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Catholics hopeful on abortion, health policy after Kennedy’s confirmation as HHS secretary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 16, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

Prominent U.S. Catholics are expressing optimism after Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent confirmation as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), following an arduous confirmation process which saw him challenged on several issues key to the Catholic Church. 

Kennedy, himself a professed Catholic, has faced intense scrutiny from both sides of the aisle for his controversial views on vaccines, abortion, and public health policy since President Donald Trump nominated him to serve as head of HHS.

That position oversees 10 agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Ultimately, Kennedy was confirmed on Thursday by a 52-48 vote that was split along party lines with the exception of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the only Republican to vote against him. 

Vaccines and medical ethics: where Catholics stand

Since his nomination and throughout his confirmation hearings, Kennedy took the most heat from Democratic senators for his views on vaccines. But some Catholics have praised Kennedy’s commitment to vaccine safety.

Sister Deidre Byrne, who was denied a religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care workers in August of 2021, told CNA that “speaking both as a physician and religious,” she was “thrilled” by Kennedy’s confirmation. 

“Medically, I agree with [Kennedy’s] concerns,” Byrne, who is widely known as Sister Dede, said via email. She cited “vaccines and the lack of proper research, and then forcing, for example, the COVID-19 vaccine, which had no scientific basis behind it and [has] injured thousands.” 

Byrne expressed gratitude over Kennedy’s pledge to conduct studies on the safety of abortion pills such as mifepristone, which were partially  deregulated under the Biden administration.

“Now they are giving this abortion pill online without a physician's evaluation or ultrasound,” she said, describing the practice as “extremely dangerous and malpractice.” 

“So I thank God for President Trump and I thank God that [Kennedy] was confirmed to run HHS,” Byrne concluded. 

A representative for the largest collective of Catholic healthcare workers, Catholic Medical Association (CMA), echoed Byrne, telling CNA the organization is looking forward to collaborating with Kennedy and the Trump administration. 

“The Catholic Medical Association looks forward to working closely with the Trump administration and Secretary Kennedy in a shared mission to promote and protect ethical medicine,” CMA Board Chairman of the Health Care Policy Committee Dr. Tim Millea told CNA.

“CMA is committed to foundational principles of health care: the inherent dignity of every human life from conception to natural death; the biological reality of two sexes; and, the protection of conscience rights and religious freedom for health care professionals,” he continued.

“We are anxious to see Secretary Kennedy’s attention to correcting HHS policies that have been in direct conflict with optimal and rational health care methods over the past several years.  It is time to return to medicine practiced as it should be, and not directed by ideology.”

Optimism: How Catholics are responding to Kennedy’s shifting views on abortion

Despite Kennedy’s past support of abortion, many pro-life Catholics are now celebrating his confirmation after he pledged to carry out the Trump administration’s pro-life agenda as head of HHS. 

“There was a lot to appreciate in RFK Jr.’s testimony during the confirmation process,” said Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins. “A highlight of [his] very intense conversations with members of the U.S. Senate was the fact that he and President Trump see abortion as a tragedy and that they are looking at the real and deadly impacts of the abuse of agency power to force chemical abortion pills on the market.”

“I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy,” Kennedy stated during a hearing with the Senate Finance Committee. “I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions per year, I agree with him that the states should control abortion.”

“I’m going to serve at the pleasure of the president, [and] I’m going to implement his policies,” he said, revealing that Trump had expressed his desire for Kennedy to end late-term abortions, enact protections for conscience exemptions, and end federal funding for abortions in the U.S. and abroad. 

Kennedy also spoke out against the use of fetal tissue for stem cell research during the hearing, telling Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, “I will protect stem cell research, and today stem cell research can be done on umbilical cords.” 

“You don’t need fetal tissue,” he added. 

Kennedy has vowed to combat nationwide food health crisis

A major touchstone of Kennedy’s vision for transforming health in the U.S. is the fight to reduce consumption of highly processed foods, chemicals, additives, and seed oils. 

