We Are Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish

The beatification ceremony for Mother Elisva Vakha’i was held in the square in front of the Basilica-Shrine of Our Lady of Ransom in Vallarpadam, Kochi, Kerala, India, Nov. 8, 2025. / Credit: Congregation of the Teresian Discalced Carmelite Sisters; Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Nov 12, 2025 / 16:24 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV spoke of the beatification this week of Mother Elisva Vakha’i, a 19th-century Indian religious and founder of the Third Order of the Teresian Discalced Carmelites, highlighting her “courageous commitment to the emancipation of the poorest girls.”

“The witness of Mother Elisva Vakha’i,” the pope affirmed during his greetings in Italian at the end of his general audience on Nov. 12, “is a source of inspiration for all who work in the Church and in society for the dignity of women.”

The beatification ceremony on Nov. 8 was held in the square in front of the Basilica-Shrine of Our Lady of Ransom in Vallarpadam, Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala, and was presided over by Cardinal Sebastian Francis, bishop of Penang, Malaysia.

Before thousands of faithful and men and women religious from across the country, the cardinal emphasized that the new blessed represents “a beacon of hope” for all “consecrated women, for all mothers, and for all those who suffer in silence and yet choose to love,” according to Vatican News.

A mother and widow called by God

Before embracing religious life, Vakha’i was married and had a daughter. She decided to take religious vows after becoming a widow, an experience that profoundly shaped her vocation and endowed her with a special sensitivity to the needs of women in her time. In a society marked by rigid cultural and religious divisions, she recognized the dignity of every person and offered concrete opportunities for education and support.

In the mid-19th century, she founded an orphanage and a primary school for the poorest and most marginalized young women. Her work was not limited to mere assistance: It was a genuine commitment to the integral formation of women; she was convinced that education was the key to the social recognition of their dignity and active participation in social and ecclesial life.

A pioneer of consecrated life for women in India

Vakha’i opened a new path for the women of Kerala, allowing them enter religious life in both the Latin and Syro-Malabar rites. Her project, deeply rooted in Carmelite and Teresian spirituality, united contemplation, service, prayer, and education.

Her example inspired her own sister, Thresia, and her daughter, Anna, who joined her in founding the first Discalced Carmelite convent in Kerala in 1866, under the spiritual guidance of Italian Carmelite missionaries. Together, they fostered a community experience that, as Cardinal Francis emphasized in his homily during her beatification, anticipated ecclesial insights now associated with the synodal journey of the Church.

An ‘inclusive” and ‘synodal’ vision

During the homily at the beatification, the cardinal emphasized the “inclusive vision” of Vakha’i, with which she “was ahead of her time and is a true expression of synodality in action: walking together in communion.”

The new blessed, he added, “shows the way” to the Church on its synodal journey “listening, discerning, and walking together.”

The foundation of her “unwavering faith,” he affirmed, “lies in her spirituality, vision, and mission, all rooted in her identity as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ through baptism, the very heart of synodality.”

With the official recognition of her holiness, the Church proposes Vakha’i as a model of evangelical life embodied in service to the poor, in the promotion of women, and in the building of fraternal communities.

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

Sister Mary Michael of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, PCPA, died Nov. 10, 2025, after roughly three-quarters of a century of religious life. She was 94. / Credit: Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration

CNA Staff, Nov 12, 2025 / 15:54 pm (CNA).

Sister Mary Michael of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, PCPA, died on Nov. 10 after roughly three-quarters of a century of religious life. She was 94.

Sister Mary Michael was the last of the original five nuns who, along with EWTN foundress Mother Angelica, began the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Irondale, Alabama. (The monastery is now located in Hanceville; EWTN, the parent company of CNA, remains in Irondale.)

Born Evelyn Shinosky on Feb. 25, 1931, to Joseph and Helen Shinosky, she entered Sancta Clara Monastery in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 15, 1951, and received the habit and her new name the following May.

Sister Mary Michael made her first profession on May 1, 1954, and her solemn profession exactly six years later in 1960. Shortly after her solemn profession she joined Mother Angelica to journey to Alabama to help found the new monastery.

Her religious community said she was renowned for her talent in baking, cooking, and sewing. Sisters frequently sought her advice when an insurmountable difficulty arose in the kitchen or a novice was at an impasse making a new habit.  

Sister would go on to serve several terms as vicar and councilor for the community. With a special devotion to the Church Fathers, she was a fervent devotee and reader of St. Augustine.  

Devoted to prayer until the end of her life, Sister Mary Michael attended Mass until she was physically unable to do so. In her final days she was known to fall asleep in the monastery’s infirmary with her hands folded in prayer.

Father Joseph Mary Wolfe, chapel dean and chaplain for EWTN, told CNA that Sister Mary Michael “always radiated a quiet love and joy and was always ready to use her sewing and baking skills to bring joy to others.”

