Pope Leo XIV thanked a 110-year-old priest from the Diocese of Fulda, Germany, for his “long, faithful, and devoted priestly service.” Father Bruno Kant is officially recognized as the oldest priest in the world.
“I was delighted to learn that you will be celebrating your 110th birthday on Feb. 26 and send you my warmest congratulations and blessings,” Pope Leo wrote to Kant, according to the newspaper Fuldaer Zeitung.
The birthday celebrations were attended not only by residents of the neighboring towns of Eichenzell and Löschenrod but also by government and Church representatives. The bishop of Fulda, Michael Gerber, said: “I received confirmation from the Vatican that he is the oldest priest in the world. Pope Leo even sent him a birthday card.”
As reported by katholisch.de in November 2025, Kant, born near Danzig in present-day Poland, wanted to be a priest from the age of 9. He began his theological studies, but the Nazi regime thwarted his plans by conscripting him for forced labor and making him a soldier.
Kant then spent four years as a prisoner of war in Russia before being reunited with his family, who had fled to the West.
Kant was finally ordained a priest in 1950. After decades of priestly service, he no longer does certain things due to his advanced age. He stopped driving “at 102 years old,” according to the news outlet, and “for the last few years, he has refrained from regularly celebrating holy Mass with the congregation on Wednesday evenings. However, he continued visiting the sick as long as he was able. Now that is no longer possible.”
At that time, Kant acknowledged that he was “not far from death,” but in the meantime, he spends his days doing Sudoku puzzles, watching television, reading the newspaper, and, of course, praying.
“Prayer keeps me young,” he said.
This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by ACI Prensa/EWTN News English.
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Catholic youth across Bangladesh, India, and Nepal are preparing for World Youth Day 2027, scheduled for Aug. 3–8 in Seoul, South Korea, with Church leaders describing the gathering as an opportunity for spiritual renewal, cultural exchange, and witness.
Bangladesh, home to roughly 400,000 Catholics, expects to send at least 1,000 young people and animators to Seoul, according to Father Bikash James Rebeiro, CSC, secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Youth and national youth coordinator for the Catholic Church in Bangladesh.
“Our youth in Bangladesh are eagerly waiting to participate in the World Youth Day in South Korea. In this era of social media, young people get information in advance about when and where the youth day will be. They themselves tell us that they want to participate,” Rebeiro told EWTN News.
Catholic youth and animators from the Archdiocese of Dhaka pose during the 40th National Youth Day at Banpara Catholic Church in Natore, Bangladesh, on Feb. 2, 2026. | Credit: Dhaka Archdiocesan Youth Commission
Rebeiro emphasized that World Youth Day offers young Catholics a rare chance to share their faith and learn from peers around the world. “World Youth Day is an exchange of cultures and values. Young people from all countries, rich and poor, participate, but they learn from each other. They bear witness to their faith. Besides, catechism is taught during the youth day. These are very important,” he said.
He explained that the preparation process is rigorous. “We first set the criteria for who can participate in the World Youth Day. Then we make the final selection. Then they will participate in solitary meditation. Then they will be given an orientation. Because participating in World Youth Day is not a picnic, it is a spiritual journey,” he said.
Visa and financial hurdles
Bangladesh’s youth leaders face significant logistical challenges, including financial constraints and immigration procedures. The youth commission covers half the expenses for participants, while the remaining costs must be borne by the pilgrims themselves or their dioceses.
“Many participants do not have the capacity to bear that 50%. Then we have to raise donations for him and help him so that he can participate in World Youth Day,” Rebeiro said.
He recalled difficulties during previous international pilgrimages, including repeated questioning from immigration officers. “Last year, when I took 27 people on a jubilee pilgrimage to Rome, Italy, the immigration officer filed a GD against me. Then he let us board the plane,” he said. A GD, or General Diary, is an official police or immigration record used in Bangladesh.
Despite the hurdles, Rebeiro is hopeful that Bangladesh will send a large delegation to Seoul. Preparatory meetings with prospective pilgrims are planned for September.
India planning underway
Similar preparations are underway in India. Father Chetan Machado, executive secretary of the Commission for Youth of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, said national and regional planning has begun.
“We had a series of meetings. We planned the WYD Cross journey but for various reasons we couldn’t invite the WYD Cross,” Machado told EWTN News.
