We Are Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish

CNA Staff, May 13, 2025 / 12:12 pm (CNA).

A Catholic mother of 10 and grandmother of 30 was honored by New Orleans’ Archbishop Gregory Aymond during a special vigil Mass on May 12.

Jeanne Vath Ory was selected as the 2025 recipient for the “Regina Matrum” or “Queen of Mothers” award, a decades-long tradition in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. 

Established in 1947, the Regina Matrum Award is designed to honor a Catholic mother each year and to highlight the ideals of Catholic motherhood and family life. 

Kim Roberts, the current chairman of Regina Matrum and former president of the Council of Catholic School Co-operative Clubs (CCSCC), said that every year when they give the award, the recipient is surprised. 

“They’re all so humble, and they’re always so surprised,” she recalled.

This year’s recipient didn’t even get out of her pew when her name was called. 

“She really didn’t know. She was looking around the church like, ‘Who are they talking about?’ Everybody knew it was her,” Roberts told CNA. 

When Ory was selected at her parish on Palm Sunday, it brought tears to her eyes. 

Over the years, Ory has served the local church in various committees, ministries, and outreach programs. She also co-founded the Rosary Congress at her parish — a ministry that has continued for more than a decade.

Ory even has a family connection to the award. She is the granddaughter of the sixth Regina Matrum recipient Florence Dunn Vath and niece of Theresa Vath Bourgeois, who received the award in 2000. 

The special vigil Mass celebrated by the archbishop took place at Ory’s home parish, St. Joan of Arc in LaPlace. 

Why an award for mothers?

“Regina Matrim, at its core, is just to highlight a woman from the archdiocese here in New Orleans who is a shining example of Catholic motherhood,” Roberts explained. 

“It doesn’t always have to be the lady that’s out front all the time but the one who could be quietly in the background, supporting their parish, helping their children, going a little extra mile for God,” she said.

Award recipients come from “all walks of life” and socioeconomic backgrounds, Roberts said. 

“A lot of them have 10 kids. Some of them have one child. Some of them have children with special needs,” she said. 

There’s one thing they all have in common — but it’s hard to put into words. 

“They all have this special glow where really Mary is at the center of everything they do,” Roberts said. 

The “delightful ladies” who receive these awards raise their children with the Catholic faith as a “solid foundation” while also helping their local parish, Roberts explained. 

The award helps serve as an inspiration and a reminder. 

“We want to shine the light on these women and to have them as examples for all the rest of us,” Roberts said. 

Their example carries through from the home to the parish to the community. 

“This is just our way of highlighting the faithful women who are boots to the ground, doing the Lord’s work, and keeping Mary at the center of their family,” Roberts said. 

Vatican City, May 13, 2025 / 11:43 am (CNA).

The leadership of the Vatican’s synod office has pledged its full availability and support of Pope Leo XIV in a public letter to the new pontiff shared Tuesday to its website and social media pages.

Noting that the synodal journey “continues” under Leo’s guidance, the letter says the General Secretariat of the Synod looks “with confidence to the directions you will indicate, to help the Church grow as a community attentive to listening, close to each person, capable of authentic and welcoming relationships — a home and family of God open to all: a missionary synodal Church.”

Signed by Secretary-General Cardinal Mario Grech and undersecretaries Sister Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ, and Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, OSA, the letter explains the path the Synod on Synodality has taken since its start in 2021, including Pope Francis’ approval of the final document at the end of the general assembly in October 2024.

“The General Secretariat of the Synod remains fully available to offer its service in a spirit of collaboration and obedience,” it concluded.

As prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, the now-Pope Leo XIV participated in both sessions of the assembly of the Synod on Synodality in October 2023 and October 2024.

Like Leo, Marín, one of the synod’s undersecretaries, is a member of the Order of St. Augustine.

The synod, the letter says, “is an ecclesial journey led by the Holy Spirit, the gift of the risen Lord, who helps us grow as a missionary Church, constantly undergoing conversion through attentive listening to the Gospel.”

The letter also quotes an accompanying note to the final document, which said the document’s indications “can already now be implemented in the local Churches and groupings of Churches, taking into account different contexts, what has already been done, and what remains to be done.”

Vatican City, May 13, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Father Hugo Gabriel Sánchez of Chiclayo, Peru, had been planning a trip with his mother for months to visit various Marian shrines in Europe, such as Fátima, Medjugorje, and Lourdes, with of course a final stop in Rome.

