By Cindy Wooden ROMA (CNS) – Con la ciudad de Roma presentando numerosas obras viales y grandes proyectos de construcción antes de la apertura del Año Santo 2025, el Papa Francisco aprovechó las interrupciones causadas por dichas obras como una oportunidad para alentar a las personas a hacer algo de renovación espiritual antes del jubileo.
En una tarde nublada con amenaza de lluvia, el 8 de diciembre, fiesta de la Inmaculada Concepción, el Papa Francisco se dirigió al centro de Roma para continuar la tradición de rezar ante una estatua de María en lo alto de una columna cerca de la Plaza de España.
Ese día, al amanecer, los bomberos de Roma subieron casi 90 pies (más de 27 metros) utilizando un camión y una escalera para colocar un anillo de flores blancas en el brazo extendido de María y ramos a sus pies, continuando una tradición romana que comenzó en 1949.
El Papa Francisco lleva un ramo de rosas blancas a los pies de una estatua mariana cerca de la Plaza de España en Roma el 8 de diciembre de 2024, fiesta de la Inmaculada Concepción. (Foto CNS/Lola Gomez)
El Papa Francisco llevó su propia cesta de rosas blancas atadas con una cinta vaticana amarilla y blanca y, como es su costumbre, recitó una oración a María en lugar de pronunciar un discurso ante los miles de romanos, visitantes y turistas.
El alcalde de Roma, Roberto Gualtieri, estaba presente en la celebración. Gualtieri se ha visto acosado por las críticas sobre cómo los grandes proyectos jubilares, la mayoría de los cuales aún están incompletos, han congestionado el tráfico y decepcionado a los turistas que esperaban ver lugares de interés pero que los encontraron cubiertos de andamios.
Dirigiéndose a María, dijo que su “mirada de madre” ve más allá del caos de la construcción. “Y me parece escuchar tu voz que con sabiduría nos dice: “Hijos míos, están bien estas obras, pero estén atentos, ¡no se olviden de las obras del alma!”.
El Papa Francisco agradeció a María la sugerencia “porque, sin quererlo, corremos el riesgo de ser presas totalmente de la organización, de todas las cosas por hacer”, con el riesgo de que se sofoque “la gracia del Año Santo, que es un tiempo de renacimiento espiritual, de perdón y de liberación social”.
También pidió a la gente que rezara por el alcalde, “que tiene tanto que hacer”.
Con el lema “Peregrinos de esperanza”, el Papa tiene previsto inaugurar el Año Santo en la Basílica de San Pedro antes de la Misa del 24 de diciembre. También abrirá una Puerta Santa en la cárcel Rebibbia de Roma el 26 de diciembre. La Puerta Santa de la Basílica de San Juan de Letrán se abrirá el 29 de diciembre; la de la Basílica de Santa María la Mayor, el 1 de enero; y la de San Pablo Extramuros, el 5 de enero.
El Papa Francisco dio las gracias a María “porque todavía, en este tiempo pobre de esperanza, nos das a Jesús, ¡nuestra esperanza! ¡Gracias Madre!”
NACIÓN NUEVA YORK (OSV News) – La Misa anual en honor a La Inmaculada Concepción de María – La Purísima, patrona de Nicaragua, se celebró el domingo 1 de diciembre en la Catedral de San Patricio. “Hoy nos reunimos para celebrar el Primer Domingo de Adviento – y hoy nosotros, la comunidad nicaragüense, también honramos a una mujer santa (María La Purísima) quien nos une y le damos gracias”, dijo el celebrante, el padre Pedro Bismarck Chau, rector de la Catedral Basílica del Sagrado Corazón en Newark, Nueva Jersey. Más de 1.000 personas asistieron a la liturgia de la tarde. Entre ellos estaba Alicia Jiménez, nacida en Nicaragua y madre de tres hijos. “Ella es la patrona de Nicaragua; esto es muy importante para nosotros; es parte de nuestra fe, que lo es todo para nosotros. Esta (Misa anual) es maravillosa”, Jiménez, una feligresa de Nuestra Señora de Lourdes en Manhattan, dijo a The Good Newsroom, el medio de noticias de la Arquidiócesis de Nueva York. “¿Quién causa tanta alegría?” exclamó el padre Chau, nacido y criado en Nicaragua. Y la gente respondió: “¡La Concepción de María!” Es un intercambio tradicional de La Gritería, un alegre grito nicaragüense de fe, esperanza y amor por María La Purísima, cuya fiesta es el 8 de diciembre, que coincide con la solemnidad de la Inmaculada Concepción.
