Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish

Kansas Capitol building in Topeka. / Credit: Dave Newman/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 15:50 pm (CNA).

Amid plans for a blasphemous “black mass” at the Kansas Capitol building set to take place on March 28, Catholics in the state and elsewhere are urging a prayerful, peaceful response, the centerpiece of which will be adoration and Mass at a Catholic church directly opposite the Capitol.

Organized by the Satanic Grotto, the “black mass” — an explicit parody of the Catholic Mass — is set to begin around 10 a.m. Originally slated to take place inside the Capitol rotunda itself, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly later decreed that the event must take place outside, though organizers of the ritual have said they plan to defy Kelly’s order and enter the Capitol building “around 11:30.”

A promotional flyer for the “mass” posted on Reddit lists the “components” of the ritual, which include the “Denounciation [sic] of Christ,” the “Desecration of the Eucharist,” and the “Corruption of the Blood.”

To counter the Satanic event, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, will lead a Eucharistic Holy Hour at Assumption Catholic Church, which is directly across the street from the Capitol.

The Holy Hour will begin at 11 a.m. Friday followed by noon Mass. Similar Holy Hours and Masses are planned in the neighboring Kansas dioceses of Wichita, Salina, and Dodge City. 

The planned Satanic ritual is an “affront to all Christians,” Naumann noted in a recent statement, but he urged the faithful not to “succumb to anger and violence, as that would be cooperating with the devil.”

During the authentic Catholic Mass, “we will pray for God to bless those who blaspheme him and who mock those who believe in Jesus Christ. After all, on Calvary, Jesus implored his heavenly Father to forgive those who crucified him because they did not know what they were doing,” Naumann wrote. 

The archbishop noted that Pope Francis recently announced he will canonize Blessed Bartolo Longo, a 19th-century Italian who embraced the occult and Satanism, becoming a Satanic priest and promising his soul to the devil. 

Amid the fervent prayers of his family, a priest motivated Longo, on the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to make a sincere confession and return to the Church. He became a devout and charitable Catholic and even later inspired St. John Paul II to create the luminous mysteries of the rosary. 

“Catholics should not underestimate Satan, his craftiness and power. However, as long as we keep close to Jesus, we need not fear the devil. Throughout the Gospel, we see Our Lord’s authority over the demonic, liberating many who had given themselves to Satan,” Naumann wrote. 

“If we seize the opportunity to draw closer to Jesus through prayer, then we can make this attempt to mock and blaspheme our Catholic faith into what Satan most fears and despises,” the prelate said. 

“Let us pray that the Lord of Life can penetrate and change the hearts of the Satanists of our time with his merciful love. St. Bartolo Longo, pray for us and especially for those who have become ensnared by the evil one. All things are possible with God!”

Archdiocese filed lawsuit over alleged theft of consecrated hosts

Naumann had on March 14 filed a lawsuit in Leavenworth County District Court seeking an order to secure the safe return of any consecrated hosts in the Satanist group’s possession. Satanist groups intending to stage so-called “black masses” have on at least one other occasion boasted of possessing a stolen consecrated host with an intent to desecrate it. 

Naumann settled the lawsuit after the Satanist leaders testified under oath that the hosts and wine they plan to desecrate in the ritual are not “Catholic in origin.”

The planned Satanic event has sparked a heated debate among Kansas lawmakers as to whether the event should be allowed to go forward. The Legislature passed a nonbinding resolution March 20 denouncing the planned ritual. 

The leader of the Satanic Grotto, Michael Stewart, who has described himself as an atheist who does not believe in Satan, posted a video this week in which he said he expects “up to 5,000 counterprotestors” to show up at the Capitol during his event. 

“5,000 Catholics are what the Capitol Police are preparing for,” Stewart claimed. 

A Catholic-led petition asking Kelly to shut down the event has attracted over 50,000 signatures as of Thursday. 

Students at Kansas’ Benedictine College are invited to pray a rosary in the school’s Mary’s Grotto at 11 a.m. on Friday, school spokesman Steve Johnson told CNA. 

Benedictine students can then participate in daily Mass at 12:10 p.m. that day, which will be offered with the intention for the conversion of those involved in the “black mass,” Johnson said.

Benedictine is in Atchison, about an hour northeast of Topeka. The school is not taking an official group to the capitol to take part in the prayerful protest, Johnson said, but he said some students may be going of their own volition.

