I’m Luke Coppen and I seek to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and commentary.

There will be no Starting Seven tomorrow, Sept. 11, due to a family commitment. The next Starting Seven will be on Sept. 14.

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I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and commentary.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I seek to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and commentary.

😇 Today’s feast: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

📜 Today’s readings: Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Micah 5:1-4a or Rom 8:28-30 ▪ Ps 13:6ab, 6c ▪ Mt 1:1-16, 18-23 or Mt 1:18-23.

🗞 Starting seven

1: The General Secretariat of the Synod published Sept. 8 the final report of Study Group 6, on relations between bishops, consecrated life, and ecclesial associations, and the second part of Study Group 7’s final report, on ad limina visits.

2: People formerly associated with 37 religious communities in France published an open letter Sept. 7 urging Pope Leo XIV to take further steps to combat spiritual abuse.

3: Brazil’s Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida will celebrate Sept. 12 the completion of mosaics on its western facade created by artists associated with the Rome-based Centro Aletti, founded by Fr. Marko Rupnik.

4: Pontifical Academy for Life president Archbishop Renzo Pegoraro has said that Catholics should consider whether to support what he called an “imperfect” future law regulating assisted suicide, on the grounds that the Italian Parliament might otherwise back more permissive legislation (lanuovabq.it).

5: Cardinal Gerhard Müller has criticized “troubling remarks” by German bishops during election campaigns, arguing that using their spiritual authority “in favor of or against any particular political party” would be an abuse of spiritual authority.

6: Sandra Arenas Pérez assesses the state of Latin American Catholicism ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s November trip.

7: And Max Foley-Keene contrasts the smiles of Leo XIV and Pope Francis.

🇻🇦 Today’s Bollettino

• Resignations and appointments:

  • 🇵🇷 Fr. Gerardo Antonio Vargas Cruz, O.F.M., 49, until now episcopal vicar for the clergy of the Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico, is named Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Fajardo-Humacao, Puerto Rico (facebook.com).

  • 🇧🇷 Belo Horizonte Auxiliary Bishop Júlio César Gomes Moreira, 54, is appointed Bishop of Rubiataba-Mozarlândia, Brazil (cnbb.org.br).

  • 🇧🇷 Fr. José Paulino Francisco Neto, 54, of the clergy of the Diocese of Araçuaí, is named Bishop of Porto Nacional, Brazil (cnbb.org.br).

  • 🇨🇳 The episcopal ordination of Fr. Andrea Ding Yang, 44, took place Sept. 8, after Pope Leo XIV appointed him Archbishop of Chongqing, China, July 28, having approved his candidacy within the framework of the provisional agreement on bishops’ appointments (chinacatholic.cn, fides.org, vaticannews.va).

• Notice of a Sept. 10 press conference presenting the Sept. 15 event “The 21st Century: a new time of martyrs?” and a Sept. 11 press conference presenting the 4th Fratelli Tutti Synodal Meeting — a North-South socio-environmental dialogue, to be held in Rome Sept. 12-13.

• + Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass Sept. 7 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy (Italian homily full text, photos, full video, video highlights, Leo XIV fresco video, apnews.com, ewtnnews.com, osvnews.com).

• + Leo XIV has expressed his condolences following the Sept. 6 death of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s father, Manuel Tagle Sr.

• + Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, spoke at a Sept. 7 seminar in Assisi, Italy, for theology professors and pastoral assistants of Milan’s Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.

• + Fr. Augustinus Sander, the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity official responsible for relations with Lutherans, spoke at the shrine of St. Birgitta in the Blue Church in Vadstena, Sweden, July 23.

🔍 Stories to watch

🇺🇸 Cardinal Robert McElroy said that “millions of workers who have jobs now will not have those jobs 10 years from now” as he celebrated a Labor Day Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C.

🇮🇳 Sr. Ranit Pallassery, who accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal of rape in 2018, has said that she and two fellow nuns turned to sewing as “a means of survival” after being isolated within their convent and losing Church financial support.

