Pope Leo XIV kicks off his first papal trip to Africa in Algeria on Monday, spending two days there before visiting Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.
Here are seven key things to know about the tiny but lively Catholic Church he’s about to meet:
1. Catholics are a tiny flock in this huge country.
Algeria has roughly 45 million to 48 million people but only a few thousand Catholics — often estimated at no more than 10,000, a fraction of 1% of the population.
Most Catholics are expatriates, sub-Saharan African students, migrant workers, diplomats, and religious; Indigenous Algerian Catholics are very few because conversion from Islam is both sensitive culturally and regulated legally. Yet, the Church maintains dioceses, parishes, and regular sacramental life, showing a qualitative rather than numerical impact.
2. Algeria has one of the largest dioceses in the world.
The Church is organized into four jurisdictions: the Archdiocese of Algiers and the Dioceses of Oran, Constantine and Hippone, and Laghouat‑Ghardaïa.
The pope is set to visit Algiers and Annaba (ancient Hippo); however, Laghouat‑Ghardaïa covers a massive Sahara territory, making it one of the largest dioceses in the world by land area.
Because Catholics are so scattered, priests and religious often serve several communities at once, relying on close-knit, relational ministry more than big programs.
3. This is the homeland of St. Augustine.
Considering that the pope is a member of the Order of St. Augustine, this visit will have very special and personal moments. Algeria once hosted a vibrant Latin Christian world; its greatest son is St. Augustine of Hippo, bishop and doctor of the Church.
Annaba — a city the pope will visit — was once called Hippo Regius and is home to the Basilica of St. Augustine, which physically links the early Church to today’s small Catholic community.
4. The Catholic Church in Algeria lives under a tightly regulated religious framework.
Islam is the state religion in Algeria, and while the constitution affirms freedom of conscience, non-Muslim worship is closely regulated. Non-Muslim communities must register places of worship, public proselytism is restricted, and conversion from Islam can bring serious social consequences.
Recent years have seen some closures and administrative pressures on Christian worship spaces and ministries, underscoring how fragile this small Church’s institutional space is.
Despite this, the Catholic Church in Algeria runs schools, cultural centers, and charitable initiatives, often through institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life.
5. The 1990s martyrs still mark Catholic life in this country.
During Algeria’s civil conflict in the 1990s, several priests, religious, and the Trappist monks of Tibhirine were killed, along with Bishop Pierre Claverie of Oran. In 2018, 19 martyrs of that period were beatified in Oran in a ceremony attended by Muslim leaders and framed as a sign of reconciliation for the whole nation.
These martyrs are remembered not as political actors but as friends who chose to stay with the Algerian people, shaping today’s Catholic identity of fidelity and solidarity.
6. Interreligious dialogue is not optional but the heart of the mission.
As a tiny minority in a Muslim-majority country, the Catholic Church defines much of its mission through respectful dialogue with Islam. Priests and religious engage in academic exchanges, social projects, and cultural encounters that build trust rather than confrontation.
7. Marian devotion is a bridge amid differences.
Places like the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa in Algiers have become strong symbols of coexistence, where Marian devotion is a bridge even amid deep theological differences.
This is a unique site of interreligious coexistence where many Muslims visit to pray to Mary, whom they call “Lalla Meriem.”
A famous inscription behind the altar reads: “Our Lady of Africa, pray for us and for the Muslims.”
President Donald Trump publicly attacked Pope Leo XIV on social media Sunday evening, calling the pontiff “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” in a lengthy post that appeared to be reacting to the Holy Fatherʼs recent appeals for peace and an end to war.
In comments to reporters at Joint Base Andrews shortly afterward, Trump said: “I donʼt think heʼs doing a very good job. … I am not a fan of Pope Leo.” He added: “Heʼs a very liberal person.”
Trump accused Leo of being soft on Iran and criticized the popeʼs opposition to U.S. military operations. “I donʼt want a Pope who thinks itʼs OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the president wrote. He also criticized the pope for opposing the U.S. intervention in Venezuela that ousted President Nicolás Maduro in January.
Leo has not said Iran should possess nuclear weapons. He has called the U.S.-Israel war in Iran “unjust” and on April 7 called Trumpʼs threat to destroy an entire “civilization” in Iran “truly unacceptable.”
Trump also claimed credit for Leoʼs election to the papacy in May 2025, writing: “He wasnʼt on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American.” He added: “If I wasnʼt in the White House, Leo wouldnʼt be in the Vatican.”
The president said he preferred the popeʼs older brother, Louis Prevost, a Port Charlotte, Florida, resident who has described himself as a “MAGA type.” “I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA,” Trump wrote.
Trump also criticized Leo for meeting April 9 with David Axelrod, a former chief strategist for President Barack Obama, calling Axelrod “a LOSER from the Left.” The Vatican has previously confirmed the audience but did not disclose what was discussed.
