Saint Joseph Catholic Church

“We must do everything possible to stop the aggressor,” Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said in an interview with Vatican News. “Then another time will come: that of healing the trauma and rebuilding what the war has destroyed. But that will be another story. Orate pro nobis. Pray for us.”

Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico City added, “We are aware of the difficult times we face as a society; therefore, I offer this message to encourage us and to call on everyone to be collaborators for the common good, promoting the justice and social peace we need.”

The decision follows the exhumation of the bodies of Christians from public cemeteries in some villages in Chhattisgarh (map), a state that is 93% Hindu, 2% Muslim, and 2% Christian.

The exposition of the relics began on February 22 and will conclude on March 22. Pope Leo has proclaimed a Year of Saint Francis in commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death.

“Your presence is a profound sign and a wonderful vitality of our local Church, and proof that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in our city,” Archbishop Anthony Fisher, OP, said on February 22. “For the last six years in a row, year by year, more and more of you have been saying ‘accept’ at the Rite of Election here in Sydney.”

He added, “Newcomers to the Church know they not only have to learn the Christian faith, they must sometimes go against the grain. It’s costly, but its reward is eternal life.”

Speaking at the cemetery in Limbiate, Cardinal Parolin said on February 22 that the ambassador showed a “dedication capable of going beyond duty, challenging the limits of what was necessary.”

Attanasio was murdered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he had served as Italy’s ambassador since 2017.

Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, of Trondheim, Norway, is publishing his Lenten retreat conferences to the Pope and the Roman Curia:

In February 2025, Pope Francis united two other Irish dioceses, Achonry and Elphin, in persona episcopi.