India has translated the official World Youth Day prayer into 12 local languages and begun regular prayer initiatives. Regions have started spiritual preparations, and a national retreat for potential participants is being planned for later this year. Indian youth have also taken part in the WYD theme song competition.
“The major challenge would be getting a visa for a big number of pilgrims. Going by the experience of last WYD in Lisbon, the Indian delegates faced a lot of problems obtaining a visa. The second challenge will be financial resources. As of now we do not know the total cost of travel, etc. Many young people want to go for WYD pilgrimage but due to financial situation, many withdraw,” Machado said.
In Nepal, youth leaders say a small but motivated group is preparing to join the event. Young Catholics there are engaged in spiritual preparation and are excited about their participation.
WYD Cross visit inspires enthusiasm
World Youth Day, instituted by St. John Paul II in 1985, traces its roots to the 1984 Holy Year of Redemption, when the pope entrusted young people with a large wooden cross that later became the World Youth Day Cross. The cross has since traveled around the world as a symbol of Christ’s love and a call to evangelization.
The WYD Cross visited Bangladesh in March and April 2025, traveling to the dioceses of Dinajpur, Rajshahi, and Dhaka and the Archdiocese of Chattogram, where thousands of faithful venerated it. The visit helped inspire renewed enthusiasm for the Seoul gathering.
Countries including Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines, and Bangladesh have hosted the WYD Cross as part of the spiritual preparations leading up to the event.
The Catholic Church in Europe has firmly stated that abortion “is gravely contrary to the moral law” and maintained that women “should never feel compelled to abort due to social or economic pressure.”
The strong statement from the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union comes after the European Commission of the European Union rejected the “My Voice, My Choice” initiative, which proposed creating a mechanism to promote abortion financed by European taxpayers.
In a statement, the presidency of this body — which brings together the bishops delegated by the episcopal conferences of the European Union countries — expressed its satisfaction with the decision not to submit this proposal to the EU Parliament and the EU Council.
Church’s consistent teaching on abortion
In the bishops’ view, “this decision clearly recognizes the need to respect the limits of EU competences and to uphold the principle of subsidiarity.”
Abortion laws vary across the European Union from very permissive to more restrictive.
In this context, the European bishops recalled the “constant teaching of the Catholic Church” regarding abortion, emphasizing that scientific research “increasingly confirms that from fertilization a new human being comes into existence, endowed with inherent dignity and deserving of the fundamental protection owed to every human life.”
While supporting this decision, they warned against other initiatives from the European Union that attack pro-life values. Specifically, they expressed their “serious concern” that the EU Commission explicitly states that European funds, initially intended to prevent families from falling into poverty, could be “used to provide cross-border ‘access to legally available, safe, and affordable abortion services.’”
The bishops declared that this measure would deviate from its original purpose and risk “creating political friction rather than strengthening cohesion.”
For the European bishops, this approach does not constitute genuine support for women in vulnerable situations, since what they truly need is “effective social, economic, and health care assistance enabling them to carry their pregnancy to term without suffering negative social or economic consequences for themselves or for their child,” they pointed out.
‘Women must be truly supported’
In their March 4 statement, the bishops emphasized that what Europe truly needs, “if it is to remain faithful to its foundational values of human dignity, solidarity, and equality,” is concrete and sustained support for women in vulnerable situations.
“Women must be genuinely helped to welcome motherhood and should never feel compelled to abort due to social or economic pressure,” the bishops emphasized.
They also urged the development of policies that strengthen the protection of motherhood, support for families, and social inclusion.
Finally, they insisted that issues affecting the intrinsic dignity of the human person, the fundamental right to life, and the protection of the most vulnerable “must never be instrumentalized in political debate or exploited for ideological purposes.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
ROME — A new exhibition in Rome is spotlighting the pivotal moment Pope Urban VIII entrusted a 25-year-old Gian Lorenzo Bernini with one of the most ambitious artistic commissions in Church history: creating the massive bronze canopy over the tomb of St. Peter in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The show — hosted by the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica at Palazzo Barberini and running through June 14 — explores the close relationship between Bernini and the pope born Maffeo Barberini, the artist’s first major patron, according to exhibition curator Maurizia Cicconi. The initiative also forms part of celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of the consecration of the new St. Peter’s Basilica in 1626 and is supported by the Fabric of St. Peter.