🇩🇪 The German bishops’ conference’s survivors’ advisory board called Sept. 6 for an investigation into a claim that Fr. Anselm Grün recommended in the 1990s that a priest who had sexually abused a 16-year-old continue in pastoral work — an allegation Grün denies.

🇨🇿 Czech Bishop Tomáš Holub said Sept. 8 that potential cuts to state funding, mooted by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, would force the Church to close schools, ultimately increasing the state’s education expenditure.

🇵🇱 Poland’s Łódź archdiocese said Sept. 8 that it had filed an appeal after YouTube deleted its channel without giving its administrators prior notice.

🇭🇺 A total of 4,660 students are beginning the 2026/27 academic year at Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest, Hungary, a roughly 15% rise on the previous year.

🗓 Today’s anniversaries

Pope Sergius I died in 701; The pontificate of John XXI began in 1276; America’s first Catholic parish was established in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565; The Society of the Divine Word was founded in 1875; The French relief organization Secours Catholique was founded 80 years ago in 1946.

📅 Today’s events

Archbishop Luc Terlinden of Mechelen-Brussels presides at the closing ceremony of the diocesan phase of the beatification cause of Irish-born lay missionary Veronica O’Brien (1905-1998).

📅 Coming soon

Sept. 9 General audience; Start of the annual meeting of the joint committee of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences and the Conference of European Churches in Frankfurt, Germany; Cardinal Christophe Pierre represents Pope Leo XIV at the funeral of King Harald V of Norway.

Sept. 10 Papal audience for the more than 140 prelates attending the annual formation course for newly appointed bishops in Rome; Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” returns to U.S. theaters; The first Asian Catholic Digital Missionary Assembly begins in Quezon City, Philippines; Plea hearing in the case of Bishop David Oakley of Northampton, England; Cardinal Pierre celebrates Requiem Mass for King Harald V of Norway at St. Olav Cathedral in Oslo, at 11 a.m. local time.

Sept. 11 A new bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide receives its second reading in the U.K. parliament; Cardinal George Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, attends the “Dialogue and Meeting — Paths for the construction of a Magnificent Humanity” event at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.

Sept. 12 20th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s Regensburg lecture; Archbishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo, dean of the Roman Rota, presides at the Family Day celebration in Torreciudad, Spain; Brazil’s Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida celebrates the completion of mosaics on its western facade created by artists associated with the Rome-based Centro Aletti.

Sept. 14 Pope Leo XIV visits the Vatican Apostolic Library to inaugurate the exhibition cycle “AQVA: Catastrophe and Wonder,” at 11 a.m. local time.

Sept. 15 Release of the English edition of “Freedom Under Grace,” a collection of Pope Leo XIV’s earlier writings; The Vatican’s Commission for New Martyrs – Witnesses of the Faith organizes a conference at Rome’s Augustinianum on “The 21st century: a new time of martyrs?”

Sept. 16 General audience.

Sept. 18 Opening celebration of the U.S. tour of St. Bernadette’s relics, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Sept. 21 Swiss bishops begin plenary assembly in Fischingen; Nordic bishops begin plenary meeting in Paderborn, Germany; 30th anniversary of Henri Nouwen’s death.

Sept. 22 The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union hosts the international symposium “Churches and Religious Heritage in transformation: The potential of sacred spaces as ‘third’ and ‘fourth’ places” at its secretariat in Brussels, Belgium.

Sept. 23 General audience.

Sept. 24 Beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen in St. Louis, Missouri; French Catholic influencers attend prayer vigil at La Madeleine church in Paris, from 8 p.m. local time.

Sept. 25 Pope Leo XIV begins visit to France, departing Rome at 7:50 a.m. local time and arriving at Paris Orly International Airport at 10 a.m. He attends a welcome ceremony, pays a courtesy visit to President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace (11 a.m.), meets with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps at the Élysée Palace (11:45 a.m.), visits UNESCO Headquarters (3 p.m.), celebrates Vespers with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated men and women and seminarians at Notre-Dame Cathedral (5:15 p.m.), and attends a prayer vigil with young people at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (9 p.m.); First annual Sheen Awards held at the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois.

