified that giving hope is not only about communicating good news but also “being able to talk about negative things in a context of faith; that is, of hope.”

He also emphasized that people “want to hear stories,” so institutions are best presented through stories.

Italian Alessandro Gisotti, deputy director of the editorial department of the Dicastery for Communication and former Vatican spokesperson during the pontificate of Pope Francis, reflected on the topic of “Communication from Pope Francis to Pope Leo.” He said that to understand Pope Leo, “you have to know St. Augustine.”

The final session addressed the topic “Journalists and Vatican Communication,” with talks by Javier Martínez Brocal, Vatican expert and correspondent for the Spanish newspaper ABC, and Josef Pazderka, editor-in-chief of Český rozhlas Plus, a Czech radio station.

Brocal emphasized that those who have lost the sense of meaning in life or who are despairing find that answer in the Church, even if they are not directly seeking it.

Arasa echoed Martínez-Brocal’s words, emphasizing that “the Church is one of the few, if not the only, institution that can give meaning to many of these questions.” In this regard, he emphasized that the same people who tend toward “Orientalism, mindfulness, etc., were very attentive to what was happening during the conclave.”

“The very beauty of the rites, the prayers, the sense of joy that permeated the people, in the squares… these are things that show there is a spiritual dimension behind it; it is what truly fills people with meaning,” he added.

In this context, he recalled that Leo XIV seeks to “recover the primacy of Christ,” a theme on which Francis also insisted greatly. “People need answers, and only God is the answer, and we must not be afraid to present it in a very positive, non-imposing way. It’s about giving a message of joy,” Arasa indicated.

Witness of life and consistency

Finally, he insisted on the importance of consistency: “We cannot speak of Christ and present Christ without giving testimony with our lives. Everything we say must have that evangelizing spirit, something the pope constantly emphasizes.”

The meeting also included various cultural activities, including a Mass in the St. Wenceslas Chapel of Prague Cathedral, presided over by Bishop Josef Nuzík, president of the Czech Bishops’ Conference.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Father Marko Rupnik in an interview with EWTN in 2020. / Credit: EWTN

Vatican City, Jun 9, 2025 / 11:08 am (CNA).

The Vatican on Monday removed artwork by former Jesuit Father Marko Ivan Rupnik from its official websites.

Digital images of the Slovenian priest’s sacred art, which were frequently used by Vatican News to illustrate articles of the Church’s liturgical feast days, are no longer found on the digital news service.

Catholic writer Amy Welborn took to X to show screenshots of Vatican News’ “Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church” article before and after Rupnik’s accompanying artwork was removed from the website on June 9.

Rupnik, who was expelled by the Society of Jesus in June 2023 for his “stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience,” is accused by about two dozen women, mostly former nuns, of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse they allege has occurred over the past three decades.

The recent changes to the Vatican News and the Dicastery for Communication websites came soon after Pope Leo XIV met with members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on June 5.

Within the first week of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV met with Cardinal Seán O’Malley, OFM, archbishop emeritus of Boston and president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, on May 14.

Several Church leaders and Catholic groups around the world have increasingly called for the removal of sacred art created by the former Jesuit.

On March 31, the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France announced its decision to cover Rupnik mosaics found at the entrances to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Cloistered monastic nun Sister Maria Gloria Riva of the Nuns of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament addresses Pope Leo XIV, cardinals, bishops, and other employees at the Vatican for the Jubilee of the Holy See on June 9, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 9, 2025 / 10:08 am (CNA).

Sister Maria Gloria Riva of the Nuns of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament spoke on the importance of working with eternity in mind during a talk delivered Monday morning at the Vatican, a highly unusual case of a layperson publicly addressing the pontiff on spiritual matters.

All non-clerics, including all women religious and men religious who are not in holy orders, are considered laypeople.

The 66-year-old nun, part of a cloistered, contemplative monastery in the small state of San Marino in Italy, was the invited speaker for the Jubilee of the Holy See, part of the Catholic Church’s wider 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

“Eternity is before us. If we work for short-term and mediocre horizons, we work in vain,” Riva said in her June 9 meditation to Pope Leo XIV, cardinals, bishops, and other employees of the Vatican and Roman Curia. 

The nun’s participation was planned by the Dicastery for Evangelization with Pope Francis before his death. Francis had expanded women’s leadership roles in the Church, including opening the ministries of lector and acolyte to women.