Bernini, who would later shape the visual identity of Baroque Rome — including the sweeping colonnade of St. Peter’s Square — was still considered too inexperienced for such a monumental undertaking. Cicconi said Urban VIII pushed ahead anyway, despite resistance from the body of cardinals overseeing the basilica’s building works.
Bernini’s canopy is nearly 100 feet tall. | Credit: Victoria Cardiel/EWTN News
Excavations for the canopy’s foundations began in June 1623, only months after Urban VIII’s election and even before the basilica’s solemn consecration in November. At the time, the apostle’s tomb beneath the altar was covered by a modest structure of wood and fabric. Urban VIII, Cicconi noted, wanted a stable, monumental work that would proclaim the grandeur of the new basilica and emphasize the centrality of the site.
‘Fear of profaning’ St. Peter’s remains
The excavation stirred anxiety among cardinals who worried that disturbing the soil could profane relics connected to the tomb of St. Peter. The solution, the curator explained, reflected the era’s intense religious sensibility: Every portion of earth removed was carefully preserved.
The exhibition includes a stone marker documenting that decision, Cicconi said, underscoring how the excavated soil itself came to be treated “in a certain way” as a relic. Urban VIII even donated some of that soil to monastic orders — including Carmelites — for the founding of convents in Naples and Rome.
The exhibition can be visited through mid-June in Rome. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News
A decade-long construction, and a key design problem
Bernini’s canopy — formally known as the Baldachin of St. Peter’s — stands nearly 100 feet (about 92 feet, as the exhibit notes) tall and took a decade to complete, from 1624 to 1633. The exhibition traces the complex process through drawings, coins, printed books, and manuscripts, including studies in red chalk for the crown of the structure.
The exhibition displays documents detailing the construction of the canopy. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News
One major technical issue documented in the show: an early concept featuring arches topped by a triumphant Christ proved structurally unworkable. Cicconi said the final solution likely came from Francesco Borromini, whose system of large volutes now supports the globe crowned by a cross.
Among the most evocative artifacts is a medal discovered last year inside the sarcophagus of Urban VIII’s tomb — also a Bernini work — bearing the pope’s portrait on one side and the canopy on the other. Cicconi said evidence suggests it had been worn on a cord around the neck before someone placed it in the tomb in a spontaneous gesture of devotion. While it is tempting to imagine Bernini himself left it there, she cautioned that such a claim goes beyond what the documentation can prove.
More than engineering: Power, politics, and the Barberini image
The exhibit extends beyond the canopy to show how Urban VIII’s artistic program helped define St. Peter’s during a volatile European moment. Cicconi pointed to the backdrop of the Thirty Years’ War, when religion and dynastic power were intertwined and the papacy faced major monarchies such as France and Spain. In that context, she said, the Church sought to assert its spiritual primacy — and its temporal influence — through art.
Visitors will also find materials tied to other Bernini projects in St. Peter’s, including pieces linked to the tomb of Matilda of Canossa, terracotta models for the virtue of charity intended for the pope’s funerary monument, and the valuable sketch connected to St. Longinus, one of the last ideas for the colossal statue that now rises in the basilica’s crossing.
The exhibition includes a sketch for Bernini’s marble statue of St. Longinus (1638). | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News
Another section focuses on Bernini’s role in shaping the public identity of the Barberini family, including works associated with the “gallery of ancestors” promoted by Cardinal Francesco Barberini, the pope’s nephew. Among the featured works are some of Bernini’s early pieces, already regarded as true works of art.
The “Bernini and the Barberini” exhibition. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News
Bernini “truly shaped the official image of the Barberini,” Cicconi said. The show includes extraordinary works such as a bust of Monsignor Francesco Barberini — on loan from Washington and displayed in Italy for the first time in many years — set beside busts of Camilla Barbadori, the pope’s mother, and Antonio Barberini Sr., made by Bernini with the help of one of his leading disciples.
The aim, Cicconi said, was clear: to move the bust-portrait — until then largely reserved for funerary monuments and family chapels — into palatial settings, giving it a dynastic and political dimension.
Bust of Pope Urban VIII. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News
An entire wall is dedicated to Urban VIII’s image. Cicconi said the display of several seemingly similar busts — yet in fact profoundly different — helps visitors see how Bernini constructed and modulated the pope’s official image.