Sept. 26 On the second day of his France trip, Pope Leo XIV visits the Maison Bakhita Center for Social Support and Integration (9 a.m.), meets with members of the provincial synodal assembly, catechumens and newly baptized at the Institut Catholique de Paris (10:15 a.m.), celebrates Mass at the Place de la Concorde (3 p.m.), departs Paris Orly International Airport via Air France for Lourdes (5:45 p.m.), arrives at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées International Airport (7:05 p.m.), and prays at the Grotto of the Apparitions at Massabielle at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (7:40 p.m.); The FRAT youth organization hosts a meeting for Catholic teenagers on the esplanade of La Défense, in the Greater Paris metropolitan area; Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.; The two study circles dedicated to Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) gather in Rome for their annual meeting, focusing this year on faith and politics.

Sept. 27 On the third day of his France trip, Pope Leo XIV meets with the bishops of the French bishops’ conference at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (9 a.m.), celebrates Mass at the Prairie of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (11 a.m.), meets with the staff and sick residents of the Accueil Notre Dame at the shrine (3:30 p.m.), meets privately with contemplative religious sisters at the Carmelite Monastery of Lourdes (4:45 p.m.), and prays the rosary and takes part in the torchlight procession at the shrine (9 p.m.); Beatification of Italian priests Ubaldo Marchioni (1918–1944) and Nicola Capelli (1912–1944).

Sept. 28 On the fourth and final day of his France trip, Pope Leo XIV departs Lourdes for Metz at 7:40 a.m., arrives at Metz-Nancy-Lorraine International Airport (9:20 a.m.), attends an interreligious meeting at the Robert Schuman Conference Center (10 a.m.), attends the “To the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity” event (11 a.m.), celebrates Mass at the Cathedral of St. Stephen (4 p.m.), attends the farewell ceremony at Metz-Nancy-Lorraine International Airport (6:30 p.m.), departs Metz for Rome (7 p.m.), and arrives at Rome-Fiumicino International Airport (8:50 p.m.); German bishops begin fall plenary meeting in Fulda.

Sept. 29 Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rochester, New York, marking the transfer of a relic of Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

Sept. 30 General audience.

Oct. 1 Giovanni Boscia begins term as director general of the Vatican’s Institute for the Works of Religion; Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union expected to issue a formal opinion on Belgian baptismal entry erasure case.

Oct. 3 Kenyan Catholics observe annual National Prayer Day at the Subukia Marian Shrine.

Oct. 4 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s death; Bishop Christian Würtz is installed as the Bishop of Eichstätt, Germany.

Oct. 7 General audience; Heads of Eastern Catholic Churches and bishops’ conference presidents gather in Rome with Pope Leo XIV to reflect on the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia; Start of the “De Maria numquam satis — Of Mary, one can never say enough” symposium at Rome’s Augustinian Patristic Institute.

Oct. 8 Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica marking the start of the academic year of Rome’s pontifical universities, at 6 p.m. local time.

Oct. 10 Cardinal Marcello Semeraro presides at the beatification of Maria Ignazia Isacchi (1857-1934), founder of the Congregation of the Ursuline Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Asola, in Mantua, Italy.

Oct. 12 Start of the Villanova International Sustainability Conference at the Patristicum, Rome.

Oct. 13 Pope Leo XIV presents the inaugural Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal at the Borgo Laudato Si’ in Castel Gandolfo, during the Villanova University International Sustainability Conference.

Oct. 14 Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the end of the meeting of heads of Eastern Catholic Churches and bishops’ conference presidents on Amoris laetitia, at 10 a.m. local time.

Oct. 15 50th anniversary of the publication of the declaration Inter Insigniores, on the question of admission of women to the ministerial priesthood; Patriarch Paul III Nona celebrates a Chaldean Catholic Divine Liturgy at St. Peter’s Basilica; Start of a three-day celebration of the inauguration of Boston College president Fr. John Butler, S.J.

