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Pope in Equatorial Guinea: Christ manifests harmony between faith and reason
Posted on 04/21/2026 10:22 AM ()
During his meeting with the World of Culture in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea at the National University's León XIV Campus, Pope Leo reiterates the perfect complementarity between faith and reason, and criticizes when Christ is reduced to 'a religious escape in the face of intellectual endeavors.'
Former abortion clinic director exposes Planned Parenthood in new book
Posted on 04/21/2026 09:00 AM (CNA Daily News)
The journey that reveals the pontificate
Posted on 04/21/2026 08:38 AM ()
Ordination Class of 2026 Survey Results Released in Conjunction with World Day of Prayer for Vocations
Posted on 04/21/2026 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
WASHINGTON – “Vocations are a sign of God’s free gift of merciful love to a world in need of salvation,” said Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, in anticipation of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations on April 26. “We join in prayer for all disciples of Christ, especially young people, to experience the loving God, the Good Shepherd, who has a unique call for each person’s life,” he continued.
In conjunction with the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the USCCB’s Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations released the Ordination Class of 2026 Study conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University. According to this survey, four in five ordinands reported regular participation in Eucharistic adoration before entering the seminary. The full CARA report and profiles of the Ordination Class of 2026 may be found here.
In his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Leo XIV extends an invitation to all, not just clergy and those in religious life, to commit to creating conditions that allow the gift of vocations to be embraced, nourished, protected and accompanied, so that it may bear abundant fruit. “Only when our surroundings are illumined by living faith, sustained by constant prayer and enriched by fraternal accompaniment can God’s call blossom and mature, becoming a path of happiness and salvation for individuals and for the world,” he says.
This year’s CARA report was sent out to the 428 men scheduled to be ordained this year. 334 completed the survey for an overall response rate of 78%. These ordinands represent 110 U.S. dioceses and eparchies and 34 distinct religious institutes.
A few of the major findings of the report are:
- In regard to prayer practices before entering the seminary, ordinands participated in Eucharistic Adoration (81%) on a regular basis, praying the Rosary (79%), participated in a prayer/Bible group (52%), and prayed Lectio Divina (48%).
- Most of the ordinands received formation at a seminary in the Midwest (35%), in the Northeast (28%), South (19%), West (14%), and abroad (5%).
- Nine in ten responding ordinands (92%) reported being encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life, most frequently by a parish priest (70%), friend (49%), or parishioner (44%).
- Hispanics/Latinos constituted 17% of the responding ordinands. They represented 14% of ordinands in religious institutes and 18% of ordinands to the diocesan priesthood.
- Most respondents (93%) were baptized Catholic as an infant and raised primarily by their biological parents (97%) and a married couple living together (88%).
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One year ago today: The pope from the peripheries died on Easter Monday
Posted on 04/21/2026 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- One year ago today, Pope Francis died at 7:35 a.m., April 21, 2025.
It came the day after Easter, when -- barely able to raise his hands -- he gave his blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world). Looking drawn and worn, the 88-year-old pope from Argentina took his final ride in the popemobile, spending about 15 minutes among the crowd.
But then, the next morning, which was a major holiday in Italy, church bells in Rome tolled the death knell after U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, announced that Pope Francis had died just a few hours ago.
"His whole life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and his church," Cardinal Farrell said in a video announcement broadcast from the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis lived.
The Wikimedia Foundation said that its "Deaths in 2025" entry, which included Pope Francis, was their second most-read entry during the year. And plenty of people took the occasion to learn more about his life too, adding that "His English Wikipedia article was the 11th most-read (page) of the year."
Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Pope Francis was an untiring voice for peace, urging an end to armed conflict, supporting dialogue and encouraging reconciliation.
He gave new energy to millions of Catholics -- and caused concern for some -- as he transformed the image of the papacy into a pastoral ministry based on personal encounters and strong convictions about poverty, mission and dialogue.
His simple lifestyle, which included his decision not to live in the Apostolic Palace and his choice of riding around Rome in a small Fiat or Ford instead of a Mercedes sedan, sent a message of austerity to Vatican officials and clergy throughout the church.
Although he repeatedly said he did not like to travel, he made 47 foreign trips, taking his message of the Gospel joy to North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
He was elected after Pope Benedict XVI retired in 2013. Then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was already a known and respected figure within the College of Cardinals, so much so that no one disputed a respected Italian journal's report that he had received the second-highest number of votes on all four ballots cast in the 2005 conclave that had elected Pope Benedict.
Elected on March 13, 2013, Cardinal Bergoglio chose the name Francis to honor St. Francis of Assisi.
"Go out" was Pope Francis' constant plea to every Catholic, from curial cardinals to the people in the pews. More than once, he told people that while the Bible presents Jesus as knocking at the door of people's hearts to get in, today Jesus is knocking at the doors of parish churches trying to get out and among the people.
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Pope Leo XIV recalls Pope Francis a year after his death
Posted on 04/21/2026 08:04 AM (CNA Daily News)
Pope Leo XIV will be able to speak Spanish in this African nation
Posted on 04/21/2026 08:00 AM (CNA Daily News)
‘For the Lord, age is no barrier’: Chilean religious ordained at 64
Posted on 04/21/2026 07:00 AM (CNA Daily News)
Pope calls Equatorial Guinea’s leaders to reflect on justice and development
Posted on 04/21/2026 06:53 AM ()
Addressing authorities, civil society and members of the diplomatic corps in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo XIV invites those gathered to reject exclusion, uphold human dignity, and orient development towards the common good rather than power and profit.
Pope Leo XIV in Africa: 7 things to know about the Catholic Church in Equatorial Guinea
Posted on 04/21/2026 06:00 AM (CNA Daily News)