Ss. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church

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CNA Staff, Jul 18, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

A priest in Ohio has issued an apology to parishioners after a media report revealed that he had destroyed a hard drive reportedly containing inappropriate pictures of children — and potentially child pornography — and then delayed reporting the incident to police. 

In a July 12 letter to parishioners at St. Susanna Catholic Church in Mason, Ohio, Father Barry Stechschulte said he wanted to “address” and “apologize for” his involvement in a controversy surrounding a priest accused of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. 

Local Cincinnati ABC affiliate WCPO reported earlier this month on a yearslong controversy involving a Dayton-area priest, Father Tony Cutcher, who left ministry in 2021 amid a scandal involving “hundreds of text messages he exchanged with a 14-year-old boy.”

Some of the text messages included implied sexual overtones. Cutcher ultimately resigned from active priestly duties after an evaluation recommended a “restriction in ministry” stemming from the incident.

Part of WCPO’s report, meanwhile, focused on an incident in 2012 in which Stechschulte discovered “what looked like child pornography” on a computer at Holy Rosary Church in St. Mary’s, north of Dayton. Cutcher had previously served at that parish. 

The hard drive reportedly contained photos of “preteen” boys in “provocative poses.” The priest later told police that he “could not recall nudity or not, but it could have been.”

A deacon at the parish later said he “took the hard drive out of the computer and destroyed it with a blow torch at the request of Stechschulte,” a later police report said.

The priest did not report the incident to police until 2018. In his letter to parishioners this month, Stechschulte said he was “shocked and filled with disgust at what I saw” and that his “reaction in the moment was to ensure that no one else at the parish be exposed to it.” 

“So I instructed that the hard drive be destroyed. I realize that not reporting it was a terrible mistake, which I regret,” he said. 

“I wish that I could redo my initial decision from 2012,” the pastor added. “I am deeply sorry for the distress this has caused all of you.”

Police ultimately did a forensic analysis on multiple computers from Holy Rosary as well as computers from St. Peter Catholic Church in Huber Heights where Cutcher was serving in 2018. The machines “showed no child pornography or anything of concern.”

In a statement to WCPO, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati said it had “reported this case to law enforcement from the very beginning.”

“This has included reports to law enforcement in 2012, 2018, and 2021,” the archdiocese said. “In each instance no criminal charges were filed.”

In his letter, meanwhile, Stechschulte said he was “truly sorry” for his actions in 2012. 

“I love St. Susanna’s and ask you to forgive me and pray for me,” he wrote to parishioners. 

Roman Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paray-le-Monial and cloister. View from the Bourbince River, 2023. / Credit: Sanctuaire du Sacré-Cœur/www.sacrecoeur-paray.org

Paris, France, Jul 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

For 18 months — beginning Dec. 27, 2023, through June 27, 2025 — the small town of Paray-le-Monial in the Bourgogne region of France will be celebrating a jubilee for the 350th anniversary of the apparitions of the Sacred Heart to St. Marguerite-Marie Alacoque, a Visitation nun. 

Alacoque claims in her autobiography that she witnessed some 30 apparitions of the Sacred Heart. In his dialogue with the contemplative nun, Christ asked for a feast in honor of his Sacred Heart in the whole Church. This was the starting point for a devotion that would travel the globe.

The dates of the year-and-a-half-long jubilee were chosen to correspond with the three main dates of Alacoque’s revelations of Christ: the first on Dec. 27, 1673; the second the first Friday of one of the months of 1674 (Alacoque’s memoirs do not specify which month); and the third during the octave of Corpus Christi (June 13–20) in 1675.

As Father Étienne Kern, rector of the sanctuary, explained to CNA, the aim of this jubilee is to remind us that “Paray-le-Monial is not only an important milestone in the history of spirituality but also a place of living experience today.”

Dusting off false images of the Sacred Heart

The event is also an opportunity to reappropriate the true message of the Sacred Heart and to rectify the false representations with which it has been saddled, according to Kern. 

The French priest noted that devotion to the Sacred Heart “has enjoyed a very wide expansion, but sometimes to the detriment of the depth of the message,” creating “a spiritual and theological impoverishment.”

