Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish

null / Credit: Melnikov Dmitriy/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Oct 15, 2025 / 12:45 pm (CNA).

Pensacola-Tallahassee Bishop William Wack this week called for immigration reform while urging the faithful to welcome immigrants amid ongoing deportations and detainments in Florida and throughout the country. 

The bishop told the faithful in his diocese in an Oct. 14 letter that he has “reflected with a heavy heart” on the trials of immigrants in the United States “suffering under the weight of a broken immigration system.”

The Trump administration has continued to aggressively pursue enhanced immigration enforcement, claiming that more than two million immigrants have either been removed or self-deported in roughly the last eight months. 

In his letter, Wack acknowledged that law enforcement “has a responsibility to apprehend and detain individuals who commit crimes,” but he criticized what he described as “the dangerous narrative that every immigrant is a threat.” 

“At the same time, we must also advocate for reform — of immigration law, of due process, and of enforcement practices — so that justice and mercy are upheld together, and families are not needlessly torn apart,” he said. 

The bishop suggested that “a pro-life people” should not support “the separation of families with mixed immigration status.” 

“Can we, in good conscience, endorse policies that deport a working father — knowing the devastating impact it will have on his family — without also acknowledging his contributions to our communities?” he wrote. “Can we accept that more children are being pushed into the foster care system because both parents have been deported?”

Wack said Catholics in his diocese should “set aside partisan talking points” and look to the messages of Christ and the Gospel. 

“We are called to care for our neighbor, to shelter the stranger, and to welcome the foreigner; for each of us has been lovingly created in the image and likeness of God,” he said. 

The Christian faith has always required the faithful to give “special care” to the poor and vulnerable, Wack said, including immigrants who come to the U.S. “in search of safety and a better life.” 

The prelate urged the faithful to “to employ all of your gifts and influence to join me in bringing about this needed change” to U.S. immigration policy. 

“Our nation has long been a beacon for those fleeing violence, persecution, and extreme poverty. As people of faith, may we choose hope and life —  not just for ourselves and our loved ones, but for every child of God,” he said. 

Earlier this year, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski similarly urged the government to expand legal pathways to citizenship for unlawfully present migrants who have committed no other crimes.

“Rather than spending billions to deport people who are already contributing positively to our nation’s well-being, it would be more financially sensible and more morally acceptable for Congress, working with the administration, to expand legal pathways for noncriminal migrants to adjust to a permanent legal status,” the archbishop said at the time.

In July, meanwhile, Venice, Florida, Bishop Frank Dewane criticized the then-proposed “Alligator Alcatraz" immigrant detainment facility and said it was “alarming to see enforcement strategies which treat all unauthorized immigrants as dangerous criminals.”

“Decency requires that we remember individuals being detained are fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters of distressed relatives,” he said.

Archbishop Sanz Montes, with the Lumen Dei missionaries sent to the Diocese of Tlapa in Mexico. / Credit: Archdiocese of Oviedo

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 15, 2025 / 12:34 pm (CNA).

The archbishop of Oviedo in Spain, Jesús Sanz, was momentarily held at gunpoint but was allowed to proceed unharmed by hooded men with machine guns in Mexico during a recent trip to support the establishment of a new mission in the Diocese of Tlapa in the state of Guerrero.

Sanz visited the area to promote a new mission headed by two priests and a deacon belonging to the Lumen Dei (Light of God) Association.

In an interview released by the archdiocese, the prelate noted that "it’s perhaps one of the most violent areas in Mexico," with two aspects: one "very basic, very primal" as in personal vendettas and the other related to drug trafficking.

"A priest and I were going to celebrate Holy Mass in a small community on a Sunday. Then, on one of the curves [in the road], three hooded men with machine guns appeared. They stopped our vehicle and asked us who we were and where we were going. When we told them we were missionary priests, they said, 'Don't worry, go on ahead,' and that was that," the archbishop recounted.