A special memorial Mass was held for Mother Angelica, the foundress of EWTN, in Rome on Thursday, March 27, 2025, in the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia near the Vatican, marking the ninth anniversary of her death in 2016. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Mar 27, 2025 / 15:20 pm (CNA).

A special memorial Mass was held for Mother Angelica, the foundress of EWTN, in Rome on Thursday to commemorate her life, legacy, and unwavering faith in God. The Mass, celebrated by Father Diego Sanz Martinez, OMI, in the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, near the Vatican, marked the ninth anniversary of Mother Angelica’s death in 2016.

EWTN Vatican Bureau staff — together with their families and friends — participated in the Mass in thanksgiving for the religious sister who launched EWTN in 1981 in the U.S. with approximately 20 employees on Aug. 15, the solemnity of the Assumption. 

“Through her action and her work, she has inspired many men and women to take part in this work of proclaiming the Eternal Word to the world, with new and ever more effective means,” Martinez said in his homily.

“Thanks to her legacy, today we also take part in this work, so we must pay good attention to the Word of God that we have proclaimed today in order to know what awaits us,” he continued. 

Martinez asked his listeners to remember Mother Angelica’s motto when contemplating how to communicate the faith in society today: “Unless you are willing to do the ridiculous, God will not do the miraculous.”

“Jesus Christ also wants to work the miracle through us today. We are the continuators of this long list of messengers and heralds of the Gospel, in which we appear in intimate union with Mother Angelica,” he said.

To be unafraid of a mission that “seems to be too great for us,” Martinez told Catholic journalists that sharing the Gospel is “simply a matter of telling others what we experience every day in our hearts.”  

“The person who truly experiences that God is saving me can no longer remain mute but feels the need to tell others what is happening,” he said. 

Toward the end of his homily, Martinez prayed: “Let us ask God for fidelity to our mission, because God never tires of calling us to conversion and to live according to his Eternal Word.” 

Pro-life advocates demonstrate at the Illinois March for Life in Springfield on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. / Credit: Diocese of Springfield

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 14:50 pm (CNA).

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:

Thousands gather for Illinois March for Life

More than 2,000 participants gathered for the Illinois March for Life on Tuesday at the state Capitol building in Springfield.

Dr. Christina Francis, the CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, spoke at the rally on treating mothers and babies as two patients and criticizing pro-abortion measures in the state.

Other speakers included state Rep. Adam Niemerg, former state Rep. Jeanne Ives, and Mary Kate Zander, the president of Illinois Right to Life and Illinois Right to Life Action, as well as other pro-life political and faith leaders.

Pro-lifers marched for babies in the womb but also against state legislation to legalize physician-assisted suicide, according to the Diocese of Springfield.

A Mass for life at the Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois, Springfield, was packed, largely with students from Catholic grade schools, high schools, and Newman Centers from around the state.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki was the main celebrant, while Belleville Bishop Michael McGovern gave the homily. Paprocki also led the crowd in prayer at the march. 

The Diocese of Springfield in a press release highlighted the large percentage of teenagers and young adults in attendance. 

Indiana judge pauses access to state abortion records

An Indiana judge on Monday ruled against the release of the Indiana Department of Health’s abortion records, handing a win to two doctors who argued the records should be kept private. 

The state had agreed to distribute the records earlier this year after a lawsuit brought by the Thomas More Society on behalf of the pro-life group Voices for Life. The group had been permitted to review abortion access records before the state blocked them from doing so in 2023. 

In February the state agreed to once again allow access to the records. But Indianapolis physicians Caitlin Bernard and Caroline Rouse had argued in a lawsuit that it would violate patient privacy, leading Marion County Superior Court Judge James Joven to grant a preliminary injunction this week.

The judge ruled that the information could be increasingly personal as more details are required to be included following Indiana’s increased abortion restrictions in 2023. 

The injunction will remain until the court makes a final decision on the case. Aggregated data is still made public quarterly. 

California bill could force emergency rooms to prioritize abortions

The California Catholic Conference has urged Catholics to take action against a bill they say would redefine emergency health services to include abortion and would “force emergency rooms to prioritize abortion over caring for both mom and baby.”

The bill continues to move through the state Legislature after a recent hearing on March 25 in the state Assembly’s health committee.

