Father Nils de Jesús Hernández speaks out for Nicaragua from exile in the United States. / Credit: “EWTN Noticias”/Screenshot

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 25, 2025 / 18:01 pm (CNA).

Nils de Jesús Hernández, 56, has lived in the United States for 36 years, far from his native Nicaragua. Forced to leave the country in 1988 in the midst of the civil war, he serves a parish in Iowa where he ministers to the Hispanic community and speaks out for the Nicaraguan people.

Hernández, known as the “vandal priest” for having led a student strike and supporting the 2018 protests in Nicaragua, is now the parish priest at Queen of Peace Church in Waterloo, Iowa, in the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

“Vandal priest” was the defamatory, derisive label the dictatorship gave to him for his role in the protests, but the title has now turned into a sort of badge of honor.

The pain of leaving Nicaragua

After being declared a target of the government at the age of 19 when he was a candidate for the priesthood, Hernández said in an interview with “EWTN Noticias,” the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News, that leaving the country “meant that I was never going to return to Nicaragua. Leaving my parents, my family, everything that was familiar to me: my language, my culture, my food, everything; that is, everything that is one’s own ... that was the cruelest thing I was experiencing.”

The priest said he inherited his fighting spirit from his mother, who also helped with the student protests at the time.

“In the 1980s, I was also fighting against those [the Sandinistas] who promised us that everything was going to be fine, and everything turned into a dictatorship, a government that was repressing the Nicaraguan people,” Hernández told “EWTN Noticias.”

The priest traveled to Guatemala, then on to Tijuana, Mexico, and continuing to San Diego. He spent six years in Los Angeles before being sent to Iowa.

Having already obtained U.S. citizenship, he was ordained a priest in 2004 for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, and now in his parish he serves Mexicans, Guatemalans, Venezuelans, Chileans, Hondurans, and, of course, members of the Nicaraguan diaspora.

“I have organized marches here against laws that are very aggressive against immigrants under this administration of President Donald Trump,” the priest said. “This has also been my battleground here to continue denouncing the dictatorship of [Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario] Murillo and [President] Daniel Ortega,” he added.

The persecution against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua

“I believe that the persecution against the Church in Nicaragua is becoming much more aggressive, with confiscations [of Church property] that they have carried out and continue to carry out,” the priest lamented.

According to Hernández, the dictatorship wants to “eradicate the Church.”

“But I always say the following: They will steal all the buildings, they can close all the churches they want to close … but they cannot take away the faith from the hearts of every Nicaraguan, because wherever there is a Nicaraguan in Nicaragua, even though they are being repressed and oppressed, there is the Catholic faith, because all of us Nicaraguans are devoted to Mary and we trust in the will of God.”

“We also have great faith that the Lord will prevail and will be victorious, because the Lord triumphed on the cross and overcame death with his resurrection,” he said.

“We will be returning to Nicaragua triumphantly, because we will indeed return to Nicaragua, because this dictatorship will not last forever. They’re old and they’re not going to continue [in power] for all eternity,” he predicted.

Silence of the Church in Nicaragua and reality in Venezuela

“The silence in Nicaragua is due to the repression that exists. The people are silent,” Hernández pointed out. “But that doesn’t mean the people are content. The silence reflects the discontent of the people, because when the drums sound, Nicaragua will roar. That’s a very Nicaraguan saying,” he explained.

“The Nicaraguan people, when they muster the courage, overthrow any dictatorship. This silence is a preparatory silence for what could happen at any moment in Nicaragua,” the exiled priest continued.

“If Nicolás Maduro falls [in Venezuela], the Nicaraguan and Cuban dictatorships will also fall. So the silence on the part of the Church is out of prudence, but here in the United States there are voices that are trying to make people aware that the repression in Nicaragua is not good. We have Bishop [Silvio] Báez, who is a prophetic and very strong voice: He continues to speak very consistently about all the deception that this dictatorship is engaging in,” Hernández told EWTN.

Pope Leo XIV, Nicaragua, and the award to Bishop Silvio Báez

The priest also referred to the meetings that Pope Leo XIV has held with the bishops of Nicaragua, first with bishops Silvio Báez, Carlos Enrique Herrera, and Isidoro Mora; and later with Rolando Álvarez, all of whom are in exile.

In his opinion, these meetings “are a slap in the face to the dictatorship. That’s what grieves them the most, that the Holy Father is saying, ‘Catholic Nicaragua, persecuted Church, your mother is with you. The Holy Father loves you and you are not alone.’”

