The entrance to Rome’s Gemelli University Hospital, where Popes John Paul II and Francis have received medical care. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Mar 2, 2025 / 14:42 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis was admitted to Romes’ Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis.

Follow here for the latest news on his health and hospitalization:

null / Credit: RasyidArt/Shutterstock

CNA Newsroom, Mar 2, 2025 / 10:40 am (CNA).

Idaho has enacted a school choice bill that would allow parents to use public funds to send their kids to private schools, and two other Republican-controlled states are moving closer to approving similar legislation. 

The Idaho measure provides up to $5,000 per student per year for private school or for home schooling and $7,500 per year for students with disabilities. 

Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, signed the bill into law on Feb. 27. 

Supporters of school choice say it expands the options of poor families who can’t afford private schools. 

“Idaho has become the first state to offer education freedom from kindergarten through career,” Little said in a statement. 

“Idaho can have it all — strong public schools AND education freedom,” he said. “Providing high-quality education for Idaho students will always be our top priority,” 

Opponents of school choice contend that it undermines the public schools by diverting public funds they need. 

Layne McInelly, president of the Idaho Education Association, a statewide teachers union, called school choice vouchers “a huge mistake” and said the recently enacted law “is just the beginning.” 

“Voucher proponents — eager to help out-of-state billionaires plunder Idaho’s public school budget — are already planning how to exploit and expand this program during 2026’s legislative session,” McInelly said. 

President Donald Trump endorsed the Idaho bill on social media on Feb. 16, saying it would “empower parents to provide the very best education for their child.” 

Meanwhile, Texas and Wyoming are close to enacting their own versions of school choice. 

As of late last week, a majority of legislators in the Texas House of Representatives had signed on as sponsors of a school choice bill, increasing chances the state will enact a version of it this year. 

Seventy-six of the 150 members of the lower chamber are now sponsors of Texas House Bill 3, which would create education savings accounts that would allow families to send their children to private schools using public money. The bill would enable parents to use the accounts to pay for tuition, fees, textbooks, and transportation, among other things. 

On Feb. 5, the Texas Senate passed a comparable school choice bill. 

To succeed, supporters from each chamber must hammer out a version each chamber can vote for before sending it on to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican who supports the concept. 

The state Senate has passed school choice bills during previous legislative sessions, but the bills previously failed in the Texas House, according to the Texas Tribune. 

In Wyoming, observers expect Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, to sign a school choice bill that last week passed the state Senate 21-8 and the state House of Representatives 42-19. 

The bill provides an education savings account of up to $7,000 per year per student in Wyoming. 

Nationwide, 29 states and the District of Columbia “have at least one private school choice program,” according to an analysis by Education Week. 

Of those, 14 “have at least one private school choice program that’s universally accessible” to students from kindergarten through grade 12 in the state, according to Education Week.

Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, LC. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Mar 2, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, LC, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State and president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, celebrated his 80th birthday on Saturday, March 1, marking his departure from these crucial Vatican positions.

Sister Raffaella Petrini now succeeds him in both roles, continuing a path of Vatican governance that has seen significant developments under Pope Francis.

Vérgez, a member of the Legion of Christ, was ordained a priest in Rome on Nov. 26, 1969. He holds advanced degrees in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a diploma in archival studies.

His Vatican service began in 1972 when he entered the Curia as secretary to prefect Cardinal Eduardo Francisco Pironio at the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes. He remained there until the cardinal’s death. He later worked with Pironio at the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

In 2004, Vérgez moved to the administration of the patrimony of the Apostolic See, and in 2008 became director of Vatican City State’s telecommunications department.

Pope Francis appointed him secretary-general of the Vatican City State Governorate on Aug. 30, 2013. Following his episcopal consecration by Pope Francis on Oct. 15, 2013, as titular bishop of Villamagna di Proconsolare, he continued his rise through Vatican administration.

On Sept. 8, 2021, Francis named him president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and the Governorate of Vatican City State. He formally assumed positions on Oct. 1, 2021, succeeding Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello.

