St. John's Catholic Church

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. / Credit: Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images; Horacio Villalobos Corbis/Getty Images

Vatican City, Jul 23, 2024 / 13:23 pm (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday at the end of a diplomatic visit to the country.

Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X that he had “a meaningful meeting” with Parolin and is “grateful for [the] cardinal’s support of our country and people.”

Earlier the same day, Parolin toured the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv and met some of its young patients.

The country’s largest pediatric hospital partially reopened early last week, one week after it was seriously damaged in an alleged Russian missile attack on July 9.

Russia has denied responsibility for the attack, which reportedly injured dozens of children receiving treatment at the hospital.

According to Zelenskyy, he and Parolin mainly discussed the decisions of the international summit on peace in Ukraine held in Switzerland in June and the Vatican’s role in facilitating peace. 

Zelenskyy also said they spoke about Russia’s ongoing aerial attacks and the humanitarian situation in the country as well as the outcomes of the president’s meeting with Pope Francis during the G7 in Italy last month.

The Secretariat of State said in a post on X that Parolin, in his meeting with Zelenskyy, “reiterated the pope’s closeness and commitment to finding a just and lasting peace.”

Parolin also met with Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, and the president of the Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, on Monday.

Tuesday marked the last full day of Parolin’s July 19–24 trip to Ukraine. It was the diplomat’s first visit to the country since the outbreak of war with Russia in 2022.

He also celebrated Mass for Latin-rite Ukrainian Catholics at the Marian shrine of Berdychiv on Sunday, traveled to the severely-damaged port city of Odesa, and met with Catholic and Orthodox leaders, including Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

Bishop Richard Umbers. / Credit: Archdiocese of Sydney

Sydney, Australia, Jul 23, 2024 / 09:27 am (CNA).

As the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis drew to a close, an Australian bishop praised the event as a model for revitalizing the Catholic faith across the world and expressed hope that it could inspire similar revivals worldwide.

Auxiliary Bishop Richard Umbers of Sydney, who attended the congress as an international observer, said that the U.S. gathering had generated a lot of interest in Australia, according to the Australian Catholic Weekly.

“We are very interested in learning all the aspects of the journey to this national congress,” Umbers said.

“We’ve been following this revival, and it has captured our imagination.”

The bishop noted that the congress, which drew over 50,000 participants from all 50 states and 17 countries, demonstrated the power of Eucharistic devotion to unite and energize the faithful.

“It has been an amazing experience that we can all gather so many people,” Umbers said. “We talk about Real Presence, but for that we need to be present, and present in the liturgy.”

U.S. support for Eucharistic congress in Australia

Umbers said Australia is closely studying the U.S. Eucharistic revival with a specific purpose, too: Catholics in the Land Down Under hope to host the International Eucharistic Congress in Sydney — with American support — in the year 2028. 

This September, the 53-year-old prelate plans to travel to South America for the upcoming International Eucharistic Congress in Quito, Ecuador.

“I will be going to Quito and I will be taking a group of people with me,” the bishop said. “We will have an observation team and a pilgrimage to see where we can learn because we love holding events such as these in Australia.”

Umbers explained that following the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia’s Plenary Council voted to pursue hosting an International Eucharistic Congress to help reinvigorate Catholic life and bring people back to Mass.

“COVID had hit us hard, we really need to revitalize ourselves in appreciation of the work of the Lord and worship together,” he said.

The bishop also addressed growing challenges to religious freedom in the U.S. and Australia, suggesting these pressures may fuel a resurgence in public expressions of faith.

“The Catholic Church in Australia is the largest nongovernment provider of education, health care, and social services and we are increasingly noticing a squeeze on being able to operate according to our faith,” Umbers said.

“Even culturally with the intellectual battles taking place, identifying yourself as a Christian or a Catholic in everyday life is to take it on the chin. This is one reason why more Catholics are going out on the street and saying we believe in Jesus.”

American ‘blueprint’ for universal Church

As the 10th National Eucharistic Congress concluded Sunday in Indianapolis, Umbers expressed hope that the congress’ fruits would spread far beyond American shores.