“That is a very powerful message that the Holy Father is giving to the Nicaraguan people and also to the Church, and that is the most wonderful thing that we must understand. Nicaraguan people, you’ve got to have a lot of courage, because this is not going to continue forever. Once again, these old men are going to die,” he emphasized.

Hernández also shared that it was he who nominated Báez for the 2025 Pacem in Terris Award for peace and freedom — which has also been awarded to Martin Luther King Jr. and St. Teresa of Calcutta and which was presented to him in July of this year in Davenport — to recognize “the role that the prelate has played in the struggle in Nicaragua and from exile” at St. Agatha Parish in Miami.

“My dream for the Nicaraguan Church is that we continue praying for the unity of all the opposition, so that there may be authentic and genuine unity, that they set aside all their political agendas, and that we all unite to fight to overthrow the dictatorship,” he said.

The priest finally emphasized that for him it is “a great source of pride to be the ‘vandal priest,’ because I continue to denounce this criminal dictatorship for crimes against humanity, because they will not escape God’s justice. They will escape human justice, but not God’s justice.

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

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Nov. 24, 2025, sued his own state’s housing agency for rules that allegedly restrict Christian and other religious organizations from receiving public funds to serve homeless and low-income people. / Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 25, 2025 / 17:31 pm (CNA).

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued his own state’s housing agency for rules that allegedly restrict Christian and other religious organizations from receiving public funds to serve homeless and low-income people. The lawsuit alleges that rules established by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) only allow organizations to receive federal and state funds for homeless and low-income housing programs if they agree those programs will be entirely secular and will not include any religious activities.

According to the lawsuit, those rules violate religious liberty protections in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and in Article 1, Sec. 6-7 of the Texas Constitution because they put restrictions on religious entities for participation in public programs in which secular entities can freely participate.

“State agencies have no authority to force Christians and other religious organizations to censor their beliefs just to serve their communities,” Paxton said in a Nov. 24 news release.

“Constitutionally protected religious liberty must be upheld in Texas and across the country,” he added. “These TDHCA’s provisions within certain programs, which deter funding from going towards churches and religious organizations, must be struck down.”

The lawsuit challenges TDHCA rules for two programs.

It states the homelessness program prohibits funds from being used for “sectarian or explicitly religious activities such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization.” It similarly states the Bootstrap Loan Program blocks funding that supports “any explicitly religious activities such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytizing” and requires recipients to enshrine the prohibition in its official policies.

The lawsuit argues that the government must maintain neutrality on religious matters, adding: “It cannot exclude religious organizations from public benefits because of their faith, nor may it condition participation on theological choices about worship, instruction, or proselytization.”

Paxton is asking the district court of Travis County to issue an injunction that blocks TDHCA from enforcing those rules, which he argues are discrimination against religious entities.

TDHCA did not respond to a request for comment from CNA.

Less than two weeks ago, Paxton sued the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board over similar concerns. The lawsuit argues that three university work-study programs exclude religious organizations and students receiving religious instruction.

In a Nov. 14 statement, he said: “These anti-Christian laws targeting religious students must be completely wiped off the books.”

Paxton is on the opposite side of another lawsuit related to religious freedom that began in February 2024. In that lawsuit, the attorney general is trying to shut down Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit that provides assistance to migrants.

The attorney general accused Annunciation House of “alien harboring,” which it denies. The nonprofit argues it has never violated state law and that its charitable activities are rooted in its religious mission.

Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2025. / Credit: VALERY HACHE/Getty Images

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 25, 2025 / 17:01 pm (CNA).

Prince Albert II of Monaco has announced that he will not sign into law a bill that aims to relax the conditions for accessing abortion in the European microstate.

The monarch confirmed his rejection of the new bill — passed by the National Council by a margin of 19-2 last May — during an interview given to the Monaco-Matin newspaper on Nov. 18 on the occasion of the holiday celebrating the principality’s nationhood.

The legislative proposal aimed to authorize abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to 16 weeks in cases of rape, and to lower the minimum age for waiving parental consent from 18 to 15 years old.

While he said he understands “the sensitivity of this issue,” the monarch pointed out that the current legal framework “respects our identity and the place that the Catholic religion occupies in our country, while simultaneously guaranteeing safe and more humane support.”