In the 19th century in particular, the Sacred Heart was a victim of its own popularity: The emergence of imaging techniques helped to spread the devotion, and the Sacred Heart met with great success but was associated with “something a bit marked by blood, which today may seem outdated.”

Yet, insisted Kern, “the apparitions to Margaret Mary are fire: It’s not the heart of Jesus that bleeds, it’s the heart of Jesus that burns.”

Other abuses throughout history have included a morbid focus on the theme of suffering when it comes to the message of Paray-le-Monial and the co-opting of the symbol of the Sacred Heart by some for political gain.

The three dimensions of the message

The original message of the Sacred Heart given to Alacoque contains three dimensions. 

Jesus begins with a declaration of love: “This is the heart that so loved the world.” The idea is to “experience God’s love” — the antithesis of a vision of a “pitiless god who demands perfection if he is not to end up in hell,” Kern explained.

The second dimension is a kind of complaint by the Lord in which he says his love receives “only ingratitude and indifference.”

“He loves and is not loved,” Kern said. 

The third dimension of the message is a request for reparation, “the invitation to console Jesus, to accompany him spiritually in his agony in the Mount of Olives.”

Kern urged Catholics not to reduce the Sacred Heart to its “penitential and victimization dimension” nor to “a kind of banner for Christianity,” lest we “completely miss the point” of this devotion.

The apparitions to Alacoque underline “the gentleness and humility of Jesus’ heart,” Kern said. They are an invitation to “allow ourselves to be enflamed with love by the heart of Jesus, to return love for love, and to have a heart of compassion for the world.”

The jubilee

Since the beginning of the jubilee, the shrine at Paray-le-Monial has seen a sharp increase in the number of visitors. 

“In 2023, we have identified 45,000 people [visiting]. These figures can be multiplied by 2.5, which means over 100,000 people in total. At present, we’ve seen a 30% increase on these figures,” Kern explained.

According to Kern, a large number of people of all spiritualities “have had a personal experience of transformation and encounter with the Lord at Paray-le-Monial.” Devotion to the Sacred Heart has “a power and originality” that many movements (Jesuits, traditionalists, etc.) recognize.

The official jubilee itinerary is comprised of four pilgrimage stops: the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Chapel of St. John, the Chapel of the Apparitions — where the jubilee door is located — and the Chapel of La Colombière. Pilgrims receive a plenary indulgence on completing this jubilee journey.

The program also includes a “singles’ jubilee” and a “farmers’ jubilee.” In the Church in France, these two very different groups sometimes feel “unloved,” experience “suffering,” and “need to be encouraged,” Kern pointed out.

A worldwide consecration campaign

To prepare individuals and communities for the closing of the jubilee on June 27, 2025 — the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, instituted on the third Friday after Pentecost — the shrine of Paray-le-Monial is organizing a major campaign of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through a 12-step journey in written, audio, and video format. Kern is hoping for “a worldwide mobilization,” which will be the high point of the jubilee.

To mark the jubilee, a symposium was held in Rome at the beginning of May on the theme of spiritual reparation in the context of the sexual abuse crisis. At Paray-le-Monial, Jesus denounced the sacrileges committed by priests against the Eucharist. 

“The violated body of the Eucharist refers back to the violated body of children,” said the rector, who affirmed that “to repair the abomination, we need not only judicial and financial procedures and prevention but also the integration of a spiritual dimension.”

In June, Pope Francis announced he was preparing a document on worship of the Sacred Heart, due to be made public in September. For Kern, this text would be “a major document of [Francis’] pontificate.”

“For the past 11 years, all Pope Francis has talked about is the heart of Jesus,” he said. “When he speaks of the style of God — made up of closeness, tenderness, compassion — it’s the heart of Jesus.”

Luis de la Fuente, Spanish national soccer coach. / Credit: Royal Spanish Football Federation

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 15, 2024 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

Following Spain’s 2-1 victory over England yesterday to clinch its fourth European Championship, several Spanish bishops have congratulated the country’s national soccer team and highlighted the Catholic faith of its coach, Luis de la Fuente.

The archbishop of Seville, José Ángel Saiz Meneses, extended his congratulations to the national team on X after it won the final Sunday in Berlin.

Saiz noted that the national coach is “a deeply believing man, without complexes about publicly manifesting his faith and devotion to the Holy Christ of the Expiration,” a large crucifix in Seville that depicts Christ’s last breath as he dies on the cross.