What this diocesan priest could never have imagined was that his arrival in Rome would coincide with the election of “Bishop Roberto” Prevost as successor to St. Peter — the bishop who led his diocese for eight years and with whom he has a close friendship.

On the afternoon of Sunday, May 12, Pope Leo XIV made time in his busy schedule to welcome his friend Sánchez and Sánchez’s mother to the Vatican.

“The joy was immense; we were able to speak for a little over 30 minutes and give him a painting of Cuzco that we brought from Peru,” Sánchez told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Leo XIV’s heartfelt gesture

Sánchez met with ACI Prensa at the curia general of the Augustinians in Rome, a few steps from the Vatican and where Pope Leo XIV resided when he was prior general of the order. Despite having recently assumed the Petrine ministry, the Holy Father found time for a heartfelt gesture: He personally requested that his friend and his friend’s mother be given accommodations at the Augustinian community.

This closeness, the Peruvian priest noted, is precisely what characterizes the pontiff: “Since he left Chiclayo, he always sends us a message on our birthdays, or when there is a priestly ordination. He also writes if he hears of a priest having a problem.”

Sánchez still recalls with visible emotion the moment of the white smoke. “I was with my mother at the Lourdes shrine and I was 90% certain that the Holy Spirit could give us Bishop Prevost as pope,” said the pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in the José Leonardo Ortíz district of Chiclayo.

“I was simply waiting for the cardinal’s name to be said, and when it was, my mother and I both wept for joy. Then we thanked God, and I wrote him a message. He hasn’t answered me yet, but his secretary told us to have a little patience, as he has received many messages.”

Love for priests, confidence in the young

Sánchez particularly highlighted the “love for the priests” that the now pope demonstrated as bishop of Chiclayo as well as his trust and commitment to young priests.

“We’re a young diocese, but we have many vocations. There are an average of about 80 or 85 priests, and he achieved a balance and harmony between the young and those who had been there for several years,” Sánchez emphasized.

He recalled the profound impact it had on him when years ago in the Chiclayo cathedral, he heard Prevost quote a line from St. Augustine, words that now Pope Leo XIV repeated in his first public appearance from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “I am an Augustinian, a son of St. Augustine, who once said, ‘With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop.’” In this sense, Sánchez reflected, “we can all walk together toward that homeland that God has prepared for us.”

As Sánchez sees it, the pontiff chose this line because “in some ways, he felt a certain fear in assuming this responsibility, but also comfort in knowing that he is not alone but accompanied by his brothers in the faith.”

‘Always ready to listen’

The priest also recalled the new pope’s availability, always “ready to listen” and engage in conversation with anyone who needed it.

“While he listened to you, he looked at you and listened to you until you were finished.” And then “he gave you simple yet profound advice. He has a very special charism,” Sánchez noted.

During Prevost’s years as bishop of Chiclayo, the priest noted, “he gave us an example of service, humility, and simplicity.”

Pope Leo XIV’s profound spirituality and extensive formation, with degrees in mathematics, philosophy, and canon law, did not prevent “his daily dealings from being simple and open.” 

“Before leaving Chicago, he was already doing advanced German studies and is fluent in several languages. But within that intellectual level that surprised us and his preparation, his relationship with the faithful was very simple, I think due to his ability to listen. His words were simple but profound, always focused on the Gospel and Christ.”

Closeness to the poorest

Sánchez also highlighted Prevost’s closeness to the poorest and the common people. “He revived Caritas in Chiclayo, when it was practically defunct,” he noted.

Sánchez was moved when he spoke of Chiclayo’s “strong but simple” faith while emphasizing the new pope’s closeness to young laypeople. He recalled with a smile “there’s a very funny video of him singing with them at Christmas.”

“He had a great ability to reach young people. Now on social media, we can see, without exaggerating, thousands of people from Chiclayo who have a photo with him,” he related.

‘He often laughs heartily’

He also highlighted his moderate stance, one of the characteristics that, according to the Peruvian priest, “made Cardinal Prevost a candidate for papacy.”

“His election came quickly to show that there are no divisions in the Church, and I believe the Holy Father will achieve harmony,” he emphasized.

He also emphasized that he has “a good sense of humor.”

“He doesn’t tell jokes, but he often laughs heartily when there’s a funny anecdote.”

Finally, he noted that “we needed a pope whose pontificate could be longer,” something he hopes for from the pontificate of Leo XIV, who will turn 70 on Sept. 14.

“As they say at the Augustinian college, we will have a pope for a while, and if God allows it, at some point he will visit Peru, and for the first time a pope will come to the Diocese of Chiclayo,” he said with hope.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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