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Es posible que la administración entrante del presidente electo Donald Trump planee rescindir una política de larga data que impide a los agentes del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) realizar detenciones en lo que se consideran áreas protegidas, incluyendo lugares de culto, escuelas y hospitales, según un informe de NBC News. Según las fuentes del informe, Trump, quien se ha comprometido a llevar a cabo “el mayor programa de deportación en la historia de Estados Unidos”, planea desechar la política de larga data de ICE – que prohíbe las detenciones por razones migratorias en esos lugares, así como otros eventos sensibles como bodas y funerales sin la aprobación de supervisores – tan pronto como el primer día de su nuevo mandato. El equipo de transición Trump-Vance no respondió inmediatamente a una solicitud de comentario de OSV News sobre el informe. Kevin Appleby, investigador principal de política en el Centro de Estudios Migratorios de Nueva York y ex director de política migratoria de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de EE.UU. (USCCB) dijo que los supuestos planes serían “una violación de la libertad religiosa y disuadirá a las familias inmigrantes de asistir a misa y recibir los sacramentos” y calificó la propuesta de “un ataque a la vida de la Iglesia en este país, (así) como contra las familias migrantes”. Chieko Noguchi, portavoz de la USCCB, dijo que los obispos de EE.UU. son “conscientes de las diversas propuestas que se están debatiendo con respecto a la inmigración, y nos estamos preparando para hacer frente a una serie de políticas, y nos comprometeremos adecuadamente cuando las políticas públicas sean presentadas”.
VATICANO CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – Reducir el mensaje de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe a otra cosa que no sea una expresión de la maternidad universal de María disminuye la verdadera esencia de la icónica devoción mariana, dijo el Papa Francisco. El misterio guadalupano se trata de venerarla y escuchar en nuestros oídos: “¿Acaso no estoy yo aquí, que soy tu madre?”, dijo el Papa, refiriéndose a las palabras que se dice que María dijo a San Juan Diego. “Este es el mensaje guadalupano. Lo demás, son ideologías”, dijo en su homilía en la Misa en honor a la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en la Basílica de San Pedro. El Papa Francisco presidió la Misa sentado, pronunciando una breve homilía sin leer un texto preparado. El cardenal Robert F. Prevost, prefecto del Dicasterio para los Obispos y presidente de la Pontificia Comisión para América Latina, fue el celebrante principal en el altar. “Sobre este misterio de Guadalupe, que lamentablemente tantas ideologías han querido derivar para sacar provecho ideológico, me vienen en mente tres cosas … la tilma, la Madre y la rosa”, dijo el Papa en español, recordando que el verdadero mensaje de Guadalupe reside en su sencillez. La devoción a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe está profundamente arraigada en América Latina y vinculada a las apariciones marianas del siglo XVI en México. Según la tradición, la Virgen María se apareció a San Juan Diego, un indígena mexicano, y dejó su imagen impresa en su manto. La imagen representa a María embarazada, y se dice que las rosas – flores poco comunes a la región en esa época – se derramaron milagrosamente de su manto cuando se lo presentó al obispo.
MUNDO BUENOS AIRES (OSV News) – El clero católico de México ha pedido una tregua el 12 de diciembre, fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, y el día de Navidad, mientras la violencia criminal asola franjas del país y el clero que trabaja en regiones conflictivas se ve amenazado. El obispo auxiliar de Ciudad de México, Francisco Javier Acero Pérez, instó a la tregua, diciendo en un foro de discurso para líderes católicos el 5 de diciembre en la Universidad Panamericana: “Podemos mostrar al mundo que, por medio de la Virgen de Guadalupe, y por medio de esta profunda creencia de todo el pueblo, todos podemos hacer una tregua de paz, todos podemos dejar la comunicación hostil y dejar también las armas por un día y que a partir de ese día veamos cómo podemos empezar a vivir la paz en nuestro país”. La Conferencia del Episcopado Mexicano (CEM) se unió al llamado de tregua de la Arquidiócesis Primada de México y pidió la intercesión de la Virgen de Guadalupe y del Niño Jesús por las numerosas víctimas de la violencia en México, incluyendo a las familias que buscan a sus familiares desaparecidos, a los migrantes y a “aquellos que viven en situación de vulnerabilidad”. La violencia ha golpeado cada vez más a la Iglesia católica. México, por su parte, sigue siendo uno de los países con más asesinatos de clérigos católicos. Al menos 10 sacerdotes fueron asesinados durante la presidencia de 2018 a 2024 de López Obrador, según un informe del Centro Católico Multimedial, que rastrea la violencia contra la iglesia.