“The world is so connected. The kinds of challenges you’re facing here in the United States are very similar to the ones we are facing in Australia,” he said.

“We’re looking to the U.S. experience as a blueprint for how the universal Church can be renewed through greater devotion to Christ in the Eucharist.”

null / Credit: 10 FACE/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 23, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Senate of the Dominican Republic has approved the first reading of a draft penal code, which maintains the total prohibition of abortion in the country and establishes new criminal charges with penalties ranging between 30 and 40 years in prison.

The bill has been sent to a special committee for in-depth study and possible modifications before possible passage in a second reading by the Chamber of Deputies (lower house).

In an interview with EWTN News, Father Manuel Ruiz, national executive secretary of the Life Commission of the Dominican Bishops’ Conference, commented that “a step forward” has been achieved.

“Although it has not been fully approved, because the deputies who already approved it in a first reading and the committee are absent, we went to public hearings, they listened to us, and it was approved without the three grounds that [typically] decriminalize abortion, because our constitution does not allow that,” he explained.

Among the most notable new provisions in the bill are punishments for genocide, feminicide, contract killings, and harm caused by chemical substances. However, the point that has generated the greatest debate and public attention is retention of the total prohibition of abortion in line with Article 37 of the Caribbean country’s constitution, which protects the right to life from conception to natural death.

Ruiz stressed the importance of “fighting scientifically and medically to save both lives,” that of the mother and that of the unborn child, and emphasized that in cases where an attempt is made to save both lives but one of the two dies, there is no sin nor crime. 

“What [abortion advocates] want is to establish abortion as a right, a human right of women. And we have clearly said that there is only one Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the same for men, women, children, for everyone. And they want to expand rights, which is an attack on dignity. But our constitution doesn’t allow it,” the priest said.

The bill on the penal code was approved in the first reading by a 20-3 vote, reflecting broad support in the country’s Senate. However, there is still a way to go before this bill can become law. “We are hoping it will be passed before August,” Ruiz said.

The priest said that for pro-life advocates, the position is clear: The fight against abortion will continue without letting up. “We’re not going to get weary. These people don’t sleep, and neither do we. What we cannot do is stand idly by believing that evil is unconcerned, that the devil is on vacation.”

Ruiz concluded the interview by pointing out that people of goodwill will continue encouraging “everyone, where abortion has not been approved and where it has been approved, to continue fighting.”

“Because there is faith, there is hope.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Katie Ledecky visits students at Stone Ridge of the Sacred Heart School following the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic games / Credit: Stone Ridge of the Sacred Heart School

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 23, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Katie Ledecky, an Olympic athlete considered to be one of the best female swimmers of all time, often speaks about her faith and experiences of attending Catholic schools.

After winning her first Olympic gold medal in 2012 at age 15, Ledecky has gone on to become one of the best female swimmers of all time. With 10 Olympic medals and 21 world championship titles under her belt, Ledecky is poised to be one of the top competitors in the Paris Olympics later this month.

While her swimming feats have brought Ledecky accolades worldwide, those who knew the Maryland native in her youth while she attended Catholic schools describe her as being a bright, kind, and faithful student.

“She’s not only a wonderful athlete, but she is also a role model that you would want a young, Catholic woman to be,” Sister Rosemaron Rynn shared with CNA. “She’s grown into this wonderful person because of her great parents, her family life, and also the fact that she keeps herself close to God.”

Sister Rosemaron, who served as Ledecky’s principal at the Little Flower School in Bethesda, Maryland, said Ledecky attended the school from pre-K to eighth grade. “Her mom was a part of the Mystical Rose Society that takes care of the altar and other things in the church,” she added.

“Katie used to help her mom now and then with that, and I know from reading stories about her that she continues to say that her faith is very important,” Sister Rosemaron continued. “She has said that she prays before each event, and I believe that the Lord has really blessed her.”

