Pope convenes summit to proclaim the Gospel to families

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Pope convenes summit to proclaim the Gospel to families

The Pope has called the presidents of the bishops“ conferences to a summit in October in Rome on marriage and the family. On the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis” Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Leo XIV wishes to emphasize “the mission of proclaiming the Gospel of the family to the younger generation,” and "to learn to evoke the beauty of the vocation to marriage.".

Francisco Otamendi-March 19, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

The Pope's convocation in October 2026 to the bishops“ conferences aims to proceed, ”in a climate of mutual listening, to a synodal discernment on the steps to be taken to proclaim the Gospel to today's families, in the light of Amoris laetitia (AL) and taking into account what is being done in the local Churches.".

In its Message, Ten years after Amoris laetitia, the Pope is aware of “the anthropological-cultural changes” (AL 32), which have become more pronounced over the past thirty-five years”, and which “continue to affect families”, and that Pope Francis “wanted to commit the Church even more to the path of synodal discernment”.

“The family is the foundation of society, a gift from God.”

And he specifies that it is not possible “to speak about the family without questioning families, listening to their joys and hopes, their sorrows and anxieties”. Consequently, the Successor of Peter wishes to continue to deepen the teachings of Amoris laetitia, and emphasizes that “the two Apostolic Exhortations Familiaris consortio - published by St. John Paul II in 1981 - and Amoris laetitia have stimulated the Church's doctrinal and pastoral commitment to the service of young people, spouses and families”.

In addition, the Pope briefly recalls the teachings of the Second Vatican Council - the family is ‘....‘the foundation of society’, a gift of God and ‘a school of the richest humanism’ - and emphasizes that “through the sacrament of marriage, Christian spouses constitute a kind of ‘domestic Church’, whose role is essential for the education and transmission of the faith”.

At Tor Vergata

The Pontiff also recalled the Jubilee of Youth last summer. There, “I had the opportunity to say to the young people gathered at Tor Vergata during the Jubilee of Hope, ‘I am very happy to have the opportunity to say to the young people gathered at Tor Vergata during the Jubilee of Hope, '....‘fragility [...], it is part of the wonder that we are’. We were not made ‘for a life where everything is firm and secure, but for an existence that is constantly regenerating itself in gift, in love’”.

Pope Leo XIV greets a baby and his family at the conclusion of his weekly general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, Aug. 27, 2025. (Photo by CNS/Vatican Media).

“Evoking the beauty of the vocation to marriage.”

The Pope recalls, as mentioned at the beginning, that “to fulfill the mission of proclaiming the Gospel of the family to the younger generations, we must learn to evoke the beauty of the vocation to marriage precisely in the recognition of its fragility, in order to awaken «trust in grace (AL 36) and the Christian desire for holiness”.

We must also support families, Leo XIV points out, “particularly those who suffer so many forms of poverty and violence present in contemporary society”.

In his Message, dated the Solemnity of St. Joseph today, the Pope gives “thanks to the Lord for the families who, despite difficulties and challenges, live «the spirituality of family love [...] made up of thousands of real and concrete gestures» (n. 315).

He expresses his “gratitude to pastors, pastoral workers, associations of the faithful and ecclesial movements involved in family pastoral care”.

The Church's commitment to those whom the Lord calls to marriage and the family

And he forcefully states that “our era is marked by rapid transformations that, even more so today than ten years ago, require a special pastoral care to families, to whom the Lord entrusts the task of participating in the Church's mission of proclaiming and bearing witness to the Gospel”.

In fact, he adds, the Pontiff, ^"there are places and circumstances in which the Church ‘can only become salt of the earth’ through the lay faithful and, in particular, through families.

Therefore, the Church's commitment in this area must be renewed and deepened, so that those whom the Lord calls to marriage and the family may live their married love in Christ and young people may be attracted to the intensity of the married vocation in the Church.”.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

Pope Leo XIV

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Bishop of Abuja (Nigeria) calls for real solutions to end violence

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Archbishop Kaigama of Abuja: “In Nigeria we suffer but we smile”.”

The Archbishop of Abuja (Nigeria), Monsignor Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, was the protagonist of the Omnes Forum on March 18, during which he shared with those present the reality of persecuted Christians in Nigeria.

Paloma López Campos-March 19, 2026-Reading time: 4 minutes

The Archbishop of Abuja (Nigeria), Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, was the protagonist of the Omnes Forum held on March 18 at CEU San Pablo. During the session, many people came to listen to the testimony of persecuted Christians in Nigeria, in this event organized together with Aid to the Church in Need and several promoters: the CARF Foundation, Banco Sabadell and the Catholic Association of Propagandists.

The journalist Raquel Martin moderated the dialogue with the Archbishop, who began by expressing his gratitude for the affection for Nigeria that he had felt during his visit to Spain, as well as for the work carried out by Aid to the Church in Need. That same affection, he explained, he felt in his recent audience with Pope Leo XIV, “who listened attentively to all the problems and fears expressed by the Nigerian bishops” “The Pope assured us of his prayers”, he continued, “and encouraged us to continue in the struggle”.

Table of speakers during the Omnes Forum.

Persecuted Christians

Monsignor Kaigama mentioned from the outset the harsh persecution to which Christians are subjected in the country. “Just before I left, one of the priests in my diocese had to flee his home after an attack. Many parishes are left empty because the priests are threatened and cannot stay there, but at the same time at the doors of their houses there are bullet holes.”.

«The goal of the attackers is to weaken the Christian faith.».

The stories told by the archbishop were even personal, as he narrated that his nephew was kidnapped along with another fellow seminarian and were held for two weeks in the hands of the kidnappers, “handcuffed and chained in a bathroom”.

“People,” he continued, “are attacked and killed, for the sole reason that they are Christians. The aim of the attackers is to weaken the Christian faith”. Summing up the situation, Bishop Kaigama said: “Nigeria is suffering, Nigerians are suffering”.

The Catholic Church, as persecuted as the other Christian denominations, suffers a lot in this situation. “People come to us when they are in trouble, because of the negligence of the government people feel abandoned and when they need help they come to the Church,” the archbishop explained. For this reason, “I no longer feel I am just a pastor, praying and blessing, but also a humanitarian worker”.

That is why the work done by institutions such as Aid to the Church in Need is so important and the speaker sincerely thanked them for their work and dedication. “With your faith and our faith, with your help and our determination, we will win,” said the priest.

Faith and prayer

“Faith and prayer are very powerful instruments,” Monsignor Kaigama assured. “We Nigerians are known to be a people of great faith and I believe that the reason Nigeria has not disintegrated is precisely because of this faith,” he said.

In this sense, the bishop recalled the European missionaries who throughout history went to Nigeria to evangelize. “You have taught us to pray, to forgive, to love,” he said. Something key, since the difficult conditions of the country lead many Christians to have, as the only resource for forgiveness, faith in God. “Humanly it is not possible, but with faith everything is possible,” he explained.

“I no longer feel like just a pastor, praying and blessing, but also like a humanitarian worker.”.

“In Nigeria we suffer but we smile,» said the Archbishop. Something that is only achieved through authentic forgiveness that is realized supported by faith. “I pray that forgiveness in the world will increase and that God will grant us all the gift of forgiveness,” he continued.

Need for action

But there is not only prayer in Christian communities. The speaker affirmed that Christians pray, but they also act and constantly ask the government to intervene. “We believe that God can touch the hearts of these people to move them to do the right thing,” he said.

He also sent a message to politicians around the world, saying that “we hope that other countries will also come, act and do something useful to end the root of this evil”. In this regard, he highlighted the crucial role of the media in showing what is happening and making a real impact.

The intercession of the Virgin Mary

In conclusion, Archbishop Kaigama highlighted the love that Nigerians feel for the Virgin Mary, to whom they always turn for help. “I always encourage the faithful to carry a Rosary with them, in their pocket, in their purse or wherever. Personally, so as never to forget to pray to Our Lady, I carry a Rosary in each pocket every day,” he said.

“The Virgin Mary is a pillar for us,” the speaker explained, “and we trust that she presents all our needs to the Blessed Trinity and that, by God's grace, we will overcome difficulties.”.

Joint prayer and blessing

At the end of the dialogue, José María Gallardo, president of Aid to the Church in Need in Spain, presented the campaign “....“Sana Nigeria: let persecution not have the last word”. Monsignor Kaigama then led a moment of prayer with those present and imparted his blessing.

Bishop of Abuja (Nigeria) calls for real solutions to end violence

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Spain

Line 105 Xtantos in income 2026: the work of the Church in each diocese

The “Bus Line 105 Xtantos” (the number of the Church's box on the income tax return), which last year toured the various dioceses of Spain, returns this year with a "Next stop" in each diocese. The participants will travel to the heart of the ecclesial activity in the closest environment.

Francisco Otamendi-March 19, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

The Church wishes to further demonstrate the beneficial impact on the lives of the people with whom we share neighborhoods and streets by marking the 'X' on the income tax return, this year's income 2026.

For this purpose, the `Bus line 105 Xtantos', which last year toured the various dioceses of Spain, returns this year with a “Next stop” to continue showing that the gratuitousness of a small gesture such as marking the 'X' in favor of the Church, its social and spiritual work, has a great impact on lives. A decision that, as is well known, does not involve any economic cost and benefits society as a whole.

The initiative, whose name refers to the number of the Church's box on the income tax return (105), continues to open the doors so that any citizen can check the real destination and impact of their tax allowance.

Live it in person: how to participate, registration until April 15

This year, therefore, the bishops point out that “the next stop is in each of the dioceses. In this way, the participants of the `Line 105 XtantosThey will learn firsthand about the impact of checking this box on their tax return.

To experience it firsthand, they explained at a note, You only need to access, from the web site Línea105Xtantos.es, The registration form for each diocese is open until April 15.

Afterwards, each diocese will contact the participants directly, a maximum of 15 people per route, to inform them of the day, time and meeting point for the visit, which will take place between April and June. Each diocese will design the format, by bus or on foot, and the days of the route according to its possibilities, although all will have in common to show how parishes and Christian communities live at the service of others.

Malaga, first stop of the new campaign

Raúl, Raquel, Juan, Myriam, Damián, Paola, Ana or Antonio have lived it in the previous experience that has been carried out in Malaga, explains the note. This year they are the faces and voices of this campaign. The testimonies of their experiences can also be seen on the website linea105ctantos.es

But to be able to tell the story, they have first lived it and have visited for 4 days various projects that transform the daily life of their city.

In many cases, these activities do not receive subsidies and their survival depends directly on the generosity of those who decide, freely and at no cost, to check box 105.

Four stops, four projects

The first stop of this ‘Line 105 Xtantos’ in Malaga was the center for the elderly of the parish of Santa Maria de la Amargura, a refuge against the 'epidemic' of loneliness that affects so many elderly people in the neighborhood.

The second is the Hogar San Carlos women's shelter, a family home where four Filipino nuns provide housing, food and training to four young mothers with small children.

The third stop was St. Paul Parish in the Trinidad neighborhood. Behind its doors, they were able to learn all that is involved in the proclamation, celebration and living of the faith. In addition, they were shown the work of the local confraternities and Caritas to build ‘a place of unconditional welcome’.

The fourth took place at the Cardenal Herrera Oria Diocesan School, where they learned about its Transition to Adult and Working Life program. An example of education understood as an exercise of care, service and social justice.

Change of perspective after ‘Line 105 Xtantos’.’

After the trip on Line 105, the perspective can be summarized as follows: “The impact of the Church's work has to be seen to be believed. There is a before and after ”Line 105 Xtantos'. If we all had the opportunity to ride this Line, we would be more objective with the Church.".

At the same time, passengers discover that "Putting the `X” in the box for the Church or in the `Other social purposes“ does not cost anything and they will not get back less”. and that "they can be part of what they have lived by allocating 0.7% of their taxes to these initiatives, without any economic consequence".

Duration and other campaign data

The campaign takes place from March 23 to June 30 (the deadline set by the Tax Agency to file the income tax return this year is from April 8 to June 30).

The investment is 2,827,000 euros + VAT, which is less than 1% of the amount raised in the previous year's campaign. And the media supports are spots on radio, television and digital formats, as well as in social networks and specialized publications.

The Xtantos newspaper, printed on sustainable paper, has a circulation of almost one million copies, along with 31,330 posters, which are available in Spanish, Basque, Catalan and Galician.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Boney M and the Gipsy Kings to perform at the 4th Resurrection Festival

The Resurrection Festival is back. This year 2026 will take place on April 11 in the Plaza de Cibeles and will be attended by Boney M, the Gypsy Kings, Hakuna and other relevant personalities in the world of Christian music.

Editorial Staff Omnes-March 19, 2026-Reading time: < 1 minute

On April 11, the Plaza de Cibeles will host the fourth edition of the Resurrection Concert organized by the Catholic Association of Propagandists (ACdP), “to commemorate the most important event in history: the Resurrection of the Lord”.

Two emblematic groups in the history of international music will add their special touch to an event that, in its third edition, gathered more than 85,000 people and that this year will take place on April 11.

Preparing for the Pope's visit

Alfonso Bullón de Mendoza, president of the Catholic Association of Propagandists, wanted to emphasize that this year's feast of the Resurrection “will also be a very special feast because it will warm up the motors for the Pope's visit in June".

Pablo Velasco, secretary of the Catholic Association of Propagandists, was in charge of presenting this year's novelties, and of announcing the Music and Faith Award, given by the ACdP, which this year went to the young Madrid-born Ángel Catela. Catela will also perform on stage in Cibeles in this IV concert.

An international concert

The international artist Liz Mitchell, from the group Boney M and the French gypsies of the Gipsy Kings will be the guest and central artists of this musical event. “They are cross-cutting artists, who unite all the generations that attend the concert,” said Velasco, of these two groups.

One more year, the Catholic group Hakuna and the DJ music of El Pulpo will return to the stages of Paseo de Cibeles. An appointment of music and faith that, as Hadria, one of the members of Hakuna, pointed out, “the more we do this kind of things that make us move, all this nourishes the faith”.

ACdP

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Monsignor Ocáriz: "Contact with poverty, with pain, helps to relativize problems".

The World

Ocáriz outlines lines of work for Opus Dei's centennial anniversary

In a message sent to the members of Opus Dei, Ocáriz makes a strong appeal to the personal responsibility of each one to carry out the mission of this Catholic institution.

Maria José Atienza-March 19, 2026-Reading time: 2 minutes

Fernando Ocáriz, prelate of Opus Dei, has directed a comprehensive message to the members of the Prelature.

Dated on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, monsignor Ocáriz wanted to address a few words to his “sons and daughters” in a message framed in the next centenary of the institution, which will take place on October 2, 2028.

Opus Dei “in your hands”.”

In this letter, monsignor Ocáriz makes a strong appeal to the personal responsibility of each of the members of the Work to carry out the mission of this Catholic institution: “the Work is in our hands”.

At the same time, he recalled and thanked the participants for their participation in the preparatory listening work for this anniversary: “Young and old, members of the Work, cooperators, friends and many people who were part of the Work at some point in their lives, you have stopped to consider how to incarnate today, with dynamic fidelity, the spirit that St. Josemaría received from God to serve the Church.

From the results of this participation, the prelate highlights three themes that he emphasizes in this message as the keys to living the vocation to the Work today: family, the work and training.

Bylaws still undated

Nor does Ocáriz avoid in this message the reality of the Statutes of Opus Dei whose process of revision and adaptation to the new apostolic constitution “Praedicate Evangelium” began “almost four years ago, and is still under study at the Holy See“.

The approval and publication of these bylaws, therefore, does not seem particularly imminent.

More vocations to family life, less to celibacy

The Prelate's words reveal a reality that is repeated in many ecclesial institutions: the growth of “people who seek him and who participate in the means of formation, the conversions that the Lord brings about through friendly relationships and new apostolic initiatives” and, at the same time, “the difficulties for young people to perceive the beauty of the call to apostolic celibacy”.

For this reason, Fernando Ocáriz points out that “with the passage of time, we will have to face the difficulty of the replacement of our elders, lay people and priests. This will make it necessary to look for new ways of continuing to fulfill our mission in each region. This situation will require - as has been unanimously pointed out in the Regional Assemblies - a priority focus on the apostolic work with young people and a genuine protagonism of the supernumeraries: to continue improving their formation so that we are all in the front line in this apostolate”.

Divine sonship, Eucharist and work

The prelate also wanted to look at the example of “the first Christians: men and women of every condition and origin who gave witness to their faith in Jesus Christ to the point of transforming society,” an analogy often used by the founder of Opus Dei.

Against this background, he points to the need to reflect on “central aspects of the spirit of Opus Dei: divine filiation, the Mass as the center and root of our existence, the value of ordinary life and the beauty of discovering that «something divine» hidden in the most common realities of work, family and civic life”.

Finally, Ocáriz called to consider “these three central teachings of St. Josemaría, with the desire to better serve the people around us, the Church and the whole of society” and to join in the Pope's intention for peace in the world in a special way.

Opus Dei

Monsignor Ocáriz: "Contact with poverty, with pain, helps to relativize problems".

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Scotland rejects euthanasia, affirms human dignity

Catholic bishops have welcomed the Scottish Parliament's decision on March 17 to reject the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill. A bill that would have allowed these patients to receive professional assistance to end their lives.

OSV / Omnes-March 19, 2026-Reading time: 4 minutes

- OSV News

Members of the Scottish Parliament, known as Holyrood, “can rest assured that they have taken the right and responsible action,” the president of the country's bishops' conference said in a press release March 17.

‘Protecting the most vulnerable people’

“Their vote serves to protect some of Scotland's most vulnerable people from the risk of being pressed into premature death,” said Bishop John Keenan of Glasgow, who chairs the bishops' conference.

“Every human life has intrinsic value. True compassion is not expressed by ending a life, but by accompanying those who suffer and ensuring that they receive the medical, emotional and spiritual support that recognizes their dignity. No life is worthless,” the statement said.

The bill was introduced in March 2024 by Scottish MP Liam McArthur. Under the bill, eligibility requirements included being 18 years of age or older, suffering from a terminal illness, and possessing sufficient capacity to make and understand the decision. The bill was recently amended to raise the minimum age from 16 to 18.

This bill would have been the first in the United Kingdom - of which Scotland is a part, along with England, Wales and Northern Ireland - to allow euthanasia for terminally ill adults.

Freedom to vote

As reported by the Associated Press, Holyrood MPs “had been given a free vote on the euthanasia bill, which meant they could decide according to their conscience, rather than following party guidelines.”.

“As a society, our responsibility is not to address suffering by eliminating the sufferer, but to surround each person with care, respect and dignity until their natural end,” the Scottish bishop wrote. He added that the March 17 decision “moves Scotland even further in that direction.”.

Strengthening palliative care is next priority

That, too, requires concrete measures, stresses the communiqué, posted on the bishops“ conference website, with an informative mention to The Tablet. »Our next priority must be to strengthen palliative care, ensuring that it is adequately funded and accessible to all who need it," it states.

A file photo shows a health care worker comforting an elderly patient. Volunteers with the Archdiocese of San Antonio's Hospital Ministry carry the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and help minister spiritually to the sick (Foot OSV/Hannah McKay, pool via Reuters).

A decisive and influential victory

Groups opposed to the measure called the 69 to 57 vote a “great victory” watershed moment, possibly influencing future debates across the UK. It was recently reported that the British Parliament could finally rejecting the legislation long-debated British law that would allow assisted suicide.

In its March 17 release, Right to Life stated that David Bol, deputy political editor of The Scotsman, described the final vote on the bill as “potentially the most important decision in the history of the Scottish Parliament,” a sentiment shared by other leading political commentators.

Right to Life stated that the Scottish public had “serious concerns about the legalization of assisted suicide and the negative impact it would have on Scotland's most vulnerable people,” citing recent statistics.

Concern for victims of domestic violence

Women's policy think tank The Other Half found that 7 in 10 Scottish women were concerned that victims of domestic violence might feel pressured to end their lives if euthanasia were legalized.

“After eating disorder activists warned that people with eating disorders would be eligible for assisted suicide under the bill, the think tank released a poll that found only one in five Scots would support legislation allowing anorexia patients to end their lives through assisted suicide,” the organization stated.

Meanwhile, advocacy group Not Dead Yet UK revealed that 69% of Scottish adults agreed that the Scottish Parliament should prioritize improving access to care for people with disabilities before an assisted suicide bill is introduced, according to Right to Life, which added that only 18% of Scots disagreed.

Protesters held a banner outside Parliament as British lawmakers debated the assisted dying bill in London Nov. 29, 2024, which continues to move through parliament. (Photo OSV News/Mina Kim, Reuters),

‘Principle of human dignity’

Expressing his gratitude to members of the Scottish Parliament, Bishop Keenan said he was “especially grateful to those who stood up for the principle of human dignity and advocated for the most vulnerable. Their principled commitment has not gone unnoticed.”.

While the UK Assisted Suicide Bill is expected to fail as a result of the Scottish Parliament's decision, concerns are growing about other life-related issues in UK law.

On March 18, the House of Lords will vote on an amendment to remove a clause in the Crime and Policing Bill decriminalizing abortion. Under this clause, it would no longer be illegal for women to have abortions for any reason, at any time up to or during childbirth.

Proposed amendment to the UK abortion law

“Clause 208, decriminalizing abortion, was inserted into the Crime and Policing Bill after an amendment was passed in the House of Commons last June after just 46 minutes of debate,” stated civil rights advocacy organization Christian Concern in a March 18 press release. In it, it announced a demonstration in London “to rally in opposition to the vote on abortion in the House of Lords.”.

Organized by Christian Concern, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, March for Life UK and other pro-life groups, the rally is expected to draw “hundreds” of people to call on members of Parliament to reject abortion up to the moment of birth.

The authorOSV / Omnes

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Disability as a gift: a call to rebuild humanity

Initiatives

Astier Foundation: the center of women who always smile

In Alcalá de Henares there is a house where live 149 women with intellectual disabilities who every day write their own history. The Astier Foundation, after a small revolution in the way of understanding assistance, has become a pioneering center in many aspects in the way of enhancing the dignity of the person above all things. Its protagonists tell the story.

Guadalupe García Corigliano-March 19, 2026-Reading time: 6 minutes

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“Center for Women with Extraordinary Abilities”, is the self-described name of the Astier Foundation on its website, and it is something that is not far from reality. When we arrive at this house, we are invaded by an enormous warmth, which quickly dilutes the cold outside. Greetings that come forward and hugs that do not ask for permission. A new face is a novelty, and questions multiply as we begin to talk.

Astier is home to 149 women with disability The intellectual and professional staff is made up of around 120 professionals and some 60 volunteers. But, beyond these numbers, there are concrete -and smiling- faces that welcome us. With a strong Mercedarian charisma, this center has 134 years of history and a long life ahead of it.

Isabel approaches with her briefcase of paints and waits for us. Because, for the interview, we have occupied the room where she usually comes to paint at this time and, of course, routines are routines. She shyly greets us and obeys our request to go somewhere else and see us later, just for today. However, she stays in the hallway and, every now and then, takes the opportunity to peek in and ask how much longer.

Wiping away all tears

What we know today as the Fundación Astier Centro San José had its beginnings in 1892 when Doña Sofía Astier y Balboa, a sensitive, committed and kind-hearted woman, contemplating the social inequalities of her time, founded the Asilo San José at 49 Ayala Street, for “handicapped” women who could not fend for themselves.

Years later, in 1913, the Congregation of the Mercedarian Sisters of Charity, in keeping with the charism of redemptive charity bequeathed by their founder, Blessed Juan Zegrí, took charge of this social work.

In 1972, given the number of residents and the demands of the center, they decided to move to where they are located today, in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid. Nineteen sisters with 192 women carried forward the foundation of the Centro San José.

“The mission proposed by Father Zegrí was to ”cure all wounds, remedy all ills, soothe all sorrows, banish all needs, wipe away all tears, not to leave, if possible, a single abandoned, afflicted, helpless person in the whole world, without religious education and without resources". Loli, a nursing assistant for 25 years and a member of the pastoral team, remembers it.

In those years there was no universal social security and disability was hidden behind curtains. Zegrí was a “visionary” in his time: he understood that the first poverty is the lack of recognition and decided to give these women the dignity they deserved.

Dignity before welfarism

For decades, the center functioned as a large family: those who had more autonomy helped, together with the sisters, those who needed more support. With the passage of time, and after more than half a century of history, complete professionalization became essential. Astier has experienced the transition from a traditional care model to a person-centered one.

Borja Lucas González, the first lay director of the center, is in charge of its management. Under his direction, three areas form the backbone of the house, guided by a Board of Trustees still made up of Mercedarian nuns. First, the technical part (social, psychosocial and health), development (communication, alliances, innovation and quality) and welfare (personnel, services and maintenance). Order and professionalization at the service of something much deeper: dignity.

“There used to be a different view of care,” Borja explains. “It was essential to prevent diseases, that they were clean and cared for. That is still important. But now we understand that what is essential is what makes each person a person, what their life project is.”.

It is no longer just a matter of providing care, but of recognizing the existence of each woman and giving them a place in society. It seeks to promote the dignity and advancement of women with intellectual disabilities.

Leading with closeness

Borja came to the foundation in 2008 as a nurse. “I fell in love with this house and the congregation, which has a deep vocation of service to others,” he confesses. Five years ago, he took over the direction of Astier. He tours the wards every day, talks with teams and residents, detects needs on the ground. “It's a beautiful and very vocational job, but it's also hard and intense”.

After having worked in different areas of the hospital, she recognizes that the foundation allows for a broader vision of health, including prevention and community care: “Here you understand what dimensions make each person a person”.

