OSV News

Catholics across America have committed themselves to spiritual expeditions not on the well-worn pilgrimage routes of Europe, but in their own communities.

A 17th-century monastery in northern Italy where recently canonized St. Carlo Acutis received his first Communion was in ruins after a massive fire ravaged the historic building.

Xavier was established in 1925 by St. Katharine Drexel on the financial strength of the multimillion-dollar inheritance she received from her Philadelphia father's banking estate. Stories are legendary about how the socially conscious heiress — a slight but energetic nun who overcame the hostility and indifference of society and the church — established an amazing network of schools, churches and missions specifically for Blacks and Native Americans.

The first research study into the sexual abuse of women religious in German-speaking countries has shown a common pattern of spiritual abuse with global cases and highlighted that the majority of abuse is perpetrated by men, although some sisters were abused also by women superiors.

Nestled in the serene hills of Westchester County, New York, lies a sanctuary of compassion: Rosary Hill Home. Operated by the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, this haven offers free palliative care to patients afflicted with incurable cancer.

As the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton marked the 50th anniversary of the 1975 canonization of its namesake on Sept. 14, the Emmitsburg, Maryland, campus hosted what was dubbed "A Day of Joy" as part of a three-day celebration attracting over 3,000 visitors.

 The sisters said they had been sent to a care home against their will, and on Sept. 4 — with the help of a former student and a local locksmith — they returned to their quarters at the monastery.

Spread between iconic churches of the City of Lights, such as Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Eustache and St. Sulpice, over 800 religious men and women, and members of institutes of consecrated lay people, gathered in Paris Sept. 6-7, for a National Jubilee of Consecrated Life.
 

It's been more than seven years since Sr. Jean Dolores Schmidt became a household name virtually overnight.

"Never have we ever faced such a charge (of forceful religious conversion) in our history," Mother Superior Isabel Francis of the Assisi Sisters said. 

Two Catholic service organizations have joined forces to back three new pieces of legislation designed to both help victims of human trafficking and enhance safety for children online.

David Quinn, director of the Iona Institute, a Dublin-based religious think tank, told OSV News July 15, "There was a rush to believe the worst about the nuns and about Catholic Ireland."

The Trump administration's ending of deportation protections for those who have fled Honduras and Nicaragua shows "no discernment," an immigration policy expert told OSV News — while a pastor at one Philadelphia parish said the moves have sparked fear and a sense of powerlessness among his community.

“People usually think nuns are rigid, even grumpy women. When they see us singing and dancing, when they get to know us better, they realize we’re not,” Sister Marizele said.

The president's proclamation says nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will no longer be admitted.

On May 31 in Braniewo, Poland, 15 nuns from the Congregation of St. Catherine Virgin and Martyr were beatified — recognized as martyrs who gave their lives during the final, brutal months of World War II.

Over 90,000 pilgrims flocked to Alba de Tormes, Spain, May 11-25, to venerate the incorrupt body of St. Teresa of Ávila — marking just the third public exposition of her relics since her death on Oct. 4, 1582.

Catholics in Normandy commemorated the 100th anniversary of St. Thérèse of Lisieux's canonization with three days of solemn celebrations May 16-18. These included a live broadcast of Pope Leo XIV's May 18 inauguration Mass on giant screens in the Basilica of St. Thérèse in Lisieux.

A hidden chapter of Christ's Passion has come to light through the mystical revelations of Servant of God Sr. Leonia Nastal, a Polish nun whose spiritual diary offers harrowing details of Jesus' imprisonment before the crucifixion.