MERIDIAN – Melanie Pressly, first grade teacher at St. Patrick School, checks William McNair’s “voter ID card.” The candidates were Duck, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Arthur. It was a close race, but Clifford won the election! (Photo by Helen Reynolds)MADISON – The St. Joseph School Bruin News Now crew film the Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, edition of the award-winning, student-produced newscast on location at Independence Square in Philadelphia. Students were in Philadelphia to attend the Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association fall high school journalism convention. Pictured here are news anchor Thierry Freeman, a junior; camera operator Davis Hammond, a sophomore; and Jason Buckley, a sophomore. (Photo by Terry Cassreino)JACKSON – George Rutherford, Max Jones, Stella McArthur and Anna Kate Yentzen work with sculptor, Roz Roy, making clay cardinals. Fourth grade students recently enjoyed a field trip to the Mississippi Craftsmen’s Guild where they worked with artisans specializing in woodworking, pottery and weaving. (Photo by Tori Liberto)COLUMBUS – Annunciation School celebrated All Saint’s Day Mass on Friday, Nov. 1 with Bishop Joseph Kopacz and Father Jeffrey Waldrep. (Photo by Jacque Hince)MERIDIAN – St. Patrick School first grade teacher Melanie Pressly and assistant Cassy Klutz, watch as Father Augustine Palimattam blesses bottles of holy water on Friday, Nov. 23. Pressly’s class dressed up as saints and held a “Saintsgiving” celebration. (Photo by Helen Reynolds)MCCOMB – Parishioners and youth at St. Alphonsus enjoyed games and fellowship for Halloween. (Photo by Kristen L. Jones)SOUTHAVEN – PreK-4 students at Sacred Heart School practice silent prayer time at the end of chapel. (Photo by Sister Margaret Sue Broker)CLARKSDALE – Fifth and sixth grade students made games for “Math and Science Night” that enhanced learning and fun for all ages. (Photo by Mary Evelyn Stonestreet)
By Justin McLellan VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Doubling down on the centrality of synodality in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis said that it is now up to local churches to accept and implement proposals from the final document approved the Synod of Bishops on synodality.
Approved by the pope, the synod’s final document “participates in the ordinary magisterium of the successor of Peter, and as such, I ask that it be accepted,” the pope wrote in a note published by the Vatican Nov. 25.
“Local churches and groupings of churches are now called upon to implement, in different contexts, the authoritative indications contained in the document, through the processes of discernment and decision-making provided by law and by the document itself,” he wrote nearly a month after the synod’s close.
The final document outlined key priorities for the church, including increased participation of laity through new ministries and adjusted governing structures, greater transparency and accountability among church leadership and creating space for previously marginalized groups.
After synod members voted to approve the final document, Pope Francis announced that he would not write the customary apostolic exhortation after the synod but would instead offer the document to the entire church for implementation.
With the exceptions of the first synods convoked by St. Paul VI in 1967 and 1971, all ordinary assemblies of the Synod of Bishops have been followed by an exhortation on the synod’s themes and discussions by the pope.
Pope Francis speaks to members of the Synod of Bishops on synodality after they approved their final document Oct. 26, 2024, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
In his note, Pope Francis clarified that while the document is “not strictly normative” and must be adapted to contexts where it is applied, it still obligates “local churches to make choices consistent with what was indicated” in the document.
He also underscored the need for time to address broader churchwide issues, such as those assigned to the 10 study groups he set up in the spring to explore issues raised during the synod, including women’s ministry, seminary education, relationships between bishops and religious communities, and the role of nuncios. More groups may be created, the pope said.
The conclusion of the general assembly of the Synod of Bishops “does not end the synodal process,” he wrote.
He added that the final synod document contains recommendations which “can already now be implemented in the local churches and groupings of churches, taking into account different contexts, what has already been done and what remains to be done in order to learn and develop ever better the style proper to the missionary synodal church.”
“In many cases it is a matter of effectively implementing what is already provided for in existing law, Latin and Eastern,” while in other contexts local churches can proceed with the creation of “new forms of ministry and missionary action” through a process of synodal discernment and experimentation.
Pope Francis also specified that during bishops’ “ad limina” visits to Rome, each bishop will be asked to discuss what choices have been made in his local church regarding what has been indicated in the final synod document, reflecting on the challenges and the fruits.