For the archbishop, the coach “has known how to communicate faith, humility, the value of the team above individuality, the spirit of sacrifice, effort, trust.”

Also on X, the bishop of Orihuela-Alicante, José Ignacio Munilla, shared the coach’s witness to the faith when questioned at a press conference by an atheist journalist about the role that God would play in the final match.

De la Fuente responded by pointing out that “faith is something personal and transferable” before explaining his case in particular: “Since I am free and I can choose what I believe I have to do, based on my intelligence and my experiences … well, they induce me to believe in God and give me a lot of assurance and a lot of strength.”

This public declaration of faith led the prelate to recall the words of Leo Messi after winning the soccer World Cup, who acknowledged: “I didn’t do anything, it was God who made me play like this.”

In reference to both testimonies of faith, Munilla added: “How can we not recall those words of Jesus?: ‘Whoever confesses me before men, I will also confess before the Father’ (Mt 10:32).”

In a post on X, the bishop of Vitoria, Juan Carlos Elizalde, congratulated the Spanish team along with the winner of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, Carlos Alcaraz, wishing “that many young people will follow you in the example of using free time for sports, teamwork, healthy competitiveness, and effort and improvement to be better every day. You have given us an unforgettable afternoon!”

Other Catholic aspects of the Spanish team

Among the players that make up the winning Spanish national soccer team is longtime veteran Jesús Navas, 38, whose family connection to the Neocatechumenal Way is known.

In 2010, when the Spanish national soccer team became world champion, Navas had written “God is love” on his cleats.

Among the youngest players selected by De la Fuente is Nico Williams, whose parents, coming from Ghana, arrived in Spain in 1994 after crossing the Sahara and managing to make it undetected into Melilla, a Spanish enclave on Morroco’s Mediterranean coast. His mother was pregnant with his brother Iñaki, also a soccer player.

Finally they were sent to Bilbao in northern Spain, where Caritas helped them get established and the eldest of the Williams brothers, both players for Bilbao’s Athletic Club, was born. 

According to Iñaki Mardones, the volunteer who had the closest relationship with them from the beginning, the Williamses “have lived their faith very intensely. First, the parents have entrusted, lived, and given the gift of baptism and Communion to their children. Thus they have lived it. Furthermore, they hold their faith close and it accompanies them in their lives.”

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

Capella di Santa Rosa, St. Rosalia's Chapel inside of the Palermo Cathedral, Basilica Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale della Santa Vergine Maria Assunta in Sicily, Itay. May 5, 2022. / Credit: Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images

Palermo, Italy, Jul 15, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The city of Palermo on the Italian island of Sicily is celebrating the 400th anniversary of the feast day of its beloved patron, St. Rosalia, affectionately known as “la Santuzza” in Sicilian dialect.

The July 15 feast marks when tradition holds the hermit girl’s remains were rediscovered in a cave close to Palermo in 1624. Her intercession, begged by carrying her relics in solemn procession through the Spanish-ruled city, is said to have saved its inhabitants from plague 400 years ago this summer.

“‘Per amore Domini mei,’ [‘for love of my Lord’] is the motive St. Rosalia invokes in surrendering one’s existence and abandoning the wealth of the world,” Pope Francis said in a message sent to Archbishop Corrado Lorefice of Palermo July 8.

“The life of the Christian, both in the times when our hermit Virgin lived and in our days, is constantly marked by the cross,” the pontiff said. “Christians are those who always love, but often in circumstances where love is not understood or is even rejected.”

St. Rosalia is believed to have been born around 1130 to a family of Norman origin that boasted to be descended from Charlemagne. She lived about 60 years after the Norman conquest of Palermo, which saw the city returned to Christianity after a period of Arab and Muslim rule. 

Despite belonging to a noble family, Rosalia renounced her riches to live as a hermit in a cave on Mount Pellegrino, just north of the city.

According to popular belief, St. Rosalia was led to the cave by angels and wrote on the cave wall: “I, Rosalia, daughter of Sinibald, Lord of [Monte] delle Rose, and Quisquina, have taken the resolution to live in this cave for the love of my Lord, Jesus Christ.” She died in the cave, poor and alone, around 1166, while only in her mid-30s.

