We Are Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 14:34 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of November is for the prevention of suicide. 

“Let us pray that those who are struggling with suicidal thoughts might find the support, care, and love they need in their community and be open to the beauty of life,” the pope said in a video released Nov. 4. 

According to a press release, this month’s video was made in collaboration with the Diocese of Phoenix.  

In the video, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention. Here is his full prayer:

Lord Jesus,

You who invite the weary and burdened

to come to you and rest in your heart,

we ask you this month for all the people

who live in darkness and despair,

especially for those struggling

with suicidal thoughts.

May they always find a community

that welcomes them, listens to them, and accompanies them.

Give all of us an attentive and compassionate heart,

capable of offering comfort and support,

also with the necessary professional help.

May we know how to be close with respect and tenderness,

helping to heal wounds, build bonds, and open horizons.

Together may we rediscover that life is a gift,

that there is still beauty and meaning,

even in the midst of pain and suffering.

We are well aware that those who follow you

are also vulnerable to sadness without hope.

We ask you to always make us feel your love

so that, through your closeness to us,

we can recognize and proclaim to all the infinite love of the Father

who leads us by the hand to renew our trust in the life you give us.

Amen.

The video prayer intention is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.

Vatican City, Nov 4, 2025 / 14:04 pm (CNA).

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith will publish a new document on marriage in the context of ongoing discussions about polygamy in Africa.

The document, titled “We Two: In Praise of Monogamy. Doctrinal Note on the Value of Marriage, Exclusive Communion, and Mutual Belonging,” will be released at the end of November, the dicastery’s secretary, Father Armando Matteo, said Tuesday.

Matteo said the work is connected to a request made during the Synod on Synodality for African bishops to prepare a statement on polygamy. African bishops themselves, he noted, asked the Holy See for guidance on the issue.

The Synods on the Family in 2014 and 2015 — though largely dominated by questions of divorce and remarriage — also saw significant interventions from African bishops on the pastoral challenges of polygamous marriages.

A press conference will be held at the Holy See Press Office when the document is released later this month.

In remarks to journalists in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo calls for “deep reflection” on the treatment of migrants in the United States, urges "dialogue" between the US and Venezuela, warns that the Israel-Hamas peace deal is "very fragile", and expresses his hope that the trial of ex-Jesuit Marko Rupnik will "bring clarity and justice for everyone involved".

Read all

 

This week, Archbishop Weisenburger is in Rome for a very quick trip to meet with various departments in the Vatican. He is accompanied by Fr. Mario Amore, and reports that meetings are going great. While in Rome, Archbishop Weisenburger and Fr. Amore met with Detroit priests currently living or studying in the Eternal City, including Fr. David Pellican and Msgr. Robert Sable.

Lansing Bishop Earl A. Boyea installs nine Sacred Heart seminarians as acolytes, six as lectors during Oct. 30 Mass at seminary

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov 4, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).

The destruction of an image of Our Lady of Luján, the patroness of Argentina, and the burning of a chapel has shocked two communities in Argentina. Authorities are currently investigating the acts of vandalism. 

Father Lucas Arguimbau, a priest at St. Cajetan Shrine, a church in Buenos Aires, announced Nov. 2 that the outdoor small shrine to the Blessed Mother located down the street was the target of vandalism this past weekend in which the image of Our Lady of Luján kept there was smashed to pieces.

The news shocked the community, as the small shrine is located in a busy area monitored by security cameras and near a police station. A woman who lives in the neighborhood found fragments of the destroyed image and brought them to the shrine.

After the 11 a.m. All Souls’ Day Mass on Nov. 2 at St. Cajetan’s, the parochial vicar said: “A neighbor brought us the hands of the statue of Our Lady of Luján, which someone had attacked at the shrine at the corner of Juan B. Justo and Cuzco streets,” as reported by the news site La Nación.

The image of the patroness of Argentina was kept in an outdoor shrine protected by a grille and glass, and served as a gathering spot for the community on special occasions.

After Mass, Arguimbau, accompanied by the parochial vicar, a seminarian, and some laypeople, went to the scene of the incident where, in addition to the broken glass and the destroyed statue of Our Lady, they found a statue of St. Cajetan lying on the ground. A crucifix was undamaged.

Although no report had been filed in previous attacks, this time the priest decided to file one at Police Station 10B, where he also took the remains of the statue.

Arguimbau led a simple act of reparation at the site: “We are going to ask God to bless this place again, and we pray especially for those who come to the shrine, for those who broke the image of the Virgin. We ask that God bless us, protect our neighborhood, and grant us peace in our hearts, as St. Cajetan always did, in good times and bad, sowing good,” he said. He then blessed the site with holy water, and those present prayed a Hail Mary.

Following the incident, St. Cajetan Shrine is studying ways to reinforce the security and protect the nearby small shrine, while the investigation continues to identify the attackers using images captured by security cameras.

Chapel fire

The attack on the small shrine was not the only one reported in Argentina last weekend, which coincided with Halloween. In the city of Pehuén-Co, in southern Buenos Aires province, Holy Family Chapel was completely destroyed by a fire, the cause of which is under investigation.

In an interview with El Rosalenio, Father Adán Caraballo, who is in charge of the Sacred Heart community and Holy Family Chapel in Pehuén-Co, explained that they are still assessing what happened, especially since graffiti with the number “666” among others were found after the fire.

“The church could have burned down at any other time of year, and it just so happens on this day, and the graffiti appears on this very day. Of course, we understand it from a faith perspective, as too delicate of a situation that has become so widespread globally, trivializing something that should never be trivialized like the night of the witches, like Halloween and all that,” he pointed out.

“We understand it as something serious, but we hope it’s just a prank by someone who saw the church burning and said, ‘Let’s put this on it,’” he said, referring to the graffiti.

“The people who have served so much over the years at the chapel are now saddened to see it destroyed,” he lamented, indicating that the fire started from inside, although the investigation is still underway.

While the community is deeply saddened, the priest highlighted the support and “incredible generosity” of those who have come forward to help restore the chapel.

He also reported that the tabernacle “was intact, Jesus was intact, the Eucharist was intact,” which he considered “a miraculous sign.”

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