Consequently, Monaco will maintain its current abortion legislation. Although the practice was decriminalized in 2019, it remains formally illegal and is only permitted in three exceptional circumstances established by the 2009 law: rape, a life-threatening risk to the mother, and severe fetal malformations.

The principality’s constitution recognizes the Catholic religion as the state religion, and currently more than 90% of the population identifies as Catholic.

Furthermore, the constitution stipulates that executive power is exercised jointly by the prince and the Parliament, meaning the monarch must sign bills into law for them to take effect.

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

Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Maddy Johnson/Church Properties Initiative

CNA Staff, Nov 25, 2025 / 16:31 pm (CNA).

Multiple lawsuits allege that the Archdiocese of Chicago kept two priests in active ministry in spite of years of “mounting complaints” of child sexual abuse leveled against them.

The suits, filed by the Chicago-based law firm Gould, Grieco, & Hensley, allege that archdiocesan officials allowed Father Daniel Holihan and Father John Curran to continue ministry “even after Church officials were aware of their history abusing children.”

The suits were filed on behalf of students from two archdiocesan schools, Quigley Preparatory Seminary and St. Christina Catholic School. Holihan is alleged to have abused a male student at the now-closed preparatory seminary during the 1980s, while Curran allegedly abused two students at St. Christina around the same time.

The law firm claims the archdiocese had been warned about both Holihan and Curran as early as the 1960s. The alleged abuse victims said they were unaware of the archdiocese’s alleged prior knowledge until recently, when “previously concealed internal documents became accessible.”

The law firm alleged that the archdiocese “relied on a pattern of relocating clergy with known problems rather than addressing the underlying misconduct.”

“For decades, the archdiocese relied on secrecy and reassignment instead of transparency and accountability,” attorney Mike Grieco said in a press release. “That structure is what allowed priests like Holihan and Curran to stay in ministry for years, putting children in harm’s way.”

The Chicago Archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuits.

As part of its investigations into clergy abuse, the Illinois attorney general’s office described Holihan as “one of the more notorious abusers in archdiocesan history.”

“The archdiocese knew what Holihan was doing to children years before it removed him from the pastorate — but during that time, it did nothing to stop him, taking him at his word that he could turn over a new leaf of his own accord,” the prosecutor’s office said.

The attorney general’s office also identified Curran as an alleged abuser. Holihan died in 2016, while Curran died in 2000.

Both Curran and Holihan are on the archdiocese’s list of priests with “substantiated” allegations of abuse leveled against them, and both are listed as having served at eight different locations in the archdiocese. Holihan was removed from public ministry in 2002 and laicized in 2010, while Curran was removed from public ministry in 1994.

Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of the Abuja Archdiocese at St. Luke’s Parish, Kubwa, during a confirmation Mass. / Credit: Photos courtesy of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja

ACI Africa, Nov 25, 2025 / 16:01 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Nigeria’s Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja has reminisced about the days when the West African country was ranked the happiest place on earth and expressed sorrow that the situation is no longer the same today.

In fact, according to the Abuja archbishop, the saddest people on earth today might be in Nigeria, owing to poor governance, insecurity, and corruption.

“Today, certainly, we should be the saddest nation in the world, considering all that has happened since the kidnapping of young, innocent Chibok girls,” Kaigama said in his homily on Sunday, Nov. 23, at St. Luke’s Parish, Kubwa.

“We seem to be so traumatized by how badly we are treated that we hardly ask tough questions,” he added.

The archbishop observed that Nigerians are afraid to condemn crime in their country because of the protests by those supporting terrorism — including their chiefs, associations, and youths.

Kaigama descried the “injustice happening in Nigeria,” despite the West African country being said to be the “most religious” nation on earth, with different denominations and a high number of worshippers.

“Is our religiosity only about filling up mosques and churches with numbers or indeed allowing ourselves to be led by the Spirit of God to act justly, to love one another tenderly, and to walk in humble fellowship with our God?” he asked, calling for “national introspection, confession, and perhaps, social dialysis.”

In his reflection at Mass during which he conferred the sacrament of confirmation on 500 candidates, Kaigama called on the people of God in Nigeria to remain authentic to God through not only worship but also action.

He warned against treating God casually, urging Nigerians to demonstrate God’s presence in all aspects of their lives.

“We seem to approach God in a schizophrenic manner. We bow, kneel, clap, and call his name so loudly, while elegantly dressed on days of worship, but go on behaving as if he does not exist in our homes and places of work outside of our places of worship,” the archbishop said on the solemnity of Christ the King.