The founder of a growing grassroots movement among Catholics spoke to CNA on how Kennedy’s confirmation could boost support for local farms and homesteads. 

Michael Thomas, co-founder of the Catholic Land Movement, is enthusiastic about Kennedy’s confirmation, telling CNA in an interview that he looks forward to the new HHS leader’s proposed public health reforms and the benefits they could have for small farms.

“The Catholic Land Movement is excited about the rhetoric we’ve seen from RFK around American health and the prohibition of harmful additives and processes,” he said. “However, it is not enough to just restrict the bad, we must support the good.” 

According to Thomas, there is much to be hopeful about with Kennedy’s confirmation. Giving the example of Kennedy’s desire to replace seed oils with beef tallow in deep-fryers across the U.S., Thomas pointed out that a new market could be created for small American farms to provide the alternative.

“As an organization on the front line of small farms and American Homesteads, we are enthusiastic to work on a restoration of local and regenerative agriculture with this administration and we are eager to see and hopeful to participate in detailing that policy course,” he added.

Pope Francis spends peaceful second night at hospital, prays for peace at Angelus

Left: Banners at Rome’s Gemelli University Hospital. Right: Pope Francis waves from a wheelchair, Feb. 13, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Feb 16, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis spent a peaceful second night at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he remains under medical care for a respiratory infection, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists Sunday.

Bruni said the 88-year-old pontiff had breakfast and read several newspapers Sunday morning while continuing his prescribed medical treatments.

Though doctors ordered complete rest, the Holy Father prepared a special Angelus message focusing on art’s power to unite humanity and included prayers for regions torn by conflict.

“I would have liked to be among you,” Pope Francis wrote in his message, referring to artists gathered at the Vatican for a special Jubilee celebration, “but as you know, I am here at the Gemelli Polyclinic because I still need some treatment for my bronchitis.”

The pope’s message highlighted the Eucharistic celebration for the Jubilee of Artists on Sunday, part of the wider 2025 Jubilee of Hope. He thanked the Dicastery for Culture and Education for organizing the gathering, emphasizing art’s role as a “universal language that spreads beauty and unites peoples.”

Turning to global concerns, the pontiff called for continued prayers for peace in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel and all the Middle East, Myanmar, Kivu and Sudan.

The pope also expressed gratitude to the medical staff at Gemelli Hospital. “They perform invaluable and demanding work; let us support them in prayer,” he wrote.

The 88-year-old pope was hospitalized in the late morning on Feb. 14 following meetings with a number of people, including the prime minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico.

Due to the hospitalization, the pope will not attend a planned meeting with artists at the historic Cinecittà film studios south of Rome on Feb. 17.

Ecologists at center dedicated to St. Kateri help children integrate faith and nature

A statue of St. Kateri Tekakwitha. / Credit: Saint Kateri Conservation Center

CNA Staff, Feb 16, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

When Kathleen Hoenke and William Jacobs aren’t working as professional ecologists by day in their secular jobs, they’re using their backgrounds to serve the Saint Kateri Conservation Center, a national Catholic nonprofit that promotes faith, ecology, biodiversity, and climate resiliency — especially with the next generation.

The two colleagues have written a new book titled “God Made That!” that aims to inspire kids to explore nature, deepen their faith, and discover the beauty of God’s creation. It introduces a Catholic perspective on ecology, with accessible explanations of how Scripture, the saints, and Church teaching encourage care for creation.

The book also includes interactive features such as nature journal prompts, saint profiles, prayers, and hands-on activities, inspiring readers to actively explore their surroundings and reflect on their faith.

“The separation of science and faith doesn’t give young people an integral view of creation,” Jacobs, the founder and senior ecology adviser at the center, told CNA. “And we want young people — especially today, it’s so important when everything is so secularized — we want young people to have an integral view of creation that includes God.”

