St. Andrew Catholic Church

Cardinal Dominique Mamberti delivers his homily during the ninth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on the third Sunday of Easter, May 4, 2025, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, May 4, 2025 / 20:28 pm (CNA).

Editor’s Note: On May 4, 2025, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, the former prefect of the prefect of the supreme tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, delivered the following homily during the ninth day of Novendiales Masses for Pope Francis. The text below is a CNA working translation of the Italian original published by the Vatican.

Venerable cardinal fathers, dear brothers in the episcopate and in the priesthood, dear brothers and sisters:

The Liturgy of the Word of this last Novendial in suffrage of Pope Francis is that of the third Sunday of Easter, and the passage from John’s Gospel just proclaimed represents the encounter of the resurrected Jesus with some apostles and disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, which ends with the mission entrusted to Peter by the Lord and Jesus’ command, “Follow me!”

The episode is reminiscent of that of the first miraculous fishing, recounted by Luke, when Jesus had called Simon, James, and John, announcing to Simon that he would become a fisher of men. Since that time, Peter had followed him, sometimes in misunderstanding and even in betrayal, but in today’s encounter, the last before Christ’s return to the Father, Peter receives from him the task of shepherding his flock.

Love is the key word of this Gospel passage. The first to recognize Jesus is “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” John, who exclaims: “It is the Lord!” and Peter immediately throws himself into the sea to join the Master. After they had shared the food, which will have kindled in the hearts of the Apostles the memory of the Last Supper, the dialogue between Jesus and Peter begins, the threefold question of the Lord and Peter’s threefold response.

The first two times, Jesus adopts the verb to love, a strong word, while Peter, mindful of the betrayal, responds with the less demanding expression “to care,” and the third time Jesus stresses the expression to care, adjusting to the Apostle’s weakness. Pope Benedict XVI noted in commenting on this dialogue: “Simon understands that Jesus is satisfied with his poor love, the only one of which he is capable. ... It is precisely this divine adjustment that gives hope to the disciple, who has recognized the suffering of infidelity. ... From that day on, Peter “followed” the Master with a precise awareness of his own fragility; but this awareness did not discourage him. For he knew that he could count on the presence of the Risen One beside him ... and so he shows us the way as well” (General audience, May 24, 2006).

In his homily at the Mass for the 25th anniversary of his pontificate, St. John Paul II confirmed: “Today, dear brothers and sisters, I am pleased to share with you an experience that has been going on now for a quarter of a century. Every day the same dialogue between Jesus and Peter takes place within my heart. In the spirit, I stare at the benevolent gaze of the risen Christ. He, though aware of my human frailty, encourages me to respond with confidence like Peter: ‘Lord,you know everything; you know that I love you’ (Jn 21:17). And then he invites me to assume the responsibilities that he himself has entrusted to me” (Homily, Oct. 16, 2003).

This mission is love itself, which becomes service to the Church and to all humanity. Peter and the Apostles assumed it immediately, by the power of the Spirit they had received at Pentecost, as we heard in the first reading: “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our Fathers raised up Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God raised him to his right hand, as head and Savior.”

We have all admired how much Pope Francis, animated by the Lord’s love and carried by his grace, has been faithful to his mission to the utmost consumption of his strength. He has reminded the powerful that we must obey God rather than men and proclaimed to all humanity the joy of the Gospel, the merciful Father, Christ the savior. He did this in his magisterium, in his travels, in his gestures, in his lifestyle. I was close to him on Easter Day, at the loggia of blessings in this basilica, witnessing his suffering but above all his courage and determination to serve the people of God to the end.

In the second reading, taken from the Book of Revelation, we heard the praise that the whole universe gives to the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb: “Praise, honor, glory and power, throughout the ages. And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen.’ And the elders prostrated themselves in worship.”

Adoration is an essential dimension of the Church’s mission and the lives of the faithful. Pope Francis often recalled this, as for example in his homily for the Feast of the Epiphany last year: “The Magi had their hearts prostrated in adoration. ... They came to Bethlehem and, when they saw the Child, 'they prostrated themselves and adored him' (Mt 2:11). ... A king who came to serve us, aGod who became man. Before this mystery, we are called to bow our hearts and knees to worship: to worship the God who comes in littleness, who inhabits the normality of our homes, who dies out of love. ... Brothers and sisters, we have lost the habit of worship, we have lost this capacity that gives us adoration. Let us rediscover the taste of the prayer of adoration. ... There is a lack of adoration among us today” (Homily, Jan. 6, 2024).