The exhibition. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News
There are busts in marble, bronze, and even ancient red porphyry. Some were made directly by Bernini, others with the help of assistants, but always based on his model.
The show also highlights a lesser-known side of Bernini: painting. “It may be the least known aspect for the general public and yet extremely interesting,” Cicconi said.
Urban VIII even dreamed of making him the new Michelangelo of his pontificate and wanted him to decorate the Loggia of Blessings, echoing the ambition of the Sistine Chapel commissioned by Pope Julius II. Bernini, however, refused.
The exhibition. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News
“The freedom of Gian Lorenzo Bernini is seen precisely in the possibility — or not — of freely accepting commissions,” Cicconi said.
Though Bernini would outlive his patron and serve other popes, the exhibition intentionally concentrates on the decisive years of Urban VIII’s pontificate, from 1623 to 1644, when the Barberini pope’s support helped propel the young Bernini into the heart of St. Peter’s — and into the center of Catholic artistic history.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
A Pew Research Center study found Americans are more likely than people in other countries to question the morality of their fellow citizens.
The report, “In 25-Country Survey, Americans Especially Likely To View Fellow Citizens as Morally Bad,” explores how adults in 25 countries rate the morality of others in their nation. It also examines if people consider different behaviors to be morally wrong including drinking alcohol, gambling, having extramarital affairs, using marijuana, viewing pornography, having abortions, homosexuality, getting divorces, and using contraceptives.
The research was based on data from participants in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Surveys conducted outside the U.S. were based on nationally representative surveys of 28,333 adults conducted from Jan. 8 to April 26, 2025. In the U.S., Pew surveyed 3,605 adults who are members of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP) from March 24–30, 2025.
A March 2026 Pew report, “In 25-Country Survey, Americans Especially Likely To View Fellow Citizens as Morally Bad,” explores if adults in 25 countries consider nine behaviors to be morally unacceptable or acceptable. | Credit: Courtesy of Pew Research Center
The report also includes some findings from a separate ATP survey of 8,937 U.S. adults conducted from May 5–11, 2025. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 3,605 respondents is plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.
According to the research, 47% of U.S. adults reported Americans have “very good” or “somewhat good” morals and ethics, which was the lowest of all countries. The majority of adults in Canada and Indonesia (92%) said the same of the people in their countries.
Most and least accepted behaviors across the globe
Getting a divorce and the use of contraception were found to be the most widely accepted of the nine behaviors.
Only 12% of adults overall said getting a divorce is morally wrong, and 8% said using contraceptives is. The only countries with a slight majority that believe getting a divorce is morally unacceptable are India with 65% holding this view and Nigeria with 55%.
Of the nine behaviors Pew asked participants about, married people having affairs had the strongest overall disapproval. Across the 25 countries, a median of 77% of adults said married people having affairs is morally unacceptable, with at least half of adults in every country holding this view.
U.S. adults were among those to be most likely to condemn extramarital affairs as immoral. Nine in 10 Americans said having an affair is morally wrong, similar to the share of people in Indonesia and in Turkey (92%) who believe the same.
A March 2026 Pew report, “In 25-Country Survey, Americans Especially Likely To View Fellow Citizens as Morally Bad,” explores how adults in 25 countries rate the morality of others in their country. | Credit: Courtesy of Pew Research Center
Adults in Germany (55%) and France (53%) are among the least likely to believe having an affair is morally unacceptable.
Behaviors with least international consensus
The report found that for most behaviors asked about, there is not an international consensus if they are morally acceptable or not.
In the Latin American and African countries surveyed, half or more of adults said they believe abortions are morally unacceptable, but in most European countries, the vast majority of adults view abortions as either morally acceptable or not a moral issue at all. In the U.S., the group was fairly split with 47% reporting it is morally unacceptable to have an abortion.
In the U.S., adults are the most accepting of using marijuana and gambling. Only 23% of Americans said using marijuana is morally unacceptable, and 29% said the same in regard to gambling. In most other countries surveyed, more than 40% of adults said they consider gambling and marijuana use to be morally wrong.
In 10 countries, a majority said gambling is morally wrong, including 89% in Indonesia and 71% in Italy. In Australia, 25% said gambling is morally acceptable, and 43% do not see gambling as a moral issue.