For the prelate "seeing people pointing guns at you whose faces you can't see" instills a certain feeling, "but beyond that understandable fear, it didn't have any major consequences, and the missionaries are always highly respected," he added.

These types of traffic stops, known as checkpoints, are often linked to organized crime gangs that monitor access to highways and roads to prevent the presence of rival groups.

The "Narcomap of Mexico," prepared by the local newspaper Milenio, estimates that 24 crime gangs are fighting over territory in Guerrero.

It was also in the state of Guerrero that the murder of Father Bertoldo Pantaleón Estrada, a member of the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, took place earlier this month.

New mission in San Pedro el Viejo

The new missionaries are based in San Pedro el Viejo, a village with just over 150 inhabitants where almost all of the inhabitants speak Mixtec rather than Spanish.

According to the Archdiocese of Oviedo, launching this missionary effort is due to the prelate's friendship, dating back to seminary days, with a priest from the Archdiocese of Toledo who has been working in the area for some time and asked for his help, given the complexity of this task.

The new mission will bring the Gospel to an area of ​​very remote villages, with rugged mountainous terrain where the apostolic work must begin "from practically nothing," Father Dionisio Serrano Pascual, secretary general of Lumen Dei, told the archdiocese.

Sanz explained that the missionaries will be in charge of 45 parishes and that they will not be the last ones to be sent, as the possibility of more diocesan priests from Oviedo coming to the area is already being considered.

“The Church is missionary. And when Jesus departs from his disciples, he tells them: ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel, the Good News.’ To lose this missionary concern is to lose our identity as Christians,” the prelate pointed out.

From his experience accompanying the missionaries in their new assignment, the archbishop of Oviedo emphasized, in addition to the fact that children and young people are a source of hope, that the older ones still bear "the legacy of that first evangelization, centuries ago, which took place through the presence of my Franciscan brothers. And since they haven't always been able to be supported by a priestly presence, they have passed on, through word of mouth, the faith they have received and the rudiments they learned in catechism."

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

The U.S. bishops gather in Baltimore, Md., on Nov. 12, 2024 for their plenary assembly. / Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 15, 2025 / 11:48 am (CNA).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will select a new president and vice president during its Fall Plenary Assembly, which is set for Nov. 10 to Nov. 13 in Baltimore, Maryland.

In November, the three-year terms for the current president, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, and vice president, Archbishop William E. Lori, are set to expire. The new conference leaders, who will be chosen from a slate of 10 candidates, will also serve three-year terms.

The following slate of candidates was selected through nominations from the bishops:

• Bishop Robert E. Barron, Diocese of Winona-Rochester

• Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, Archdiocese of Oklahoma City

• Bishop Daniel E. Flores, Diocese of Brownsville

• Archbishop Richard G. Henning, Archdiocese of Boston

• Bishop David J. Malloy, Diocese of Rockford

• Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, Archdiocese of Philadelphia

• Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend

• Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon

• Archbishop Charles C. Thompson, Archdiocese of Indianapolis

• Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger, Archdiocese of Detroit

According to a news release from the USCCB, both positions are selected by a majority vote of present voting members. If no bishop receives more than 50% of the vote, the bishops will hold a second vote. If there is still no bishop with a majority, the assembly will vote in a head-to-head race between the two bishops who received the most votes in the second round. 

The president is chosen first, and the vice president is chosen from the remaining nine candidates, according to the USCCB.

At the gathering, bishops will also select new chairmen for six committees: the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance; the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs; the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis; the Committee on International Justice and Peace; the Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People; and the Committee on Religious Liberty. 

For those positions, the elected bishops will serve a single year as chairman-elect and then begin a three-year term at the end of the 2026 Fall Assembly. 

Pope Leo XIV waves from the popemobile during an Oct. 15, 2025 public audience in St. Peter's Square. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA.

Rome Newsroom, Oct 15, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Optimism can disappoint us, but Christian hope “promises and fulfills” our hearts’ desire for fullness, Pope Leo XIV said at his weekly audience on Wednesday.