This capacity that gives adoration was not difficult to recognize in Pope Francis. His intense pastoral life, his countless meetings, were grounded in the long moments of prayer that the Ignatian discipline had imprinted in him. Many times he reminded us that contemplation is “a dynamism of love” that “elevates us to God not to detach us from the earth, but to make us inhabit it in profundity” (Audience to the Delegates of the Discalced Carmelites, April 18, 2024). And everything he did, he did under the gaze of Mary. There will remain in our memory and in our hearts his 126 stops before the “Salus Populi Romani.” And now that he rests at the beloved image, we entrust him with gratitude and confidence to the intercession of the mother of the Lord and our mother.

Cardinals celebrate the ninth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on the third Sunday of Easter, May 4, 2025, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, May 4, 2025 / 20:07 pm (CNA).

The conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor will begin on May 7, as the Church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope.

Follow here for live updates of the latest news and information on the papal transition:

Cardinal Dominique Mamberti celebrates the ninth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on the third Sunday of Easter, May 4, 2025, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, May 4, 2025 / 19:58 pm (CNA).

On the ninth and final day of Novendiales, the nine days of mourning for Pope Francis, French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti reflected on the papal mission to love and serve Christ and his Church.

The mission of a pope “is love itself, which becomes service to the Church and to all humanity,” the cardinal said in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The Mass for the ninth and last of the Novendiales was celebrated for the third Sunday of Easter.

In his homily, Mamberti, who was the prefect of the supreme tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s final court of appeal, since 2014, spoke about the day’s Gospel passage, in which Jesus asks St. Peter three times if he loves him, calling on him to “feed my lambs” and “tend my sheep.”

“Love is the key word of this Gospel passage,” Mamberti said. “The first to recognize Jesus is ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved,’ John.”

In the dialogue between Jesus and Peter, Jesus uses “the verb to love, a strong word, while Peter, mindful of the betrayal responds with the less demanding expression, ‘to care,’ and the third time Jesus himself uses the expression to care, adjusting to the apostle’s weakness,” the cardinal said.

Quoting Pope Benedict XVI, Mamberti noted that although Peter knew that Jesus was satisfied with his “‘poor love, the only one of which he [was] capable. ... It is precisely this divine adjustment that gives hope to the disciple.’”

From that point on, Peter followed the Lord with a keen awareness of his own fragility but was not discouraged, Mamberti said, knowing that the Lord was beside him.

Mamberti then quoted St. John Paul II, who said regarding the Gospel passage that “every day the same dialogue between Jesus and Peter takes place within my heart. He, though aware of my human frailty, encourages me to respond with confidence like Peter: ‘Lord,you know everything; you know that I love you’ (Jn 21:17).”

“We have all admired how much Pope Francis, animated by the Lord’s love and carried by his grace, has been faithful to his mission to the utmost consumption of his strength,” Mamberti continued.

Alluding to the first reading of the day from the Acts of the Apostles, Mamberti said Pope Francis “has reminded the powerful that we must obey God rather than men and proclaimed to all humanity the joy of the Gospel, the merciful Father, Christ the savior. He did this in his magisterium, in his travels, in his gestures, in his lifestyle.”

The cardinal recalled how he was close to Pope Francis on Easter Sunday, April 20, as the Holy Father gave his final “urbi et orbi” blessing before the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, one day before he passed away.

Mamberti said he witnessed Pope Francis’ “suffering but above all his courage and determination to serve the people of God to the end.”

Noting that adoration is “an essential dimension of the Church’s mission and the lives of the faithful,” Mamberti observed that “this capacity that gives adoration was not difficult to recognize in Pope Francis.”

“His intense pastoral life, his countless meetings, were grounded in the long moments of prayer that the Ignatian discipline had imprinted in him,” he said.

Everything Francis did, Mamberti said, “he did under the gaze of Mary,” recalling the 126 times the late pope visited the “Salus Populi Romani” icon in the Basilica of St. Mary Major to pray.

“And now that he rests at the beloved image,” Mamberti said, “we entrust him with gratitude and confidence to the intercession of the mother of the Lord and our mother.”

Cardinals participate in the fifth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on April 30, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, May 4, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

On May 7, an expected 133 cardinal electors will enter the Sistine Chapel to elect the new Roman pontiff, the successor to Pope Francis, who shied away from giving red hats to the traditional archdioceses but opted to give the honor to far-flung places, many of which had never had a cardinal before.

Of the 133 cardinals with the right to vote in this conclave, 108 were created by Pope Francis and therefore will be participating in the election of a pontiff for the first time.

Compared with the 2013 conclave that chose Pope Francis, none of the major sees typically headed by a cardinal will be represented this time around, including the archdioceses of Sydney, Vienna, Genoa, Paris, Milan, Palermo, Armagh, and Krakow.