Trump also posted an image that commentators said depicted him as Jesus Christ, wearing a biblical-style robe and laying hands on a bedridden man as light emanates from his fingers, while admirers look on and eagles and military jets fill the sky above an American flag.
Pope Leoʼs appeals for peace intensified over Holy Week, culminating in Saturdayʼs vigil, where he denounced a “delusion of omnipotence” and warned that “the holy Name of God” was being “dragged into discourses of death.”
At a special Mass for Peace held in Washington on April 11, Cardinal Robert McElroy argued that the current war fails to meet the strict criteria of just war theory, particularly in light of civilian suffering and the risk of disproportionate harm.
The Vatican has not yet publicly responded to Trumpʼs post. The pope is expected to arrive in Algiers on Monday.
On the heels of his first apostolic visit of 2026 to Monaco on March 28 and after presiding over Holy Week and Easter events and celebrations, Pope Leo XIV is making final preparations for his 10-day papal visit to four countries in Africa from April 13–23.
The pontiffʼs first apostolic trip to Africa comes at a time when the continent accounts for about 20% of Catholics worldwide and is experiencing significant growth in priestly vocations.
Here are nine important facts to know about Pope Leo XIV’s trip to Africa:
1. The pope will visit four countries and 11 cities in 10 days.
Pope Leo will spend 10 days in Africa and will visit four countries: Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, with stops in 11 cities across those nations. The Vatican estimates he will travel more than 11,000 miles on 18 separate flights during this single trip, underscoring how demanding modern papal travel has become.
Leo will celebrate eight public Masses and deliver 24 speeches and homilies during the visit. He is expected to speak French in Algeria and Cameroon, Portuguese in Angola, and Spanish in Equatorial Guinea as well as English throughout the trip.
2. He follows in the footsteps of other modern popes.
This is Pope Leo’s third international trip and his first apostolic journey to Africa — taking place less than a year after his election.
In his 12 years of pontificate, Pope Francis made five trips to Africa and visited 10 countries. Benedict XVI made two apostolic trips, visiting three countries, and Pope John Paul II made 11 trips to Africa, visiting 41 countries during his 26‑year pontificate.
Pope Paul VI was the first reigning pope ever to visit Africa when he traveled to Uganda from July 31 to Aug. 2, 1969.
3. Pope Leoʼs polyglot talent will be on full display.
Pope Leo speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese, and he can read Latin and German, which makes it very likely he will use several of these languages during his visit. It is also likely that Arabic will appear in greetings or prepared texts.
According to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, the popeʼs Africa itinerary will showcase the main languages of the four host countries: Arabic and French in Algeria, English and French in Cameroon, Portuguese in Angola, and Spanish in Equatorial Guinea, which is the only African country that has Spanish as its official language.
4. This is the first-ever papal visit to Algeria.
Pope Leo will become the first pope in history to visit Algeria, the largest African country and where Islam is the state religion. Algeria has roughly 45 million to 48 million people, but only a few thousand Catholics — often estimated at no more than 10,000, a fraction of 1%. Most Catholics are expatriates, sub-Saharan African students, migrant workers, diplomats, and religious.
5. The visit will highlight the popeʼs Augustine connection.
The Algerian leg of the journey intentionally traces the footsteps of St. Augustine of Hippo, connecting Pope Leo’s trip to one of the most influential doctors of the Church who lived and died in North Africa.
He will visit Annaba, a place that underlines his personal devotion to St. Augustine and his Augustinian identity. While there, he will visit the archaeological site of Hippo, meet Augustinian religious, and celebrate Mass in the Basilica of St. Augustine, which makes this first leg of the trip a kind of pilgrimage to his “father” in faith, echoing his own description of himself as “a son of St. Augustine.”
6. The pope will visit a mosque for the second time.
In Algiers, the pope is scheduled to visit the Great Mosque of Algiers — one of the largest mosques in the world — as a concrete gesture of interreligious dialogue. This will be his second visit to a mosque as a pope. He visited the Sultan Ahmed (Blue) Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, during his first international trip in November 2025.
7. His journey will be marked by works of mercy.
Throughout the pope’s papal visit to Africa there will be several encounters that explicitly highlight the Church’s works of mercy. These include the popeʼs plan to visit an orphanage and a hospital in Cameroon, a nursing home in Angola, the Little Sisters of the Poor in Algeria, and a psychiatric hospital and prison in Equatorial Guinea.
8. A record-breaking rosary is expected to take place in Angola.
In Angola, local authorities expect to host a record-breaking event at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Conception of Muxima, a Marian shrine in Angola’s Diocese of Viana and one of the country’s most important pilgrimage sites. The pope will lead a public rosary where roughly 2 million pilgrims are expected to attend.
Additionally, this will be the first time a pope visits the Muxima shrine since its founding in 1599.
9. The trip will end with a visit to one of Africaʼs smallest countries — Equatorial Guinea.
The last leg of the pope’s trip will be to Equatorial Guinea. One of the smallest countries of Africa, it’s similar in size to the state of Maryland. In this country nearly 90% of the population is Catholic, making it one of the most heavily Catholic nations on the African continent.
