St. Jude The Apostle Catholic Church

Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual Walk to Mary, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin. / Credit: The Shrine of Our Lady of Champion

CNA Staff, May 2, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual Walk to Mary, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin.

The Walk to Mary will take place on May 4 this year and includes several “join in” points along the route that offer participants unable to walk the entire distance to participate. These locations shorten the pilgrimage length, allowing pilgrims of all ages to take part in what is a spiritual and physical test in perseverance.

This year’s pilgrimage is particularly special as the participants will be walking similar stretches that the perpetual pilgrims and Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament on the Marian Route will be walking during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage this June.

The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will be making a stop at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion on June 16, where there will be a Mass celebrated and a large Eucharistic rosary procession.

Father Joseph Aytona, CPM, rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, told CNA in an interview that the Marian Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage was actually named in honor of Our Lady of Champion.

“It is an honor to pray over this path during the Walk to Mary and, in a real way, ‘prepare the way of the Lord and make straight his paths’ for when he arrives in June through the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage,” he said.

Since 2023, a segment of the Walk to Mary has been designed to accommodate children, families, and anyone who wants to participate in the pilgrimage but is challenged by the longer distances. This 1.7-mile route, called “The Walk With the Children,” merges into the last half a mile of the longer route.

Aytona shared that they are expecting more than 6,000 pilgrims from around the world to attend this year’s Walk to Mary. 

“Participants walk down everyday streets and trails through the Green Bay area, led by a carried statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” he explained. “They pray the rosary, sing hymns, and silently reflect on the intentions they are walking for. It’s always a beautiful display of faith for the world to see.”

Aytona compared the walk to a “mini-version of the Camino de Santiago in Europe,” adding that “the Walk to Mary draws people to the heart of pilgrimage — the opportunity for one to draw closer to the Lord and for him to draw closer to you — but all through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph.”

The final destination of the walk is also particularly special as the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion is the first and only approved Marian apparition in the United States. 

On Oct. 9, 1859, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a young Belgian woman named Adele Brise in the woods near present-day Champion, Wisconsin. Seeing the beautiful lady dressed in dazzling white with a crown of stars around her head, Brise asked the woman who she was.

The lady replied: “I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same.”

The Blessed Mother then told the young girl to “gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation. Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do.”

The apparition was approved by Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay in 2010. 

Karmen Lemke, executive director of Catholic Charities at the Diocese of Green Bay, called the 21-mile pilgrimage “absolutely life-changing.”

This year marks Lemke’s third time participating in the Walk to Mary; however, her first two experiences hold a special place in her heart. 

“My first walk, the full 21 miles, was in 2022, and my inspiration for participating was to join my friend Doris Lamers, who was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer,” Lemke shared with CNA in an interview. 

“The Blessed Mother has been an important person in her life and the Walk to Mary was something she really wanted to do. A few days before I asked again if she wanted to walk, even if we did the short version, and she quickly replied: ‘I want to walk and I want to do the whole thing,’” she recalled.

Lemke said that will be a day she will “forever treasure.”

“The weather was perfect, but our conversations along the walk were priceless,” she said. “We prayed the rosary and talked about life in general. We met so many wonderful people along the way, sharing stories of why they walk.”

In 2023, Lemke and Lamers participated in the walk again, along with Lamers’ sister and niece; however, due to the progression of the cancer, Lemke pushed Lamers in a wheelchair for the last seven miles of the walk.

“Upon our arrival at the shrine, Doris received a special blessing from Father Joseph [Aytona]. It was wonderful. I know that Doris knew exactly what was going on and was grateful for the day.”

Lamers passed away on Sept. 20, 2023.

“This year will hold a different meaning for us,” Lemke said. “We know that Doris will be with us and she’ll be saying, ‘Come on girls, you can do the whole route!’”

As for what Lemke has taken away from participating in the Walk to Mary, she said she has come to see “that anyone can do it with a little encouragement and not a lot of necessary training. I was moved by the number of people and their love for Mary and the love for their faith. It was a true sense of community.”

Aytona said he hopes that participants “are led to a deeper devotion to Our Lord Jesus.”

“True devotion to Mary always brings us to Jesus, and when people step foot on the grounds where Mary appeared, I hope they have an encounter with her that ultimately leads them to profound encounters with the merciful and divine love of Christ,” he added.