Pope Francis created him a cardinal of the holy Roman Church during the consistory of Aug. 27, 2022, assigning him the deaconry of Santa Maria della Mercede and Sant’Adriano at Villa Albani. On March 7, 2023, the pontiff appointed him to the Council of Cardinals.

The cardinal departs from his leadership roles on his 80th birthday, following the Vatican tradition of leadership transitions at this milestone age.

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

Left: Banners at Rome’s Gemelli University Hospital. Right: Pope Francis waves from a wheelchair, Feb. 13, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Mar 2, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis expressed heartfelt gratitude on Sunday for the prayers and support he has received during his hospitalization while offering his own prayers for those suffering around the world.

Vatican sources reported that the 88-year-old pontiff met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin on the morning of March 2, in his hospital room. The secretary of state was accompanied by Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State.

The Vatican officials visited the pope following his restful night, during which he reportedly slept well. According to the same sources, Pope Francis woke up Sunday morning, had coffee, read the newspapers, and continued his prescribed treatments.

Feeling ‘carried by all God’s people’

In his Sunday message released by the Vatican’s press office, Pope Francis said: “I would like to thank you for the prayers, which rise up to the Lord from the hearts of so many faithful from many parts of the world.”

The pontiff continued: “I feel all your affection and closeness and, at this particular time, I feel as if I am ‘carried’ and supported by all God’s people.”

The message accompanied the text for the Angelus prayer, which the pope was unable to deliver publicly for the third consecutive time due to his ongoing health issues. Francis has been receiving treatment at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital since Feb. 14.

Faith forged in fragility

In his Sunday message, Francis reflected on the day’s Gospel reading (Luke 6:39-45), particularly Jesus’ words about removing the “wooden beam from your eye” before attempting to remove the “splinter in your brother’s eye.”

The pope emphasized the importance of fraternal correction rooted in charity rather than condemnation. “I feel in my heart the ‘blessing’ that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord,” the pope wrote. “At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people.”

Prayers in times of war

The pontiff also turned his thoughts to areas of conflict around the world, saying: “I pray for you too. And I pray above all for peace. From here, war appears even more absurd. Let us pray for tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and Kivu.”

A medical update on the pope’s condition is expected Sunday evening. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, will lead a rosary for the pope’s health Sunday evening at 9 p.m. local time in St. Peter’s Square.

Ascension's “Set Free” Lenten program with Father Josh Johnson promises to guide listeners this Lent through daily reflections on overcoming the seven deadly sins in our lives. / Credit: Ascension

CNA Staff, Mar 2, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

As Lent begins on March 5, we are reminded of the opportunity to grow in faith as we journey in the desert with Jesus for 40 days. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the three areas in which we are called to focus throughout the Lenten season as we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter.

Here are five resources to help you grow in your faith this Lent:

‘Set Free’ with Father Josh Johnson on Ascension

Exclusively on the Ascension app, “Set Free” by Father Josh Johnson promises to guide listeners through daily reflections on overcoming the seven deadly sins in our lives. The reflections are designed to help participants know what the seven deadly sins are and how they appear in our lives. The program will outline specific fasts to use to combat each one of these sins and show you how to pray with Scripture and surrender yourself to God. The reflections end with a powerful, step-by-step examination of conscience with the goal of helping you experience more deeply the sacrament of confession.

The “Set Free” program is based on Johnson’s book “Pocket Guide to Overcoming the Seven Deadly Sins.” In an interview with CNA, Johnson, vocations director for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, explained that the idea for the book first came from feeling the need to help his brother priests with penances for people in confession.

“I think as a priest we have a responsibility to not only absolve them from their sins but to help them to identify what’s at the root of their sins and as a spiritual father to give them practical and biblical remedies that can help them to combat against those vices that they might be struggling with,” he said.

After praying further about his idea, he realized that it could be helpful for all of the laity in order to help them overcome their struggles with sin.

