Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish

Deacons gather in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome in February. The number of deacons in the U.S. has declined year over year, according to a recent report, June 13, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 14, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The number of ordinations of permanent deacons in the United States has decreased by nearly 200 from 2023 to 2024, according to a recent survey.

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University published the survey results in its 2025 report “A Portrait of the Permanent Diaconate in 2024.” 

According to the report, 587 men were ordained to the permanent diaconate in 2023, but in 2024, the number fell to 393.

The report was created in collaboration with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations.

The study surveyed ordained permanent deacons who intend to remain deacons, excluding transitional deacons (those who will be ordained to the priesthood).

Conducted from February to May 2025, the survey received responses from 138 archdioceses/dioceses and two archeparchies with bishops and eparchs that belong to the USCCB and maintain an active office of deacons.

The overall response rate was 76%, with a higher response rate among archdioceses/dioceses (78%) than archeparchies/eparchies (22%). 

“With the release of this survey, I ask for continued prayers for deacons and for an increase in vocations to the permanent diaconate within the United States,” said Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations.  

Estimated numbers of U.S. deacons 

Since the report did not have a 100% response rate, CARA cannot confirm the exact number of deacons, but it estimated that there were about 20,212 permanent deacons in the U.S. in 2024. This includes approximately 20,022 in the Latin rite and 189 in the Eastern rite. 

CARA estimated that about 11,503 permanent deacons were in active ministry in 2024. Including those that did not respond, it is estimated that there are a total of 13,864 active deacons.

During 2024, 393 permanent deacons were ordained, 545 deacons retired from active ministry, and another 361 deacons passed away. 

CARA reported that there “are not enough new permanent deacons being ordained to make up for the numbers who are retiring from active ministry and dying each year.”

Of the respondents, the Archdiocese of Chicago had the highest number of permanent deacons (848). The others with the largest numbers included the archdioceses of Atlanta (385), New York (369), San Antonio (361), and Galveston-Houston (316). 

The Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota, had the lowest total number of permanent deacons in 2024 with 43. The others with the fewest deacons were the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky (77), the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota (63), the Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota (94), and the Diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma (105). 

Characteristics of U.S. deacons

The report found that the large majority of active deacons are currently married (93%). A small number are widowers (4%), and even fewer have never been married (2%).

Almost all of the active deacons (96%) reported that they are at least 50 years old: 18% are in their 50s, 41% are in their 60s, and 38% are 70 or older.

Nearly all responding dioceses and eparchies (96%) have a minimum age of acceptance into permanent diaconate, which on average is 32 years old. Three in five (58%) have a mandatory age for retirement, which is 75 years old on average.

The study found that most active deacons are non-Hispanic and white (74%). The rest of the respondents reported to be Hispanic or Latino (20%), Asian or Pacific Islander (3%), or Black (2%). 

More than half (66%) of active permanent deacons have a college degree, 15% of whom also hold a graduate degree in a field related to religion or ministry. About 16% of the deacons had only a high school diploma or GED.

Among permanent deacons who are financially compensated for ministry, 10% are entrusted with the pastoral care of one or more parishes. About 24% work in other parish ministerial positions including religious education or youth ministry, and 18% work in non-ministerial parish positions such as administration, business, or finance.

Academic and post-ordination programs

Almost all of the responding dioceses and eparchies (98%) have a director of the diaconate or a person with a similar title to oversee the ministry — 43% of whom are employed full time.

Nine in 10 dioceses and eparchies (92%) have an active ministry formation program for their deacons. Of these, 27% offer a program in Spanish. Of those that do not have a formation program, 30% are planning to begin one in the next two years.

The majority of the responding dioceses and eparchies (90%) require deacons to take part in post-ordination formation, requiring a median of 20 hours annually. Specifically, 91% of Latin-rite dioceses require continued formation, but none of the Eastern-rite eparchies do.

Fernando Moscardó (center) and his friend Patricia (far left) meet with Pope Leo XIV and Bishop Mikel Garciandía of Palencia (right) after the Holy Father’s general audience on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 14, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Following the June 11 general audience, Pope Leo XIV spoke with young people who have embarked on a “spiritual revolution” to restore Europe’s soul.