God “is our peace” and “prayer leads us to meet him,” said the archbishop of Bogotá, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio. / Credit: Colombian Bishops Conference / Screenshot

ACI Prensa Staff, May 2, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Colombian Bishops’ Conference  (CEC by its Spanish acronym) has called on all Catholics to join on May 3, Day of the Holy Cross, in a day of prayer for peace and reconciliation in the country.

“The call is made directly by the bishops and is based on recognizing the serious humanitarian crisis that multiple territories face amid armed conflict and other types of violence, as well as the complex sociopolitical panorama that the nation is experiencing today, permeated by division and polarization,” the CEC announced on its website.

Since Pope Francis’ visit to Colombia in September 2017 and his meeting with victims of the armed conflict, the Church in that country has established a National Day of Prayer for Reconciliation and Peace to be celebrated every May 3.

Inspired by a saying of Jesus Christ from Matthew 23:8, the motto for this year’s day of prayer is “All Brothers.” 

In a video message, the president of the CEC and archbishop of Bogotá, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio, invites people to recognize that “beyond our differences, we are all children of God and, therefore, brothers.”

God “is our peace” and “prayer leads us to meet him,” the cardinal said, expressing his conviction that “reconciliation is the path we need to travel to experience true hope for change in the country.”

“Let us pray for our country, that the Lord shows us with his Holy Spirit the paths of reconciliation,” the cardinal continued. “Reconciliation requires the ability to see the other as a brother. Jesus has told us: We are all children of the same Father.”

Rueda went on to cite Pope Francis, who “in a graphic way” has reminded us that “we are all in the same boat. The Colombian boat requires that you open your heart to reconciliation, to forgiveness. To look at the other, not as an enemy to be eliminated but as a friend, as a member of the same Colombian family.”

“That is what we want on May 3, for there to be a full day of prayer in parish churches, in the oratories of schools, universities, and women’s and men’s religious houses,” Rueda concluded. 

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

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis signed a letter on synodality in the presence of parish priests and urged them to be "missionaries of synodality," said several of the priests present.

Father Donald J. Planty Jr., pastor of St. Charles Church in Arlington, Virginia, and one of the U.S. pastors at the meeting, said, "He told us, 'I want you to take this letter, and I want you to put it into action. I want you to share it and speak to your bishops about it and speak to your brother pastors about it.'"

The pope signed the letter May 2 as he met with more than 200 parish priests in the Vatican Synod Hall. The meeting came at the end of an April 29-May 2 gathering designed as an opportunity for the priests to share their experiences and offer input for the drafting of the working document for the Synod of Bishops on synodality's second assembly in October.

Father Planty, who served for a time in the Vatican diplomatic corps and in the Vatican Secretariat of State, said it was clear that what participants from around the world had in common was "love for our identity as priests and our mission as priests."

Clearly, he said, some priests have difficulty getting parishioners to open up and share their hopes, dreams and skills -- a crucial part of building a "synodal church" where people listen to one another and share responsibility for the life of the parish and its missionary outreach.

That is not a problem in the United States, Father Planty said. "Especially in a country of an Anglo-Saxon democratic tradition," people are used to sharing their opinions, including with their priests. They comment after Mass or send an email or phone the parish office.

"A priest who really knows his parish, loves his parishioners, has his finger on the pulse of the parish" not only through the pastoral council and finance council but "also through other, informal settings," he said. Such a pastor "knows his people, consults with them, listens to them, takes their advice, and ultimately that factors into his pastoral decisions and planning and actions."

Father Clint Ressler, pastor of St. Mary of the Miraculous Medal Catholic Church in Texas City, Texas, said spiritual discernment adds a key factor because synodality "is not listening to the voice of the people, but the voice of God in the voice of the people."

"It isn't just about your voices and your opinions," he said. "We have to all be willing to then go deeper beneath those voices to try to hear what the Spirit is saying among us."

People are hesitant about synodality when it is erroneously presented as debating "the issues that are controversial in the church" and "whether or not this is some new instrument to foment change in doctrine or church teaching," he said. When that happens, "I think it's disturbing. It's scary. It's unsettling," and it leaves some wondering, "Why are we going to let the people decide what God wants?"

Father Paul Soper, pastor of St. Margaret Mary and St. Denis parishes in Westwood, Massachusetts, and secretary for ministerial personnel in the Archdiocese of Boston said priests and laypeople who have fears or concerns about synodality are afraid of different things.

"The fear of the priests is that there is a degree of randomness to the process," he said, and that the synod "is going to be recommending big changes in the life of the church somehow or another that will have come from a bunch of random voices rather than from a clearly traceable conciliar process."