“In fact, she and Sister Gabriel made the first habits for the friars here in Irondale,” he said. He noted that Sister Mary Michael “lovingly and tirelessly” served Mother Angelica in the latter’s final years, “often at the expense of her own rest.”  

“When I asked Sister Michael about her own vocation, she told me that she loved St. Francis of Assisi; spending time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; and was drawn to the contemplative life,” he said.

“She wasn’t sure where she could find all three together and it was right there in the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration community in Canton, Ohio, where she entered before moving with Mother Angelica to found the new monastery,” he said.

Her passing marks the end of an era at EWTN and at the monastery — one that saw both the launch of the global Catholic network and the expansion of the religious community to include the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery.

Just days before her death, Sister Mary Michael urged followers of Christ to “keep doing what you are doing so we can be one big family in heaven.” She also expressed gratitude for prayers offered to God on her behalf.

“I just want everyone to be Catholic,” she said prior to her passing, “and to love God passionately.” 

Father Richard Thomas, SJ, ministered in the U.S.-Mexico border region. / Credit: Courtesy of Our Lady's Youth Center

Baltimore, Maryland, Nov 12, 2025 / 15:24 pm (CNA).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted in favor of advancing the beatification and canonization cause of the late Jesuit Father Richard Thomas. 

Bishop Peter Baldacchino, who has served as bishop of Las Cruces in New Mexico since 2019, initiated the request for the Jesuit priest’s beatification. Baldacchino spoke about Thomas and his ministry to the poor at the bishops’ Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore.

“Jesus said, ‘When you hold a lunch or dinner, do not invite your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, rather … invite the poor. Blessed indeed will you be, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous,’” Baldacchino said during his Nov. 11 presentation. 

Thomas “gave witness to those words of the Lord through a life dedicated to serve persons in need, primarily in the Diocese of El Paso but also in the Diocese of Las Cruces and along the southern border of the United States,” Baldacchino said. 

Thomas was born in Seffner, Florida, in 1928 and entered the Jesuit order in 1945 after attending Jesuit High School in Tampa, Florida. He was ordained to the priesthood in San Francisco in 1958.

From 1964 until his death, Thomas served as the executive director of Our Lady’s Youth Center in El Paso, Texas. The center grew to include ministries to the poor around Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, including food banks, medical and dental clinics, prison and mental hospital ministries, and schools. 

In 1975 Thomas started The Lord’s Ranch east of Vado, New Mexico. The ranch has provided recreation and rehabilitation to youth in need and created multiple food banks. 

The priest “lived a very simple, austere lifestyle because he wanted to live in solidarity with the poor,” Baldacchino said. “He slept in a small room with very few furnishings that included a desk, a chair, and an army bed. There was no carpeting, no air conditioning, and no heating.”

“Father Thomas had a foundational vision based on the 25th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel in which Jesus said, ‘When you minister to the poor, you minister to me.’ Father Thomas believed that in serving the poor, we encounter the presence of Jesus in a special way, and we are enriched by the experience.”

The priest “recognized that each human being is made in the image of God,” Baldacchino said. This includes the unborn and the immigrant.”

Thomas was “a pioneer in the pro-life movement” and “recognized the need to be supportive of women who are in difficult circumstances because of pregnancy,” Baldacchino said. “There is currently a very vibrant pro-life community in the El Paso-Las Cruces area, and many of its leaders are people who have been mentored by Father Thomas.”

Thomas died on May 8, 2006, at The Lord’s Ranch at age 78.

A ‘miraculous meal’

Baldacchino told a story of a potential miracle by Thomas at a garbage dump in Juárez, Mexico, on Christmas Day in 1972. Thomas and some lay Catholics came across the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus tells his followers to invite the poor.

“Father Thomas and his companions decided to obey the words of Jesus, and they organized a Christmas Day meal for people who were scavengers at the garbage dump in Juárez,” Baldacchino said. 

The priest and the group prepared enough food for about 150 people, but when they arrived at the dump nearly twice the number of guests were present.

“Nevertheless, they decided to share what they had,” Baldacchino said. “Much to their surprise, everyone had more than enough to eat, and in fact, when the meal was over, they donated leftovers to two orphanages.”

“Now, 53 years later, the ministries that began with that Christmas Day meal are continuing. There is a food bank, a medical clinic, a Montessori school, and four different sites, [and] catechism is taught to children using the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd method,” Baldacchino said. 

Agreement among bishops 

Following Baldacchino’s address, a number of bishops spoke up to share their agreement with his testimony.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, said he has personal friends who spent time at the ranch and said they “testify to having witnessed both his generosity, heroic life, but also the miracle of the multiplication of food.”

Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, also said he is in favor of the cause. He said: “I think all of us in our work, we [have] moments where we heard of something or experienced something [and] we said: ‘That was a miracle.’ But someone like Father Thomas — it was miracles almost every day. His trust in God was so incredible.”

Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith of Portland, Oregon, also detailed Thomas’ involvement in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and added that he was “a wonderful presence.”

“As was mentioned, miracles were regular in his ministry,” Smith said. Thomas “was always very joyful. Faith just radiated from him. You could just feel the presence of Christ in him.”

St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. / Credit: Xosema (CC BY-SA 4.0)

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 12, 2025 / 14:54 pm (CNA).

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) has declared that the alleged apparitions of Jesus in Dozulé, France, do not have an authentic divine origin and are therefore “not supernatural.”

The prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, confirmed the declaration based on the Norms for Discerning Alleged Supernatural Phenomena in a document released Nov. 12 and addressed to the bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux, Jacques Habert.

In 1972, Madeleine Aumont claimed that Jesus had appeared to her, asking the Church to build a giant “glorious cross” in Dozulé, next to a “shrine of reconciliation.” Furthermore, the alleged visionary claimed that Jesus had announced his “imminent” return.

In the document, the Vatican authority notes that the alleged apparitions in the Normandy town “have elicited spiritual interest” but also “not a few controversies and difficulties of a doctrinal and pastoral nature” that require clarification.

Only the cross of Jerusalem is the universal sign of the Redemption

First, the DDF clarifies that it is erroneous to compare the “glorious cross” with the “cross of Jerusalem,” as Aumont did after the fifth alleged apparition. The Vatican says that “that wood, raised upon Calvary, has become the real sign of Christ’s sacrifice, which is unique and unrepeatable” and that any other “sign” of the cross “cannot be considered on the same plane.”

“To compare the cross requested at Dozulé with the cross of Jerusalem risks confusing the sign with the mystery and risks giving the impression that what Christ has accomplished once and for all could be ‘reproduced’ or ‘renewed’ in a physical sense,” the letter explains.

In this context, the declaration clarifies that the power of the cross “does not need to be replicated, for it is already present in every Eucharist, in every church, in every believer who lives united to the sacrifice of Christ.” Thus, it warns against the risk of fostering a “material sacrality” that does not belong to the heart of Christianity.

Fernández also cautioned against the risk of this cross becoming “a symbol of an autonomous message” and pointed out that “no cross, no relic, and no private apparition can replace the means of grace established by Christ” nor be considered a “universal obligation.”

The cardinal emphasized that the cross is not merely a religious ornament: It is a sign that speaks to the heart. “Those who wear the cross around their neck or keep it in their home proclaim, even without words, that the crucified Christ is the center of their life and that every joy and sorrow finds its meaning in him.”

Forgiveness comes from Christ

The letter emphasizes what it considers one of the most troubling claims: the reference to the “remission of sins” through contemplation of the Dozulé cross.

Aumont went so far as to claim: “All those who will have come to repent at the foot of ‘the glorious cross’ [of Dozulé] will be saved.”

The Vatican points out the theological error of these statements, which are “incompatible with the Catholic doctrine on salvation, grace, and the sacraments.” Fernández clarified that “no material object can replace sacramental grace” and that forgiveness comes from Christ through the sacrament of penance.

Regarding the ‘imminent return of Christ’

Regarding the warnings that Jesus allegedly revealed about his “imminent” return as the Risen One, Fernández pointed out that, although the return of Christ is a truth of faith, “no one can know or predict the precise date or its signs.”

Consequently, the declaration states that the Church “remains alert against millenarian or chronological interpretations, which risk setting the time or determining the modalities for the final judgment.”

“The danger of reducing Christian hope to an expectation of an imminent return with extraordinary events must be firmly avoided,” the text emphasizes.

With these clarifications, the DDF concludes that the phenomenon of the alleged apparitions in Dozulé “is to be regarded, definitively, as not supernatural in origin, with all the consequences that flow from this determination.”

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

Ezequiel Ponce is among teens chosen to ask Pope Leo XIV questions at the National Catholic Youth Conference Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 12, 2025 / 14:24 pm (CNA).

A group of teens will speak with the Holy Father during a digital encounter at the upcoming National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Indianapolis.

Pope Leo XIV will hold a 45-minute digital encounter with young people from across the United States during the Nov. 20–22 NCYC, hosted by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM). The pope will speak at 10:15 a.m. ET on Nov. 21 and enter into dialogue with a group of high school students. 

This marks the first time that a pope will directly engage with U.S. youth in a live digital encounter at NCYC. More than 40 teens have participated in the dialogue planning processs, and five of them will get the chance to speak directly with the Holy Father, organizers said.