Fernando Moscardó, 22, coordinates the initiative, titled “Rome ‘25-the Way of St. James ‘27-Jerusalem ‘33,” which aims to tell the world that “another Europe is possible” through pilgrimages, evangelization, and healing.

Shortly after meeting with the Holy Father in St. Peter’s Square, the young Spanish medical student told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that the meeting “was awesome.”

“It was an overwhelming experience, filled with great joy, both for him and for us at that moment. To give [information on] this project to the vicar of Christ on earth, well, imagine, it’s something spectacular,” he emphasized.

Moscardó, along with his classmate Patricia and the bishop of Palencia, Mikel Garciandía, were able to explain the initiative to the Holy Father, which aims to open up a pathway to faith and hope for a new European generation in view of the Jubilee of the Redemption, which will be celebrated in 2033.

During the month of June, local pilgrimages are being held throughout Europe, culminating on Aug. 1 with the proclamation of a “Manifesto of the Young Christians of Europe” in St. Mary’s Basilica in Trastevere, Rome.

According to Moscardó, Pope Leo XIV assured them that he “would follow it closely.” They also invited him to participate in the signing of the manifesto.

“Just as we invite all young people and all those who empathize with and are close to young people and who truly dream of this new generation,” Moscardó said.

He also stated that, when the meeting with the pontiff ended, “it was hard for us to realize what we had just experienced, it was hard for us to bring our feet back to earth, we couldn’t believe it.”

“We know this is just another step along the way, that this doesn’t mean everything is done; on the contrary, everything remains to be done, especially knowing that we now have the Holy Father’s watchful eye,” Moscardó indicated.

“We are under even more pressure, if possible,” the young man continued, “to ensure everything goes perfectly and for this manifesto to truly be the united voice of young Christians who seek with the thirst of Christ this new generation.”

The organizers are working on a website to provide all the necessary information about the activities as well as on their social media channels, which will be called J2R2033 (Journey to Redemption 2033). 

After the audience with Pope Leo XIV, they met with the organizers of the Jubilee of Hope in preparation for Aug. 1, when the manifesto will be signed.

“In the afternoon, we had another meeting at St. Mary’s in Trastevere to begin finalizing details for this great celebration in which we wish to proclaim this united voice of Europe, calling for a new generation with soul and centered anew in Christ,” he concluded.

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

The McCoppin family (from left): Alyssa, Courteney, James, Rhys, and Kelly, poses for a photo after entering the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil on April 8, 2023, at Sacred Heart Church in Manassas. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the McCoppin family

Locust Grove, Virginia, Jun 14, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

High school can be tough, but on rare occasions it can be a place of grace. It was for the McCoppin family, and especially for eldest daughter Kelly, who just graduated from Saint John Paul the Great High School in Potomac Shores, Virginia. 

According to Kelly’s mother, Courteney McCoppin, Kelly started out attending public school but due to a variety of social factors, coupled with the deaths of two grandparents, she sank into depression.

“Her freshman year in public school was just awful. She was spiraling,” Courteney said. “I knew we had to get her out.”

A friend recommended Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School, which is led by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. Courteney remembers going to the website and being so impressed that she quickly signed up for a tour.

“It was a beacon of light,” she said. They enrolled Kelly and that summer she tried out for cheerleading. The opportunity for a fresh start was exciting, but there were still some reservations about the Catholic environment. 

“Kelly said to me, ‘What if I become Catholic?’” Courteney shared with The Arlington Catholic Herald. “At the time, I was still in a position of being anti-Catholic. My mom, who had died, was Jewish and my dad was agnostic. Both became atheists later in life.”

Courtney’s father-in-law, on the other hand, had been Catholic. Before he passed away, he used every opportunity he could to teach the children about the faith.

“Every night when we would visit, our grandpa would pray with us,” Kelly said. “He taught us the Our Father and Hail Mary. My sister Alyssa was the one who would pray the rosary with him and go to Mass with him.”

As Kelly started her first year at Saint John Paul the Great, Courteney said she didn’t care if her daughter became Catholic. In her mind, anything was better than what they had left behind. As soon as Kelly got to Saint John Paul the Great she became interested in the faith. 