Oct. 17 Ireland holds National Synodal Assembly; Cardinal Marcello Semeraro presides at the beatification of 20 martyred priests of the Diocese of Ibiza, Spain.

Oct. 18 The 100th World Mission Day.

Oct. 19 Start of a conference at Rome’s Patristicum on “Holiness in History”; Start of the South Korean bishops’ fall plenary meeting; The John Paul II Vatican Foundation celebrates its 45th anniversary in Rome; Hungarian bishops release pastoral letter on social issues.

Oct. 21 General audience.

Oct. 22 150th anniversary of the birth of Bl. Róża Czacka; Start of the International Congress on Pastoral Care in Schools and Universities, organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education.

Oct. 27 40th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s Assisi interreligious meeting for peace.

Oct. 31 Beatification of the Georgia Martyrs.

Nov. 1 80th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s priestly ordination; Maria Montserrat Alvarado takes up role of prefect of the Dicastery for Communication.

Nov. 3 Hungary’s bishops begin their ad limina visit to Rome.

Nov. 4 General audience.

Nov. 6 Pope Leo XIV begins visit to Uruguay, with stops in Montevideo, Paysandú, and Florida.

Nov. 7 Beatification of 80 20th-century martyrs from Spain’s Diocese of Santander; Beatification of Augusto Rafael Ramírez Monasterio (1937-1983).

Nov. 8 Pope Leo XIV travels from Uruguay to Argentina, with stops in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Luján; Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk presides at the installation of Archbishop Michael Kwiatkowski as head of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg, Canada, at the Cathedral of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha, at 10 a.m. local time.

Nov. 9 Start of the inaugural Catholic Military Conference at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, Virginia.

Nov. 11 Pope Leo XIV travels from Argentina to Peru, with stops in Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco, and Pucallpa; 100th anniversary of the birth of Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo.

Nov. 16 Annual Korea-Japan Bishops’ Exchange Meeting begins.

Nov. 18 General audience; Red Wednesday; 100th anniversary of the encyclical Iniquis Afflictisque; Swiss Catholics observe day of prayer for victims of sexual abuse.

Nov. 19 Shalom Convention participants attend Mass at the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Nov. 20 Tenth anniversary of the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.

Nov. 25 General audience.

Nov. 28 45th anniversary of the first reported apparition of Our Lady of Kibeho, Rwanda; Beatification of Ignacio Aláez Vaquero and 10 Companions.

Nov. 29 First Sunday of Advent.

Nov. 30 Swiss bishops begin plenary assembly in Chur.

Have a happy feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
— Luke

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I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

😇 Today’s saint: St. Regina of Autun (Roman Martyrology).

📜 Today’s readings: Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time 1 Cor 5:1-8 ▪ Ps 5:5-6, 7, 12 ▪ Lk 6:6-11.

🗞 Starting seven

1: German bishops’ conference chairman Bishop Heiner Wilmer issued a joint statement with Protestant and ecumenical leaders Sept. 7 saying that “grave fears have become reality,” after the AfD won the Saxony-Anhalt state election with a record 43.8% of the vote.

2: Mozambique’s bishops urged the judicial authorities Sept. 4 to clarify the circumstances surrounding the June 6 murder of Bishop Osório Citora Afonso of Quelimane.

3: Eduardo “Eddie” Balindres, a pastoral coordinator in the Diocese of Kidapawan, Philippines, was shot dead by unidentified assailants Aug. 31.

4: Papal visit organizers have unveiled the route that Pope Leo XIV will take through Paris Sept. 25, which is expected to draw around 250,000 people.

5: Yann Raison du Cleuziou and Andrea Gagliarducci preview the Sept. 25-28 papal visit to France.

6: Ines Angeli Murzaku considers what Pope Leo XIV’s approval of a procedure for the removal of a patriarch by an Eastern Catholic synod of bishops means for Catholic-Orthodox dialogue.

7: And Jen Dale traces the journey of English martyr St. Ambrose Barlow’s skull.