In a 2016 interview with the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, Ledecky shared that she often prays a Hail Mary before each of her races, stating: “More than anything, praying just helps me to concentrate and let go of things that don’t matter in that moment. It gives me peace knowing I’m in good hands.”

“I think our devotion to Mary is very beautiful,” Ledecky said. “She has a sacred role in Catholicism, and her strong faith and humility are things we can learn from.”

Humility is another attribute that Sister Rosemaron credits Ledecky as having, telling CNA that “[Katie] never touted the fact that she was that good. In fact, it blew our minds when we found out that she was going toward the Olympics.”

“She’d come in during the morning before school started, her hair all wet because she had been out swimming before school,” she said. “But she never bragged about anything, ever. She was truly humble.”

Upon entering Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart for high school in 2011, Ledecky continued to remain “extremely grounded” and “humbly gracious” amid her rise to fame, according to Stone Ridge Principal Catherine Karrels.

“On our swim team, there were students of all levels. We had Katie who was an Olympian and students who were just learning how to make their way across the pool,” Karrels told CNA. “One of the things I admired about Katie was that she was so inclusive and celebratory for the other kids and all that they were able to accomplish.”

In addition to being a member of the Stone Ridge swim team and setting numerous records, Ledecky also participated in many of the school’s service opportunities. She volunteered as a teacher’s aide in her former elementary school, served meals to homeless people at the Shepherd’s Table soup kitchen, and helped lead Stone Ridge’s campus ministry program among others.

“Katie really cares deeply about other people and is very focused on community and family. I think a lot of that comes from her faith in that she sees the dignity in everyone around her,” Karrels said. “All of these things fit in with a faith life that is grounded in strong values that come from her family and that were also expressed in her education here at Stone Ridge.”

Ledecky has kept her Catholic formation and roots close to her, often making stops to see both the Little Flower School and Stone Ridge following her Olympic feats and accomplishments. As Sister Rosemaron recounted, Katie would visit her and the other sisters, “bringing her medals, letting us each wear one to take pictures with her.”

Karrels echoed this, sharing with CNA that Ledecky has done “a great job in keeping in touch with us, frequently coming back to campus when she’s in town.”

“She will often come and talk to our student body and engage with the kids. Usually when she does that, she wants it to be very informal,” Karrels continued. “She likes to come back and check in with her teachers and coaches, roam the halls, and see how everyone’s doing. I think she also knows how much we like for the young girls to be able to see and get to know her because she’s such an inspiration and a great role model for them in so many different ways.”

Set to compete in the upcoming Olympic games’ 200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1500-meter freestyle events — two of which she currently holds the record for — the 27-year-old Ledecky is favored to win the gold for several of these events.

Sister Rosemaron and her fellow sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary plan to watch Ledecky and cheer her on, and the priests and congregation at the Church of the Little Flower expressed their prayers and well wishes for the athlete as she competes in Paris.

Stone Ridge will be hosting an Olympic Pep Rally on July 25, where more than 500 are expected to celebrate not just Ledecky but the school’s other two alumni competing for Team USA in swimming — Phoebe Bacon and Erin Gemmell.

Karrels, who will be traveling to Paris in order to cheer on her former students and report back to the Stone Ridge community, shared that “it’s astounding to have such high representation from our alumni.”

“I am thrilled to be going to watch Katie, Phoebe, and Erin compete,” she stated. “Hopefully when they get back from the games, we’ll be able to find a time for them to come to campus and tell their stories to our students, and to celebrate again all that they’ve accomplished and all the lessons they learned.”

St. Bridget of Sweden. / Credit: Carlston Marcks, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Jul 23, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On July 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Bridget of Sweden, a mystic of the Middle Ages who was a wife, mother to a large family, lady-in-waiting to a queen, and founder of a religious order that still exists today.

1. St. Bridget experienced her first vision at age 10.

Bridget, or “Birgitta,” was born to wealthy, devout parents in Sweden in the year 1303. Her mother died early in her life, and she and her siblings were raised by their aunt. At 10 years old, Bridget had a vision of Christ on the cross in his agonizing suffering. In her vision, Bridget saw Christ with his wounds from Good Friday, with the wounds of “The Man of Sorrows” in Isaiah 53. She asked Jesus who hurt him, and he responded: “Those who despise me and refuse my love for them.” She would go on to write about these revelations; her works were published posthumously. 