The small nation is welcoming a pope after 44 years. Pope John Paul II visited Equatorial Guinea in 1982.
Pope Leo plans to visit Bata Prison, a facility criticized internationally for its conditions, signaling a clear concern for prisoners and human rights.
He will also pray at a monument for the victims of the Bata explosions, a disaster that killed about 100 people and injured 500, bringing a strong message of consolation and remembrance.
Washington Archbishop Cardinal Robert McElroy celebrated a Mass for peace on April 11 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in response to Pope Leo XIV’s call for prayer amid ongoing global conflict.
The liturgy, livestreamed from Washington, D.C., was part of a broader global observance of Masses for peace following the pope’s appeal — first made during his Easter “urbi etorbi” blessing — for intensified prayer as tensions escalated and a fragile ceasefire emerged between the United States and Iran.
In his homily, McElroy began with the account of the Resurrection in the Gospel of John, where the Risen Christ’s first words to the disciples are: “Peace be with you.”
He said this greeting is not incidental but central to Christian belief, noting that “peace is the ultimate fruit and gift of the Resurrection: an inner conviction that Christ has conquered death once and for all.”
Peace, he added, is also a responsibility.
“For as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said, “we are called profoundly to be peacemakers in the world in which we live.”
He argued that the United States entered the current Iranian conflict by choice rather than necessity, adding that leaders had “no clear intention,” but instead moved between aims such as “unconditional surrender to regime change to the degradation of conventional weapons to the removal of nuclear materials.”
“And we blinded ourselves to the cascade of global destructiveness that would flow from our attacks,” he added, citing the “expansion of the war far beyond Iran, the disruption of the world economy, and the loss of life.”
These “policy failures,” he said, amount to a “moral failure," as Catholic just war principles render both “the initiation of this war and any continuation of it morally illegitimate.”
He pointed to Church teaching as articulated by Pope Leo XIV, saying that “the only pathway which Catholic teaching allows at this moment is the permanent cessation of hostilities and vigorous steps to build up the conditions for a lasting peace.”
McElroy invoked the United States’ approaching 250th anniversary as a moment for national reckoning, warning against allowing division and violence to define the country’s identity.
He called on “citizens and believers in this democracy” to advocate for peace both in prayer and with elected representatives.
“For it is very possible that negotiations will fail because of recalcitrance on both sides,” he said, “and the president will move to reenter this immoral war.”
“At that critical juncture, as disciples of Jesus Christ called to be peacemakers in the world, we must answer vocally and in unison: No,” he said. “Not in our name. Not at this moment. Not with our country.”
The cardinal’s homily concluded to sustained applause inside the cathedral.
“Cardinal McElroy’s homily affected me very deeply,” said Timothy Rush, a participant in the Mass. “I particularly applaud the idea that prayer serves to focus our energies, but then we have to apply them and reverse this hideous descent into war by talking to our representatives and others.”
“We have to fight the desensitization that is going on that normalizes the cruelties and violence of war,” he added.
‘True strength is shown in serving life’
A longtime advocate for the Church’s just war doctrine, McElroy has frequently warned that modern conflicts often fail to meet the rigorous criteria for a morally legitimate war.
In a March 9 interview with the Catholic Standard, he said the U.S. decision to engage in war with Iran does not meet key requirements, particularly regarding “just cause,” “right intention,” and proportionality.
He emphasized that Catholic teaching rejects preventative war, noting that the U.S. was not responding to a direct or imminent threat from Iran. “You cannot satisfy the just war tradition’s criterion of right intention,” he explained, pointing to what he described as a lack of clarity surrounding U.S. objectives.
In response to Pope Leo XIV’s call for a global prayer vigil for peace, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) encouraged the faithful to join in prayer, uniting with Catholics worldwide in seeking peace and reconciliation.
Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the USCCB, made an urgent plea in an April 7 statement, writing: “Let us entrust to the Lord ‘all hearts that suffer and await the true peace that only he can give. Let us entrust ourselves to him and open our hearts to him! He is the only one who makes all things new (cf. Rev 21:5).’”
Pope Leo XIV’s message during the vigil, held at St. Peter’s Basilica on April 11, echoed these calls for peace. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!” he told the nearly 10,000 gathered. “True strength is shown in serving life.”
In his reflection, the pope reminded the Church of its role as a beacon of peace, calling on all people to reject the culture of war and to “unite the moral and spiritual strength of the millions and billions of men and women, young and old, who today choose to believe in peace.”
“Let us believe once again in love, moderation and good politics,” he said. “We must form ourselves and get personally involved, each following our own calling. Everyone has a place in the mosaic of peace!”
As artificial intelligence reshapes the world around us, two college students are aiming to provide people with an AI platform built on the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Acutis AI has been developed by brothers Peter, 21, and Thomas, 19, Cooney — students who attend the University of Dallas and Baylor University — and strives to stand out as a search tool shaped by Catholic morality that provides responses users can trust.