🇻🇦 Today’s Bollettino

• Papal audiences and activities:

  • Cardinal Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno, S.J., Archbishop Emeritus of Huancayo, Peru.

  • Interdicasterial meeting.

  • Pope Leo XIV visits the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy, celebrating Mass at 6 p.m. local time.

• Notice of a Sept. 10 press conference presenting the event “The 21st Century: a new time of martyrs?”, which will be held Sept. 15 at Rome’s Augustinianum.

• + Spanish Bishop Aurelio García Macías, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, gave a Sept. 4 address on “The Liturgy in the Episcopal Ministry: Continuity and Newness in the Liturgy in the Context of First Evangelization” to new bishops attending a formation course in Rome.

• + Valerio Mercuri began a five-year term as deputy director of the Governorate of Vatican City State’s Directorate for Telecommunications and Information Systems Sept. 1.

• + Sr. Raffaella Petrini, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, met Aug. 21 with seminarians at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois.

🔄 Weekend round-up

Friday, Sept. 4:

• 🇲🇽 Bishops of the episcopal conferences of Mexico, the U.S., and Canada issued an eight-page statement following a meeting in Cuernavaca, Morelos.

Saturday, Sept. 5:

• 🇻🇦Papal audiences and activities:

  • Archbishop Filippo Iannone, O. Carm., prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.

  • Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the General Secretariat of the Synod, with Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.

  • Archbishop Georg Gänswein, apostolic nuncio in Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia (infovaticana.com).

  • Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.

  • Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament – Federation of the Holy Spirit (full text, photos, vaticannews.va).

  • Festival of the Family of the Governorate (short video).

• 🇻🇦 Appointment:

  • Maria Montserrat Alvarado, incoming prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, named a member of the board of directors of the Fratello Sole Foundation.

• 🇬🇧 Pro-abortion protesters reportedly disrupted a Sept. 5 Mass at Westminster Cathedral attended by 15 bishops ahead of the March for Life UK, which drew thousands of people in London, England (photos, archedinburgh.org).

• 🇳🇱 Cardinal Raymond Burke was the chief celebrant at a Pontifical High Mass in the Vetus Ordo at the Church of Our Lady, Amsterdam, Netherlands, and led the recitation of the rosary in Vondelpark, during an International Rosary Rally organized by Radio Maria Nederland.

• 🇩🇪 German bishops’ conference chairman Bishop Heiner Wilmer preached at a farewell Mass at Dresden Cathedral for outgoing Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers of Dresden-Meissen.

• 🇮🇹 Italian Archbishop Tommaso Caputo announced that St. Bartolo Longo (1841-1926) would be the patron saint of the modern city of Pompei.

• 🇮🇸 The new Church of the Holy Cross in Selfoss, Iceland, was inaugurated.

• 🇦🇷 The Argentine government and bishops’ conference jointly welcomed the presence of a Vatican Secretariat of State delegation preparing the Nov. 8-11 papal visit.

• 🇺🇸 The Mother Teresa Institute held its annual keynote lecture and symposium in Washington, D.C.

Sunday, Sept. 6:

• 🇻🇦 Pope Leo XIV delivered an Angelus address in which he lamented “the latest violent attacks that have recently struck several cities and civilian infrastructures in Ukraine” (full text, photos, video).

• 🇳🇱 Cardinal Burke presided at a Pontifical High Mass in the Novus Ordo in St. Bavo Cathedral, Haarlem, Netherlands.

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scottish Catholics attended the annual national pilgrimage to Carfin Grotto.

• 🇭🇷 Croatian Archbishop Dražen Kutleša consecrated the church of the parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Zagreb.

• 🇧🇾 Belarusian Bishop Aliaksandr Yasheuski, S.D.B., inaugurated celebrations of the 265th anniversary of the coronation of the icon of Our Lady of Bialynichy (catholicnews.by).

• 🇮🇹 Journalist and papal biographer Elise Ann Allen announced her decision “to step away from Crux and my role as the company’s Vatican correspondent” (cruxnow.com).