Addressing thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 15, the pope said, “This deep desire in our hearts can find its ultimate answer not in roles, not in power, not in having, but in the certainty that there is someone who guarantees this constitutive impulse of our humanity; in the awareness that this expectation will not be disappointed or thwarted. This certainty coincides with hope.”

“This does not mean thinking in an optimistic way: often optimism lets us down, causing our expectations to implode, whereas hope promises and fulfills,” he added in his weekly message.

The Holy Father continued his reflections on the mystery of Christ, which culminates in the Resurrection, but this time he linked it to “current human and historical reality, with its questions and challenges.”

“From Christ’s Resurrection springs that hope that gives us a foretaste, despite the fatigue of living, of a deep and joyful calm: that peace that only he can give us in the end, without end,” the pope explained.

Leo recalled that human existence is full of contrasts — joy, sadness, gratitude, and stress — but that only in the Risen Christ does the heart find the fullness it seeks.

“We live busy lives, we concentrate on achieving results, and we even attain lofty, prestigious goals. Conversely, we remain suspended, precarious, awaiting success and recognition that are delayed or do not arrive at all,” he continued.

The pope acknowledged that this tension between the desire for fulfillment and the experience of limitation defines much of the human condition: “We find ourselves experiencing a paradoxical situation: we would like to be happy, and yet it is very difficult to be happy in a continuous way, without any shadows. We come to terms with our limitations and, at the same time, with the irrepressible urge to try to overcome them. We feel deep down that we are always missing something.”

However, the pontiff said, this feeling of “lack” is the call to find fulfillment in the Risen One.

“In truth,” he said, “we were not created for lack, but for fullness, to rejoice in life, and life in abundance, according to Jesus’ expression in the Gospel of John [10:10],” which says, “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Leo emphasized that the Risen Christ “is the wellspring that satisfies our thirst, the infinite thirst for fullness that the Holy Spirit imbues into our hearts. Indeed, the Resurrection of Christ is not a simple event of human history, but the event that transformed it from within.”

The Holy Father noted that spiritual thirst is a permanent condition of the human heart, and only Jesus, who died and rose again, can answer our deepest questions, such as, “is there really a destination for us? Does our existence have any meaning? And the suffering of so many innocents, how can it be redeemed?”

“The Risen Jesus does not bestow upon us an answer ‘from above,’ but becomes our companion on this often arduous, painful and mysterious journey. Only He can fill our empty flask when our thirst becomes unbearable,” he explained.

“We are fragile creatures,” Leo added. “Mistakes are part of our humanity; it is the wound of sin that makes us fall, give up, despair. To rise again instead means to get up and stand on our feet.”

Pope Leo gives an address in St. Peter's Basilica. 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

EWTN News, Oct 15, 2025 / 09:45 am (CNA).

The Vatican announced Wednesday that Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Ignatius Wu Jianlin as auxiliary bishop of Shanghai on Aug. 11, with his episcopal ordination taking place today under the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.

Father Wu Jianlin's consecration at St. Ignatius Cathedral marks a further development in the complex relationship between Beijing and the Vatican.

Chinese authorities had previously announced Wu’s “election” by an assembly of priests and laypeople on April 28, during the sede vacante period following the death of Pope Francis.

The Vatican Bollettino, published Wednesday, revealed that the Holy Father approved Wu’s candidacy on Aug. 11.

While his appointment was not previously made public, the announcement suggests the move was made in accordance with the Vatican-China agreement.

At the time of Wu's election, observers expressed concern that Beijing was exploiting the papal interregnum to assert control over episcopal appointments.

Wednesday’s Vatican statement confirms the new appointment was approved by Pope Leo XIV.

Bishop Wu, 55, was born on Jan. 27, 1970, and studied philosophy and theology at Sheshan Seminary in Shanghai from 1991 to 1996. He was ordained a priest in 1997, and served in a number of roles as cleric. 