She speaks of close leadership, mentoring in the culture of change and humanizing the residence: each woman must be the protagonist of her own life project. “I would like Astier's example to inspire the sector to move towards the only possible path: treating people with disabilities as people.”.

In a corporate world where masks abound, Borja vindicates the naturalness of the residents. “They are spontaneous in a world where we all put on masks for everything”. And although he admits that, of course, there are difficulties, he highlights the capacity for affection and sensitivity that the women at Astier have.

A day at Astier

“No day is the same here,” smiles Loli. Then she lists a series of routines: getting up, taking a shower, getting dressed, having breakfast, attending workshops according to each one's abilities. Daily habits that build autonomy: brushing teeth, grooming, tidying up one's own space.

On Sundays there are Mass in the chapel. Liturgical seasons and activities are celebrated with the Mercedarian community and many families accompany. Faith and the Mercedarian charism sustain the house. “The sisters are the ones who taught us how to do our work,” says Loli.

But life at Astier is not only inside the center. The residents visit universities, institutes and companies. They give testimonials, explain who they are, break down prejudices.

They also have an auditorium where there are performances, music, dance, always promoting friendship and good relations: “We seek to create spaces in which the atmosphere is as cordial, pleasant and fun as possible. Here we sing, dance and do everything”, describes Loli.

When a new woman arrives - often because her parents have aged and can no longer care for her - the initial fear usually dissipates quickly. “Experience tells us that they find relationships with equals, a world to discover,” says Borja.

An extension of the family

Loli's work, although it is rather “practical”, often also has to do with “wiping away many tears” as taught by Father Zegrí. She is passionate and dedicated to the task, and does not want her retirement time to come.

When she speaks, her eyes water: “Today I wouldn't change this job for the world. She recalls that she sent in her resume without knowing anything about disability. Now Astier is not only her job, it is also her refuge: ”Many times I come here with worries... but when I walk through that door, I forget everything“.

She says that the residents detect her mood with surprising finesse: “If I come in with a bad face, they immediately ask me what's wrong with me. Some recognize her footsteps in the corridor and call out her name before they see her. A kind of sixth sense that is part of these ”extraordinary abilities“.

He has learned a lesson that he repeats almost as an examination of conscience: to do good at the right time. He recalls a deceased resident to whom he was unable to grant a small favor on the last day. “You always have to do things at the time because later it may be too late.” At Astier, tears are wiped away, yes, but more joy is received than given.

For Loli, the inmates are part of her family: “I love them like my family, I really do, because of course I know them and they know me,” she says, and emphasizes how they have taught her to value every moment and to be a better person.

Courage and humor

Charo is 72 years old and has lived in Astier since she was 18. She arrived just as the house was moving to Alcalá. She is blind due to a stroke. She used to scrub stairs from end to end; now she knits with an astonishing precision: “Everyone tells me that it looks like I'm doing it by machine”. Her new condition made her develop new manual and memory skills but, above all, a positive attitude towards life.

She remembers how, when she was young, they helped the younger ones: bathing them when there were no showers, dressing them, making beds if there was time: “This house we have managed with my companions who are in heaven and with the sisters. After losing her sight she developed tactile memory and an amazing ability to order colors in her head. ”In my life there are many important things: my cane and my illusion,“ she says.

She is the one who always says ‘yes’ to all activities: she has been a guide on tours of the city, she has been filmed for documentaries and always goes out when there are events. She is the natural ambassador of the house. At Christmas and summer she goes with her brothers and nephews; the family is always there. “For me, Astier is like being at home. I don't miss anything here. There are people who have nowhere to shelter; for me this place is welcoming.”.

When asked about his joy, he laughs and answers: “That's my character. With difficulties you have to have courage and humor. And he offers practical advice for those who lose their sight: ”Don't lose your memory, your sense of touch, your intelligence or your joy.

Extraordinary capabilities

The cultural change in Astier is also noticeable in the environments. With the latest renovation, the ‘Villa Delta’ involved them. “What would you like your home to be like?”, we asked the residents, says Borja. Each was encouraged to personalize her room and take care of it. Not as something decorative, but as an affirmation of identity.

For years, disability was taboo. Today these women visit companies, universities, parishes. They show themselves without complexes. The Foundation also works on external communication so that families and institutions get to know the model and adapt it. Social integration is a daily practice.

“The most disadvantaged are God's favorites,” Loli reminds us. Here that phrase translates into health care, psychological support and spiritual accompaniment, guided by strong professional leadership. It's about being family.

The Foundation has received recognition without seeking it. Professionals in the sector have stated, “What I have seen here I don't usually see anywhere else.” The person-centered model is beginning to be replicated. The knowledge generated serves other centers and families seeking guidance.

In times that measure value in productivity, Astier insists on something more radical: every life, with or without disability, has infinite value. And when it is given space to unfold, extraordinary capacities flourish - to a great extent.

The authorGuadalupe García Corigliano

Caring for people with disabilities: a perspective on the meaning of life. Related News

Disability as a gift: a call to rebuild humanity

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Gospel

Raising the dead. Fifth Sunday of Lent (A)

Vitus Ntube comments on the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (A) corresponding to March 22, 2026.

Vitus Ntube-March 19, 2026-Reading time: 2 minutes

Today our Lenten gallery places us before a tomb, a cemetery. We are in Bethany, the village of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, so close to Jerusalem, a short distance away. It is here, on the threshold between life and death, that the Gospel of the resurrection of Lazarus takes place (Jn 11:1-45).

The humanity of Christ is evident in these verses. We see a God who feels, who weeps, who consoles, who accompanies. We see friendship with Lazarus and with his sisters, Martha and Mary.

At the center of this dramatic scene is a decisive revelation. Jesus says to Martha, «I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.» (Jn 11:11). This same promise echoes in the first reading from the prophet Ezekiel, «I myself will open your graves, and bring you out of them.» (Ezekiel 37:12). God reveals himself as the one who brings life from what seems hopelessly dead, who restores hope where only dry bones remain. We are clearly presented with the theme of the restoration of life, the victory of life over death. We have, so to speak, a foretaste of the paschal mystery in today's readings.

Before the tomb of Lazarus we find a place destined for the dead, but in the presence of Christ it becomes a place of life. A place of tears is transformed into a place of consolation. Moreover, Jesus shows us that the resurrection he proclaims is a real possibility and not just an idea or a future promise. Conversion, therefore, is not simply a moral improvement; it is a return to life. The essence of conversion is to find ourselves again in Christ.

Jesus once told his apostles that their mission would include: «Heal the sick, raise the dead.» (Mt 10:8). This mission is not reserved only for the apostles; it is entrusted to every Christian. When Christ gave this instruction, he was not referring only to raising dead bodies, but to restoring life to hearts burdened by guilt, pain or vice; to giving life to those who are spiritually dead; to restoring Christ to people's hearts. The parable of the prodigal son illustrates this eloquently.

During Lent we are called to participate in this work of raising the dead. We are invited to help those around us to rediscover life in Christ and to allow Christ to resurrect what is dead within us. Sin and vice slowly suffocate the heart, but conversion restores life. Perhaps our own hearts, or those close to us, have been buried for four days, four weeks or even four months. Like Lazarus, they may seem sealed behind a stone, but Jesus knows how to remove stones. He is not repelled by the smell of death. He approaches with the heart of a friend who loves, who feels, who weeps, and it is precisely this love that moves the stone. In this time of Lent, we too are called to participate in this power of love: through a smile, a word of forgiveness, the willingness to listen, the patience to accompany someone in pain or difficulty.

We often remember that burying the dead is a work of mercy. Today, the liturgy reminds us of another equally urgent task, to raise the dead, especially the spiritually dead, as we prepare to celebrate Easter.

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The World

Bishop of Abuja (Nigeria) calls for real solutions to end violence

The campaign “Heal Nigeria: Don't let persecution have the last word” aims to raise awareness of the essential role of the local Church and to provide urgent support to enable it to continue its work.

Javier García Herrería-March 18, 2026-Reading time: 2 minutes

At a press conference held this morning in Madrid by Aid to the Church in Need, the Archbishop of Abuja, Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, warned of the upsurge in violence against Christians in Nigeria and made an urgent appeal to the international community.

In recent months, the incessant attacks on several Christian communities in the north and center of the country, the massacre of 259 Christians in the village of Yelwata in June, the kidnapping of 265 pupils in a school in Papiri in November or of 172 people in Kaduna, among many other events, have put Christians in the country in an extreme situation. More than 200 priests have been abducted over the last decade as a result of the wave of violence ravaging the country.

The campaign “Sana Nigeria: let persecution not have the last word.” the essential role of the local Church and to provide support to the local church. The Catholic Church is working urgently so that it can continue to work for peace and stability and «restore hope to this country devastated by pain,» said José María Gallardo, director of ACN Spain. Faced with this dramatic situation, the Catholic Church works tirelessly to bring hope to its people exhausted by suffering. One of the main challenges is to prevent and heal the trauma caused by the attacks, kidnappings and assassinations.

International intervention

During his speech, the prelate valued the recent position of the United States government on the situation in his country, although he qualified its effects: “Today we have Donald Trump, who just recently started talking about this persecution and we say thank you.», although he adds that the reasons for persecuting Christians are not only religious.

Kaigama noted that although organizations such as ACN have been denouncing the situation for years, the involvement of political leaders in other countries has been limited: “Yes it's true that there are organizations like ACN and others who, over the years, have been talking about these problems, but it's not the leaders of nations, it's not the nations themselves that have been part of this.”.

Procuring consequences

However, he denounced that actions following the U.S. government's statements have had negative consequences on the ground: “At Christmas we received a ‘gift’: a bomb that fell on Nigerian soil, which I really couldn't say if it did any good.. That incident coupled with Donald Trump's words have greatly inflamed the passion of the Islamists out there in this territory.”.

The result, he said, has been a significant increase in violence: “The amount of attacks by Boko Haram and other military groups, the amount of killings, the amount of evil, has accelerated, has risen to a different level.”.

Finally, the archbishop launched a direct appeal for international cooperation: “This message goes to all the leaders of Western nations who benefit from Christianity, benefit from Christian culture. Help us fix what is happening.”.

The speech concluded with a clear call for sustained and coordinated support to stop the violence and protect Christian communities in Nigeria.

Nigeria

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Becciu's trial at the Vatican: three keys of interpretation

The Vatican

Vatican appeals court partially annuls Becciu trial

In a 16-page ruling handed down on March 17, the Vatican Court of Appeal declared that prosecutors in the trial of Cardinal Becciu committed procedural errors that violated the defendants' right to a fair defense.

OSV News Agency-March 18, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

- Courtney Mares / OSV News

The Vatican appeals court declared a partial mistrial in the controversial financial misappropriation case involving Cardinal Angelo Becciu and other defendants, alleging procedural errors on the part of the prosecution in the trial held at the Vatican which, in 2023, had resulted in a prison sentence for the cardinal for various embezzlement offenses.

In a 16-page ruling handed down on March 17, the Court of Appeal, presided over by Archbishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo, declared that Vatican prosecutors committed procedural errors that violated the defendants' right to a fair defense.

Some parts of the original procedure are void

Without completely annulling the trial, the court ruled that some parts of the original trial were void and should be re-examined, including witness statements and the evaluation of specific evidence. The next hearing is scheduled for June 22.

The court specified that the sentence of “relative nullity” does not completely annul the legal effects of the original sentence of December 2023, in which Cardinal Becciu was sentenced to five and a half years in prison, permanent disqualification from holding public office and a fine of more than $8,000.

Real estate operation in London

The case revolves around the Holy See's investment of some 350 million euros (nearly $404 million) in a luxury real estate project in London between 2014 and 2018. Prosecutors had alleged that several intermediaries and Vatican officials pocketed tens of millions of euros in improper fees and commissions during the acquisition.

The saga of the Vatican's “trial of the century,” which lasted nearly two and a half years and featured 86 sessions, found Cardinal Becciu and eight other defendants guilty on charges including fraud and abuse of power, and the court ordered the Holy See to pay tens of millions of euros in damages. All the defendants pleaded not guilty and appealed.

The prosecutor's office is ordered to make public the complete case file.

Among the most important provisions of the March 17 ruling, the court ordered the Office of the Promoter of Justice - the Vatican equivalent of the public prosecutor's office - headed by Alessandro Diddi, to deposit in the court's secretariat, by April 30, the complete and uncensored file of all the documents of the investigation.

The defense lawyers had alleged that they had only received part of the material, with key documents censored. Among the omitted content, as noted in the sentence, were chat messages about the witness Monsignor Alberto Perlasca, former director of the Administrative Office of the Secretariat of State.

The prosecution had argued that the deletions were necessary to protect parallel investigations, but the appellate court upheld the defense, finding that the omissions constituted a fundamental procedural violation.

The parties will have until June 15 to review all documentation and prepare their respective arguments.

Papal decrees at the center of controversy

The ruling also addressed a separate but related controversy over four papal rescripts - or executive decrees - issued by the late Pope Francis that greatly expanded the investigative powers of the Office of the Promoter of Justice during investigations. Defense lawyers alleged that the rescripts were not issued in a timely manner and were not communicated to the defense until just before the original trial began, depriving the defendants of crucial information during the investigative phase.

The court of appeal considered that one of the rescripts had, in practice, a legislative character, and that the fact that Pope Francis had not made it public had rendered it ineffective.

This finding has important implications for the retrial, as it calls into question a series of actions taken by the Prosecutor's Office under the authority conferred by those papal decrees, including the 2020 arrest of agent Gianluigi Torzi, who was held for ten days in Vatican facilities and interrogated without charge and without judicial supervision.

New Pope, new call for judicial credibility

The ruling came just days after Pope Leo XIV inaugurated the Vatican City judicial year with a speech in which he referred to the importance of “the observance of due process, the impartiality of the judge, the effectiveness of the right of defense and the reasonable length of proceedings” to preserve institutional authority and stability.

“Love and truth are inseparable: only by loving do we know the truth, and love for the truth leads us to discover charity as its fullness,” the Pope affirmed. “This is why justice, when exercised with balance and fidelity to the truth, becomes one of the most solid factors of unity within the community.”.

This news was first published in English in OSV News. You can read the original text HERE.

The authorOSV News Agency

Becciu's trial at the Vatican: three keys of interpretation

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The Vatican

Pope encourages “common mission” of ordained and laity to spread faith

On the eve of the Solemnity of “St. Joseph, Heavenly Patron of the Universal Church” on March 19, the Pope reinforced in today's Audience “the common mission that unites ordained ministers and the lay faithful” to “spread and defend the faith, as true witnesses of Christ.”.

Francisco Otamendi-March 18, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

On the eve of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, to whom the Pope entrusted “the intentions and aspirations of everyone”, Leo XIV told the Arabic-speaking faithful, especially those from the Middle East, that “Christians are called to be instruments of peace, love and reconciliation”.

Moreover, reflecting on the Dogmatic Constitution «Lumen Gentium», he encouraged “the common mission that unites ordained ministers and the lay faithful” to spread and defend the faith, as true witnesses of Christ”.

“Every baptized person, an active subject of evangelization.”

In front of about twenty thousand people in St. Peter's Square, the Pontiff underlined in catechesis that “every baptized person is an active subject of evangelization, called to give a coherent witness to Christ according to the prophetic gift that the Lord instills in his whole Church”.

The Council Fathers teach, the Pope said, that the Lord Jesus instituted a kingdom of priests through the new and eternal Covenant, constituting his disciples into a ‘royal priesthood’.

“This common priesthood of the faithful is given to us in Baptism, which enables us to worship God in spirit and in truth and to ‘confess before men the faith which they have received from God through the Church’ (LG, 11).

Moreover, “through the sacrament of Confirmation, all the baptized «become more closely bound to the Church, are enriched with a special power of the Holy Spirit. And thereby they are more strictly bound to spread and defend the faith, as true witnesses of Christ, by word and deed” (ibid.).

“We all enter the Church as lay people.”

“This consecration is at the root of the common mission that unites ordained ministers and the lay faithful,” he noted. In this regard, he recalled that Pope Francis observed thus. “To look at the People of God is to remember that we all enter the Church as laity. The first sacrament, the one that forever seals our identity and of which we should always be proud is that of baptism (...)”.

“Through him and with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, (the faithful) “remain consecrated as a spiritual house and holy priesthood” (LG 10), then we all form the Holy Faithful People of God” (Letter to the President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, March 19, 2016).”.

To English and German speakers: participation in the Eucharist, the Holy Mass

The exercise of the royal priesthood takes place in many ways, all of them aimed at our sanctification, above all by participating in the offering of the Eucharist, the Pope continued.

Perhaps for this reason, in his words to pilgrims in various languages, he referred to the Eucharist, to the Holy Mass. For example, in greeting the English-speaking faithful: “Through the sacrament of baptism, each of us is called to share in the royal priesthood of Christ (1 Pet 2:9) and to worship him in spirit and in truth, especially through our participation in the Eucharist”.

And further on, to the German-speaking people: “Dear German-speaking brothers and sisters, let us live the common priesthood of the baptized through works of penance, charity towards our brothers and sisters and faithful and assiduous participation in Holy Mass”.

Spanish language: witness to Christ, according to the charisms and vocation received.

In his words to the Spanish-speaking faithful and pilgrims, the Successor of Peter emphasized the unity in the mission of the Church, and that “each baptized person bears witness to Christ, according to the charisms and vocation he or she has received”.

“Let us give thanks to God for the gifts and charisms with which he enriches, edifies and beautifies his people, and let us ask him not to cease to accompany them and guide them along paths of peace. May the Lord bless you”, he added.

Consecrated life and ecclesiastical associative forms

Earlier, in his catechesis, the Pope had referred to the Holy Spirit, who dispenses his gifts among the faithful. And he gave two examples of this action:

“The charismatic vitality” of the consecrated life, which continually springs forth and flourishes by the work of grace. And “even ecclesial associative forms are a shining example of the variety and fruitfulness of the spiritual fruits for the edification of the People of God”.

Poles: “the imagination of charity”.”

To Portuguese-speakers, the Pope asked them to “always be consistent witnesses of the Gospel”.

To the Poles he pointed out that “the season of Lent encourages us to express the meaning of faith also through the ‘imagination of charity’. May the charitable works, promoted in parishes by charitable associations and Caritas Poland, be an opportunity to practice almsgiving and the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. I bless you all!”.

In concluding, the Pope asked that we “awaken in ourselves the awareness and gratitude of having received the gift of being part of God's people; and also the responsibility that this entails”.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

Pope Leo XIV

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José Manuel Almuzara: «Gaudí used his architecture as a tool for prayer».»

José Manuel Almuzara, Gaudí's biographer, explains the sanctity of the famous architect, whose beatification could be announced at any moment.

Javier García Herrería-March 18, 2026-Reading time: 4 minutes

For more than three decades, José Manuel Almuzara has been one of the key figures in the dissemination of the spiritual figure of Antoni Gaudí. An architect by training, he has been president of the Association for the beatification of the Catalan architect since June 10, 1992. He has just published the book Gaudí, the architect of the soul, where he gathers testimonies and experiences of people who, through Gaudí's work, have experienced a profound inner transformation.

The cause took a decisive step forward when Pope Francis signed, on April 14, 2025, the decree that recognizes the heroic virtues of Gaudi, which makes him “venerable”. Almuzara, which has devoted decades to promoting his devotion and the artistic value of his work, talks about the most specific episodes of his spiritual life and his daily religious practice.

You have been promoting Gaudí's cause of beatification for more than 30 years. How did it all begin?

ーAbout fifty years ago I was studying architecture in Barcelona and met two of Gaudí's direct disciples who were working on the Basilica of the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. They were about 85 years old and they directed the works. They invited me to their workshop and that's where it all started.

I was first attracted to the architecture, then to the man and finally to the Christian. Over time we saw that Gaudí not only made an impact through his work, but that he moved people inwardly, even to conversion.

So five lay people - two architects, an engineer, a sculptor and a retired man - founded the association in 1992 to promote his beatification. At the beginning, many people told us that it was crazy, but here we are now.

The Church asks for fame of sanctity and universal devotion for a cause. What concrete examples have you seen?

ーA lot of them. We received letters from all over the world. I remember a very special one from an executive of the Pusan Chamber of Commerce in South Korea. He was a practicing Buddhist. The government gave him a week to travel to Barcelona to prepare an exhibition on Gaudi. After that week he wrote a beautiful letter. It said: “Gaudí's architecture makes people discover the divine breath that beats in it”. And he added something even more surprising: that he had returned to Korea with the desire to become a Catholic. And so it was: he ended up being baptized.

Another case was that of an Italian architect, Sandro Rondena. He had a cancer considered incurable. His family went to pray at Gaudi's tomb in the Sagrada Familia. Some time later he was cured and returned to Barcelona with fifty friends to give thanks. The doctors studied the case and considered it extraordinary, although he had to wait five years, eventually the disease reappeared and he died years later. But that episode left a very deep mark.

In your book you talk a lot about Gaudí's spiritual life. What was he like in practice?

ーGaudi had a very intense religious life. He prayed the rosary, went to daily Mass, received communion frequently, read the Gospel, participated in processions. But there are lesser known aspects. For example, at Holy Family he joined the days of atonement to ask God's forgiveness for the blasphemies heard in society. It was not something symbolic: he personally participated in these days of prayer.

He also had great devotion to the Virgin. Yes, it is very interesting. In Park Güell he designed some viaducts with stone spheres. If you count them, there are exactly 150. Why? Because they are the 150 mysteries of the traditional rosary. Gaudí would walk through the park and pray the rosary counting those spheres. In other words, his architecture was also a tool for prayer.

What was a normal day like in Gaudí's spiritual life?

ーWhen I lived in Parc Güell I used to walk down to Mass at the church of San Juan de Gràcia. Then I would have breakfast and go to the crypt of the Sagrada Familia. There he would pray kneeling in front of the tabernacle. And something very curious: he never used a kneeler. He put a handkerchief on the floor and knelt on it to pray. In the afternoon he went to vespers at the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, where he also had spiritual direction with the Oratorian Agustí Mas.

One of the most surprising episodes of his life is an extreme fast. It took place in Lent 1894. Gaudi was deeply impressed by the example of Christ in the desert and decided to imitate him. He wanted to do forty days of fasting and penance. A disciple of his, the draftsman Ricard Opisso, was alarmed that Gaudi's condition was dangerous. It was then that he went to the bishop of Vic, Josep Torras i Bages, to intervene. The bishop had to convince him to moderate his penance.

Benedict XVI said that Gaudí “preached with his architecture”. Do you share that idea?

ーTotally. Gaudi did not preach with words, nor speeches, but with stones, strokes, symbols. All his architecture speaks of God. For example, in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia he placed in the keystone of the vault the “yes” of Mary. And if you draw a vertical line from that point you arrive at the star that crowns the tower of the Virgin. It is like a message: if you have Mary in your heart, you can give light to the world.

What does Leo XIV's upcoming visit to the Sagrada Familia mean to you?

ーIt is going to be a very exciting event. When Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI visited the Sagrada Familia, neither came down to pray at Gaudí's tomb. But there are indications that the current pontiff, Leo XIV, might do so. To see the Pope praying at the tomb of the venerable Gaudí would be the most impressive and exciting thing for me.

There is still a lot of sculptural work to be done in some chapels of the Sagrada Familia, when do you think it will be finished?

(Almuzara smiles and remembers the answer Gaudí himself always gave). ー “My client is in no hurry”. A phrase that sums up the spirituality of an architect who conceived his work not only as an artistic project, but as an authentic catechesis of stone.

Gaudí, the architect of the soul

Author: José Manuel Almuzara

Editorial: Roca

No. of pages: 224

Year: 2026

Gaudi

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Cinema

Irish actress Jessie Buckley's message of family and life at the Oscars

Oscar-winning Irish actress Jessie Buckley, who won an Oscar for her performance in “Hamnet,” delivered an attention-getting message of love to mothers, her husband, Fred, and life at the Academy Awards. “I love you, man. I love you. You're the most amazing dad,” she told him.

OSV / Omnes-March 18, 2026-Reading time: 4 minutes

- Michael Kelly, Dublin, OSV News

Upon winning the best actress award for her portrayal of Agnes Shakespeare in “Hamnet,” Irish actress Jessie Buckley exclaimed a couple of days ago, “I would like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos of a mother's heart. We all come from a lineage of women who continue to create against all odds,” she said.

She also told her husband Fred, statuette in hand, “You're my best friend, and I want to have 20,000 more babies with you. Yes, yes, yes!” “I love you, man. I love you. You're the most amazing dad".

While holding the coveted Oscar statuette, Buckley recalled that the ceremony coincided with Mother's Day in his native Ireland. “I would like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos of a mother's heart. We all come from a lineage of women who continue to create against all odds,” she added.

He dedicated the award to his 8-month-old daughter Isla.

Buckley became a mother for the first time in 2025, and told the audience that included dozens of Hollywood stars, that she wanted to dedicate the award to her daughter “Isla, my 8-month-old little girl, who has no idea what's going on and probably dreams of milk, but this is a big deal. I love you and I love being your mom, and I can't wait to discover life by your side,” Buckley said.

On March 17, as the 80 million people of Irish descent around the world celebrated Ireland's national patron saint, St. Patrick, a Briton who brought Christianity to the island in 432, the Irish convent school that gave the world the Oscar-winning actress Jessie Buckley, is brimming with pride.

Following her dazzling ceremony in Hollywood, Catholic Jessie Buckley is receiving praise on social media for her acceptance speech, which conveys an unwavering pro-life and pro-family message, assuring young women that they can prioritize both their careers and their families.