Pope Francis’ choice of cardinals from nontraditional countries and sees has dramatically shifted what used to be large and powerful representations within the college, such as the cardinals from Italy.

Now, only 52 Europeans will enter the Sistine Chapel, less than half of the entire electoral body. Of these 52, just 17 are Italians, including curial cardinals — those who work inside the Vatican — and those who live in Rome. 

The Italian presence is significantly reduced compared with the 2013 conclave, which had 28 cardinals of Italian origin.

By contrast, the continent of Africa has grown by seven cardinal electors since the last conclave for a total of 18 red hats, and Asia’s representation has increased to 20 from 10 in 2013. 

Countries represented by a cardinal elector for the first time include Haiti, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Malaysia, Tonga, Cape Verde, East Timor, Sweden, Iran, Luxembourg, Singapore, South Sudan, Ghana, Rwanda, El Salvador, Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Papua New Guinea, and Serbia. 

Another change to the College of Cardinals made by Pope Francis was the decision to surpass the limit of 120 voting cardinals set by Paul VI and confirmed by John Paul II. This limit was exceeded in June 2017, when Francis designated five new cardinals, bringing the total to 121. The total number of cardinal electors currently stands at 135.

In the apostolic constitution governing a “sede vacante,” Universi Dominici Gregis, it says that a cardinal who has been “created and published before the College of Cardinals thereby has the right to elect the pope” if he has not reached the age of 80.

Under Pope Francis, there was also an increase in cardinal electors representing the Eastern Catholic Churches “sui iuris”: Cardinal Mykola Bycok (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church); Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad (Syro-Malabar Church); Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal (Syro-Malankar Church); Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel (Ethiopian Metropolitan Church “sui iuris”); and Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako (Chaldean Church).

Other geographical areas instead have not seen large changes in the number of voting cardinals.

The United States will have 10 voting cardinals (one less than in the 2005 and 2013 conclaves). Canada will have four and Mexico will have two representatives inside the Sistine Chapel.

From Europe, there will be five cardinal electors from France, four from Spain, four from Portugal and Poland, three from Germany and the United Kingdom, two from Switzerland, and one each from Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Holland, Serbia, and Sweden.

Central America will bring to the Sistine Chapel one cardinal each from Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Haiti. South America will see the presence of seven cardinals from Brazil, four from Argentina (there were two in 2013 and one in 2005), and one each from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

The 18 African cardinals include two from the Ivory Coast and one each from Algeria (although Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco is French by birth), Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco (Cardinal Cristóbal Lopez Romero is Spanish by birth), Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, and Tanzania.

There are 20 cardinals who will participate in the conclave from Asia: four from India, three from the Philippines, two from Japan, and one each from China, East Timor, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia (Cardinal Giorgio Marengo is Italian by birth), Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

The Middle East will be represented by three cardinals, one each from the Holy Land (Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa is Italian by birth), Iran (Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu is Belgian by birth), and Iraq.

From Oceania, four cardinals will be eligible to vote: one each from Australia (Bycok is Ukrainian by birth), New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga.

Marco Mancini of ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner, contributed to this report.

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CNA Staff, May 4, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Dr. Christopher Stroud was a Catholic OB-GYN who prescribed birth control and gave referrals for in vitro fertilization (IVF) until a priest admonished him in the sacrament of reconciliation. Now Stroud runs a life-affirming fertility clinic that uses Natural Procreative Technology — a treatment model that embraces life-affirming Catholic ethics.

“It changed my life,” Stroud said of the confession. “Probably for all eternity, it changed my life.”

Stroud said he still “get[s] emotional” just talking about the impact of the clinic. Couples send him photos of their babies — it has grown into a wall of photos now.

Since his change of heart in 2012, his practice has “just exploded.” The clinic has grown so popular that there’s a six-month wait period.

“We are blessed with a busy, busy practice,” he told CNA.

While Stroud’s clinic is based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, he received his training in Nebraska at St. Paul VI Institute — an organization founded in 1985 that trains doctors in “NaProTechnology.”

And the demand for NaProTechnology? It’s “unlimited,” Stroud said.

What makes NaPro different? 

NaProTechnology is “a problem-based approach to fertility challenges,” Stroud explained.

The model is “a recognition, more than anything, that infertility is a symptom — it’s not a diagnosis,” Stroud explained.

Rather than jumping to IVF — which is often expensive, arduous, and carries ethical issues with the creation of unused embryos — NaProTechnology applies basic principals of contemporary medicine to fertility treatment.