The cover of "God Made That!" by Kathleen Hoenke and William Jacobs of the Saint Kateri Conservation Center. Credit: Pauline Media
The cover of "God Made That!" by Kathleen Hoenke and William Jacobs of the Saint Kateri Conservation Center. Credit: Pauline Media

Through several different programs, the Saint Kateri Conservation Center helps Catholics and their parishes across the U.S. to strengthen their relationships with God and creation. These programs include Saint Kateri Habitats, a Catholic Ecology Library, an Indigenous Peoples Program, a Catholic Land Trust, and their newest program, Parish Arks.

The aim of the Parish Arks program is to encourage parishes to create mini arks of faith and biodiversity as well as to conserve 30% of a parish’s open land and water to rewild their habitat for biodiversity. 

The name of the program was inspired by Noah’s Ark and the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant. 

“I think Parish Arks really presents an opportunity to work within parish communities to create a deeper understanding of living within Laudato Si’,” said Hoenke, who serves as the executive director and spatial ecologist at the center.

“When we look at the landscapes around us, you would expect — if we were to really live within our faith and what integral ecology is — you would expect a Catholic parish to be the place that you would look to and see an area that’s very biodiverse with lots of native vegetation and living in harmony with creation,” she explained. “But what we really see are lawns everywhere you look.”

With this in mind, the Parish Arks program will work to guide parishes to rewild their lawns, meaning to restore an area of land to its natural, uncultivated state. The guidance given to the parishes will also be shared with their parishioners and incorporated into curriculums of any parish schools so that the entire community can take part in the process. 

Hoenke pointed out the importance of incorporating school-aged children into their various programs, because the more you teach these concepts to children at a young age, “the more you’ll develop children’s strong faith but also [teach them] how to live in harmony with creation.”

Some ideas Hoenke offered families who want to get their children thinking about God and creation include making a Marian garden in the backyard, planting flowers, making a rosary out of wildflowers, or simply praying outside.

“I really think the first step is to really help them to notice what’s going on around them at a deeper level,” she shared. 

Jacobs said he hopes that through the new book and the work being done at the Saint Kateri Conservation Center, children will “recognize that God as the Holy Spirit is present and active throughout creation and upholds life at every moment. So, we have science but we also have faith, and the two work together.”

Cardinal Mendonça delivers pope’s message to artists: Be witnesses to ‘revolutionary vision of the Beatitudes’

Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça delivers Pope Francis's homily at a Mass for the Jubilee of Artists in St. Peter's Basilica, Feb. 16, 2025 / Screenshot / Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Feb 16, 2025 / 04:59 am (CNA).

Powerful proclamations to painters, poets, and performers highlighted Pope Francis’s message to artists on Sunday, calling them to participate in the “revolutionary vision of the Beatitudes” and transform suffering into Hope.

In a papal homily read by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça at a Mass for the Jubilee of Artists in St. Peter’s Basilica on Feb. 16, artists were urged to be “witnesses to the revolutionary vision of the Beatitudes.”

“Your mission is not only to create beauty, but to reveal the truth, goodness and beauty hidden within the folds of history, to give voice to the voiceless, to transform pain into hope,” the pope’s message stated.

The prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education delivered the homily as Pope Francis remains at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he is recovering from a respiratory infection.

Drawing on the day’s Gospel reading of the Beatitudes, the papal message emphasized that authentic art must engage with “the drama of human existence” rather than offering superficial comfort.

“We live in a time when new walls are being erected, when differences become a pretext for division rather than an opportunity for mutual enrichment,” the homily noted, calling artists and cultural figures to “build bridges, create spaces for encounter and dialogue, enlighten minds and warm hearts.”

The homily concluded with a reminder that artistic gifts are not random but represent a calling: “Hope is not an illusion; beauty is not a utopia; your gift is not chance, it is a vocation. Respond with generosity, with passion, with love.”

New York Encounter: Technology is costing us our humanity, experts say

Left to right: Paolo Carozza, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame; Christine Rosen, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Carter Snead, a Notre Dame law professor and bioethicist, discuss “the corporeal dimension of human identity in an age of virtual reality” at the New York Encounter in New York City on Feb. 15, 2025. / Credit: Zelda Caldwell/CNA

New York City, N.Y., Feb 15, 2025 / 17:16 pm (CNA).