Convent and school in Thurles, proudly

It was at the Ursuline convent in Thurles, County Tipperary, where Buckley first showcased her acting talent, and the local community said the alumna “has filled us with great pride.”.

In a March 16 Facebook post, Ursuline High School in Thurles said it is “immensely proud to congratulate alumna Jessie Buckley on her Oscar win for Best Actress at the 2026 Academy Awards.”.

“Agnes Shakespeare's tender, insightful and resilient performance in ‘Hamnet,’ which earned her this award, marks an extraordinary high point in what has been an impressive career to date,” the release said.

“Following Jessie's extraordinary career path has filled us with great pride and her work has graced our school community through her remarkable passion, talent and commitment to her craft,” the release continued.

Jessie Buckley, winner of the best actress Oscar for “Hamnet,” poses in the Oscar photo room at the 98th Academy Awards in Los Angeles March 15, 2026. (Photo by OSV News/Mario Anzuoni, Reuters).

“Exceptional talent and dedication.”

“From the school level to the world stage, Jessie's success is testament to her exceptional talent and dedication. She has always been, and now more than ever, an inspiration to all of us at our school.”.

“Jessie's journey,” added the school community, “represents all of the values we hold dear here at Ursuline: excellence, dedication, creativity and humility. This win also exemplifies the potential we believe resides in each of our students.”.

The school proudly recalled a visit Buckley made in 2019 to address the entire school community.

“She told students that, as girls, they should never be afraid of their own potential and reminded them that they are more powerful than they can imagine,” the release said. “Jessie continues to be a shining example of this and what can be achieved with talent and dedication.”.

The entire Ursuline community celebrates

“We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Jessie, her family and all those who have supported her throughout her professional journey. The entire Ursuline community celebrates this important achievement with her and we feel privileged to have been a part of her journey,” added the school community.

It was at the convent school that Buckley first stepped on stage and honed his acting skills. He played three leading roles in school musicals: Freddy in “Chess,” Adam in “Children of Eden” and Tony in “West Side Story.” His star talent was evident even from those early roles, according to his former teacher.

‘Look at her, she'll win an Oscar one day,’” said her teacher.

Music teacher Joan Butler told a local radio station that she had foreseen this award for Buckley since her days at Ursuline High School.

“I remember the whole room was silent, mouths agape, watching the rehearsal. And I remember turning to some of the students and saying, ‘Look at her, she's going to win an Oscar someday,’” Butler said.

The Ursuline convent first opened its doors in Thurles in 1787, at a time when Irish Catholics were persecuted under cruel penal laws and Catholic education was severely restricted.

‘Hamnet’

The film ‘Hamnet’ recreates the relationship between Agnes and William Shakespeare, and the impact on their lives of the death of their son Hamnet at the age of eleven during a plague epidemic, and how that tragedy inspired the writing of Hamlet.

——————-

Michael Kelly writes for OSV News from Dublin.

——————-

The authorOSV / Omnes

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The World

Habermas-Ratzinger: A Fruitful Dialogue

Perhaps the most luminous conclusion of that dialogue was the proposal of a necessary collaboration to avoid the “pathologies” of both reason and religion.

Pablo Blanco Sarto-March 18, 2026-Reading time: 4 minutes

At the beginning of the millennium, the world watched in horror as religious fanaticism brought down the Twin Towers. In 2001, as images of the disaster circled the globe, a disturbing question arose: were we facing a new religious war in the 21st century? Today, with the echo of similar conflicts in places such as Gaza, Iran or Ukraine - not very religious wars - this reflection takes on a new relevance. It was in this climate of perplexity that Jürgen Habermas received the national booksellers' prize at the Paulskirche of Frankfurt. This recognition marked the beginning of an intellectual shift to what is now called the “post-secular society. Habermas observed that in the aftermath of the tragedy, churches, synagogues and mosques filled up, and not necessarily to cry out for revenge.

In this analysis, Habermas found an unexpected interlocutor in Joseph Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who argued that Islamic fundamentalism had more similarities with Marxism than with Islam. This parallel between the neo-Marxist philosopher and the dogmatic theologian laid the groundwork for the historic meeting that was to take place two and a half years later in Munich. That meeting at the Catholic Academy of Bavaria in 2004 between the post-Marxist philosopher and the then Cardinal Ratzinger was not a simple academic talk, but an effort to find the “pre-political moral foundations” that sustain a democratic and pluralistic society.

The meeting of two worlds

The dialogue brought two seemingly opposing figures face to face: the epigone of the Frankfurt School - someone “with a poor musical ear for religion” - and one of the most influential theologians of contemporary Christianity. Both shared a common concern about the fragility of the liberal state. Habermas recognized that the ethical foundations of the modern state have a religious origin, even if today they are expressed in a rational and secularized form. Ratzinger argued that Church and State must maintain their autonomy - “render unto Caesar what is Caesar's” - rejecting any attempt to return to a confessional State.

One of the points of greatest friction was the conception of truth. For Habermas, it is the fruit of dialogue and consensus; for Ratzinger, dialogue is the fruit of a prior truth, to which we can have access through reason. Ratzinger appealed to the need for a right that is above the “law of the strongest”. Recalling the Nazi barbarism that both lived through in their youth, the theologian warned that the simple consensus of the majorities is not enough to establish human rights; a higher instance is required to protect the dignity of all.

The enlightened philosopher and the theologian of reason

Jürgen Habermas represented the culmination of the project of modernity, an enlightened man who dedicated his life to the theory of communicative action and the defense of democracy. His approach was post-metaphysical: for him, truth is a construct that flows from the symmetrical dialogue between free citizens. In his scheme of things, the liberal state must be neutral and legitimized through democratic procedures, without the need for direct religious support, although he recognized that religion contains meaning that society cannot ignore.

Joseph Ratzinger personified the synthesis between Christian faith and philosophical reason. As a participant in the Second Vatican Council and a theologian between two millennia, Ratzinger always defended Christianity as an enlightened religion that, from its very origins, opted for the logos in the face of myth. He did not take refuge in syncretism or mere symbolism, typical of Eastern religions. His thought, deeply influenced by figures such as Augustine, Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas, maintains that human reason is capable of knowing objective truth and that natural law constitutes the necessary refuge against the arbitrariness of power. For Ratzinger, truth is based on the person of Jesus Christ, accessible through a reason open to transcendence. The divine Logos is the foundation of the logos of all things, which in turn may be understood by the logos human (cf. Jn 1.1.3.14).

Reason and religion: curing each other's pathologies

Perhaps the most luminous conclusion of that meeting was the proposal of a necessary collaboration to avoid the “pathologies” of both sides. Reason and religion must be cured of their respective pathologies. Reason as medicine must purify religion, to prevent it from falling into fanaticism or fundamentalism that kill in the name of God. Religion as a limit must prevent reason from falling into fanaticism or fundamentalism that kill in the name of God. hybris and engenders “monsters” like Auschwitz, Hiroshima or Chernobyl. “The dream of reason produces monsters”, I could quote Goya, evoking the historical errors caused by a modern reason, isolated from ethics, art, feelings, religion.

The lesson was clear: in an increasingly fragmented public sphere, it is vital to recover concepts such as conscience, justice and a broad notion of human nature. The agreement reached by Habermas and Ratzinger demonstrates that, even from divergent positions, it is possible to build a common ground where faith and reason help each other to become more humane.

This dialogue was later continued with the famous speech delivered in Regensburg in 2006, in which Ratzinger - already as Benedict XVI - made a commitment to “expanded reason”. As opposed to a purely instrumental or mathematical reason, the Bavarian pope called for an open reason. Habermas replied in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, qualifying it as the Vorlessung as “anti-modern”. But then he partly retracted this at a subsequent meeting in Rome the following year, returning to the initial position he had set out in Munich years earlier. The game then ended in a draw. Perhaps now they can continue it.

Joseph Ratzinger

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Vatican confirms Pope's June 6-12 trip to Spain

Spain

The Pope's visit to Spain: few confirmed facts and much interest

Less than 100 days before Leo XIV's arrival in Spain, key facts about the papal visit to Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands remain unconfirmed.

Maria José Atienza-March 17, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

Since last February 25, when the Holy See confirmed the visit of Pope Leo XIV to Spain following an invitation from the King and Queen of Spain, the ecclesiastical, political and social «machinery» has been at work to receive, 15 years later, a pontiff on Spanish soil.

As already announced, the cities visited by the pontiff will be Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands. Although there are less than 100 days left for this visit, the official agenda remains unknown.

This morning, Rafael Rubio, in charge of communications for the Pope's visit; Sara de la Torre, Episcopal Delegate for Media of the Archbishopric of Madrid; and Josetxo Vera, Director of the CEE Information Office, have released some information, especially dedicated to the press, of a visit that is being prepared against the clock and of which there are still many points to be worked on.

Data in drips and drabs

So far, very little data has actually been confirmed and those few have been released in dribs and drabs.

Robert Prevost will land in Madrid on June 6 and will be in the capital until the morning of June 9. During this stage, the celebration of Corpus Christi, with an open-air Mass on Sunday, June 7, and the celebration of a Vigil with young people, will be the key events. Although «the request of the Congress and the Senate» has been made, the Pontiff's address to the Spanish parliamentarians on the morning of June 8 has not yet been officially confirmed.

From Madrid, Leo XIV will travel to Barcelona, where he will stay until the morning of the 11th. On the 10th he will inaugurate the new tower of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia and will more than likely visit Montserrat.

Canary Islands receives a Pope for the first time

The Canary Islands is, without a doubt, the historical milestone of this long papal trip. It is the first time that a pontiff visits the archipelago.

In this visit, Leo XIV takes up one of the «unfinished journeys» of his predecessor. The pontiff will fly back to Rome for about 24 hours, from the afternoon of the 11th to the evening of the 12th.

Pope Francis, in fact, in his concern for the migratory situation, had stated on some occasions that, if he were to travel to Spain, he would do so to the Canary Islands to make this situation visible and show his closeness to the people of the Canary Islands.

The islands will be the last stop of Leo XIV's trip on June 11 and 12 and, according to the information that has come to light, the pontiff will visit the dock of Arguineguín, epicenter of the Atlantic migratory crisis, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna.

Urgent needs: funding and volunteers

Among the few data offered by the official website of the trip, www.conelpapa.es, which does not have a profile on social networks - shows the two main needs of the organization for this trip: economic funding and the need for volunteers.

Financial support is necessary for a visit, whose budget is estimated at several tens of millions of euros, while the dioceses and the EEC are also looking for volunteers to help coordinate the hundreds of thousands of people expected to attend the various events, especially in Madrid.

On this occasion, the official website of Leo XIV's trip has set up a system for personal donations - which redirects to the Episcopal Conference website «Donoamiiglesia«- as well as for companies and organizations who can collaborate or sponsor this event financially or in kind.

The last papal visit, that of Benedict XVI in 2011 for World Youth Day, was financed, for the most part, thanks to private entities, sponsorships and personal donations, and had an economic impact of more than 100 million euros for the Spanish economy, especially in Madrid, the site of that WYD.

Vatican confirms Pope's June 6-12 trip to Spain

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Vocations

Radiography of Spanish seminaries: fewer students entering, but dropouts are decreasing

In 2026, there are 1066 young men preparing for the priesthood in Spanish seminaries. In general data, although this year there are fewer entries than last year, there are also fewer dropouts.

Editorial Staff Omnes-March 17, 2026-Reading time: 2 minutes

The Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) has officially launched the campaign for the Seminar Day 2026, This year it will be celebrated in most dioceses on March 22 (the Sunday closest to the feast of St. Joseph).

This year's motto, «Leave your nets and follow me,» is inspired by the passage from St. Luke (Lk 5:11), and seeks to invite young people to disconnect from digital noise and personal fears in order to respond to the priestly vocation.

At present, there are 1066 young men preparing for the priesthood in Spanish seminaries, as pointed out by Florentino Pérez, director of the secretariat of the Episcopal Subcommission for Seminaries, who described as a “counter-cultural decision” the option of these young men for a life of service to others as priests. In general data, although this year there are fewer entries than last year, there are also fewer dropouts, which stabilizes the data of the Spanish seminaries.

At this point, Perez wanted to emphasize that the dropouts occur in the early stages of the discernment process, which is good news, because this vocational process is carried out correctly.

Two seminarians from Cuenca, who were part of the team that created these materials, wanted to share their vocational testimony and experience during the presentation. At this point, Jorge, one of these seminarians, wanted to emphasize that “sometimes we focus more on the networks that we leave and we should focus on the Follow me, on what Christ gives us”.

Digital innovation and support

As a great novelty for this 2026, the Episcopal Commission for the Clergy and Seminaries has launched the web platform 4pm.es. The name refers to the time when St. John the Apostle decided to follow Jesus: «It was about four o'clock in the afternoon» (Jn 1:39).

This new portal is not only a repository of materials, but also a tool for discernment that includes: a videopodcast biweekly where seminarians share their real experiences; a song Follow me at composed ad hoc by Luispo and OzoresP as well as a series of materials designed to help young people identify their «life plan» in a society saturated with stimuli.

Radiography of the Seminary: Income rises, especially at the Redemptoris Mater

The presentation of the campaign is accompanied by statistical data collected by the Episcopal Subcommission for Seminaries. After years of steep declines, recent figures show a tendency towards stabilization and even a slight upturn in the total number of candidates.

The 2024-2025 academic year stands out for having once again surpassed the barrier of 1,000 seminarians, breaking a downward trend that had continued since 2017. Of these, a significant number (211) are being formed in the missionary seminaries. Redemptoris Mater, of the Neocatechumenal Way.

According to EEC data: “During this academic year 201 young men have begun their formation in Spanish seminaries, compared to 239 in the previous year. On the other hand, the number of dropouts has been slightly reduced, from 86 last year to 82 this year. As for presbyteral ordinations, in 2025 there were 58, compared to 85 the previous year. It should be remembered that these ordinations are directly linked to the diaconal ordinations of the previous year: 64 in 2025 and 69 in 2024”.

Spain has also experienced a special «influencer» situation this year, with the entry of two young content creators, Pablo Garcia and Alvaro Ferreira, into two seminaries to begin a vocational discernment process.

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ColumnistsValle Rodriguez Castilla

Is sex a sin? Fabrice Hadjadj answers

Generations succeed one another and the bodies of men and women speak the same language. Young people formulate (loudly) the questions dictated by their bodies. People wear the answers: they have been inscribed in the meanings of their bodies. Fabrice Hadjadj rereads them on this occasion, for the first time, in Spanish.

March 17, 2026-Reading time: 5 minutes

A few weeks ago, on @aladetres_, Fabrice Hadjadj, the French philosopher and writer who recently moved to Madrid to lead the project Incarnatus Est, gave his first interview in Spanish to the young Lluis Gracia. If you listen to it, you will realize that Hadjadj is now ready to be wise in Spanish.

The question of sex

The presentation ends and a question pushes, bluntly, wanting to be the first: «Is sex a sin?». The question about sex opens the interview alone while all the others wait. Questions about love, commitment, intimacy, family and children, transhumanism and digitalization, the meaning of life, death and hope... are asked one after the other, chained to the question about sex (or sin). In a certain way, the theology of sex is at the head of the theology of the body and the theology of the body leads the theology of man.

The mystery of the flesh at the heart of the Christian mystery

Our interviewee, Fabrice Hadjadj, respectful of the religious concerns of the questioner, answers the question about the sinfulness of sex in Christian: «No, our religion is a religion of the flesh».

We tend to think that Christianity is a spirituality. «Yes, but no,“ Hadjadj says, ”because Christianity is the spirituality of the Incarnation (»The Word became flesh") (...) In a world of disincarnation, of spiritualized realities, the flesh is very important: the mystery of the flesh is at the bottom of the Christian mystery. I do not have a body, I am my body.

The image of God in visible bodies

At this point, Hadjadj turns the whole question upside down and contemplates the reality of sex not from the perspective of religion but from that of anthropology. From this perspective, the philosopher plays the role of theologian because his is a theological anthropology, a biblical anthropology that sounds like John Paul II in his Theology of the Body.

Referring to Genesis (Gen 1:27), Hadjadj states: «God created man in his own image and created them, not male and female, he created them male and female (animal determinations). The image of God appears in the sex: he created them male and female».

Man is the only creature that has been created in the image of God. The core of the divine image in man is in his sexuality. Sexuality articulates his filial, «gift», communional and fruitful essence. The dynamic of sexual difference makes possible the truth of love. Genesis points out the sexual difference in man, but not in animals.

And the body expresses and manifests it. «The body, and only the body, is capable of making visible the invisible: the spiritual and the divine» (these are the words of John Paul II at the General Audience, February 20, 1980). The language of the body makes visible the image of the invisible God: either the bodies do it or there is no image.

Christian view of the body vs. Christian view of the body

Certainly, Fabrice, who is up to his eyeballs in paradise, looking Adam and Eve face to face, contemplating man from the mystery of his creation, universalizes the response to sex. In this way, the vision of the Christian body - of the body of every baptized person - reaches the body of every man and every woman - Christian or not - and becomes the Christian vision of the body, of every body. The Christian vision of the body and of sex is the human vision of the body and of sex.

We need only bring to mind «the face we have in orgasm, in the sexual embrace,» Fabrice illustrates. This is not an official face; it might even seem to us a humiliating face because it is the face of a body given to another body, of a person given to another person. Sex is an exposure, it is a vulnerability, it is a place of fragility, not of power: it is a vulnerability of the man who is going to expose himself in an intimate environment, who can lose his potency; and it is also a vulnerability of the woman who can get pregnant from that relationship", or can be used. Our faces speak to us of a universal meaning of sex and the body.

Sex is a place of intimacy, surrender and search of the heart.

In this manifestive framework, our bodies do not hide their strengths: «sex is a place of pleasure,» says Fabrice. And only for men and women (for every man and every woman, not for animals), in the depths of their sexes, sex is a place of intimacy, of vulnerability, of self-giving, of donation, of giving life: «sex is a reality of intimacy, of giving your heart, of searching for the other heart,» notes Hadjadj.

And in another moment he reminds us: «Sex is a relationship and it is a carnal relationship». If there is no relationship - if there is no edge that gives form to the surrender of oneself and the search for the other, to intimacy - the sexual relationship is not a relationship, it is only sex, it is only pleasure.

Sex speaks and says to me, «Go ahead, give life!»

And he continues: «Your sex speaks. Your sex says: “I am here to meet a woman who will always be incomprehensible -first mystery-, and I am here to give birth to a new generation -second mystery-” (...) And one does not want to give life, but my sex tells me: “You have to do it”. My sex goes ahead of my reason and tells me: “Go ahead, give life!” (...) Because the meaning of life - our philosopher will say in another moment of the interview - is not a question of duration (of prolonging life); the meaning of life is a question of donation, of giving life and of giving birth (and cross) to a new life».

Rephrasing the sex question

In the face of this integral vision of sex, the question of the sin of sex is revealed as a reductionist question; as a question that starts from a fragmented sex, from a conception of sex that keeps pleasure and throws away everything else.

In this case, the question about sex could be: is sex for pleasure a sin? A question that needs no answer because it answers itself.

Still, the first formula is repeated from generation to generation. «Is sex a sin?» is an echoing question, with an echo that never ends. Truly, generations succeed one another and the bodies of men and women continue to speak the same language. Young people ask (loudly) the questions dictated to them by their bodies.

The meanings of the body and the language of the body

And people are wearing the answers, they just have to look at their bodies: the answers have been inscribed in the meanings of their bodies.

The meanings of the body tell us that life has been given to us (filial meaning), that we live it to give it away (spousal meaning) and to give life to others (fruitful meaning).

These meanings, docile to a grammar - the carnal grammar of the gift - construct the language of our bodies. The language of the body is a language that is spoken in the bodies and that, through them, speaks to us of God.

Sex makes theology

«Within a deep embrace you have to meditate on what your sex says, and the answer cannot be other than a response of theological hope, a theological response. This is the mystery: my sex does theology,» Hadjadj says in this interview. Our bodies are theological. «The first sign (referring to sexual desire) is a subject of theology (...), it is a sign of hope that gives life to another, that resumes the history of humanity. Under your pants is the ability to resume the whole history of humanity (...) The most metaphysical in the most physical,» says Hadjadj.

Sex in God's plan for human love

However, Fabrice places the question of sex in the perspective of a «proper anthropology», the anthropology of the Theology of the Body. In this perspective: the partner is divine; space is paradise; time is the sixth day of creation; the couple is the first couple, that of the first man and the first woman (and in it, every couple).

In these coordinates, sex is «very good»; it is part of God's plan for human love. To respect it is to ensure that «the train of love» does not derail from «the tracks of marriage and childbirth».

On this path of happiness, married couples breathe the atmosphere of paradise - the same one that two bodies retained, for our inheritance, before having to leave it. And sex is a joy.

The authorValle Rodriguez Castilla

Licensed in Pharmacy. Expert in affective-sexual education, Gender and Theology of the Body.

Theology of the body

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Evangelization, between emotion and reason

Movements and meetings that attract young people and adults far from the Church are bearing evident fruits: conversions, reconciliations, vocations, living communities.

March 17, 2026-Reading time: 4 minutes

In times when the role of emotions in the experience of faith occupies the headlines of the general and religious media, there are experiences that remind us that Christianity continues to be transmitted, above all, from person to person. Friday evening was one of them.

For almost four hours, some forty-five people gathered at the house of Javier Huerta and Marta, his wife. The simple and domestic convocation consisted of sharing their testimony of faith, watching a documentary, listening to live Christian music, dialoguing and having dinner together. Nothing spectacular from the outside. However, the experience had a rare intensity: many of those present were not believers or were far from the Church.

An unintended conversion

The evening began with the story of Javier and Marta's conversion. It was not a planned search or the result of a long process. As Javier explained, it all started unexpectedly when they heard the song Hurricane, of Hakuna. At that moment - according to his own testimony - he had the inner certainty that God existed and that He loved him.

That initial intuition triggered something much deeper than a passing emotion. Javier began to read with a voracity that was unusual for him. He immersed himself in classic texts of spirituality, of the great saints of the Church, and in science books: physics, cosmology, biology. What he found along the way surprised him profoundly: the more he learned about the conclusions of contemporary science on the universe and human life, the more reasonable the idea of a thought-out and ordered cosmos seemed to him.

As a result of this process, he decided to invest time and resources in a singular project: the production of a forty-minute documentary that synthesizes scientific arguments - cosmological and biological - that point to the existence of God. The approach is reminiscent of the apologetic current that in recent years has been popularized in Spain by authors such as José Carlos González-Hurtado or some international essays on the relationship between God and science.

From reason to emotion

The evening alternated the viewing of this documentary with some songs, whose lyrics conveyed the closeness and love of God, appealing directly to the heart and the experience of encountering God.

But the meeting was not limited to the emotional. There was also a doctrinal intervention of about fifteen minutes, aimed at giving intellectual content to the faith and the experience of God that was proposed. This was followed by questions from the audience, a snack supper with what the attendees brought with them and, at the end, three songs of praise in a more charismatic style.

The atmosphere was surprisingly welcoming for very different profiles: convinced believers, people far from the Church, Catholics unaccustomed to musical expressions of faith or, on the contrary, enthusiastic about them. Many participants had been to Emmaus and brought their friends to an experience that could open them to an encounter with Christ. The result, in human terms, was pleasant and intellectually stimulating. Spiritually, for many, it was very meaningful.

Javier and Marta organize these meetings approximately every month. In a little more than a year, more than eight hundred people have visited their house. The couple speaks naturally of the fruits they have seen: friends who are rethinking their faith, unexpected conversations, spiritual paths that are beginning to open up.

His motivation is simple: to offer a space where someone who does not believe can at least seriously consider the possibility that God exists.

The question of emotivism

Experiences such as this take on a special resonance in the current context. Two weeks ago, the Spanish bishops published a document in which they warned about the risks of emotivism in religious experience: the possibility that faith could be reduced to intense feelings without sufficient doctrinal or sacramental foundation.

The text provoked a wide debate in the religious press. Some media interpreted that the warning was indirectly addressed to recent movements and experiences such as Hakuna, Emmaus or Effetá, very focused on personal testimony and the experiential dimension of faith.

The Bishops' Conference explicitly denied this interpretation at the press conference to present the document. Subsequently, a message on social networks from its press office - which was later deleted - reignited the debate.

The result has been a certain ambiguity. When one warns against a phenomenon without specifying to which concrete practices it refers, many may feel alluded to..., or be singled out by others.

The experience at Javier Huerta's house helps to nuance the debate. There was emotion, certainly: songs, silence, personal testimonies. But there was also reason: an apologetic documentary based on scientific arguments, a doctrinal explanation, open dialogue.

In other words, it was an experience that appealed to the heart without renouncing intelligence. It did not pretend to be a complete Christian experience, but it could not be done more in less time. It did not include sacraments or charitable experiences, although they were spoken of very positively.

The merit of opening the door

Beyond any theoretical discussion, there is one aspect that deserves to be emphasized: the gesture of evangelizing hospitality.

An ordinary married couple who periodically open their home to receive dozens of people -many of them far from the faith- is taking on a considerable effort. Preparation, organization, time, energy. All with a single objective: to share what for them has been a decisive discovery.

This type of initiative recalls something essential to Christianity: for centuries, faith was transmitted in homes, at shared tables and in simple conversations.

A pastoral challenge

The debate on emotivism is not trivial. The Church has a responsibility to take care that faith is not reduced to a passing emotional experience. But it also needs to recognize and accompany the places where faith is reawakening.