“I wanted to have a book for the laity … who want to experience freedom and to be able to go deeper into an understanding of what are the seven deadly sins, how are they operative, how might they be masked, what might precede me falling into them, and then what are some ways that I can pray and fast and some wisdom I can gain from Church Fathers, the catechism, and the Bible to fight against these vices,” Johnson shared.

Johnson has three hopes for those who take part in the Lenten program: First, “that people fall more in love with Scripture and rely on Scripture for everything”; second, for “people to have a better capacity to examine their conscience prior to going to confession to really be able to discern deeper vices”; and lastly that they have “an experience of God’s love and mercy in the midst of our ongoing struggles.”

CNA’s full interview with Johnson about the program can be viewed here:

Hallow’s Lent Pray40 Challenge: ‘The Way’

Hallow will be taking listeners on a journey to grow closer to Christ this Lent through “Pray40: The Way.” Jonathahn Roumie, Mark Wahlberg, Chris Pratt, Father Mike Schmitz, Sister Miriam James Heidland, and Cardinal Robert Sarah will help listeners dive deeper into the writing of St. Josemaría Escrivá, author of “The Way.” 

Listeners will meditate on the lives of those who followed Christ’s way, including the life of Servant of God Takashi Nagai, a Japanese physician who survived the atomic bombing in 1945 and had a powerful conversion as shared in his biography “A Song for Nagasaki.”

Roumie will take participants through reflections and prayers on “The Way” and “A Song for Nagasaki.” Wahlberg and Pratt will lead listeners in fasting challenges and Scripture readings encouraging the faithful to give their hearts fully to Christ. Heidland will guide listeners through imaginative prayer; Schmitz will give Sunday homilies; and Sarah will offer guidance for silent meditation.

“Our Lenten challenge is always our biggest challenge of the year and it’s an honor to get to pray with so many incredible voices and our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world,” CEO and co-founder of Hallow Alex Jones told CNA.

Word on Fire online Lent retreat

Father Boniface Hicks, OSB, will be conducting Word on Fire’s first-ever Lenten retreat. 

The seven-part online retreat will provide an opportunity for participants to deepen their prayer lives and intimacy with Christ by focusing on the interior life. 

Hicks, a renowned spiritual director and author, will guide participants in reflections each week focusing on different topics in order to grow closer to the heart of Jesus. Some topics include slowing down and returning to the heart, loving Jesus like St. Thérèse of Lisieux did, receiving Christ’s love and mercy, and more. 

Blessed Is She ‘Under the Olive Tree’ devotional

In “Under the Olive Tree,” author Olivia Spears guides readers to the Mount of Olives to console the heart of Jesus in his sufferings and be consoled in our sufferings as well.

Each week offers meditations on Jesus’ agony in the garden, praying the Psalms, and diving more deeply into Jesus’ sacrificial love.

Readers will also be invited to contemplate Jesus’ love in Eucharistic adoration.

Lenten books

If you’re looking for powerful reads for the Lenten season, there are several to choose from: 

“Mother Angelica’s The Way of the Cross” by Father Joseph Mary Wolfe, MFVA, dives deeper into the beauty of the Stations of the Cross. 

“Remember Your Death: Momento Mori Lenten Devotional” by Sister Theresa Aletheia Noble, FSP, is Lenten devotional that helps readers meditate on their own mortality and the gift of salvation in preparation for Easter. 

“Praying with Jesus and Faustina During Lent and in Times of Suffering” by Susan Tassone includes daily meditations featuring the words of Jesus and St. Faustina on the Passion. Each day also includes reflections for times of suffering.

“Lenten Journey with Mother Mary” by Father Edward Looney takes readers through the journey of Lent alongside the Blessed Virgin Mary in order to view Lent and Easter in a completely new way.

Hot cross buns. / Credit: zi3000/Shutterstock

Rome Newsroom, Mar 2, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Though many Catholics may associate the liturgical season of Lent more with the practice of fasting and abstaining from food, many families around the world use the 40-day season to prepare specific homemade delicacies to remind them of the life of Jesus Christ as he made his way to the cross.  