By Laura Grisham HOLLY SPRINGS – Holy Family School recently celebrated its 75th anniversary with a three-day event filled with faith, fellowship and festivities. The school, a cornerstone of Catholic education in the region, has evolved from its beginnings as St. Mary’s School in 1948 to Cadet in 1969, and finally Holy Family in 1994.
The celebration began with a special Mass led by Bishop Joseph Kopacz. He was joined by SCJ Fathers Jack Kurps, Vien Nguyen, David Szatkowski and Guy Blair as co-celebrants. The Mass, enhanced by the angelic voices of St. Mary’s choir, set a reverent tone for the festive weekend.
Bishop Kopacz’s homily highlighted the school’s journey and the enduring contributions of its educators. “For 75 years, teachers, administrators and community leaders at Holy Family School have embodied the mind and heart of Christ, serving as beacons of hope and faith for students and families,” he said. Drawing on the words of St. Paul, the Bishop celebrated the gifts of teaching, prophecy and service in the community of faith. He also tied the celebration to the upcoming Jubilee Year of Hope, declared by Pope Francis for 2025. “Rejoice in hope, persevere in affliction, and be faithful in prayer,” he urged attendees, calling the milestone a testament to faith and resilience.
HOLLY SPRINGS – Several staff members were honored at the 75th anniversary celebration at Holy Family School on Saturday, Nov. 9. (Photo by Laura Grisham)
The festivities reflected the vibrancy of Holy Family’s legacy. Alumni traveled from as far as Alaska, Michigan and Illinois to reconnect and reminisce. St. Mary’s School alumni gathered to sing their school song, “The Bells of St. Mary’s,” rekindling fond memories.
Despite the dreary weather, celebration was attended by Holy Family students and parents, school alumni and people from across the Marshall County community. Throughout the weekend, participants enjoyed a mix of family-friendly activities, including performances by the students, basketball scrimmages, a bazaar, carnival games, a cake walk, grab bags, bingo and a silent auction. The celebration also featured a catered alumni dinner and dance, bringing together past and present members of the school community.
A Legacy of Service Holy Family School’s story is one of adaptation and commitment to its mission. When it opened in 1948 as St. Mary’s School, it served 55 students across eight grades with just one teacher. The following year, enrollment grew, aided by the arrival of four School Sisters of St. Francis. By 1950, a high school was added, accommodating the rhythms of the cotton harvest by pausing classes in autumn.
In 1969, the school merged with St. Joseph School to become CADET (Christian Aided Development Through Extraordinary Training). In 1994, it adopted the name Holy Family to honor its Catholic roots and its dedication to serving children and families in Holly Springs.
Honoring Staff Several staff members were recognized for their tenure and enduring commitment to the school, including Holy Family’s new principal, Cynthia Dixon, school secretary Cathy Walker (45 years) and teachers Artheria Relliford (35 years), Shirley Daugherty (50 years) and Srs. Julene Stromberg and Ramona Schmidknecht, OSFs, (retired).
As part of the anniversary, the Marshall County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution honoring Sister Ramona Schmidknecht, OSF, for her 56 years of service as an educator at St. Mary’s, CADET, and Holy Family School and 61 years of service to the Marshall County community.
Looking Ahead Bishop Kopacz concluded his remarks by reflecting on the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a model for the community.
“May we strive to beat with the heart of Christ and serve with His mind,” he said, adding his hope that Holy Family’s legacy will endure for another 75 years.
With its rich history and unwavering mission, Holy Family School remains a beacon of hope, faith and service in Holly Springs and beyond.
(Laura Grisham is the PR and Communications manager for Sacred Heart Southern Missions in Walls, Mississippi.)
By Mark Zimmermann BETHESDA, Md. (OSV News) – For Olympic champion swimmer Katie Ledecky, one of the best things about winning Olympic medals is sharing them.
Now the most decorated U.S. female Olympian in history, Ledecky paid a visit Oct. 22 to her high school alma mater, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, to show students her medals and to talk about her Olympic experiences. She also stopped by her home parish, the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda.
Addressing Stone Ridge students in the school’s theater, Ledecky described what it was like after winning her first gold medal in swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, when she was 15 and a rising sophomore at the school.
She returned home and showed her medal to wounded warriors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, and she also visited the National Children’s Hospital in Washington, and she remembered putting a medal around a child’s neck there and seeing that child’s face light up.
“That’s probably my favorite part about winning the medals, and that’s probably what really inspires me the most, to try to win those medals and to be able to share them,” the Olympian said.