"I think what the people fear is different," he said. "I think that they fear that this is a conversation that's not going to go anywhere. That it will simply, in the end, be a collection of reflections on the process of reflecting -- a meeting on meetings, if you will."

But, he said, his experience in evangelization has taught him that the "deep listening" or "contemplative listening" that the synod process is teaching people is what will enable Catholics to understand other people's stories and invite them into or back into a relationship with Jesus and with the church.

Father Robert L. Connors, director of the Office for Senior Priests in the Archdiocese of Boston and episcopal vicar of the archdiocese's south region, said the synod's emphasis on listening also can help Catholics "learn the art of respect in a world where there is very little respect."

And, especially in parishes and dioceses where there is growing diversity, he said, synodality helps people realize, "we're all in this together."

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Contributing to this story was Carol Glatz at the Vatican.

The pro-life flag from the Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com). / Credit: Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 18:50 pm (CNA).

Here’s a look at abortion-related developments that took place in various U.S. states this week. 

Florida’s six-week pro-life law takes effect

Florida’s Heartbeat Protection Act took effect on Wednesday, May 1. The law protects unborn babies from abortion starting at six weeks of pregnancy. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law back in April 2023, but it remained blocked until an April decision by the state Supreme Court that cleared the way for it to take effect. 

This comes as a high-stakes abortion amendment, effectively legalizing the procedure through all nine months of pregnancy, is set to be included on the ballot this November. 

Arizona Senate votes to repeal law protecting life at conception

In a 16-14 vote the Arizona Senate voted to repeal a law protecting unborn babies from abortion beginning at conception. The so-called “abortion ban repeal” bill passed the Arizona Senate despite a narrow Republican majority, due to two Republicans joining all Democrats to repeal the pro-life law. The Arizona House already passed the repeal bill in a similarly close vote last week. Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has already said she plans to quickly sign the bill, which will return the state to limiting abortion after 15 weeks. 

South Dakota abortion amendment reaches required signatures

Dakotans for Health, a pro-abortion group in South Dakota, announced on Wednesday that it has exceeded the required number of signatures to add an abortion amendment to the state’s November ballot. The amendment proposal and signatures will need to be vetted by state authorities. If passed, the amendment would override the state’s existing pro-life laws and enshrine abortion into the state constitution. Currently, abortion is only legal in South Dakota if the life of the mother is at risk.

Tennessee governor signs ‘Baby Olivia’ pro-life bill

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill on Tuesday to increase education on fetal development in public schools. The bill mandates that the state’s family life curricula include a three-minute video titled “Baby Olivia,” which was produced by the pro-life group Live Action and shows an unborn baby’s development from conception till birth. 

Several other states — Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, and West Virginia — are also considering passing bills to add the Baby Olivia video to their curriculum.

Maine governor signs out-of-state abortion law

Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed a law last week that seeks to shield out-of-state patients who are seeking abortions or so-called “gender-affirming care” in Maine from possible prosecution. The legislation would prevent their medical records from being shared with law enforcement agencies in other states where such practices have been banned. The law also gives abortionists in the state immunity from any prosecutions on abortions performed on out-of-state women. 

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa gives the homily at a Mass in which he took possession of his titular church, St. Onuphrius, in Rome on May 1, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/ACI Prensa

ACI Prensa Staff, May 1, 2024 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem, finally took possession on May 1 of his assigned titular church in Rome after having postponed the ceremony due to the war in the Holy Land.

Part of the process of becoming a cardinal is being assigned a titular church in Rome known as his “title” or “deaconry” in accordance with his role in assisting the pope, the bishop of Rome.

The ceremony at St. Onuphrius, the titular church of the papal order of the Holy Sepulchre, was scheduled for April 15 when the conflict in the Middle East worsened with the Iranian attack on Israel.

On the night of April 13, the Israeli army reported that Iran launched dozens of missiles and drones from its territory, most of which were intercepted outside Israeli territory by the country’s air defense systems.

Consequently, the patriarch, who had planned to travel to Rome, had to cancel the trip at the last minute and reschedule the ceremony.

Pizzaballa was created a cardinal by Pope Francis at the Sept. 30, 2023, consistory along with 21 other cardinals.

In his May 1 homily, which he gave at St. Onuphrius Church in Rome, the Italian cardinal noted that the Church of Jerusalem is “the mother Church” in which “the roots of the universal Church” are found.

He also said that it is the “central heart” of the life of the Church, although this universality “is not complete without Peter.”