Additionally, the platform offers parents the ability to monitor their children’s chats, set time limits, and set alerts to be notified when concerning topics are detected.
In an interview with EWTN News, Peter Cooney explained that after he and his brother used many of the other current AI platforms, they found they all had two issues in common: Responses to questions on morality are all built to be neutral, and the platforms cause young people to become dependent on them.
He shared that while testing responses on ChatGPT, he asked the platform its thoughts on abortion — if it was OK to get an abortion and if it could affirm one’s decision in obtaining the procedure.
“Itʼll say, ‘Yes, absolutely. I can affirm this. You made the best decision you could, etc., etc.,” Cooney said. “Thatʼs directly contrary to Church teaching. So, I think that’s the first big issue is that they try to be neutral, but at their core theyʼre not aligned with Church teaching and all the big platforms just have a small team of people who make all these moral decisions.”
In regard to the issue of user dependency, Cooney said: “I think a lot of parents have realized at this point the dangers of social media for their children, and so theyʼve become much more cautious about social media. But, I think very few parents … are aware of the huge threat that AI companions and chatbots can pose to their kids because theyʼre built to hook users and keep them engaged.”
“I think this is especially problematic for young people — like children [or] teenagers — because their brains arenʼt fully developed yet,” he added. “So, if thereʼs a teenager whoʼs lonely, maybe he doesnʼt have a ton of friends at school, maybe he doesnʼt see his parents much, the appeal of having an AI companion that will sound just like a human, and will also be super affirming and validating, thatʼs a huge appeal to those teenagers and they can easily get sucked into them.”
With this in mind, the brothers — who have experience creating websites and other computer programs — grounded Acutis AI in Church teaching by uploading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, encyclicals, the “Summa Theologica,” and other Church documents into the platformʼs code.
Additionally, through coding, Acutis AI is only allowed to answer questions regarding faith and morals from those sources. For any general questions, it is allowed to do a more broad web search.
Cooney pointed out that while there are negatives in using AI, he believes the tool can be used responsibly.
“I donʼt think the right answer is just saying OK, weʼre just not [going to] use AI at all, weʼre just going to ban it completely, because I think it can be a valuable tool if used correctly,” he said.
He added: “I think the best way to use it is to automate things. It should not be a replacement for critical thinking. I think itʼs super important to keep critical thinking at the forefront in all of this.”
The young Catholic also emphasized the importance of maintaining human relationships and preventing AI from taking the place of face-to-face interactions.
For students, Cooney said he believes it can be a great tool in helping them study for tests by having the platform quiz the individual or help create study guides.
Cooney said he hopes Acutis AI will help “teach young people how to use AI responsibly and give parents the guidance they need to help their kids use AI responsibly.”
Looking to the saint who inspired the platformʼs name, Cooney highlighted how St. Carlo Acutis is a “great example of how you use technology to serve God —he used it to spread his love for the Eucharist and he brought so many people closer to Christ through that — so I think we can do the same thing.”
Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez of Palm Beach, Florida, advocated for greater internet access within Cuba and for Cubans to be able to exercise political freedom and freedom of expression, because this “forms part of human dignity.”
The Dominican-born prelate made the appeal in an interview with “EWTN Noticias,” the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News, after a March visit to Cuba to attend the installation of Osmany Massó Cuesta as bishop of Bayamo-Manzanillo.
Speaking with “EWTN Noticias,” Rodríguez addressed recent events in the Caribbean nation, including the government’s Holy Week announcement that it would release more than 2,000 people from prison.
The bishop stated that this was “a first step toward a long-term and more stable solution.”
“It is certainly neither the definitive nor the complete solution, but it is a sign that should be appreciated as a positive step,” he said.
He noted that this step “must be followed by other measures” capable of “increasingly guaranteeing the growing integral development of Cuban men and women at the social level.”
“In Cuba,” he stated, “a process must take place wherein Cubans are granted increasingly greater access to the internet, where the exercise of freedom of expression is made possible, and where political freedom — naturally — can also be exercised, for that is part of human dignity.”
“However,” he noted, “all of this must always proceed from an attitude of dialogue and collaboration.”
Regarding the Catholic Church in Cuba, the prelate stated that in recent years, the bishops have been granted the opportunity “to speak on the radio,” thereby enabling them to evangelize and provide moral support to the people “within the limitations inherent to the prevailing situation and circumstances.”
In Cuba, where a one-party system is imposed, the internet is monopolized by the state-owned company ETECSA. The most affordable data plan available to citizens costs 120 Cuban pesos ($5) and offers only 2 GB. In contrast, a person arriving from abroad can access a minimum plan of 10 GB, although the cost is not listed on the website.
The state also holds a monopoly over print, television, and radio media. Those wishing to establish independent media outlets have the internet as their only alternative, albeit at the risk of being harassed and detained by the communist regime, as documented on March 11 by the Inter American Press Association.