Between 2013 and 2023, he helped administer the diocese during Shanghai’s prolonged sede vacante, and later served as vicar general.

Agreement as ‘seed of hope’?

The Provisional Agreement, first signed in 2018 and renewed in 2024 for four more years, establishes a system in which Chinese authorities apparently propose candidates for episcopal office, who must then receive pontifical approval before being appointed.

The exact terms of the controversial agreement remain unpublished, however, and the way the process is applied has repeatedly come under scrutiny.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, has long defended the agreement as an instrument of dialogue in an imperfect situation.

In an Oct. 11 address commemorating the 1924 Council of Shanghai, Parolin described the agreement as a “seed of hope” which, despite setbacks, could bear fruit in the long term “in the proclamation of the Gospel, in communion with the universal Church and the Bishop of Rome, and in authentic Christian life.”

At the same conference, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, affirmed “the real life and ordinary daily routine of Catholic communities in China,” even if “attention is usually focused on issues of episcopal appointments, local incidents, relations between the Chinese political authorities and the Holy See, or problems related to the state's religious policy.”

The Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), popularly known as the Vatican Bank. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Last week, Pope Leo XIV introduced a significant reform to the financial architecture of the Holy See.

With the motu proprio Coniuncta Cura, (“Shared Responsibility”) the Holy Father revoked the exclusive right that the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR by its Italian acronym) — popularly known as the “Vatican Bank” — had until then for investment management, opening the door to the use of other foreign financial intermediaries if deemed more efficient or appropriate.

The new regulations do not seek to remove investments from the Vatican purview but rather to open the possibility of management to accredited financial intermediaries.

“If there is a sum to be invested, it was previously done only through the IOR; but now it can also be done through the APSA [Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See]. This does not mean that investments will be made outside [of the Vatican] but rather that external financial organizations can step in to assist the Vatican,” Mimmo Muolo, an expert on Holy See finances and a journalist for the Italian Bishops’ Conference’s newspaper, Avvenire, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Pope Leo XIV — who has practical experience in financial management as superior of the Order of St. Augustine — “wanted to apply the economic principle of diversification in the Vatican,” Muolo noted.

Reactivating the Vatican’s other economic-financial lung

This decision effectively means “reactivating the Vatican’s other economic-financial lung,” he explained. The APSA, in fact, is the body responsible for managing the Vatican’s real estate assets, which total some 2,400 apartments, most of them located in Rome and Castel Gandolfo. In addition, there are another 600 units rented to businesses or used as offices.

The expert explained that, in reality, the IOR — a small financial institution with just over 100 employees — “is not a bank” but rather “a large investment fund that has made it possible to channel financial resources.”

“The true Vatican bank is APSA, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, which manages both the real estate assets — the Vatican apartments and palaces — and the securities, shares, and financial resources,” he pointed out.

The core of the reform, Muolo pointed out, is pragmatic: ensuring the economic sustainability of the Holy See, whose operation requires a significant staffing structure.

“You have to keep in mind,” he explained, “that between the Holy See and the Vatican City State, which are legally distinct but connected, there are about 5,000 employees.”

“Just guaranteeing the monthly salary of those 5,000 workers requires quite a large amount of resources. This amount also comes from the profits from the investments that have been made to date,” he noted.

Reorganizing to improve performance

Muolo interprets the pope’s decision as an attempt to reorganize management and is based on the “determination to maximize and improve performance.”

“Previously, there was a monopoly regime, with the IOR as the sole actor doing everything. Now, however, the stimulus will also come from the outside because instead of being carried away by inertia, new avenues, new partners, and new solutions will be sought,” he explained.

The expert believes this decision by Pope Leo will stimulate “a certain internal competition between APSA and the IOR to find the best solutions and increase revenue.”

The measure, which repeals the Rescriptum ex Audientia promulgated by Pope Francis in August 2022, represents a change of direction in Vatican financial policy.