• 🇵🇭 Manuel Tagle Sr., Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s father, died at the age of 96 (pngsicbc.com).

🔍 Stories to watch

🇺🇸 More than 1,600 students attended Sunday liturgies at Ohio State University’s Catholic student center on the second weekend of the new academic year, a record outside of Easter Sunday.

🇵🇪 Peru’s bishops launched a national collection Sept. 3 seeking to raise 4 million Peruvian soles (around $1.2 million) to cover the logistical and organizational costs of Pope Leo XIV’s Nov. 11-16 visit.

🇨🇩 Congolese bishops issued an “urgent call” Sept. 3 for renewed efforts to contain the country’s 17th Ebola outbreak.

🇳🇬 Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri, Nigeria criticized Sept. 4 “the increasingly despotic and overreaching directives issued by the Imo State Commissioner of Education in recent times on social media.”

🇬🇭 Ghanaian Archbishop Gabriel Justice Anokye published a communiqué directed at priests of the Kumasi archdiocese Sept. 4, on “the avoidance of political discussions, political prophecies, and divisive public comments.”

🇱🇮 Liechtenstein’s parliament narrowly approved a citizens’ initiative seeking to legalize abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy Sept. 2, but Hereditary Prince Alois has indicated that he will veto the measure.

🇮🇹 Francesco Capozza, the Vatican correspondent of Rome’s Il Tempo newspaper, suggested Sept. 5 that Archbishop Piero Pioppo is a favorite to succeed to Cardinal Pietro Parolin as Vatican Secretary of State, along with Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia and Archbishop Paolo Rudelli.

🗓 Today’s anniversaries

The pontificate of Alexander III began in 1159; Pope Boniface VIII was taken prisoner on behalf of Philip IV of France in 1303; St. Stephen Pongracz, S.J., died in 1619; The Legion of Mary was formed in 1921; Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati were canonized in 2025.

📅 Today’s events

U.S. Labor Day; Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris, France, turns 75; Cardinal Ladislav Nemet, S.V.D., turns 70; The inaugural West Africa Youth Day begins in Accra, Ghana; Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa formally launches Within Your Gates: The Forum for the Universal Vocation of Jerusalem; Inauguration of the 10-kilometer Pier Giorgio Frassati Trail around the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Peneda, Portugal.

📅 Coming soon

Sept. 8 80th anniversary of Secours Catholique; Archbishop Luc Terlinden of Mechelen-Brussels presides at the closing ceremony of the diocesan phase of the beatification cause of Irish-born lay missionary Veronica O’Brien (1905-1998).

Sept. 9 General audience; Start of the annual meeting of the joint committee of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences and the Conference of European Churches in Frankfurt, Germany; Cardinal Christophe Pierre represents Pope Leo XIV at the funeral of King Harald V of Norway.

Sept. 10 Papal audience for the more than 140 prelates attending the annual formation course for newly appointed bishops in Rome; Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” returns to U.S. theaters; The first Asian Catholic Digital Missionary Assembly begins in Quezon City, Philippines; Plea hearing in the case of Bishop David Oakley of Northampton, England; Cardinal Pierre celebrates Requiem Mass for King Harald V of Norway at St. Olav Cathedral in Oslo, at 11 a.m. local time.

Sept. 11 A new bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide receives its second reading in the U.K. parliament; Cardinal George Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, attends the “Dialogue and Meeting — Paths for the construction of a Magnificent Humanity” event at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.

Sept. 12 20th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s Regensburg lecture; Archbishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo, dean of the Roman Rota, presides at the Family Day celebration in Torreciudad, Spain.

Sept. 14 Pope Leo XIV visits the Vatican Apostolic Library to inaugurate the exhibition cycle “AQVA: Catastrophe and Wonder,” at 11 a.m. local time.

Sept. 15 Release of the English edition of “Freedom Under Grace,” a collection of Pope Leo XIV’s earlier writings; The Vatican’s Commission for New Martyrs – Witnesses of the Faith organizes a conference at Rome’s Augustinianum on “The 21st century: a new time of martyrs?”