2. Bridget served in the royal court of Sweden. 

Bridget was married in 1316 at the young age of 13 to 18-year-old Ulf Gudmarsson, the Swedish prince of Nericia. The two joined the Third Order of St. Francis and dedicated their resources to building a hospital and caring for the needs of the poor. Ulf served on the council of the king of Sweden, Magnus Eriksson, and the king asked Bridget to be a lady-in-waiting for his wife, Queen Blanche of Namur. 

3. Bridget was a mother to eight children, and one of them became a saint.

Bridget and Ulf raised a large family together while also serving the poor and managing their duties in court. Of Bridget’s eight children, two died in infancy, and another two died in the Crusades. Two of their surviving children were married, and another two joined religious life. One of those two became a saint and was canonized St. Catherine of Sweden.  

4. Bridget founded a religious order, the Bridgettines, after her husband died.

Bridget and Ulf made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela between 1341 and 1343, but on their return trip, Ulf became ill. The couple stopped in France until Ulf regained his health, but soon after they returned to Sweden, in 1344, he passed away. 

After his death, Bridget donated her belongings to the poor and devoted her life to Christ, following a call from God to start a new religious order. 

She founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior, now known as the Brigittines, in 1346, and her congregation was approved by Pope Urban V in 1370. The Brigittines were to be led by an abbess and constitute both nuns and priests. The priests, who lived in a separate section, served as chaplains and confessors for the nuns.

King Magnus helped Bridget make the Abbey of Vadstena the home of the Brigittines. He donated a small palace and land for the new monastery.

But Bridget would never see her work come to fruition. She had a vision from Christ calling her to return to Rome and await the pope’s return from France during the Avignon Papacy. She never became a nun herself, and she never saw the monastery in Vadstena. She died several years before the pope’s permanent return to Rome. 

But her order spread through Europe and still exists today in both contemplative monasteries and apostolic convents, with branches in 19 countries including Sweden, Norway, Poland, Italy, Israel, India, the Philippines, Mexico, and the United States. 

5. St. Bridget is the co-patroness of Europe.

After Bridget died in Rome on July 23, 1373, her children brought her remains back to the headquarters of her religious order. Less than 20 years later, in 1391, Pope Boniface IX proclaimed her a saint. Her revelations and writings on the sufferings of Christ were published after her death. In 1999, St. John Paul II chose her as one of the three female co-patronesses of Europe, along with St. Catherine of Siena and St. Edith Stein.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin meets with Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk at the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv on Sunday, July 21, 2024. / Credit: Secretariat of the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

Vatican City, Jul 22, 2024 / 10:48 am (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin is in Ukraine this week for what is the diplomat’s first visit to the country since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022.

In the first half of his July 19–24 visit, Parolin stopped briefly in Lviv before traveling to Odesa, a southern port city, and to the northern city of Berdychiv, where he celebrated a Mass for the conclusion of a pilgrimage of Latin-rite Ukrainian Catholics.

The afternoon of July 21, the secretary of state met with Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, at the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv. 

The rest of the trip will include meetings with other religious and civil authorities, including Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“The message I brought from the pope is one of closeness,” Parolin said, according to Vatican News. The cardinal recalled Pope Francis’ many references to a “martyred Ukraine.”

“From the very beginning, the pope has manifested a very great closeness, a very great participation in the pain and suffering of this people,” Parolin said, adding that he comes to the war-torn country to bring Pope Francis’ closeness “in person.” 

The pontiff, he said, “shares the pain but above all would like to be able to help open” paths for a solution to the war.

In Odesa, one of Ukraine’s worst-hit cities since the start of the war, Parolin visited the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral, where he met with lay Catholics and local clergy as well as representatives of the government and of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

According to Vatican News, the cardinal said he was bringing “the closeness, the presence, and the blessing of the Holy Father Francis,” who is “following your situation with so much attention, with so much worry and so much pain.”