The groundbreaking for the construction of the Palermo cathedral began two decades later, in 1185.

But the remains of the holy young woman would not be found until over 400 years later, when, the tradition says, Rosalia appeared to a hunter, to whom she indicated where her relics could be found.

Rosalia’s remains were carried around Palermo three times in procession, as she had indicated to do in her apparition to the hunter, and a plague then ravaging the city ceased.

From that point onward, Rosalia, called “la Santuzza” (“the little saint” in English), has been the patron saint of Palermo.

The Palermo Archdiocese marks her feast day with a week of religious and cultural events leading up to the grand finale on July 15: a solemn procession of her relics through the city’s main streets followed by a fireworks show on the steps of the cathedral.

But the night prior, on July 14, the city takes part in a less devotional spectacle: a parade of colorful floats and a statue of the saint, which goes from the Palace of the Normans, a governmental building, to the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

To mark the feast’s 400th anniversary, the archdiocese and city have been celebrating a Rosalian jubilee year to conclude on Rosalia’s other feast day, Sept. 4.

“The happy occurrence of the fourth centenary of the discovery of the body of St. Rosalia is a special occasion to unite myself spiritually with you, dear sons and daughters of the Church of Palermo, who wish to raise to the heavenly Father, the source of all grace, praise for the gift of such a sublime figure of a woman and ‘apostle,’ who did not hesitate to accept the trials of loneliness for love of her Lord,” Pope Francis said in his message last week.

“With Rosalia, woman of hope, I therefore exhort you: Church of Palermo stand up! Be beacons of new hope, be a living community that, regenerated by the blood of the martyrs, gives true and luminous witness to Christ our Savior,” he continued. “People of God in this blessed stretch of land, do not lose hope and do not give in to discouragement. Rediscover the joy of wonder before the embrace of a Father who calls you to himself and leads you on the paths of life to savor the fruits of harmony and peace.”

Stained-glass window of Blessed Carlo Acutis at St. Aldhelm’s in Malmesbury, England. / Credit: Courtesy of Father Thomas Kulandaisamy/Catholic Herald

London, England, Jul 14, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

St. Aldhelm’s in Malmesbury is proud to be the first parish in England — to the best of its knowledge — to feature a stained-glass window dedicated to Blessed Carlo Acutis. 

Known as “The Millennial Saint,” Carlo was just 15 when he died, but the young computer programmer has left a powerful legacy that continues to inspire young people around the world.

Blessed Carlo, who died of leukemia, was a devout child with a deep love for the Blessed Sacrament and the rosary. He rarely missed an opportunity to attend daily Mass, and his dedication and faith continue to inspire thousands of young people worldwide.

Although not yet canonized, London-born Carlo can, after being declared “blessed,” be venerated in a church with special permission from the local diocese.

There were two windows in St. Aldhelm’s church that lacked images, so the proposal was made to the pastoral council that an image of Blessed Carlo Acutis be included. As pastor of this parish, it was my hope that it would particularly attract young people who can relate to him as a contemporary figure. 

Permission was obtained, alongside permission being granted to venerate Blessed Carlo Acutis through a stained-glass window, and the stained-glass window was installed at St. Aldhelm’s in 2022.

The window gained significant attention after Pope Francis informally announced that the second miracle attributed to Carlo was going to be approved, clearing the path for his sainthood. This announcement amplified the interest in Carlo’s story, drawing even more visitors to the church.

The window has already inspired many people, both young and old. The congregation and the town is immensely proud of this moment, which has not only put their church on the map but also drawn visitors from across the country.

It has even garnered special attention in media over the past two years.

The window was featured in Famiglia Cristiana (Issue No. 2, Jan. 8, 2023), an Italian weekly magazine published in Alba, Italy: The three-page article noted how people have been attracted to and impressed by the window and often inquire about the story of Carlo as a result. 

St. Aldhelm’s has found itself at the center of national attention thanks to an inspiring piece run by the Daily Telegraph. 

The article, titled “The video game-loving teen who was made a saint — and immortalized in a Wiltshire church window,” highlighted how the window depicts Carlo in a contemporary light, complete with a modern watch and mobile phone, symbolizing his unique blend of modernity and piety. The installation was judged a thoughtful choice to resonate with younger generations.