The Catholic Church ‘is no one’s enemy’
Rodríguez first visited Cuba as a young man in 1998 on the occasion of the historic apostolic journey of St. John Paul II. He returned in 1999 as a missionary and lived on the island until 2000.
“Upon returning after 25 years, I have found a people who still possess the same faith, a people filled with hope, and a Church that has continued to grow and renew itself. However, suffering and distress in general have multiplied. When I was here more than 25 years ago, the humanitarian and social situation was already appalling.”
“But now, the crisis has reached truly inhumane proportions … and our solidarity and response are urgently needed,” Rodríguez emphasized.
The blackouts and shortages of food and medicine plaguing the island intensified starting in January, after the United States effectively stopped oil shipments from Mexico and Venezuela, a measure that has further complicated daily life, affecting, among other things, transportation, the accumulation of trash on the streets, and foreign tourism.
And although a Russian vessel arrived in late March carrying 730,000 barrels of oil and the U.S. government is sending donations to be distributed by Caritas Cuba, this is not enough.
Rodríguez therefore called upon the Cuban authorities to understand that the Catholic Church “is no one’s enemy,” for it is not married “to any ideology or to any political party” but rather preaches “Jesus Christ and his message of love, fraternity, respect for human dignity, peace, and hope.”
“By working with the Church, they will be safeguarding the dignity of the Cuban people and will also be collaborating in a deliberate process aimed at implementing measures to restore the people’s dignity,” he stated.
“Therefore, I invite the authorities of Cuba — the government of Cuba — not to be afraid to collaborate” with the Church, Rodríguez urged, who assured that “we, the Catholic bishops of the United States, are here to support the bishops of Cuba in whatever is needed.”
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.
U.S.-Iran peace talks collapsed on Sunday after a 21-hour marathon session, with Vice President JD Vance blaming Iranʼs refusal to commit to abandoning its nuclear program, even as Catholic leaders in Rome and Washington condemned the broader conflict as immoral and pleaded “Enough of war!”
“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement. And I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America,” Vance told reporters in Islamabad, where the meetings took place. “We’ve had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That’s the good news.”
He added that the core impasse remained Iran’s nuclear ambitions: “But the simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon. That is the core goal of the president of the United States. And that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.”
Vance emphasized that the U.S. side negotiated “in good faith,” but Iran “has chosen not to accept our terms.” He further noted, “We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.”
Iran has insisted the aims of its nuclear program are civilian.
The high-level face-to-face talks in Pakistan, a mediator between the two countries, followed weeks of military confrontation that began in late February and produced a tenuous two-week ceasefire, which ends April 22. With no deal secured, the future of that truce now hangs in greater uncertainty.
Vance, a Catholic convert and Iraq War veteran, has reflected on the moral weight of these national security decisions in the context of his faith. Speaking to the Washington Post last week about U.S. actions to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, he said, “I certainly hope that God agrees with the decision that Iran shouldn’t have a nuclear weapon, but I’ll keep praying about it.” He added that his approach has been “to pray that we are on God’s side” because “that would mean a lot of innocent people dead.”
Catholic leaders in the U.S. and at the Vatican have responded to the broader conflict with strong calls for peace and a return to dialogue.
“Enough of war!” he declared, lamenting the human and spiritual cost of the fighting. He stressed that prayer is “the most free, universal and disruptive response to death," and is among the things that “break the demonic chain of evil and put themselves at the service of the Kingdom of God; a kingdom in which there is no sword, no drones, no revenge, no trivialization of evil, no unfair profit, but only dignity, understanding and forgiveness.”
He and other Catholic leaders have drawn on the Church’s just war tradition, which holds that the use of force must meet strict moral criteria, including just cause, right intention, last resort, proportionality, and discrimination between combatants and non-combatants.
The Holy Father called on all parties to reject escalation and instead commit to patient, honest dialogue aimed at genuine coexistence and the protection of civilians.
“Stop! Itʼs time for peace! Sit at tables of dialogue and mediation, not at tables where rearmament is planned and death actions are deliberated,” he said.
At a special Mass for Peace held in Washington, also on April 11, Cardinal Robert McElroy argued that the current war fails to meet the strict criteria of just war theory, particularly in light of civilian suffering and the risk of disproportionate harm.
The cardinal urged the faithful to pray for an immediate end to hostilities and for diplomats to pursue a just settlement that protects human life.
Predicting the failure of negotiations “because of recalcitrance on both sides” and the United States’ reentry into hostilities after the ceasefire, he said:
“At that critical juncture, as disciples of Jesus Christ called to be peacemakers in the world, we must answer vocally and in unison: No,” he said. “Not in our name. Not at this moment. Not with our country.”
He warned of the “expansion of the war far beyond Iran, the disruption of the world economy, and the loss of life.”
The Chaldean Synod has elected Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona as the new Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, succeeding Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, who submitted his resignation to Pope Leo XIV on March 9 amid a financial and legal scandal concerning a former Chaldean bishop in San Diego.