Riva’s talk was followed by a procession through the Holy Door, led by Pope Leo, who carried the jubilee cross like an ordinary pilgrim from the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall to St. Peter’s Basilica, where he then celebrated Mass for the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church.

In his homily, Leo emphasized the necessity of bearing one’s cross in order to be fruitful.

“All the fruitfulness of the Church and of the Holy See depends on the cross of Christ. Otherwise, it is only appearance, if not worse,” the pontiff said.

“The Holy See is holy as the Church is holy, in her original core, in the very fabric of her being,” he continued. “The Apostolic See thus preserves the holiness of its roots while being preserved by them. But it is no less true that it also lives in the holiness of each of its members. Therefore, the best way to serve the Holy See is to strive for holiness, each according to his or her particular state of life and the work entrusted to him or her.”

Reflecting on the liturgical feast day of Mary, Mother of the Church, the pope connected the fruitfulness of the Church and the fruitfulness of Mary, which, he said, “is realized in the lives of her members to the extent that they relive, ‘in miniature,’ what the Mother lived, namely, they love according to the love of Jesus.”

The fruitfulness of the Church is also linked to the grace of the pierced heart of Jesus and the sacraments, he added.

According to Leo, Mary, as the living memory of Jesus, also ensures the unity of the disciples’ prayer in the upper room at Pentecost.

In the account of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles, “the apostles are listed by name and, as always, Peter is the first,” the pope pointed out. “But he himself, in truth, is the first to be supported by Mary in his ministry.”

“In the same way, Mother Church supports the ministry of Peter’s successors with the Marian charism. The Holy See experiences in a very special way the coexistence of the two poles; the Marian and the Petrine. It is precisely the Marian pole, with its motherhood, gift of Christ and of the Spirit, that ensures the fruitfulness and holiness of the Petrine pole,” he said.

Riva, an author and prolific spiritual writer, also spoke about the direction of one’s work and life in her reflection. “We need to work for the great horizon of life that does not die: to live by asking ourselves at every moment whether what we are doing connects us firmly to that truth which is charity and eternity; this is hope,” she underlined.

“We, dear brothers and sisters, know where we must run: The race of John and Peter towards the tomb of Christ is the only race that the Church and the world can run without fear. It is the race of those who know that hope lies in true life, eternal life.”

The meaning of a jubilee, she continued, is to help us think about the last things, the brevity of existence, and the meaning of our lives.

The nun, who founded her monastic community, which educates Catholics about Eucharistic adoration and “the passion for the beauty that saves,” recalled an oft-repeated line from the Russian author Dostoevsky that “beauty will save the world.”

This quote is incorrect, she said, because Prince Myshkin, in the novel “The Idiot,” actually asks: “What beauty will save the world?”

“The prince,” Riva explained, “is confronted with a terrible image,” a painting by Hans Holbein, “The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb.” The painting, also referred to as “Dead Christ,” “is a life-size Christ with sunken eyes and limbs already showing signs of necrosis,” she said.

“So the question is serious. What beauty will save the world? Will the beauty of the cross save the world? The beauty of defeat? The beauty of humiliation? Yes, the cross can still save us,” the nun emphasized. “In 2025, in postmodern man, the great salvation of the cross still exists. The cross will save us.”

Jesuit Guy Consolmagno at the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Jun 9, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A total of 24 fortunate young people from around the world are participating this year in the Vatican Observatory’s summer camp, an exceptional opportunity to see “that science and faith work together.”

The camp is led by the observatory’s director, Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, who during these summer months is teaching the cohort of future astronomers.

“We hope that simply living and working alongside Jesuit astronomers will be the strongest evidence that science and faith work together, and even more so, that this is a very natural collaboration,” Consolmagno told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

The veteran Vatican astronomer, born in Detroit, recalled that Pope John Paul II once described faith and reason “as the two wings that lift us toward the truth.”

“I hear in Pope Leo’s comments an echo of that same intuition,” the Jesuit affirmed, referring to the pontiff’s words at a recent international bioethics conference in which he called for a science that serves the truth and that is “increasingly humane and respectful of the integrity of the human person.”

According to the director of the observatory, which is located in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, the important thing is to remember “that truth itself is the goal” and that understanding “our faith and our science is never complete, never perfect, but always worth pursuing.”

Spreading the joy of discovery

As Consolmagno sees it, astronomers have a responsibility to pass on their knowledge to the next generation.

In this context, he acknowledged that “young, fresh minds are essential to making new discoveries and creating a deeper understanding of what we discover.”