The Argentine pontiff had centralized all fund and asset management in the IOR and APSA, forcing the Curia institutions to transfer their resources to accounts managed by these bodies: “We know well that the internal needs for the functioning of the Holy See have increased but resources have not. Moreover, during the COVID years, there was also a major crisis in revenues.”

“That’s why I believe Pope Leo is moving in this direction: seeking new vehicles, new financial operators who can, while always respecting the Holy See’s rules on ethical investments, increase revenues,” he added.

No scandal in reversing Pope Francis’ reform

Finally, Muolo emphasized the realistic and evolving nature of the reform, which he considers a reasonable correction of the framework established by Francis: “Not all reforms that are implemented necessarily produce the expected results,” he said.

“If a reform doesn’t work, it’s good to change it. And I think Pope Leo did not act solely out of his own personal will. He probably received reports, saw accounting records, consulted with experts in the field, and deemed it appropriate to slightly correct the course set by Pope Francis. I don’t see anything scandalous in this: It’s normal that over time, reforms are made to reforms,” ​​he noted.

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

Religious education teacher and author Andy Lewis, assistant principal at St. Bonaventure Catholic Secondary School in London, told CNA he believes the move to cut the bursary for religious education will have a “huge” impact on the ability of Catholic schools to recruit religious education teachers. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Andy Lewis

London, England, Oct 15, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A leading English Catholic religious education teacher has criticized the removal of a bursary for those training to become religious education teachers, warning that the cuts will affect both the mission and leadership of Catholic schools. 

Currently a person training to become a religious education teacher receives a bursary of 10,000 pounds (just over $13,000), but the U.K. government announced on Oct. 7 that the figure would be reduced to zero for the year 2026-2027.

Religious education teacher and author Andy Lewis, assistant principal at St. Bonaventure Catholic Secondary School in London, told CNA he believes the move will have a “huge” impact on the ability of Catholic schools to recruit specialist religious education (RE) teachers.

“There is huge concern about the impact of this decision,” Lewis said. “It now requires an even greater commitment to decide to train as an RE teacher — and for some, that will be a step too far financially. For Catholic RE, it further compounds the current issue that schools have: a lack of specialists in Catholic RE.”

In the Catholic schools of England and Wales, religious education is prioritized by the Catholic Education Service (CES) as “the core of the core curriculum,” and at least 10% of the curriculum is dedicated to the subject. The CES represents the national education policy of the bishops of England and Wales for the 2,169 Catholic schools, colleges, academies, and universities in England and Wales.

However, despite the high standards of teaching religious education, there are still some Catholic schools whose RE departments are not fully staffed and where the subject is taught by non-RE specialists.

Lewis, who has authored religious education textbooks and helped develop a new religious education qualification with support from the CES, told CNA that “a lack of bursary when recruitment challenges remain significant is detrimental to the RE community as a whole.”

“We are struggling to attract people into the teaching profession in general, and while there are real shortages in science and maths teachers, such disparity is a source of great frustration,” he said.

The cuts are also expected to affect both the mission and the leadership of Catholic schools. 

CES has proposed a vision for students in Catholic educational environments “to flourish,” stating in November 2024: “It is an understanding that we are all made in the image and likeness of God, gifted with an inherent dignity, and graced with a transcendent purpose to realize God’s love on earth. In the daily life of a school, this dignity and purpose is manifest in a pedagogical approach which seeks to engender a holistic formation of the person so we may realize life in all its fullness in mind, body, and spirit.”

Lewis believes the bursary cuts will affect this mission. “This makes the job of delivering the Religious Education Directory (RED) and meeting standards of the Catholic School Inspectorate (CSI) even tougher — while just attempting to fulfill our mission as Catholic schools and ensuring every student gets an authentic and high quality standard of RE.”

Meanwhile, Paul Barber, director of the Catholic Education Service, who blasted the government for its “failure to meet religious education teacher recruitment targets for most of the past decade” in an Oct. 10 statement, said he believes the cuts will harm leadership vacancies in Catholic schools. 