Mexico

Capirotada, which is similar to a bread pudding, is a treat served by many Mexican families on the Fridays of Lent. Though recipes may vary from one family to the next, the traditional sweet and savory ingredients carry rich religious symbolism linked to Jesus’ crucifixion.

Bread rolls used in the dish represent the body of Christ; honey or piloncillo syrup, made from cane sugar, is meant to symbolize the blood of Christ; whole cloves are used to represent the nails of the crucifixion; cinnamon sticks are used to symbolize the wooden cross of Christ; and the melted cheese coating the pudding represents the shroud used for Jesus’ burial.

Aguas fresca — a drink made with still water, fresh fruits of your choice, sugar, oats, and other cereals, seeds, and floral teas — are prepared and served by families to passersby in Oaxaca on Good Friday. Though not solely a Lenten beverage, this Good Friday tradition is an opportunity for Oaxaca families to quench the thirst of Jesus on his way to Jerusalem — just like the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (cf. Jn 4:4-42) — by serving a fellow neighbor.

Ecuador     

Fanesca, a soup eaten during Lent and Holy Week made with cod and 12 kinds of beans and legumes, is said to represent Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles at the Last Supper.  

The dish’s religious significance dates back to the 16th century and is believed to be connected to a monastery in Quito, Ecuador, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Some families take advantage to make this lunch dish together — preparing the fish and shelling the many beans and legumes — with a spirit of prayer, contemplating the Last Supper in the upper room just hours before Jesus began his passion in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Malta 

Kwareżimal, which derives its name from the Latin word “Quadragesima,” meaning the “40 days of Lent,” are sweet cakes made with almond paste, honey, and orange rind.

This Lenten sweet treat is also given to children who want to embark upon a one-day, 14-church pilgrimage to remember Jesus’ 14 Stations of the Cross.

Qaghaq tal-appostli or “Apostles’ Rings” are sweet, savory, unleavened circular bread loaves topped with almonds and sesame seeds eaten on Holy Thursday. 

The treat is associated with the events of Holy Thursday when Jesus made his apostles priests and instituted the Eucharist and the celebration of the Mass. 

Lebanon

Zenkoul, a dish of bulgur wheat balls (or pumpkin balls) combined with chickpeas, rice, garlic, onion, and pomegranate molasses, is eaten by Lebanese families during Lent and Good Friday.  

Some families add vinegar to their Zenkoul instead of lemon juice to remind them when Jesus told the Roman soldiers “I thirst” (cf. Jn 19:28) before dying on the cross and fulfilling the prophecy “for my thirst they gave me vinegar” (cf. Ps 69:22).

Iraq

Christ’s Feast is a traditional dish shared and eaten together in Iraqi villages on Good Friday. Made with habbiyeh wheat, several types of grains, and a variety of beans and legumes, the most distinctive ingredient of the dish is “akoub,” a prickly plant that grows abundantly during spring.

By combining all the ingredients with a little water, Christ’s Feast is turned into a soup and cooked slowly until it is ready to be mashed and served to families on Good Friday.  

For some Iraqi Christians, the difficulty in preparing the dish — particularly removing the thorns of the akoub — is a form of participating in Jesus’ passion. The prickly plant is also said to symbolize the crown of thorns placed on Jesus’ head before he was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate.

Germany, Luxembourg, France, and Belgium

Pretzels, the iconic bread twist simply made with salt, yeast, flour, and water linked to several parts of Europe, are believed to have been invented specifically as a Lenten food by an Italian monk in the early Middle Ages, according to a Vatican Library document.

With the purpose of helping Catholics to live the penitential season with prayer and simplicity, the treat’s shape resembles hands in prayer, forming three holes representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand 

Hot cross buns are believed to have first been distributed to poor English Catholics on a Good Friday between the 12th and 14th centuries. Today, the sweet-spiced buns are eaten in England and in Commonwealth countries such as Australia and New Zealand during Lent and Holy Week.