“As Christians, we should not lose hope,” including the hope that “by the grace of the Lord, who is able to touch even the hardest of hearts … a way to a just peace can be found,” Parolin said.

In Odesa, the secretary of state also visited the Greek-Catholic Parish of St. Michael and the Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration, which was damaged in a Russian missile attack last year.

On Sunday, July 21, Parolin celebrated Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Berdychiv. The Mass marked the conclusion of a pilgrimage by Latin-rite Catholics of the Diocese of Lviv.

The intention of the Mass was for an immediate end to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Parolin told Vatican News.

In his homily at Mass, he encouraged Ukrainian Catholics to “never lose trust and hope in God, especially today, when it seems that evil has the upper hand, when the horrors of war and the pain of the many victims and the massive destruction undermine faith in divine goodness, when our arms fall off and we no longer even have strength to pray.”

Parolin’s homily was delivered in Ukrainian by Lviv Auxiliary Bishop Edward Kawa, Vatican News reported.

The secretary of state’s homily concluded with a prayer to the Virgin Mary for a “peaceful and sure future.”

“Oh Blessed Mother, grant that children and young people may have a peaceful and sure future, that families may be places of love, that the elderly and the sick may receive comfort and relief in their suffering, that those defending their homeland may be protected from the attacks of evil, that prisoners of war may return to embrace their loved ones, and that the victims may be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven,” he prayed.

Queen Mathilde of Belgium meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace with her husband, King Philippe of the Belgians, on Sept. 14, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jul 21, 2024 / 10:06 am (CNA).

Pope Francis will spend four days at the end of September in the small European countries of Luxembourg and Belgium, where he will greet royal leaders, prime ministers, professors and students, and Catholics in some of the countries’ historic palaces, cathedrals, and universities.

The pontiff will make a one-day stop in Luxembourg on Sept. 26 before visiting three cities in Belgium to mark the 600th anniversary of the Catholic universities of Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve from Sept. 26–29.

The European visit will take place just under two weeks after Francis lands back in Rome at the end of the most ambitious journey of his pontificate: a 12-day trip to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.

The full schedule of Pope Francis’ visit to the two constitutional monarchies of Luxembourg and Belgium is below.

Luxembourg

The first day of Pope Francis’ trip will be dedicated to visiting Luxembourg, a small landlocked country in Western Europe with an estimated population of 672,000 people.

Luxembourg is the seat of several institutions of the European Union, including the Court of Justice of the European Union, the highest judicial authority.

After his arrival, Francis will visit the grand duke of Luxembourg, Henri, at his official residence, the Grand Ducal Palace. Henri’s wife, Grand Duchess María Teresa, is one of only a few royal women with the “privilège du blanc,” a papal privilege allowing her to wear white when meeting the pope.

The pontiff will then meet with the prime minister of the grand duchy before addressing members of the government, civil society, and the diplomatic corps at a Luxembourg administrative building, Cercle Cité.

Luxembourg has just one ecclesiastical territory, the Archdiocese of Luxembourg, which is led by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the relator-general of the Catholic Church’s present Synod on Synodality.

In 2021, the archdiocese was estimated to have almost 457,000 Catholics, which is 73% of the population.

After lunch on Sept. 26, Francis will hold an audience with the Luxembourg Catholic community in the Gothic 17th-century Notre-Dame Cathedral before taking a 55-minute flight to the neighboring country of Belgium.

Belgium

The Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels, built in the late 1700s, is the residential palace of the king and queen of Belgium. Since 1999, it has been the home of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde and their family.

Francis will meet King Philippe at the castle on the morning of Sept. 27. Philippe’s wife, Mathilde, as a Catholic queen, also has the “privilège du blanc” when meeting the pope.

The pope’s brief meeting with Belgium’s royal leader will be followed by appointments with the country’s prime minister and other governmental authorities.