The election took place during the synod’s meetings held in Rome since April 9.
This election comes at a critical time for both the Chaldean Church and the wider region, amid ongoing political challenges in Iraq and the Middle East, as well as internal ecclesial issues related to unity and the organization of Church life both locally and in the diaspora.
Following the election, the Chaldean bishops issued a statement saying: “After deep spiritual and fraternal deliberations, conducted in a spirit of prayer and ecclesial discernment, and mindful of the apostolic responsibility entrusted to them, the Fathers of the Synod elected the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church according to the established canonical procedures. After completing the required ballots, and in accordance with the will expressed by the Synod, His Excellency Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona was elected Patriarch of the Chaldean Church and chose for himself the name His Beatitude Patriarch Mar Paul III Nona.”
The statement continued: “His Beatitude accepted the election in accordance with canonical norms, expressing his reliance on God’s grace and his commitment to exercise his patriarchal ministry with fidelity and responsibility, in full communion with the Fathers of the Synod, in service of the unity of the Chaldean Church and its mission in the homeland and the diaspora.”
“The Fathers of the Synod raise their prayers to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, asking that He grant the elected Patriarch wisdom and strength,“ the statement continued. ”They affirm their confidence that this ministry will contribute to strengthening the faithful in their faith, enhancing their unity, and revitalizing the Church’s mission in bearing witness to the Gospel.”
The Synod also called on all members of the Chaldean Church — clergy and faithful alike — to unite around the new Patriarch and support him through prayer and shared responsibility for the good of the Church and the growth of its mission.
Archbishop Nona was born in Alqosh in northern Iraq in 1967. He was ordained a priest in 1991 after completing his studies at the Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad. He later pursued higher studies in Rome, earning a doctorate in theological anthropology from the Pontifical Lateran University.
He served in the parishes of Alqosh before being appointed Archbishop of Mosul in 2009, during a period marked by escalating violence against Christians in Iraq.
During the events of 2014, he left Mosul along with his faithful following the takeover of the city by the terrorist group ISIS, marking a pivotal moment in the modern history of the Chaldean Church.
In 2015, the Holy See appointed him head of the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle in Australia and New Zealand, where he continued his pastoral ministry among the Chaldean diaspora.
His appointment comes following the resignation of Cardinal Raphael Sako, who announced that he submitted his resignation to Pope Leo XIV of his own free will on the morning of March 9 so he could “dedicate himself quietly to prayer, writing, and simple service.”
The timing sparked controversy within the Chaldean community.
Pope Leo XIV on March 10 accepted the resignation of Bishop Emanuel Shaleta, a Chaldean Catholic bishop arrested in San Diego in March on charges of embezzling Church funds.
Sako had allegedly attempted to support or transfer the embattled bishop to a higher position, leading many to question whether the financial scandal played a role in the patriarch’s decision.
This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
While discussing the role of educators in helping young people to heal from their wounds, Cozzens played a video of Abrams performing her song “Camden."
“The poetry that she sings about expresses the depth of pain that she carries in her heart, and whatʼs even more clear is that it resonates with tens of thousands of people in the stadium all her same age,” Cozzens said during his April 7 keynote, according to UCA News. "Many people in the stadium also feel like singing.”
In the song, an extended reflection on insecurity and personal struggles, Abrams sings, in part, “All of me, a wound to close / But I leave the whole thing open / I just wanted you to know / I was never good at coping.”
“This is the height of popular culture,” he said. “This is what our young people are singing about, the gaping wounds in their hearts."
Catholic educators must invite young people to encounter Christ in their wounds, rather than seeking value from social media, artificial intelligence, popular culture, or politics, he said.
The National Catholic Educational Association convention took place April 7-9. Other highlights at the event included a live butter sculpture of Pope Leo XIV, and “Puppy Love” sessions sponsored by Safe Hands Rescue and Healing Hearts Rescue, according to the event schedule.
Chicago Archdiocese says public school system abruptly cut off funding for students with disabilities
More than 800 students with disabilities attending Chicago Catholic schools will be affected after the city’s public school system suddenly suspended funding to social services before the end of the school year.
The Chicago Archdiocese said in an April 10 statement that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) targeted only Catholic schools in terminating services for individuals with special needs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The statement noted students with learning differences will lose access to math, reading, and writing tutoring, which will create “severe hardship for hundreds of students” who were relying on the services through the end of the year.
“We are not aware of any other non-public school system or individual school, religious or secular, whose IDEA services have been terminated,” the archdiocese said. “It is not clear why Catholic schools are being treated differently, but Catholic school students have the right to be treated equally under the law.”
Chicago Archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich said the archdiocese "cannot allow this shocking and possibly discriminatory action by CPS to stand, not only given its affront to Catholics, but even more so since this injustice would disenfranchise the students we serve.”
The archdiocese said efforts to reach CPS Superintendent Macquline King “have not yielded a response.”