Technology is robbing us of our humanity, turning humans in some respects into “disembodied” minds, Paolo Carozza, professor of law at the University of Notre Dame, warned Saturday during a panel discussion at this year’s New York Encounter.

Such a notion might have sounded like science fiction not so long ago. But this “disembodiment” — or “forgetting the centrality of the human body,” as Carozza put it — defines who we are as a culture today, thanks to technological advances that have made things increasingly and enticingly convenient, he said.

Carozza, serving as moderator, was joined on the panel by Christine Rosen, author of “The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World,” and Notre Dame law professor and bioethicist O. Carter Snead, author of “What It Means to Be Human: The Case for the Body in Public Bioethics.”  

Held at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, New York Encounter is an annual, wide-ranging cultural conference organized by members of the Catholic movement Communion and Liberation. The three-day event, which is free and livestreamed online, concludes Sunday.

In their conversation, Carozza, Rosen, and Snead focused on the extent to which human experience has become an increasingly isolated affair. 

“I’d rather summon a car with a press of a button, never talk to the driver, and be dropped off at my location. I would like to have my food dropped on my doorstep, never having to look in the eye at the people who prepared it or delivered it,“ Rosen said, summing up today’s predilection toward convenience. 

In addition, time spent on social media, she said, is more than simply time wasted but changes the way we see ourselves and our relation to others.

“We begin to prefer mediated communication to face-to-face communication. We begin to mistrust our own emotional responses to things unless they’re reflected on a social media page and we get enough likes for them. In that sense, we’re habituating ourselves to a deeply disembodied way of seeking approval, of understanding the world we live in,” she said.

“I think in very mundane ways, our daily experience has deteriorated because of this mindset, which grew not with any nefarious intent, but over time. We have habits of mind that have formed,” Rosen said.

“You step on a subway platform and people are more rude. There seems to be more hostility and anger and impatience,” she said.

Indifference to the vulnerable

Society’s most vulnerable, including the elderly and children, bear the brunt of this disembodied habit of being, Rosen observed. 

She cited the example of a “telepresence” robot delivering a fatal cancer diagnosis to a patient in a hospital and a Japanese nursing home that provides its residents with robotic animals to simulate the comfort of the human touch.

That preference for convenience and avoidance of face-to-face encounters impedes human flourishing, according to Snead.

“The virtues that you need to flourish as an embodied human being embedded in networks of giving and receiving are missed as well. If you think of life as a consumer, you’re not thinking about the virtues of uncalculated giving, just generosity, hospitality, misericordia, which is accompanying others in their suffering as if it’s your own suffering,” he said.

The consequences of this selfishness result in the instrumentalization of others, with fatal consequences, Snead said. He pointed to advances in reproductive technology that allow for the selection of embryos based on IQ (and the elimination of those deemed insufficiently intelligent), as well as assisted suicide legislation that has a bias in favor of encouraging elderly patients to end their lives rather than treating their psychiatric disorders. 

Snead said the parents of these embryos can’t be blamed for being blind to the immorality of such technology as certain expectations have arisen from the culture and its legal system.

The appeal of reproductive technology, he said, is not unlike that of technologies that promise consumers they will take into account their personal preferences. 

“If you’re thinking about everything in your life as a drop-down menu to order the thing exactly as you want it,” he said, “then you’re irritated when you get something that you didn’t ask for and DoorDash brings you the wrong thing or doesn’t bring the sauce with your burrito or whatever.”

Live in the world you want

All is not lost, however, according to Rosen and Snead. There is hope that we can retrieve what has been lost, but it means rejecting some of the technological conveniences we have come to expect.

“I think we have to just have to have more awareness and thoughtfulness about the world we want to live in, not just the one that we happen to be living in now,” Rosen said. 

“At the individual level, you always choose the human. Choose the face-to-face. Embrace the idea that this will be inconvenient and annoying,” she said. “And you have to put on clothes and pants and get out of the house, and wish [people] ‘happy birthday’ to their face, not just because Facebook reminded you it was their birthday.”

Snead suggested we take to heart the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta.