Mia Smothers, Elise Wing, Christopher Pantelakis, Micah Alcisto, and Ezequiel Ponce will ask Pope Leo questions next week as thousands of teens gather in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Mia Smothers 

Mia Smothers, a high school freshman from Joppa, Maryland, is the youngest teen selected to speak with the pontiff. Growing up in a large family has taught her patience and teamwork, she said. Her parents have encouraged her to stay grounded in faith and to serve others.

Smothers is the second of 10 children and said she hopes her faith and NCYC experience will set a good example for her younger siblings. She wants to show them how wonderful it is to know and love God.

As a parishioner at St. Francis De Sales, Smothers serves as an altar server and helps with Vacation Bible School and youth group. She also participates in cheer, choir, and Helping Hands Club at her school and enjoys reading, dancing, singing, and doodling. 

Elise Wing

Elise Wing is a high school senior from Waterloo, Iowa, who says she enjoys nature and coffee. 

Wing is usually busy with speech, theater, competitive swimming, and serving her parish community at St. Edward’s. She said she loves to have bonfires and game nights with friends and go on road trips with her family. 

Her Catholic faith is the lens through which she sees the world, she said. She said she is inspired daily by St. Thérèse of Lisieux — her confirmation saint. Wing said she is looking forward to going on a pilgrimage to Rome, Florence, and Assisi in Italy this spring and is excited to represent faithful teens at NCYC next week.

Christopher Pantelakis

Christopher Pantelakis, or Chris, is a high school junior who was born and raised in Mesquite, Nevada. Pantelakis said he gets his inspiration from young people who go out in the world to make it a better place.

For fun, Chris said he loves watching sports and participating in any athletic activity. Recently his soccer team at Virgin Valley High School qualified for state. His favorite soccer team is Chelsea in England, which he hopes to watch play in person someday.

Micah Alcisto

Born and raised in Honolulu, Micah Alciso said he enjoys playing baseball, working out, fishing, and going to the beach. The high school senior is a leader in his community serving as a member of Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, LIFE team, and Catholic Honors Society.

Seeing how God continues to work in his life and in the lives of others inspires Alciso, he said. Even in hard times, he said experiences with God remind him he is not alone.

Keeping his faith strong and at the center of his life is important to Chris as he said he believes it will guide his career, relationships, education, and family.

Ezequiel Ponce

Ezequiel Ponce is a high school senior from Downey, California. He has a brother and sister who introduced him to St. Dominic Savio Parish, where he serves as a summer camp counselor and helps lead youth group.

Ponce said he sees his parish as his home and loves participating in the community and growing in his faith. He shares the same birthday as his favorite saint — St. John Bosco on Aug. 16.

Doing community work with kids led him to find a passion for teaching, he said. Ponce teaches at a middle school for one period of his school schedule every day. 

Ponce, who will ask the pope a question, said in an Nov.11 interview with NFCYM that it is “an honor and a great privilege to … talk to the Holy Father.” He added: “It makes me feel like my voice is heard and … that the youth of America’s voice is heard.”

“It is very reassuring that the Holy Father wants to indulge in dialogue with the youth,” Ponce said.

Katie McGrady, Catholic author, speaker, and radio host who will serve as the NCYC event moderator, said: “As we’ve prepared these teens to ask a question of the Holy Father, I’ve been struck by how excited they are to get to represent their peers in this moment. Their openness to dialogue, with each other and with adults who have helped prepare this moment, has inspired me to remember that the young Church is the Church of now, not tomorrow.”

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Baltimore, Maryland, Nov 12, 2025 / 13:15 pm (CNA).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved a new translation of the Bible, which will be used for personal Bibles, the lectionary at Mass, and the text in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Bishop Steven Lopes, chair of the Committee on Divine Worship, announced the translation will be called the “Catholic American Bible.” The translation for personal Bibles and the Liturgy of the Hours will be available on Ash Wednesday in 2027.

The bishops have not announced when the revised lectionaries will be available.

The USCCB also approved a Spanish-language translation of the New Testament, the Biblia de la Iglesia en América, which will be available on Ash Wednesday in 2026.

Lopes made the announcement during the USCCB’s Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore on Nov. 11.

According to Ascension Press, one of the publishers of the translation, the Catholic American Bible has a modified translation of the Old Testament from the New American Bible Revised Edition. It will replace the current translation of the Book of Psalms with The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, which was translated by monks at Conception Abbey in Missouri.

The new translation will also include a revised New Testament.

U.S. bishops also approved a new edition of the Roman Pontifical, which is the liturgical book for pontifical Masses, which can only be celebrated by bishops. It is expected to be ready in 2027. The bishops are still awaiting Vatican approval for two of the five pontifical rites, but approval is anticipated in December.