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Pope Francis arrives at Luxembourg Airport on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, the first stop in a four-day tour of Luxembourg and Belgium, two historically Christian countries in Europe, both of which are experiencing steep declines in religious adherence amid the spread of secularization. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Sep 26, 2024 / 13:45 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis landed in Luxembourg on Thursday, the first stop in a four-day tour of two historically Christian countries in Europe, both of which are experiencing steep declines in religious adherence amid the spread of secularization.

Before taking a 55-minute flight to the neighboring country of Belgium on the afternoon of Sept. 26, the 87-year-old pope spent one day visiting the tiny but wealthy Luxembourg, where he called on politicians to be led by spiritual values and local Catholics to carry out a “missionary proclamation” of the Gospel.

Stopping in the Gothic 17th-century Notre-Dame Cathedral, Francis echoed the words of St. John Paul II during his 1985 visit to Luxembourg, saying he “would like to emphasize that we are in need of a Europe and a world in which the Gospel will be shared through the words you proclaim together with your loving actions.”

A constitutional monarchy, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is the European Union’s second-smallest country and the richest per capita. It has an estimated population of 672,000 people.

Luxembourg is also the seat of several institutions of the European Union, including the Court of Justice of the European Union, the highest judicial authority.

Just days after canceling two audiences because of a mild flu, Pope Francis arrived to find cool and rainy weather in the country, where he was greeted by modest crowds lining the streets in raincoats, holding umbrellas and small Luxembourg flags.

The Church in Luxembourg

Luxembourg has just one ecclesiastical territory, the Archdiocese of Luxembourg, which is led by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, the relator-general of the Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality.

Hollerich told “EWTN News Nightly” that the Catholic Church in Luxembourg is “a poor Church in a rich country.”

According to Vatican statistics from 2022, the archdiocese is estimated to have 271,000 Catholics, which is 41% of the population — a steep decline from 2018, when an estimated 63% of the population identified as Catholic.

The statistics on the practice of the Catholic faith are even more dismal, however. A 2022 TNS Ilres survey found that of the population that considers itself religious, the vast majority of whom are Catholic, only 6% say they go to Mass weekly and 30% say they “never or almost never” attend Mass.

“We once used to be as Catholic as Ireland was,” Hollerich said. “And like Ireland, not much has been left from that time.”

The cardinal noted that Luxembourg is very international: Just 30% of the population was born in Luxembourg and about half are not citizens — demographics that are reflected in the Church as well.

“So, we have a migrant society, and we have thriving communities, Portuguese-speaking, English-speaking, French-speaking, Polish-speaking, and they are signs of hope for our Church,” Hollerich said.

During his audience with the Catholic community in Notre-Dame Cathedral, Pope Francis listened to the testimony of Sister Maria Perpétua Coelho Dos Santos, who said the local Church is “rich with linguistic communities,” including immigrants from Vietnam, Cape Verde, Ukraine, Philippines, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and different African countries.

“If it is true that our diversity is a daily challenge, we live it above all as a richness,” she said.

At the Luxembourg cathedral, Pope Francis also heard the testimony of a young resident, Diogo Gomes Costa, who spoke about how his faith was reignited by attending World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. He also listened to Christine Bußhardt, vice president of the diocesan pastoral council, who said “in the multicultural society of Luxembourg, our Christian mission is that of giving voice to God.

“The worldwide synodal process offers a historic opportunity for a much-needed renewal, and the seed of the synodal Church is already starting to germinate,” she said.

The pope then watched the performance of an original theatrical dance reenacting important moments from the life of St. Francis of Assisi.

According to the Archdiocese of Luxembourg, within eight hours after registration opened, more than 10,000 people had applied for one of 650 available spots for the meeting with Pope Francis in the Luxembourg cathedral. The seats were assigned through a random lottery and giant screens were set up outside where hundreds watched the encounter.

“The Church in Luxembourg lives in a strongly secularized society, with its suffering and difficulty, but also with its paths of hope,” Hollerich said in his greeting to Pope Francis in the cathedral. 

As part of his visit, the pope opened a Marian Jubilee Year for the Archdiocese of Luxembourg, which commemorates 400 years of devotion to the country’s patroness, Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted.

“This Marian title corresponds well to the theme you have chosen for this visit: ‘To serve,’” Francis said. “Consoling and serving are in fact two fundamental aspects of the love that Jesus has given to us, the love he has entrusted to us as our mission and that he has shown as the only path to full joy.”

The pontiff also gave the cathedral a small, golden sculpture of a rosebush, a long-standing papal tradition known as the “golden rose.” Long ago, the sculpture was traditionally bestowed upon people, but in more recent decades, popes have given it to Marian shrines as a sign of the places’ Marian devotion.

Meeting Luxembourg’s royal and political leaders

In the morning, Francis’ first appointment was a visit to the grand duke of Luxembourg, Henri, and his wife, Grand Duchess María Teresa, at their official residence, the Grand Ducal Palace.

During the meeting, the pope posed in a gold-adorned ballroom for a photo with the royal couple, their five children, and seven of their eight grandchildren.