Olympic swimming champion Katie Ledecky at center visits her alma mater, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Md., on Oct. 22, 2024 and listens as second grader Anna Reilly at right asks her a question during a session with Lower School students there. The other students from left to right are fourth grader Annie Siciliano, third grader Lilly Bracewell, first grader Amelia Farrell and kindergarten student Bowen Wiegmann. (OSV News photo/Mihoko Owada, Catholic Standard)
Ledecky, who wore her four latest Olympic medals around her neck as she addressed the Stone Ridge students, added, “To me, these medals are not just mine. They’re everyone’s, everyone that has supported me, everyone that has driven me to practice, pushed me in practice, taught me in school, supported me in all my goals, and even just everyone at home watching on TV and yelling at their TV.”
In Paris while swimming in her fourth consecutive Summer Olympics, Ledecky won her 14th Olympic medal, adding two more gold medals to her record-setting total of nine gold medals, and she became the most decorated U.S. female Olympian in history.
At the Paris Olympics, Ledecky won gold medals in her signature races – the women’s 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle events – and she won a silver medal in the 4×200 meter freestyle relay and a bronze in the 400-meter women’s freestyle race.
This summer before the Olympics, her best-selling memoir, “Just Add Water,” was published by Simon & Schuster. In May at the White House, President Joe Biden presented Ledecky with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Five days before speaking to Stone Ridge students, Ledecky was honored at a ceremony on campus, where members of the Montgomery County Council issued a proclamation naming Oct. 17 as “Katie Ledecky Day,” and an honorary road marker, “Katie Ledecky Lane” was unveiled for a roadway along the school.
Speaking to students during Ledecky’s visit, Catherine Ronan Karrels – head of school at Stone Ridge – said of the new road sign, “Now every day when we drive to school, we will be able to see that and be inspired by her as we come and go about our day.”
Ledecky, class of 2015, gave credit to the Stone Ridge community for its support, and for helping her find balance in her life from when she first returned to school in 2012 as an Olympian.
“What was so great was I was able to just get right back to work, get back to school. All my teachers treated me just like any other student, all my classmates treated me like I was just another student,” she said.
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart is sponsored by the Society of the Sacred Heart.
Before the Paris Olympics, Stone Ridge held a pep rally for Ledecky and two other alumnae who were swimming in those games – Phoebe Bacon of the class of 2020 and Erin Gemmell of the class of 2023.
Gemmell joined Ledecky in winning a silver medal in the 4×200 meter freestyle relay, and Bacon finished in fourth place in the 200-meter backstroke race, narrowly missing a bronze medal by .04 seconds. Ledecky said she appreciated how during her years at Stone Ridge, the community supported her in her swimming journey and her academic journey.
“Education has always been a top priority in my life, it’s been a value in my family,” she said. “I never wanted to push my education aside for the sake of swimming. I always wanted to balance both of them. Stone Ridge and everyone in this community allowed me to do that, supported me in that, pushed me in school and in my sport.”
After graduating from Stone Ridge, Ledecky earned a degree in psychology from Stanford University. The Olympian said another aspect of her Stone Ridge education that she appreciated was the Upper School’s Social Action Program. On one Wednesday each month, Stone Ridge Upper School students participate in a day of community service. When she was at Stone Ridge, Ledecky volunteered with Bikes for the World, which provides donated bicycles to people in developing countries.
“I loved to be able to get out and help other people. … It’s so great to learn how to give back to your community,” she said.
The athlete, who is now 27, said she started swimming when she was 6 years old, and she loved swimming from the start.
The athlete said she has always set goals for herself. “I set my mind on something I want to achieve, whether that was in the classroom or whether that was in the pool, and I’d just go do it, do whatever it took to get those goals,” she said.
Describing the work involved in her training, Ledecky said she swims 10 times a week, and she added that she swims about two hours each time, and sometimes adds another swimming session on Sundays. One little girl emphatically asked Ledecky if she ever gets tired of swimming, and the Olympian responded, “I really love it!”
Ledecky is now training to compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The Olympian offered words of encouragement to all the students. “If there’s something that you do find that you love as much as I have found that with swimming, you’ve got to try to pursue it to the fullest and try to be the very best that you can be at it.” That might be a school subject, a sport or an extracurricular activity, she said.
Standing beside the pool at the Stone Ridge Aquatics Center, Ledecky was interviewed by journalists after he remarks.