While some historic accounts suggest the buns — traditionally made with flour, eggs, yeast, currents, and cardamom — have ancient pagan origins, other records hint that medieval monks Christianized the recipe by baking the buns with distinct crosses to represent the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and using different spices to symbolize his burial.

A statue of St. John Paul II is seen in front of the entrance to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Feb. 22, 2025, where Pope Francis continues to receive treatment for respiratory issues. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Mar 1, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ clinical condition remains stable after Friday’s bronchospasm episode that caused vomiting and sudden respiratory deterioration, according to a Holy See Press Office statement released Saturday evening.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been alternating between noninvasive mechanical ventilation and high-flow oxygen therapy, the Vatican communiqué stated.

Medical updates indicate the Holy Father remains fever-free with no signs of infection in his blood work. His vital signs, including blood pressure and heart rate, continue to be stable. The statement also highlighted that Pope Francis has maintained a healthy appetite and is actively participating in breathing exercises prescribed by his medical team.

Vatican officials confirmed the pope has not experienced further bronchospasm episodes. He remains “alert and oriented” and received the Eucharist Saturday afternoon, after which he dedicated time to prayer.

The statement concluded by noting that “the prognosis remains reserved,” suggesting doctors are still cautious about the pope’s recovery timeline.

The Holy See Press Office confirmed earlier today that, as with the previous two Sundays, the text of the Angelus will be distributed in written form tomorrow rather than delivered by the pope in person.

According to Vatican sources, the pontiff’s breathing is improving, though his overall condition remains complex. The situation regarding his pneumonia is described as stable.

Francis prayed for approximately 20 minutes in the chapel near his room on the 10th floor of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he is receiving treatment. The pope reportedly remains in good spirits and has been informed of the many prayers being offered for him.

Further medical details may become available tomorrow, Vatican sources indicated.

Marco Mancini contributed to this report.

An unknown security guard stands at the entrance of a church destroyed during the fighting with ISIS in Mosul, Iraq. / Credit: CHRIS POOK/Shutterstock

ACI MENA, Mar 1, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Marking 10 years since ISIS swept into Mosul and the towns of the Nineveh Plain, EWTN News, in collaboration with its sister agency covering the Middle East and North Africa, ACI MENA, has released a documentary delving into the roots of Christianity in Iraq, its history dating back nearly 2,000 years, and how Christians there have survived despite attempts to erase their presence.

The documentary, “Persecuted Christians in Iraq: An EWTN News Special,” premiered Feb. 28 at 8 p.m.

Through a dialogue with Father Mazin Mattoka, president of the Monastery of the Martyrs Mar Behnam and Marth Sarah, a Syriac Catholic monastery in northern Iraq, the documentary showcases some of the monastery’s history, dating back to the fourth century A.D., including its sculptures and historical murals, many of which were destroyed by ISIS, especially the crosses.

In the documentary, Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda of the Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil highlights what he calls the ongoing “dialogue of life” between Christians and Muslims since the late seventh century with the arrival of the conqueror, and the role Christians played in enriching the Arab civilization by translating texts of philosophy, mathematics, medicine, and other Greek sciences, first into Syriac and then into Arabic.

The archbishop discusses the choices ISIS put before Christians: Convert to Islam, pay the jizya (protection tax), or leave, noting that while paying the jizya might have been acceptable in the eighth century, it is no longer the case in the 21st century.

Archbishop Benedictus Younan Hano of the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul highlights the suffering of Christians from forced displacement and their deep pain from feeling marginalized in their country, without a place of refuge, unprotected, feeling betrayed and let down as they lose their towns, homes, and churches, becoming refugees in their own nation.

In the film, Hano clarifies that ISIS’ targeting was not limited to Christians but affected all components of Iraq — everyone was at risk and subject to persecution.