The pontiff then met the prime minister of the grand duchy, Luc Frieden, before addressing members of the government, civil society, and the diplomatic corps at a Luxembourg administrative building, Cercle Cité.

In his remarks at Cercle Cité, Pope Francis told the country’s leaders to “not forget that having wealth includes responsibility.”

“I ask for constant vigilance so that the most disadvantaged nations will not be neglected and that they be helped to rise from their impoverished conditions,” he said, adding that this is one way to help decrease the number of people forced to emigrate from their countries.

“With its particular history, and its equally particular geographical location, with just under half of its inhabitants coming from other parts of Europe and the wider world, may Luxembourg be a help and an example in pointing the way forward in welcoming and integrating migrants and refugees,” he said.

Francis also said the reemergence of war on the European continent means the daily lives of people and their leaders need “to be motivated by noble and profound spiritual values” in order to heal rifts and hostilities.

“As the successor of the Apostle Peter, and on behalf of the Church, which is an expert in humanity, I am here to testify that the Gospel is the life source and the ever-fresh force of personal and social renewal,” the pope said.

Pope Francis told Luxembourg’s politicians: “It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ alone that is capable of profoundly transforming the human soul, making it capable of doing good even in the most difficult situations, of extinguishing hatred and reconciling parties engaged in conflict. May everyone, every man and woman, in full freedom, know the Gospel of Jesus.” 

Referencing the motto of his visit, “to serve,” the pope added that “for all of us this call ‘to serve’ is the highest title of nobility, the principal task, the way of life to be followed each day.”

On his drive to Cercle Cité under the rain, Pope Francis’ car stopped several times to bless babies and greet children, to whom he gave a rosary and a piece of candy.

Within the mostly quiet crowds lining the streets, small groups occasionally broke out in chants of “Papa Francisco!” and brief cheers when they caught glimpses of the pope.

After lunch at the archbishop’s residence, the pontiff made a surprise visit at a nearby café, Cafe Cycliste, by stopping for a coffee with some of his assistants, according to the Holy See Press Office. On the way, he blessed a pregnant woman.

The night before leaving Rome, Sept. 25, Pope Francis made his customary visit to the Basilica of St. Mary Major to pray before the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani and to ask for Mary’s protection over the trip.

The morning of the flight, the pope received at his Santa Marta residence approximately 10 homeless men and women who sleep under the columns of St. Peter’s Square, accompanied by the papal almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Holy See Press Office said.

The pope’s four-day trip will continue in Belgium, where he will visit three cities to mark the 600th anniversary of the Catholic universities of Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve before returning to Rome Sept. 29.

The rector of the Walsingham shrine, Father Robert Billing. The feast day of Our Lady of Walsingham was celebrated Sept. 24, 2024, in England for the first time. / Credit: The Catholic National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady

Walsingham, England, Sep 24, 2024 / 13:55 pm (CNA).

The feast day of Our Lady of Walsingham was celebrated today for the first time.

In July, the Vatican granted permission for Our Lady of Walsingham to be celebrated as a new feast in the dioceses of England beginning this year on Sept. 24.

Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, shared his hopes when the feast day was announced that the new feast day would strengthen the faithful.

“May this yearly celebration be a source of renewed grace and evangelical endeavor for the Church in England ..., as, imitating Mary, the faithful may ever more become disciples of her Son, receive the message of the Gospel, treasure it in their hearts, and reflect on it in their minds,” he said.

The rector of the Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, Father Robert Billing, explained the significance of the feast on the 90th anniversary of the restoration of the Catholic shrine at Walsingham.

“The placing of the national feast of Our Lady of Walsingham across England affirms not only the historic importance to Catholics of our national shrine of Our Lady in this the 90th anniversary year of the restoration of the Catholic shrine at Walsingham but also helps cement our plans for the future of the shrine in terms of projected growth, the upgrading of our chapels, and in raising our overall profile,” he said.

“We anticipate that this elevation will further help encourage many more pilgrims to come and stay with us on pilgrimage, particularly for the Jubilee Year in 2025.”

The new feast was celebrated with about 250 of the faithful at the national shrine with a solemn Mass, recitation of the Angelus, and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. It will culminate in vespers, benediction, and a procession to the shrine’s Slipper Chapel.

The feast comes as three young Augustinian friars from Nigeria are due to return to the shrine and Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham in England in October. This is highly significant because after serving the shrine in Walsingham since the 12th century, the Augustinians were forced out as part of King Henry VIII’s policy of the “dissolution of the monasteries” in 1538. 

This will be the first time the Augustinians have returned since then.

In the 12th century, Walsingham was one of the four principal shrines in Christendom alongside Rome, Jerusalem, and Compostella, Spain. Pilgrims flocked to Walsingham in the thousands.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham was established in 1061, according to the text of the “Pynson Ballad,” which says that Our Lady appeared to a devout noblewoman named Richeldis de Faverches and showed her in spirit the House of the Annunciation where the Angel Gabriel greeted Mary in Nazareth and asked her to build a replica in Walsingham as a perpetual memorial of the Annunciation.