“It was in my human persons class when we were studying Aquinas. It was his causation argument that really confirmed everything for me,” Kelly said. 

“It was the logical explanation.” 

She began to go to the chapel, meet with Father Christopher F. Tipton, the school’s chaplain, and attend “Evenings with Jesus” events at the school. She then asked her family if they could start going to Mass on Sundays.

“While Kelly was opening up to the faith I was on my own journey,” Courteney said. “I read her human person textbook as well as the book, ‘A Song for Nagasaki’ [by Paul Glynn]. I felt a strong connection to the author and I just got swept up.”

That December, on the last Sunday before Christmas, the family agreed to go to church at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Manassas. They’ve continued attending since. 

“Everything just fell into place,” Courteney said. “That January in 2023 the parish set up an RCIA program customized for our whole family. We entered into the Church at the Easter Vigil, April 8, 2023. I was baptized and confirmed with Kelly, Alyssa, and our son, Rhys. My husband, James, was confirmed because he was already baptized.”

The McCoppin family is grateful for the role Saint John Paul the Great High School played in their faith journey, especially Kelly, who just graduated in May. 

“I think John Paul the Great is the best school in the country and the bioethics program is so beautiful,” Kelly said. “We have so many incredible opportunities and the teachers care so much.” 

Kelly plans to attend Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, this fall with the intent of studying Spanish and nursing. 

This story was first published by The Arlington Catholic Herald on June 5, 2025. It has been adapted by CNA and is reprinted here with permission.

Volunteers and staff with Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley assist Latin American and Haitian migrants at a migrant shelter in McAllen, Texas. / Credit: Peter Pinedo/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 13, 2025 / 18:09 pm (CNA).

The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security and Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability have announced the launch of an investigation into more than 200 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including two major Catholic nonprofits, that provided taxpayer-funded services to migrants during the Biden administration. 

Catholic Charities USA and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) are among those named in the investigation. According to a June 11 press release, the probe will investigate whether the NGOs “used taxpayer dollars to facilitate illegal activity” by migrants who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration.

All the NGOs named in the investigation have been sent a letter requesting that they fill out a survey. The letter also expresses concern that some of the NGOs continue to actively advise “illegal aliens on how to avoid and impede law enforcement officials, which can only be seen as an attempt to undermine the work of the federal government.”

“The chairmen request each NGO complete a survey that includes questions on the government grants, contracts, and disbursements they have received; any lawsuits against the U.S. federal government they are petitioning; amicus briefs they have filed in any lawsuit brought against the U.S. federal government; any legal service, translation service, transportation, housing, sheltering, or any other form of assistance provided to illegal immigrants or unaccompanied alien children since January 2021; and more,” the press release stated. 

USCCB spokesperson Chieko Noguchi told CNA that “we have received the questionnaire and will respond.” 

“For over 45 years the USCCB has entered into agreements with the federal government to serve groups of people specifically authorized by the federal government to receive assistance,” Noguchi said. She added that “this included refugees, people granted asylum, unaccompanied children, victims of human trafficking, and Afghans who assisted the U.S. military abroad.” 

The investigation comes after the USCCB announced in April that it would not renew its cooperative agreements with the federal government on migration and refugee services, which had been ongoing for nearly half of a century. The USCCB began phasing out its programs shortly after.

The Biden administration provided the USCCB with more than $100 million annually, which the bishops allocated to affiliated Catholic nongovernmental organizations, according to the USCCB’s audited financial statements. In recent years, federal funding covered more than 95% of the bishops’ spending on the programs.

Other non-Catholic NGOs named as subjects of the probe include the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), and the Haitian Bridge Alliance.

Mother Carmen Rendiles and Dr. José Gregorio Hernández are scheduled to be proclaimed Venezuela’s first saints on Oct. 19, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of Mother Carmen of Venezuela/public domain

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 17:39 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV will canonize seven blesseds on Oct. 19, including two Venezuelans: José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, considered the “doctor of the poor,” and María del Carmen Rendiles Martínez, a nun and founder of the Sister Slaves of Jesus.

The canonizations were confirmed by the Holy See Press Office on June 13 following the decision by the pope during the first consistory of his pontificate.