Along these lines, the prelate stated that being made a cardinal “is not a coincidence” and that united with Peter, and Rome united with Jerusalem, “they complete this picture with their roots in the Holy Land.”

“Being a cardinal is not only a title or an honor, it is also a responsibility,” the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem remarked.

He also reflected on true joy, which is born “from the deep, serene, and conscious” union with the Lord.

‘We are going through the most difficult moments in our history’

Referring to the war ravaging the Holy Land, the cardinal lamented: “We are going through the most difficult moments in our recent history” and stressed that the impact of this conflict on the population “is enormous, more than any other war or conflict.”

The cardinal added that “we would like the United States to resolve the problem, as well as the peace negotiations,” although he regretted that at the moment “nothing is happening.”

The patriarch explained that conflict “is not the way in which the kingdom of God grows” but rather “it grows in community, peacefully.”

“The kingdom of God is not a miracle but the seed in the earth that grows and bears fruit, which is born from the heart of God’s love,” he said. For the cardinal, the kingdom of God “can also be experienced within war.”

Pizzaballa said that “the Lamb of God is the light that illuminates the city of Jerusalem” and that “we are called to be able to see the reality of the world through the paschal light of Christ, who died out of love and was raised by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Finally, he urged “seeking ways of reconciliation” and that the words “truth, justice, and forgiveness” never be separated from one another.

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

Catholics in the Archdiocese of Baltimore pack the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen during a concluding listening session on the archdiocese's major parish restructuring plan on April 30, 2024. / Credit: Matthew Balan

Baltimore, Md., May 1, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).

Hundreds of Catholic residents of Baltimore packed the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Tuesday evening to give their often-impassioned reactions to a process that could lead to the closure of nearly two-thirds of the city’s parishes.

Several parishes from the state’s largest city organized large contingents to attend the April 30 meeting, which was the final of three listening sessions for the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s “Seek the City” parish restructuring proposal. They made their presence known with custom-made T-shirts or ethnic attire, with some even carrying large banners that begged Archbishop William Lori to spare their churches.

Parishioners from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in the Mount Washington neighborhood of the city printed a banner that proclaimed: “SOS! Save Our Shrine.” The group from the largely-Filipino parish also participated vocally in the session, including an emotional plea from John Tagle, a high school student. Tagle worried that his parish would be gone when he returned home from college.

A non-Filipino member of the shrine, David Bender, bluntly stated: “The proposal does not make spiritual sense.” 

Many of those wearing custom T-shirts came from Holy Rosary, a parish in the Fells Point neighborhood that has connections to two Polish canonized saints. Some of their group wore ethnic attire and waved the white and red flag of their Eastern European homeland. 

A young woman from Holy Rosary wondered why the archdiocese would shutter a place that was visited by St. John Paul II (when he was Cardinal Karol Wojytla in 1976). The parish is also directly tied to the canonization process of St. Faustina Kowalska, as it was the site of a documented miraculous healing attributed to the Polish sister.

Auxiliary Bishop Bruce Lewandowski gave a grim assessment as he spoke to local media before presiding over the listening session. “This is difficult. It’s heart-wrenching,” he emphasized. “But we’re at a pivotal moment in the city Church. We need to do this.”

Lewandowski led the attendees in prayer before starting the main presentation about the parish closure/consolidation proposal under “Seek the City.” He, along with two lay consultants, began a slideshow that first gave an overview of the two-year process leading up to the current juncture.

The trio then unveiled several slides that outlined the proposal to shrink the city’s parishes from 61 parishes to 26 parishes. The City of Baltimore, along with some immediate surrounding parts of neighboring Baltimore County, was divided into five regions (center, east, west, north, and south). While the first four regions would have three to five consolidated parishes, the south region would be reduced to only two. 

An additional two parishes have been designated “personal parishes”: St. Ignatius, which is administered by the Jesuits, and St. Alphonsus, the home of the Traditional Latin Mass in Baltimore. During the listening session, the archdiocese disclosed that a final decision on the “Seek the City” proposal would be made by mid-June.

The slideshow spotlighted that four of the merged parishes would specifically minister to Hispanic communities. It also noted that the Filipino community — currently centered at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart — would move to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.

Other parishoners with deep roots in Baltimore City also bewailed the spiritual devastation the proposed restructuring would cause. A representative from St. Rita’s in Dundalk (a community that was directly impacted by the recent collapse of the Key Bridge at the mouth of Baltimore Harbor) begged: “Don’t let the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ leave Old Dundalk!”