Sept. 16 General audience.

Sept. 18 Opening celebration of the U.S. tour of St. Bernadette’s relics, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Sept. 21 Swiss bishops begin plenary assembly in Fischingen; Nordic bishops begin plenary meeting in Paderborn, Germany; 30th anniversary of Henri Nouwen’s death.

Sept. 22 The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union hosts the international symposium “Churches and Religious Heritage in transformation: The potential of sacred spaces as ‘third’ and ‘fourth’ places” at its secretariat in Brussels, Belgium.

Sept. 23 General audience.

Sept. 24 Beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen in St. Louis, Missouri; French Catholic influencers attend prayer vigil at La Madeleine church in Paris, from 8 p.m. local time.

Sept. 25 Pope Leo XIV begins visit to France, departing Rome at 7:50 a.m. local time and arriving at Paris Orly International Airport at 10 a.m. He attends a welcome ceremony, pays a courtesy visit to President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace (11 a.m.), meets with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps at the Élysée Palace (11:45 a.m.), visits UNESCO Headquarters (3 p.m.), celebrates Vespers with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated men and women and seminarians at Notre-Dame Cathedral (5:15 p.m.), and attends a prayer vigil with young people at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (9 p.m.); First annual Sheen Awards held at the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois.

Sept. 26 On the second day of his France trip, Pope Leo XIV visits the Maison Bakhita Center for Social Support and Integration (9 a.m.), meets with members of the provincial synodal assembly, catechumens and newly baptized at the Institut Catholique de Paris (10:15 a.m.), celebrates Mass at the Place de la Concorde (3 p.m.), departs Paris Orly International Airport via Air France for Lourdes (5:45 p.m.), arrives at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées International Airport (7:05 p.m.), and prays at the Grotto of the Apparitions at Massabielle at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (7:40 p.m.); The FRAT youth organization hosts a meeting for Catholic teenagers on the esplanade of La Défense, in the Greater Paris metropolitan area; Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.; The two study circles dedicated to Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) gather in Rome for their annual meeting, focusing this year on faith and politics.

Sept. 27 On the third day of his France trip, Pope Leo XIV meets with the bishops of the French bishops’ conference at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (9 a.m.), celebrates Mass at the Prairie of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (11 a.m.), meets with the staff and sick residents of the Accueil Notre Dame at the shrine (3:30 p.m.), meets privately with contemplative religious sisters at the Carmelite Monastery of Lourdes (4:45 p.m.), and prays the rosary and takes part in the torchlight procession at the shrine (9 p.m.); Beatification of Italian priests Ubaldo Marchioni (1918–1944) and Nicola Capelli (1912–1944).

Sept. 28 On the fourth and final day of his France trip, Pope Leo XIV departs Lourdes for Metz at 7:40 a.m., arrives at Metz-Nancy-Lorraine International Airport (9:20 a.m.), attends an interreligious meeting at the Robert Schuman Conference Center (10 a.m.), attends the “To the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity” event (11 a.m.), celebrates Mass at the Cathedral of St. Stephen (4 p.m.), attends the farewell ceremony at Metz-Nancy-Lorraine International Airport (6:30 p.m.), departs Metz for Rome (7 p.m.), and arrives at Rome-Fiumicino International Airport (8:50 p.m.).

Sept. 29 Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rochester, New York, marking the transfer of a relic of Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

Sept. 30 General audience.

Oct. 1 Giovanni Boscia begins term as director general of the Vatican’s Institute for the Works of Religion; Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union expected to issue a formal opinion on Belgian baptismal entry erasure case.

Oct. 3 Kenyan Catholics observe annual National Prayer Day at the Subukia Marian Shrine.

Oct. 4 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s death; Bishop Christian Würtz is installed as the Bishop of Eichstätt, Germany.