In addition to Hernández and Rendiles, who are highly venerated in Latin America, the blesseds who will be proclaimed saints in October are: Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan, an Armenian bishop and martyr killed in 1915 during the Ottoman genocide; Peter To Rot, a lay catechist from Papua New Guinea, martyred during the Japanese occupation in World War II; Vincenza Maria Poloni, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona; Maria Troncatti, an Italian Salesian missionary known for her work among the Shuar Indigenous people of Ecuador; and Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer, former Satanic priest converted to Catholicism, promoter of the recitation of the rosary, and founder of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii.

This consistory, held in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, was originally convened by Pope Francis at the end of February while he was hospitalized, although no specific date was set at the time.

At that meeting with cardinals, Leo XIV also decreed that Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati would also be canonized along with Blessed Carlo Acutis on Sept. 7. This will be the first canonization ceremony presided over by the new pontiff.

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

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is beloved by many Catholic young people today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.” / Credit: Public domain

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 17:09 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has recognized two miracles attributed to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s intercession that make possible his canonization on Sept. 7. The most recent miracle involved the healing of an American seminarian.

Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is beloved by many Catholic young people today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.”

The young man from the northern Italian city of Turin was an avid mountaineer and Third Order Dominican known for his charitable outreach.

Pope Leo XIV will canonize Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati together with Blessed Carlo Acutis on Sept. 7 as the first new saints declared in his pontificate.

The miracle

Pope Francis recognized the miraculous healing in a decree on Nov. 25, 2024, of a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who was ordained a priest in June 2023.

Father Juan Gutierrez, 38, then a seminarian at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California, tore his Achilles tendon while playing basketball with other seminarians in 2017. 

Concerned about the long and painful recovery and expenses, Gutierrez headed for the seminary chapel the day after getting an MRI “with a heavy heart.” 

As he prayed, Gutierrez felt inspired to make a novena to Frassati. A few days into the novena, Gutierrez went into the chapel to pray when nobody was there. As he prayed, he recalled feeling an unusual sensation around his injured foot.

“I was praying, and I started to feel a sensation of heat around the area of my injury. And I honestly thought that maybe something was catching on fire, underneath the pews,” Gutierrez recalled at a press conference on Dec. 16, 2024, at St. John the Baptist Parish in Los Angeles County, where he now serves as an associate pastor. 

The seminarian remembered from his experiences with the charismatic renewal movement that heat can be associated with healing from God. He found himself gazing at the tabernacle, weeping. 

“That event touched me deeply,” Gutierrez said.

He was not only touched spiritually, but he was also healed physically. Incredibly, he was able to walk normally again and no longer needed a brace.

Monsignor Robert Sarno, a former official of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints who served as the archiepiscopal delegate in the diocesan process in Los Angeles that examined the healing, told CNA that when Gutierrez went to the orthopedic surgeon a week later, “the orthopedic surgeon, after seeing the MRI and conducting physical investigations, said to him, ‘You must have someone in heaven who likes you.’”

Gutierrez was able to immediately resume playing the sports that he loved without any difficulties. The healing was verified by a diocesan inquiry and the examination of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints’ medical board, theologians, and the cardinals and bishops.

Sarno noted that it is fitting that a young man playing basketball received the healing given that Frassati was known for his love of sport and outdoor activities.

‘To the heights’ of holiness

Born on Holy Saturday, April 6, 1901, Frassati was the son of the founder and director of the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

At the age of 17, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his spare time to taking care of the poor, the homeless, and the sick as well as demobilized servicemen returning from World War I.

Frassati was also involved in the Apostleship of Prayer and Catholic Action. He obtained permission to receive daily Communion.

On a photograph of what would be his last climb, Frassati wrote the phrase, “Verso L’Alto,” which means “to the heights.” This phrase has become a motto for Catholics inspired by Frassati to strive for the summit of eternal life with Christ.

Frassati died of polio on July 4, 1925. His doctors later speculated that the young man had caught polio while serving the sick.

Pope John Paul II, who beatified Frassati in 1990, called him a “man of the Eight Beatitudes,” describing him as “entirely immersed in the mystery of God and totally dedicated to the constant service of his neighbor.”

For Gutierrez, his healing is a reminder “that prayer works.” 