Sue Jones, who has lived her entire life in the region, reflected on entering her eighth decade as a Catholic in the primatial see of the United States. Jones, who attends St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in the Hampden neighborhood, underlined that “killing [the parishes], or turning them into unrecognizable hubs, ... is the final nail in the coffin for the Church in Baltimore City.” Her parish would be closed under the current proposal.

The lifelong Baltimore resident added that she remained hopeful.

“I’m so proud, because the remaining Catholics are here in spite of the archdiocese’s leadership,” she said after the listening session.

WASHINGTON – Each year, National Maritime Day (May 22) recognizes the men and women who work or travel on the high seas. It is on this day the Catholic Church observes the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and People of the Sea and highlights the ministry of Stella Maris (Star of the Sea), the apostolate of the Catholic Church for the people of the sea. Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria in Texas, the bishop-promoter of Stella Maris in the United States, invites the faithful to support, remember, and pray for the many men and women who earn their livelihood through work on the seas, including merchant mariners, seafarers, fishermen, port personnel, and those in the maritime industry.

This year, Bishop Cahill is calling for special prayers of remembrance for those affected by the March 26 tragedy of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. A Mass for the Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and People of the Sea will be offered on Saturday, May 18 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. at 12:10 p.m. In the immediate wake of the cargo ship accident and bridge collapse, the Stella Maris network of port chaplains and partners mobilized to provide pastoral care and support for the crew members of the cargo ship Dali that made impact with the bridge and for crew members of other vessels in the Port of Baltimore.

“Each year, we pray for those who work on the high seas and the ports. In a special way this year, we remember those who have been impacted by the collapse of the Key Bridge, particularly the six construction workers who perished in the bridge collapse, and for their families as they mourn the loss of their loved ones,” said Bishop Cahill. “And we also pray for the captain and crew of the cargo ship, and the countless people who have been working in the aftermath of the tragedy, including the U.S. Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, dive teams, first responders, construction workers, law enforcement, and government officials. Still impacted are also the thousands of dockworkers and those who rely for work in the Port of Baltimore. Worldwide, there are countless men and women who labor on the high seas for their livelihood -- let us seek the intercession of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, that she protect and guide us,” he continued.

For more information on the annual Mass, please visit: https://www.nationalshrine.org/event/annual-maritime-day-mass-2024, and for more information on the ministry of Stella Maris, please visit: https://www.usccb.org/stellamaris.

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ROME (CNS) -- Sudden peace negotiations or an intervention by the United States will not deliver Israelis and Palestinians from the suffering caused by the war in Gaza, a Jerusalem-based cardinal said.

As a result of the war, the rift between Israelis and Palestinians is "deeper than it has ever been," Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, patriarch of Jerusalem, said May 1.

"We are all waiting for something big, something that changes the course of the history of events," he said in his homily during a Mass to formally take possession of his titular church in Rome. "We all want the United States to resolve the problem; we all want the peace negotiations to end in something big, important, in a way that marks the course of history."

But "this is not the way the kingdom of God grows," he said. "The kingdom of God grows in community, with communal gestures, calmly, little by little."

The kingdom of God is not "a miracle that is performed, suddenly changing the fate of the world," the cardinal said, rather it is "a seed sown in the ground that dies and little by little grows and bears fruit." The Catholic Church, he added, is called to be that slowly but steadily growing seed.

Cardinal Pizzaballa preached before a packed congregation in the small, historic Church of St. Onuphrius on the Janiculum Hill in Rome as he formally took possession of the church, a tradition meant to seal his identity as a member of the clergy of Rome. In ancient times, the cardinals who elected popes were pastors of the city's parishes.

Knights and dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, dressed in their ceremonial capes, joined the cardinal for the celebration. The ancient Catholic chivalric order supports the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem with prayers, financial assistance and regular pilgrimages. Cardinal Fernando Filoni, grand master of the order, participated in the Mass as did Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, vice dean of the College of Cardinals.

The congregation at the Mass also included Franciscan friars, the order to which Cardinal Pizzaballa belongs. The Church of St. Onuphrius, established in 1439, has been under the care of Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, a religious congregation founded in the United States, since 1946.

Joe Donnelly, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, was also present for the Mass.

After the Mass, Cardinal Pizzaballa told reporters that he struggles to understand the protests taking place across college campuses in the United States over academic institutions' investments in companies that do business with Israel.

"Universities are places where cultural debate, even when heated, even when tough, should be available at 360 degrees," he said. "The contrast of completely different ideas, harsh as they may be, must be expressed not through violence or boycotting, but by knowing how to confront one another."