Several Christians from the Nineveh Plain provide testimonies in the film of their painful experiences during ISIS’ occupation and during the series of events that followed the 2003 incidents, which created a political, social, and religious vacuum that allowed armed groups with extremist ideologies to occupy that space, as explained by former member of the Iraqi Parliament Khalis Esho.  

Several young volunteers who served the displaced in Ankawa-Erbil during the crisis share their experiences and lessons in the film as well.

Father Raed Adel, head of the Syriac Catholic Churches in Mosul, recalls Pope Francis’ courageous historic visit to the city in 2021, attributing the active reconstruction movement to that visit.

For his part, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, the Chaldean patriarch, expresses the relief and great hope that Pope Francis’ visit instilled in all Iraqis, noting: “It was three days free from attacks and problems, and everyone followed the visit with joy.”

In the documentary, Sako also emphasizes the importance of solidifying the state of citizenship to enhance trust in the future and ensure human rights, justice, and equality.

The new documentary briefly covers some of the scars left by the events of 2014, still deeply etched in the Christian villages and towns, but according to witnesses and leaders in the film, these places remain vibrant with life and filled with the remaining Christians who are rooted in their faith and homeland, proud of their heritage, steadfast and clinging to the land of their ancestors, determined to rebuild, develop, and continue to be beacons of light in the darkness.

"Persecuted Christians in Iraq: An EWTN News Special" can be viewed below:

Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville, speaks at the opening of the Ward and Kathy Fitzgerald Franciscan University Homeland Mission (FUHM), which officially opened Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington D.C. / Courtesy of Franciscan University of Steubenville

CNA Newsroom, Mar 1, 2025 / 09:20 am (CNA).

The Ward and Kathy Fitzgerald Franciscan University Homeland Mission (FUHM) officially opened Feb. 28 in Washington, D.C., to be “the spiritual home away from home for Franciscan students,” according to Stephen Catanzarite, executive director of Franciscan University Encounter. The initiative of Franciscan University of Steubenville (FUS) seeks to “leverage the university’s academic, administrative, and evangelizing resources to extend its mission and impact far beyond its Steubenville, Ohio, campus.”

The event at the FUHM facility was held for students, alumni, and guests to hear from speakers about the program’s mission and receive a tour of the center.

Opening remarks were presented by Catanzarite, who said: “The programs and the events that we will offer here are really meant to challenge and prepare our students, alumni, and others to work for and to help promote systematic change in our federal government.”

FUHM will house groups of students in D.C. who travel from the university in Steubenville.  The facility has bedrooms for students, a faculty wing, multiple kitchens, a common area to gather, and an on-site chapel. 

Ambassador Andrew Bremberg, a graduate of FUS who worked for the first Trump administration, said the “initiative is not just an expansion of Franciscan University. It is a bold step forward, informing faithful Catholic leaders who will serve our country and the Church in a time of great need.”

“Now, so many more students will have an opportunity to take the Franciscan formation that we cherish and bring it into the heart of our nation’s capital. Because we are not meant to keep the light of Christ hidden under a basket. We are called, as St. John Paul II often reminded us, to bring the Gospel into every aspect of public life.”

“We are called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. It is not just a program. It is a launch for faithful Catholics to serve in government, law, media, public policy, every sphere where our presence is needed,” Bremberg said. 

Presenters clarified that FUHM is not just an initiative for those studying political science but an opportunity for all Franciscan students.

Student speaker Amelia Abdalla said the Homeland Mission is for “students of any major, of any aspiration, nation, to have a home in this historic city, hopefully inspiring them to bring their gifts here to serve the common good in a very real and tangible way. And Washington needs what we have to offer.”

“Please know that not only is the gift of this beautiful property, valued with appreciation, but we understand it also to be a call to action, an invitation to leave one hill empowered to serve another.”

Catanzarite said the program will begin to bring students to D.C. “the week after next.”

He explained: “We’re going to have a group of engineering students that are going to come … to learn about how to go up to Capitol Hill to advocate for funding for science, and then they will get meetings on Capitol Hill as part of that stay.”