As pilgrims flocked to Walsingham, Richeldis’ son had a priory and a church built, run by the Augustinian canons, and the shrine flourished until its destruction by Henry VIII. It was restored in 1834 after Anglican convert Charlotte Boyd bought Walsingham’s disused 14th-century Slipper Chapel, which she donated to the Benedictines of Downside Abbey. They handed it on to the Diocese of Northampton, and on Aug. 19, 1934, Mass was celebrated there, when the chapel was formally consecrated as the National Catholic Shrine to Our Lady.

Billing explained the significance of the Augustinian friars’ imminent arrival. 

“After much hard work behind the scenes and the support of the local bishop, I am delighted that the Nigerian province of the Augustinian order has responded so generously to my request and that three young friars will soon be among us for service at the shrine in Walsingham,” he said.

He continued: “Their arrival, the establishment of a new priory in service of the shrine, and their ministry here not only promises so much for the future mission of the shrine but also pays rich tribute for the Augustinian tradition of canons that faithfully served the shrine from the 12th century until the shrine was tragically dismantled, and the priory destroyed, at the time of the English Reformation.”

In the United States, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham is found at St. Bede Church in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was blessed in 1941. Following a visit to Walsingham in England, Father Thomas Walsh, founding pastor of St. Bede Church, commissioned a statue of Our Lady of Walsingham from Lillian Dagless, who had designed and made most of the furnishings for the Slipper Chapel.

St. Pio of Pietrelcina. / Credit: File:Padre Pio portrait.jpg: The original uploader was Manfredonia at Italian Wikipedia.derivative work: MisterNoxAfter Elia Stelluto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 23, 2024 / 12:53 pm (CNA).

Various historical testimonies document that the beloved St. Pio of Pietrelcina (commonly known as Padre Pio), whose feast day is celebrated on Sept. 23, had the gift of xenoglossia — that is, he was capable of speaking and writing in languages ​​that he did not actually know.

The website PadrePio.it references what was noted by the holy priest’s spiritual director, Father Agostino da San Marco in Lamis, who in 1912 noted that the saint of the stigmata “knows neither Greek nor French.”

However, in February 1912, after receiving letters in one of those languages, the priest asked Padre Pio: “Who taught you French?”, to which the saint responded: “To your question about French I respond with Jeremiah… nescio loqui” (“Alas, I don’t know how to speak”).

On Sept. 20 of that same year, Padre Pio told Father Agostino: “The celestial figures do not stop visiting and making me taste the emotion of the blessed. And if the mission of our guardian angel is great, mine is greater having to act as a teacher to explain other languages.”

In his book “Sayings and Anecdotes of Padre Pio,” Father Constantino Capobianco wrote that Angela Serritelli’s brother, who lived in the United States, took his daughter to San Giovanni Rotondo, where Padre Pio lived, to receive Communion from his hands.

The girl did not speak Italian and Padre Pio did not speak English, so he had a woman named Mary Pyle accompany her.

“Father, I have accompanied Angela’s [niece] to confess,” the woman said. “It’s okay,” Padre Pio said, to which the woman responded: “Father, I am here to help her because the girl does not understand Italian,” to which the saint replied: “Mary, you can go because these are things for her and I to see.”

After the confession, the girl explained that Padre Pio spoke to her in English and they were able to understand each other.

In his diary, Father Agostino remembers that on Jan. 21, 1945, he was told that “in 1940 or 1941 a Swiss priest came with Padre Pio who spoke in Italian with the Father.”

“Before leaving, the priest entrusted a sick woman to him and the Father responded in German [a language he did not know]: ‘ich werde sie an die gottliche Barmherzigkeit’ (‘I entrust her to divine mercy’). The priest was amazed at the fact and he told it to the person who was hosting him.”

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

Worshippers gather to pray in front of the exhumed body of mystic-saint Padre Pio in the Catholic Church of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura (St. Lawrence Outside the Walls) in Rome on Feb. 4, 2016. / Credit: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty

National Catholic Register, Sep 23, 2024 / 11:15 am (CNA).

One of the most popular Catholic saints of the 20th century, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, commonly known as Padre Pio, was a Capuchin Franciscan friar, priest, and mystic. His tomb can be found in the Sanctuary of St. Mary Our Lady of Grace in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. 

Padre Pio is known for his deep wisdom about prayer and peace, his stigmata, miraculous reports of his bilocation, being physically attacked by the devil, and mastering the spiritual life.

As the Church celebrates his feast day on Sept. 23, here’s a look at 13 facts about St. Pio’s life and faith.

1. Padre Pio was only 5 years old when he expressed a strong desire to serve God.

Born Francesco Forgione on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, Italy, he served as an altar boy at his local parish. At the early age of 5, he consecrated himself to Jesus. By the age of 10, his family looked to see how he could become a Capuchin friar.

2. Padre Pio was only 15 when he entered the Capuchin Friars Minor as a novice. 

Being a young teenager, Francesco was given the name Pio or Pius when he entered as a novice. He professed his solemn vows three years later. No stranger to suffering amid frail health throughout much of his studies, he was ordained a priest in 1910. He ascended the Gargano mountains to the rural friary outside of San Giovanni Rotondo in 1916. He remained there for more than 50 years, until his death on Sept. 23, 1968.