She said that when she’s competing in the Olympics, she carries in her heart all those people from Stone Ridge and from Little Flower school and parish who have supported her. “They’ve all been so great and have all helped me learn how to have balance in my life,” she said.
Asked if she still prays the Hail Mary before her swimming races, Ledecky said, “I still do that. I joke that it’s probably more like a decade of the rosary now. Yes, I’ve always done that.”
Ledecky said her Catholic faith remains a source of strength for her.
That faith and the support of her Catholic schools and parish help “quiet my head and quiet my heart and help me feel balance and ready and prepared and supported. … I lean on everything I learned at Little Flower and Stone Ridge,” she said.
(Mark Zimmermann is editor of the Catholic Standard, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington.)
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The faithful will have an opportunity the weekend of Dec. 7-8 to support the more than 20,000 elderly religious sisters, brothers and religious order priests who have devoted their lives to service in the Catholic Church through an annual collection benefiting retired religious across the United States.
Coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office, or NRRO, and taking place at weekend Masses in participating dioceses, this collection provides “crucial financial aid to qualified religious institutes, enabling them to address the growing needs of their retired members,” according to a news release. “These men and women religious who taught in schools, served in parish ministries and helped provide social services for the Church selflessly devoted their lives to serving others, often for little to no pay,” said the release, issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Nov. 4. “As they age, many religious communities face a significant gap between the cost of care and available resources.”
Exacerbating the challenge are the rising cost of health care and the fact that religious over age 70 outnumber those younger than 70 by nearly 3 to 1.
An elderly nun walks along a sidewalk during a visit to Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay area in North Beach July 22, 2021. The faithful will have an opportunity the weekend of Dec. 7-8, 2024, to support the more than 20,000 elderly religious sisters, brothers and religious order priests who have devoted their lives to service in the Catholic Church through an annual collection benefiting retired religious across the United States. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
“In 2024, 71% of religious communities providing data to the NRRO reported a median age of 70 or higher,” the news release stated.
The collection was launched in 1988 to address the lack of retirement funding for religious communities. In 2023, it raised $29.3 million, yet the annual cost to support retired religious men and women exceeds $1 billion, according to the NRRO.
The average annual cost of care for each religious is about $59,700, with skilled nursing care lifting that cost to an average of $90,700 per person. Meanwhile, a religious’ average annual Social Security benefit is only $8,551, the NRRO said.
“The selfless dedication of these religious has enriched countless lives,” said NRRO director John Knutsen. “Your generosity ensures they receive the care they deserve in their retirement. Supporting our aging religious is a shared responsibility and an opportunity to express our gratitude for their lifelong service. By contributing to the Retirement Fund for Religious collection we ensure they receive the care and dignity they deserve while also upholding the values of compassion and solidarity within our faith community.”
The website for the Retirement Fund for Religious, retiredreligious.org, features the stories of religious helped by the collection, including Father Maury Smith, 87, a member of the Order of Friars Minor in St. Louis, and Sister M. Stephanie Belgeri, 72, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George in Alton, Illinois.
“Donations are needed to have the ordinary kinds of things many senior religious need in terms of food, clothing and housing,” Father Smith said. “We owe it to them to take care of them. Maybe even more than we have in the past. … They need it.”
The friar has served as a retreat director, college educator, pastor, provincial staff and a deanery coordinator of ministry in San Antonio, “enriching countless lives by integrating psychology and theology into contemporary spirituality.”
He serves as a spiritual director and writes biweekly for Today’s Catholic, the archdiocesan newspaper of the San Antonio Archdiocese.
“I think I am in my eighth career,” he said. “I love doing it and am happy.”
A fellow Franciscan who joined her community in 1970, Sister M. Stephanie has been a nurse and a teacher and been involved in pastoral care. She spent four-and-a-half years in Brazil, setting up a foundation for her order.
Upon returning to the United States, Sister M. Stephanie was the director of nursing and later administrator at the Mother of Good Counsel Home, a skilled nursing facility in St. Louis, until 2014. Sister M. Stephanie’s ministry continues in retirement as she manages her religious community’s library and translates English documents into Portuguese for the sisters in the Brazilian mission.
“Thanks to your generosity, we can provide the very best care to the sisters in our community,” said Sister M. Stephanie said about the Retirement Fund for Religious. “Your contributions enabled upgrades, including building an infirmary, ensuring our sisters’ well-being.”
Since 1988, the collection has distributed more than $973 million to support day-to-day care and self-help projects, as well as educational programs for long-term retirement planning.