The day’s schedule will close with a papal address to professors at KU Leuven, a Catholic research university, to mark the 600th anniversary of its founding. At KU Leuven, classes are mainly taught in Dutch and some English.

On his second full day in Belgium, Pope Francis will meet with clergy members and religious brothers and sisters in the Koekelberg National Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Brussels.

After lunch, he will make the just under one-hour drive to visit Louvain-la-Neuve, a university city about 18 miles southeast of the capital city.

The town hosts the French-language Catholic University of Leuven, which split from KU Leuven in the late 1960s.

Pope Francis will spend the afternoon meeting with university students in Louvain-la-Nueve before holding a private audience with Jesuits at St. Michel College back in Brussels.

On his final day in the Low Countries on Sept. 29, the pontiff will celebrate Sunday Mass in King Baudouin Stadium before departing shortly before 1 p.m. local time for Rome.

Pope Francis' brief remarks during the Angelus July 21, 2024, focused on the day’s Gospel passage from Mark, which demonstrates how rest and compassion for others go together. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jul 21, 2024 / 07:30 am (CNA).

Do not be consumed by “the anxiety of doing” but spend time in rest and silent prayer to receive God’s grace, Pope Francis said on Sunday.

The pontiff told Catholics, especially those in ministry, to beware of “the dictatorship of doing” during his weekly reflection and Angelus on July 21.

The Angelus is a Marian prayer traditionally recited at three different hours throughout the day: at 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m.

“It is only possible to have a compassionate gaze, which knows how to respond to the needs of others, if our heart is not consumed by the anxiety of doing, if we know how to stop and how to receive the grace of God in the silence of adoration,” Pope Francis said on a hot and humid day during the peak of summer in Rome.

Addressing the large crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said we are often “held prisoner by haste.” He called it an important warning, especially for those in engaged in ministry and pastoral service in the Church.

“Am I able to stop during my days? Am I capable of taking a moment to be with myself and with the Lord, or am I always in a hurry for things to do?” he said from a window of the Apostolic Palace.

He added that sometimes families are forced to live a frenetic pace; for example, when a father has to work from dawn until dusk to put food on the table. But this is a social injustice, he said, and we should help families in this situation.

The pope’s brief remarks focused on the day’s Gospel passage, which demonstrates how Jesus is able to combine both rest and compassion for others.

In the Gospel, Jesus invites his apostles to “come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while,” but when they get out of the boat, they find the crowd already waiting for them.

Jesus’ “heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things,” the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 6, says.

“These may seem like two incompatible things — resting and being compassionate — but they actually go together,” Pope Francis underlined.

Jesus is concerned for his disciples’ tiredness, the pontiff said, because he is aware of the danger of our ministries and lives falling victim to an over concern with “things to do and with results.”

“We become agitated and lose sight of what is essential,” he emphasized.

Francis also explained that the rest proposed by Jesus is not “an escape from the world, a retreat into a merely personal well-being,” but a rest that helps us to have more compassion for others.

“Only if we learn how to rest can we have compassion,” he said.

After leading the Angelus, the pope spoke about the Summer Olympic Games, set to start in Paris on July 26, and the Paralympics, which will follow in August.

Sports, he said, have “a great social force, capable of peacefully uniting people of different cultures.”

“I hope that this event can be a sign of the inclusive world we want to build and that the athletes, with their sporting testimony, will be messengers of peace and good role models for young people,” he added.

Francis also recalled the tradition from ancient Greece of the “Olympic Truce,” noting that such an initiative would be an opportunity to “demonstrate a sincere desire for peace.”

Some 6,000 grandparents and other older people attended the papal Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on July 23, 2023, for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. / Credit: Pablo Esparza/EWTN

Vatican City, Jul 18, 2024 / 12:15 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has granted a plenary indulgence to anyone who visits a sick, lonely, or disabled elderly person on the fourth annual World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly on July 28.

Those who are grandparents or elderly themselves can also receive a plenary indulgence, as well as anyone who participates in religious functions connected to the celebration, as long as the usual conditions are fulfilled.