3. St. Pio received the visible wounds of Christ known as the stigmata, just like St. Francis of Assisi.

On Sept. 20, 1918, Padre Pio received the stigmata while praying in a church. The wounds remained visible on his body for the rest of his life. The wounds were on his hands, feet, and side, corresponding to the wounds suffered by Jesus during his crucifixion. 

4. The blood from his stigmata smelled of floral perfume. 

Referred to as the “odor of sanctity,” the blood that came from Padre Pio’s wounds is said to have smelled like perfume or as having a floral aroma. The trait has also been exhibited by other saints who manifested stigmata markings.

5. Padre Pio heard confessions 12 to 15 hours a day.

While listening to confessions, the saint would smell flowers as sins were confessed. Some penitents waited two weeks just to visit him in the confessionial. Padre Pio could also read the hearts of penitents, reminding them of sins that were forgotten or omitted.

The saint once said: “Confession is the soul’s bath. You must go at least once a week. I do not want souls to stay away from confession more than a week. Even a clean and unoccupied room gathers dust; return after a week, and you will see that it needs dusting again!”

6. Padre Pio suffered attacks from the devil on a consistent basis. 

From a young age, Padre Pio was blessed with heavenly visions, but he also experienced spiritual warfare, including attacks of the devil.

In a book written by Father Gabriele Amorth on Padre Pio, the famous exorcist of Rome said: “The great and constant struggle in the life of the saint was against the enemies of God and souls, those demons who sought to capture his soul.”

Amorth continued: “The devil appeared to him under many different forms: as a big black cat, wild and threatening, or as a repulsive animal, in the clear intention to frighten him; under the appearance of naked and provocative young girls who danced obscene dances, obviously to test the chastity of the young priest. However, the worst was when the devil took on the appearance of his spiritual director, or posed as Jesus, the Virgin Mary, or St. Francis.”

7. He had the gift of bilocation, meaning that he could be in more than one place at a time.

Multiple eyewitness accounts attest to the ability of Padre Pio to be in multiple places at once. Fellow friars remember seeing him in prayer outside when they knew he was still in his room. Some accounts come from others who claim to have seen him on different continents all over the world. 

As to how Padre Pio experienced such feats, the closest he ever came to an explanation of bilocation was to say that it occurred “by an extension of his personality.”

8. A sighting of a “flying friar” kept war planes from bombing Padre Pio’s town during World War II. 

Among the most remarkable of the documented cases of bilocation was Padre Pio’s appearance in the air over San Giovanni Rotondo during World War II. While southern Italy remained in Nazi hands, American bombers were given the job of attacking the city of San Giovanni Rotondo. However, when they appeared over the city and prepared to unload their munitions, a brown-robed friar appeared before their aircraft. All attempts to release the bombs failed. In this way, Padre Pio kept his promise to the citizens that their town would be spared. Later on, when an American airbase was established at Foggia a few miles away, one of the pilots of this incident visited the friary and found, to his surprise, the friar he had seen in the air that day over San Giovanni.

9. Before dying at the age of 81, all his wounds healed without scars, just as he had foretold they would 50 years prior.

A doctor examining the saint’s body who was present when he was dying observed that the wounds of the stigmata were completely healed, without any trace or scar. Padre Pio’s body was placed in a coffin in the church of the monastery to allow pilgrims to visit and pray. 

10. Pilgrims can visit the rooms in which Padre Pio lived. 

All the cells where Padre Pio lived in Italy have been outfitted with vintage furnishings to make them look exactly like they were in the early 20th century. Each site also boasts a small museum with relics and artifacts from his life.

11. Many miracles have been attributed to Padre Pio. 

Several miracles have been attributed to the saint’s intercession, including the story of Gemma di Giorgio, a little girl who visited Padre Pio. Born blind without pupils in either eye, she miraculously regained her sight after visiting him. One truly miraculous factor about her healing was that, although she could see, she still lacked pupils. Another miracle was chronicled on EWTN.

12. He established a hospital.

Living a life of suffering, made difficult by physical pain and sickness, Padre Pio was able to build a hospital with the help of generous sponsors. Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, which means “Home for the Relief of the Suffering,” was inaugurated on May 5, 1956. The hospital sits atop a hill overlooking San Giovanni Rotondo. Starting with only about 250 beds and just enough equipment, the hospital is now known for its state-of-the-art facilities and services.

13. Even before his death on Sept. 23, 1968, Padre Pio reportedly spent his last moments in prayer. 

Beatified in 1999, St. Padre Pio was canonized on June 16, 2002, by the late pope St. John Paul II. He is known among Catholics as St. Pio of Pietrelcina. More than 500,000 attended his canonization.

The video below shows St. Pio celebrating Mass the day before his death:

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

Fishing boats moored in Brixham harbor on March 2, 2016, in Devon, England. / Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Brighton, England, Sep 20, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic maritime charity Stella Maris is urging the U.K. government to take action to protect fishermen following a BBC program that shows cases of modern-day slavery on fishing vessels.

Stella Maris is the maritime agency of the Catholic Church in the U.K. 