“We need as many voices raised on this as we can,”  said Molly Sheahan, associate director for Healthy Families, a branch of the California Catholic Conference.

The conference told Catholics to inform the state that “emergency services are integral to a hospital’s ministry to the community, providing critical, timely care in life-threatening situations.” 

“Calling out abortion as the only explicitly required medical intervention in emergency services gives abortion disproportionate weight for clinicians examining and evaluating pregnant patients,” the conference said.

The conference also noted that the bill “does not include consideration for the fetal patient, as federal law EMTALA [the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act] provides” and noted that lifesaving intervention should balance “the life and health of both.” 

The British Parliament building in London. / Credit: Marinesea/Shutterstock

London, England, Mar 27, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

A parliamentary bill that would unleash medically assisted suicide on England and Wales might not be implemented for another four years amid a growing climate of concern about the viability of such a system.

According to several U.K. publications, including The Times, the Guardian, and the Catholic Herald, the future of the legislation looks uncertain since it may not take effect until 2029 following amendments to the proposed legislation.

It was originally thought that the bill might take two years to implement, but Member of Parliament (MP) Kim Leadbeater, sponsor of the bill, said the delay might be as long as four years.

According to Leadbeater’s spokesperson, “Kim has always been clear that it’s more important to get the assisted dying legislation right than to do it quickly.”

“The bill now contains even stronger safeguards than when it was first tabled, with a new judge-led voluntary assisted dying commission and multidisciplinary panels to examine every application. These will inevitably take longer to implement,” the spokesperson continued.

“But the four-year limit is not a target, it’s a backstop. Kim hopes and believes the service can be delivered more quickly if it becomes law later this year.”

Since members of Parliament voted in support of the bill in January, the bill has been going through the committee stage of its passage, during which it has been scrutinized by several MPs.

However, the process has been mired in controversy due to accusations of bias from campaigners, who highlight that the committee has a disproportionate majority of members who support the bill.

On March 26, The Times newspaper wrote an editorial titled “The Dangerously Flawed Assisted Dying Legislation Should Be Abandoned,” which concluded: “The thankless task of scrutinizing this sinister and half-baked proposal has fallen to a few brave MPs on the committee … Thanks to them its flaws have been fatally exposed. It remains only to administer the coup de grace and kill this bill.”

Following the news that implementation might be delayed, former Paralympian and cross bench peer (a non-party political member who sits on the benches that cross the chamber of the House of Lords) Tanni Grey-Thompson told CNA: “I’m disappointed with the process. This is the biggest legislative change to our society potentially ever, and it feels like it’s been pushed through at a pace. When you take note of the number of amendments to improve the safeguards that are being rejected, it’s quite disappointing.”

“We’ve continually been told it’s the safest bill in the world, but that’s quite a low bar as every jurisdiction has changed since inception and the safeguards have become weaker,” she added. “It’s hard to know what to make of this potential delay and whether it’s because they’ve begun to understand that, in its current format, the bill is unworkable.”

Grey-Thompson continued: “So many organizations have come out and said it’s an awful bill. If the government is committed to wanting to help people, they need to look at palliative care. When you look at the other proposals around cuts to welfare and winter fuel, it’s pushing vulnerable people into greater vulnerability. On the back of the budget, many charities have talked about the impact on the vulnerable. It’s a worrying time.”

“24 Hours for the Lord” at the Church of St. Lawrence in Piscibus on March 13, 2016. / Credit: Centro San Lorenzo

Vatican City, Mar 27, 2025 / 12:45 pm (CNA).

Now in its 12th year, the Church’s “24 Hours for the Lord” Lenten initiative is believed to have been inspired by the Eucharistic devotion of a group of young Catholics in Rome.

On the night of March 12-13, 2013, just hours before Cardinal Jorge Bergolio would be elected pope, young adults were gathered in prayer before the Eucharist in a small church dedicated to youth just outside the Vatican.

It was not the first time. A few weeks prior, the group had also spent all night in adoration at a different church as Pope Benedict XVI was ending his papacy and preparing to leave the Vatican to fly by helicopter to the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.

One day the following year, Pope Francis announced that the whole Church would spend “24 Hours for the Lord,” with a special Lenten penance liturgy at the Vatican, while some of Rome’s churches remained open all night for adoration and confession.