“For some today, God is treated as if he is a policeman … who is approached only when there is trouble or crisis,” he added.

Kaigama said a lot has been going astray in Nigeria since the country’s independence in 1960.

“Since 1960 to date, we have allowed tribal and religious sentiments to rule our politics and even the distribution of power and wealth of the nation,” he said.

“Sacred cows have been bred that some people from certain ethnic or religious groups are untouchables,” he added.

Kaigama decried favoritism, noting that the government only punishes those without a voice in society while leaving those in power to walk free.

The archbishop said justice and punishment should be served to all Nigerians regardless of their position or their social status, saying: “Being a leader does not mean you are beyond prosecution. Whether it is in the churches and mosques, the judiciary, the National Assembly, the presidency, or within the security agencies, the highest bidder seems to be the most respected. The law catches only the feeble.”

The archbishop condemned the Nigerian government for ignorance in calling corrupt people to book. “Agencies set up to prosecute corruption are said to end up trapped in the complex webs of corruption that you can hardly recognize them,’’ he said.

He went on to express concern that major beneficiaries of the country’s exploitative system are “awarded” and encouraged Nigerians to identify corrupt leaders in society and to hold them accountable for their actions without fear.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV speaks to reporters after a daylong stay at the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo on Nov. 25, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Nov 25, 2025 / 15:31 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday suggested that people “say thank you to someone” this Thanksgiving and he addressed concerns about violence in Lebanon ahead of his trip there later this week.

Speaking two days before Thanksgiving, the first U.S.-born pope celebrated what he called “this beautiful feast that we have in the United States, which unites all people, people of different faiths, people who perhaps do not have the gift of faith.” 

The pope urged all people, not just Americans, to take the occasion “to recognize that we all have received so many gifts, first and foremost, the gift of life, the gift of faith, the gift of unity … and to give thanks to God for the many gifts we’ve been given.” 

Pope Leo answered questions from reporters as he left for Rome after a daylong stay at the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo.

Leo is set to begin his first international trip as pope Nov. 27, a six-day visit to Turkey and Lebanon. The foreign trip is the fulfillment of a promise made by Pope Francis to visit Lebanon, a Muslim-majority country. Regional instability and internal crises have battered the small country where about a third of the population is Christian.

Reporters asked Leo if violence in Lebanon is a concern.

“It’s always a concern,” the pope said. “Again, I would invite all people to look for ways, to abandon the use of arms as a way of solving problems, and to come together, to respect one another, to sit down together at the table, to dialogue and to work together for solutions for the problems that affect us.”

Regarding a message for Israel, the pope said he likewise encourages all people “to look for peace, to look for justice, because oftentimes violence occurs as a result of injustices. And I think we have to work together, look for greater unity, respect for all people and all religions.”

Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver leads hundreds in the Stations of the Cross outside an ICE detention center in Aurora, Colorado, on Nov. 22, 2025. / Credit: André Escaleira Jr./Denver Catholic

CNA Staff, Nov 25, 2025 / 13:48 pm (CNA).

Hundreds of Catholics gathered in front of the Denver Contract Detention Facility — an ICE detention facility in Aurora, Colorado — on Nov. 22 for Stations of the Cross led by Archbishop Samuel Aquila and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez of the Archdiocese of Denver. 

Sponsored by the Committee for Pastoral Care for Migrants, individuals from over 36 local parishes gathered for a peaceful procession and to stand in solidarity with undocumented immigrants who are being impacted by the mass deportations taking place across the United States.

“I want to thank all of you for coming today as we have prayed and walked the Stations of the Cross. They are reminders to us of God’s love for all people and for the immigrant, for the stranger, for those who are sick and suffering, and for all those who are in need of our prayer,” Aquila said according to a statement in the Denver Catholic. 

Aquila reminded the faithful in attendance that “we must remember the dignity of every human being. That dignity is not bestowed by any government. That dignity comes from God and God alone.”

The archbishop also called out both political parties for having “failed horribly when it comes to immigration. They have treated immigrants as pawns for their own elections, for their own desires, and they have failed every immigrant. Both political parties.”

Earlier this month, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) overwhelmingly voted to adopt a statement that opposes the indiscriminate mass deportation of immigrants who lack legal status and urged the government to uphold the dignity of migrants.

The bishops approved their special message on immigration at the 2025 Fall Plenary Assembly on Nov. 12 in Baltimore. The motion passed with support from more than 95% of the American bishops who voted. It received 216 votes in favor, just five against, and only three abstentions.