Last month, BBC One Scotland aired the documentary “Disclosure: Slavery at Sea,” which accuses Scottish fishing company TN Trawlers of modern-day slavery and human trafficking. 

The BBC said that, between 2012 and 2020, the U.K. Home Office officially recognized 35 individuals employed by TN Trawlers from the Philippines, Ghana, India, and Sri Lanka as victims of modern slavery.

“The authorities and welfare organizations must get better at recognizing what modern-day slavery is, reporting it, and supporting swift criminal prosecutions against those few bad operators,” said Tim Hill, the CEO of Stella Maris. 

The BBC described its documentary as “a three-year investigation” that “uncovers allegations of modern slavery aboard U.K. fishing vessels. Reporter Chris Clements hears the stories of migrant workers who came to these shores in search of a better life only to find hardship and misery.”

Stella Maris said it is providing “continued support to mistreated fishers in a small number of ports across the U.K.”

In one example, Joel Quince from the Philippines is shown in the program to have found a position with TN Trawlers working as a deckhand. On one occasion, in 2012, Quince was repairing one of the ship’s metal nets on the Philomena ship when rough weather struck, causing him to bang his head on board and fall unconscious. 

Despite the injury, skipper Tom Nicholson Jr. did not take Quince to the hospital, instead giving him paracetamol and a bandage. Quince, who was in considerable pain, said: “It’s not acceptable. He doesn’t see me as a person. He doesn’t care about my life. He doesn’t care about his crew.”

Quince eventually found support, using his own resources, at a Fishermen’s Mission. 

Other cases reported in the program are a cause for concern for Stella Maris, who is now calling for action on cases similar to Quince’s.

“We are urging the U.K. Home Office and law enforcement agencies to do more to protect fishers,” the charity said. “Stella Maris has reported several cases to the police over the years, but found prosecutions ‘painfully slow,’ with fishers left in limbo in the U.K. while their cases are assessed.”

TN Trawlers said it “accepted responsibility” for Quince’s case but disputed wider claims of mistreatment of workers. A TN Trawlers spokesperson said that workers’ “overwhelming experience” was of being “well treated and well remunerated.” 

However, Hill lamented the cases found in the BBC program and is glad the issue has been given such publicity.

“We are delighted to see the BBC broadcast this program, bringing some much-needed awareness of a deeply troubling issue,” he said. “This is a tragic case of abuse and exploitation for which there is no place in this world. Our commitment is never-ending, and we continue to support these fishermen and other more recent cases, with friendship, pastoral care, and financial support.”

The mission of Stella Maris involves helping thousands of seafarers each year who are struggling with loneliness, exhaustion, bullying, and exploitation. 

“It is our goal to ensure that all fishers are treated equally with respect and dignity so that people can live happy and prosperous lives, free from exploitation and abuse,” Hill said.

The work of Stella Maris has been praised by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster and president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. Paying tribute to the work and mission of Stella Maris port chaplains, Nichols said: “For many of the ships, [the support from port chaplains] is hugely important in terms of seafarers’ religious belief and practice. Really this is great work that goes on.”

This statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary is on Apparition Hill, overlooking the village of Medjugorje, a town in Bosnia-Herzegovina. / Credit: Adam Jan Figel/Shutterstock

National Catholic Register, Sep 19, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

Since June 24–25, 1981, the eve and feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, when six children in a small village in Bosnia-Herzegovina first reported seeing and receiving messages from the Blessed Virgin Mary, more than 40 million pilgrims from around the world have flocked to the small village named Medjugorje. 

Pilgrims attend Masses at Medjugorje’s St. James Church during the day and the evening Mass is celebrated outdoors to accommodate huge crowds. They climb rocky Podbrdo — Apparition Hill — bearing a statue of Our Lady, marking where she allegedly appeared. Pilgrims also climb up Mount Križevac, praying the Stations of the Cross, journeying to the huge cross nearly 40 feet tall built by villagers in the early 20th century. They fill the lines at all the confessionals, as the sacrament of penance is offered daily.

Franciscan priests have administered to the needs of the souls of the Croatian people in the parish and region with its Mediterranean climate and fertile plains for farmers and vineyards since the 13th century, and they have been closely involved with the visionaries and pilgrims from the start of the apparitions.

The visionaries

The six visionaries are Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti, Ivan Dragicevic, Vicka Ivankovic-Mijatovic, Jakov Colo, Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo, and Ivanka Ivankovic-Elez. Always called “the visionaries,” they are now adults. While Vicka, Ivan, and Marija still reportedly receive a daily apparition at the specific time of 6:40 p.m., the others do so now only on particular dates. Mirjana allegedly receives apparitions once a month — plus once a year on March 18, her birthday — with Ivanka reporting once a year on June 25, the anniversary of the first apparition, and Jakov once a year on Christmas Day.

The message

Our Lady came to Medjugorje to show the faithful the way to peace and help convert lives so as to return to God, according to the visionaries, including to bring people to her son, Jesus. Early in the apparitions, she reportedly identified herself as the “Queen of Peace.”