In the U.S., 39% of adults reported homosexuality is morally wrong, which was found to be much more than those who hold the same belief in Germany (5%) or Sweden (5%). In other nations including Indonesia (93%) and Nigeria (96%), the majority reported it is morally wrong.
In regard to drinking alcohol, the majority of adults in Indonesia (83%) reported it is a morally unacceptable act. In contrast, only 7% of adults in Australia and Sweden reported the same. In the U.S., a small share of 16% said it is morally unacceptable.
What factors affect views of behaviors?
According to the report, a number of factors seem to affect how adults view the morality of behaviors including political party, religion, and gender.
Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to rate fellow Americans as morally and ethically bad (60% vs. 46%).
Pew examined citizens’ stances based on religious belief and found those who said religion is very important in their lives were more likely to view the behaviors as morally wrong.
In 13 of the 25 countries surveyed, the research looked specifically at the differences between Protestants and Catholics. The report detailed that Protestants are typically more likely than Catholics in the same country to believe homosexuality is wrong. In the U.S., 59% of Protestants reported homosexuality is morally wrong, while 34% of Catholics did.
There is a large variation between Christians in different countries. The majority of Christians surveyed in Africa, Latin America, and the U.S. said having an abortion is morally wrong, but across Europe, the share of Christians who hold this view ranges from 40% in Spain to 7% in Sweden.
Gender is also a factor in how people view moral behaviors. Women tend to be more likely than men to believe some behaviors are morally unacceptable. In nearly every country surveyed, women were more likely than men to say that viewing pornography is wrong. In contrast, men were more likely than women to report homosexuality is morally unacceptable.
Overall, older adults were more likely than younger adults to report the behaviors are morally unacceptable. This is the case with using marijuana in 19 of the 25 surveyed countries. In Germany, adults ages 40 and older are twice as likely as younger adults to believe marijuana use is morally wrong, with 30% of older adults holding this belief and 15% of younger adults.
An apartment complex built by the Knights of Columbus in Ankawa, Iraq, a suburb of Erbil, has been struck in a drone attack.
“Fortunately, the building had been largely evacuated several days earlier due to its proximity to the Erbil International Airport,” the archdiocese said in a statement. The building had housed workers for the archdiocese as well as young families displaced by earlier violence in the region, which is roughly 60 to 90 miles west of the Iranian border. No casualties were reported.
ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, posted video of the attack on social media, saying a “a missile and a drone fell in two separate instances” throughout the evening.
The attack took place around 8 p.m. local time, March 4, the archdiocese said. Named after Blessed Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, the apartment complex was funded entirely by the Knights to house Christian refugees displaced during the war in 2014–2018.
A nearby convent belonging to the Chaldean Daughters of Mary Immaculate also was damaged during the attack.
‘Remember and pray’
“We are now in a time once again where we pray for the solidarity and support from our brothers and sisters around the world, that these times of violence and war will come to an end, and that our suffering people may yet have a chance to return to lives of peace and dignity,” Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil said in a statement.
The archdiocese encouraged Christians around the world “to remember and pray for the many marginalized people in Iraq, including the small and still threatened Christian minority struggling to remain in their native land.”
Patrick Kelly, Knights of Columbus supreme knight, said in a statement, “We rejoice that no lives were lost, and we will continue to stand with the families who called McGivney House their home. We join with our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, who has encouraged us all to ‘pray for peace, work for peace.’”
This story was updated on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET to include a statement from the Knights of Columbus.
Cuban exiles in Miami, led by Rosa María Payá, founder of “Cuba Decides” and daughter of the late opposition leader Oswaldo Payá, signed on March 2 what they call an “Accord for Liberation” of Cuba, a 10-step roadmap to restore “democracy and the rule of law” on the island.
The document, signed in the Father Varela Hall of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre (the patroness of Cuba) in Miami, bears the signatures of the Cuban Resistance Assembly and Steps for Change coalitions, led respectively by Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat and Rosa María Payá, along with various opposition organizations inside and outside Cuba.
The text states that it was signed “with faith in God, inspired by the founding ideals and values of the Cuban nation and the Accord for Democracy,” a document published on Feb. 20, 1998, that also establishes 10 points for a peaceful transition to democracy.
The Accord for Liberation outlines four phases for the transition: liberation, stabilization, reconstruction, and democratization of the country as well as the “dismantling of the criminal enterprise that is the Communist Party of Cuba, as well as the dismantling of all its repressive mechanisms and organizations.”