Since the publication of the Telegraph article, St. Aldhelm’s has seen a surge in visitors. Many are drawn specifically by the story of Carlo’s short but powerful life, eager to see the window that so beautifully captures his spirit. 

This newfound attention has filled the church with an air of excitement and reverence, as parishioners and visitors alike gather to admire the window and reflect on Acutis’ legacy.

The window itself, crafted by stained-glass artist Michael Vincent, has become a focal point for both locals and tourists. Its presence not only enhances the church’s aesthetic but also serves as a powerful reminder of Carlo’s enduring influence.

The artist has even prepared an additional pane to update Carlo’s title from “Blessed” to “Saint” upon his canonization.

Many visitors from Mamesbury came to St. Aldhelm’s for the St. Aldhelm’s Flower Festival on May 25, which coincided with the feature about Blessed Carlo in the Telegraph.

Several visitors mentioned they came after reading the Telegraph article, inspired by the wonderful story about Carlo.

That evening, an 87-year-old lady called to express how much the article had made her day. She has a great devotion to Carlo (as well as 14 grandchildren).

The day before, the parish quickly prepared about 100 booklets with a brief biography, quotes, and photos of Carlo, including the window at St. Aldhelm’s, so people could learn more about him. About 500 copies of the eight-page booklet have been printed for visitors and guests that come to see the window. 

Here is an impression left by visitors after seeing the stained-glass window:

In April this year, a 6-year-old girl was struck down with the rare neurological disorder Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which left her entire body paralyzed. She was put into an induced coma and placed on a ventilator. Now, she has regained full movement in her upper body.

During her illness, parishioners of St. Aldhelm’s earnestly prayed to Blessed Carlo Acutis, asking for his intercession. We truly believe that Carlo’s intercession has greatly contributed to the girl’s speedy and remarkable recovery, and we remain hopeful that she will make a full recovery.

We truly believe that with the window and its appeal to young people and young families, St. Aldhelm’s will become a hub for reflection and spiritual growth. It will be a place where young people can gather, reflect on their own lives, and consider how they can dedicate themselves to God, initiating and making progress on the path to holiness.

We plan to place a kneeler in front of the window, providing a space for prayer alongside a place for people to leave their prayers and petitions, as well as responses to answered prayers.

Over the past three years, our efforts have been focused on the project of constructing a parish hall. This endeavor is crucial because our parish has never had a dedicated space for catechesis, children’s education, and social gatherings. As we strive toward this goal, having already raised nearly half of the required funds, we are filled with hope.

The recent influx of visitors, especially young people and children drawn to Blessed Carlo, who would be one of the youngest saints, highlights the urgent need for such a facility. This hall will serve as more than just a physical structure; it will be a place where our youth can gather, deepen their understanding of Blessed Carlo’s life and teachings, and grow spiritually. 

This will empower them to embody holiness and spread the light of faith wherever they go. We need this among our younger Catholics, now more than ever.

This article was originally published by the Catholic Herald in England on July 9, 2024, and has been adapted and reprinted by CNA with permission.

The Regensburger Domspatzen, a choir based at Regensburg Cathedral in Bavaria, Germany. / Credit: Bistum Regensburg

CNA Staff, Jul 13, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).

On July 13, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Henry II, the German king who led and defended Europe’s Roman Empire at the beginning of the first millennium. 

Henry was born in 973 to Henry the Duke of Bavaria and Princess Gisela of Burgundy in the village of Hildesheim, Bavaria. During his youth, he received both an education and spiritual guidance from a bishop who also went on to become a saint — St. Wolfgang of Regensberg. This greatly impacted Henry and influenced his reign. 

Upon the death of his cousin Otto III in 1002, Henry succeeded him as king. Pope Benedict VIII crowned him Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 1014. 

During his reign, Henry shared his faith by rebuilding churches that had been destroyed, building monasteries, and supporting them with both money and land. The king also helped the poor by making generous contributions for their relief.

According to historians, many people committed themselves to God and to follow the Rule of St. Benedict by uniting themselves to famous monasteries. Henry was one of them. Tradition states that he wanted to become a Benedictine and lived as an Oblate.

Benedictine Oblates are men and women, both lay and ordained, who seek God by striving to become holy in their everyday lives, in their family, and in their workplace. Oblates offer their lives to God through prayer and service and faithfully participate in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church. 