“She said that the reason that we have so much trouble in the world is because we’ve forgotten that we belong to one another. The idea of belonging to one another, even people, it takes some moral imagination to understand how you belong to people that you don’t know, or that you see lying on the street, or that you see in a wheelchair, or someone that doesn’t look like you,” he said.

“It seems to me that for our part, [the way] to recover the genuine vision of friendship and embodied love and friendship and hospitality is through the practice of it,” Snead said. “It’s in your interpersonal relationships. Talk to somebody, interact with somebody, give somebody a hug — with their permission.”

He added: “When we debate and deliberate over regulatory frameworks or statutes or whatever, we should be mindful of the reality of what a human being is and what human flourishing is.” 

New animated film honors legacy of 21 Coptic Martyrs on 10th anniversary of their martyrdom

On Feb. 15, 2015, ISIS militants brutally executed 21 Coptic Christian prisoners on a beach in Libya. Now, on the 10th anniversary of their deaths, a short animated film called “The 21” is honoring these 21 men who died because of their unwillingness to deny their faith in Jesus Christ. / Credit: MORE Productions/Tod Polson

CNA Staff, Feb 15, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

On Feb. 15, 2015, ISIS militants brutally executed 21 Coptic Christian prisoners on a beach in Libya. Now, on the 10th anniversary of their martyrdom, a short animated film called “The 21” is honoring these 21 men who died because of their unwillingness to deny their faith in Jesus Christ.

The 13-minute short, animated film was made by MORE Productions in collaboration with the global Coptic community. Actor Jonathan Roumie, best known for his portrayal of Jesus in the hit series “The Chosen,” served as the film’s executive producer.

“The 21” can be viewed for free on www.the21film.com from Feb. 14–17. After that viewers will have to provide an email in order to get access to watch it.

Mark Rodgers, founder of MORE Productions, visited Egypt in 2019 and felt called to create a film that highlighted the spiritual victory of the martyrs. “The 21” presents an accurate narrative of the men’s abduction, detention, and execution. It was developed based on extensive research and multiple conversations with family members, friends, and Coptic clergy who knew the 21 men.

Original music was composed and recorded by the Ayoub Sisters, classically trained musicians who incorporate Coptic hymns and liturgy into their music.

The film is also unique in that it uses neo-Coptic iconography. Tod Polson, former creative director at Cartoon Saloon, led a team of over 70 world-class artists from more than 70 countries over the course of five years to create the film’s animation style.

“As Christians, we know that death is not the end, nor even the greatest thing to fear. These brave men’s stories need to be told and shared so that the world will know in whom we find the ultimate example of hope … one that is never extinguished,” Roumie said in a press release.

“It’s up to those of us in the creative community to make films like this to spotlight and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their faith: martyrs (and their families) who have shown the rest of us what discipleship truly means and what sainthood looks like,” he added. “God’s love transcends and renews all things.”

In May 2023, Pope Francis added the Coptic men to the Roman Martyrology, the Catholic Church’s official list of saints, recognizing them as martyrs. This was the first time in history that Coptic Christians were recognized as martyrs by the Catholic Church.

Sister Raffaella Petrini appointed president of Vatican governorate

Sister Raffaella Petrini. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

CNA Newsroom, Feb 15, 2025 / 07:15 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has appointed Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE, as president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, the Vatican announced Saturday.

According to the Feb. 15 bulletin from the Holy See Press Office, Petrini will assume her new roles on March 1. She succeeds Cardinal Fernando Vérgez in both positions.

Petrini, who has served as secretary-general of the same governorate since November 2021, brings significant academic and administrative experience to her new role. Born in Rome on Jan. 15, 1969, she holds a degree in political science from the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Guido Carli and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, where she currently serves as a professor.

Before her appointment to the governorate, Petrini worked at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 2005 to 2021.

This appointment follows Pope Francis‘ recent selection of Sister Simona Brambilla as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, marking a continuing trend of women being appointed to senior Vatican leadership positions.

During a recent television interview, the pope had previously indicated his intention to promote Petrini.