“It’s very important to know, again, that this is an interdisciplinary endeavor,” Catanzarite said.

Ward Fitzgerald, CEO of ExCorde Capital, and his wife, Kathy, are the main benefactors of the mission and gave $10 million to build FUHM.

“It’s really a gift for us to be able to give to a place like Franciscan,” Fitzgerald said. He explained that he wanted to create FUHM for young students to “seek the truth” because “we are innately built to seek the truth by our nature and to seek, ultimately, God.”

Fitzgerald highlighted the amount of “charitable works” students will be able to do now that FUHM is offering them a place in D.C.

“If you build a house in El Salvador and you’re a young person, they have one house,” he said. “If you come to Washington, you can create a policy to help the poor to build 10,000 houses.”

The presentation concluded with remarks from FUS president Father Dave Pivonka, TOR. 

“Obviously, one particular hill has not been hidden, but it’s time for the rest of the world to hear a little bit more about the city of the hill that we live in Steubenville,” he said. “There are other larger Catholic universities. There are other larger universities much more well known than us. And yet, for one reason or another, Franciscan University is the one who’s being called at this time, at this place, for this purpose.”

“We’re probably not the most powerful, but we are the ones who are willing and brave enough to step up,” he concluded.

The original statue of Our Lady of Fátima during a previous jubilee year visit to the Vatican. / Credit: Dicastery for Evangelization

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 1, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

On the occasion of the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality, scheduled for Oct. 11–12, the original statue of Our Lady of Fátima will be taken to Rome.

The famous image of Our Lady, known to the faithful throughout the world and a symbol of “hope that does not disappoint,” will be present among the pilgrims who participate in the Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 10:30 a.m. local time to “further enrich this moment of prayer and reflection.”

This will be the fourth time the statue has left the shrine at Fátima to be taken to Rome, as it only happens at the express request of the pope. The first time was in 1984, on the occasion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of the Redemption, when on March 25 Pope John Paul II consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The second was during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 and the third was in October 2013 on the occasion of the Year of Faith with Pope Francis.

The Dicastery for Evangelization said in a statement that access to St. Peter’s Square for the Eucharistic celebration will be free and no ticket will be required. Registration to participate in the jubilee event is already open on the jubilee website and will end on Aug. 10.

“The presence of the beloved original statue of Our Lady of Fátima will allow everyone to experience the closeness of the Virgin Mary,” said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

“It is one of the most significant Marian images for Christians throughout the world, who, as the Holy Father points out in the bull of indiction of the jubilee Spes Non Confundit, venerate her as ‘the most affectionate of mothers, who never abandons her children.’ At Fátima, Our Lady told the three little shepherds the same thing that she continues to assure each of us: ‘I will never leave you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that will lead you to God,’” the prelate said.

“This statue leaves the shrine at Cova da Iria in a totally exceptional manner and only at the request of the popes,” said Father Carlos Cabecinhas, the rector of Fátima shrine.

“In this time of the jubilee, Our Lady of Fátima is the woman of Easter joy, even in the painful times that the world is experiencing. Once again, the ‘lady dressed in white’ will be a pilgrim of hope and, in Rome, she will be with the ‘bishop dressed in white,’ as the little shepherds of Fátima affectionately called the Holy Father,” he said.

The sculpture, a work of the Portuguese artist José Ferreira Thedim, was made in 1920 and is normally located in the Chapel of the Apparitions of the Fátima Shrine.

There, between May and October 1917, the Virgin appeared six times to the shepherd children Lucia dos Santos, 10, Jacinta Marto, 7, and Francisco Marto, 9.

The statue is 41 inches tall and was carved from Brazilian cedar following the descriptions given by the three shepherd children. It was solemnly crowned on May 13, 1946, and the bullet that wounded St. John Paul II in the 1981 assassination attempt on his life in St. Peter’s Square was later embedded in the crown.

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