“The saints can help us to pray for our needs and that there is somebody listening to our prayers,” he said. “God is always listening to our prayers.”

A version of this story was originally published on Nov. 24, 2024, and was updated on June 13, 2025.

Pope Leo XIV presides over the first ordinary public consistory of cardinals of his pontificate on June 13, 2025, at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 16:39 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV stated that “the gravest poverty is not to know God” and that having him accompany us on the journey of life puts material wealth into perspective, because “we discover the real treasure that we need.”

“Wealth often disappoints and can lead to tragic situations of poverty — above all the poverty born of the failure to recognize our need for God and of the attempt to live without him,” the pontiff noted.

The Holy Father made these observations in his message, released June 13 by the Vatican press office, for the ninth World Day of the Poor, which will be held on Sunday, Nov. 16.

As Pope Francis did when he decried the globalization of indifference, Pope Leo warned of the risk of “becoming hardened and resigned” in the face of new forms of impoverishment.

He thus framed the social responsibility of promoting the common good, which characterizes the Catholic Church, as grounded in “God’s creative act, which gives everyone a share in the goods of the earth,” and like these goods, “the fruits of human labor should be equally accessible to all.” 

The pontiff quoted St. Augustine on the subject: “You give bread to a hungry person; but it would be better if none were hungry, so that you would have no need to give it away. You clothe the naked, but would that all were clothed and that there be no need for supply this lack.”

The Holy Father made it clear that helping the poor is “a matter of justice before it is a question of charity.” He also noted how when we encounter poor or impoverished people, sometimes “we too may have less than before and are losing what once seemed secure: a home, sufficient food for each day, access to health care and a good education, information, religious freedom, and freedom of expression.”

For the pontiff, the World Day of the Poor seeks to remind the Church that the poor are “at the heart of all our pastoral activity,” not only of its ”charitable work but also of the message that she celebrates and proclaims.”

“God took on their poverty in order to enrich us through their voices, their stories, and their faces,” he noted in the message he signed June 13, the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of the poor.

In fact, in the text he made it clear that the poor “are not a distraction for the Church but our beloved brothers and sisters.” In this sense, he emphasized that “by their lives, their words, and their wisdom, they put us in contact with the truth of the Gospel.”

The Holy Father emphasized in his message that the poor are not mere “recipients” of the Church’s pastoral care but rather defined them as “creative subjects” who challenge us “to find novel ways of living out the Gospel today.”

In this way, he pointed out that every form of poverty is a call “to experience the Gospel concretely and to offer effective signs of hope.”

The pope noted how people without resources can become witnesses of a “a strong and steadfast hope, precisely because they embody it in the midst of uncertainty, poverty, instability, and marginalization.”

“They cannot rely on the security of power and possessions; on the contrary, they are at their mercy and often victims of them. Their hope must necessarily be sought elsewhere,” he added.

Thus, he indicated that when God is placed at the center as “our first and only hope,” it is precisely when “we too pass from fleeting hopes to a lasting hope.”

Worst discrimination suffered by poor is ‘lack of spiritual care’

The pontiff cited the encyclical Evangelii Gaudium of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who stated that the worst discrimination suffered by the poor is “the lack of spiritual care.”

“This is a rule of faith and the secret of hope: All this earth’s goods, material realities, worldly pleasures, economic prosperity, however important, cannot bring happiness to our hearts,” he emphasized.

The Holy Father also reflected on the “circular relationship” that exists between the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. “Hope is born of faith, which nourishes and sustains it on the foundation of charity, the mother of all virtues. All of us need charity, here and now,” he said.

Pope Leo therefore affirmed that charity is a reality that “engages us and guides our decisions toward the common good” and pointed out that “those who lack charity not only lack faith and hope; they also rob their neighbors of hope.”

Referring specifically to the Christian hope that the Word of God proclaims, he noted that it is a “certainty at every step of life’s journey” because it does not depend on human strength “but on the promise of God, who is always faithful.”

For this reason, he said that Christians, from the beginning, have sought to identify hope with the symbol of the anchor, which provides stability and security. “Amid life’s trials, our hope is inspired by the firm and reassuring certainty of God’s love, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. That hope does not disappoint,” he reiterated.