“Everywhere else in contemporary medicine, we use symptoms to point to a disease state, and then we treat the disease state; then we ask, did the symptom go away?” Stroud said.

But with the advent of IVF in the late 1970s, doctors were taught to promptly refer clients for IVF, Stroud explained.

NaProTechnology is highly effective, Stroud has found. Fertility specialists can address the underlying health issues preventing conception “more times than not,” he said.

Teresa Hilgers, an OB-GYN at the St. Paul VI Institute, added that NaProTechnology often brings a couple’s fertility “back to life.” She said she has seen “so many” couples who, with the help of NaProTechnology, “no longer need medical support to achieve future pregnancies.”

Talking about IVF 

Stroud emphasized that while IVF is against Church teaching, IVF is a challenging issue to talk about. It’s important to acknowledge that the children created through IVF are created in God’s image, Stroud said.

“Any time we have a chance to say [it], we must say that the children created by IVF are children of God — created in his image and likeness,” Stroud said.

“We’ve got to remember that as Catholics, we’re not condemning, we’re educating,” Stroud continued. “And the people that we’re talking to often are very, very wounded and vulnerable.”

When discussing IVF, Stroud noted that “we’ve got to remember the vulnerable, horrible pain that couples are experiencing.”

“I can’t think of another marital stress that could ever hold a candle to infertility because it forces couples to question what it means to be man and woman, what it means to be married, what it means to be intimate,” Stroud said.

“But children are a gift. They’re not a right,” Stroud said. “If they were a right, they’d be property, which is part of the problem with IVF — they do become property.”

The Catholic perspective

IVF is contrary to the Catholic Church’s teaching. But why?

There are several layers to understanding the Church’s teaching on IVF. Most obviously, there’s the high cost of life in IVF.

“IVF is very destructive,” Hilgers said. “Many babies are lost to create one new life.”

The remaining human embryos conceived via IVF often remain in frozen storage for an indeterminate amount of time — often never to grow up.

“[Couples] may have finished their fertility journey, but they do not know what to do with their remaining frozen embryos,” Hilgers said.

IVF also contradicts the Church’s understanding of the purpose of sexual intercourse within the union of marriage.

“The Church teaches that the act of sexual intercourse has two aspects: procreative and unitive. These are inseparable,” Hilgers said. “IVF separates the procreative and unitive acts of intercourse between a married couple.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 2377) states that IVF is “morally unacceptable” because it separates the marriage act from procreation and establishes “the domination of technology” over human life.

But there’s also a biological and medical argument against IVF, both Hilgers and Stroud noted.

“Many do not realize that IVF is not good medicine,” Hilgers said.

“The success rates are lower than most think,” she said. “A lot of couples go through IVF and fail.”

IVF can bring with it additional risks, including higher complication rates with pregnancy, higher preterm labor, and even higher risk for birth defects, Hilgers added. 

When Stroud meets with patients who are considering IVF, he begins by asking them: “Why?” 

“The thing that I say to the couple is: Wouldn’t you like to know why you’re not getting pregnant — even if it means you’re never going to be pregnant — wouldn’t you like to know?” he said. “I’ve never had a couple say, ‘Actually, no, we don’t care.’” 

For couples with infertility

Both Hilgers and Stroud emphasized that IVF is far from the only option for couples struggling with infertility.

When asked what he would say to couples struggling with infertility, Stroud said: “Don’t settle.” 

“You don’t have to settle as a couple, and you don’t have to choose between the tenets of your faith and your fertility,” Stroud said. “Unexplained infertility is, more times than not, uninvestigated infertility.”

“Many couples who undergo IVF are never given a diagnosis for why they have infertility,” Hilgers added. “They are often told that their infertility is ‘unexplained.’”

But “their infertility is unexplained because a proper evaluation was never done,” Hilgers said.

When asked about the impact of NaProTechnology on families, Hilgers said that by respecting Church teaching on love and life, the human dignity of all involved is also respected.

“When these teachings are respected, then the dignity of everyone involved, the woman, her husband, and children are respected,” she said.

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Seattle, Wash., May 3, 2025 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

Texas on Saturday officially enacted one of the largest school choice programs in its history, with Gov. Greg Abbott signing the measure into law on Saturday afternoon as Catholic educators turn their attention to the ground-level work of growth and planning amid the new choice regime. 

The program’s $1 billion education savings account (ESA) program has led many to expect a noticeable shift in how — and for whom — Catholic education becomes financially accessible.

Catholic schools across the state are beginning to prepare for what may be a surge in applications. “Our Catholic schools in Texas are actively working to ensure capacity to add about 20,000 students when the ESA program opens in the 2026–2027 school year,” Jennifer Allmon, the executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, told CNA.