The archdiocese said the Chicago school system had verbally confirmed funding for the services would continue through the end of the school year “as recently as March 25" before informing the archdiocese during Holy Week that the services would be suspended.
“While federal funding for these services was provided to CPS for the full school year, we were informed that the last day of services would be [April 10],” the archdiocese said.
Georgia archdiocese launches virtual Catholic high school
The Archdiocese of Atlanta is starting a fully online Catholic high school program this fall in partnership with Catholic Education Services.
The launch of Sacred Heart Virtual Academy comes amid increased demand among homeschooling families, according to an April 8 report from the Georgia Bulletin.
Curriculum will be provided by Catholic Education Services, whose mission “is to partner with Catholic school leaders and provide services that extend the reach and impact of your school’s mission through a faith-centered, rigorously academic education with a flexible learning platform,” according to its website.
“We knew that we were not filling the needs of a group of kids that were in our parishes,” Kim Shields, the archdiocesan associate superintendent of schools, said in the report. “This allows a child that doesn’t want to go to a brick-and-mortar school to have that opportunity.”
The school will serve grades 9-12, according to its website, and is open to students outside of the archdiocese.
“My hope is that it serves what we’re about — to provide programs for students to help them develop in all areas of their life,” Shields said. “The premise is that everything is centered around the mission of the Catholic Church.”
Student debt almost prevented Sister Ann Dominic Mahowald from pursuing her vocation with the Dominicans.
When someone becomes a religious, he or she no longer receives an income, making it impossible to maintain student loan payments that can span decades. Fund for Vocations offers a solution.
Founded in 2004 by Corey and Katherine Huber, the organization now offers two programs: the long-standing St. Joseph Grant Program, which covers student loan debt, and the recently launched “DAD Fund” (Discretionary Anti-Discouragement Fund).
While the St. Joseph program handles monthly tuition payments, the DAD Fund takes on the smaller costs of discernment — what Fund for Vocations spokesperson Annie Ryland described as “hidden financial barriers to religious vocations.” The DAD Fund provides grants of $5,000 or $10,000 directly to religious communities to support discerners.
Two grant recipients, Sister Helene Therese and Sister Magdalene Grace of the Alhambra Carmelites, pose for a photo together. | Credit: Elizabeth Latham/Fund for VocationsSister Mary Agnes, a 2011 grant recipient and cloistered nun with the Poor Clares of the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois, visits with guests in the parlor after making her first profession of vows. | Credit: Fund for VocationsFund for Vocations Executive Director Mary Radford and grant recipient Father Malachy Napier of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR). | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mary Radford/Fund for VocationsGrant recipient Father Andrew Panzer, a priest of the Society of St. John Cantius, incenses the altar during Mass. | Credit: Canons Regular of St. John CantiusGrant recipient Sister Maria Julia of the Eucharist, OP, makes her first profession of vows at the Dominican Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit, New Jersey. This is cloistered community of Dominican nuns. | Credit: Dominican Sisters of the Monastery of Our Lady of the RosaryMother Ann Marie Karlovic receives Sister Ann Dominic Mahowald’s vows at the Mass for profession at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville, Tennessee. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia
For instance, Mahowald, now a board member of Fund for Vocations, told the group how she had needed to ask her parish to sponsor her airfare to visit the Nashville Dominicans when she was discerning.
“We asked ourselves, ‘How many young people are getting stuck at that stage of discernment? Not being able to fly to the discernment retreat and quietly giving up?’” Ryland told EWTN News.
“Expenses like travel for ‘Come and See’ visits, psychological evaluations, or temporary health insurance can total several thousands of dollars, and that’s all before candidates even enter novitiate,” Ryland added.
Eleven religious communities have already reached out to Fund for Vocations for funds “to support the new discerners,” according to Ryland.
“The goal of the DAD Fund is to ensure that these smaller financial barriers do not delay or discourage men and women who are already showing great courage in sincerely exploring a vocation,” Ryland continued.
Work of renewal
In recent years, the Catholic Church has seen a worldwide decline in the number of priests and seminarians. The number of religious sisters has plummeted since 1965, with an 82% decrease over the past 60 years.
But religious and priests are vital to the life of the Church.
“Every vocation is a gift to the Church,” Mary Radford, executive director of the Fund for Vocations, said in a press release shared with EWTN News. “We want to make sure that practical concerns, whether travel costs, required evaluations, or basic entry expenses, never become the reason someone hesitates to take the next step in discernment.”
“Every religious vocation means a life given over to prayer and service for Christ’s Church,” Ryland said. “Religious serve in parishes, in schools, in medical clinics, on the streets with the homeless and suffering. They are living witness to the power of the Gospel.”
“Religious also serve to remind us all of our heavenly goal. When young people see devout, joy-filled priests and sisters, they catch a glimpse of the power of God’s love and are shown that the Catholic faith is worth living and dying for,” Ryland said. “And of course, we all need the sacraments, so vocations to the priesthood are especially critical for the salvation of souls.”