“Many Catholic school headteachers will have also begun their careers as RE teachers. Any national shortage of teachers, which would of course include in RE, therefore has a corresponding impact on the number of applicants for Catholic school leadership vacancies,” Barber said, adding: “This is a disheartening decision when there is a clear need for more RE teachers.”

Looking forward, Lewis called upon the entire “Catholic community” to work together to explore ways of finding more RE teachers. “It does feel there needs real action in this area,” he said. “But it is clear there just isn’t the funding. It is a question for the Catholic community: How do we seek those who are able to teach Catholic RE and encourage them to come and work in our schools?”

The CES is currently working to increase the number of religious education specialists by introducing a new postgraduate certificate in religious education — a collaboration between the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton and St. Mary’s University in Twickenham, London.

Opening of the silver tomb of St. Teresa of Ávila; portrait of St. Teresa of Ávila. / Credit: Order of Carmel

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 15, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The Diocese of Ávila in Spain reported on Aug. 28, 2024, that the body of St. Teresa of Ávila, a doctor of the Church, was still incorrupt after her death on Oct. 4, 1582 — almost five centuries ago.

“Today the tomb of St. Teresa was opened and we have verified that it is in the same condition as when it was last opened in 1914,” said the postulator general of the Discalced Carmelite order, Father Marco Chiesa of the Carmelite Monastery of Alba de Tormes, where the remains of the revered Spanish saint rest.

Father Miguel Ángel González, the Carmelite prior of Alba de Tormes and Salamanca of the Diocese of Ávila, explained how the procedure was carried out: “The community of Discalced Carmelite mothers together with the postulator general of the order, the members of the ecclesiastical tribunal, and a small group of religious moved the reliquaries with stringency and solemnity to the place set up for study. We did it singing the Te Deum with our hearts full of emotion.”

The diocese explained that the event took place as part of the canonical recognition of the remains of St. Teresa of Ávila, requested from the Vatican on July 1, 2024, by the bishop of Salamanca, Luis Retana, with authorization granted by Pope Francis through the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

The process of studying the body, the heart, an arm, and a hand, the latter of which is preserved in the Spanish town of Ronda and has been taken to Alba de Tormes for research, took place Aug. 28–31, 2024.

The diocese said that, in order to get to the body of St. Teresa, the marble slab of the sepulcher was first removed. Then — in the room set up for the studies and now only in the presence of the scientific medical team and the members of the ecclesiastical court — the silver coffin was opened.

The tribunal is made up of the Carmelite provincial of the Iberian Province of St. Teresa of Jesús in Spain, Father Francisco Sánchez Oreja; González; and the superior of the Daughters of Charity of Alba de Tormes, Sister Remigia Blázquez Martín.

The silver coffin was opened with the help of the goldsmiths Ignacio Manzano Martín and Constantino Martín Jaén, who will also be present on the last day of the work.

The Diocese of Ávila also revealed that 10 keys were used to open the tomb: “The three that are kept in Alba de Tormes, the three that the Duke of Alba lent them, and the three that the father general [a Discalced Carmelite] keeps in Rome, in addition to the king’s key. Three of these keys are to open the outer grille, three are to open the marble tomb, and the other four are to open the silver coffin.”

Chiesa pointed out that the images preserved from the 1914 examination are in black and white, so “it is difficult to make a comparison,” although “the parts uncovered, which are the face and the foot, are the same as they were in 1914.”

“There is no color, there is no skin color, because the skin is mummified, but you can see it, especially the middle of the face,” he noted. “The expert doctors can see Teresa’s face almost clearly.”

3 stages of the process 

The first stage was the opening and recognition which took place up until Aug. 31, 2024. In this phase, a team led by Dr. José Antonio Ruiz de Alegría from Madrid took photos and X-rays as well as properly cleaned the reliquaries.

The second stage took place in laboratories in Italy for a few months and resulted in various scientific conclusions. Finally, as a third stage, some interventions were proposed to better preserve the remains.