Ecumenical initiative calls for unity to celebrate Easter together

A recent meeting of various members of the ecumenical initiative Easter Together 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of Easter Together 2025

Vatican City, Feb 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The First Ecumenical Council, the meeting of Christian bishops that was held in 325 in Nicaea (today İznik, Turkey), laid the groundwork for reaching consensus within the Church through an assembly representing all of Christendom.

This event marked a key moment in the history of Christianity, 17 centuries ago this year, in which, among other decisions, the way of calculating the date of Easter was established.

However, over the centuries, changes to the calendar resulted in discrepancies between the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches, differences that still persist. While Latin-rite Catholics follow the Gregorian calendar, in the East the tradition of calculating liturgical dates according to the Julian calendar has been maintained.

The difficulties of changing the calendar

“The process of changing the calendar, which began in 1582 with Pope Gregory and was completed to a certain extent in 1923 with the adoption of the new calendar by some Orthodox churches, was not without difficulties,” Kostas Mygdalis, consultant to the Orthodox Interparliamentary Assembly (IOA), explained in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

“It provoked controversies among the faithful and between the churches and state authorities, consolidating polarizing divisions” that still persist, he added.

Mygdalis is also one of the key figures of the interfaith working group Pasqua (Easter) Together 2025, which seeks to promote the common celebration of Easter between Orthodox and Catholics.

Last September, Pope Francis received the members of this ecumenical initiative and expressed his desire to agree on a common date for the celebration of Easter between Catholics and Orthodox.

Interestingly, this year both Easters — Catholic and Orthodox — fall on the same date, April 20, due to the alignment of the Julian (used by the Orthodox) and Gregorian (followed by Catholics and other Christian denominations) calendars.

A step toward Christian unity

For Mygdalis, the joint celebration of Easter in 2025 should not be seen as just a calendar agreement but as an opportunity to place Christ at the center of the Christian faith.

“The time has come to make a strong appeal to the churches to unify the date of Easter,” he said.

He also emphasized that the central message must be the need for unity in the world: “The world needs unity. A common date for Easter is a step toward this unity.”

However, he noted that “the administrative structures of the churches, composed almost exclusively of clerics, seem reluctant to address this issue, perhaps for fear of creating new extremism and divisions in a world already facing multiple challenges.”

He also pointed out that “dialogue between Christian churches is moving so slowly that, for ordinary faithful, it seems a fruitless process.”

For Mygdalis, the effort to celebrate the resurrection of Christ together must be part of a “pilgrimage of reconciliation and unity” that will continue beyond 2025. He emphasized that the importance of the Resurrection is not only theological but also existential: “Without the Resurrection, all the suffering in the world is absurd.”

A mandate for unity from Nicaea

“The celebration of Easter on a common date is not only necessary but a mandate for unity established by the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, whose 1,700th anniversary we commemorate this year,” he emphasized.

“Through the Pasqua Together 2025 initiative, we seek to demand that the churches comply with what was established by the Council of Nicaea: to celebrate together the resurrection of Christ, the pillar of the Christian faith. It is unacceptable that this division should continue,” he pointed out.

Toward the jubilee of 2033

Beyond Easter 2025, the JC2033 initiative was also mentioned, which proposes an ecumenical journey toward the year 2033, when the 2,000th anniversary of the resurrection of Christ will be celebrated. It is suggested that the date of Easter for Orthodox and Catholics coinciding in 2025 could be a first step toward greater unity on the occasion of this historic celebration.

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

A new generation of saints? 6 millennials on the road to canonization

Top row from left: Pierangelo Capuzzimati, Sr. Clare Crockett, Matteo Farina. Bottom row from left: Helena Agnieszka Kmieć, Akash Bashir, Carlo Acutis. / Credit: Courtesy of Associazone Pierangelo Capuzzimati; Hermanas Siervas del Hogar de la Madre; matteofarina.com; The Helena Kmiec Foundation; Aid to the Church in Need; Asociación Carlo Acutis

ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 15, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Six young people who lived with deep faith and committed their lives to the Church that Jesus founded are on their way to being proclaimed saints, with most of them currently on the path to beatification.