The usual conditions to obtain a plenary indulgence are to be detached from all sin, to receive sacramental confession and holy Communion, and to pray for the pope’s intentions.

An indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin. It applies to sins already forgiven and cleanses the soul as if just baptized.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, sent a decree July 18 granting the plenary indulgences.

A person who cannot leave his or her home due to sickness, infirmity, or another serious reason can also obtain the plenary indulgence if they “unite themselves spiritually to the sacred functions” of the day, “offering to the merciful God the prayers, pains, or sufferings of their lives, especially during the various celebrations which will be broadcast through the media,” De Donatis decreed.

The major penitentiary also asked priests to make themselves available to hear confessions “in a ready and generous spirit” so that Catholics may more easily have “the opportunity to attain divine grace through the power of the keys of the Church.”

World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly

The World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, initiated by Pope Francis in 2021, is held on the fourth Sunday of July, which falls near the July 26 feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus.

In 2024, the day will be celebrated on July 28 with the theme: “Do Not Cast Me Off in My Old Age” — taken from Psalm 71.

The Vatican announced the theme in February, saying it was Pope Francis’ desire “to call attention to the fact that, sadly, loneliness is the bitter lot in life of many elderly people, so often the victims of the throwaway culture.”

In 2023, Pope Francis marked the day with an intergenerational Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, affirming in his homily that old age is a “blessed time.”

“How much we need a new bond between young and old,” the pope said on July 23 last year, “so that the sap of those who have a long experience of life behind them will nourish the shoots of hope of those who are growing. In this fruitful exchange we can learn the beauty of life, build a fraternal society, and in the Church, be enabled to encounter one another and dialogue between tradition and the newness of the Spirit.” 

Conditions to obtain a plenary indulgence

In order to obtain a plenary indulgence, the following conditions must be fulfilled:

1. Detachment from all sin, even venial.

2. Sacramental confession, holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the pope. These three conditions can be fulfilled a few days before or after performing the works to gain the indulgence, but it is appropriate that Communion and the prayer take place on the same day that the work is completed.

A single sacramental confession is sufficient for several plenary indulgences, but frequent sacramental confession is encouraged in order to obtain the grace of deeper conversion and purity of heart.

For each plenary indulgence that is sought, however, a separate holy Communion and a separate prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father are required.

The prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father is left up to the choice of the individual, but an Our Father and Hail Mary are suggested.

The kids and Pope Francis released biodegradable balloons into the sky together on July 18, 2024. The Vatican said the message, “You, dear boy, dear girl, are precious in God’s eyes,” was stamped on the balloons “with the hope that the message will reach as many people as possible.” / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jul 18, 2024 / 11:45 am (CNA).

Pope Francis visited the kids participating in the Vatican’s annual summer camp on Thursday morning, answering their questions and releasing biodegradable balloons into the sky.

The day camp for children of Vatican employees is in its fourth year. It is taking place June 17–July 26 inside Vatican City in a newly-built area with sports facilities and a swimming pool dedicated to St. Joseph.

According to the Holy See Press Office, Pope Francis met both the kids and counselors of “Youth Summer at the Vatican” on July 18.

The pope answered some of the questions and comments of the children and spoke about the importance of having good family relationships, including with grandparents, the Vatican said, adding that Francis also urged the kids to work for peace, because promoting peace “is the most beautiful thing in life.”

The pontiff and camp attendees then said a prayer together before launching colorful, biodegradable balloons into the air. The Vatican said the message, “You, dear boy, dear girl, are precious in God’s eyes,” was stamped on the balloons “with the hope that the message will reach as many people as possible.”

Earlier in the morning, Pope Francis had met the camp’s benefactors at his Santa Marta residence.

The camp is organized around the 2024 theme of “Knights Errant,” guided by an interpretation of the story of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza from the Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. 

The camp’s activities include prayer, team sports, swimming and water games, dancing, and creative and educational workshops for ages 5–13.

Started in 2020, the camp is an initiative of the Vatican Governorate in response to the pope’s wish to welcome children to the Vatican in the style of St. John Bosco’s oratories.