Movements and meetings that attract young people and adults far from the Church are bearing evident fruits: conversions, reconciliations, vocations, living communities.

As in any ecclesial reality, there will always be aspects that can be improved. But for this improvement to be possible, pastoral orientations must be clear, concrete and delicately expressed. Otherwise, there is a risk of generating unnecessary suspicion or of weakening the confidence of those who, with great generosity, are trying to proclaim the Gospel in contexts where faith seems to have been extinguished.

Between emotion and truth

Perhaps the simplest lesson of that afternoon is this: the Christian faith is not just an idea or just a feeling. It is, at the same time, an experience that touches the heart and a truth that seeks the intelligence.

And sometimes -as it happens in the living room of any house- both things meet in the simplest place of all: a sincere conversation between friends who wonder, together, if God can exist.

The authorJavier García Herrería

Editor of Omnes. Previously, he has been a contributor to various media and a high school philosophy teacher for 18 years.

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Evangelization

St. Patrick was not born Irish, but 11 saints who followed him were!

On St. Patrick's Day, March 17, we are all Irish, or so it is said. However, hagiographers know that the “Apostle of Ireland” was born in Roman Britain and first set foot in Ireland as a kidnapped teenage slave. But here are 11 Irish saints who continued the evangelizing work of St. Patrick.

OSV / Omnes-March 17, 2026-Reading time: 6 minutes

After his captivity, St. Patrick escaped and returned to Britain, but his desire to convert the Irish pagans prompted him to study for the priesthood. He was eventually ordained a bishop and returned to Ireland, where he succeeded in spreading Christianity. He is believed to have died on March 17, 461.

While that great evangelizer of Ireland gets a lot of attention, here are 11 Irish-born saints who continued St. Patrick's efforts to spread the Gospel, and who also deserve a toast in his name. Cheers!

1. St. Benen (5th century)

According to legends, this son of an Irish chief from Meath may have attended the first Easter mass of St. Patrick in Ireland around 433.

There are several stories about his first encounter with Patrick: in one, he was so impressed by Patrick's words that he scattered flowers over the future saint as he slept.

In others he asked to travel with Patrick, and it was Patrick who chose the baptismal name Benen, from the Latin «benignus,» meaning kindly. Benen became a close disciple of Patrick and, as one of his successors, was the first to evangelize Clare and Kerry in the west of Ireland. His feast day is celebrated on November 9.

St. Brigid of Kildare, in a stained glass window at St. Brigid's Church in Crosshaven, a town in County Cork, Ireland, on January 20, 2022. (Photo by OSV News/Cillian Kelly).

2. Saint Bridget of Kildare (451-525)

Numerous popular legends, and even her association with a pre-Christian goddess of the Druids, relate to this Irish abbess. However, one fact from her earliest biography, from the 7th century, remains undisputed: she was superior of a double monastery - for nuns and monks - in Kildare, in the years after the death of St. Patrick. Together with St. Patrick and St. Columba, this “Mary of the Gaels” is the patron saint of Ireland. Her feast day is celebrated on February 1 and is a public holiday in Ireland.

3. St. Finnian of Clonard (470-549)

This Irish abbot, known as “the teacher” and “master of saints” in the period after St. Patrick, is said to have originated from Leinster, where he began founding monasteries. He traveled to Wales and studied its traditional monasticism, which emphasized the superiority of monastic over secular life and the importance of learning.

After returning to Ireland, he founded numerous churches and monasteries, including his great monastery at Clonard, on the banks of the Boyne, which attracted 3,000 disciples, among them St. Ciaran of Clonmacnois, St. Columba of Iona and St. Brendan the Traveler. It is not known if he was also a bishop. He died of the plague, probably contracted while attending to other sick people. His feast day is celebrated on December 12.

4. Saint Ita of Killeedy (475-570)

Originally called Dierdre, she received the name Ita, which means “thirst for holiness”. Her story has much in common with that of St. Bridget. For many years, Ita led a community of devout women in Killeedy, County Limerick. She ran a school for young children who were taught «faith in God with purity of heart; simplicity of life with religiosity; generosity with love.».

St. Brendan the Traveler is said to have been her pupil. The legend of St. Ita emphasizes physical austerity and includes some rather extraordinary miracles. Her feast day is celebrated on January 15.

5. St. Kevin of Glendalough (498-618)

Oral tradition preserved and embellished the story of the founder of one of Ireland's major pilgrimage sites. Born in Leinster and baptized by St. Cronan, Kevin was educated in a monastery near Dublin. After ordination, he lived alone in a cave for seven years, which compromised his health and led him to use a Bronze Age stone tomb as a church.

After recovering, he gathered some disciples and founded Glendalough Abbey in Wicklow. According to legend, he made a pilgrimage to Rome, visited St. Kieran in Clonmacnoise and lived to be 120 years old. His feast day is celebrated on June 3.

6. St. Samthann of Clombroney (6th century)

Samthann, an Irish abbess known for her wisdom, is believed to have become a nun in Donegal after a nobleman to whom she was betrothed agreed to her wish to marry God alone. She founded Clonbroney Abbey in Longford, where she opted for a simple life.

He refused large estates for the abbey, and his herd was limited to six cows. According to one biography, he advised a monk who asked him about the proper posture for prayer that one could pray in any position: sitting, standing, kneeling, or lying down. His name appears in the litany and canon of the Stowe Missal, and several miracles are attributed to him through his intercession. His feast day is celebrated on December 18.

A mosaic of St. Kieran, founder of the Clonmacnoise monastery in Ireland, can be seen in St. Mary's Cathedral in Kilkenny (OSV News Archives).

7. Saint Kieran of Clonmacnoise (516-549)

From his birthplace in Connaught, Ireland, Kieran traveled at age 15 to study with St. Finnian in Clonard. According to legend, he took a cow with him to obtain milk. He became the most learned monk there and then spent seven years with St. Enda in the Aran Islands, where he was ordained a priest.

He later moved to Isel, but soon left because other monks complained about his generosity to the poor. Around 545, together with eight companions, he founded the monastery of Clonmacnoise, on the banks of the Shannon River, which became a famous religious center for its manuscripts and metal liturgical objects. His feast day is celebrated on September 9.

In the stained glass window of All Saints Episcopal Cathedral in Albany, New York, St. Columba is shown getting out of a boat. The Celtic missionary and his twelve disciples traveled by sea from Ballycastle, Ireland, to pagan Scotland in A.D. 563 (OSV News/Crosiers photo).

8. St. Columba of Iona (521-597)

This abbot, one of the patron saints of Scotland, was born in Ireland. Also educated and ordained in Ireland, he spent fifteen years preaching and founding monasteries, including Derry, Durrow and Kells. However, his clashes with King Diarmaid over a copy of a psalter and the right of asylum led to a clan feud and a battle in which 3,000 men died.

Choosing exile as penance, Columba left for Scotland with twelve relatives around 561 to found the island monastery of Iona. He evangelized the Picts and converted their king. The monks of Iona undertook missions throughout Europe and their monastic rule was the norm until the Rule of St. Benedict. Columba, also called Colmcille (from Columba and cell), had an enormous influence on Western monasticism. His feast day is celebrated on June 9.

9. Saint Columbanus (543-615)

This great Irish missionary monk entered a monastery in Bangor, where he taught for 30 years. Around 590, he and twelve companions were sent as missionaries to Gaul (France), where Columbanus founded three monasteries in Burgundy and became abbot of Luxeuil.

He preached against the laxity of the clergy and immorality at court, and introduced a strict Celtic penance. After being expelled from Burgundy, Columbanus preached in Switzerland, and upon his expulsion from there founded a monastery in Bobbio, Italy, which became a center of learning. His feast day is celebrated on November 23.

10. St. Colmán of Lindisfarne (605-676)

Of Irish origin, Colman was a monk on Iona before being elected third bishop of Lindisfarne, England, in 661. During his three years there, he defended Irish monastic customs and Celtic rites. In 664, he attended the Synod of Whitby, where the date of Easter, the style of tonsure, the role of local bishops and the relationship between the English churches and Rome were decided.

Colman defended the Irish tradition, but was defeated by St. Wilfrid, bishop of York, who preferred the Roman rites. Colman resigned his diocese and returned to Ireland, where he founded monasteries in Galway and Mayo, and was abbot of both until his death. The history of Venerable Bede is the main source of information about his life. His feast day is celebrated on February 18.

11. St. Donatus of Fiesole (829-876)

According to tradition, this bishop was one of many Irishmen who toured Europe in the early Middle Ages. He arrived in Fiesole, Italy, from Rome just as the see became vacant and he was elected bishop. It is said that he was a teacher in the service of the Frankish kings. There is a record, from the year 850, of his donation of a church and a hospice, St. Bridget in Piacenza, to the abbey founded by St. Columbanus in Bobbio. It is said that St. Andrew of Fiesole was his Irish traveling companion, but there is no reliable evidence of his existence. The feast of St. Donatus is celebrated on October 22.

The authorOSV / Omnes

St. Patrick

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The Vatican

Pope to visit Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea in Africa

In the footsteps of St. Augustine, could be the title of the first trip of Pope Leo XIV to Africa. As of this morning, the itinerary is official. From April 13 to 23, 2026, the Pope will make his first great apostolic journey to Africa, which will include four countries: Algeria, the land of St. Augustine, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.

Francisco Otamendi-March 16, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

Pope Leo XIV will make his first major apostolic journey to the African continent since the beginning of his pontificate from April 13 to 23, 2026. The tour will include four countries: Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. The itinerary was made public this March 16, 2026 by the Holy See in the Pope's official calendar of activities and in the Vatican media.

The eleven-day trip, which can consult here, The visit will combine liturgical celebrations, meetings with civil and religious authorities and symbolic gestures related to peace, interreligious dialogue and attention to the poorest of the poor. Moreover, it is a significant tour because Africa is one of the regions of the world where the Catholic Church is growing most rapidly.

Visit to Annaba, the ancient Hippo, land of St. Augustine, in Algeria (13-14)

The first stage will take place in Algeria, where the Pope will stay for three days, visiting the cities of Algiers and Annaba.

One of the most significant moments will be the pilgrimage to Annaba, the ancient Hippo, known as the land of St. Augustine, where the Father of the Church St. Augustine of Hippo lived and ministered. There the Pope will hold a commemorative act and a moment of prayer in memory of the saint.

A meeting with the Augustinians is also foreseen, of special relevance due to the fact that the Pope himself belongs to the Order of St. Augustine. The visit will also include meetings with civil authorities and representatives of other religions, in a country with a Muslim majority, underlining interreligious dialogue.

Cameroon (April 15-18)

The second stop will be in Cameroon, where the Pope will stay for three days. During this part of the trip he will visit the cities of Yaoundé, Bamenda and Douala.

Among the main events will be a mass with the faithful, meetings with bishops, priests and religious of the country and meetings with young people and representatives of civil society. The Pope is expected to address issues such as national reconciliation, peace and attention to the poor, issues that are very present in the social reality of the country.

Angola (April 18-21)

The third stage will take place in Angola, where the Pontiff will stay for three days, visiting Luanda, Muxima and Saurimo.

One of the central moments will be the celebration of a large Eucharist in Luanda, as well as meetings with political authorities, bishops and social organizations. The Marian shrine of Muxima, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the country, will be the scene of an act of prayer for peace and reconciliation.

The Angolan bishops have stressed that the Pope's visit will be an opportunity to reflect on social justice, education and the fight against poverty.

Equatorial Guinea (April 21-23)

The last stop will be Equatorial Guinea, where the Pope will stay for two days. He will visit the cities of Malabo, Mongomo and Bata.

During this final phase, a large Mass will be celebrated with the faithful, in addition to meetings with the country's authorities and with the bishops of the region. The Pope will also have pastoral meetings with priests, religious and catechists, with the aim of strengthening the life of the Church in Central Africa.

Strong pastoral significance

Pope Leo XIV's trip to Africa represents one of the most important pastoral projects of his pontificate so far, following those to Nicaea (Turkey) and Lebanon. Throughout four countries and several cities, the Pontiff will bring a message of peace, dialogue and hope, in addition to highlighting the Christian heritage of the continent, especially in places linked to historical figures such as St. Augustine.

The visit also reflects the growing importance of Africa in the Catholic Church and the Pope's desire to strengthen communion with the Christian communities of the continent.

On December 3, 2025, upon returning from Turkey and Lebanon, the Holy Father said to questions from reporters that he hoped to travel to Africa, including Algeria, where St. Augustine served as a bishop, and where he is still “highly respected as a son of the nation.”.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

Pope Leo XIV

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'Tutela Minorum' urges "path of healing" from abuses

The Vatican

Leo XIV receives the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors

Leo XIV received the members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, whom he thanked for their work and encouraged them to continue promoting "the culture of care".

Paloma López Campos-March 16, 2026-Reading time: 2 minutes

Pope Leo XIV received in audience on March 16 to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. After greeting them all, the Pontiff thanked them for “their service to the Church in protecting children, adolescents and people in situations of vulnerability”.

The Holy Father described the work of the Commission as “a demanding service, sometimes silent and often burdensome, but essential for the life of the Church and for the building of an authentic culture of care.”.

On the other hand, Leo XIV recalled the intention of Pope Francis, who wanted to “remind the whole Church that the prevention of abuse is not an optional task, but a constitutive dimension of the Church's mission”. He also admitted that he was “greatly encouraged by the dialogue you have fostered with the Disciplinary Section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.” Thanks to this, he continued, “prevention” and “disciplinary vigilance” are united “in a truly synergistic and effective way.”.

Culture of care

The Pope explained that the prevention is not reduced to a set of norms, but “it is a matter of helping to form, in the whole Church, a culture of care”. Something that, the Holy Father stressed, is not “an obligation imposed from outside, but a natural expression of faith”.

To foster this culture, it is necessary to go through “a process of conversion in which the sufferings of others are heard and move us to act”.

Pope Leo XIV also encouraged the members of the Commission to further incorporate dialogue with the Dicasteries and to encourage support for all local communities and Churches.

Finally, the Pontiff expressed his desire to receive the Annual Report of the Commission. He concluded by pointing out that “the protection of minors and people in vulnerable situations is not an isolated area of ecclesial life, but a dimension that cuts across pastoral care, formation, governance and discipline”.

'Tutela Minorum' urges "path of healing" from abuses

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ColumnistsAlberto Sánchez León

On Habermas: more philosophy and less leaders

Much of the world has created the need for antidepressants, which in the end may be an escape from the truth itself, or an escape from pain, not physical pain, but from the pain caused by not knowing how to live well, but the great drug is truth, beauty and goodness.

March 16, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

Jürgen Habermas passed away recently, on March 14, 2026. Renowned in the social field for his contribution to the theory of communicative action, famous, in the economic field, for his reflections on the “colonization of the world of life”, a tireless fighter to make philosophy more present in the social sphere, his theory of well-being, his great capacity for dialogue, his innumerable works... An intellectual, a philosopher, has passed away at the age of 96.

There is an inordinate eagerness in society, especially in the world of education, to get leaders out from under the rocks. It seems that we all have the vocation to be leaders. I don't know... I hear so much talk about leaders... and then, what do I see? I see many things, but I don't see leaders, neither in politics, nor in social life, nor in the world of culture, ... Perhaps our mouths are full of that word that sounds more and more hollow to me: leadership. I think that those who have to be leaders should be so, but it seems to me that it is not a vocation, a mission that we all have to follow, no matter how many leadership courses we take. I am sorry to say it, but I think so: not all of us can or are called to be leaders. I think it is a minority vocation. Well then, courage! to those who meet the conditions.

We need thinkers, philosophy, to think more and perform less, as the Korean Byung-Chul Han suggests in almost all his works. We need to love our world more, contemplate it, stop and look at it, slow down, decelerate, “waste more time” looking at it, appreciating it, beautifying it and not only yielding productivity and efficiency. We have too many leaders who claim to be leaders, and we lack thinkers, philosophers who rescue the ideal of truth in an era that is said to be post-truth.

A few years ago Lou Marinoff wrote More Plato and less prozac. In my opinion, he hit the nail on the head. Much of the world has created the need for antidepressants, which in the end may be an escape from the truth itself, or an escape from pain, not physical pain, but from the pain caused by not knowing how to live well, but the great drug is truth, beauty and goodness.

Another substitute for truth, goodness and beauty could be (I am not pontificating but suggesting a reflection) gyms, places where one cultivates the body in solitude, listening to music, and in the background isolating oneself from society, from friends, from family. Sometimes yoga also tries to replace the pain of life. And the new unhealthy wave of search for leaders in all corners of the planet, that is, for highly effective people to solve problems is like a hope that does not come, nor will it come. Why? Because problems are the spice of human life. We must not eliminate them, that would be naïve, we must know how to live with them, accept them, learn to manage them, grow with them.

Philosophy, loving the truth and seeking and living it is irreplaceable. The leader seeks success, the philosopher seeks truth and beauty. But, as Leonardo Polo said, “all success is premature”.

How success attracts and how lazy it is to search for the truth! Because the truth does not pay, for many. Success... who can refuse any proposal that leads to success? Let us not forget where the word success comes from. It comes from exit. And so it is, it takes us out of reality, it isolates us because it puts us on a supposed pedestal, it elevates us in the triumphal cloud.

Look for a moment at these people who have changed history, some for the better, some for the worse. Socrates, Jesus Christ, Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Thomas, Descartes, Kant, Nietzsche, Marx, Edith Stein, Heidegger, Ratzinger, ... good old Habermas... And now... search in their writings (although neither Socrates nor Jesus Christ wrote anything, more in my favor) for the word success, and see if you succeed in your search.

Let's hope we can draw conclusions...

The authorAlberto Sánchez León

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Evangelization

Luis Gutiérrez Rojas: “If all your dreams come true... you will be frustrated”.”

In this humorous interview, renowned psychiatrist Luis Gutiérrez Rojas talks about the importance of keeping a “positive chip” in the face of difficulties.

Teresa Aguado Peña-March 16, 2026-Reading time: 7 minutes

Luis Gutiérrez Rojas is a psychiatrist and author of books such as The beauty of living y Live more freely. He also stands out for his optimism and humor: he was a finalist in the Comedy Club and his talent for therapeutic monologues continues to be recognized.

For years she has been giving conferences where she offers guidelines to face life with optimism and resilience, exploring how to find happiness beyond the material. In this interview, he talks about how to transform suffering and daily worries into opportunities to grow.

Do you think that the culture of immediacy makes young people more fragile in the face of suffering? How do effort, discipline and self-control influence anxiety?

Indeed. It has been proven that people who master themselves - the term master comes from domine, which is a term that has a Christian connotation, which is to put the Lord in your life - have a much greater capacity to achieve their goals, to tolerate frustration and to have less anxiety.

The problem is that nowadays the words effort, discipline, self-control are often associated with repression, something costly, difficult, almost impossible to achieve. And perhaps we should turn it around.

We usually say that the will is to be able to postpone the reward. We must teach young people that if they are able to postpone the reward, to do what is difficult for them, to set difficult goals in order to - as they say today - get out of their comfort zone, then they will be more mature, more stable and freer. Maybe the issue is to turn it around: How to motivate young people to master themselves and achieve their goals?

You are known for highlighting the positive side of current concerns. What common worries can be turned into opportunities if viewed with optimism?

Optimism has nothing to do with a simplistic look, nor with a foolish look. Today we are also talking about toxic positivism, that which says that everything is fine, everything is wonderful, life is great and that nothing ever happens. This is too silly and quite empty of content.

Having an optimistic outlook means having the tools to change what we do not like. And if we do not have them, because they are things that do not depend on us (one cannot change the world, nor society, nor governments, nor the defects of our family or the people we love), one has to accept it as part of the way.

Not to strive for unattainable goals, because, I repeat, they do not depend on us, fills you with optimism. Because the most optimistic person is the one who fights against himself, is the one who plays the game knowing what things are in his hand. That is pure optimism.

And to give some examples of common concerns, (a bit of a joke) sometimes we see mothers anguished because their child “does not eat”. I usually say: do you know how many people died of hunger in Spain last year? None. So, even if he doesn't eat now, he will end up eating.

Something similar happens when one is young and suffers a breakup. Then you think that this person was the love of your life and that, without him or her, life has no meaning. But that vision is quite childish, because with time one understands that life takes many turns and that breakups are part of the process of emotional maturity of people.

Faced with the daily drama, with the exaggeration of a conflict or an apparently «unbearable» problem, the only thing to do is to wait a bit, look with some distance and realize that many of these concerns are unimportant.

When a person tends to think negatively, what should he or she do to change to a positive “chip”?

Perhaps the important thing is not so much to tell a person what to do or to give them guidelines or advice, which usually serve little or no purpose. People do not change because you tell them what to do, unless that person has little personality and is very dependent. They change when they realize they have to change. The art of educating and the art of treating people in psychology is to make the person realize that this mentality is hurting him or her.

As for this “negative chip”, I analyze language a lot. Human beings think through language, and it is precisely the acquisition of words that differentiates us from other living beings and allows us to understand the world in a different way.

People with greater linguistic development and a higher cultural and literary level tend to be smarter, deeper and more reflective. So one of the ways I see to change that chip is to look at the language someone uses when they speak in negative terms: “I've never been happy”, “I'll never succeed”, “I'm miserable”, “everything always happens to me”. Then I usually ask them: “Are you exaggerating or not exaggerating?.

From then on, people start to realize that he is indeed exaggerating. Sometimes they answer me: “Well, Luis, it's just a way of talking”. And I tell them that this way of speaking is very important, because words build reality. If a person is able to change his way of expressing himself, introducing elements more related to hope, to the capacity for sacrifice and to give meaning to what it costs, then that change of chip towards the positive takes place.

But, as I said at the beginning, what is really important is not to give advice, but that the person himself realizes what he has to improve.

How can we help those who suffer in an indifferent way, without looking for answers or meaning to what they are going through?

The most interesting thing is the Socratic question. You have to ask the person why. I treat people with illnesses, some with very serious and severe mental illnesses, which clearly produce a deterioration in the patient's life and change them for the worse, in the sense that it makes it very difficult for them to lead a life, sometimes even with a good personal, social or family performance. The question you have to ask him is why.

What is the reason for the depression, the schizophrenia? What is the reason for your breakup, for your job being fired, for not being able to make ends meet? In other words, why do things happen to you, what are the solutions, what is the point of this happening? And yet, sometimes there are no clear answers or solutions. I think about it now, for example, with the tragedy of Adamuz: you get on a train and suddenly you die, or your mother dies, or your sister. Tell me, what solution can something like that have? In the end, the search for the meaning of life is nothing more than the search for the meaning of what happens to us.

To answer these questions, we could turn to Victor Frankl's book of Man in search of meaning. And Friedrich Nietzsche said: «He who has a why to live for can endure almost any how.», an idea that Frankl himself rescued and turned into the axis of his reflection.

We have the need to search for meaning in what we live from our own personal experience. This search for meaning is very interesting and people find very different answers from the anthropological, philosophical and religious spheres. When someone manages to find them, I usually tell him that it is as if he had the box on which to lean the pole to jump over the fence: a support that allows him to overcome the obstacles of life.

I believe that the current conflict does not lie in the fact that there is a lot of suffering -which, in fact, is less than we sometimes think, since the world is improving in many aspects-, but in our inability to make sense of that suffering.

In fact, the people who suffer the most are not those who suffer the worst, but those who have the least tools to cope with pain. This explains why Western welfare societies suffer more than developing societies in many respects.

How would you define happiness? Where is it found and where is it not found?

I am reminded of a phrase by Miguel d’ Ors -a very good poet who may seem a bit depressive- who says that happiness consists in «not being happy and not caring«. It seems to me a very intelligent phrase.

We might think that happiness consists of obtaining everything we long for: love, money, health, success, power, traveling, doing whatever we please... But there is a popular wisdom that questions this. The gypsies, who are very intelligent, say: “May your dreams come true.”. They know that, paradoxically, when everything you wish for is fulfilled, there is a feeling of emptiness or frustration.

This explains why societies that, as I said before, are so self-centered, and people who are full of themselves -think of the achiever, the person who has attained the greatest economic, personal or professional achievements- often have few answers about the meaning of life. And, curiously, they are often frustrated by minor things. They are not always role models.

Somehow, happiness is not about filling everything or possessing everything. Happiness is much more about making sense of what we don't have. There will always be things we lack, and the key is to accept our limitations and those of others. Accepting that people are as they are, not as we would like them to be; that the world is not going to change just because we want it to; and that there are aspects of ourselves that, no matter how hard we fight, will never change, because they are linked to our personality.

When we accept that we are impatient, unstable, childish or have difficulty relating to others, and take it as part of the game of life, a curious paradox arises: acceptance makes us happier. Happiness, then, consists in recognizing ourselves as we are, accepting the way things are and understanding that, with the cards we have been dealt in this “poker” of life, there are infinite reasons to find it.

Moreover, as I said before, happiness is deeply linked to the meaning of life. Those who find a meaning close to the transcendent - understanding transcendent as realizing that there is a world beyond the material, and that our talents can be put at the service of others -, and who practice a generous love, focused on healing wounds and giving without expecting to receive, experience a much deeper happiness.

We could say that St. Teresa of Calcutta is infinitely happier than the person who appears on the cover of Hola! telling us that the important thing is to do yoga three times a week.

Could you tell us an anecdote about a patient that has marked your way of seeing things?

I couldn't point to a single anecdote, but I can say that people who tell me about their pain are much stronger and more resilient.

What I find impressive is that they are also much more tolerant. Those who have suffered a lot of pain in their own flesh understand the suffering of others better and are more empathetic towards those who are going through difficult times. This explains why those who have suffered little sometimes do not really understand the pain of others. Experiencing it firsthand or getting close to the suffering of others widens the heart.