Charity is the greatest social commandment of the Church

Therefore, Leo emphasized that the biblical summons to hope entails “the duty to shoulder our responsibilities in history, without hesitation,” noting that “charity, in fact, is the greatest social commandment,” as stated in No. 1889 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The pontiff explained that “poverty has structural causes that must be addressed and eliminated. In the meantime, each of us is called to offer new signs of hope that will bear witness to Christian charity, just as many saints have done over the centuries.”

For the pope, hospitals and schools are institutions created to reach out to the most vulnerable and marginalized, and they “should be part of every country’s public policy.” However, he lamented that “wars and inequalities often prevent this from happening.”

He also highlighted as concrete examples of hope “group homes, communities for minors, centers for listening and acceptance, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and schools for low-income students.” 

And, he added: “How many of these quiet signs of hope often go unnoticed and yet are so important for setting aside our indifference and inspiring others to become involved in various forms of volunteer work!”

Finally, he called for promoting the development of policies to combat “forms of poverty both old and new, as well as implementing new initiatives to support and assist the poorest of the poor.”

“Labor, education, housing, and health are the foundations of a security that will never be attained by the use of arms. I express my appreciation for those initiatives that already exist, and for the efforts demonstrated daily on the international level by great numbers of men and women of goodwill,” he said.

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

Cardinal Timothy Dolan stands at the altar during Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on May 26, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 13, 2025 / 15:39 pm (CNA).

The number of adults in the U.S. who believe religion is experiencing a resurgence in America has gone up significantly, recent polling has found.

“Thirty-four percent of U.S. adults believe religion is increasing its influence in American life, similar to the 35% measured in December but up from 20% a year ago,” the latest Gallup poll reads.

Gallup conducts polling on religious influence at least twice per year as part of an effort to gauge “U.S. religious attitudes and behavior.” 

Last year, 75% of adults said they believed religion was losing its influence on American society. While the majority of Americans still maintain this belief, according to the poll, that number has come down to 59%. 

“These recent shifts represent a departure from the trend over the past 15 years that has generally seen larger percentages of Americans saying religious influence is decreasing rather than increasing,” the Gallup poll noted.

Republican presidential victory, first American pope possible factors

In its analysis of the recent positive trend regarding religion, Gallup noted the election of U.S.-born Pope Leo XIV on May 8 as having taken place during its most recent May 1–18 survey period. 

However, it pointed out that the pope’s election took place several months after the earlier spike in December. 

More likely, Gallup said in its analysis, is the possibility that “the change in religious attitudes is a reaction to the Republican sweep of the federal government in last fall’s elections.” 

The polling outfit noted that a similar spike had occurred after Republicans won Congress for the first time in 40 years in 1994, but not in the more recent GOP victories in 2000, 2010, and 2016. 

Gallup also observed that two of the most recent low points of confidence in religion’s increase — 18% in 2009 and 16% in 2021 — were both “the first readings after Democrats won control of the federal government.” 

Polling also found that although all major subgroups “are significantly more likely to believe that religious influence is increasing,” Republicans showed the largest increase of any subgroup, jumping from 11% to 35%. 

Democratic and liberal respondents, in comparison, jumped nine points from 32% to 41%, while independents increased from 21% to 31%. 

“These results suggest that election outcomes, under certain circumstances, may shape Americans’ perceptions of religion’s influence by making the connection between politics and religion more prominent,” Gallup stated. 

According to Gallup, the U.S. has experienced numerous spikes in reports of increased religious sentiments, particularly after certain major events in recent decades. 

One of “most notable” increases Gallup said it recorded took place after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, when 71% of Americans polled in December 2001 said they believed religious influence was going up. 

This was up from 39% in February that same year and was the highest recorded number since Gallup began its recordings in 1957. 

Another surge in religiosity was recorded amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number jumped from 19% in December 2019 to 38% in April 2020. This number was the highest recorded since 2006.

Blessed Carlo Acutis. / Credit: Diocese of Assisi

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 15:09 pm (CNA).

It’s official! Pope Leo XIV will canonize Blessed Carlo Acutis on Sept. 7 together with Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati as the first new saints of his pontificate. A gamer and computer coder who loved the Eucharist, Carlo Acutis will be the first millennial Catholic saint.