“One of the most beautiful visions that we had when we were young was to put Jesus as the protagonist, at the center,” Daniele Venturi, a young adult leader in Rome at the time, told EWTN News in a Feb. 4 interview.

“Over the years, we experienced these intense and important moments of Eucharistic adoration … where we really saw Jesus attracting,” he added. “[Jesus] says [in the Gospel of John], ‘I will draw everyone to myself,’ and we saw him in action.”

“One of the most significant nights that ignited this Eucharistic spark was in the moment between the resignation of Benedict XVI and the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Francis,” Venturi added. “We were right inside this church [St. Lawrence in Piscibus] in an intense prayer that lasted several days, 24 hours, day and night.”

Venturi, 55, died on March 13, two days after he was hospitalized and placed in intensive care for an unexpected illness.

The layman, who was deeply devoted to his Catholic faith and to sharing it with young people from the time of his own youth, was founder and president of an Italian association called “Papaboys,” created after World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II in 2000.

Members of Papaboys and other young adults who frequented the San Lorenzo Center often joined together in prayer, including many 24-hour prayer marathons, during Benedict XVI’s pontificate and in the early years of Francis’ papacy, Venturi said Feb. 4.

He described it as a chain of prayer that formed between the two pontificates. 

Started in 2014 by Pope Francis, “24 Hours for the Lord” is a penitential Lenten initiative centered on the sacrament of confession in the context of Eucharistic adoration. 

Churches around the world are encouraged to participate, staying open for prayer and with priests available to hear confessions for 24 hours on the eve of the fourth Sunday of Lent. In 2025, the date is March 28-29. 

While it was never explicitly said that the idea for “24 Hours for the Lord” originated with the young people’s prayer marathons, one of the members of the San Lorenzo Center at the time — Alexey Gotovskiy, now a producer in the EWTN News Vatican Bureau — remembered Archbishop Rino Fisichella, then-president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, being aware of the initiative and once celebrated Mass for them. 

The Vatican has held a penitential liturgy to begin the 24 hours event most years since it started. Pope Francis surprised everyone in attendance at the first “24 Hours for the Lord” liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica on March 28, 2014, when he went first to confession himself before entering the confessional to hear others’ confessions.

In 2023 and 2024, the liturgy was held in Roman parishes instead of the Vatican basilica. In 2025, the penance service will be celebrated at the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle in the historic center of Rome.

Organized by the Dicastery for Evangelization, “24 Hours for the Lord” is part of the events of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, including the weekend jubilee for priests who have been instituted as Missionaries of Mercy.

Pope Francis first instituted some priests as Missionaries of Mercy during the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016, later extending the mandate. The Vatican has given Missionary of Mercy priests the faculties to absolve sins otherwise reserved to the Holy See.

Venturi said “the celebration of the ‘24 Hours for the Lord’ is a time to be exclusive, really face to face with [Jesus]. The time of adoration is beautiful because — either in song, or in prayer, or in silence, which is the greatest ‘noise’ that touches every heart — when Jesus speaks, that’s when he breaks every chain that has been bound within each of us, even the most hidden ones, even the ones that we forget.”

“Within these strong moments of continuous prayer,” Venturi added, one approaches a priest for confession, “rediscovering Christ in that priest” and leaving all one’s internal burden behind through the confession of one’s sins. 

null / Credit: Evgeny Atamanenko/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

A recent analysis of U.S. survey data found that children tend to bring “high levels of happiness” to activities such as mealtimes, socializing, and household activities. 

Ken Burchfiel, a research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, said in an analysis published on Thursday that American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data shows “everyday activities are actually more enjoyable when children are present.”

Burchfiel said a 2013 Time magazine article that glamorized the “child-free life” is counteracted by ATUS data showing that levels of “happiness and meaningfulness” tend to be highest when children are involved in an activity. 

Overall, 44% of respondents to the survey rated their happiness levels at their highest when their children were involved in an activity, compared with 37% when a spouse was involved and just 19% when respondents were alone. 

Meanwhile, 56% of respondents said their “meaningfulness” levels were at their peak when with their children, compared with 43% with their spouses and 29% while alone. 

Broken down by category, higher happiness and meaningfulness levels with children were observed in activities ranging from mealtimes to socializing to traveling. 

Respondents only said they were happier with others when engaged in “consumer purchases,” though they still ranked their “meaningfulness” higher when shopping with children.

