Vatican news As the Society of the Divine Word celebrates its 150th anniversary, Vatican News speaks with Father Maxwell Wullar about the Congregation’s vision and plans for the future. By Joseph Tulloch In 1875, Arnold Jansen, a young German priest, founded the Society of the Divine Word. Today, the Society has more than 5,700 missionaries…
Vatican news Pope Francis challenged seminarians and clergy in Toledo, Spain, to foster closeness to God, their bishops, fellow priests and the people of God. By Kielce Gussie “Have a nice day. How silent you are! It was with these words that Pope Francis greeted a group from a seminary in Toledo, Spain. He jokingly…
The Dicastery for Evangelization is organizing a two-day extraordinary plenary assembly to discuss the future mission of the Pontifical Urbaniana University, which trains seminarians and priests for missionary dioceses around the world. By Gianni Valente, Fides Agency The Pontifical Urbaniana University is approaching an important crossroads in its long and unprecedented history. On August 29…
Vatican news Bishops in Ireland have expressed shock and dismay following news of a repeated assault on a Catholic chaplain by a teenager on Thursday. By Lisa Zengarini Irish bishops have expressed shock and outrage following the stabbing of a military chaplain in Galway. The incident happened on Thursday, when Father Paul Murphy was stabbed…
Vatican news Pope Francis addresses members of four religious congregations as they hold their general chapters in Rome and urges them to focus on discernment, ongoing formation and promoting a spirit of charity. By Francesca Merlo Pope Francis met on Monday with the leaders of four religious congregations, which are holding their general chapters in…
Vatican news Nicaraguan authorities have arrested the rector of the Matagalpa seminary, who is also the parish priest of Santa María de Guadalupe. Father Jarvin Tórrez has been in prison since August 5, according to activists and human rights organizations, who also reported the arrest of a lay collaborator, Lesbia Rayo Balmaceda, from a parish…
Vatican news Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), is urging parish priests to share pastoral responsibilities with the laity during the ongoing “National Meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod” in Manila. By LiCAS News The event, which runs from July 29 to August 1, brought together…
Vatican news As the Church heads towards the second session of the Synod on Synodality, Fr Cletus Mwilla explores the hope for a paradigm shift towards a more inclusive and participatory Church. By Sr. Roselyne Wambani Wafula, FSP In anticipation of the second session of the Synod's Ordinary General Assembly scheduled for October 2024, several…
Vatican news Pope Francis continues his series of meetings with the clergy of his diocese, speaking with a group of recently ordained priests on pastoral issues. By Salvatore Cernuzio This was the pope's second meeting with the clergy of Rome, after that of May 14 with priests in office for 40 years and more. Today…
Vatican news Vatican News spoke to three of the 300 clergy gathered in Rome this week for a conference titled “Parishers for the Synod.” By Joseph Tulloch This week, some 300 priests gathered on the outskirts of Rome to discuss how to implement synodality at the local level. On Thursday morning, they met with Pope…