“Dear children, this is the reason for my presence among you for such a long time: to lead you on the path of Jesus. I want to save you and, through you, to save the whole world. Many people now live without faith; some don’t even want to hear about Jesus, but they still want peace and satisfaction! Children, here is the reason why I need your prayer: Prayer is the only way to save the human race” (July 30, 1987).

Five ‘stones’

As David had five stones to defeat Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17:40), priests in Medjugorje explain Our Lady’s messages and directions as five stones to defeat Satan and save souls. They are:

1. Daily prayer, especially the daily rosary.

2. Fasting — on Wednesdays and Fridays because, through fasting, wars can be stopped and natural laws suspended. 

3. Reading the Bible daily and placing it in a prominent place in the home. 

4. Confession. According to the visionaries, Mary requested regular monthly confession: “Monthly confession will be a remedy for the Church in the West. One must convey this message to the West.” Even Sts. John Paul II and Teresa of Calcutta availed themselves of this sacrament weekly. Mary also reportedly said: “Pray, pray! It is necessary to believe firmly, to go to confession regularly, and, likewise, to receive holy Communion. It is the only salvation.” 

5. Mass and the Eucharist: Our Blessed Mother has been said to emphasize Sunday Mass and receiving the Eucharist in a state of grace, noting that Jesus gives us his graces in the Mass, and Our Lady is also said to have added the importance of going to daily Mass when possible.

Formal commissions

In 1986, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger formed a commission among the bishops of Yugoslavia to investigate the alleged apparitions. In 1991, the official statement from the Yugoslavia Bishops’ Conference stated that it was not determined yet if the apparitions are of supernatural origin; pilgrims are allowed to go to Medjugorje; and priests are also allowed to tend to the spiritual needs of pilgrims.

On March 26, 2010, then-Pope Benedict XVI appointed Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini to head a commission of cardinals, theologians, psychologists, and others to examine Medjugorje. In 2016, the commission finished its report, and a year later, it was given to Pope Francis by the CDF. At that point, it had split the examination into two phases: the first seven appearances between June 24 and July 3, 1981, and all those happening later and still reportedly continue. The report recognized the supernatural nature of the first seven appearances. 

The report had four recommendations: Place Medjugorje under Vatican control; allow church-organized pilgrimages; declare Medjugorje a pontifical shrine; and declare the first apparitions authentic and supernatural. Then, in an in-flight press conference in 2017, Pope Francis said: “Concerning the alleged current apparitions, the report expresses doubts.”

A year after the pope expressed personal suspicions about the events, in May 2018, Francis assigned Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser to help oversee all aspects of pastoral ministries in Medjugorje, thus putting Medjugorje under Vatican control. Consequently, Hoser, officially named apostolic visitor, authorized official diocesan and parish-organized pilgrimages to promote the good fruits while not authenticating everything. In 2019, Pope Francis formally authorized organized pilgrimages to Medjugorje. In November 2021, after the death of Hoser, Pope Francis appointed Italian Bishop Aldo Cavalli to continue the mission in Medjugorje. 

10 ‘secrets’

Each of the visionaries is said to have been given 10 “secrets” concerning events in the world in the near future. None can be revealed yet, except for the so-called “Third Secret.” Our Lady promised to leave a supernatural, indestructible sign on the mountain of her first appearance. It will be a sign for atheists, she supposedly said, adding:

“You faithful must not wait for the sign before you convert; convert soon. This time is a time of grace for you. You can never thank God enough for his grace. The time is for deepening your faith and for your conversion. When the sign comes, it will be too late for many.” 

As soon as the Blessed Mother finishes her appearances, it has been reported, three warnings will be given to the world. Mirjana is to reveal them to Father Petar Ljubicic 10 days before they happen, and he will announce them. After the first, there will apparently be a time of great graces and conversions. 

Abundant fruits

The spiritual fruits are apparent. Countless numbers of the more than 40 million people who have come to Medjugorje since the beginning — whether with true spiritual intent or out of curiosity — have returned home stronger in their faith and determined to put our Blessed Mother’s directives into practice, according to accounts.

There have been many reports of conversions and returns to the faith. Healings of various kinds, from bodies to souls, have also apparently happened. Numerous vocations have been reported coming out of Medjugorje. Since 1989, when two of the Franciscan priests there organized the Medjugorje International Youth Festival, known as Mladifest, as an annual festival of Catholic youth, 50,000 young people have come annually to attend every Aug. 1–6.

In 2023, Pope Francis sent a message to those at Mladifest, saying: “I joyfully address you who are participating in the Youth Festival in Medjugorje, an occasion to celebrate and renew your faith. I hope you will live these days as a spiritual pilgrimage that will lead you to encounter the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist, in adoration, in confession, in biblical catechesis, in silent prayer and the rosary, and also through testimonies.”

Many of those going to Medjugorje have taken to heart what Our Blessed Mother, Queen of Peace, is reported to have said: “I have come to tell the world that God exists. He is the fullness of life, and to enjoy this fullness and peace, you must return to God.”

The Vatican held a conference Thursday on the “spiritual experience” of Medjugorje, endorsing “a prudent devotion to Mary at the popular pilgrimage site,” though it withheld any declaration on whether the alleged visions are of supernatural origin.