Under the new law, qualifying families will receive up to $10,000 per student to cover educational expenses such as private school tuition, transportation, and other services. 

Initially, the program will serve up to 90,000 students with potential for expansion. It also prioritizes low-income students and those with disabilities, two groups Catholic schools already serve extensively.

At Frassati Catholic High School in north Houston, where enrollment has grown significantly in recent years, Director of Enrollment Tim Lienhard sees this moment as a test of both the school’s mission and its infrastructure.

“We really are looking at this as a way to test what we’ve built,” Lienhard said. “We’re the only Catholic high school supporting families north of Houston’s Beltway 8, and we’ve already been growing steadily.”

Frassati opened in 2013 and expects its ninth graduating class this spring. Over the last four years, the school has refined its admissions process to focus on applicants who are genuinely seeking a Catholic environment. Lienhard emphasized that any future expansion won’t be for scale alone.

“We’ve developed a selection process based on our mission,” he said. “That means evaluating prospective students and families on their desire for our culture and identity. Growth only works if it flows from that.”

For the Texas bishops, Senate Bill 2 is the result of long-standing advocacy. Allmon, who has served the conference for two decades, described the new law as a breakthrough.

“This is a historic development,” she said. “All of the bishops of Texas are excited and ready to welcome new students and for some of our current students to get some financial relief with ESA.”

There are 66 Catholic high schools serving approximately 24,000 students in Texas. The average tuition is about $14,000, pricing out many working families. The ESA program could change that for a large segment of the population.

“We believe that parents who previously did not think they could afford Catholic school will be excited to have this option available,” Allmon said.

From a national perspective, the legislation is being hailed as a significant milestone.

“This is a historic victory for Texas families and the future of our nation. Revitalizing the Republic starts in the classroom,” Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, said this week.

“Texas has created the largest Day 1 school choice program in the nation. ... This policy change isn’t just a win for Texas — it’s a win for every student, every parent, and every taxpayer who believes in the principle that education should be about serving the needs of kids, not entrenched systems,” Roberts said.

Not every element of the law was welcomed by Catholic leaders. A provision in the bill excludes undocumented students from participating in the ESA program — something the bishops oppose.

“We welcome students in our Catholic schools, regardless of immigration status, out of respect for the rights and dignity given by our Creator to each human person,” Allmon said. “While we may oppose such decisions, we still support the underlying public benefit programs.”

State lawmakers passed House Bill 2 alongside SB 2, boosting overall public school funding.

“HB 2 provides an increase in funding for public schools targeted toward special-needs programs, teacher pay raises, fine arts, and gifted and talented programs,” she explained. 

Critics, however, contend that the program will divert funds from public schools and primarily benefit families already able to afford private education. But “with more than $80 billion going to public education, it’s hard to see how a $1 billion ESA program serving about 80,000 students would do harm,” Allmon said.

Ryan Walker, the executive vice president of Heritage Action for America, called the bill part of a broader national shift.

“For too long, our education system has failed families across the country… Today, we are witnessing a wave of states adopting school choice policies, handing authority back to parents and increasing opportunities for students.”

Lindsey Burke and Jason Bedrick of Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy said this was more than a milestone. 

“It’s a tipping point. America is rapidly moving away from the district school model and toward an education system that empowers families to choose the learning environments that align with their values and work best for their children.”

For Lienhard, who oversees enrollment, marketing, and communications at Frassati, the conversations with families are ongoing — but still marked by uncertainty.

“Most families don’t yet know what they’ll qualify for,” he said. “There’s not a lot of clarity about how this will work, so people are waiting to see what the rollout looks like.”

Despite that ambiguity, there’s no lack of optimism at Frassati. The school is in the midst of a capital campaign to build a 20,000-square-foot academic facility. Its growth has been steady, and Lienhard attributes that not to programs or prestige but to something deeper.

“Our No. 1 asset is our Catholic identity,” he said. “We’re not growing just to grow. We’re trying to serve a community that is hungry for something real.”

He described the school’s efforts to balance mission and access as part of a longer-term vision. “We want to be a 100-year-old school,” he said. “That means building now for the families that are going to come later.”

As the law takes effect and the state prepares to implement the ESA program, many Catholic schools are watching closely. The policy may be new, but the core question for institutions like Frassati is one they’ve asked all along: how to remain faithful to mission while welcoming more families into the life of the Church.

“If this legislation helps more Catholic families access Catholic education, then we’ll be able to evangelize more boldly,” Lienhard said. “And that’s something we’re ready for.”

Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime speaks at the eighth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica, Saturday, May 3, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, May 3, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Editor’s Note: On May 3, 2025, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, the former prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, delivered the following homily during the eighth day of Novendiales Masses for Pope Francis. The text below is a CNA working translation of the Italian original published by the Vatican.

Dearest sisters and brothers,

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori teaches that praying for the dead is the greatest work of charity. When we help our neighbors materially, we share ephemeral goods, but when we pray for them we do so with eternal goods. In a similar way lived the holy Curé of Ars, universal patron of priests.

To pray for the dead means, therefore, to love those who have died, and that is what we are doing now for Pope Francis, gathered as the people of God, together with the pastors and especially this evening with a very significant presence of consecrated men and women.

The Holy Father Francis felt very well liked by the people of God and knew that those belonging to the different expressions of consecrated life also loved him; they prayed for his ministry, for the person of the pope, for the Church, for the world.

On this third Sunday of Easter everything invites rejoicing, exultation. The reason is given by the risen Lord and the presence of the Holy Spirit. St. Athanasius affirms that the risen Jesus Christ makes man’s life a continuous feast. And that is why the Apostles — and Peter first among them — are not afraid of imprisonment, nor of threats, nor of being persecuted again. And in fact they boldly and frankly declare: “Of these things we are witnesses as also is the Holy Spirit whom God has sent to those who obey him.”

“I wonder,” said Pope Francis in one of his catecheses on this same passage, ”where the first disciples find the strength for this witness of theirs. Not only that, but from where did the joy and courage of proclamation come to them in spite of obstacles and violence?”

It is clear that only the presence, with them, of the risen Lord and the action of the Holy Spirit can explain this fact. Their faith was based on such a strong and personal experience of Christ, dead and risen, that they were not afraid of anything or anyone. “Today, as yesterday, the men and women of the present generation are in great need of encountering the Lord and his liberating message of salvation,” said St. John Paul II on the occasion of the Jubilee of Consecrated Life on Feb. 2, 2000, addressing religious men and women around the world, adding: “I have been able to realize the value of your prophetic presence for the entire Christian people, and I gladly acknowledge, even on this occasion, the example of generous evangelical dedication offered by countless of your brothers and sisters who often work in uncomfortable situations. They unreservedly expend themselves in the name of Christ in the service of the poor, the marginalized, and the least.”

Brothers and sisters, it is true that all of us, this whole assembly as baptized, are called to be witnesses of the Lord Jesus, who died and rose again. But it is equally true that we, consecrated men and women, have received this vocation, this call to discipleship that asks us to witness to the primacy of God with our whole lives. This mission is especially important when — as in many parts of the world today — we experience God’s absence or forget his centrality too easily. Then we can assume and make our own the program of St. Benedict Abbot, summarized in the maxim: “Put nothing before the love of Christ.”

It was the Holy Father Benedict XVI who challenged us in this way: Within the people of God, consecrated persons are like sentinels who discern and announce the new life already present in our history.

We are called, by reason of our baptism and by religious profession, to witness that only God gives fullness to human existence and that, consequently, our lives must be an eloquent sign of the presence of the kingdom of God for the world today.

We are, therefore, called to be in the world a credible and luminous sign of the Gospel and its paradoxes. Without conforming to the mentality of this century but transforming ourselves and continuously renewing our commitment.

In the Gospel we heard that the risen Lord was waiting for his disciples at the seashore. The account says that when everything seemed finished, failed, the Lord made himself present, went to meet his own, who — filled with joy — were able to exclaim through the mouth of the disciple whom Jesus loved, “It is the Lord.” 

In this expression we grasp the enthusiasm of Easter faith, full of joy and amazement, which contrasts sharply with the bewilderment, discouragement, and sense of helplessness hitherto present in the disciples’ souls.

It is only the presence of the risen Jesus that transforms everything: Darkness is overcome by light; useless work becomes fruitful and promising again; the sense of weariness and abandonment gives way to a new momentum and the certainty that he is with us.

What happened for the Lord’s first and privileged witnesses can and must become a program of life for all of us.

Pope Francis said in the Year of Consecrated Life: “I expect you to wake up the world, because the note that characterizes consecrated life is prophecy.” And he asked us to be witnesses of the Lord like Peter and the apostles, even in the face of the misunderstanding of the Sanhedrin of yesteryear or the godless “areopagos” of today. He asked us to be like the watchman who keeps watch during the night and knows when the dawn comes.

He was asking us to have a heart and a spirit pure and free enough to recognize the women and men of today, our brothers and sisters, especially the poorest, the last, the discarded, because in them is the Lord and so that with our passion for God, for the kingdom and for humanity, we will be able like Peter, to respond to the Lord: “Lord, you know everything! You know that I love you.”