It also prioritizes the release of political prisoners and emphasizes the need to end “the humanitarian catastrophe and immediately address basic needs, beginning a limited transition period leading to free elections, during which the country will be administered by a provisional government.”
“Once the provisional government’s term has ended, general elections will be held: the first free, fair, and multiparty elections of Cuba’s new republican era,” the text emphasizes, encouraging all Cubans to join in this effort.
Payá: ‘The only way out of the crisis is the end of dictatorship’
During the presentation of the Accord for Liberation in Miami, Payá said: “Today we are promoting the democratic alternative to the barbarity that governs our country. Today we know that the only way out of the crisis is the end of the dictatorship.”
“And it’s urgent because the human suffering of our family, the human suffering of our people on the island right now is brutal. The blackouts last for days, there’s no medicine in the hospitals, there is no food in the stores,” she stated.
Payá pointed out that from 2021 to 2024, Cuba’s population decreased by 1.6 million, including Cubans who have died due to the crisis caused by the Cuban regime.
“Cubans are demanding freedom, and protests continue daily on the island. The network of opposition organizations across the island is growing, despite operating under extreme conditions,” she said.
According to the Global Affairs section of the University of Navarra, more than 1 million people have left Cuba since 2021 due to the economic crisis and the intensified repression of citizen protests that year; and according to Cuba’s National Office of Statistics and Information, some 480,000 people died on the island from 2021 to 2024.
The role of the United States
A few days ago, U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration was in talks with Cuba. “Maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba,” the president told reporters.
“Cuba is, to put it mildly, a failed nation. Right now, it really is a country with serious problems, and they want our help,” he added. Trump made these statements after he had ordered a blockade of oil shipments to the island on Jan. 29, which has triggered a severe fuel shortage.
Meanwhile, the head of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana, Mike Hammer, stated in an interview with “EWTN Noticias,” the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News, in late February that Cuba is at a pivotal moment and that the country will soon achieve “the freedom it hasn’t had in 67 years.”
Hammer said that “there are exchanges with people within the Cuban regime at a high level” as well as “conversations to see what can be done to take the country in a new direction” that would allow for a transition to democracy.
ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, contacted the office of the Archdiocese of Miami, headed by Archbishop Thomas Wenski, for comment on the next steps regarding Cuba but has not yet received a response.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Lou Holtz, whose lengthy football coaching career included an undefeated championship season at the University of Notre Dame and who spoke regularly about his Catholic faith, died on March 4at age 89.
Holtz’s death was announced by his family through a statement via the athletics department at Notre Dame. The retired coach had entered hospice shortly before his death.
The coach “is remembered for his enduring values of faith, family, service, and an unwavering belief in the potential of others,” his family said.
Holtz was preceded in death by his wife, Beth, who passed away in 2020. The two had been married for 59 years at the time of her death. Both are survived by four children.
A fixture in college sports for decades, Holtz began his head coaching career in 1969 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He subsequently served as coach at North Carolina State and the University of Arkansas as well as a stint at the University of Minnesota; he also coached the New York Jets briefly in 1976.
His most memorable coaching appointment came at the University of Notre Dame, which he joined in 1986. He would go on to lead the team to an undefeated national championship in 1989, beating the West Virginia Mountaineers 34-21 at that year’s Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona.
After a brief retirement and a stint as a commentator for CBS Sports, Holtz took up the head coach position at the University of South Carolina in 1999, where he had previously served as an assistant coach in 1966.
He retired from that final role in 2004; his final game was marked by the infamous Clemson-South Carolina football brawl, with Holtz describing it as a “heck of a note” that his last match would be remembered for the fight.
In his later years he appeared in various commentary roles on a variety of ESPN programs. One of his four children is Skip Holtz, who has served as head coach at numerous collegiate football teams.
On Dec. 3, 2020, Holtz was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House at the time described Holtz as “one of the greatest football coaches of all time” as well as “a philanthropist, author, and true American patriot.”
Trump himself while awarding the medal described Holtz as a “great gentleman” and a “great man.” The president said he was amazed at learning about Holtz’s coaching record ahead of the ceremony.
“When we were researching this out, I knew he was supposed to be a good coach, but I didn’t know how good he was, because these stats are very amazing,” the president admitted.
Known in part for his conservative politics, Holtz at that ceremony described Trump as “the greatest president during my lifetime.”