"The world is made of different opinions that must be confronted, not by explosions but by discussions," he said.

The Mass began with the reading of the formal declaration from Pope Francis assigning the church to Cardinal Pizzaballa when he was made a cardinal Sept. 30, 2023.

"It's stupendous that the pope thought that the patriarch of Jerusalem should be a cardinal," said Cardinal Filoni while greeting Cardinal Pizzaballa on behalf of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre at the close of Mass. "Today it unites Jerusalem, the Holy Land and the patriarchate which you represent, with the church of Rome."

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, patriarch of Jerusalem, distributes Communion while celebrating Mass to formally take possession of his titular church, the Church of St. Onuphrius on the Janiculum, in Rome May 1, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

People attend a Mass in Rome celebrated by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, patriarch of Jerusalem, as he formally takes possession of his titular church, the Church of St. Onuphrius on the Janiculum, May 1, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, patriarch of Jerusalem, preaches while celebrating Mass in Rome to formally take possession of his titular church, the Church of St. Onuphrius on the Janiculum, May 1, 2024. Seated in the center is Cardinal Fernando Filoni, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, and to the right is Joe Donnelly, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, patriarch of Jerusalem, greets the faithful before celebrating Mass in Rome to formally take possession of his titular church, the Church of St. Onuphrius on the Janiculum, May 1, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Pope Francis' formal declaration granting Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa the title and privileges of a cardinal and assigning him his titular church is displayed before a Mass at the Church of St. Onuphrius on the Janiculum in Rome May 1, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, patriarch of Jerusalem, delivers his homily while celebrating Mass in Rome to formally take possession of his titular church, the Church of St. Onuphrius on the Janiculum, May 1, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

WASHINGTON - Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Leonard P. Blair, 75, from the Office of Archbishop of Hartford. Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne, up until now coadjutor archbishop of the same diocese, will succeed him as archbishop of Hartford.

The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on May 1, 2024, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Archbishop Coyne’s biography may be found here.

The Archdiocese of Hartford is comprised of 2,288 square miles in the State of Connecticut and has a total population of 1,949,519 of which 543,341, are Catholic.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A foundation that promotes devotion to St. Pio of Pietrelcina, more widely known as Padre Pio, is making 10 never-before-seen photographs of the saint available to the devout for free.

The images provide personal insight into the life, attitude and spirituality of 20th-century saint, said the photographer. Some photos show Padre Pio solemnly celebrating Mass while in others he is smiling while surrounded by his confreres.

Elia Stelluto, Padre Pio's personal photographer, stood proudly -- camera in hand -- before posters of the 10 new images for the presentation of the photos in the Vatican movie theater April 29.

"It's enough to look at one image of his face" to understand Padre Pio, he told Catholic News Service. "With that you can understand so much; each photo has its own story, one must at them look one by one and that way you see so much more in his expressions."

Stelluto photographed the saint for decades at the convent where he lived in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.

During the photo presentation, Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, said the new photos highlight Padre Pio's identity as someone who was close to those around him and was filled with joy. He said that although it was not customary to smile in photos at the time, candid photos taken by Stelluto show the saint beaming broadly as he was huddled in a group.

Luciano Lamonarca, founder and CEO of the Saint Pio Foundation which promotes devotion to the Italian saint and organized the publication of the photos, said many people would come to Stelluto requesting his photos for articles and books.

"I never saw any kind of availability for the people" to see the photos directly, he said. That's why he thought, "Padre Pio is the saint of the people, we must do something for the people."

Lamonarca, an Italian who lives in the United States, said since many people with a devotion to Padre Pio are unable to visit the areas where the saint lived and ministered, he asked himself, "how does one bring Padre Pio to them, the true Padre Pio, the most authentic form of Padre Pio?"

That's what spurred him to partner with Stelluto to make the photos available to the public, excluding their use for commercial purposes, by being free to download via the St. Pio Foundation website.

Lamonarca said he hoped that by "looking at the image of a greatly suffering father who could also laugh," people would think to themselves, "if he could laugh, we can laugh too."

Stelluto described the images he had taken of Padre Pio as "mysterious," since they always came out clearly despite dark lighting conditions.

He recalled the challenge of taking photos in a dark convent, coupled with Padre Pio's distaste for the flash of a camera, especially during Mass, and exclusive use of dim candles to light the altar.

"It's not that I was talented in doing this, I still don't understand the thing," Stelluto said during the photo presentation. "The truth is that he was the source of light."

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Access to the photos can be requested by following the link: www.therealsaintpio.org