Mary, mother of the Church, grant us all the grace to be missionary disciples today, witnesses of her Son in this Church of his that — under the guidance of the Holy Spirit — lives in hope, because the risen Lord is with us until the end of time. Amen.

Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime incenses the altar at the eighth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica, Saturday, May 3, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Staff, May 3, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis desired that consecrated Catholic men and women possess “a heart and a spirit pure and free enough” to love and serve the least among us, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime said at the eighth Novendiales Mass on Saturday.

The prelate, the former prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, celebrated and delivered the homily at the second-to-last Mass held in mourning for the Holy Father, who passed away on April 21.

Praying for the dead, the cardinal said during the homily at St. Peter’s Basilica, is “the greatest work of charity.”

“When we help our neighbors materially, we share ephemeral goods, but when we pray for them we do so with eternal goods,” Artime said.

“To pray for the dead means, therefore, to love those who have died,” he continued, “and that is what we are doing now for Pope Francis, gathered as the people of God, together with the pastors and especially this evening with a very significant presence of consecrated men and women.”

Francis “felt very well liked by the people of God,” Artime said, “and [he] knew that those belonging to the different expressions of consecrated life also loved him; they prayed for his ministry, for the person of the pope, for the Church, for the world.”

The whole Church, he said, is “called to be witnesses of the Lord Jesus, who died and rose again.” But consecrated men and women are singled out for particular service, he said.

“[We] have received this vocation, this call to discipleship that asks us to witness to the primacy of God with our whole lives,” he said. “This mission is especially important when — as in many parts of the world today — we experience God’s absence or forget his centrality too easily.”

The presence of the risen Christ, the cardinal said, “transforms everything.”

“Darkness is overcome by light; useless work becomes fruitful and promising again; the sense of weariness and abandonment gives way to a new momentum and the certainty that he is with us,” he said.

Artime recalled the words of Pope Francis during the Year of Consecrated Life, when the Holy Father said he expected consecrated Catholics “to wake up the world, because the note that characterizes consecrated life is prophecy.” Francis at the time asked for the consecrated “to be witnesses of the Lord like Peter and the apostles,” Artime said.

“He was asking us to have a heart and a spirit pure and free enough to recognize the women and men of today, our brothers and sisters, especially the poorest, the last, the discarded,” the cardinal said.

“Because in them is the Lord, and so that with our passion for God, for the kingdom and for humanity, we will be able, like Peter, to respond to the Lord, ‘Lord, you know everything! You know that I love you.’”

Sister Mary Barron speaks at the eighth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica, Saturday, May 3, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, May 3, 2025 / 12:50 pm (CNA).

At the eighth Novendiales Mass on Saturday, Pope Francis was hailed as a “humble and compassionate pastor,” one who maintained “unwavering confidence in the vocation of women religious.”

Sister Mary Barron, the president of the International Union of Superiors General, said at the Mass that the late pope “invited us out into the world and among all of God’s creation to heal and accompany those most in need.”

The pope “reminded us again and again of the importance of embracing our frailty not as a limitation but as a source of grace,” she said.

Pope Francis appointed Barron — the superior general of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles — to the Dicastery for Evangelization last year. She said on Saturday that the pope “urged us women religious to lower ourselves in service as Christ lowered himself to wash the feet of his disciples.”

“He inspired us to bring hope and healing to the darkest corners of the world, to bring a friendly smile with a helping hand and a heart filled with the love of Jesus,” she said.

Barron praised the pope’s “unwavering confidence” in women religious.

“You recognized our contribution as builders of communion, as custodians of the warmth and maternal tenderness of the Church and reminded us that our presence is indispensable,” she said.

“We give thanks for your heart as a pastor, for your vision, and for the deep trust you have placed in consecrated women,” she said.

“We promise to carry out the mission you have entrusted to us and to be the caress of our loving Creator God especially toward those who suffer.”

Credit: SevenMaps/Shutterstock

ACI Africa, May 3, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

In the aftermath of this year’s Holy Week massacres in Nigeria’s Plateau and Benue states that reportedly left over 170 people dead, the pastor of St. Joseph Aboki Parish in the Diocese of Katsina-Ala has shared firsthand testimony of the deadly attacks, which he says were carried out by Fulani herders.

Over 170 Christians were reportedly killed during Lent and Holy Week in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, with at least 72 deaths reported in Benue state alone during the Easter Triduum, between April 18–20.

The attacks, allegedly by Fulani militants, targeted Christian farming communities in Ukum and Logo counties, raising concerns over religious persecution and government inaction in the West African nation.