Henry showed such love and veneration for the Benedictines that he was declared a patron of the Benedictine Oblates after his canonization by Pope Pius X. 

In 1006 Henry founded the See of Bamberg and built its cathedral. It was consecrated by Pope Benedict VIII in 1020. During this time, Henry also established a monastery at Bamberg and supported the reforms initiated by the monks of Cluny in France.

During the last several years of his life, Henry suffered from a serious illness and another ailment that left his left leg crippled. He found strength in prayer during these challenging times. He died near Gottingen, Germany, on July 13, 1024, at the age of 51 from a chronic urinary infection. He was buried at the Cathedral of Bamberg.

Pope Eugene III canonized Henry in 1146.

Pope Francis travels between the conference center and Unità d’Italia Square in Trieste, Italy, with a golf cart during his pastoral visit to the northern Italian city on July 7, 2024. In Trieste, the pope addressed around 1,200 participants in a Catholic conference on democracy for the annual Social Week of Catholics. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 12, 2024 / 15:10 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ security had to be reinforced during his visit to Trieste, Italy, on July 7 due to the discovery of a pistol inside an abandoned suitcase at the city’s train station. The pope traveled to and from the city by helicopter.

According to the Italian press, less than 24 hours after the arrival of the Holy Father, all the alarms went off after the police discovered a Czech-made semiautomatic pistol inside the suitcase.

The discovered weapon, a 9 mm handgun with a magazine containing 14 bullets, was inside the suitcase along with two pairs of shoes and clothing of Turkish origin still bearing the labels.

The Carabinieri (Italy’s security agency) acted immediately and informed the authorities in charge of Pope Francis’ security during his participation in the 50th Social Week of Catholics so that they could increase protection measures.

The pope made the trip to participate in the annual event organized by the Catholic Church in Italy dedicated to promoting Catholic social doctrine.

In a statement to Il Piccolo — Trieste’s main newspaper — the city’s bishop, Enrico Trevisi, said the pontiff was aware of what happened and “was calm” at all times.

In fact, the prelate was informed about the weapon by the Holy Father himself, who despite the situation decided to continue with the trip.

Trevisi noted that the citizens of Trieste “welcomed the pope’s arrival with great joy, and we don’t want this joy to be disturbed by other thoughts” and invited them to “treasure the pope’s words.”

Pope Francis’ visit to Trieste continued normally and without additional incidents, although the intelligence and anti-terrorism unit continues to investigate a possible connection between the weapon and the Holy Father’s visit.

Although they have not yet determined the identity of the suitcase’s owner, the station cameras show a man 5 feet 9 inches tall with a dark complexion who looked around before leaving the suitcase and exiting.

When consulted by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said this is a matter that concerns “the Italian authorities.”

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

"Without God, nothing in life has meaning," says Spanish national soccer team coach Luis de la Fuente Castillo. / Credit: Junta de Andalucía (CC BY-SA 2.0)

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 12, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The coach of the Spanish national soccer team, Luis de la Fuente Castillo, surprised viewers by explaining during an interview with Cope, a media outlet of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, that making the sign of the cross before each game begins “is not superstition, it is faith.” 

The former soccer player made the statement about his making the sign of the cross being not a matter of superstition but of faith in response to a question from journalist Helena Condi. 

“I have faith,” said the coach of the team that will play in the Euro Cup final on Sunday after having defeated France earlier this week.

There have been several occasions in which de la Fuente has spoken openly about his faith. During an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo, he said that if one does not believe in God, life “would have no meaning.”

“It’s something you have to live, it should have been explained to you. I’m religious because I have decided to be. I come from a religious family, but during my life, I have had many doubts and I have been away from religion,” he said in October 2023.

However, he related that at one point in his life he decided to reach out again and lean on God in everything he does.

“There are not one, but a thousand reasons to believe in God. Without God, nothing in life has meaning,” he stated on that occasion.

Likewise, in an interview with El Periódico, he said that he prays every day and that he has “a good relationship with God.”

“So I ask him, St. Fermin and the Virgin of La Vega to help us, to be close,” he said.