That's why I would tell everyone who reads this interview to get involved in solidarity work. When you do things for people who are suffering, you become more fulfilled, more stable, more intelligent, more mature, and you learn to really appreciate what you have. When we have gone through a bad time in our lives, we usually say, «Now I realize what really matters.».

And if we have not had to live through a great drama, it is good to have the honesty to approach those who do suffer: they are there, just around the corner, in the street across the street or in the next town. By doing so, we discover what is worthwhile in life and we reach higher levels of well-being, mental stability and happiness.

Psychology

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Gospel

St. Joseph, spouse of Mary. Solemnity of St. Joseph (A)

Vitus Ntube comments on the readings for the Solemnity of St. Joseph (A) for March 19, 2026.

Vitus Ntube-March 16, 2026-Reading time: 2 minutes

«Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.».

The Gospel of today's Solemnity begins with these words. In the midst of Lent we are offered the opportunity to celebrate St. Joseph, spouse of the Virgin Mary. Today we celebrate him precisely as the husband -of Mary-. The comma after the saint's name is important: «Joseph, spouse of the Virgin Mary». It shows us his identity, the key to his holiness and the reason for this celebration.

St. Joseph teaches us the essential virtues for a husband. What can we learn from him? The Gospel invites us to contemplate the situation in which Joseph finds himself and the way he decides to welcome Mary as his wife. His response remains a worthy example for all husbands.

The Gospel describes Joseph as a «righteous man». In the Old Testament, this means more than outward obedience to the law; it describes someone who truly lives the covenant, who seeks God's will with sincerity of heart. Joseph was that kind of man. He did not simply follow the rules; he discovered God's love behind the law and in the law. Pope Benedict XVI once remarked that in St. Joseph «the Old Testament becomes the New», because it seeks not only the commandments, but God himself, the personal love of God.

The Gospel presents Joseph in a difficult situation. We can imagine his disappointment at finding his wife pregnant. He knew that Mary was a righteous young woman; he knew her inner and outer beauty, the purity of her heart, and now he is confused and disappointed. But Joseph, being truly a righteous man, does not apply the law rigidly at the expense of goodness, but he takes «a way of love in justice, of justice in love». It shows that the righteous not only live by faith (cf. Habakkuk 2:4), but also by love. His righteousness is dictated by love. He was a man of genuine love, a husband who knew how to love.

Joseph is also a husband who knew how to listen to God and obey him. He is attentive to the voice of God. He was not a dreamer, although God entered his life through the door of a dream. He is a man of prayer and reminds husbands of the need for constant dialogue with God before making any decision within the family. He had the ability to listen to God and the courage to do the right thing, to live the vocation of a husband, taking Mary as his wife.

When Joseph arose and obeyed, receiving Mary as his wife, he also said yes to fatherhood: «She will give birth to a son, and you shall name him Jesus.». By being a chaste husband, he also became a father. In Joseph we see another dimension of fatherhood. He is not only a model for husbands, but also for celibate men. He shows that his chastity can also lead to true fatherhood.

St. Joseph is a model for husbands and there is an urgent need for many more «Josephs» in today's world. No wonder a pious mother once told me that I should pray for her daughter to find her Joseph. How right she was! If we need more holy families, we need holy men, holy husbands like Joseph. Let us pray that we have many men like St. Joseph, holy husbands.

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The Vatican

“Faith is not a blind act, a renouncing of reason,” Pope says

On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Pope Leo XIV urged us to “open our eyes” with an awakened and attentive faith in the face of the questions of the human heart and the dramatic situations of injustice, violence and suffering. “Faith is not a blind act, a renouncing of reason,” he said, just the day after the death of philosopher Jürgen Habermas.

Francisco Otamendi-March 15, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

Faith and reason, to keep “our eyes open” in the face of violence and suffering, and the call for a cessation of hostilities in the Middle East and the resumption of dialogue, especially in Lebanon, were central themes in the Angelus of Pope Leo XIV on the IV Sunday of Lent.

In fact, the Gospel The Pope said that the theme of this Fourth Sunday of Lent recounts the healing of a man blind from birth (cf. Jn 9:1-41), and “it is striking that for centuries there has been a widespread belief, still present today, that faith is a kind of “leap in the dark,” a renunciation of thought, so that to have faith would mean to believe “blindly”.

“An open-eyed Christianity.”

However, “the Gospel, on the other hand, tells us that in contact with Christ eyes are opened, to the point that the religious authorities insistently ask the healed blind man: ‘How were your eyes opened?’ (Jn 9:10); and also: ‘How did he open your eyes?’ (v. 26).

The Pontiff encouraged that “we, healed by the love of Christ, are called to live a Christianity “with eyes open”, especially to the sufferings of others and the wounds of the world. Faced with the many questions of the human heart and the dramatic situations of injustice, violence and suffering that mark our time, we need an awakened, attentive and prophetic faith that opens our eyes to the darkness of the world.

Leo XIV, Benedict XVI, Jürgen Habermas

Shortly before, the Successor of Peter had said: “Faith is not a blind act, a renunciation of reason, a disposition of a certain religious conviction that leads us to look away from the world. On the contrary, faith helps us to look from Jesus” point of view, with his eyes".

Some have recalled on this point the conversations between the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas, The dialogue was held with Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) in 2004, in which the latter acknowledged that religion somehow needed a critical control of reason. The context of the dialogue was faith, reason and democracy in Europe.

Habermas, for his part, recognized that religion continues to play a relevant cultural and moral role, and did not propose its exclusion from the public sphere, but rather to translate its ethical intuitions into a language accessible to all citizens. At the same time, the philosopher affirmed that the relationship between faith and reason is not one of subordination, but of reciprocal learning.

War in the Middle East

Regarding the war in the Middle East, Leo XIV noted that “thousands of innocent people have lost their lives and many others have been forced to flee their homes. I reiterate my closeness in prayer to all those who have lost loved ones in the attacks that have struck schools, hospitals and populated areas.”.

“Lebanon, a cause for great concern”.”

He then acknowledged, as he did last Sunday, that “the situation in Lebanon is a source of great concern. I hope that paths of dialogue will be opened that can help the authorities of the country to implement lasting solutions to the current serious crisis, for the common good of all Lebanese.

In the name of the Christians of the Middle East and of all women and men of good will, I address those responsible for this conflict: cease hostilities! Let the paths of dialogue be resumed! Violence can never lead to the justice, stability and peace that the peoples are waiting for.”.

The Pope is already residing in the apartment of the Apostolic Palace.

For the rest, Pope Leo has already transferred your residence to the apartment in the Apostolic Palace, together with his closest collaborators, as confirmed by Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office. It consists of several spaces, including the private study, from where the Pope looks out for the Angelus in St. Peter's Square, the Library and a small chapel. Until now, the Pope had lived in the Palace of the Holy Office, where he resided when he was prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

Pope Leo XIV

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11 messages from the Pope to young people at their Jubilee

ColumnistsAntonio Moreno

Young people leaving the networks

The young people who leave their nets and begin to walk following Jesus point the way for those of us who are fearful and make us see that the future is not as black as the newscasts make it out to be.

March 15, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

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In a matter of a few months, I have lived very closely the entrance of a 20 year old boy into the Seminary and the weddings of two 26 year old girls. Different paths for the same call to leave the nets and follow God where He wants.

In the days leading up to the celebration of the Seminar Day (March 22), we are invited to reflect on the Christian vocation, the one against which a famous Spanish comedian the other day directed a furious attack, not so much, I believe, out of true hatred for Christianity but because «she doesn't know what she is doing».

It is impossible to understand, for those who live in an exclusively material key, that a young man or woman chooses to stop living for himself or herself in order to live for others, whether in a Christian marriage or in a priestly or religious vocation. «They must have eaten his brain,» think those who do not realize that they have theirs like a gruyere cheese because of ideologies, authentic political religions that not only leave their followers empty, but, under the promise of making them freer, enslave them.

Other gods

The call to leave the nets that Jesus made to his disciples takes on full relevance in a world as entangled as the one humanity is facing in this second quarter of the 21st century. Our young people live tied by the fine thread of the god of money, by the transparent line of the god of aesthetics, by the thin wire of the god of professional careers, by the invisible cable of the god of affections, by the light filament of the digital world....

Like those phantom rigs that drift through the seas entangling the sea creatures that come across them, exhausting them to death, many boys and girls live hooked, without realizing it, to a huge ball of fine threads that prevents them from swimming free. The data make it clear: youth is no longer the golden age, but quite the opposite. The younger generations are much unhappier than the older ones and the mental deterioration they suffer is becoming pandemic.

Invitation to love

What has happened so that, in spite of having almost everything, they cannot cope with their lives? Could it be that the human being is something more than matter and that he/she becomes scattered if he/she does not discover that he/she is something more? Jesus« call to his disciples to leave their nets was not a command from authority, but an invitation, from freedom, to untie themselves and discover that »something more", the secret of authentic happiness: to love. Because living only for oneself impoverishes us and limits our spirit, which is made to go out to meet others, to love and serve.

How much joy is transmitted by those people who live by and for others! Mothers and parents who go out of their way for their spouses and children, priests dedicated to their parishes, religious men and women who care for their brothers and sisters in community and live their contemplative or active charism to the full, or volunteers who do their bit to build a better world. All of them show that life, when given, is received, and when we try to hold on to it, it is lost.

The testimony of the youth

Seeing young people swimming against the tide saying yes to the Lord despite all the difficulties that this entails today, denounces my lack of faith and hope. Lack of faith because I forget that God is a Father who takes care of his own and lack of hope because I am afraid of the future, which does not depend on me, nor on the latest Donald Trump's latest idea, but only on God.

The testimony of the seminarians, the experience of the boys and girls who decide to embrace religious life, the example of the young couples of bride and groom, They are an enormous prophetic cry that should awaken from their lethargy a society lulled to sleep by the new opiates of the people. The young people who leave their nets and begin to walk following Jesus show the way to the fearful and make us see that the future is not as black as the newscasts show us.

As St. Peter recalled in the book of Acts, «your sons and daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions». And so it is.

The authorAntonio Moreno

Journalist. Graduate in Communication Sciences and Bachelor in Religious Sciences. He works in the Diocesan Delegation of Media in Malaga. His numerous "threads" on Twitter about faith and daily life have a great popularity.

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Evangelization

Serving by communicating: the mission that transformed the life of Susy Campoverde

In Guayaquil, a city of fast pace and vibrant commerce, Susy Campoverde has found, by collaborating with her parish, a space where time is measured in another way: through grace.

Juan Carlos Vasconez-March 14, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

Susy Campoverde, a marketing expert who knows the business world well, traded corporate strategies for parishes, discovering an unexpected vocation.

At times, Susy herself is amazed at the definition of her current role: “I am surprised when one of the priests I collaborate with introduces me as ‘the one in charge of communication, the one who keeps us up to date with events, activities and, above all, special parties’.”. Although the presbyters say it with affection, she feels the weight of those words.

For Susy, ecclesial communication is not technical, it is theological: “In the Church, to communicate well is to serve well: a period, a comma, a word, a photo or a video can bring a heart closer to God..., or leave it indifferent.”.

A daughter's return home

Susy's conversion story has a maternal trigger. Her journey began fourteen years ago, driven by the desire for good for her eldest daughter. “I was working very hard and, although I loved her with my soul, I felt that I was not giving her something essential: a space to grow spiritually, to know God.”, He recalls with sincerity about those years of intense work activity.

That restlessness awakened in her echoes of her own childhood in Guayaquil. Memory took her back to Guayalar, an institution linked to the work of Opus Dei. Susy recalls with nostalgia that “There we received talks, meditations, circles and we were invited to retreats where there was always a warmth of home that marked my heart”.”. It was that sensation of feeling “loved, accompanied, guided” what she longed for her daughter.

Although marriage and adult life had driven her away from the “unintentionally”, The search for training for her daughter became her own Damascus road. Wanting to give the child “that environment where one can find God naturally”.”, she ended up finding it herself.

A routine anchored in prayer

Far from being a mere clerk, Susy lives her work from a spiritual point of view. Her day starts with a clear priority:“I get up, offer my day and do some prayer time at home, before the movement of family and work begins.”. He is categorical in affirming the importance of this moment: “That prayer, short or long depending on the day, is what sustains me.”.

Its work in the various parishes with which it collaborates goes beyond “take pictures or prepare communication material”. Its objective is to “to live with the community, to listen, to accompany and to feel closely the parish life”.”. For her, the sacraments and prayer are not an addition, but the foundation: “Those moments -prayer at home, Mass, living together with the community. are my daily anchor. They remind me that my job is not just a set of tasks, but a mission.”.

Communicating is transmitting life

His vision of institutional communication in the Church is profound: “Parish communication is a delicate bridge. It's not just about informing; it's about transmitting life.”.

This awareness is what leads her to a holy perfectionism. “A well-written message can encourage; an image can awaken faith.”, she assures. In direct contact, Susy avoids the limelight. “I don't give great advice or pretend to direct anyone's spiritual path.”, he clarifies. His method is simpler: “I simply work with affection and approach people from the everyday.”. He has discovered that evangelization does not always require great speeches, for “God acts above all in those simple gestures, in the closeness and respect with which we treat others.”.

There is an anecdote that Susy treasures and that perfectly illustrates her mission. In her parish, she is often asked to lead the rosary, something that she does “with affection and also with a bit of modesty”.”. One day, an elderly lady approached him at the end of Mass, took his hand gently and said: “How beautiful how she carries the rosary..., I have learned to pray it with her”.”.

That comment was a revelation. “I was deeply moved by his words.”, Susy confesses. “I never imagined that leading the rosary could touch someone's heart. For me it was a simple, almost everyday act; but for her it had been an open door to get closer to God.”.

People who count

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Spain

RedMadre offers a training search engine geared towards mothers

The Maternity Aid Foundation launches an unprecedented career guidance website for new mothers (and those who are not).

Jose Maria Navalpotro-March 13, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

Pregnant women, at risk, and lacking training or professional qualifications to be able to be autonomous and earn a living. A drama. And a very common situation in this group. The RedMadre Foundation has just launched a portal, RedMadre Orienta, to help in this task. Beyond the jungle that entails entering search engines such as Google, this digital tool, unique in its characteristics, will allow to focus the search and easily access training proposals of different types, public and private, free and paid. This tool has been made possible thanks to the sponsorship of the Nemesio Diez Foundation, which supports projects dedicated to vulnerable people in Spain.

A few days after March 8, Women's Day, RedMadre believes that female employability remains a challenge for society. Even more so when they become pregnant or have just had a child.

One out of every four women has had work difficulties after motherhood, according to María Torrego, president of the RedMadre Foundation, an organization that has been working for 19 years to help at-risk mothers. This is the reason for the creation of this website, which is “an intelligent training search engine for new mothers, or simply mothers,” explains María Torrego, general manager of the foundation. Its offer is aimed at a very specific sector of women, but in reality it can benefit any of them, or even men, because the offers are usually generic in nature. “It's like a specialized Google, which saves time and effort in the search,” she adds.

Training adapted to the circumstances

“We help the pregnant women and new mothers we accompany to access training adapted to their circumstances in order to facilitate their incorporation into the world of work and enable them to support their families and develop their lives,” she says. María Torrego. She adds that “with this professional orientation portal we open our training and employment project to any woman who needs new opportunities to rebuild her life project, without the need for her to be receiving support from RedMadre”.

The new digital tool is part of the Employability program that the foundation is already developing, with the Forma+Emplea+Integra Project. aimed at parents in vulnerable situations. Working with them, “we saw the need for a tool to help them seek training,” explains Leticia Estevas-Guilmain, head of the project. She points out that many of the beneficiaries of RedMadre are immigrant women. “We have detected that these women we are helping urgently need training to get a decent job that will guarantee better opportunities for her and her new family, and that the stage of pregnancy and early parenting can be used to this end”.

However, in many cases “they lack training in Spain. Sometimes they don't have it at all; sometimes they even have higher degrees, because they are dentists, lawyers, doctors, but without a certified degree. The Foundation already provided them with some practical help in short, practical sessions, and in more specialized, face-to-face courses.

“Now we are extending this assistance to pregnant women, to anyone, regardless of their situation. In addition, it is an unprecedented course because no one collects so much information on training offers,” Leticia assures. “There are no search engines that offer something so specialized,” she stresses.

The site is not a course tracker, but rather the RedMadre team analyzes different options and courses and then includes those that are truly useful for the people targeted by the tool.

The website provides information on offers from 16 private entities with which RedMadre collaborates (care organizations, educational entities...) as well as numerous public resources, from ministries, autonomous communities and city councils. Most of them are free of charge. For those that are not, the Foundation often offers financial aid.

On the web

On the page RedMadre Orienta allows connecting women according to their age, autonomous community, previous studies and legal situation with the social entities that offer courses and programs compatible with their circumstances. It also shows the map of public education they can access and the degrees they can take, explaining in detail each one and the type of work they will be able to develop later. In addition, it has a section for quick and easy access to the accreditation of professional competencies and homologation of degrees.

Torrego has encouraged all educational entities and social organizations to offer their collaboration on the page, with the idea of centralizing on this website the widest possible range of offers.

The website will be updated frequently, with the idea that the resources are active and that there are no links to outdated websites or offers. The search engine can be accessed through https://orienta.redmadre.es/

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The unforgettable figure of Carmen Hernández

The delivery of more than 30,000 pages of documentation to the Archbishopric of Madrid allows us to delve deeper into the signs of identity of the life and mission of Carmen Hernandez.

José Carlos Martín de la Hoz-March 13, 2026-Reading time: 4 minutes

On March 2, the documentation prepared by the Historical Commission was handed over to the Episcopal Delegate for the Causes of Saints of the Archbishopric of Madrid, Mr. Alberto Fernández, at the Archbishopric of Madrid.

The Postulator of the Cause, Dr. Charlie Metola and the doctoral members of the Historical Commission swore to have faithfully complied with the mandate received from His Eminence Cardinal José Cobo, Archbishop of Madrid. Finally, the professors were interrogated one by one by the tribunal appointed for this purpose by the Cardinal as prescribed by canon law.

Finally, in the hall The members of the tribunal and the postulator of the Cause, together with the five historians, all of them good professionals and very knowledgeable about the co-foundress of the Neocatechumenal Way, were photographed to immortalize the moment.

The signs of identity of Carmen Hernández

The question one asks oneself after reviewing and preparing the 30,000 pages of documents, collected, transcribed and presented before the Diocesan Tribunal, would be what were the signs of identity of the Servant of God? Carmen Hernandez. This question is the one I will try to summarize in the following lines.

First of all, I was impressed to learn about the vocational itinerary through which Carmen Hernandez received from God the mission to work side by side with Kiko Arguello all her life, being both of such different formation and mentality, to respond to the divine invitation to build Christian communities throughout the world and a true spirituality in which several million people, mostly Christian families, have already reached, with God's grace and freedom, holiness and have enlivened entire countries and dioceses.

Theological formation and providence in its preparation

Immediately, we must recognize the Providence of God that made Carmen study theology until she obtained her degree in the Faculty of Theology of Valencia, which was started and promoted by D. Antonio Rodilla, one of the most important personalities of the diocese of Valencia and faithful collaborator of Archbishop Marcelino Olaechea.

Carmen was able to enrich herself with the doctrinal, theological and liturgical richness of the Faculty and then apply it to the catechists along the way, so that they would know how to apply it to persons, families, of all classes and conditions and of all races, thanks to the depth of theology. The scripts that he prepared and that have been preserved and delivered to the Historical Commission make explicit the theological environment of the fifties and the renewal of the Second Vatican Council.

Carmen knew the Bible very well

It is especially striking the great knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures that shows all the catechetical work of Carmen Hernandez as well as the living Tradition of the Church and the pontifical magisterium. It is very easy to discover the relationship of that living theology with the text of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that would be published in 1992 and that we see reflected in so many scripts elaborated by Carmen.

There is a detail that is worth highlighting in the light of the recent document prepared by the Commission on the Doctrine of the Faith of the Spanish Episcopal Conference. This document wishes to draw attention to the importance of providing the Christian people with a solid formation in doctrinal matters and popular piety, avoiding both emotionalism and cold rationality far removed from the true life of prayer and sacrifice of ordinary Christians. In this direction, the solid foundation of biblical theology and the theology of communion that runs through the life and writings of Carmen Hernandez is very striking.

A spiritual motherhood at the service of families

Certainly, the life of Carmen Hernandez and that of the Neocatechumenal Way and that of Kiko Arguello run in parallel and each one of them will be a true instrument of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, therefore, in what I am going to say now, I will stick to what I think is proper to Carmen. Specifically, Carmen, as a woman and “mother” of the Camino, will bring all the elements of her femininity and especially the gift of an overflowing motherhood with the families of the Camino.

As the years go by and the characteristics of this path of holiness that opened up in the world are studied from the angle of spiritual theology, surely theologians, with the necessary historical perspective and the undoubted fruits of holiness that we are already contemplating, will underline what we could now tentatively call: “the facets of a family and lay spirituality”.

The expansion of Christianity

Certainly, the reality of the Camino is that it is about communities that contain other communities and within them a good group of families that know how to make community at all times and that at the same time evangelize the world because they relate with other families in their environment and thus the world will be illuminated from within. In this sense, we will study the migrations of families sent to build Christian communities where there were none or where they had almost disappeared so that they will connect with the first Christians and the expansion of the faith throughout the empire as Rodney Stark has historicized in his famous treatise “The Expansion of Christianity”.

Among the anecdotes that could be told, I have selected one that, because of its simplicity, denotes the character of a strong, strong, Castilian and Navarrese mother of a family, at the same time that she was full of infinite understanding and mercy. I am referring to the direct and spontaneous conversation with a group of seminarians whom she wished to form and launch throughout the world. In a moment of intense confidence in them, he told them: “virtue is a matter of faith”.

Certainly, those who know and have dealt with young people know that one must always be encouraging, positive and encouraging and, at the same time, that there are no magic formulas or shortcuts, but also that only from the depths can one build a solid edifice. Faith, hope and love are three theological virtues that God gives in abundance to those who wish to follow him in his service. All spiritual problems, therefore, can be solved by asking God to give us the virtues he is asking of us.

The expansion of Christianity

AuthorRodney Stark

EditorialTrotta

Pages: 224

Year: 2025

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Formation: key to freedom and innovation in the Sisterhoods

TribuneMsgr. José Ángel Saiz Meneses

Popular piety and the evangelizing mission of the Brotherhoods of the Sisterhoods of the Church

In a world where popular piety brings the faithful closer to the mystery of God, the brotherhoods and confraternities fulfill a key mission based on three pillars: solid formation, coherent faith and commitment to charity and those most in need.

March 13, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

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Popular piety is not a folkloric appendage of Christian life. It is the threshold through which many people are introduced to the Mystery of God: a mother who teaches the sign of the cross, a candle lit before an image, a rosary prayed as a family, a penitential station that awakens questions. However, for this threshold to truly lead to Christ, it must remain united to the liturgical life of the Church. The Vatican Council II clearly expresses it: “The Liturgy is the summit towards which the activity of the Church tends and at the same time the source from which all her strength flows” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10).

For this reason, the Council itself, in recommending pious practices, establishes a golden criterion: “It is necessary that these same exercises be organized with the liturgical seasons in mind, so that they may be in accord with the sacred Liturgy, in a certain sense derive from it and lead the people to it” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 13). This pastoral rule avoids two temptations: liturgicism that disdains the devotion of the people, and devotionalism that forgets that the Eucharist is the heart of the life of the Christian and of the Church.

St. Paul VI, with a fatherly gaze, recognized lights and shadows of “popular religiosity”; but he affirmed that, “when it is well oriented... it contains many values” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 48). And Pope Francis has strongly emphasized that in popular piety “underlies an actively evangelizing force that we cannot underestimate”.” (Evangelii gaudium, 126). It is not a question of marginal pious practices: it is a pastoral fact. Where faith seems weakened, there often remains a glowing ember in these expressions that are as simple as they are profound.

Brotherhoods and confraternities: a privileged ecclesial subject

In our land, the brotherhoods and confraternities are a privileged subject of this popular piety. The Directory on popular piety and liturgy recalls that, in addition to the exercise of charity and social commitment, its purposes include the following “the promotion of Christian worship” (Directory... n. 69). It also describes their concrete life: they have their own calendar of worship services, processions and pilgrimages, and they mark days of worship, processions and pilgrimages. “in which certain works of mercy are to be done”.” (Ibid.). The Church recognizes them, approves their statutes and values their acts of worship; but, at the same time, it asks them to, “avoiding all forms of opposition and isolation.”, are “integrated in an appropriate way into parish and diocesan life”.” (Ibid.).

From here we can understand its evangelizing mission. A fraternity evangelizes when it takes care of communion: with the pastor, with the diocese, with the ordinary liturgical life, with the poor and with the youth. It evangelizes when worship is not reduced to aesthetics, but leads to confession, to a profound experience of the Eucharist, to listening to the Word, to coherence of life and to its charitable and social work. And it evangelizes when its public presence is not self-affirmation, but witness: a people that walks humbly, praying, offering penance, placing Christ at the center.