So who is Blessed Carlo? Here’s what you need to know:

1. Carlo Acutis was born May 3, 1991, in London, where his father was working. Just a few months later, he moved with his parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, to Milan, Italy, where he grew up.

2. Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia as a teenager. Before his death in 2006, he offered his sufferings for Pope Benedict XVI and for the Church, saying: “I offer all of my suffering to the Lord for the pope and for the Church in order not to go to purgatory but to go straight to heaven.”

3. From a young age, Carlo had a special love for God, even though his parents weren’t especially devout. Antonia Salzano, his mom, said that before Carlo, she went to Mass only for her first Communion, her confirmation, and her wedding. But as a young child, Carlo loved to pray the rosary. After he made his first Communion, he went to Mass as often as possible at the parish across from his elementary school. Carlo’s love for the Eucharist also inspired a deep conversion for his mother. According to the postulator promoting his cause for sainthood, he “managed to drag his relatives, his parents to Mass every day. It was not the other way around; it was not his parents bringing the little boy to Mass, but it was he who managed to get himself to Mass and to convince others to receive Communion daily.” Salzano spoke to “EWTN News Nightly” in October 2023 about her son’s devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. She said: “He used to say, ‘There are queues in front of a concert, in front of a football match, but I don’t see these queues in front of the Blessed Sacrament’ ... So, for him the Eucharist was the center of his life.”

4. Carlo’s witness of faith as a child led adults to convert and be baptized. Rajesh Mohur, who worked for the Acutis family as an au pair when Carlo was young, converted from Hinduism to Catholicism because of Carlo’s witness. Carlo taught Mohur how to pray the rosary and told him about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Mohur said that one of the things that most impressed him as a non-Christian was the witness of Carlo’s love and concern for the poor — how he interacted with the homeless man who would sit at the entrance of the church and would bring tupperware dishes filled with food out to people living on the streets.

5. Carlo wasn’t afraid to defend Church teaching, even in situations when his classmates disagreed with him. Many of Carlo’s high school classmates remember Carlo giving a passionate defense for the protection of life from the moment of conception when there was a classroom discussion about abortion. 

6. Carlo was a faithful friend. He was known for standing up for kids at school who got bullied, particularly a classmate with special needs. When a friend’s parents were getting a divorce, Carlo made a special effort to include his friend in the Acutis’ family life. With his friends, he spoke about the importance of going to Mass and confession, human dignity, and chastity.

7. Carlo was fascinated with computer coding and taught himself some of the basic coding languages, including C and C++. He used his computer skills and internet savvy to help his family put together an exhibition on Eucharistic miracles that has gone on to be displayed at thousands of parishes on five continents. His spiritual director has attested that Carlo was personally convinced that the scientific evidence from Eucharistic miracles would help people to realize that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist and come back to Mass.

8. Carlo loved playing video games. His mother recalls that he liked Nintendo Game Boy and GameCube as well as PlayStation and Xbox. He had conversations with his gaming buddies about the importance of going to Mass and confession and limited his video game playing to no more than two hours per week. Carlo also liked Spider-Man and Pokémon.

9. Carlo died on Oct. 12, 2006, and was buried in Assisi. Initially, there were reports that Carlo’s body was found to be incorrupt, but the bishop of Assisi clarified before his beatification that his body was not incorrupt. His body lies in repose in a glass tomb in Assisi where he can be seen in jeans and a pair of Nike sneakers. Thousands came to pray at his tomb at the time of his beatification in October 2020.

   📹VIDEO | Highlights of the Beatification Mass of Carlo Acutis celebrated in Assisi, Italy. His parents and siblings attended the ceremony. His heart was presented as a relic. Blessed #CarloAcutis, pray for us! pic.twitter.com/GcZog96vyZ

   — EWTN News (@EWTNews) October 10, 2020

10. Pope Francis recognized a second miracle attributed to Carlo’s intercession in a decree on May 23, 2024. The miracle involved the healing of a 21-year-old girl from Costa Rica named Valeria Valverde who was near death after seriously injuring her head in a bicycle accident while studying in Florence in 2022. The first miracle that led to his beatification involved the healing of a 3-year-old boy in Brazil in 2013 who had been diagnosed with a malformation of his pancreas since birth.