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

A tapestry of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, hangs in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Oct. 16, 2015, in preparation for their canonization. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

National Catholic Register, Jul 12, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Friday, July 12, is the feast of Sts. Louis and Marie-Azélie Martin, canonized together by Pope Francis in 2015.

The date was chosen as their feast because it was on this day in 1858 that they were married at Notre Dame Basilica in Alençon, France, and committed themselves together to living to the full the sacrament of matrimony and its twofold call not just to human, but eternal, love and life.

The sacraments are signs and means of intimate communion with God: They bring him to abide in us and us in him; because God’s life is eternal, the sacraments are all aimed ultimately at heaven. The sacrament of matrimony is directed toward the mutual sanctification of the spouses and the procreation and education of children to be saints as well.

We see that very clearly in the life of the Martins. They were both already seeking holiness prior to their marriage: Louis had spent time in an Augustinian monastery but couldn’t master Latin, and Zélie had sought to become a Sister of Charity but, because of respiratory difficulties and migraines, was not accepted. God had another holy vocation for both of them in mind.

Zélie prayed that God would give her many children who could become consecrated to God. God blessed them with nine, four of whom died soon after they were divinely consecrated in baptism, while the other five discerned vocations to live out a more intimate form of consecration as religious sisters.

The most famous of their children is St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who spoke effusively about how she had been blessed with “incomparable parents” and how God had given her “a mother and a father more worthy of heaven than of earth.”

When they were beatified in Lisieux in 2008, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints emphasized in his homily: “Louis and Zélie understood that they could sanctify themselves not despite marriage but through, in and by marriage, and that their nuptials would be considered as the starting point for a mutual rise.”

He proposed them as models for engaged couples in purity of heart, for married couples in mutual love and honor, for parents as ministers of love and life, for educators in guiding the vocational choices of the young, for widows and widowers in approaching loss with faith, for the dying in peaceful surrender to God, and for every Catholic in living with a missionary spirit.

He said their being raised to the altars was an occasion for everyone to think of their own mom and dad and to thank God for them, not just for their cooperating with God in giving them life but also for their collaborating with God in leading them to him and to his Church.

I’ve always enjoyed celebrating 25th, 50th, and other major anniversaries liturgically in parishes and have always encouraged couples to give this witness to God’s fidelity and their own. It’s one of the best ways to inspire young people not to be afraid to make the commitment of marriage at a desacralized time when far fewer young men and women are willing to make such lifetime commitments to God and to each other.

Married couples, like Louis and Zélie Martin, are called by God to be church-builders. The main image to understand marriage in the early centuries of Christianity was as a “domestic church,” because so many of the first Christian places of worship were Christian homes, like Priscilla’s and Aquila’s (Rom 16:5). St. John Chrysostom (d. 407), the patron saint of Christian preachers, wrote: “The Church is, as it were, a small household, and … indeed a house is a little Church.”

Recent popes and Church documents have frequently underlined how the family built on the sacrament of matrimony is meant to be a “little Church” where God is present, welcomed, adored, loved, and spoken to and about.

The Second Vatican Council taught: “The family is, so to speak, the domestic church. In it parents should, by their word and example, be the first preachers of the faith to their children; they should encourage them in the vocation that is proper to each of them, fostering with special care vocation to a sacred state” (Lumen Gentium, 11). St. John Paul II wrote about how the family is a “church in miniature (ecclesia domestica), such that in its own way the family is a living image and historical representation of the mystery of the Church” (Familiaris Consortio, 49).

Pope Benedict XVI declared in a 2007 catechesis: “Every home is called to become a ‘domestic church’ in which family life is completely centered on the lordship of Christ and the love of husband and wife mirrors the mystery of Christ’s love for the Church, his bride.” Pope Francis underlined in his exhortation on family life: “The Church is a family of families, constantly enriched by the lives of all those domestic churches” (Amoris Laetitia, 87). And the Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes: “The family home is rightly called ‘the domestic church,’ a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity” (No. 1666).

On the feast of the first married couple canonized together, it is a chance to celebrate God’s power working through the sacrament of marriage to sanctify marriages and families, make them true domestic churches, and thereby build up the Church on earth and the communion of saints in heaven.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, on July 9, 2019, and has been updated and adapted by CNA.