Three unpostponable tasks

First: formation. Without doctrinal and liturgical formation, piety is impoverished and exposed to confusion. The Directory reminds us that the exercises of piety should be “conformable to sound doctrine”, "in harmony with the sacred Liturgy”.” and promote “a conscious and active participation in the common prayer of the Church.” (Directory..., n. 71). Therefore, a persevering catechesis is urgently needed: on the mystery of Christ, on the Virgin Mary, on the saints, on the meaning of penance and mercy, on the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Second: celebrate with truth. Well-prepared services - centered on Christ, illuminated by the Word, with sobriety and an ecclesial sense - evangelize without fanfare. Also pilgrimages and processions, when they are prayer and not spectacle, can be a “first proclamation” for many. Francis reminds us that “walking together to the shrines... is in itself an evangelizing gesture”, and adds: “Let us not curtail or seek to control that missionary force!” (Evangelii Gaudium, 124).

Third: to serve. Devotion that does not become charity becomes sterile. The brotherhood that accompanies the sick, supports the needy, welcomes the migrant, visits the elderly, promotes works of mercy and defends the dignity of the poor, preaches the Gospel with works and credibility. Popular piety then becomes integral evangelization: worship and life, beauty and truth, tradition and mission.

Popular piety, purified and encouraged, is a place where the Spirit continues to work. Let us care for it with pastoral love so that our brotherhoods may be, more and more, communities of missionary disciples who lead to the liturgy and, from the liturgy, go out to meet the people.

The authorMsgr. José Ángel Saiz Meneses

Archbishop of Seville

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Spain

Fernando García, new Secretary General of CONFER as of September

Fernando García Sánchez replaces Jesús Miguel Zamora, FSC, as the new Secretary General of CONFER, taking office on September 1.

Editorial Staff Omnes-March 12, 2026-Reading time: 2 minutes

The General Council of the Spanish Conference of Religious (CONFER) has appointed this Thursday, March 12, Salesian Fernando García Sánchez as the new secretary general of the institution for the period 2026-2030. García will take office on September 1, 2026, replacing Jesús Miguel Zamora, a religious of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, La Salle, who has held this responsibility since September 2017.

Current trajectory within the Salesians

Fernando García (Madrid, 1974) is currently the Major Superior of the Salesian Province of Santiago el Mayor, a position he will hold until May 2. Within the Salesian congregation he has also been a member of the Provincial Council and Provincial Coordinator of Salesian Santiago el Mayor Schools.

García made his first religious profession in Arévalo on August 16, 1993 and was ordained priest in Madrid - Paseo de Extremadura on June 19, 2004.

The new Secretary General obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy and Letters from the Pontifical University of Salamanca and a Bachelor's Degree in Theology from the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome, where he also studied Youth Ministry.

Pastoral experience and institutional responsibilities

Throughout his pastoral career he has held various responsibilities in the educational and youth field. He has been pastoral coordinator, director of the Youth Center and sports coordinator at the Salesian House in Soto del Real, as well as director of Salesianos Aranjuez and Salesianos Atocha.

In CONFER itself, he is a member of the General Council and has participated in the group in charge of elaborating the Lines of Work of the Institutions of the Catholic Church in Spain in matters of sexual abuse and the Plan of Integral Reparation for Victims of Abuse (PRIVA), approved in 2024 by CONFER and the Spanish Episcopal Conference. He is also a member of a working group of major superiors created in 2025 to reflect on educational works and the governance of religious institutions.

He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Escuelas Católicas - Madrid and of the Board of Trustees of the Fundación Educación y Evangelio.

Acknowledgment to Jesús Miguel Zamora

For his part, Jesús Miguel Zamora will continue as secretary general until Fernando García takes office, scheduled for August 31. CONFER has thanked both the Salesians and the new secretary general for their willingness to assume this service and for the work carried out by Zamora during his nine years of dedication to the institution.

The president of CONFER, Jesús Díaz Sariego, OP, also expressed his gratitude to the Salesian Province of St. James the Greater and to the Christian Brothers, La Salle, “for their commitment to religious life in Spain, through the collaboration and service of Fernando and Jesús Miguel in CONFER respectively».

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The Vatican

Msgr. Luis Marín, new Pope's almoner

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Luis Marin de San Martin, O.S.A., new Almsgiver of His Holiness and Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, replacing Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, called to the Archdiocese of Łódź (Poland).

Editorial Staff Omnes-March 12, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Luis Marin de San Martin, O.S.A., as the new Almsgiver of His Holiness and Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, conferring upon him the dignity of Archbishop. Marín, until now titular bishop of Suliana and Undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod. He thus replaces Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, who has been appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Łódź (Poland). Cardinal Krajewski, 63, had held the post of Almsgiver since 2013 and became prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity in 2022.

The newly appointed Almsgiver of His Holiness expressed in a message his «profound gratitude to Pope Leo XIV for his confidence», while assuring that he will try to fulfill his new responsibilities «with fidelity, involvement and enthusiasm».

In this work, he continued, «I want to put the poor at the center and allow myself to be challenged by their cry, which is that of Christ. As a Christian, as a pastor, I must reveal the true face of divine love. And he affirmed that »service to the poor refers back to the Gospel. They evangelize us. He also recalled his predecessor, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, and his «hard and magnificent task».

Synod Partners

The new Almsgiver recalled his colleagues in the Synod Secretariat, among them Cardinal Mario Grech. He also expressed his gratitude for the appointment he received from Pope Francis, «who called me to collaborate in this time of renewal and hope».

Bishop Marín highlighted the richness of «the years spent as undersecretary of the Synod» and highlighted «the vitality of the Church, which chases away the shadows of pessimism and resignation. He also stressed that during his work he met »many «saints next door‘ who, with simplicity, courage and joy, live and witness to their faith and sow the Gospel’.

Son of the Church

Mons. Luis Marín also dedicated a few words to the Church, «whom I love with all my being and whom I wish to serve in whatever she asks of me, in whatever she needs from me, like a son with his Mother». In the same vein, he ended his message by affirming: «I know that I am not alone. I am a son of the Church, I am part of the People of God. We walk together» and asked for prayers to carry out his work.

Who is Mons. Luis Marín?

Bishop Luis Marin comes to the position with a trajectory marked by the coordination and promotion of synodality in the Church. An Augustinian from Madrid, he has been one of the undersecretaries of the Synod of Bishops, collaborating closely with Cardinal Mario Grech and the French nun Nathalie Becquart. In a interview granted to Omnes Marín described the Synod as a process of listening and participation, emphasizing that the synodal Church is walking together: «to live the Church is to live synodality. Promoting this synodality is the task of all Christians”.

In his work as undersecretary, Msgr. Marin has promoted the participation of the laity in the Church, always emphasizing the spiritual dimension and openness to the Holy Spirit as a guide for discernment. His experience in coordinating and leading synodal processes will be key in his new mission, which combines the administration of the Dicastery with the direct accompaniment of the Pope's charitable works.

Luis Marin has shared his daily life with the Pope for years and maintains a great friendship with him, which has allowed him to get to know his career closely. After the election of Leo XIV, the new almoner dedicated a article in Omnes to analyze and publicize his figure.

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God in the Spanish Constitution

The 1978 Constitution sought peace after decades of conflict, but eliminated any explicit mention of God. This generated a debate about the moral identity of the state and the relationship between religion and politics in Spain.

Santiago Leyra Curiá-March 12, 2026-Reading time: 6 minutes

Martin Buber begins one of his classic books Eclipse of God with this sentence: «The true character of an epoch is recognized above all by the prevailing relationship between religion and reality».

As Olegario González de Cardedal says, the main objective of the 1978 Constitution was to move from the consequences of the civil war to a project of peaceful civil coexistence. This principled attitude also had repercussions on religious questions, and the left and political nationalism wanted to distance themselves as far as possible from Francoism. It is from this general perspective that, for many, questions of God, religion and churches were seen in the light of the above as something repressive that had to be avoided.

The religious debate in the drafting of the 1978 Constitution

For example, the PSOE representative Gregorio Peces Barba justified his «exit» from the Constitutional Proposal by his opposition to the constitutional mention of the Catholic Church in what would be art. 16.3 of the Constitution (no confession has a state character, but the public authorities will take into account the beliefs of society, maintaining relations of cooperation with the Catholic Church and the other confessions) and which his party opposed because it considered it an underhand confessionalism.

Beyond this position, it was thought that the general awareness prevailed that concord, collective understanding between human groups, parties, ideologies, regions and religions, should prevail over possible and legitimate claims.

Peace or truth: the moral dilemma of the Transition

There are two moral imperatives that man has to conjugate and many times he does not know how. On the façade of the Casa Museo de Unamuno in Salamanca is written the phrase: «First truth before peace». Now, he was referring to personal peace, to the necessary search for the truth that preceded and preceded him. The context was his existential struggle. At the time of the Spanish transition and the drafting of the Constitution, the statement «Peace before truth» prevailed in people's consciences.

And here is where we find the difficulties that for some Spaniards the text of the Constitution of 1978 (date in which 90.5% of Spaniards declared themselves Catholic) offered because it silenced the affirmations about God that had preceded practically in the preamble of almost all the previous Spanish Constitutions with the exception of the one proposed by the Republic in 1931, beginning with that of the Cortes of Cadiz that makes two capital affirmations. The first one opens the text: «In the name of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, author and supreme legislator of the Society». And article 12: «The religion of the Spanish nation is and will perpetually be the Catholic, apostolic and Roman, unique and true. The Nation protects it by wise and just laws and prohibits the exercise of any other».

A godless constitution for a Christian people?

In the current Spanish Constitution there is no nomination, invocation or explicit reference to God. The problem was raised only by the independent senator from Soria, Fidel Carazo, who was joined by two other UCD senators and Admiral Gamboa, who put as a condition to give their positive vote to the Constitution, that the following amendment be admitted: «Spain recognizes God as the inspiring foundation of law and the transcendent basis of human values». They were joined by another group, which found no echo in Spanish society or in the Spanish Church. In the political parties and in the constitutional papers there was a shared conviction: religion should not again be a problem that divided Spaniards.

On September 28, 1978, the Permanent Commission of the Spanish Episcopal Conference published a note on the Constitutional Referendum of December 6, 1978. In it the bishops showed their recognition to the values that the Constitution offered at the same time that they showed some reservations and reservations. And they concluded: «We consider that there are no decisive reasons for us to indicate or forbid the faithful to vote in a decisive way».

Monsignor José Guerra Campos, Bishop of Cuenca, in a Pastoral Letter taken up by the Bishops of Vitoria, Orense, Sigüenza-Guadalajara, Ciudad Rodrigo, Tenerife and Orihuela, asked in the title: «Constitution without God for a Christian people? The presupposition of this question was that, if it is a question of a mainly Christian people, it is not possible to enunciate the essence of its moral orientation, of its project of meaning and of its constitutional juridical norm, without naming God.

In a private conversation, St. John Paul II said to Cardinal Bueno Monreal, Archbishop of Seville and Cardinal Tarancon, Archbishop of Madrid: «You have consented to an atheist Constitution in Spain». Cardinal Bueno Monreal replied: «It is a non-confessional Constitution, it recognizes the autonomy of civil power and religious autonomy».

European models of the relationship between God and the Constitution

The situation in the rest of the European constitutions is diverse: from those that begin with an invocation to the Holy Trinity as Ireland and Greece, to those that maintain the divine designations that come from centuries as is the peculiar case of England, to those that do not enter the question and think that the affirmation of God is subsumed from its only verifiable place: the freedom of men, which is respected and assigned its own place among the rights and freedoms that are regulated. The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation, in its 1999 version, begins as follows: «In the name of Almighty God, the Swiss people and Cantons....».

The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany of May 23, 1949 deserves special mention: «Conscious of its responsibility before God and mankind and animated by the will to serve the peace of the world as an equal member of a united Europe, the German people...». Here not only is a nomination of God made, but the responsibility of the legislators before Him is affirmed. He is conceived as the front of legitimacy on the one hand, of demand and judgment on the other, before whom the laws have their ultimate meaning, foundation and defense. The experience of the 12 years of Nazism, which arose at first from the democratic vote of the Germans, can be glimpsed in the background.

Secularism arises for the defense of minorities, as an area of freedom for all and can never be used for the repression of the majorities from a dominant ideology or group that rises to absolute interpreter as the sole guardian of the nation or the republic. This is exactly the point of the Polish Constitution, which chose a middle way, so that believers and non-believers are represented in this Magna Carta.

The text reads: «We the Polish nation, all citizens of the Republic, both those who believe in God as the source of truth, justice, goodness and beauty, as well as those who do not share such faith, but respect universal values as coming from other sources, equal in rights and obligations towards the common good ... recognizing our responsibility before God or before our conscience».

Moral foundation and cultural consequences

By putting the word God in a constitutional text we are breaking the horizontality of history and of human life; we are knowing ourselves to be superior to ourselves; we are accepting the precedence of good and the sovereignty of Truth over man as a power that qualifies him and as a power that judges him, so that evil cannot be declared good or good evil. In uttering the name of God, we are each knowing ourselves equal to those who have the power because they too are referred to their judgment and truth. They, as well as we, must obey legislation, which is not pure law, but must be founded on justice.

Ortega repeated that God is a question for everyone, a civil problem and not only for believers but also for thinkers. Rahner affirmed that a culture or university that does not dare to speak of God, and that does not have a public place for Him, cannot have a public place to speak of metaphysics and ethics, of being and duty. These are not more evident than God and have not occupied in consciences nor do they occupy today more real space than He does.

Historical balance and critical judgment

Cardinal Marcelo Gonzalez, Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain, published days before the constitutional referendum of December 6, 1978, a letter entitled Ante el referéndum sobre la Constitución (Before the referendum on the Constitution), in which he warned: on the seriousness of proposing an agnostic Constitution in a nation of baptized people whose immense majority had not renounced their faith, being able to turn it in the hands of successive public powers into a “safe-conduct for legalized aggressions against inalienable human rights”, referring to the possibility of legally introducing abortion in Spain; on the subjection of the management of educational centers to obstacles that favored Marxist tactics; on the non-consideration of the moral values of the family (speaking of the future divorce law as “a huge factory of broken marriages and orphans with father and mother”).

The prelate did not imagine the laws that would be passed in the following decades or the release from prison of unrepentant ETA convicts and collaborators of justice that we are currently experiencing.

In 2004 came the debate on the non-inclusion of a mention of the Christian roots of Europe in the draft of the unborn European Constitution. Marcelo and the 7 bishops who adhered to his letter, branded by some press as fundamentalists, saw coming the moral degradation of Spain that has made possible our Constitution and that we contemplate today.

It is also fair to point out that June marks 30 years of PSOE governments, which together with the 5 years of UCD and the 14 years of PP, make these parties the architects, actively or passively, of our current moral situation. Let us hope that a future constitutional reform will lay its foundations on firmer foundations, while respecting the freedom and diversity of the Spanish people.

Spain

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P. Rafael Pascual: “The life of St. Teresa cannot be understood without St. Joseph”.”

“March is the month of St. Joseph! The month of March is the month of St. Joseph! ”The life of St. Teresa cannot be understood without St. Joseph," are messages conveyed to Omnes by the Discalced Carmelite Fr. Rafael Pascual Elías, appointed director of the Spanish Josephite Center of Valladolid.

Francisco Otamendi-March 12, 2026-Reading time: 7 minutes

“The most practical thing for the month of March is something key that we have to take back from our elders: talk to everyone about the month of St. Joseph! The month of March is the month of St. Joseph," says Fr. Rafael Pascual Elías OCD, new director of the Josephine Spanish Center Valladolid, with March 19 in perspective. The life of St. Teresa cannot be understood without Joseph, says the Discalced Carmelite.

Rafael Pascual Elías (Logroño, 1984) entered the Order in 2006, was ordained a priest in 2013, and has ministered in El Burgo de Osma, Alba de Tormes, Calahorra, Logroño and Zaragoza.

Much of the interview focuses on the life of St. Teresa, who cannot be understood without St. Joseph, because it was he who cured him and became a father for his whole life in every way, says Fr.

P. Rafael, can you summarize in two or three lines what will be your task at the head of the Spanish Josephine Center of Valladolid?

- Greetings to all Omnes readers. To begin with it is good to clarify that everything has come without being at all in my plans. Luis Javier Fernandez Frontela, died unexpectedly at the end of January and the Provincial, Francisco Sanchez Oreja, knowing my devotion to St. Joseph, invited me to be the new director of the Center. I said yes and now with great joy I assume this task knowing that the work that awaits me is not little. First of all I have to join the community of Valladolid, where the headquarters of the Joseph Center is located. That will be shortly before the beginning of the novena to St. Joseph.

The task is mainly focused on managing the journals published by the Josephine Center: a scientific one, Josephine Studies, and another popular one, St. Joseph's messenger. In addition, there is a large library with publications of all times and languages related to St. Joseph. There is also a sector with images and all kinds of realities related to St. Joseph.

Antonio J. Benéitez and Fr. Arturo Beltrán, who form the board of directors. The first and foremost for this whole project will be to present it and leave it in the hands of St. Joseph.

Image of St. Joseph from the website of the Centro Josefino Español de Valladolid (@Centro Josefino Español de Valladolid, @centrojosefino.com).

You are a Discalced Carmelite, what would you highlight in the life of St. Theresa in relation to St. Joseph? How did she treat him, how did she pray to him?

- The life of St. Teresa can not be understood without St. Joseph because after many doctors and pleas to various saints, it is this saint who cures him of his illness that had no apparent solution. Before this fact St. Joseph becomes a father for her whole life in every way.

Everything that follows has the gaze of St. Joseph. The first foundation he made was dedicated to St. Joseph; it was the famous monastery of St. Joseph of Avila. In addition, most of the rest of his foundations are also dedicated to this glorious saint. He even guides him in his travels and always carries with him an image that he leaves in every house he founds.

St. Teresa of Jesus speaks of the great mercies that St. Joseph has made her...

- Much more could be said about the importance of San Jose in the life of St. Teresa, but the best of all is what she herself writes in her book of Life where she tells us how she prays to him, how she invites people to pray to him and to put their lives in his hands as a true father. Let St. Teresa speak:

“And I took the glorious Saint Joseph as my advocate and lord, and I entrusted myself to him. I saw clearly that from this need as well as from other greater needs of honor and loss of soul, this my father and lord brought me out with more good than I knew how to ask of him.

And he went so far as to say that he could not remember anything that he had not stopped doing....

- I do not remember until now having begged him for anything that I have failed to do (said the saint of Avila). It is something that frightens the great mercies that God has done to me through this blessed Saint, of the dangers that he has freed me, both in body and soul; that to other saints it seems that the Lord gave them grace to help in one need, to this glorious Saint I have experience that he helps in all and that the Lord wants us to understand that just as it was subject to him on earth that as he had the name of father, being a godfather, he could command him, so in heaven he does whatever he asks of him. I tried to make his feast as solemn as I could.

I would like to persuade everyone to be devoted to this glorious Saint, because of the great experience I have of the good things he obtains from God.

St. Teresa advised us to take St. Joseph as our teacher of prayer.?

- I continue with the words of St. Teresa, and there is the answer. It seems to me that for some years now, every year on his day I ask him for something, and I always see it fulfilled (...) I only ask for the love of God that those who do not believe me try it, and they will see by experience the great good it is to entrust themselves to this glorious Patriarch and to have devotion to him. In particular, people of prayer should always be fond of him.

Whoever does not find a teacher to teach him prayer, let him take this glorious Saint as his teacher and he will not err on the way. (Life 6, 6-8).

Can you name 4 or 5 titles of San José that we can benefit from?

- Jerónimo Gracián de la Madre de Dios, a great devotee of St. Joseph and faithful defender of the Teresian charism, who supported St. Teresa of Jesus with great tenacity in the beginnings of the Discalced Carmel.

At Josefina, Gracian presents St. Joseph under 5 headings that I think are the ones that can best help us to know and love St. Joseph.

The first is a husband, the second a father, the third a righteous man, the fourth an angelic man, and the fifth a contemplative man.

Which San José title would you choose?

- I will keep this one: father! St. Joseph is father, father of all, father of every child who wants to be united to his Son! Let us always approach St. Joseph as father and our life will change completely!

Why is St. Joseph the patron saint of the universal Church?

- The answer is clear. Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1870, with the decree Quemadmodum Deus declares St. Joseph patron of the universal Church. These are very stormy times and it is necessary to seek refuge and defense in the one who defends Jesus and Mary in this world.

This is what Pius IX himself says in the same decree and which is also useful today: “In these sad times the Church herself is attacked everywhere by her enemies and is oppressed by such grave calamities that it seems that the wicked make the gates of hell prevail over her, the venerable bishops of the entire Catholic world, raised their prayers to the Supreme Pontiff so that he would deign to make Saint Joseph the patron of the Church” (Pius IX).”.

Shortly after, Pope Leo XIII will arrive with his well-known and widespread prayer to St. Joseph asking for the protection of the whole Church. As the years went by, and on the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph as patron of the universal Church, Pope Francis dedicated the year and the letter Patris Corde to him.

Tell us something about the most recent Popes and St. Joseph.

- I focus on those I have known, which at the same time serve to summarize my spiritual relationship with St. Joseph. We cannot speak of St. Joseph without the Apostolic Exhortation Custodian of the Redeemer of Pope St. John Paul II. It is a brief but very complete treatise on a Pope that I had the good fortune to meet in person when I entered the seminary and participated in the great celebration of May 4, 2003 in Madrid where 5 Spanish saints were canonized.

At that time, when I was 19, St. Joseph begins to be a somewhat more beloved saint as he is the patron of the seminary and vocations, but not a devotion to any great extent.

And Benedict XVI?

- With Benedict XVI something very curious happens, one of his homilies, that of December 22, 2013, is dedicated to St. Joseph. It had remained hidden in secret until it came to light years later. It is no coincidence that the date is very significant for me because I had barely been ordained a priest for two months.

I notice a phrase that helps me a lot in my priestly life: “It is important for us to have this sensitivity to God, this ability to perceive that God is speaking to me, and this ability to discern. Of course, God does not normally speak to us as he spoke to Joseph through the angel, but he also has his ways of speaking to us. They are gestures of God's tenderness”. As I read it, I am filled with joy and I realize that St. Joseph was already preparing something, but as always, he speaks in silence.

- We arrived at Pope Francis...

- Indeed. When the Apostolic Letter Patris Corde Pope Francis, my life is turned upside down with St. Joseph. When I read it and meditate on it, I feel something special. I begin to pray to St. Joseph in a different way and more frequently, I buy books about St. Joseph, I make his novena from my heart as never before, I invite people to pray with St. Joseph to his Son in adoration in the convent where I am..., and in the end I end up in Valladolid at the Joseph Center.

Finally, something practical for March, or about your party..

– The most practical thing for the month of March is something key that we have to take back from our elders: to speak to everyone about the month of St. Joseph! The month of March is the month of St. Joseph! Just as June is the month of the Sacred Heart, May is the month of Our Lady, July is the month of Mount Carmel, in March we should all look to St. Joseph. Although it is also true that it is the time of Lent.

You speak of devotionals or booklets about St. Joseph. .

- Just as we have devotionals for the month of May for the Blessed Mother, there are also devotionals for St. Joseph for the month of March. Let us look in second-hand bookstores or in the homes of our grandparents for little paperbacks with “Month of St. Joseph” on the cover! And to this let us add the novena, united in our homes or in the church we go to on Sundays if they celebrate it; and let us live in a very special way the feast of our Father St. Joseph as a family. What would the family be without the protection of St. Joseph...?

Do you accept collaborations?

- If any reader wants to write a study on St. Joseph or how is his devotion to the glorious patriarch, the doors are open to him at the Joseph Center of Valladolid.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Dom Matteo Ferrari: “Loneliness is not isolation, but a path to deeper communion”.”

Interview with Dom Matteo Ferrari, Prior General of the Camaldolese Congregation, on the relevance of monastic life and the spiritual challenges of our time.

Giovanni Tridente-March 12, 2026-Reading time: 7 minutes

Contemplare Foundation. Showing the richness of the contemplative life Related News

There is a fact that crosses our time and that cannot be overlooked: on the one hand, increasingly frenetic rhythms, polarizations that harden the public debate - also the ecclesial - and a digital environment that reduces the spaces for interiority; on the other hand, a search for meaning that reappears with force, sometimes outside the usual channels of the Church, but no less profound for that reason. In this context, the monastic proposal does not sound like nostalgia for the past, but rather a fully current provocation. Ancient“ words such as silence, communion, sobriety, fraternity and shared life place the essential at the center of Christian life.

Dom Matteo Ferrari, Prior General of the Camaldolese Congregation, was born in 1974 in Parma and has been a monk in Camaldoli since 2001 and a priest since 2010. An esteemed biblical scholar and liturgist, author of numerous publications, he was responsible for the liturgies during the two sessions (2023 and 2024) of the XVI General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality.

In this interview for Omnes reflects on the relevance of monastic life, the value of silence in a society saturated with stimuli, the challenge of polarization, the credibility of the Gospel and the spiritual quest that many men and women face today.

Matteo Ferrari, you are Prior General of the Camaldolese Congregation. What spiritual community is it and from what experience is it historically born in the Church?

-The Camaldolese Congregation is a branch of the Benedictine family and was born from the intuition of a monk from Ravenna, St. Romuald, who, in search of a simpler and more sober spiritual experience, found in the eremitical life the path for his inner search. Romuald, whose life is narrated by St. Peter Damian, died in 1027; therefore, next year we will celebrate the millennium of the death of our founder, but also of the dedication of the first church of the Sacred Hermitage of Camaldoli.

If one wanted to summarize Camaldolese spirituality in two words, one would propose: solitude and communion. Two fundamental poles of the monastic life, which in Camaldoli take visible form in the experience of the Hermitage, and the solitary life, and in the Monastery/Cenobium, the common life. However, in the wake of the Benedictine tradition, also the life of the Hermitage at Camaldoli is not a choice of isolation or of a totally solitary life, but a certain communitarian dimension is always experienced, especially in the sharing of liturgical prayer.