The analysis “calls into question the wisdom of the ‘child-free’ movement,” Burchfiel wrote, arguing that it’s “possible that those who forgo children in order to focus on their careers or social lives are actually limiting their happiness as a result.”

He stressed that the results “do not prove that the presence of children directly increases well-being,” arguing that other factors such as marriage and religion may play large roles. 

Moreover, the data was collected during the COVID-19 crisis, he noted, which was “a time when Americans were more isolated than usual” and their social options were limited. 

Yet the results “should prove encouraging to those who are considering having kids but are afraid to give up their current lifestyle,” he said. 

The analysis comes amid record-low fertility rates in the U.S. and much of the rest of the world, with huge numbers of young people opting to have few or no children and demographers predicting population declines in the coming decades.  

Researchers in Canada last year underscored that much of the decline in fertility can be traced to declining marriage rates, with many people marrying later and later and thus delaying childbirth for years. 

Notably, even majority-Catholic and historically Catholic countries have not been free from the demographic collapse.

The University of Notre Dame. / Credit: Grindstone Media Group/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 27, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Neither U.S. President Donald Trump nor Vice President JD Vance will deliver the commencement address for the 2025 graduating class at the University of Notre Dame — signaling a departure from the tradition of the revered Catholic institution.

Since the 1970s, Notre Dame has routinely invited newly inaugurated presidents to deliver the university’s commencement address. However this year, rather than hosting a political figure, Joint Chiefs of Staff Acting Chairman Adm. Christopher Grady will deliver the address.

In total, six United States presidents have delivered commencement addresses at the university while in office: Eisenhower in 1960, Jimmy Carter in 1977, Ronald Reagan in 1981, George H. W. Bush in 1992, George W. Bush in 2001, and Barack Obama in 2009. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered the 2017 commencement speech. Trump was traveling to Saudi Arabia at the time, although former Notre Dame President Father John Jenkins said that Trump had not been invited after his first inauguration because he did not meet “a certain bar in terms of just moral decency,” which prompted the Pence invitation instead.

Former President Joe Biden, the second Catholic president, was invited to deliver the 2021 address but did not do so because of a scheduling conflict. Former President Bill Clinton also did not deliver the commencement in 1993, but it’s unclear whether the university extended an invitation to him.

Prior to becoming president, former President John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president, delivered the 1950 winter commencement while serving as a member of Congress.

CNA reached out to Notre Dame and the White House to ask whether Trump or Vance were invited to deliver the commencement address this year but did not receive a response from either by the time of publication.

Vance, a convert to the faith, is the nation’s second Catholic vice president after Biden.

The National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, reported that the Notre Dame campus was divided on whether to invite either Trump or Vance, with College Republicans urging an invite and College Democrats discouraging one. The editorial board for the student newspaper, The Observer, suggested that Notre Dame should invite Trump. 

In a news release announcing Grady’s upcoming May 18 commencement speech, Notre Dame President Father Robert A. Dowd referred to the award-decorated Navy admiral as an American hero.

“A true American hero, Adm. Grady has demonstrated tremendous courage, visionary leadership, and outstanding dedication to public service over his distinguished career, which spans more than 40 years,” Dowd said. “It is a privilege to have him address our graduates who will, no doubt, be inspired both by his words and by his example.”

null / Credit: Courtesy of Regnum Christi Spain

Puebla, Mexico, Mar 27, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Twenty-three men will be ordained as new Legionaries of Christ priests at the Vatican this spring. The celebration will be especially significant in Latin America, as 16 of the 23 new priests come from Latin American countries.

The future priests come from various countries: one from Argentina, three from Colombia, one from El Salvador, nine from Mexico, two from Venezuela, one from the United States, and two from Brazil. From Europe, two priests will be ordained from Germany, one from Spain, and one from France.

The ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 3, at 10 a.m. Rome time in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, presided over by Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.

The event will be broadcast live on YouTube in Italian, with simultaneous commentary in Spanish and English.

Vocation testimonies

A special Legionaries of Christ website dedicated to sharing information about ordinations features the testimonies of the future priests. 

One of them is Camilo Palomino, a Colombian seminarian who said regarding his vocation: “Jesus taught us that ‘there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,’ and this becomes a reality when we commit our lives to him.” He also emphasized that God “is not outdone in generosity,” which he said he has experienced time and again in his own life.