“I get this award; I accept it humbly,” he said. “And you don’t go in life saying ‘I want to win this award.’ You just wake up one day and it happens.”
A lifelong Catholic, Holtz was educated by the Sisters of Notre Dame at St. Aloysius Grade School in East Liverpool, Ohio. In 2012 he told the National Catholic Register, the sister news partner of EWTN News, that the nuns “influenced my life tremendously.”
“This was due to the fact that they encouraged you always to make sure that God is the focus of your life, and they didn’t allow you to do anything except to the very best of your ability,” he said.
Holtz told the Register that he had prayed to God to be made a great athlete, only to have been made a coach instead.
“God does answer your prayers, but it’s not always in the way you expect,” he said. “God knows what’s best for us, though, so there’s no need to worry when things don’t go how we originally wanted them to go.”
He professed that the Catholic Church is “infallible” on religious principles regarding faith and morals. He said he “[tried] to follow the Catholic teachings [as that’s] what brings meaning and lasting happiness to life.” He said, however, that Church leaders should be “[held] accountable for their choices.”
In multiple cases he stressed fidelity to Christ above all, such as during an interview with Southwest Michigan Catholic when he said: “I don’t go to church to honor the pope; I don’t go to church to honor the priest who might have made some mistakes; I go to church to honor Jesus Christ.”
He told the publication he and his family attended Mass “every Sunday,” regardless if football was in season or not.
After Pope Leo XIV’s election in 2025, Holtz called on Catholics to “pray for [Leo], respect him and support him.”
“Pope Leo, I’ll be praying for you. God bless,” he said at the time.
In November 2025, meanwhile, he delivered what he said was his “final public speech,” speaking at the America First Policy Institute, where he served as chair of the 1776 initiative.
“[M]y commitment to the American dream has never wavered and never will,” he said at the time. “We must protect what makes America exceptional.”
“We cannot let God down; we must always do what’s right,” he said.
The Middle East has once again surged to the top of global headlines as renewed fighting spreads across multiple fronts, placing several countries at risk of continued strikes and retaliation, with no clear end in sight.
Airstrikes on the Iranian capital, Tehran, and other major cities have raised serious concerns about the country’s Christian communities.
Iran has already been grappling with instability following months of popular protests driven largely by economic hardship. Those demonstrations evolved into broader anti-government protests, during which many lives were lost.
In a previous report, Open Doors described Christians in Iran as consistently vulnerable, particularly converts to Christianity. The Islamic Republic officially recognizes only the Armenian Church (both Catholic and Orthodox branches) and the Assyrian and Chaldean Churches as recognized Christian communities with parliamentary representation.
Aside from remarks given to ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, by Cardinal Dominique Mathieu, the Latin archbishop of Tehran, no official statements have been issued by churches inside Iran regarding the war and its repercussions.
This silence comes amid near-total internet blackouts and widespread mobile network disruptions across the country.
Iraq feels the heat of war
Several areas across Iraq have come under attack from different directions, despite assurances from the Ministerial Council for National Security that Iraq remains committed to preventing escalation and to ensuring that its territory is not used for external or internal conflicts. The stated goal is to safeguard the country’s stability and its citizens.
Erbil has faced a series of repeated attacks. The Christian-majority town of Ankawa, adjacent to Erbil International Airport, has encountered growing challenges as the U.S. coalition base located at the airport, situated within Ankawa’s municipal boundaries, has been targeted. The new U.S. consulate building nearby has also raised security concerns in the area.
Residents reported intercepts of rockets and drones in Ankawa’s skies, with falling debris causing limited damage to buildings and property. In the Nineveh Plain, a “drone of unknown origin” struck a building affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces in the Syriac town of Bartella.
In response to the escalating violence, Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako called on all Chaldean churches to pray for peace “amid the rising war in our region and its repercussions for neighboring countries.” The Patriarchate of the Assyrian Church of the East likewise issued a statement urging all parties to exercise maximum restraint to protect innocent civilians and asked Christians worldwide to pray for peace.
Syria and Lebanon
In Syria, Israeli air defenses intercepted an Iranian missile, which subsequently fell in Sweida, causing casualties. Additional scattered incidents of missile and drone debris were reported in several southern provinces.