By Gina Christian PHILADELPHIA (OSV News) – News that canonization dates have been set for Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, who have become popular patrons for teens and young adults, is being met with joy and gratitude by a number of Catholics in the U.S.
Pope Francis announced Nov. 20 that he will elevate Acutis and Frassati, both currently titled “blessed,” to sainthood in 2025, when the universal Catholic Church will mark a jubilee year. Acutis will be canonized April 27, during the April 25-27 Jubilee for Adolescents in Rome. Frassati’s canonization will follow amid the July 28-Aug. 3 Jubilee of Young People in Rome.
“This news ushers in great celebration for the Universal Church and especially for young Catholics,” said Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia in a Nov. 20 statement. “Both of these saintly young men reflect the call for today’s youth and young adults to live out their Catholic faith with courage, compassion, and divine love.”
Pope Francis recognized May 23, 2024, the second miracle needed for the canonization of Italian Blessed Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15. He is pictured in an undated photo. (CNS photo/courtesy Sainthood Cause of Carlo Acutis)
“What a wonderful gift to the church militant both of these new saints will be,” Christine Wohar, president of FrassatiUSA – a Nashville-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting Frassati’s canonization, in collaboration with the Associazione Pier Giorgio Frassati in Rome – told OSV News in a Nov. 20 email. Wohar, whose organization is planning a pilgrimage to the canonization, said that the canonizations are timely.
“Our culture so desperately needs Catholic models of courage, devotion to the Eucharist and Our Lady, true manhood and fidelity to the church,” she said.
Father Francesco Maria D’Amico, pastor of St. William Parish in Philadelphia who served as interpreter and guide for Acutis’ mother, Antonia, during her U.S. speaking tour in 2023, also sees these saints as particularly relevant.
“God is the Lord of history, and I think that nowadays, he sees youth being attacked by different ideologies, by secularization, by the false promises of technology,” he said. “So I think that God, by raising these two youth and young adults as saints, is showing fatherly concern … because they (youth and young adults) are the future of the world.”
Born 90 years apart, Frassati and Acutis both lived brief but faith-filled lives that saw them devoted to Christ, particularly in the Eucharist, and to those around them.
Dubbed the “Man of the Eight Beatitudes” by St. John Paul II, Frassati – born in Turin in 1901 to an influential family – began receiving daily Communion at a young age, while serving the poor through the St. Vincent de Paul Society and evangelizing his friends.
A lay Dominican, Frassati also participated in demonstrations to defend his faith against the Communist and Fascist parties in Italy. His passion for outdoor activities such as mountaineering has made him a patron of athletes. Frassati died in 1925 at age 24, having contracted polio, which doctors speculated he may have contracted from serving the sick. Pope St. John Paul II beatified Frassati in 1990.
Almost a century later, Acutis in many ways mirrored his predecessor’s qualities. The sunny-faced teen – who was born in London in 1991 and grew up in Milan, Italy – displayed an early attraction to the spiritual life, reciting the rosary and attending Mass daily, serving as a catechist, volunteering at a church soup kitchen and tutoring children with their homework. At the same time, Acutis was known for his enthusiasm for typical teenage interests, such as video games, pets, soccer and music.
Acutis died of leukemia in 2006 at age 15, having lived a brief life of extraordinary holiness that was marked by a profound devotion to Christ and the Eucharist. His desire to foster awareness of the Blessed Sacrament, along with his formidable computer skills, led him to create a database of Eucharistic miracles throughout the world. Pope Francis beatified him in 2020.
Italian Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was a struggling student who excelled in mountain climbing. He had complete faith in God and persevered through college, dedicating himself to helping the poor and supporting church social teaching. He died at age 24 and was beatified by St. John Paul II in 1990. Pope Francis said he will canonize him in 2025. He is pictured in an undated photo. (CNS file photo)
Michael Norton, president of the Malvern Retreat Center in Malvern, Pennsylvania – home to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Blessed Carlo Acutis Shrine and Center for Eucharistic Encounter – told OSV News he has seen firsthand how Acutis offers a relatable vision for holiness to kids and young adults.
“Students are absolutely fascinated and drawn to Carlo,” Norton told OSV News Nov. 20. “It’s like, ‘Wow, he looks like me. I’m just like him. … He lived in our lifetime.’ He talks their language – he’s a computer programmer, he played soccer. And so the kids are really drawn to him.”
Similarly, Frassati has had a profound effect on students at a high school in Texas named in his honor.