Adrián Olvera, a Mexican who will also be ordained in Rome, shared his vocational experience: “I can say with certainty that God always goes beyond what we imagine and surprises us in unexpected ways. We just need to be willing to let ourselves be surprised,” he said in reference to becoming a Legionary priest.

Vocations on the rise

According to the website, the Legionaries of Christ congregation at the end of 2024 had 1,309 members, of whom 1,033 are priests. The congregation’s growth continues, with 1,017 priests recorded in 2023, an increase of 24 over the previous year.

Mexico is the country with the largest number of priests in the congregation (406), followed by the United States (169) and Spain (148). The Legionaries of Christ’s formation process lasts 12 years before priestly ordination.

Currently, the congregation has a permanent presence in 23 countries, organized into nine territories and two delegations. It also has a community of student priests in Rome, an international pontifical seminary there, and an interdiocesan seminary and theological institute in São Paulo, Brazil.

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

null / Credit: RasyidArt/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A recent Australian study based on government data found that people who attended Catholic schools saw “lifelong benefits” across employment, health, and general life satisfaction.

The study, released at the beginning of this month, found that Catholic school attendees were more likely on average to be employed and to earn higher wages than attendees of Australian “government schools,” with average wage differences ranging from 4% to 11%.

Commissioned by the Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA), the study also found other lifelong benefits, including that attendees were more likely to have “higher life satisfaction” and to have better general health than public school attendees.

Catholic school attendees were also more likely to donate to charity and to be working in an industry that directly benefits the public than public and independent school attendees.

Andrew Wade, lead researcher on the study and longtime public policy analyst, said the team “looked at the three different domains: labor market outcomes, health and well-being outcomes, and also community participation outcomes.”

The Centre for International Research on Education Systems (CIRES) at Victoria University conducted the study using the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey data, a national study that has followed the lives of more than 17,000 Australians every year since 2001.

“The unique aspect of HILDA is that it collects data from the same individuals over time, so you can get a longitudinal picture of how their lives have changed over that period,” Wade explained in a video statement.

Run by the University of Melbourne, the HILDA survey has more than 23 years of data.

“It’s designed to collect a representative picture of the Australian population for all the states and territories and includes a whole range of different questions on whole aspects of life, education, work, and community engagement to get a very detailed picture about Australian society and how that changes,” Wade said.

Professor Elizabeth Labone, chief executive officer of the VCEA, noted that the results of the study reflect the reality of the great work that Catholic schools do.

“This innovative research quantifies what people in our sector know intuitively, that Catholic schools do a great job preparing students for life,” Labone said in a statement.

Labone connected this success with the well-rounded, formational education provided by Catholic schools.

“By educating the whole person, Catholic schools support the development of well-rounded individuals who will succeed and be happy and confident in the world during and after their schooling, whatever path they choose through life,” Labone said.

“Parents are increasingly looking for this kind of holistic approach, which is why a growing number of families are choosing one of the affordable Catholic schooling options available across the state,” she concluded.

Mother Angelica, foundress of EWTN. / Credit: EWTN

CNA Staff, Mar 27, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The foundress of EWTN, Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, died nine years ago, but her legacy lives on in the spiritual renewals that have resulted from the fruits of her work. 

Born Rita Antoinette Rizzo on April 20, 1923, she died on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016, after a lengthy struggle with the aftereffects of a stroke. She was 92 years old.

Mother Angelica founded EWTN out of a garage in Alabama in 1981, and it has since become the largest religious media network in the world. (CNA is a service of EWTN News.)

Nine years after her death, EWTN viewers are still sharing their stories of how Mother Angelica’s life and the network she founded continue to influence them. Here are some of those stories, edited for clarity:

Daily Mass viewers

“EWTN has changed my life. I faithfully watch from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. every morning in Massachusetts. My father, who is 95 years old, lives in Maine. We watch daily Mass together through FaceTime and we discuss our thoughts on the homily for the day, every day. I was lost for many years and felt unworthy. EWTN is the vehicle that has taught me to forgive and learn to love myself. The greatest blessing I have received is from EWTN. I now feel at peace, feel hope, and I know that I am loved.”

“I just wanted to acknowledge how your EWTN network has blessed me. I am not Catholic, but [it] does not matter, I am a Christian. I am shut in and I tape your 8 a.m. morning Mass and watch it at 11 p.m. instead of the news. I also enjoy Father [Mitch] Pacwa and his weekly show.”