Before the final closure, a time was set aside so the relics of St. Teresa could be venerated.

The 1914 opening

The previous opening of the tomb of St. Teresa of Jesús took place from Aug. 16–23, 1914. At that time the Diocese of Ávila stated that the body remained “completely incorrupt,” as occurred at the opening in 1750.

According to Carmelite Father Daniel de Pablo Maroto, the tomb was opened in 1914 because the superior general of the Discalced Carmelites, Father Clemente de los Santos, wanted to take advantage of his visit to Spain to see the bodies of the founding saints: St. John of the Cross in Segovia and St. Teresa in Alba de Tormes.

The study conducted in 2024 with the remains of St. Teresa of Ávila was similar to that carried out in 1991 with those of St. John of the Cross in Segovia on the occasion of the fourth centenary of his death.

Who was St. Teresa of Ávila?

The website of the general curia of the Discalced Carmelites explains that they recognize as their mother and founder St. Teresa of Jesús, also known as St. Teresa of Ávila, the first woman to become a doctor of the Church, who wanted to “preserve the continuity of Carmel” with the desire that “a new style of religious life would be born,” always “in fidelity to the Church.”

Born in Spain in 1515, St. Teresa of Ávila was also a mystic and writer of Jewish descent, recognized both for her contribution to Catholic spirituality and to Spanish literature.

A famous saying of hers is: “Let nothing trouble you, let nothing frighten you. Everything passes, God does not change. Patience achieves everything. Whoever has God lacks for nothing. God alone is enough.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, and was translated, adapted, and published by CNA on Aug. 29, 2024. It has since been updated.

Father Mario de Jesús Guevara Calero. / Credit: Archdiocese of Managua

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 14, 2025 / 16:05 pm (CNA).

Father Mario de Jesús Guevara Calero, 66, spiritual director of the La Purísima Archdiocesan Major Seminary in Nicaragua, died on Sunday, Oct. 12, according to the Archdiocese of Managua.

Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, archbishop of Managua, and the priests of the Nicaraguan capital “send their condolences to his family, the seminary community, and the parishioners he served for years in various parishes of our archdiocese,” a death notice from the archdiocese said.

On Dec. 5, 2018, while the priest was hearing confessions in the Managua cathedral, he was splashed with acid on his face and body by Russian citizen Elis Leonidovna Gonn, who was later arrested.

The priest required various surgeries and treatments and, according to the newspaper Confidencial, forgave the woman who attacked him. The incident occurred in the year the dictatorship ramped up the repression against the Catholic Church in the country.

In August 2019, the Nicaraguan dictatorship, led by President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, released Leonidovna Gonn, who was later expelled from the country.

“May God our Lord grant Father Mario Guevara to be already enjoying holy heaven. I give thanks to the Almighty for his life and his ministry,” researcher Martha Patricia Molina, author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church, stated on X.

The latest edition of the report records more than 1,000 attacks by the dictatorship and that more than 16,500 processions and acts of piety have been prohibited by the Sandinista regime.

‘A man of prayer’

“It’s both interesting and a joy for me as a bishop to visit the parishes, and how beautiful it is when many of the faithful remember their priests,” Brenes said Oct. 13 in his homily for the funeral Mass he celebrated at the Immaculate Conception of Mary Parish in the Masaya pastoral area.

“I have been in recent weeks, today in three or four parishes in San Rafael del Sur, and we remember how, in the most difficult situations, Father Mario was there, serving those communities with total generosity. In difficult situations, but it’s beautiful [he did so] without complaining, but with dedication,” the cardinal continued.

Speaking of the illness from which the priest suffered at the end of his life, the cardinal commented that in “these last months, he was able to go through Calvary, his ailments like a street [paved with] bitterness, but when I had the opportunity to visit him in the hospital and sometimes at the seminary, at the end, he was smiling. And above all, I was struck by seeing near his bed, his Liturgy of the Hours, and the holy rosary in his hands.”