As Israel intensifies troop deployments along its borders with Syria and Lebanon, Lebanon faces a dangerous escalation. Israeli airstrikes targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, as well as areas in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, following a rocket attack launched by Hezbollah toward northern Israel. Hezbollah described the attack as retaliation “for the blood of Imam Khamenei and in defense of Lebanon and its people.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s presidency and government rejected the rocket launches, reiterating that the country must not be dragged into war.
Waves of displacement
Fearing further escalation, residents fled Beirut’s southern suburbs and parts of southern Lebanon, regions that include several Christian towns and villages. The scenes of displacement have repeated themselves as the government works to provide shelter and humanitarian assistance.
Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, the Maronite patriarch, emphasized that a nation cannot be healed by slogans or noise alone but through genuine faith. In his Sunday homily, he called for prayer “for our country, that the Lord may touch it with his healing hand and plant in the hearts of its people a living faith that leads to real healing and sincere renewal.”
The Holy Land and Jordan
The Holy Land is also feeling the strain of war. Several cities have faced repeated rocket and drone attacks, resulting in 12 deaths and nearly 500 injuries in Israel to date. In Jordan, a senior military source confirmed that the armed forces continue to fulfill their national duty to protect the kingdom’s airspace and sovereignty. Citizens were urged not to circulate rumors and to rely on official sources for information, as multiple areas witnessed falling debris from intercepted missiles.
Gulf states under fire
The Gulf countries, long regarded as among the region’s safest, have experienced what officials described as unprecedented and reckless Iranian attacks. The strikes were strongly condemned by the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and the United States.
The attacks have damaged infrastructure and private property, and resulted in casualties. Since Feb. 28, five people have been killed in the Gulf, “all foreign nationals: one in Kuwait, three in the UAE [United Arab Emirates], and one in Bahrain,” according to Bishop Eugene Nugent, the apostolic nuncio to Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar.
Nugent described the situation as grave and deteriorating by the day as air raid sirens, once unthinkable in the Arabian Peninsula, have become an alarming reality in countries long considered safe havens.
The Apostolic Vicariates of Northern Arabia and Southern Arabia both called on the faithful to remain steadfast in faith, calm, united in prayer, and attentive to civil safety instructions. Other churches across the Gulf echoed these appeals.
In his Angelus address March 1 in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV expressed deep concern over the unfolding events in the Middle East and Iran during these tense hours.
He stressed that stability and peace cannot be built on mutual threats or on weapons that sow destruction, pain, and death but rather through rational, sincere, and responsible dialogue.
This storywas first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York is hosting a program called “All Good Things with Archbishop Hicks” for SiriusXM’s Catholic Channel.
About a month after Hicks was installed as New York’s 11th archbishop at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Feb. 6, SiriusXM announced he is hosting the show. The program takes over the time slot previously held by former archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who hosted “Conversations with Cardinal Dolan.”
Hicks will host the weekly program alongside Father Dave Dwyer, host of the daily call-in show “The Busted Halo Show” and executive director of Busted Halo Ministries. Dwyer also co-hosted the radio show with Dolan.
Hicks and Dwyer will discuss real-world issues, current events, and everyday life through a Catholic lens, according to a statement. The show will offer conversation rooted in Church teachings and lived pastoral experience. The program will highlight works of those fostering personal conversion and the transformation of society through evangelization, the statement said.
The show joins a number of other Catholic faith-based shows on the channel including “The Katie McGrady Show,” “Catholic Guy with Lino Rulli,” and “Frontiers of Faith.”
The show is set to air at 2 p.m. ET Tuesdays on channel 129 and will be available on demand on the SiriusXM app. An inaugural episode aired March 3, according to the Archdiocese of New York.
Archbishop Hicks
Hicks was named archbishop of New York by Pope Leo XIV on Dec. 18, 2025, and brings a perspective from decades of service and ministry. He graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 1989 with a philosophy degree and went on to receive master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois.
He was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 21, 1994. Prior to his appointment in New York, Hicks was appointed by Pope Francis on July 17, 2020, as bishop of Joliet, Illinois.
He has a history of ministerial experience in Latin America serving in El Salvador as the regional director of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, a charity that serves orphans in Latin America. He previously served as vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago and auxiliary bishop of Chicago.
Hicks also serves on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations and as the USCCB liaison to the Association of Ongoing Formation of Priests and the National Association of Diaconate Directors.
