By Matthew Trojacek with Grzegorz Galazka Photos

Authoress Gives Pope Leo Copy of New Book on Castel Gandolfo

Italian Maura Mauro, a secretary by profession, gave Pope Leo a copy of her new book, Castel Gandolfo: Summer Residence of the Popes Over the Centuries on August 15 at the town on Lake Albano where Leo now spends almost every Tuesday.

Subtitled “Pilgrim’s Guide,” the book is described as a “simple guide for the discerning traveler. With its pictorial representations and accompanying comments, it takes you on an intriguing journey through the rich history of Castel Gandolfo, celebrating its beauty and inspiring curiosity.”

After meeting Pope Leo and giving him a copy of her book, Mauro remarked, “It was a thrilling moment to meet the Holy Father, especially here in this town which is not only a natural wonder, but has fascinating historical significance.”

The Pope’s summer residence is located on a lake that was once a desolate lava field, result of a nearby volcano’s eruption. Millennia later, underground springs fed craters that merged into a lake, and in the 13th century BC, the ancient Latin town of Alba Longa — today’s Castel Gandolfo — was founded on the now-fertile land. (Vatican Media)

Meloni Hails Return of National Holiday in Honor of St. Francis of Assisi

Italy’s parliament voted on October 1 to restore a national holiday in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the country’s patron saints, almost half a century after it was abolished.

The annual holiday will fall on St. Francis’ feast day on October 4, with the measure taking effect from next year, which marks the 800th anniversary of his death in 1226.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the decision, saying St. Francis was beloved by all Italians.

“The national holiday will be an opportunity to celebrate an extraordinary man and to remind us, each year, who we are and what unites us,” she said in a statement.

The new law frames the holiday as a tribute to his values of peace, brotherhood and the protection of the environment. The lower house backed the bill by a vote of 247 to 2, showing broad cross-party support.

The holiday was first introduced in 1958 but scrapped in 1977 as part of an austerity drive. (Reuters)

Vatican Experts Say Minneapolis Shooting Victims Could Qualify as “New Martyrs”

Vatican experts said on September 8 that the two children killed in last month’s shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church could one day be included on a list they are compiling of “new martyrs and witnesses of the faith.” Harper Moyski, 10, and Fletcher Merkel, 8, were killed while attending a parochial school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church on August 27—prompting some to ask whether they could be considered martyrs killed “in hatred of the faith.”

“If the diocese or other local ecclesial entities present these figures to us as witnesses of the faith, we will examine them and see if we can include them in the list,” said Archbishop Fabio Fabene, president of the Vatican Commission of New Martyrs — Witnesses of the Faith.

As Fabene and other experts explained, the Commission’s selection criteria are not the same used by the Church to formally recognize a martyr through beatification and canonization. “They are two totally distinct things,” the archbishop said. (CNA)

Pope Marks 70th Birthday at Sunday Angelus: ‘I give thanks to the Lord and to my parents”

On Sunday, his 70th birthday, Pope Leo XIV presided at the recitation of the Angelus with pilgrims in Saint Peter’s Square. From the early morning hours, the square had filled up with the faithful carrying banners, flags, and congratulatory signs to celebrate the Pope’s milestone.

Leo was visibly moved when musical groups in the square played “Happy Birthday,” a gesture greeted with applause, cheers, and the waving of signs bearing messages of gratitude and blessing.

“Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, commemorating the discovery of the cross by Saint Helen in Jerusalem in the fourth century and the return of the precious relic to the Holy City by the Emperor Heraclius,” the Pope said at the start of his reflection.