In line with the style of the Camaldolese monk, what does it mean, in concrete terms, to keep silence and fraternity together?

-Keeping silence/solitude and fraternity together is an extremely fruitful dialogue, as well as a great challenge. Hermitage and Monastery do not live “parallel lives”, but it is as if they educate each other. The Hermitage tells the Monastery that there is no true communion if one does not live the fruitful solitude of the encounter with God and with oneself, that one cannot live with others who does not know how to be alone before oneself and before God; the Monastery tells the Hermitage that solitude is not isolation and is not an end in itself, but is for a deeper communion with God and with others. A Christian can never live his experience of faith outside the community, even if he lives the most radical form of solitude as seclusion.

In your opinion, does monastic life still have something to say to the Church and the world today?

-I believe that monastic life is a fundamental vocation for the Church today. At least for the Church in the West. The world, in fact, knows very diverse and fruitful experiences of faith. Romuald's intuition was not the search for solitude as an end in itself, but, deep down, the search for greater sobriety. I believe that today this is a fundamental word for living the Gospel. The monastic life is the vocation that in the Church constantly reminds everyone to go to the essentials of the Word of God, of prayer, of fraternity.

“If I wanted to summarize in two words the Camaldolese spirituality I would propose: solitude and communion. Two fundamental poles of monastic life”.

Matteo FerrariPrior General of the Camaldolese Congregation

One lives in the city, with frenetic rhythms... What can Camaldolese spirituality offer to those who are not monks but wish to seek God in everyday life?

-Many lay people and priests frequent our communities especially in search of a different “rhythm. All of them, when they begin to pray with us, are initially struck by a purely external but significant fact: slowness. A rhythm that allows us to interiorize, to pause for reflection, to discern before the Word, to live the gratuitousness of time. I think this is another gift of monastic life: gratuitousness. The monk, in a way, ”wastes time“. I think that today this is a fundamental message, because gratuitousness is a paschal sign. The life of Jesus was also a time given freely. Monastic life, with its rhythms, its time ”wasted“ in prayer and liturgy, is a paschal sign that reminds everyone that in life the things that really count are not those that are born in the time of ”production“, but in the space of gratuitousness.

What wounds and what questions do those who come to the monasteries in search of listening and peace most often bring?

-The questions and searches of those who come to our communities are very different. The monastery is a space open to all, without asking questions, without conditions. People seek silence, listening, different rhythms of life. Often people seek “consolation” in particular moments of their life; they seek spiritual nourishment in the encounter with the Word of God in the lectio divina and in the liturgy. There is a great need for spirituality, at times not specified, but present in the hearts of the men and women who come to our hermitages and monasteries. I think that offering this hospitality is fundamental in the Church today. Basically, monasticism, in the practice of hospitality, so important in the Rule of St. Benedict, is a privileged place where we find a hospitable face of the Church, which is a continuity of the same ministry of the Lord Jesus.

In various countries, a new spiritual need seems to be emerging, a search that does not always pass through the Church. How to interpret this dynamism and how to accompany it adequately?

-This search crosses the life of our communities and the forms of our welcome. I believe that this fact should challenge all our Christian communities. In the episode of the wedding feast at Cana, Mary realizes that there is no more wine and that we need the courage to listen to the Son's words so that the water can become God's good wine, so that the feast can continue. Perhaps all Christian communities should ask themselves about the “lack of wine” and listen to the words of the Mother: “do whatever he tells you”. Then, if we have the courage to pour out the poor water we have, we will be able to realize that we can offer that wine which is capable of satisfying the spiritual search of the men and women of our time.

Another feature of contemporary societies is the strong polarization in many contexts, including the ecclesial context. How can we prevent differences from turning into confrontation?

-I believe that the presence of two poles in our communities can be a small example of how polarities can be lived as a richness for all and not as an element of division. True fraternity is that which is born from the valorization of differences: only many different precious stones can make a beautiful jewel. But this entails a care for the interior life and spirituality. Without spiritual life, without prayer and without listening to the Word of God, we will never learn to integrate differences into a fruitful dialogue. And all this is not easy and the challenge of common life tells us this clearly.

“Solitude is not isolation and is not an end in itself, but is for a deeper communion with God and with others.”.

Matteo FerrariPrior General of the Camaldolese Congregation

Along with religious indifference, there is also a growing rejection or suspicion of the Christian faith in some contexts. What is this situation saying to Christians?

-I think it is a call to “live well,” to seek that coherence of life that is fundamental and at the same time very difficult. But deep down this has always been the test of the presence of Jesus' disciples in the world. The New Testament bears witness to this. Let us think of the First Letter of Peter: “Adore the Lord Christ in your hearts, always being ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give an account of the hope that is in you. But do this with gentleness and respect, with a right conscience, so that when you are slandered, those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.” (1 Peter 3:16).

What attitudes make the Gospel more credible to those who observe the Church from the outside?

-I think that today fraternal life is fundamental: how do we live in community? The people who come to our monasteries, especially the younger ones, are very attentive to the relational dynamics, to the fraternal climate they perceive. Sometimes even we are surprised by what people notice. We often feel lacking, we see above all our defects and our wounds, but the people who frequent us often perceive a positivity that even we do not see. Fraternal life, communion, is a fundamental factor in witnessing to the Gospel today. Then I also believe that prayer, the time dedicated to God, to listening to his Word, is an aspect of the Christian life that others see and from which the authenticity of what we live can be understood.

In your relationship with young people seeking spiritual accompaniment, what questions come up most frequently and what risks hindering their faith journey?

-Young people are first and foremost looking for listening. In our Christian communities, where so many things are done, there is often a lack of time for welcoming and listening. Young people are also looking for someone who can help them to descend into their inner world, to know themselves. This is where the search for spirituality and an encounter with God and his Word begins. We are often too afraid to offer young people serious paths of spiritual accompaniment, of prayer, of relationship with the Word of God.

“True fraternity is that which is born from the appreciation of differences: only many different precious stones can make a beautiful jewel”.

Matteo FerrariPrior General of the Camaldolese Congregation

You have written a letter to the Camaldolese Community to initiate a reflection on the use of social networks, smartphone What is the essential point, for you, in the relationship between spiritual life and technology?

-I believe, even though I am not an expert in this field, that it is a knot that we cannot avoid. There is a great forgotten protagonist of life, which is called “silence”. Today we are no longer able to make silence and social networks, smartphone and the digital world have to do with this. Especially for a monk, but I would say for everyone, if silence is missing, a fundamental component of life that allows the encounter with others, with oneself and with God disappears. Reflect on the use of social networks, smartphone and digital media leads us to reflect on our capacity for silence, which is also the presupposition of freedom.

Finally, a word of advice: what concrete steps can be taken to recover silence, listening and space for God in daily life?

–It is a “struggle” and like any struggle it requires commitment, training and time. Above all, I suggest to let oneself be helped: having someone to confront is essential and is an “ecclesial” act. The spiritual path is not individualistic, but always communitarian. The spiritual life is not learned in books or from other instruments, but is transmitted from living to living... it is a fact of living tradition. And then to start from the essential: from the relationship with the Word of God, which is “powerful” and has the power to renew and make our life flourish.

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The blind see and those who see remain blind. IV Sunday of Lent (A)

Vitus Ntube comments on the readings of the IV Sunday of Lent (A) corresponding to March 15, 2026.

Vitus Ntube-March 12, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

The Gospel scene that today's Liturgy offers us for our Lenten gallery is the healing of the man born blind. From its opening to its closing lines, the theme that dominates the entire narrative is that of sight and blindness.

The scene begins simply: “And as he passed by, Jesus saw a man blind from birth.”. A dialogue follows, and then Jesus reveals himself as the Light of the world. Finally a dramatic healing takes place that involves both Christ's initiative and man's cooperation. Jesus acts, but man must respond. Obeying the Lord's command: “He went, washed himself, and came back with sight".

This man, blind from birth, is an image of each one of us. We were conceived in sin, but God's mercy has come to meet us. Like the blind man sent to be washed, our Lenten journey reminds us of our constant need for conversion. Sin blinds us, distorts our vision and prevents us from seeing clearly. That is why we need to be washed again and again to regain our sight. The call to ongoing conversion during Lent is made very concrete in the frequent celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation.

True conversion is not only repentance from sin, but also allows us to see with God's eyes, to see as God sees. God's gaze goes beyond appearances and reaches the heart. This theme of sight is also central to the first reading. When Samuel goes to anoint a king among the sons of Jesse, he allows himself to be impressed by appearance and stature. But the Lord corrects him: “Don't look at his appearance or how tall he is, because I've ruled that out. It is not a question of what man sees. For man looks at the eyes, but the Lord looks at the heart.”. This divine way of seeing is beautifully expressed in the preface of the Mass: “Through the mystery of the incarnation, he led the human race, a pilgrim in darkness, to the splendor of faith.”. This step towards the light of faith is God's call to us.

Seeing as God sees requires faith. Faith gives us the vision of Christ; it grants us the supernatural sight we so desire. The man blind from birth, after receiving his bodily sight, still had to take one more step: the step toward spiritual sight. His recovered sight enabled him to meet Christ and believe in Him. This contrasts sharply with the Pharisees, who saw physically, but refused to believe. Although they claimed to see, they remained spiritually blind. That is why Jesus says to them: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say “we see,” your sin remains.".

The importance of seeing with the eyes of faith is expressed in the decisive question that Jesus asks the healed man: “Do you believe in the Son of man?”. In recognizing what Jesus had done for him, the man passes from the physical light to the light of faith and professes: “I believe, Lord”. This path of growth cannot be said of the Pharisees, who consider themselves healthy and in no need of healing.

As we approach the celebration of Easter, we are invited to wash the eyes of our faith, so that we may see as Christ sees. We are called to remove all sin that clouds our vision and darkens our heart. This requires humility, the humility to recognize that we are not perfect and the courage to repent of our sins, our false securities, our ideologies and our selfishness.

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The Vatican

Church unity comes from faith in Christ and love, says Pope

Continuing his series of reflections on the Second Vatican Council, the Pope focused on the Dogmatic Constitution “Lumen Gentium”, which describes the Church as the “People of God”.

OSV / Omnes-March 11, 2026-Reading time: 2 minutes

By Josephine Peterson, OSV News

The Catholic Church is made up of diverse people who are united by their faith in Christ and are called to welcome all humanity, Pope Leo XIV said during his weekly general audience.

“Its unifying principle is not a language, a culture, an ethnicity, but faith in Christ,” he said in St. Peter's Square on March 11.

Lumen Gentium

Continuing his series of reflections on the Second Vatican Council, the Pope focused on the Dogmatic Constitution “The Dogmatic Constitution of the Council".“Lumen Gentium”The Church is described as the “People of God”.

The Church is the assembly of “all those who in faith look to Jesus,” he said, united not by nationality or culture, but by their shared faith in Christ.

The Pope said this understanding has its roots in the Bible, pointing to God's covenant with Abraham and the people of Israel, which prepared the way for the new covenant established through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Leo XIV affirmed that love is the law that governs relationships within the Church, as believers receive and experience it through Jesus. Through Christ, believers of all nations are united in faith, he said. The Church is the people of God who «draw their existence from the body of Christ and are, in turn, the body of Christ.».

Instead of closing in on itself, the Pope said, the Church must remain open to all.

«Unified in Christ, Lord and Savior of every man and woman, the Church can never withdraw into herself, but is open to all and is for all,» he said.

In a world marked by conflict and division, Pope Leo XIV added, the diversity of the Church is a sign of hope.

«It is a great sign of hope - especially in our times, marked by so many conflicts and wars - to know that the Church is a people in which women and men of diverse nationalities, languages and cultures live together in faith,» he said.

Lebanon and Iran

Before greeting the Italian speakers, the Pope affirmed that he was close to the Lebanese people «in this moment of grave trial» following the death of Father Pierre El-Rahi. The Maronite priest was killed in an Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon on March 9. The Pope announced that his funeral would be held on March 11 in Al-Qlayaa, a Christian village.

In Arabic, ‘Adrachi’ means shepherd. Father Pierre was a true shepherd who always remained close to his people with the love and sacrifice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd," he said in Italian. As soon as he heard that some parishioners had been wounded in a bombing, without hesitation, he ran to help them.

Before the audience, Pope Leo XIV met privately with Cardinal Dominique J. Mathieu, Archbishop of Tehran and Isfahan (Iran). The Belgian cardinal, a member of the Franciscan Order, arrived in Rome on March 8 after being evacuated along with all the members of the Italian Embassy, where he resides.

During the general audience, Pope Leo XIV asked for prayers for peace in Iran and throughout the Middle East, especially for the many civilian victims and innocent children.

«May our prayer be a consolation for those who suffer and a seed of hope for the future,» he said.

The authorOSV / Omnes

Pope Leo XIV

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The Vatican

Pope receives Cardinal of Iran

Pope Leo XIV met this morning in audience with Cardinal Dominique Mathieu, Archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan.

Editorial Staff Omnes-March 11, 2026-Reading time: 2 minutes

Pope Leo XIV receives this morning in audience Cardinal Dominique Mathieu, Archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan. For the moment, no details have been released about the matters to be discussed during the meeting. However, all indications are that the Cardinal has reportedly conveyed to the Pontiff the situation of the small Catholic community in Iran, as well as the prospects for the establishment of peace in the country.

Mathieu is currently the only priest in his archdiocese. The Catholic Church of the Latin rite in Iran has about 2,000 faithful, most of them foreigners, within a population of approximately 90 million inhabitants, predominantly Shiite Muslims. The Catholics of the Latin rite are distributed in four parishes: three in Tehran and one in Isfahan.

Cardinal forced to leave the country

The Cardinal had to leave Iran last weekend because of the war. The Cathedral of the Consolata, along with the Archbishop's residence and administrative offices, are located within the compound of the Italian Embassy in Iran. Faced with the temporary closure of the diplomatic headquarters, the archbishop was forced to leave the country to preserve his security.

After his evacuation to Rome, the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, to which he belongs, confirmed that the cardinal is in good condition.

Mathieu expressed his sadness for having to leave the country and the pain he feels for “his brothers and sisters” who remain there. The prelate also expressed his hope to be able to return soon and asked for prayers so that “hearts may find inner peace”.

A pastor for a small church

The 62-year-old Belgian cardinal was appointed archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan in 2021 and created a cardinal in 2024 by Pope Francis.

In addition to the approximately 2,000 faithful of the Latin rite that he pastors, there are other Eastern Catholic communities in Iran. The most numerous is that of the Catholics of the Chaldean rite, made up mainly of faithful of Assyrian origin who celebrate the liturgy in Aramaic and who are estimated to number between 7,000 and 10,000 believers.

There is also a small community of Catholics of the Armenian rite, a minority within the Armenian community of the country -mainly Orthodox- with a few thousand faithful.

Iran

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Cinema

The director of Las Locas del Obelisco: «we must get rid of the corset of political correctness».»

Las Locas del Obelisco is a film that reveals a reality that still exists: prostitution, white slavery and abuse. Its director, Pablo Moreno, helps us understand how these "madwomen", the Trinitarias, rescued so many women in 19th century Madrid.

Teresa Aguado Peña-March 11, 2026-Reading time: 7 minutes

On March 13, the following will be released in Spain Las Locas del Obelisco, a film that deals with a delicate reality that few dare to explore. In Madrid in 1885, the Lord prompted Mariana Allsopp and Father Francisco de Asís Méndez to create a shelter open day and night to house those fleeing sexual exploitation, thus founding the Congregation of the Trinitarian Sisters.

Human trafficking, prostitution and abuses are particularly exposed with special sensitivity in Las Locas del Obelisco. The founder of the Trinitarias, played by Paula Iglesias, did not look the other way, but tried to rescue these women despite social and media pressure.

The story of this brave woman leaves no one indifferent. It is a story that invites to action and puts on the table the existence of a drama that many live oblivious to. Pablo Moreno, director of other films such as A forbidden God (2013) o Claret (2020), explains in Omnes why he believes it is vital to be aware of this reality.

Is the film called Locas del Obelisco Do you want to convey something with that “crazy”?

-Yes. The first thing is that this was what they called them, the Trinitarians. It was an insult that was used against them.

When we thought of the title, we wanted it to be transgressive. That's why we decided to use that insult. In the end, they themselves reinterpreted it: that “crazy” that appeared in the media, they assumed it by saying: “Okay, they call us crazy, but we are Christ's crazy”. It is a madness of love, something that goes beyond madness itself, something more transcendental. And that seemed very interesting to us.

Then there is the issue of the Obelisco. In the beginning they were in a house in the Paseo del Obelisco and that is how they were known in Madrid. Sometimes to their regret, but it also ended up being something positive, because the media attention -even though it was often against them- gave them a lot of visibility and, in the end, helped them to prosper.

This story invites action, to not look the other way. How do you intend this film to translate into that action?

-The first thing is to show a problem that existed in Madrid and still exists today, not only in Madrid but, unfortunately, in many other places.

We have talked to people who were not aware that in Madrid at the end of the 19th century there was so much prostitution, so much trafficking and so many situations of deprivation of freedom. Sometimes we think that we live in a very developed or balanced society, but in the back rooms, in the darkest corners, there are hidden realities that we prefer not to look at head on.

These are problems that are still there. There are thousands of women who suffer: not only from trafficking or prostitution, but also from labor situations that border on slavery, from abuse in its different forms or from different types of violence.

These women dedicated their lives, above all, to rescuing these girls and giving them back their dignity and freedom. For them, freedom was fundamental. Most significantly, they have been doing this work for 141 years. Their mission remains vital.

What can an ordinary Christian do?

-Just not looking away is enough. A colleague from the film project, who was part of the technical team, was walking down the street one day and came across a girl who was begging. She approached her, talked to her and immediately referred her to the Trinitarian Sisters, who were finally able to help her.

It may seem that simply knowing about these realities is not enough, but in reality it is a lot, because we are already predisposed to bring about a change. And, evidently, as Christians we are called to denounce apostolically the injustices and situations that deprive so many human beings, so many women, of their freedom. Many times we do not adopt this attitude simply out of ignorance, so if we knew about it, we would be able to make things a little different.

How did you come to know this story of the Trinitarias? How did you come up with the idea of making this film?

-It didn't really occur to me, which is the best thing of all. The Trinitarian Sisters wanted to make a film and we had sent to different congregations an advertisement for the work we do.

And it was by providence that this publicity, this letter that we sent, landed on the desk of the office of the Superior General of the Trinitarian Sisters, who at that very moment were planning to make a film to talk about their charism and their founders, because it was the 100th anniversary of the death of their founder. It was curious that they called us and we immediately fell in love with their story.

We saw that it was necessary to tell it. And so we began a period of documentation, where we met María Ana Allsopp and Father Francisco de Asís Méndez, two great figures of the late nineteenth century. I was totally unaware of them, but I found them to be very advanced and with a very high social and ecclesial sensitivity.

During that process, what aspects of the characters have struck you the most or particularly moved you?

-I am moved by the fact that they are human beings, like you and me, who had a very hard time because at the beginning it was difficult for them to find a way to carry out what the Lord was asking them to do.

Father Francisco wanted to help the girls because he was a confessor at Encarnación and many women came to him to tell him everything they were experiencing. However, he did not know what to do or where to start. He felt an enormous desire to help them, but also the helplessness of not finding a way.

Something similar was happening to Mariana. She felt the desire to do something for the world and not just to comply with what was expected of a woman of her time: to achieve an “honorable status” and follow the marked path.

These two tremendously human sensibilities make me think and challenge me about what I can do for the world. I realized that we are not so different from those great figures of the 19th century. It is simply a matter of taking a step in one direction and having the courage to decide whether we want to take it or not.

Do you think that, somehow, there is a constraint on Christians or on society in general, so that those who act in truth can be seen as “crazy”? Is this also an invitation to live that radicality?

-No doubt. In fact, you said a word that seems to me to define it very well: the constriction. In the film, there is a moment when Mariana decides to break with all that. She arrives home and with a letter opener she breaks her corset. And she just takes the handkerchief from behind the corset and finds a sacred heart. So, in a way, semiotically we are talking all the time about the same thing.

We have to get out of the corset, we have to get out of political correctness, out of what we are expected to do because it is socially acceptable.

Sometimes you have to let yourself be seized by this “madness” and go a step further, because there are many injustices. Whoever wants to help others has to get down in the mud, even if we don't like to get dirty. I like very much a story of St. Vincent: he says that if a priest goes to celebrate Mass and finds a man stuck in the mud, and he gets dirty helping him and does not get to celebrate Mass, he is not really abandoning God, but serving God (abandoning God for God).

Making a film like this implies breaking out of that social corset: it's a risky subject. How has this influenced your experience of faith?

-I sometimes jokingly say that it is time for Catholics to «come out of the closet» and express who we are in freedom, with commitment and respect.

I have been making films on this subject for 20 years and sometimes the stories go down well and sometimes badly, and the media repercussions can be very harsh. For example, with the film A forbidden God We received quite a lot of criticism. It was very difficult for us to take two steps in a row without receiving harsh criticism.

In this case, obviously, it is a transcendent film. There is an iconography and a semiotics. Christ himself appears. It cannot be avoided. But we want it to be a film that anyone, believer or non-believer, can see and enjoy.

I believe that in the Church it is difficult for us to make known the good that we do and that the tree that falls sounds more than the billion trees that grow. But we have the obligation to share with the world that we are part of it and that together, believers and non-believers, if we add up, we build.

We do not have a dogmatizing or indoctrinating commitment. What we want is to share how we Catholics see life, to share the Good News, to share the hope and joy of the Gospel with believers and non-believers alike.

Pablo Moreno, director of *Las Locas del Obelisco*

Prostitutes are generally judged, does this film aim to dismantle prejudices and «take away their guilt»?

-The case of prostitution is seen as a very big scourge and there are people who obviously judge without knowing. That is to say, they are seen as bad women when one does not know the circumstances.

Most of them are extorted, have been kidnapped or entered into it in the hope of being able to support their families. And there is something very hard about that. Understanding it is not easy either. It's easier to judge than to understand the reasons.

It seems to us that, as Sartre said, «hell is the other». But do we stop to think who the other is? The Gospel tells us that salvation is in the other. And I believe that we have to make a social leap in this sense and try to know.

Knowledge engages, and if you commit to a cause, you may even come to love it. And what you love doesn't go away. It has to do with that empathy. Why are they there? What is their suffering? As Christians, we must carry the cross. And not just our own, but also the cross of others.

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Books

The critic

A masterpiece of the Spanish language. "El criticón" combines satire, sharp social criticism and reflection on human nature. It highlights prudence and judgment as tools to understand people and avoid disappointment.

José Carlos Martín de la Hoz-March 11, 2026-Reading time: 4 minutes

Baltasar Gracián (1601-1658) wrote and published in three installments one of the most ingenious works in Spanish of all times, which has always been at the height of the great criticisms of the Christian mentality of his time, satirizing in an original and elegant way.

Human prudence and judgment

The underlying argument of this extensive and intense allegory of an entire society is the virtue of prudence and the importance of seeing beyond first impressions to know very well the type of person and the degree of immaturity and coherence he possessed in order to be able to judge with equanimity.

Certainly the sapiential books of the Old Testament and the critical eye of the Jesuits of all times are perfectly reflected and sharply exaggerated for the amusement of the people.

Social and religious criticism

Cátedra's edition, as always very careful, technically impeccable and endowed with the annotations of Professor Santos Alonso, full of erudition and enlightening notes that not only bring the text closer to the university public, but also enhance the immense culture of the Jesuit Gracián.

After reading the “Criticón”, one can understand the eventful life of Baltasar Gracián and the accusations he was accused of exercising a merciless criticism of the usual practices of the time. In reality, what he does is to discover the baseness of the human heart when he judges mercilessly and coldly people or the decisions of civil and ecclesiastical authorities.

In fact, pride, vanity, the desire to excel and the great manifestations of vainglory are the most cruelly treated. In a way, the Pharisees were no less criticized by Jesus. But, certainly, the Lord was asking them to have faith in Him and they would understand everything. Gratian simply uncovers the hidden intentions of the human heart.

Narrative style and perspective

Certainly, for today's mentality the work is uneven and often lacks narrative pulse, but Baltasar Gracián is indoctrinating the people and especially the ruling classes of the country in all orders. He manifests a deep distrust of fallen and repaired human nature. At times he adopts a tone of skepticism.

Precisely in the first pages, one of the narrators, well acquainted with the situation of the world and Christian beliefs, exclaims: “to come to see with novelty and warning the greatness, the beauty, the concert, the firmness and the variety of this great created machine” (77).

Certainly, there is a lack of illusion, optimism and positive sense in many moments of the work. There are so many ridiculous falsehoods that it produces disappointment. At the same time, there is a critical wryness full of relief that certainly makes one laugh at other times.

Religious references and truth

It must also be recognized that Gratian, throughout the treatise, will return to the New Testament again and again, to find the eternal promises of the Creator. For example, the parable of the seed fallen by the wayside, or on stony ground, or in the brambles and on the good soil, have an eternal lesson of response to God's grace, and a daily invitation to love from God. Moreover, Gratian will tell us that it happens every day. Hope rests on the fact that God forgives, forgets and trusts in man: “the very end is the beginning, the destruction of one creature is the generation of another. When it seems that everything is over, then it begins again: nature is renewed, the world is renewed, the earth is established and the divine government is admired and adored” (92).

