We Are Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher gives a talk on how the Holy See’s diplomacy focuses on translating hope into a “diplomatic act” and on the importance of “becoming a neighbour” to serve the common good.

Read all

 

In his first visit to Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Pope Leo XIV called for care of migrants and creation, condemning low European birth rates, and making an appeal for the strengthening of multilateralism.

The Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is launching new initiatives to support persecuted Christians and victims of war.

Read all

 

Pope Leo XIV makes an official visit to the Quirinal Palace in Rome to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and encourages efforts to support the family amid declining birth rates in Europe and to advance the cause of peace in war-torn parts of the world.

Read all

 

Filipino Catholic leaders, after helping mount a massive protest three weeks ago, are now evoking the power of symbols in the fight against corruption. 

As humanitarian aid is finally granted access to the Gaza Strip, Pope Leo XIV instructs the Office of Papal Charities to send medicines for the youngest victims of the two-year conflict. Meanwhile, food aid distributions continue in Ukraine.

Read all

 

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, addresses the UN's 'Second Committee Debate on Item 18: Sustainable Development,' and insists that ecological debt owed to developing countries must be rectified, biodiversity be protected, and there must be greater education for integral ecology.

Read all

 

At the EBU Mediterranean Leadership Summit on the theme 'The Mediterranean: A Meeting Place,' Directors General, CEOs, and Presidents of Public Service Broadcasters from 18 countries, including Vatican Radio, will gather in Naples, Italy, to explore the vital role of Public Service Media (PSM) in promoting peace and intercultural dialogue.

Read all

 

There are Catholic among those hopeful the Nobel Prize is a harbinger of change in Venezuela.

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 13, 2025 / 17:43 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica and vicar general of the pope for Vatican City, presided Oct. 13 over a penitential rite of reparation at the main altar of the church following a serious act of desecration that had taken place on Oct. 10.

After a penitential procession that began at 12:45 p.m. local time, Gambetti sprinkled the altar with holy water and incensed it to purify it.

The rite, attended by members of the chapter of the Vatican basilica, emphasized asking God for “forgiveness” for the desecration, Father Enzo Fortunato, director of communications for St. Peter’s Basilica, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

On Friday, Oct. 10, a man whose identity has not been revealed was arrested by security guards after he climbed onto the Altar of the Confession, located under Bernini’s baldachin, and urinated on it while tourists looked on in astonishment.

Pope Leo XIV expressed his consternation upon learning of the incident and asked Gambetti to perform an act of reparation to restore the sanctity of the place and ask forgiveness for what had happened.

This is the second instance of desecration in St. Peter’s Basilica in less than a year. In February, a man severely damaged part of the main altar, breaking several candelabras. In June 2023, an individual of Polish origin stripped naked in the same place as a form of protest against the war in Ukraine. 

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