Saint Joseph Catholic Church

“On the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, and just a few days before Holy Week, we embrace Mary’s free ‘yes’ as an example to follow amidst the difficulties of everyday life—to defend all the families of the Middle East and to build a future of peace,” said Catherine Shomali and Hyam Tannous, one an Israeli Christian and the other a Palestinian Christian.

Shomali and Tannous were joined by 15 other women who belong to the organization, which has organized barefoot peace marches in 30 countries. Fifty Ukrainian mothers also met with the Pontiff.

8,598 converts are expected to be received into the Church there at Easter—up from 3,462 in 2023, 3,596 in 2024, and 5,587 in 2025.

The pilgrimage, whose theme is “One Nation under God,” will begin in St. Augustine, Florida, and end in Philadelphia.

“Hatred is increasing, violence keeps getting worse, more than a million people are isolated, and there are so many dead,” the Pope said on the evening of March 24. “We want to pray for peace, but I urge all authorities to truly work through dialogue to resolve problems.”

“We have not invested nearly enough in palliative care,” Sister Mary Haddad wrote in an op-ed published today. “The United States faces a serious shortage of trained palliative care professionals. Access is uneven, with people in rural communities, communities of color and lower-income households far less likely to receive guideline-level care.”

She added:

Coverage policies remain fragmented. And public awareness is startlingly low—the majority of Americans have never heard the term “palliative care.”

These gaps are not inevitable. They are the result of policy choices, funding priorities, and a cultural reluctance to talk honestly about serious illness and death. We can change them.

Pope Leo XIV reflected on the “interior dimension of vocation, understood as the discovery of God’s free gift that blossoms in the depths of our hearts,” in his message for the 63rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

Russia launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Lviv, far from the frontline of the Russo-Ukrainian war, and damaged the historic Bernardine church and monastery.

Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV emphasized on March 25 that the Church’s hierarchy is divinely instituted and not of human origin.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, one of the two pro-prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelization, will preside at the beatification Mass.

“This is a moment of immense grace for the Church—especially for us in the Diocese of Peoria, where Archbishop Sheen was born, ordained, and first served as a priest,” said Bishop Tylka. “His life and ministry continue to inspire countless people to know and love Jesus Christ more deeply. Through his preaching, teaching, and personal witness, he brought the light of faith to millions, calling each of us to a deeper devotion to the Eucharist and to Our Blessed Mother.”

The beatification of Archbishop Sheen (1895-1979) was postponed in 2019 amid concern about the possibility that he might be linked to the assignment of abusive priests during his brief tenure as bishop of Rochester, New York (1966-1969). The diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and agreed to a $246-million settlement last year.