From Carlo Acutis, the “cyber apostle of the Eucharist,” to Akash Bashir,  Pakistan’s first servant of God who gave his life protecting the faithful from a suicide bomber, these witnesses challenge the idea that holiness is simply a thing of the past.

Below is a brief sketch of these young millennials — those born between 1981 and 1996 — who followed Jesus with all their hearts and today are a source of inspiration to new generations.

1. Pierangelo Capuzzimati

Pierangelo with his sister Sara. Credit: Associazione Pierangelo Capuzzimati
Pierangelo with his sister Sara. Credit: Associazione Pierangelo Capuzzimati

The Servant of God Pierangelo Capuzzimati was a young Italian who from the age of 14 suffered from leukemia but lived with strong faith and a deep trust in God. He was born in Taranto, Italy, in 1990 and grew up in a peaceful environment with his family in Faggiano.

His illness, far from plunging him into despair, led him to intensify his spiritual life, devoting his time to prayer, study, and contemplation of the beauty of creation. 

An admirer of the thought of the saints and with a great passion for the history of the Church, his testimony of serenity and dedication left an indelible mark on those who knew him. He died on April 30, 2008, at the age of 17 with the conviction that his suffering was a gift from the Lord.

On April 26, 2018, the Holy See granted the “nihil obstat” (“nothing stands in the way”) for the opening of his cause for beatification, and on Jan. 20, 2024, the diocesan phase of the process concluded after an exhaustive collection of testimonies and documents about his life and virtues.

All the documentation will now be sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, where it will be evaluated by theologians and historians. If his heroic virtues are recognized, Capuzzimati will be declared venerable, which will mark a new step on his path to sainthood.

2. Sister Clare Crockett

Sister Clare Crockett. Credit: Photo courtesy of Servants of the Home of the Mother
Sister Clare Crockett. Credit: Photo courtesy of Servants of the Home of the Mother

Sister Clare Crockett was a young woman who left a promising career in movies and television to dedicate herself to God as a religious in the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother. 

Clare was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1982 and although she seemed to be heading toward a life in the arts, an encounter with Christ during a retreat changed her destiny. She felt God’s call, entering the congregation in 2001, and took her perpetual vows in 2010. Her life was marked by a joyful spirit, a total dedication to others, and a testimony of faith that impacted many. She died on April 16, 2016, during an earthquake in Ecuador while helping her students at a community school in Playa Prieta.

Following the 2023 granting of the “nihil obstat” by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the diocesan phase of the cause for her beatification was officially opened on Jan. 12, 2025, in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. Since her passing, there have been numerous testimonies reporting graces and conversions attributed to her intercession, including religious vocations and possible miracles. The ecclesiastical tribunal is now investigating her life and heroic virtues, a key step on the path to her possible beatification.

3. Matteo Farina

Venerable Matteo Farina. Credit: Matteofarina.com
Venerable Matteo Farina. Credit: Matteofarina.com

Matteo Farina was a young Italian born in 1990 in Brindisi. Inspired from a very young age by St. Francis and St. Padre Pio, he developed an intense spiritual life with a great devotion for the Eucharist and for praying a daily rosary. 

From the age of 9, he felt the call to evangelize, seeking to influence his peers. At age 13, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which did not weaken his faith but strengthened it. During the six years that his illness lasted, he accepted suffering with love, offering his pain for others and living with joy and hope until his death on April 24, 2009.

The witness of his holiness led the Church to initiate his cause for beatification. On May 5, 2020, Pope Francis recognized his heroic virtues, declaring him venerable. Currently, the Church is investigating possible miracles attributed to his intercession, which would allow the process of beatification to advance.