In an interview with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on April 29, Father Moses Aondoanenge Igba shared his firsthand account of the horror that unfolded between Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

“It was a massive killing. I would say that above 70 people were killed at that time. After the attack, people continued counting their losses. When they could not find their missing brothers, sisters, or relatives, they searched the bushes and discovered their decomposing bodies, led by the odor,” Igba told ACI Africa.

He described the deadly attacks as well organized and systematic. He said: “What happened on that Holy Thursday, which I call Black Thursday, and the following day, Black Friday, was a massive attack and massive killing of innocent people in our communities.”

Alluding to previous deadly attacks in Nigeria during Christian festivities, the priest attributed the repeated killings to the agenda of Islamization on the part of the perpetrators and their accomplices.

“Do not forget the Islamization agenda they have. I ask myself, why is it always during Christian festive periods that these killings take place? Either Christmas or Easter, they come to disrupt our celebrations. It points to a conquest ideology. It is more than just terrorism; it is about land occupation and Islamization,” he said.

Igba explained that beyond the religious motives, there seems to be an economic intent to cripple agricultural activities. 

“In terms of food security, it is like they want to destroy what we have so that we can starve and abandon our land,” he said, alluding to the use of “scorched-earth” strategy.

Staying among his people despite the dangers, he recalled the tragic fate of some of his parishioners, who sought refuge at the parish house but still met brutal deaths.

“One of my parishioners, Mr. Augustine Uzu, was with me on the Tuesday of chrism Mass when his village was attacked. He fled to the parish house for safety,” Igba recalled.

Later that night, he recounted, Uzu “decided to return to his village to retrieve some belongings, thinking the danger had passed. Unfortunately, the Fulani attackers were still there. They caught him, and while he tried to escape back to the parish, they hacked him to death, leaving his remains on the roadside.”

Igba recalled how he asked a group of people to retrieve Uzu’s remains. “We waited a day and then mobilized some young men to collect his body parts. We buried him at night, around 2 a.m., under the cover of darkness, and rushed back to the parish.”

The priest also spoke about another parishioner who narrowly survived a machete attack.

“A young man from my parish was caught by the Fulani. They ordered him to lie on his back and then used machetes on him, cutting through his stomach and spilling his intestines. By the grace of God, he survived after being rushed to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Zaki Biam. He is now recovering and can talk and eat,” Igba recounted.

As the violence has intensified, the parish premises has quickly become a place of refuge for parishioners and other community members fleeing the attackers, Igba told ACI Africa, adding that he chose to stay behind and offer hope rather than flee.

“I kept telling my people to have courage. I refused to run away. I stayed in the midst of my people, standing as a sign of hope for them. When bullets were flying over the church, I stood under a tree, directing those running into the parish to go behind the presbytery,” he recounted.

He recalled that many cautioned him about the dangers, but he remained resolute. 

“People were scared, telling me I was taking a risk, but I said to them, ‘I am a beacon of hope for you.’ If I had not been there, the people would have fled farther, and nobody would have remained at the presbytery,” he said.

Asked to weigh in on the advocacy for “self-defense,” the 61-year-old Nigerian priest spoke about the challenges that inhabitants of rural communities face there, particularly with the imbalance in firepower.

“When you talk about self-defense in the rural areas today, it is almost impossible. The war is no longer fought with bows and arrows. These people bring AK-47s, AK-49s, and even rocket launchers. Rural communities cannot match their firepower,” he said.

Igba faulted the Nigerian government for what he termed “double standards” in handling attempts by communities to defend themselves. “Communities that try to arm themselves are often branded criminals,” he said. “Meanwhile, the government turns a blind eye to the Fulani herders who carry illegal weapons and infiltrate villages.”

In the April 29 interview, Igba cautioned the faithful against despair in the face of the attacks and the related tragedies.

“My message to the faithful is that whether we have human defenders or not, God is our ultimate defender. Particularly now that we are in the Year of Hope, we must not believe that all is lost. Hope must guide us,” he said, referring to the theme of the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year.

He encouraged those mourning their loved ones to remain steadfast. “On Good Friday, during the veneration of the cross, I told the people that the suffering of Christ, once a distant reality, has now become our lived experience.”

“Our brothers and sisters have climbed the cross in a difficult and painful way. Those left behind carry the cross of sorrow and betrayal by those meant to protect them,” he said.

Igba went on to encourage the people of God caught up in the wave of attacks to look beyond the pain to the hope that is realized in the resurrection. 

“After the cross comes the resurrection. We must believe that their deaths will not be in vain,” he told ACI Africa during the April 29 interview.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.