This article was originally published Oct. 20, 2020, and was updated June 13, 2025.

null / Credit: Pormezz/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jun 13, 2025 / 14:39 pm (CNA).

When Ken Williams was 17 years old, he struggled with suicidal ideation because he was torn — he was a Christian, but he also had same-sex attraction.

“My faith convictions were that God wanted me to live a life not including those letters [LGBTQ],” he said at a press conference on Thursday where he and many others shared their testimonies on the steps of the California state capitol. 

When his church and family helped connect him with a Christian psychologist, Williams started his path to healing. He went on to meet with the counselor weekly for five years. 

“I was never suicidal after that,” he said. “I got to know God as the one who forgives and has grace for my struggles.” 

Williams gathered together with others at the rally to oppose legislation regulating counseling and therapy for youth who struggle with same-sex attraction — a hot-button issue that is currently being deliberated by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Through his relationship with God — and with the support of a good counselor — Williams recovered from the LGBTQ lifestyle after more than a decade of wrestling with same-sex attraction. 

“I moved on years later, quite a few years later, fell in love with this beautiful girl,” he said. “We’ve been married for almost 19 years. I have four children — it’s incredible what God has done in my life.”

Williams went on to co-found a ministry known as the Changed Movement, an international community of people who no longer identify as LGBTQ and have been changed through their relationship with Christ. 

But under recent legislation that has been pushed in California and other states, Williams’ therapist could have been committing a crime by encouraging him to follow not his sexual desires but his faith. 

‘Conversion therapy’ or counseling freedom?

The phrase “conversion therapy” is a highly politicized term with dark implications. Members of the Changed Movement, along with other like-minded ministries, say it doesn’t represent what they do.

Joe Dallas, an ex-gay activist turned pastoral counselor who works with men and women “who are committed, devout Christians and also are experiencing attractions to the same sex,” described those who seek out such counseling: “There’s a conflict between their sexual desires and their beliefs.” 

“They choose to prioritize their beliefs,” he said at the press conference in Sacramento on Thursday morning, which was organized by the Changed Movement and the California Family Council.

Dallas said he supports people being able to “seek out people who share their worldview and will help them pursue their goals,” but he is aware that a growing number of people oppose this for LGBTQ people.

“They would look at what we do as something they call — rather sinisterly — conversion therapy,” Dallas explained.

California is the first state to have implemented laws banning so-called “conversion therapy,” though many other states have since followed suit. In total, 27 states ban or restrict what they call “conversion therapy for minors.”

Jennifer Roback Morse, a Catholic economist and founder of the interfaith pro-family coalition the Ruth Institute, said “counseling freedom” is fundamental because “we’re affirming a truth about what it means to be human in the first place.”

“When you have a thought or a feeling, you have a choice about what meaning to assign that feeling,” Morse said. “You have a choice about what behavior to engage in, and you have a choice about how to understand yourself and what label you do or do not pin upon yourself.”

These laws can limit what therapists can say during therapy, requiring therapists to affirm LGBTQ inclinations or transgender ideology, even if the patient does not want that. 

Counseling bans are currently before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Chiles v. Salazar, a landmark case that could make bans on so-called conversion therapy unconstitutional. 

Wayne Blakely, a Christian and an advocate for the Changed Movement who formerly identified as gay, said that so-called conversion therapy isn’t what people make it out to be. 

He noted that there are “so many people, members of many Christian congregations, who only know the lies as it relates to conversion therapy.” 

“But there are actually counselors out there, around the world, wanting to engage you if you desire to engage with Jesus Christ, and they will lead you and help you walk with Jesus,” Blakely said.

The Changed Movement is one of several groups that has ardently opposed “conversion therapy” legislation. They gathered this week to celebrate the June 12 anniversary of the failure of a 2018 California bill that would have deemed their efforts and stories “fraudulent,” according to speakers at the event. 

They also gathered to bring awareness to the reality that some LGBTQ people leave the lifestyle to follow Christ — but to do so, they often need the support of counseling. 

“We just need space to be able to follow our own convictions,” Williams said.

One phrase was repeated by several Changed members as they shared their testimonies: “We exist.”