“We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people,” the message emphasized.

“We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement,” it added. “We pray that the Lord may guide the leaders of our nation, and we are grateful for past and present opportunities to dialogue with public and elected officials.”

On Sunday Aquila also touched on the “Dignity Act,” a bipartisan immigration reform bill that would give undocumented immigrants a way to obtain legal status. 

“They may not have come with documents, but they have been living here peacefully for 10, 20, 30 years. Many of us know them, and they need a path to citizenship,” he said. 

He added: “The only ones who can mess that up are the political parties and the people of Congress, as they add their special preferences to the bill. If they just did not touch the bill the way it is today, it would be fine. But our system is broken, and it is because we put political parties before the dignity of the human being.”

“And so I encourage you, my sisters and brothers, and I thank you for being here today to give witness to the dignity of the human person and to the goodness of every human being from the moment of their conception through natural death,” Aquila concluded. “Let us continue to work for the immigrant and to proclaim Jesus Christ, no matter what the cost. May the Lord bless all of you and thank you for your witness.”

Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful in Piazza della Libertà in August 2025. / Credit: Marco Iacobucci Epp/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 25, 2025 / 13:18 pm (CNA).

Social media lit up last week with claims that Pope Leo XIV “threw a rave” outside St. Elisabeth Cathedral in Košice, Slovakia. The viral stories included images of laser lights, electronic dance music, and a priest serving as DJ. But what really happened? Here’s what you need to know.

What was the event?

An outdoor electronic music event in front of the city’s iconic 14th-century cathedral was organized by the Archdiocese of Košice to celebrate the Jubilee of Young People and the 75th birthday of Archbishop Bernard Bober. It took place on Nov. 8 and included a Mass celebrated by Bober, who is also the president of the Slovakian Episcopal Conference, with the apostolic nuncio to the country, Archbishop Nicola Girasoli.

Who was there?

The main performer was Father Guilherme Peixoto, 51, a Portuguese priest and electronic music DJ, who led attendees in a mix of electronic and spiritual music. Peixoto also performed at the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon. “Electronic music is a privileged way to build a better world,” Peixoto has said.

Catholic leaders in Košice also attended the event.

Did the pope attend or host the rave?

Contrary to sensational headlines, Pope Leo XIV did not throw or personally attend a rave. Instead, the pope appeared on large LED screens via a prerecorded video message, greeting the young people and offering his apostolic blessing: “Dear young people, with joy, I greet you, as you gather before the splendid cathedral of Košice, which is a beating heart of faith and hope. Coming from different nations, yet united by the same faith, your presence is a tangible sign of the fraternity and peace that is instilled in our hearts by friendship with Christ.”

What really happened?

The DJ set blended techno music with fragments of the pope’s message and performed an unreleased track, “Dear Young People,” which included phrases spoken by Leo in his address. Lasers and lights lit up the cathedral, and the crowd — largely composed of young people — danced in celebration. According to press coverage at the time, the event aimed to connect faith with youth culture by “promoting inclusion, tolerance, and respect on the dance floor.”

The pope’s video message included a final “amen,” which was woven into the musical performance. While the Vatican supported the event, it was local clergy and the DJ priest who were hands-on organizers and hosts.

CNA finds: Claims that “the pope hosted or threw a rave” exaggerate the reality. The Vatican supported the event, the pope gave a prerecorded blessing, but the actual rave was organized and performed by Peixoto and the diocese in Košice. The pope did not attend in person nor DJ, but his message to young people and blessing were central to the celebration.

A map of Nigeria. / Credit: SevenMaps/Shutterstock

Rome Newsroom, Nov 25, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Nigerian priest Father Mathias Ashinnoitian Adugba says more must be done to hold people accountable for the deaths of Christians and Muslims in the country.

Amid increasing media reports of religious persecution and violence in Africa’s most populous nation, Adugba told EWTN News reporter Valentina Di Donato that the “roots” of the multilayered conflict must first be exposed before justice for victims can be achieved.

“We need to ask who are those [people] sponsoring this problem because this is not a natural disaster. This is a human disaster,” he said in the exclusive interview.

“Whether it is the Muslims that are killed or the Christians that are killed it is enough for all of us to unitedly say, ‘Enough is enough,’” he said.

