A nine-person team has taken the Blessed Sacrament across 18 dioceses as part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which will come to an end in Philadelphia on July 5.

Here are 12 Catholic Americans whose lives and legacies have left a lasting mark on the United States.

Before he enters a monastery, a 23-year-old ran across the country to raise money for his local pregnancy help center and to pray for women, babies, and the people he met along the way.

From the first Masses in the New World to today's Eucharistic Revival, here's how the Real Presence shaped nearly five centuries of Catholic life in America.

Celebrating Mass on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, Pope Leo XIV urged Europe to respond to migration with long-term policies rooted in human dignity.

On his visit to Lampedusa, Pope Leo XIV thanks islanders and migrants alike for the solidarity that has made the Mediterranean outpost a sign of fraternity and hope amid contemporary migration challenges.

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During Mass on the island of Lampedusa, Pope Leo XIV condemns the brutal treatment of migrants and refugees and the loss of life at sea, urging the world to concretely and compassionately respond to the "enormity of suffering." During his pastoral visit, the Pope also visits the "Gateway to Europe," a monument symbolizing hope for migrants arriving by sea, as well as a cemetery where many who lost their lives on the Mediterranean are buried.

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Pope Leo expresses his prayers for all Americans in a letter he sent to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, which falls today, July 4th, 2026, with the hope that "the Spirit of 1776 continue to inspire hope and unity as the United States of America moves into the future."

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As the Church celebrates the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Fr. Edmund Power reflects on the theme: “Gentle and lowly in heart.”

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Pope Leo XIV lands in the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on Saturday morning, beginning his pastoral visit to this territory known for being a landing point for migrants travelling from Africa to Europe by sea.

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