Portrait of St. Benedict (1926) by Herman Nieg (1849–1928); Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Austria; “Exorcism of St. Benedict,” by Spinello Aretino, late 14th century. / Credit: Public Domain

National Catholic Register, Jul 11, 2024 / 13:15 pm (CNA).

Temptations in a fallen city, memories of a beautiful woman, a poisoned chalice, the attacks of an envious priest, curses from a pagan priest, a rock that won’t budge, another that falls on a young monk, a kitchen in flames, a dragon that lurks to devour a fleeing monk, threats from Gothic warlords, and the prospect of a destroyed monastery.

St. Benedict, whose feast the Catholic Church celebrates on July 11, endured constant attacks from the enemy throughout his life. The life of a monk only heightens the constant spiritual warfare we all face in the Christian life.

In fact, Benedict even had to use force to manifest his authority as abbot over his monks oppressed by the enemy, as related in Father Robert Nixon’s newly compiled and translated book “The Cross and Medal of Saint Benedict: A Mystical Sign of Divine Power” (TAN, 2024):

“Benedict found this monk outside wandering around aimlessly when he should have been in the oratory in prayer. With a certain degree of paternal severity and charitable discipline, he reprimanded him for his lack of wisdom and discernment and struck him with his staff. At this, the monk fell down, motionless. And after that, the devil ... never troubled him again. It was as if the staff of Benedict had not struck the hapless monk but had rather driven away the wicked tempter himself!” (p. 14).

St. Benedict has come to be recognized for the power of his actions against the enemy, alongside St. Michael, as a major protector against evil, particularly through the medal that bears his image.

Nixon’s book offers an overview of how the medal rose to prominence as a Catholic devotion and received papal approval, couching it within the story of St. Benedict’s life and the rise of his order of monks.

If you’ve seen the back of a St. Benedict medal, you may have noticed a series of letters. The first set is arranged in and around the shape of the cross: C S P B C S S M L N D S M D. The next set is arranged in a circle around the cross: V R S N S M V S M Q L I V B.

This arrangement first came to serious attention in the year 1647 in relation to the Benedictine Abbey of Metten in Bavaria when it prevented a series of diabolic attacks. Although some of the laity already had medals with these letters engraved, no one at the time understood their meaning. It was only in researching the library’s manuscripts that a 15th-century illustration of St. Benedict pointed to the full prayer they abbreviated:

“Cross of our Holy Father Benedict. May the cross be light to me. May the dragon not be a leader to me. Get behind me, Satan: Never persuade me to vain things. What you like is evil; may you yourself drink your venom!” 

Due to a widespread story of the medal preventing the effect of curses and bringing about exorcisms and healings, which Nixon details in his book, its use spread across Europe, with Pope Benedict XIV approving an official blessing for it and granting it indulgences in 1741.

The great father of modern Benedictine monasticism, Dom Prosper Guéranger, speculated why God would grant so many favors to those who invoke his help through St. Benedict’s medal. In an age when “rationalism is so rife,” God has deigned to offer help to those “who put their confidence in the sacred signs marked on the medal” with “strong and simple” faith (Guéranger, “The Medal or Cross of St. Benedict,” author’s preface). It’s as if to laugh at the devil and his plans to pull people away from God through the alleged sophistication of the modern world, overcoming them with simple signs pointing us to the cross and the protection of a holy monk.

Of course, the medal should not be used in a superstitious way. It expresses our faith and confidence in God, which conquers the power of the enemy through the blood of Christ. Within God’s plan of salvation, there are certain key defenders of God’s people. St. Benedict proved himself as one over his own monks in spiritual combat. Through the efficacy of his medal, he has manifested himself as a fatherly defender of all who invoke his help. 

Throughout history, the monastic life has served as a constant beacon calling us to greater conversion of life and prayer. Turning to St. Benedict can lead us to embrace some of his spiritual principles, such as humility, obedience, stability, hospitality, the prayerful reading of Scripture in “lectio divina,” and viewing our work as a means of honoring God.

Wearing the medal

If you would like to purchase a St. Benedict medal or a rosary with the medal affixed, crafted by Benedictine monks, you can visit the gift shop at Clear Creek Abbey in Hulbert, Oklahoma. The monks can bless the medal with the approved blessing after purchase, if you request it in the order notes. 

Medals are also available at EWTNRC.com.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.