Saint Joseph Catholic Church

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In an address to diocesan liturgical pastoral workers, Pope Leo XIV called upon dioceses and parishes to “initiate biblical and liturgical courses” where they are not present.

“Ensure that instituted lectors and those who regularly read the Scriptures at celebrations are thoroughly prepared,” said the Pope. “Basic biblical knowledge, clear diction, the ability to sing the responsorial psalm, as well as to compose prayers of the faithful for the community are important aspects that implement liturgical reform and help the People of God grow on their path.”

Liturgical formation, the Pope added, should “foster the fruitful participation of the People of God, as well as a dignified liturgy that is attentive to different sensibilities and sober in its solemnity.”

Members of the Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamist rebel group, attacked a diocesan health clinic in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Islamists “massacred patients, and then set the entire facility ablaze, killing several women in the maternity ward,” according to Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication.

Father Giovanni Piumatti, an Italian missionary, said that “15 people were killed in the clinic and another five in the surrounding area. They set fire to the entire facility and 27 nearby homes. Before destroying everything, they looted all the medical supplies ... They killed mothers as they were breastfeeding their babies.”

In his most recent weekly message, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, deplored corruption.

“Our law enforcement agencies have uncovered a criminal corruption scheme that was destroying Ukraine’s energy system,” he said. “We share the pain of our society and, fulfilling the prophetic role of the Church, we consistently denounce and condemn the phenomenon we call corruption.”

Ukrainian officials face accusations of embezzling $100 million from the nation’s state-owned energy companies.

The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Mechtilde (1241-1298), who was born to a noble family in Heifta, Saxony, and was placed in a Benedictine convent at age seven. Mechtilde was a mystic, and aided St. Gertrude with her Book of Special Graces or The Revelation of St. Mechtilde.