EWTN in prison

“I’m 42 and was recently released from prison. You have no idea the impact you are making for those of us who were and are incarcerated. Your program is an excellent resource for all Catholics! When I couldn’t watch EWTN on television, I would listen to the radio. I have reconnected with God and my faith and through your program, I have helped others by letting them know what resources to watch and listen to. You have helped so many, you don’t even realize! Archbishop Fulton Sheen is my favorite, as well as ‘Father Spitzer’s Universe,’ the rosary, and Divine Mercy. You have helped me and so many others grow in their faith and really turn their lives around that I even made my confirmation in prison! This feels so good to be able to share this with you! I’m walking by faith and will continue to help others through your program to see God’s light … this is why I donate.”

EWTN in schools

“I work as a substitute teacher, and many times when the teacher leaves work for kids to do independently, I turn on EWTN on the school computers and keep closed captioning on so as not to bother the students and I can read the entire Mass and the Lord have mercy in Latin — all of it — and obtain graces. So, thank you! I can’t wait to meet Mother Angelica in heaven one day. I went to Alabama in 2006 to the family celebration and she was supposed to be there but that was the beginning of her decline as they said she wouldn’t make it after all. I live in Arizona now and am eternally grateful for EWTN.”

EWTN in RCIA classes

“EWTN is a valuable tool that brings back those who have lost their way and the spirit of listening to the call to seek him. I have been praying for a long time for my husband to convert to the Catholic faith with me. I am happy to say that it is through your programming and listening to Sirius XM in the car that has called my husband to RCIA classes. Together we are taking RCIA classes and use your resources to further educate us. I am so grateful to EWTN and my answer to prayer that has brought my husband and I even closer. I will continue to donate because I want this light to keep burning … to call others.”

EWTN in the hospital

“Several years ago, I was in the hospital with a serious respiratory infection. I found myself flipping through the channels on the television and came to EWTN and your show ‘Scripture and Tradition.’ You and the Holy Spirit saved me that day. After listening to you I came back to the Church after being gone for many years. I went to the local church, St. Lawrence, and joined immediately. Since then, I have been very faithful, including watching daily Mass on YouTube and praying the daily rosary. I also go to confession every first Saturday and attend Mass and sacramental communion … I also watch EWTN every day, especially your show. Thank you for all that you do and for helping to save me. You are very special to me as I am hopeful that the Lord will take me to heaven when I die because of your efforts. God bless you and give you the strength and energy to keep up your fabulous work. I will always pray for you.”

EWTN on the journey ‘home’

“Just a quick email to say how much I enjoy listening to your program on EWTN ... it’s terrific! I am a somewhat lapsed Catholic and am currently busy ‘finding my way home’ ... programs like yours (and others on EWTN) are helping me immensely. I’m so pleased to have stumbled across EWTN a few months ago and now I regularly tune in (via satellite) to listen. I’m very impressed by your knowledge, Dr. David Anders, and you are great at explaining complicated things in a simple, readily understandable way. By the way, I also like the chap who helps you on the program, too. Thank you EWTN for bringing the word of God to us viewers. We appreciate the way EWTN’s programs bring peace and unity to us viewers in order to help in our life with the presence of the Lord. Through the virtues, we open our mind and heart, and learn our strengths and weaknesses. Our heart is with God, and we believe all the truths of the Church. The programs on Scripture and education teach us to learn more. Our heart is with God. We serve God. The word of God is important. Thank you for televising this program and Catholic news about Vatican City and Pope Francis.”

EWTN on the App Store

“I wanted to say that I am eternally grateful that EWTN has its own app. I don’t have to go to one of the million-dollar apps like YouTube or Facebook to get my EWTN programming.”

EWTN becoming family

“I’m 95 years old. I have trouble falling asleep since my husband, Joseph, passed away two years ago. In January 2021, I scrolled through the television at midnight. I came across your channel and daily Mass. I was so inspired by Father Mark’s homily that I have watched you all continuously seven days a week because of his homily and how much it meant to me. I have grown to love you all and I just worry about the friars. They are like my children, I love them so much. I am so thankful to have EWTN in my home. It is so hard being alone. You have become my family.”

This story was first published on March 22, 2022, and has been updated.