Oct. 7 General audience; Heads of Eastern Catholic Churches and bishops’ conference presidents gather in Rome with Pope Leo XIV to reflect on the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia; Start of the “De Maria numquam satis — Of Mary, one can never say enough” symposium at Rome’s Augustinian Patristic Institute.

Oct. 8 Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica marking the start of the academic year of Rome’s pontifical universities, at 6 p.m. local time.

Oct. 10 Cardinal Marcello Semeraro presides at the beatification of Maria Ignazia Isacchi (1857-1934), founder of the Congregation of the Ursuline Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Asola, in Mantua, Italy.

Oct. 12 Start of the Villanova International Sustainability Conference at the Patristicum, Rome.

Oct. 13 Pope Leo XIV presents the inaugural Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal at the Borgo Laudato Si’ in Castel Gandolfo, during the Villanova University International Sustainability Conference.

Oct. 14 Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the end of the meeting of heads of Eastern Catholic Churches and bishops’ conference presidents on Amoris laetitia, at 10 a.m. local time.

Oct. 15 50th anniversary of the publication of the declaration Inter Insigniores, on the question of admission of women to the ministerial priesthood; Patriarch Paul III Nona celebrates a Chaldean Catholic Divine Liturgy at St. Peter’s Basilica; Start of a three-day celebration of the inauguration of Boston College president Fr. John Butler, S.J.

Oct. 17 Ireland holds National Synodal Assembly; Cardinal Marcello Semeraro presides at the beatification of 20 martyred priests of the Diocese of Ibiza, Spain.

Oct. 18 The 100th World Mission Day.

Oct. 19 Start of a conference at Rome’s Patristicum on “Holiness in History”; Start of the South Korean bishops’ fall plenary meeting; The John Paul II Vatican Foundation celebrates its 45th anniversary in Rome.

Oct. 21 General audience.

Oct. 22 150th anniversary of the birth of Bl. Róża Czacka; Start of the International Congress on Pastoral Care in Schools and Universities, organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education.

Oct. 27 40th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s Assisi interreligious meeting for peace.

Oct. 31 Beatification of the Georgia Martyrs.

Nov. 1 80th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s priestly ordination; Maria Montserrat Alvarado takes up role of prefect of the Dicastery for Communication.

Nov. 3 Hungary’s bishops begin their ad limina visit to Rome.

Nov. 4 General audience.

Nov. 6 Pope Leo XIV begins visit to Uruguay, with stops in Montevideo, Paysandú, and Florida.

Nov. 7 Beatification of 80 20th-century martyrs from Spain’s Diocese of Santander; Beatification of Augusto Rafael Ramírez Monasterio (1937-1983).

Nov. 8 Pope Leo XIV travels from Uruguay to Argentina, with stops in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Luján; Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk presides at the installation of Archbishop Michael Kwiatkowski as head of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg, Canada, at the Cathedral of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha, at 10 a.m. local time.

Nov. 9 Start of the inaugural Catholic Military Conference at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, Virginia.

Nov. 11 Pope Leo XIV travels from Argentina to Peru, with stops in Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco, and Pucallpa; 100th anniversary of the birth of Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo.

Nov. 16 Annual Korea-Japan Bishops’ Exchange Meeting begins.

Nov. 18 General audience; Red Wednesday; 100th anniversary of the encyclical Iniquis Afflictisque; Swiss Catholics observe day of prayer for victims of sexual abuse.

Nov. 19 Shalom Convention participants attend Mass at the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Nov. 20 Tenth anniversary of the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.

Nov. 25 General audience.

Nov. 28 45th anniversary of the first reported apparition of Our Lady of Kibeho, Rwanda; Beatification of Ignacio Aláez Vaquero and 10 Companions.

Nov. 29 First Sunday of Advent.

Nov. 30 Swiss bishops begin plenary assembly in Chur.

Have a happy feast of St. Regina.
— Luke

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I’m Luke Coppen and I seek to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and commentary.

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I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and commentary.

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I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I seek to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and commentary.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I seek to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I seek to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I seek to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I seek to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I seek to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

Read more

I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and comment.

Read more

Read more