Last week, Pope Leo XIV told journalists gathered outside his Castel Gandolfo residence that “Christians and Muslims have been slaughtered” in Nigeria as a result of a conflict driven and further complicated by terrorism and economic factors.

“I think it’s very important to seek a way for the government, with all peoples, to promote authentic religious freedom,” the pontiff told journalists on Nov. 18.

According to Adugba, the country’s political volatility has left many Nigerians feeling helpless and disillusioned as they continue to frequently hear news of violent attacks, abductions, and murders in the country’s north.

“We need to hold our leaders accountable. We need to hold our institutions [and] our systems accountable,” he told EWTN News. “We need a judiciary that will hold somebody accountable for murdering another person.”

“If we cannot hold these institutions accountable or hold these individuals who commit these crimes accountable it becomes a problem,” he continued. 

“Sometimes we hear that somebody has been arrested, and before you know it, he has been set free. Why? Because the sponsors are the problem,” he said.

Recalling when he lived at a seminary in Jos, the capital city of Nigeria’s north-central Plateau state, Adugba said he and his peers witnessed great bloodshed while training for the Catholic priesthood.

“I remember that, as seminarians, we literally saw people being burnt alive,” Adugba told Di Donato.

“This persecution has emboldened our faith. It has made us stronger,” he said after recalling a funeral he attended of a seminarian who was burned to death in a rectory in Kaduna state. 

“Going back to the early Christians, persecution has always emboldened faith because you see somebody giving all, giving his all, and dying,” he told EWTN News. 

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church and so we take that really seriously,” he said.

Custos of the Holy Land Father Franceso Ielpo speaks with EWTN News in a two-part interview that began airing on “EWTN News Nightly” on Nov. 24, 2025. / Credit: “EWTN News Nightly”/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 25, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

The custos of the Holy Land said in an interview with EWTN News that the “greatest challenge” is to be a source of hope amid perpetual devastation due to conflict. 

“The greatest challenge is to always be able to give people hope. One can have food, one can have a home, one can have medicine, one can have the best schools, but to live, we all need hope. And this hope always arises when you see, when you feel the presence of God through the presence of the Church beside you,” Father Franceso Ielpo told EWTN News’ Matthew Bunson in a two-part interview that began airing Nov. 24 on “EWTN News Nightly.” 

Ielpo has served as custos of the Holy Land since his appointment by Pope Leo XIV in June, when he succeeded Father Francesdo Patton. It is Ielpo’s first visit to the United States as custos, a Latin term for “guardian” associated with the Franciscan order’s special responsibility to oversee and care for holy sites in the Holy Land.

Ielpo explained this challenge confronts the Christian community not only in Israel and Palestine but also in Lebanon and Syria. Custodians in these countries, he said, are faced with having “to grow and continue to live in a context of tension, in a context of perpetual conflict.” The Custody of the Holy Land is made up of 325 friars from over 40 countries. 

Ielpo said the latest conflict in Israel “has had very serious consequences” for “all communities in the Holy Land,” particularly in the employment sphere due to a lack of pilgrims to the region, which depends on religious tourism to generate income. He further emphasized the “tension of uncertainty about the future, especially for one’s children.” 

“The custody continues first and foremost to support and sustain the salaries of all our employees, of all our Christians, and also seeks to continue the educational work that is the schools,” Ielpo said. “We currently have 18 schools with about 10,000 students, both Christian and Muslim. Even for families who can no longer pay for school, we continue to guarantee education because we are convinced that the future is built in the classroom.” 

The work of the custody is not limited to the Christian community alone, he said, noting that 90% of the student population attending the Franciscan school in Jericho are Muslim. “They understand and appreciate that the service we offer is for everyone and is of high quality,” he said. At Magnificat, a music school that just celebrated its 30th anniversary, students and teachers are Christian, Muslim, and Jewish, he added.

“The thing that gives me the most hope is that God’s timing is not our timing, that history is carried forward despite all its contradictions by someone else,” he said. Even amid conflict, he continued, “hope always arises from the fact that God is the true protagonist of history, even in storms, even when it seems that he is on the boat and sleeping.” 

Concretely, the custos emphasized the need for pilgrims to return, not only for economic reasons, but to demonstrate to residents of the Holy Land that they are “seen, recognized, wanted, loved.” 

“The invitation is to return to the Holy Land,” he said. “The shrines are safe — come back, visit, and don’t just visit the shrines. Always ask to meet the communities, even if only for a prayer together … even if only for a greeting, because it is good for everyone.”