News & Commentary

Pilgrims pray next to the coffin of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, Australia, July 10. Blessed Pier Giorgio died at age 24 in 1925 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1990. (CNS photo/Daniel Munoz, Reuters)

The story of the LA miracle that will make Pier Giorgio Frassati a saint

LOS ANGELES (OSV News) – For those who knew the strange story of Juan Gutierrez’s ankle, or even parts of it, the word “miracle” was hard not to think of. A fluke basketball injury. Faulty medical advice. Unexpected inspirations during ...
Read More →

Diplomat recalls friendship with cardinal who’s up for sainthood

Around 1950, in Zanesville, Ohio, a young Patrick Flood's Catholic grade school class watched a movie about persecuted Christians in the newly Communist countries of Eastern Europe. One, he remembers, was Cardinal Mindszenty, then the bishop of Esztergom, Hungary, and ...
Read More →

Fauci to graduates: ‘We will get through this’

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is used to addressing the country about steps to contain the coronavirus, but in mid-May he spoke directly to graduates of the nation's 60 Jesuit high schools ...
Read More →

Pope: If you can’t go to confession, take your sorrow directly to God

People who cannot get to confession because of the coronavirus lockdown or another serious reason can go to God directly, be specific about their sins, request pardon and experience God’s loving forgiveness, Pope Francis said.
Read More →

Time: Lockdown’s Unexpected Gift

I was video chatting with my childhood friend yesterday. We haven’t talked in almost a year and we were organizing a virtual happy hour with our high school friends. Why hadn’t we thought about doing this before?
Read More →

Pope to nurses, midwives: ‘Thank you for your service’

The coronavirus pandemic has drawn well-deserved attention to nurses and midwives, who are among "the saints next door," dedicated to helping people in some of the most joyful or painful moments of their lives, Pope Francis said.
Read More →

Soviet prisoners of conscience petitioned John Paul II for help

Soviet political prisoners from various backgrounds begged St. John Paul II's help in secret messages after his 1978 election, according to a former inmate in recollections published for the late pope's hundredth birthday.
Read More →