The Jesuit brother highlighted the “special” nature of the camp, as many of the students “come from the less developed world, which means we can spread the joy of discovery to places that too often don’t have the opportunity to experience it.”

He also noted that the best part of the summer school for the young people “is the opportunity to meet both their peers from around the world and to have access to the experts who teach the classes.”

“Astronomy is a small field, and meeting other astronomers personally and professionally enriches both the students and the work,” he added.

Academic ability and enthusiasm

Consolmagno indicated that this year’s 24 students were chosen from among 175 applicants, so “the decisions were not easy.”

“Our only limit is that there can be no more than two students per nation. Beyond that, we choose the students who showed the greatest promise of being able to benefit from a school like this... both for their academic ability and for their enthusiasm for living in this historic setting,” he indicated.

For many of the students, the connections they make at the Vatican Observatory allow them to enter top-tier doctoral programs around the world “and then bring this high level of scientific excellence back to their home countries.”

“We estimate that more than 80% of students continue on to professional astronomy,” he noted, adding that those who pursue other paths still benefit greatly from the experience.

The revolutionary James Webb telescope

The theme of this year’s summer school — the 19th since its first edition in 1986 — is “Exploring the Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope: The First Three Years.”

The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on Christmas Day 2021. Since it began transmitting data the following July, Consolmagno said, it “has revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos.”

Consolmagno explained that this telescope allows students to see firsthand what science is really saying and not just “the results that have been reported in the press.”

“This allows them to appreciate how important — and difficult — it can be to try to explain to the general public what we have learned,” he emphasized.

For the Vatican astronomer, this is “an ideal time to review what the Webb telescope has discovered so far and to teach what we have learned about how best to take advantage of its capabilities.”

He further pointed out that “the combination of theory and practice” is something the observatory has promoted since these courses began almost four decades ago.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Sister Therese Mills, MGL, traveled from Australia to attend the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations, and New Communities in Rome on June 8, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Sister Therese Mills, MGL

Vatican City, Jun 8, 2025 / 13:45 pm (CNA).

Traveling more than 10,000 miles to take part in this weekend’s Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations, and New Communities, Sister Therese Mills, MGL, spoke to CNA of her great joy as she joined tens of thousands of other pilgrims in Rome.

A leader of the Missionaries of God’s Love Sisters, a charismatic Catholic group founded in Australia in 1987, Mills said her pilgrimage to Rome during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope has been a time of refreshment and renewal.

She described the “amazing” experience of walking through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, the first day of the special jubilee dedicated to new Catholic movements and associations.  

Mills recalled “just opening my hands and just praying that the Lord would refresh and renew my heart and refresh and renew my faith.”

“The thing that blew me away — and what I loved the most — was we were all on this journey together but everyone was speaking and praying in different languages,” she shared with CNA on Pentecost Sunday.

Mills called her visit to the Blessed Sacrament chapel inside the papal basilica a “God moment” that she will not forget.

“I just sat before Jesus and bawled my eyes out to be honest,” she said with a laugh. “I was very overwhelmed with his love … the gift of being with him in this place, and with the universal Church.”

The approximately 70,000 pilgrims participating in the weekend jubilee had the opportunity to explore different churches in Rome and attend music and entertainment events organized by various ecclesial groups.

A few of the hundreds of new Catholic associations taking part in the June jubilee included the Neocatechumenal Way, Catholic Action, Communion and Liberation, the Catholic Shalom Community, the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Focolare Movement, and CHARIS International.

During his homily at the Vigil Mass, Pope Leo described the new and diverse Church communities gathered around him as “the fruits of the Second Vatican Council” who are “grounded in the one Lord Jesus Christ” entrusted with “a single mission.”

Mills attended both Pope Leo’s Pentecost Masses — the Vigil on Saturday night and one on Sunday morning. 

“I really love being part of a universal Church, being united as one, and coming together to pray for the Spirit,” Mills said.

In the days leading up to the official jubilee festivities, Mills undertook a pilgrimage to holy sites in Rome linked to patron saints of her Australian-based community, including St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. Catherine of Siena.

The first Missionaries of God’s Love Sisters household was formed in the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn in 1988. Since then, the religious sisters have lived and ministered in the Australian cities of Adelaide, Darwin, Melbourne, and Sydney, and led outreach missions around the country and in other Asia-Pacific nations, including Fiji and Papua New Guinea.