4. Helena Agnieszka Kmieć

Helena Kmiec, the young Polish missionary murdered in Bolivia who could be declared a saint. Credit: The Helena Kmiec Foundation
Helena Kmiec, the young Polish missionary murdered in Bolivia who could be declared a saint. Credit: The Helena Kmiec Foundation

Helena Agnieszka Kmiec was a young Polish missionary born in 1991 in Krakow and raised in a home of deep faith. From a young age, she showed a strong love for Jesus, attending Mass almost daily and devoting herself to service. During her university studies at the Silesia University of Technology, she joined the Salvator Missionary Volunteer Service, serving in missions in Hungary, Zambia, and Romania. She especially dedicated herself to children and young people in vulnerable situations. 

In 2017, Helena traveled to Bolivia to help out at a school in Cochabamba, where, just a few weeks after her arrival, she was murdered during an attempted robbery.

After her death, her reputation for holiness became more well known, inspired by her life of dedication to God and her missionary service. In April 2024, the archbishop of Krakow announced the opening of her cause for beatification after receiving approval from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Currently, the Church is investigating her life and witness in the process that could lead to her being declared blessed.

5. Akash Bashir

Servant of God Akash Bashir. Credit: Aid to the Church in Need
Servant of God Akash Bashir. Credit: Aid to the Church in Need

Akash Bashir was a young Pakistani and former Salesian student who gave his life to protect hundreds of faithful at St. John’s Church in Lahore.

On March 15, 2015, when he was just 20 years old, he prevented a suicide bomber from entering the church during Sunday Mass, holding him tightly and saying: “I will die, but I will not let you into the church.” The attacker detonated the bomb and both died.

Bashir’s sacrifice prevented a massacre and his unwavering faith has made him a symbol of hope for the Christian community in Pakistan — a country where the faithful suffer constant persecution.

On Jan. 31, 2022, Pope Francis proclaimed him a servant of God. Two years later, on March 15, 2024, the diocesan phase of the process was concluded at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore. All the documentation has now been sent to the Vatican for evaluation. If the pope approves the decree of martyrdom, Bashir will be beatified without the need for a miracle. If this recognition occurs, he would become Pakistan’s first “blessed.”

6. Carlo Acutis

Blessed Carlo Acutis. Credit: Photo courtesy of carloacutis.com
Blessed Carlo Acutis. Credit: Photo courtesy of carloacutis.com

Carlo Acutis was a young Italian born in 1991 who, despite his short life, left a profound legacy of love for the Eucharist. Known as the “cyber apostle of the Eucharist,” Carlo used his computer skills to evangelize, creating a digital exhibit of Eucharistic miracles. 

From childhood, Carlo showed a special devotion to the Mass as well as praying the rosary. When he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2006, he offered his sufferings “for the Lord, the pope, and the Church.” He died on Oct. 12 of that same year and was buried in Assisi, following his desire to be close to St. Francis.

His path to sainthood progressed quickly. He was declared venerable in 2018 and blessed in 2020 after the approval of a first miracle. 

On May 23, 2024, Pope Francis recognized a second miracle, which occurred in Florence, where a young Costa Rican woman miraculously recovered from a serious accident. Carlo is scheduled to be canonized during the Jubilee of Teenagers in April, becoming the first millennial saint and a model of holiness for young people in the digital age.

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

Pope Francis ‘peaceful’ after first night in Rome hospital

A view of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital where Pope Francis was delivered Feb. 14, 2025, to receive treatment for bronchitis. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Feb 15, 2025 / 05:53 am (CNA).

Pope Francis had a “peaceful night” and read several newspapers Saturday morning following his admission to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for bronchitis, according to the Vatican.

“The Holy Father had a good night’s sleep. This morning he had breakfast and read several newspapers,” Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, told journalists Feb. 15.

“Medical assessments and necessary treatments are continuing.”

The 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to the Gemelli Polyclinic Friday morning during meetings with several people, including Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico. According to the Vatican, initial examinations revealed a respiratory tract infection with mild fever.

A medical update from the hospital is expected later on Saturday.

The Vatican has cleared the pope’s schedule through at least Feb. 17, canceling several appointments, including a jubilee audience planned for Saturday and a meeting with artists at Rome’s historic Cinecittà film studios scheduled for Monday.

Marco Mancini contributed to this report.