“For us, this is yet another special grace upon our community, which has really been under the intercession of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati,” said Tim Lienhard, director of enrollment, marketing and communications at Frassati Catholic High School in Spring, Texas.
Lienhard told OSV News Nov. 20 that the school has “really felt his spirit on our community, and you see that through our growth. We’ve grown from 46 students in our beginning year, 2013, to 350 today, and we continue to grow.”
The school is planning to send some 20 students to Italy during spring break in March 2025 for a pilgrimage that will trace some key places in Frassati’s life, Lienhard said.
Actor Jeromy Darling, who played Frassati in a 2021 play of the same name at Open Window Theatre in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, told OSV News that encountering the saint-to-be through pre-production research had a profound effect on him.
“It changed my life completely,” said Darling, who as a convert to Catholicism said Frassati’s bold witness to the faith was personally inspiring, as the actor navigated rejection experienced for his decision to become Catholic.
“He’s an enormous, enormous part of my life,” Darling said. “He’s one of my best friends. I talk to him every day.”
Many Catholics have been inspired by an Italian phrase Frassati wrote on a well-known photo of him mountaineering: “Verso L’Alto,” which means “to the heights.”
“As St. Frassati reaches his ultimate summit, we pray he will guide each of us on our journey to the top,” said Wohar. “We also share in the joy of all those with a devotion to Blessed Carlo Acutis who likewise offers great inspiration to today’s youth.”
(Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @GinaJesseReina)
By John Mulderig NEW YORK (OSV News) – Considered purely from an artistic viewpoint, the lavish musical “Wicked” (Universal) represents a confluence of the best both Broadway and Hollywood have to offer. On a moral level, however, the film’s content, while largely free of overtly problematic material, nonetheless demands careful assessment.
Directed by Jon M. Chu, the opulent production has a long lineage. It provides an origin story for the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo) – here dubbed Elphaba – who features in L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” its classic 1939 film adaptation and the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire on which the show was based.
Born with green skin, which those around her find repellent, Elphaba grows up an unloved daughter and social outcast. But a turning point comes when Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), a revered professor of sorcery, discovers Elphaba’s magical powers and insists on enrolling her in the university her wheelchair-bound sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) is attending.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star in the movie “Wicked.” The OSV News classification is A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG – parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. (OSV News photo/Universal)
There Elphaba meets – and initially clashes with – her unwillingly assigned roommate, Galinda Upland (Ariana Grande), the future Good Witch of the North. Though the two eventually become best friends, their bond is repeatedly tested.
First, both Elphaba and Galinda fall for their dashing and fun-loving fellow student, Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey). While Fiyero becomes Galinda’s boyfriend, plot developments reveal that he may have more in common with Elphaba, who masks her attraction to him by an outward attitude of disdain for his apparent frivolousness. A further strain on the pals’ relationship is eventually introduced by their encounter with Baum’s title character (Jeff Goldblum). Although Elphaba has long idolized the Wizard, on closer scrutiny, he may not prove to be what she was expecting.
Winnie Holzman’s script for this first installment in a two-part adaptation incorporates the stage tunes and lyrics of Stephen Schwartz. Moviegoers will not be left wondering at the outstanding success of the source material since excellent, hard-driving performances and soaring musical numbers fully sustain the ambitious two-and-a-half-hour plus running time.
Additionally, Holzman’s screenplay evokes sympathy for the pathos of Elphaba’s plight as she finds herself continually misunderstood and shunned while it garners laughs from Galinda’s vain ditziness. Mercurial Galinda turns out to be an ideal foil for the resolutely upright Elphaba since she is capable of maliciousness but is also often goodhearted.
“Wicked’s” basic message about the need to stand up against prejudice and persecution is obviously congruent with Gospel values. But a scene of marital infidelity as well as the subtle but clear gay sensibility by which the proceedings are occasionally tinged both suggest parental caution.
Sharp-eyed viewers will note, for instance, that the uniforms male extras playing college students wear have trousers but also half of what looks like a skirt. And at least one such background figure is in full-blown drag.
More substantially, a secondary character in Galinda’s entourage, Pfannee (Bowen Yang), is shown to be as susceptible to Fiyero’s appeal as any of the ladies. During a brief conversation with the prince, in fact, he does everything but fan himself to cool down.
The moment passes and we’re back on track. But, along with some bloodless but possibly scary scenes of action, these details point to an appropriate audience of older teens and their elders.
The film contains some stylized mayhem, an adulterous incident and momentary same-sex flirting. The OSV News classification is A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG – parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