“I think these were moments of strength; a man of prayer, he truly knew how to maintain that communication with God and also with our mother, the Blessed Virgin,” he added.

The cardinal emphasized that Guevara “preached to us, not with grand words, but with his life, his simple life, but with tremendous power. And what was that power but the person of Jesus himself?”

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

Younger U.S. priests say they are far more conservative than older priests in their voting patterns, according to a 2025 survey. / Credit: TSViPhoto/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 14, 2025 / 15:35 pm (CNA).

Younger U.S. priests are far more conservative than older priests, reaffirming a generational divide in political views, according to a 2025 survey.

The strong generational divide in political views among Catholic priests in the United States was reaffirmed in a 2025 survey that shows younger priests are far more conservative than older priests.

The National Study of Catholic Priests, published on Oct. 14, was commissioned by The Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America and conducted by Gallup. Researchers surveyed the same priests who were surveyed in The Catholic Project’s 2022 survey to examine the U.S. priesthood.

According to the report, the 2025 survey “closely mirrors” the findings in 2022 and shows “a clear generational shift away from liberal self-identification.”

About 51% of priests ordained in 2010 or later said their political views are either conservative or very conservative. Another 37% said they were moderate and the remaining 12% were either liberal or very liberal.

For priests ordained between 2000 and 2009, 44% were conservative or very conservative and 44% were moderate. Again, only 12% of priests ordained in these years said they were liberal or very liberal.

Priests ordained between 1990 and 1999 leaned conservative, but to a lesser degree, with 38% saying they are somewhat conservative, 34% identifying as moderate, and 26% saying they are liberal or very liberal.

For priests ordained in the prior decade, 1980 to 1989, conservatism declines to about 22%, and 36% call themselves moderate. About 40%, a plurality, identify as liberal or very liberal. 

Older priests are far more liberal. A majority of priests ordained between 1975 and 1979, about 53%, say they are either liberal or very liberal. About 34% are moderate and 11% conservative. About 61% of priests ordained before 1975 said they are liberal or very liberal, 25% are moderate, and 13% are conservative. 

The theological leanings of priests followed a similar pattern, with an even sharper decline in theological progressivism, according to the researchers. About 70% of priests ordained before 1975 called themselves theological progressives, and only 8% of priests ordained 2010 or later said the same.

About 70% of the youngest priests self-report as conservative/orthodox or very conservative/orthodox on theological matters.

Generational divide on pastoral priorities

The political and theological shifts flow into generational divides about what issues the Church should be prioritizing as well, such as climate change, LGBTQ outreach, and synodality.

Regarding climate change, 78% of priests ordained before 1980 said this should be a priority, as did 61% of priests ordained between 1980 and 1999. Just 35% of priests ordained in 2000 or later agreed.

The trend is similar for outreach to the LGBTQ community with 66% of priests ordained before 1980 calling this a priority, but just 49% of priests ordained between 1980 and 1999 and 37% of priests ordained 2000 or later agree.

Synodality is also popular among older priests, with 77% of those ordained before 1980 calling it a priority. About 57% of priests ordained between 1980 and 1999 say the same, but only 37% of priests ordained 2000 or later agree.

Immigration 

Some issues show smaller generational divides. For example, 93% of priests ordained before 1980 see immigration and refugee assistance as a priority, as do 82% ordained between 1980 and 1999 and 74% ordained in 2000 or later. Also, 98% of priests ordained before 1980 believe poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity are priorities, as do 92% ordained between 1980 and 1999 and 79% ordained 2000 or later.

There is a generational divide on whether Eucharistic devotion or access to the Traditional Latin Mass are priorities, with younger priests more focused on those issues. 

About 88% of priests ordained in 2000 or later see Eucharistic devotion as a priority, as do 66% of those ordained between 1980 and 1999 and 57% ordained before 1980. About 39% of priests ordained in 2000 or later see Latin Mass access as a priority, but only 20% of priests ordained between 1980 and 1999 and 11% of priests ordained before 1980 agree.