Saint Joseph Catholic Church

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The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land announced that it was suspending its scheduled meeting in Nazareth because of the Iran war.

“To a greater or lesser extent, all communities are suffering from the consequences of the war ravaging the region,” the prelates said in their statement, dated March 10 and released the following day. “We have observed that, even in the most challenging circumstances, our Christian faithful have not succumbed to the temptation of responding with violence. This is a sign of hope and a testimony to our Christian identity.”

“During this Lenten season, we lift our prayers and sacrifices to God, asking Him to enlighten the hearts of those who lead the nations and guide them onto the path that leads to true peace,” the prelates added.

The Cuban government announced last night that it is releasing 51 prisoners as a goodwill gesture to the Vatican.

“In the spirit of good will and the close and fluid relations between the Cuban State and the Vatican, with which communication has historically been maintained regarding the review and release of prisoners, the Cuban Government has decided to release 51 people sentenced to imprisonment in the coming days,” according to the announcement.

Pope Leo received Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, the nation’s minister of foreign affairs, on February 28. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, said on March 9 that the Holy See has worked for a “dialogue-based solution to the problems that exist” there.

The chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace expressed “profound ecclesial solidarity” with the Church in South Sudan following the March 2 massacre of civilians in Jonglei state.

“Our committee has long voiced urgent concern over the mass destruction and loss of life caused by civil conflict in South Sudan,” Bishop A. Elias Zaidan wrote in a March 10 letter to Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio, South Sudan. “We are deeply alarmed by the recent escalation of violence and further intensified humanitarian crisis ... We also seek to amplify your call for international assistance in addressing needs for basic humanitarian services, pastoral care, and psychosocial support for the millions currently in distress.”

The monks of La Trappe Abbey announced that they may abandon their abbey because of declining vocations.

The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, also known as the Trappists, was founded at La Trappe in 1664 by Abbot Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé.

Pope Leo XIV named a fellow member of the Order of Saint Augustine as the new Almoner of His Holiness and prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, one of the 16 dicasteries of the Roman Curia.

Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín, O.S.A., was appointed an undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops in 2021. In appointing Bishop San Martín a curial prefect, Pope Leo also raised him to the dignity of an archbishop.

Bishop San Martín succeeds Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, Almoner of His Holiness since 2013 and prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity since its inception in 2022. Pope Leo named Cardinal Krajewski the new archbishop of Łódź, Poland; Cardinal Krajewski was born in Łódź in 1963 and ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Łódź in 1988.

The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life recognized Worldwide Marriage Encounter as an international association of the faithful, in a ceremony at the dicastery’s headquarters. Pope Leo also received members of the organization in a March 12 audience.

The organization “took its first steps in Spain in the 1950s but was officially founded in 1968 and is today present in nearly 100 countries worldwide,” the Vatican newspaper reported.

Addressing participants in a conference on “generative accompaniment,” Pope Leo XIV said that presence and care “help to illuminate the Christian meaning of welcome.”

The conference was organized by Fraterna Domus, an association of Christian volunteers. Pope Leo said:

Being present in the lives of others means sharing time, experiences and meanings, offering stable points of reference in which others can recognize themselves and grow. Looking to the Holy Family of Nazareth—whose model inspires Fraterna Domus—every welcoming community can rediscover its calling and learn to orient itself on the path of service.

The Pontiff also upheld St. Joseph’s guardianship of those entrusted to him as a model of care.

“Guardianship means being attentive to others, respecting their choices and caring for them,” he said. “Joseph shows us that presence and guardianship are inseparable dimensions: it is not possible to guard without being present, and one is not present without assuming responsibility for the other.”

The secretary of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches lamented the plight of his native Lebanon.

Archbishop Michel Jalakh, O.A.M., issued an appeal “not to close our eyes to the suffering” of Lebanon and “not to think that it is far removed from us: we must always continue, at the very least, to speak about it.”

The prelate lamented a recent Israeli attack on Beirut: an “attack against peaceful people who were more than just displaced: they had gone to sleep on the beach, and there they were killed.”

Archbishop Jalakh described conditions in Lebanon as “terrible” and the nation as paralyzed, as “monasteries, universities, and other centers” are filled with people displaced in the war there.