At the close, he turned to a more personal meaning of the day: “Dear friends, it seems that you know that today I turn 70 years old. I give thanks to the Lord and to my parents; and I thank all those who have remembered me in their prayers. Many thanks to everyone! Thank you! Have a good Sunday!” (CNA)

New Chinese Bishop Ordained, Diocese Set Up with Vatican Nod

Bishop Joseph Wang Zhengui was ordained as the bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Zhangjiakou, a suffragan of the Beijing archdiocese, on September 10 with approval from Pope Leo XIV. Bishop Wang’s appointment comes along with the suppression of the Xuanhua and Xiwanzi dioceses erected in April 1946 by Pope Pius XII and the creation of the new diocese in their place.

The decision to suppress the dioceses was made “in the desire to promote the pastoral care of the Lord’s flock and to attend more effectively to its spiritual good,” the Vatican Press Office said in a statement.

Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing, who chairs the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), led Wang’s ordination service at the Church of the Holy Family in Zhangjiakou City.

The Vatican and the Chinese government renewed their agreement on the appointment of bishops in October 2024 for a four-year term. (UCANews)

Cardinal Ambongo, Leader of the Entire African Episcopate: “Fiducia Supplicans was a Bad Chapter in Pope Francis’ Pontificate”

In Gniezno, the Polish city where Christian unity has often been celebrated across centuries, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu spoke with a candor that is becoming increasingly characteristic of African Catholic leaders. For the Congolese prelate, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), the controversial Vatican declaration Fiducia supplicans remains a wound that cannot simply be ignored.

Ambongo, who serves as archbishop of Kinshasa, did not hesitate to describe the text — authorizing the possibility of blessing same-sex couples — as “a bad chapter” in the pontificate of Pope Francis. What troubled him most, he told OSV News during the September 11–14 Meeting of Gniezno, was not only the content but also the process: a document released in the middle of the Synod on Synodality, without open discussion among bishops, clergy, or faithful.

Reactions in Africa were immediate and fierce. From lay Catholics to bishops, Ambongo recalled “indignation and anger” spreading across the continent. “I realized I had to act,” he said. Rather than encouraging emotional outbursts, the cardinal asked each episcopal conference to study the text carefully and present reasoned responses. The fruit of that labor was a seven-page document that Ambongo carried himself to Rome. Pope Francis received him, he explained, listened to his concerns, and granted permission for the African bishops’ response to be published—firmly stating “No to the blessing of homosexual couples in African churches.” (Zenit)

China’s New Regulations “to Control Clergy Behavior Online”

China’s communist regime has published a new set of sweeping regulations to control the online behavior of religious clergy, with provisions to punish violators.

The new rules from the National Religious Affairs Administration, titled “Regulations on the Online Behavior of Religious Clergy,” were published on September 15, said an article in online publication Bitter Winter.

The new rules take “the digital leash on clerical personnel” to a new level of precision, says the September 18 article in the Italy-based magazine on religious liberty and human rights, which translated the regulations from Mandarin to English.

The regulation applies to all religious clerics operating within China—including those from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and even foreign clergy active on the mainland.

Online preaching and religious education are permitted only via platforms operated by registered religious organizations (temples, churches, seminaries) that hold a government-issued Internet Religious Information Service License. (UCANews)

Pope Leo XIV’s Alma Mater Launches New Series on Catholic Social Thought

The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas has launched “Fraternitas: An Introduction to Catholic Social Thought,” a 20-episode video series that explores the foundations of Catholic social ethics. The series is the first project of the university’s new digital platform, Angelicum Media.

Dominican Father Philip-Neri Reese, professor of philosophy at the Angelicum, as the university is commonly known, told the Register that the series aims to give a “comprehensive account of Catholic social thought,” which “came to mind precisely because it’s such an important part of our faith and it’s such a profoundly misunderstood part of our faith.”

“We want to make it clear to people what Catholic social thought is and what it isn’t,” said Father Reese, who is also director of the Angelicum Thomistic Institute, “because for many people, they think of Catholic social thought as sort of social activism just dressed up in theological language, and it absolutely isn’t.”

Catholic social doctrine, he emphasized, “is part and parcel of the Catholic tradition from the very beginning of the Church.” (NCR)