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Legislation would ensure parents can arrange burial or cremation after pregnancy loss

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, who practiced as an obstetrician-gynecologist for more than 25 years, said he is naming the bill the “Bereaved Parents Rights Act.”

Thousands of pilgrims gather at Fátima to commemorate the apparitions of Our Lady

In his homily, the patriarch of Lisbon, Portugal, said the devotion must transform lives.

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A new study emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive vision of mental health care that treats the whole person and includes spiritual support as well as medical and clinical.

From seminarian in Nicaragua to priest in Miami: ‘I carry my people and my homeland in my heart’

The Ortega regime’s repression of the Catholic Church could not silence God's call to Cristhian Mendieta. Having fled Nicaragua as a seminarian, the young man was ordained to the priesthood in Miami.

From seminarian in Nicaragua to priest in Miami: ‘I carry my people and my homeland in my heart’

The Ortega regime’s repression of the Catholic Church could not silence God's call to Cristhian Mendieta. Having fled Nicaragua as a seminarian, the young man was ordained to the priesthood in Miami.

U.S. government moves to seize land from New Mexico diocese to build border wall

The Diocese of Las Cruces has been named in a civil action seeking an eminent domain takeover of part of its land.

U.S. government moves to seize land from New Mexico diocese to build border wall

The Diocese of Las Cruces has been named in a civil action seeking an eminent domain takeover of part of its land.

U.S. bishop joins Slovaks honoring blessed bishop tortured by communists

Greek Catholic faithful gathered in the birthplace of Blessed Vasiľ Hopko, a bishop imprisoned and tortured under communism in Czechoslovakia, to mark 50 years since his death.

Deaths of Christian sanitation workers in Pakistan highlight systemic discrimination

At least six Christian sanitation workers have died in recent weeks cleaning sewers in Pakistan. Rights groups say minorities are systematically channeled into hazardous work.

Pope remembers attempt on St. John Paul, calls Mary the Church's "perfect model"

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Marking the anniversary of the attempted assassination of St. John Paul II and the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, Pope Leo XIV said Mary is the “perfect model” of what the Church is called to be and urged Catholics to imitate her “humility, active faith and obedience.”

During his May 13 general audience in St. Peter’s Square, the pope dedicated his catechesis to Mary, reflecting on her role as “model,” “mother” and “pre-eminent member” of the Church through the teaching of the Second Vatican Council’s dogmatic constitution "Lumen Gentium."

The date marked 45 years since St. John Paul was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter’s Square during a general audience in 1981. The Polish pope was struck twice while passing through the square in his open popemobile. He was rushed to the hospital, where it was discovered that no vital organ was pierced. He later credited his survival to the protection of the Virgin Mary and maintained a lifelong devotion to Our Lady of Fatima.

The shooter, Mehmet Ali Ağca, was apprehended immediately and later visited by the pope who forgave him and called for his pardon. After serving 20 years in an Italian prison, he was deported to his country of Turkey in 2000. 

The pope was shot May 13, 1981, the anniversary of the first of the Fatima apparitions, and the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Three children were tending sheep May 13, 1917, when they had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The apparitions continued once a month until Oct. 13, 1917. The children said Mary asked them to promote devotion to her Immaculate Heart and to pray the rosary daily to bring peace to the world. 

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Pope Leo XIV smiles as he greets visitors and pilgrims from the popemobile while riding around St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican before his weekly general audience May 13, 2026. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

In greeting the Portuguese speakers, Pope Leo said that the Church turns its gaze to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima today, where Mary delivered a message of peace.

"In that place, so dear to Christianity, numerous pilgrims from the five continents gather today: their presence is a sign of the need for consolation, unity, and hope of the people of our time," he said in Italian. 

Pope Leo said Mary is the model of what the "Church is meant to be," because her "unconditional 'yes' shows us how to be members of the Church."

"Let us be challenged by Mary’s example of humility, active faith and obedience," he said to English speakers following his address. "Let us generously respond in love, magnifying God in our hearts, and receiving strength from the sacraments."

He called Mary an “icon of the Mystery,” saying that in her, God’s plan of salvation is revealed through both divine grace and her free acceptance of God’s will.

Continuing his catechetical series on the Second Vatican Council, the pope quoted "Lumen Gentium," saying the council’s teaching on Mary helps the faithful "love the Church and to serve within her the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God."

The Church contemplates the mystery of Mary, not only because of her faith, her charity and the fact that she is the mother of Jesus, but also because, above all, she fulfilled all that she was called to be through the Lord.

Pope Leo called on the faithful to ask for Mary to help through her intercession, saying that everyone can learn from her example of humble and active faith, ending his address by saying, "Let us ask the Virgin to obtain this gift for us: that love for the Holy Mother Church may grow in all of us."

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