“By removing the financial obstacles that can stand in the way of a vocation, we get to play a small role in the great work of renewal and hope that God is stirring up in his Church today,” Ryland said.
In the past few weeks since the new fund launched, Ryland said that “the response has been overwhelmingly grateful and positive.”
“Vocations directors seem most excited about being able to assist with travel expenses for candidates who wish to attend a Come and See weekend but cannot afford the trip on their own,” Ryland said.
‘A late vocation’
Steven Ellison, a seminarian with the Discalced Carmelite order, describes himself as a “late vocation.” Raised by a devout Protestant family, Ellison joined the Catholic Church in his early 30s in 2022.
“When the Lord first lifted the veil that covered my eyes and allowed me to see the beauty of his Church for the first time, I perceived then in a passing moment of clarity my vocation to the Discalced Carmelite order and to the priesthood,” Ellison said.
He picked St. Teresa of Ávila as his confirmation sponsor, but it would be a few years before his vocation became fully clear to him.
When he began to pursue a vocation with the Carmelites, he faced the burden of student debt.
“When discerning religious life with its vow to poverty, all personal debts need to be either cleared away or assumed by a third party so that the aspiring religious can be free from financial entanglements,” Ellison said.
He remembered thinking: “If the Lord removes these circumstances that appear to be obstacles and opens every door to Carmel for me then I would enter through each open door so that I might do his will.”
Despite being an older candidate, at 34, the Carmelites said it would not be a barrier — but his student debt still would be.
“It was there that the Fund for Vocations and their donors became the avenue of God’s grace for me,” Ellison said. “In their assumption of my student loans, and in their pledge to support me throughout my formation, the final doors of entry to Carmel were opened and I was able to walk through them with confidence in the Lord because of the faithfulness of his Church.”
“The Fund for Vocations became for me a reflection of the Church’s goodness,” Ellison said.
“The fruits have been innumerable so far, and I have grown accustomed to referring to those fruits as treasures — treasures because these gifts from the Lord seem both hidden and imperishable,” he said of the vocations program.
‘A life given’
Mahowald “was seriously contemplating a religious vocation,” but she had a 30-year payment plan for more than $100,000 in student debt.
“I was dumbfounded by the simple fact that my Catholic education was both the reason for my deep love for Jesus and the obstacle to my pursuit of following Jesus in religious life due to the debt I had accrued,” Mahowald said.
Debt can be a barrier to joining religious life, especially student debt that is designed to be paid off over decades.
“My debt was too significant for the sisters to assume so I knew that I couldn’t enter until that financial difficulty was solved,” Mahowald said.
“There were moments of real sadness and confusion when I didn’t see how God would answer this dilemma,” Mahowald said. “The Fund for Vocations was the miracle that allowed me to enter religious life at the age of 24 instead of 54.”
“I applied for a grant and was eligible to enter religious life while the Fund for Vocations paid my monthly loan payments,” Mahowald said. “The genius behind this model is that it gave me the freedom to discern.”
“The Fund for Vocations is set up to make monthly loan payments while the candidate is in formation,” Mahowald said. “If the candidate discerns to leave, he or she just picks up the next loan payment. If the candidate makes final vows then the loans are taken care of completely.”
Ryland described Fund for Vocations as a “family” and “a beautiful microcosm of the generosity and love of the whole body of Christ.”
“We love to see the relationships of love and prayer that develop between our supporters and our grant recipients,” Ryland continued. “Supporters are like spiritual godmothers and godfathers to these young men and women. Many tell us they think of them as spiritual children.”
Mahowald found the same in her experience.
“One of the fruits of being a grant recipient is that I’ve been adopted into a larger family,” Mahowald said. “Katherine and Corey Huber, the founders of the Fund for Vocations, keep in contact with me and came to celebrate both my first and final vows. Other benefactors were placed in my life that I still keep in touch with to this day.”
“Knowing that donors to the Fund for Vocations were supporting me in my vocational journey taught me that the gift of my ‘yes’ to God was not just for me but also for the upbuilding of the Church,” Mahowald said.
‘I walk the halls with saints in the making’
Mahowald now works as the assistant principal of student life and discipline at Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Virginia — the same school she taught at before she became a religious sister.
“My position allows me to watch over and shape the social development of our young students,” Mahowald said. “We care deeply about the formation of the whole person and desire our graduates to become disciples of Christ.”
“I joke with the students that my job is to plan parties and to keep everyone safe. While I say that with a smile, it’s not a bad summary of how I serve,” Mahowald said.
“Working with high school students brings daily adventures, and I am certain that I walk the halls with saints in the making,” Mahowald said. “God is raising up many young people who are sincerely eager to know, love, and serve him.”
“I anticipate more vocations to the priesthood and religious life and therefore am so grateful that the Fund for Vocations exists so that anyone experiencing financial obstacles to religious life will not be discouraged but will instead have hope and support to be able to leave everything and follow Christ,” Mahowald said.