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

Isabel Spruce-Vaughn was arrested twice for praying outside abortion clinics. / Credit:ADF UK

London, England, Sep 19, 2024 / 12:06 pm (CNA).

The Catholic bishops of England and Wales have condemned legislation relating to prayer outside abortion clinics, claiming that the proposal represents a step backward for civic and religious freedom.

Bishop John Sherrington, auxliary bishop of Westminster and spokesperson for the bishops’ conference on issues relating to life, said in a Sept. 18 statement that the Public Order Act “constitutes discrimination and disproportionately affects people of faith.”

“Religious freedom is the foundational freedom of any free and democratic society, essential for the flourishing and realization of dignity of every human person. Religious freedom includes the right to manifest one’s private beliefs in public through witness, prayer, and charitable outreach, including outside abortion facilities,” Sherrington said.

“As well as being unnecessary and disproportionate, we have deep concerns around the practical effectiveness of this legislation, particularly given the lack of clarity in relation to the practice of private prayer and offers of help within ‘safe access zones,’” he continued.

The passage of the Public Order Act means that starting Oct. 31, buffer zones will be introduced around abortion facilities across England and Wales, constituting a distance of 150 meters (almost 500 feet) of “any part of an abortion clinic or any access point to any building or site that contains an abortion clinic.”

A statement from the Home Office published Sept. 18 read: “Safe access buffer zones will make it illegal for anyone to do anything that intentionally or recklessly influences someone’s decision to use abortion services, obstructs them, or causes harassment or distress to someone using or working at these premises. The law will apply within a 150-meter radius of the abortion service provider. Anyone found guilty of breaking the law will face an unlimited fine.”

The College of Policing and Crown Prosecution Service are due to publish guidance on what exactly will constitute illegal activity in the weeks to come. There remains confusion among pro-life campaigners as to whether silent prayer will constitute “illegal activity” under the new legislation.

This controversial question made headline news after charity worker Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was searched and arrested twice for silently praying outside an abortion clinic in November 2022 and February 2023. However, she was eventually compensated by West Midlands police with an apology and a £13,000 (about $17,000) payout, which raises questions about how far the new legislation will go.

In a statement released Sept. 18, Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right to Life U.K., said: “Hundreds of women have been helped outside abortion clinics by pro-life volunteers who have provided them with practical support, which made it clear to them that they had another option other than going through with the abortion.”

“The implementation of buffer zones next month will mean that vital practical support provided by volunteers outside abortion clinics, which helps to provide a genuine choice and offers help to women who may be undergoing coercion, will be removed for women and many more lives will likely be lost to abortion,” she stated.

The blood of St. Januarius liquefied on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, before a Mass in Naples, Italy, where Archbishop Domenico Battaglia said that the blood of the fourth-century martyr is a powerful reminder that “love is stronger than death.” / Credit: Archdiocese of Naples

Rome Newsroom, Sep 19, 2024 / 10:40 am (CNA).

The blood of St. Januarius liquefied on Thursday before a Mass in Naples, Italy, where the archbishop said that the blood of the fourth-century martyr is a powerful reminder that “love is stronger than death.”

Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples held up an ampoule containing the relic of the saint’s blood in the Naples cathedral on his feast day, revealing the liquefaction to shouts and cheers from the people who had waited in the cathedral since early in the morning. 

“Every drop of this blood speaks to us of the love of God,” Battaglia said in his homily. “This blood is a sign of the blood of Christ, of his passion.”

The archbishop recalled that Sept. 19 marks the anniversary of St. Januarius’ martyrdom more than 1,700 years ago in which the saint chose death in “fidelity to the Gospel” to show that the love of God is “stronger than death, violence, or any power.”

Hundreds of people gathered in Naples’ Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary for the feast of St. Januarius, known as San Gennaro in Italian. The saint was a Catholic bishop believed to have been martyred during the Christian persecution of Emperor Diocletian.

In Neapolitan lore, the failure of the blood to liquefy signals war, famine, disease, or other disasters. The reputed miracle usually occurs up to three times a year: Sept. 19, the saint’s feast day; the first Saturday of May, the day his remains were transferred to Naples; and Dec. 16, the anniversary of the 1631 eruption of the nearby Mount Vesuvius.

In his homily, the archbishop of Naples cautioned against reducing the veneration of the city’s saint to mere superstition.

“We do not have to worry if the blood of this relic does not liquefy, but we do have to worry if it is the blood of the downtrodden, the marginalized, and the poor that flows through our streets,” he said.

Prince Carlo of the House of Bourbon and Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy were present in the Naples cathedral and exchanged an embrace at the news of the relic’s liquefaction, according to Italian media.

The Mass was the culmination of two days of celebrations for the southern Italian city’s patron saint. 

St. Januarius “reminds each of us today that the Gospel of Jesus provides the compass we need to live, to live fully, facing head-on and with courage the challenges that each age brings,” Battaglia said.

José Masip, co-director of the Congress on Catholics and Public Life. / Credit: Catholic Association of Propagandists

Madrid, Spain, Sep 19, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Congress of Catholics and Public Life, which is scheduled to celebrate its XXVI edition in Madrid in November, calls on Catholics to act coherently to offer solid foundations to a society in crisis that lives “as if God did not exist.”

Organized by Spain’s Catholic Association of Propagandists (ACdP, by its Spanish acronym), a manifesto has been issued for the Congress titled “Quo Vadis? Thinking and Acting in Times of Uncertainty.”

The manifesto points out that “the greater the loss of permanent references, the more political and social disorder there is” and refers both to “the concealment of everything that expresses the transcendence of the human being” and to the construction of a society that lives “as if God did not exist.”

In contrast, Catholics are encouraged to make “a redoubled effort in defending their foundations” against moral relativism, in an attitude that “is not an exercise in fundamentalism but, on the contrary, means being at the vanguard of the main debate on the future of our societies.”

Demoralization in the face of imposed social disorder

In the manifesto, the ACdP recognizes that there is “a feeling of demoralization” in the face of “the systematic imposition of a new society, of a social disorder that has never been explained or voted on.” The danger of this despondency, the manifesto warns, is that “it drags us toward a fierce individualism.”

Against this background, the manifesto issued in advance of the XXVI Congress of Catholics and Public Life, to be held from Nov. 15–17 in Madrid, holds that both those who consider that all Catholics think the same on political issues are wrong “as well as those who conclude that we have no cohesion in the public sphere, which is why we should refrain from taking any social and political position.”

For the ACdP, Catholic commitment in the field of politics, defined by Christian social doctrine as the highest form of charity, must involve “enunciating and articulating a strategy” that helps to become aware “of the seriousness of the situation and aware of the extent to which the humanistic foundations of our civilization are being attacked at their roots.” 

“The role of Spanish and European Catholics in this area is essential and decisive. If we don’t promote it, no one will,” the text underscores.

Finally, it is emphasized that the transformation of “generally silent and irrelevant” social Catholicism into “a creative minority” constitutes “an unavoidable challenge” for the ACdP and a task that must join “other Catholic groups and movements that feel the urgency of the historical moment in which we find ourselves.”

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

St. Januarius and the miracle of the liquefaction of his blood contained in a relic. / Credit: Louis Finson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Photo2023, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Naples, Italy, Sep 19, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Sept. 19, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Januarius, bishop, martyr, and patron saint of Naples, Italy. Traditionally on this day and on two other occasions a year, his blood — which is kept in a glass ampoule in the shape of a rounded cruet — liquifies.

According to documentation cited by the Italian media Famiglia Cristiana, the miracle has taken place since at least 1389, the first instance on record.

Here are some key facts about the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius:

1. The blood is kept in two glass ampoules.

The dried blood of St. Januarius, who died around 305 A.D., is preserved in two glass ampoules, one larger than the other, in the Chapel of the Treasury of the Naples Cathedral.

2. The liquefaction is considered to be a miracle.

The Church believes that the miracle takes place in response to the dedication and prayers of the faithful. When the miracle occurs, the mass of reddish dried blood, adhering to one side of the ampoule, turns into completely liquid blood, covering the glass from side to side.

3. The blood traditionally liquefies three times a year.

The saint’s blood traditionally liquefies three times a year: in commemoration of the transfer of his remains to Naples (the Saturday before the first Sunday in May); on his liturgical feast (Sept. 19), and on the anniversary of the eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius in 1631 when his intercession was invoked and the city was spared from the effects of the eruption (Dec. 16).

4. The liquefaction can take days.

The liquefaction process sometimes takes hours or even days, but sometimes it doesn’t happen at all. Normally, after a period that can range from two minutes to an hour, the solid mass turns red and begins to bubble.

The ampoules, which contain a dark solid mass, are enclosed in a reliquary that is held up and rotated sideways by a priest to show the blood has liquified. This is usually done by the archbishop of Naples while the people pray.

According to the Italian Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana, the reliquary with the ampoules remains on view for the faithful for eight days, during which they can kiss it while a priest turns it to show that the blood is still liquid. Then it is returned to the safety vault and locked away inside the Chapel of the Treasury of the cathedral.

5. The faithful venerate the relic every year.

With the exclamation “The miracle has happened!” the people approach the priest holding the reliquary to kiss the relic and sing the “Te Deum” in thanksgiving.

6. There is no scientific explanation.

Several investigations have already been conducted in the past to find a scientific explanation that answers the question of how something solid can suddenly liquefy, but none has been satisfactory so far.

7. The liquefaction does not always occur.

When the blood doesn’t liquefy, the Neapolitans take it as an omen of misfortune.

The blood did not liquefy in September 1939, 1940, 1943, 1973, 1980, or in December 2016 and 2020.

The relic also remained solid the year Naples elected a communist mayor, but it spontaneously liquefied when the late archbishop of New York, Cardinal Terence Cooke, visited the St. Januarius shrine in 1978.

8. The blood has liquefied in the presence of some popes.

In 2015, while Pope Francis was giving some advice to the religious, priests, and seminarians of Naples, the blood liquefied again.

The last time the liquefaction occurred before a pontiff was in 1848 with Pius IX. It did not happen when John Paul II visited the city in October 1979 or in the presence of Benedict XVI in October 2007.

This article was first published on Sept. 18, 2021, and has been updated.