It is of great interest the disappearance and cornering, in practice, of the concept of truth: “It is very connatural in man the inclination to his God, as to his beginning and his end, whether loving him, or knowing him (...) Thus, a philosopher rightly defined this universe (Job) as a great mirror of God” (95). And, further on, “Truth has been forsaken and forsaken and cast so far away that even today we do not know where it has stopped” (140).

As we have already emphasized at the beginning, references to the virtue of prudence are constant and of great interest: “the truly wise are prudent and virtuous” (415). This is key both textually and contextually (181). Likewise, there are constant calls to see things from different angles in order to make that prudential judgment that enriches the person, makes him/her have criteria (182) and avoids disappointment (185).

Particularly important is the reference to and praise of freedom throughout the work, both as self-determination and as free will: “freedom: great thing that of not depending on the will of others, and more of a fool, of a modorro, that there is no torment like the imposition of men over one's head” (274).

Core values

Much emphasis is also placed on the importance of friendship: “He who has no friends, has neither feet nor hands, he lives one-armed, he walks blindly. And woe betide the lonely, for if he falls he will have no one to help him up” (337).

We do not want to fail to highlight a veiled criticism of Baltasar Gracián to the School of Salamanca and, specifically, to the famous precarious loans that Francisco de Vitoria had approved in the merchandising in order to fully recover the capital avoiding falling into usury, which Gracián will call with his subtle criticism with the term “palliated usury” (425).

Likewise, he will fit with sportsmanship the veiled criticisms of Traiano Boccalini on the expansionist eagerness of Spain in Italy with its effective presence in Milan and Naples and, by means of agreements, in Genoa and Venice (63, 696). Within what he will call “the thin thread of life” (764).

The critic

AuthorBaltasar Gracián

Editorial: Chair

Pages: 812

Year: 2025

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The Vatican

Pope Leo XIV Accepts Resignation of Iraqi Cardinal Louis Sako

Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Cardinal Louis Sako as Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, putting an end to 13 years at the head of the largest Christian community in Iraq. The prelate himself stated that he tendered his resignation “in full freedom” to devote himself to prayer and writing after decades of pastoral service amid great challenges for Christians in the country.

OSV / Omnes-March 10, 2026-Reading time: 4 minutes

Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Cardinal Louis Sako, the Iraq-based Chaldean Catholic patriarch of Baghdad, ending his 13-year tenure as head of Iraq's largest Christian denomination, the Vatican said.

The canonical regulations for the resignation of patriarchs

According to a statement issued March 10 by the Vatican press office, Cardinal Sako's resignation was accepted in virtue of canon 126, paragraph 2, of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, which regulates the resignation of patriarchs.

The canon states that the synod of bishops of the patriarchal church is responsible for accepting the resignation of a patriarch after consultation with the pope, «unless the patriarch addresses the Roman Pontiff directly.».

A freely made decision

In a separate statement issued by the Chaldean Patriarchate, Cardinal Sako stated that, after turning 75 in 2024, he had discussed his resignation with Pope Francis. However, the late pontiff «encouraged me to remain.».

The cardinal affirmed that he decided «in complete freedom» to present his resignation on March 9 to Pope Leo XIV «so that I could dedicate myself peacefully to prayer, writing and simple service».

«He accepted it, and I requested that it be officially announced today, March 10, at noon,» Cardinal Sako said. «To avoid any misinterpretation, I confirm that no one forced me to do so; rather, I requested the resignation of my own free will.».

13 years at the head of the Chaldean Church

In his statement, the cardinal highlighted his 13 years as Chaldean patriarch as «years of loving pastoral care, follow-up and growth» amid «extremely difficult circumstances» and «great challenges» for Christians in Iraq and the Middle East in general.

After thanking God, the faithful of Baghdad, as well as the bishops, priests and staff of the Chaldean Patriarchate, the cardinal affirmed that «I will not forget them in my prayers» and apologized «to anyone whom I may have offended.».

Acknowledging the difficult circumstances in the Middle East following the U.S.-Israel-Iran war, Cardinal Sako expressed his hope that the next patriarch will possess «a solid theological culture, courage and wisdom; someone who believes in renewal, openness and dialogue, and who also has a sense of humor.».

«I will respect him and never interfere in his work,» he wrote. «I trust that God will take care of his Church.».

Farewell message

Cardinal Sako concluded his statement in an unusual manner by detailing his current net worth.

According to the prelate, his financial assets that he has included in his will include 40 million Iraqi dinars ($30,520.77), $5,000 and 5,000 euros ($5,823.72) «from my salaries during 52 years of priestly service, in addition to another sum which is my share from the sale of my family home in Mosul.».

«I have no house or car, but my real wealth is my devoted service and the 45 books and numerous articles I have published . Remember me in your prayers,» he wrote.

Pastoral trajectory and promotion in the Church

Born in Zakho, Iraq, on July 4, 1948, Cardinal Sako studied in Mosul and was ordained a priest in 1974.

After continuing his studies abroad, he returned to Iraq in 1986 and served as pastor in Mosul for 11 years. He was also rector of the Chaldean Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad from 1997 to 2002.

He was appointed archbishop of Kirkuk in 2003, eight months after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He was elected to lead the Chaldean Church in 2013 and five years later was named a cardinal by Pope Francis.

Recent conflicts within the Chaldean Church

In recent years, the Chaldean patriarch faced several internal challenges. In July 2023, he left Baghdad after Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid revoked a decree formally recognizing the cardinal as Chaldean patriarch in the country and his authority to administer the Chaldean religious endowment.

Cardinal Sako and local Iraqi media considered it an attempt to usurp the patriarch's position as head of the Chaldean Church, allegedly instigated by Rayan al-Kildani, head of the Babylon Brigades, a Chaldean Catholic militia with close ties to Iran.

After staying in Erbil for almost a year, he returned to Baghdad in 2024 after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani confirmed Cardinal Sako's status as Patriarch of the Chaldeans in Iraq and the world.

However, another problem arose when he presided over the Synod of the Chaldean Church from July 15-19.

The absence of five bishops - Archbishop Bashar Warda of Irbil, Bishop Paul Thabet of Alquoch, Bishop Azad Sabri Shaba of Dohuk, Chaldean Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona of Sydney and Bishop Saad Sirop Hanna, apostolic visitator for Catholics Chaldeans in Europe - was noted by the cardinal, who hinted that the bishops «had a hand in withdrawing the presidential decree» to «pressure me to resign to seek succession.».

Subsequently, the patriarchate issued another statement saying that the revocation of the decree in 2023 «suggested to some that it was the end and made their mouths water,» directly accusing Archbishop Warda of rallying clergy support for the cardinal's removal.

In a message sent to OSV News in September 2024, Archbishop Warda said that the tensions between him and Cardinal Sako were due to misunderstandings and denied allegations that he was working against the patriarch.

«I categorically reject the allegations of corruption ... and will continue to address this issue through the relevant ecclesiastical channels,» he said.

Difficulties in the Diaspora and the case of the Bishop of San Diego

The announcement of Cardinal Sako's resignation also comes at a time when the Chaldean Catholic Church faces difficulties in its global diaspora.

In the same bulletin announcement, the Vatican said Pope Leo had also accepted the resignation of Bishop Emanuel Shaleta of the Chaldean Catholic Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle in San Diego.

Bishop Shaleta was arrested at San Diego International Airport on March 5. California authorities charged him with multiple counts, including embezzlement and money laundering, and one count of «aggravated white collar crime enhancement.».

In a March 8 statement addressed to the Chaldean diocese, Cardinal Sako urged the faithful «not to allow division and discord, nor give place to voices that lurk to attack our Church» and to allow «legal proceedings to take their course to reveal the truth and uphold justice.».

«I assure you that I am on the side of justice and that is why I am in communication with the Holy See, hoping that appropriate measures will soon be taken for the good of the diocese,» he said.

The authorOSV / Omnes

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ColumnistsRafael Mosteyrín

Francisco Fernández-Carvajal will continue teaching how to talk to God

On March 7, the Andalusian priest Francisco Fernández-Carvajal, whose books of meditations have helped millions of people learn to talk to God in daily life, died at the age of 88.

March 10, 2026-Reading time: < 1 minute

Don Francisco Fernández-Carvajal passed away on March 7 at the age of 88. He was an Andalusian priest who has helped, and will continue to help, millions of people to talk to God. It is something that, in one way or another, we all seek.

Christ always has something to tell us. And all that he wants to tell us is, fundamentally, in the Gospels. But it helps us a lot if they comment and explain to us the meaning of each message, of each parable, of each miracle. It also helps us when they suggest to us how to relate it to our daily rights and duties, so that our intention may please God.

Fernández-Carvajal has been known mainly for publishing, in different volumes, a collection of more than five hundred meditations, so that they cover all the days of the calendar. He also has other interesting titles such as a Life of Jesus.

He never addressed himself to specialists but to mothers of families, employees, people of all kinds. That is why I was not surprised to see his books even in the mountain range of Huancavelica, in Peru. Twenty years ago he had already sold more than two million of these useful books. It is well born to be grateful.

The authorRafael Mosteyrín

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The Vatican

No definitive conclusions in new Vatican document on women's participation in the Church

The post-synodal study group No. 5 leaves open the theological-pastoral debate on the limits between vicarious power and sacramental power.

Javier García Herrería-March 10, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

The Synod on Synodality's Study Group No. 5, dedicated to the participation of women in the life and governance of the Church, has presented its long-awaited final report on women's participation in ecclesial life and leadership.

This document, which arose from a mandate of Pope Francis in 2024 and has been continued under the guidance of Pope Leo XIV, represents one of the boldest theological and canonical reflections of the post-conciliar era.

The text is not definitive, but as María García-Nieto, professor of Canon Law at the University of Navarre and author of The presence of women in Church governance, summarizes the journey that the Church has made in recent years regarding the role of women in the Church.

The reflection group echoes the discrimination that sometimes exists in the Church, either for reasons of gender (machismo), or for not belonging to the clerical state (clericalism), the professor explains, adding that to overcome it, the Church is trying to develop a renewed theological anthropology based on the complementarity of man and woman.

A roadmap for reform: The general outline of the document

The first part reconstructs the history of the group, underlining a fundamental methodological change: the work was done «from below», giving priority to listening to the concrete experiences of women, including those working in the Vatican Curia.

The second part goes into the heart of the debate, analyzing the «discomfort» felt by many women due to persistent structures of clericalism and machismo that limit their vocation. The document proposes that the Church must move from viewing female participation as a «concession» from the hierarchy to recognizing it as an intrinsic right that derives from Baptism. To support this, the report develops a framework where reciprocity between men and women is not a competition for power, but a necessity for the fullness of the evangelizing mission.

Finally, the report is supported by six extensive appendices that range from female figures in the Bible and history (such as abbesses with quasi-episcopal jurisdiction), to the current challenges of the «Marian principle» and the origin of ecclesial power.

Group 5 does not respond to the question of power directly, but it does recall the context of recent years, in which the distinction between the power of order vs. the power of government has been established: the document clarifies that, while the power to sanctify (sacraments) always requires the sacrament of order, this is not the case with the power of government». It is argued that the government of the bishops is a service that can rely on the collaboration of the laity.

The key is to understand that the power is vicarious. After the reform of the Roman Curia (Praedicate Evangelium), the power exercised by a head of office or dicastery is «vicarious», that is, it is exercised in the name of the Pope. Therefore, there would be no theological impediment for a woman to exercise offices with vicarious power in the Church.

To substantiate this thesis, the new document mentions the charismatic way, according to which the Holy Spirit gives charisms of leadership and counsel directly to women. When a bishop appoints a woman to a decision-making position, he is not «creating» her authority, but recognizing a gift that the Spirit has already given her through Baptism.

The most novel and relevant points

The 2026 report is notable for several milestones that mark a «before and after» in ecclesial practice: the document celebrates the arrival of women in previously unthinkable positions: Sister Simona Brambilla, appointed prefect of the dicastery for institutes of consecrated life in January 2025, the first woman to head a dicastery with full powers.

It also highlights the appointment of Sr. Raffaella Petrini, designated president of the Governatorato of Vatican City State in March 2025, and the presence of women with voting rights in the synod, a practice initiated in 2023.

The text gives as an example to follow what is already happening in dioceses in France, Belgium and Switzerland, where the bishops have created the figure of the Delegate General. These women take on diocesan coordination tasks traditionally performed by the Vicars General, suggesting that the administration of a local Church can be effectively led by lay people, whether they are men or women.

The document cites the conclusions of the Second Commission on the Female Diaconate (December 2025), where the need to expand women's access to instituted ministries was approved by an overwhelming majority of 9 votes to 1. It suggests the creation of specific ministries of «listening, consolation and accompaniment» that have public recognition and canonical stability.

A more credible Church

The final report concludes that the full appreciation of women is not an accessory, but a necessary service to make the Church «more beautiful, more credible and more faithful to its vocation» in the 21st century.

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The Vatican

Here is a preview of Leo XIV's historic trip to Monaco.

In November, Prince Albert II rejected a bill that sought to authorize abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy in the Catholic principality. Roman Catholicism is the official state religion of Monaco, and 82% of the population identifies as Catholic.

OSV / Omnes-March 10, 2026-Reading time: 3 minutes

By Courtney Mares, OSV News

On Saturday, March 28, the Pope will travel by helicopter directly from Vatican City, the world's smallest state, to Monaco, the world's second smallest. The one-day trip will be Pope Leo XIV's first international trip in 2026 and only the second of his pontificate, and includes a packed itinerary.

The day will begin with an official welcoming ceremony outside Monaco's Prince's Palace, followed by a private meeting inside with Prince Albert II, who has reigned in the principality since 2005. The two leaders previously met at the Vatican on January 17, when their discussions focused on shared commitments to environmental stewardship, humanitarian aid and the defense of human dignity.

The Diocese of Monaco has noted that the Pope and the prince share «a particular focus on respect for human life from its beginning to its end; concern for integral ecology and the preservation of our ‘common home’; and also a shared passion for sport.».

From the palace, the Pope will proceed to the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate to address the Catholic community of Monaco. Consecrated in 1911 on the site of the principality's first parish church, built in 1252, the cathedral holds a historic place in Monegasque history, as it houses the tombs of the Monegasque royal family, including that of Princess Grace Kelly, who was married there in 1956.

Meeting with young people

Pope Leo XIV will meet with young Catholics and catechumens at the Chapel of St. Devote, a centuries-old church dedicated to St. Devote, patron saint of Monaco and martyr killed during the persecutions of the Roman emperors Diocletian and Maximian. The chapel, a place of great popular devotion, also gives its name to the first corner of Monaco's famous Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit.

This year, the princely diocese has 70 catechumens, mostly young men and women, who are following a formation program that prepares them to receive the sacraments of baptism, confession, first communion and confirmation in Monaco, according to Abbot Christian Venard, episcopal vicar for communications of the archdiocese.

Mass for a multitude of people

The day will conclude with a Mass at the Louis II Stadium, home of the AS Monaco soccer club with a capacity of over 18,000 people, before the Pope returns to Vatican City by helicopter, scheduled to land at 19:45. The Pope will return to the Vatican just in time for the start of Holy Week, as the following day will be Palm Sunday with Pope Leo presiding at Mass in St. Peter's Square.

As the Pope will travel by helicopter and not by plane, there will not be a press conference with journalists on board at the conclusion of the trip, as is customary on the papal plane.

The official motto chosen for the papal visit is “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”, taken from John 14:6.

The visit comes at a time when the Church in Monaco is facing some of the same pastoral challenges seen throughout Europe. Despite Catholicism's privileged constitutional status, the diocese has experienced a decline in Mass attendance, first communions and confirmations, trends that local clergy hope the papal visit will help reverse.

A palace communiqué described the papal visit as «a historic moment for Monaco» that constitutes «a strong sign of hope, in a spirit of dialogue, peace and shared responsibility.».

The authorOSV / Omnes

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Making peace with your body

We begin a new section of articles on the rediscovery of the Christian vision of the body, a series based on the Theology of the Body of St. John Paul II.

Hugo Elvira-March 10, 2026-Reading time: 4 minutes

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Body. Love. Where does the separation between nature and person lead? Related News

One afternoon, while talking to a young man, he told me something that left me very thoughtful: “My body is my enemy.”.

He didn't say it with anger, but with weariness. He told me about this constant fight of comparing himself all the time, of being frustrated, anxious, of falling into habits he didn't want....

I gave him some advice, tried to encourage him... but when he left I kept thinking that it was not the first time I had heard something like that. And, although perhaps they didn't use such direct words, I had heard it before from students, from friends, in theological reflections during my studies in Rome. In short. It seemed to be something that many of us can feel, but few of us dare to tell. It is impressive to discover how many people live at war with their own bodies.

That night I wondered if this problem was something to be taken lightly, or if there was something deeper behind it. Could it be that we have forgotten what the body means to Christianity?

The response from St. John Paul II on the Theology of the Body: 129 catecheses preached on Wednesdays during the general audience in St. Peter's Square from 1979 to 1984 and dedicated to reflection on the human body in the light of Revelation.

I decided to study all the texts seriously, and I did my thesis for my degree in Dogmatic Theology on this topic as well. And I understood better something that surely motivated the Pope to dedicate so much time to this theological reflection: If the body is seen as an enemy, the person becomes divided inside. But if the body is discovered as a gift, the person begins to heal.

That is why I am beginning this series of articles. To go through together, step by step, the Theology of the Body under the interpretative key of the body as a gift of God and thus rediscover that Christianity does not despise the body... it illuminates it.

And that if you, dear reader, are going to give a class or talk on the subject, or if you are going to advise a friend about it, you can remind him or her of a truth that we need to hear again: Our body is not an enemy. Our body is a gift from God. And learning to receive it as a gift can change our lives. Our human relationships. Our way of approaching God. Our way of striving to be good Christians.

Let's get started....

The current view of the body vs. the Christian view of the body

We live in a culture that sends two opposing messages about the body. On the one hand, the body is everything: we are worth for our appearance, for our performance, for the pleasure we achieve. Hours comparing ourselves on social networks, impossible diets, fear of aging, obsession to be liked.

On the other hand, the body is worthless: it becomes something to be used, it doesn't matter if it is modified, it is discarded when it is uncomfortable. Two different paths that end in the same sadness.

The Christian faith begins in another place. In Genesis, when God creates man and woman, he says: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31). This is not a decorative phrase. It is a fundamental revelation: everything in the human being is good, not only his soul, but also his body, because it has come from the hands of God.

As Karol Wojtyła explains in. Person and action, The person is not a soul that has a body: it is his body. Thanks to the body we can pray, sing, work, embrace, ask for forgiveness. Without the body, love is not seen.

This is why Christianity does not despise matter; in fact, the center of our faith is that the Word became flesh. From the body of the Child in Bethlehem to the resurrected body of Christ, Christian history confirms the ever-present goodness of our humanity.

The great secret of the body

Only with the body can we love as true humans. Love needs visible gestures: a word, an embrace, a caress, a silent sacrifice. But these gestures must be full of truth. Because there are acts that look like love... and are not: a kiss can betray, like Judas“. An ”I love you" can hide selfishness. But as we can see in these examples, the body does not lie: it reveals what is in the heart.

Therefore, it is important to consider that when love is transformed into material -corporal- acts of service, forgiveness, care, surrender, the body speaks its true language. When it becomes use, domination or manipulation, the problem is not the body, but the wounded heart.

The great secret of the body is this: it is made to truly love.

When the body speaks your language

We have all experienced the joy after helping someone. The peace of a sincere hug. The happy tiredness after working for others. In those moments we discover something: our body does not separate us from God, it brings us closer to Him. Because we experience that the body is the place that allows the person to enter into communion, to give himself.

How to convince me of all this? By going deeper into the Theology of the Body. Not as a beautiful but impossible theory, but as a meditation on our Christian hope: the Word made flesh.

In Christ's humanity we also see the fullness of our humanity: to return to the Father with a healed heart and a glorified body.

Even if you have fallen many times, even if you carry wounds or shame, remember: that is why Jesus came. In the Easter liturgy the Church sings: “O happy guilt that deserved such a Redeemer!” It is no coincidence, nor mere poetry, Christ came to heal the heart... and to redeem our body as well.

A decision for today

Look at your hands. Feel your breath. Look in the mirror. They are not an enemy. They are not a mistake. They are a gift. Part of a whole body that is called to resurrection.

Start today with something small to let the body speak its language: an act of generosity, a sincere confession, an apology asked in time, a silent service. Then you will discover something surprising: your body ceases to be your enemy and becomes your best ally in learning to love, because it is identifying itself with the actions of Jesus, God and true man.

Theology of the body

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ColumnistsLupita Venegas

What is the use of fasting?

In a culture where almost everything is readily available, fasting may seem a strange, masochistic, even useless custom. Why voluntarily deprive oneself of something as basic and lawful as food?

March 10, 2026-Reading time: 4 minutes

A charming grandmother offered a breakfast to her friends, some of whom had come from far away after several years of not seeing each other. Her daughters were also invited and the reunion promised to be a great time. The table was well laid out and a feminine hand, with attention to detail, could be seen in everything.

Hugs and phrases of joy were shared to the fullest, until, at the time of sitting down, one of the daughters demanded: “but it is fasting because we are in Lent! Immediately the opinions were divided: ”it is true, let's keep everything, we must offer something to Jesus and not continue with our bourgeois life as if we were not in the time of penance". Others said that the hostess had taken so much care that they could not do her a disservice. Still others suggested changing the fast to a work of mercy...finally a divided atmosphere reigned. Some ate, others did not. The former criticized the latter and vice versa. The hostess apologized for forgetting that Friday would be Lent. She felt a lump in her throat as the altercation escalated and some disqualifications were heard.

Learning self-controlto love

John Henry Newman insisted that external spiritual practices have value only when they transform the heart. He said that bodily sacrifice makes sense when it helps to purify the soul and orient the will toward God. Fasting is a pedagogical act: the body teaches the soul to love better.

The church invites us to practice fasting during Lent with a transcendent meaning: to learn self-control in order to love.

We live in a culture where almost everything is readily available - food, entertainment, information - fasting may seem a strange, masochistic, even useless habit. Why voluntarily deprive oneself of something as basic and lawful as food?

However, fasting is one of the oldest and most universal human practices. Long before Christianity, different civilizations discovered that renouncing food for a while could help human beings to order their inner life.

In Judaism, for example, fasting occupies a central place on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when people acknowledge their faults and seek reconciliation with God. In Islam, millions of believers practice fasting each year during Ramadan as an exercise of purification and obedience. Also in Eastern spiritual traditions, inspired by Siddhartha Gautama, Buddha, moderation in eating has been seen as a form of inner discipline.

This cross-cultural agreement reveals something important: fasting responds to a deep intuition of the human heart.

What is fasting?

Fasting is not simply to stop eating. Its deeper meaning is to remind us that not every desire must be satisfied immediately. In a world that constantly pushes us to consume, fasting becomes a small school of freedom. It teaches us that we are capable of mastering our impulses and choosing what really matters.

In addition, fasting has a very concrete human value. By voluntarily experiencing deprivation, even for a short time, it awakens in us a greater sensitivity to those who experience scarcity on a daily basis. What for some is a spiritual practice, for millions of people is a daily reality. Fasting, lived with awareness, can thus become a bridge to solidarity.

The Church says...

Christianity took this ancient practice and gave it a new meaning. Before beginning his public life, Jesus Christ fasted for forty days in the desert. That is why the Church proposes fasting especially during Lent, in preparation for Easter.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that fasting, together with prayer and almsgiving, is part of the Christian's journey of conversion. It is not a matter of punishing the body or complying with an external rule, but of making room in the heart for God and for others.

This is why the Church insists that fasting only makes sense when it is accompanied by a true interior transformation. Pope Francis has explained it in very clear words: authentic fasting does not consist only in cutting down on food, but in renouncing that which harms others: indifference, hardness of heart or words that hurt. Otherwise, fasting simply becomes a diet.

Christian wisdom has always understood it this way. As St. Augustine of Hippo wrote: “Fast from hurtful words, and feed on kind words”.

This is an invitation renewed today by our Pope Leo XIV in his recent Message for Lent: “If Lent is a time of listening, the 40 days fast constitutes a concrete practice that disposes us to accept the Word of God. Abstinence from food, in fact, is a very ancient and irreplaceable ascetical exercise on the path of conversion. Precisely because it involves the body, it makes more evident what we “hunger for” and what we consider essential for our sustenance. It serves, therefore, to discern and order the “appetites”, to keep the hunger and thirst for justice awake, to remove it from resignation, to educate it so that it becomes prayer and responsibility towards our neighbor”.

Perhaps therein lies the true meaning of this ancient practice: fasting helps us to remember that human beings do not live only by what they consume, but by what they love.

And that the conversion that God expects does not begin in the stomach, but in the heart.

For this reason, the Lenten liturgy reminds us of the words of the prophet: “Is this not the fast I desire, to break unjust chains, to share your bread with the hungry, not to neglect your brother” (Is. 58:6-7).

Clinging to the law, stripping it of its meaning, divides and poisons us. To carry out the Lenten practices as well as possible YES... but cultivating first of all their authentic meaning: to master ourselves in order to truly love.

The authorLupita Venegas

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The World

Nigeria: “terrifying crisis of religious violence,” independent report says

Nigeria faces “a terrifying crisis of religious violence,” said the independent, bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in its just-released 2026 annual report.

OSV / Omnes-March 9, 2026-Reading time: 5 minutes

- Kate Scanlon, OSV News

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan body of the U.S. federal government that monitors religious freedom around the world, released its report at an event at the Capitol Complex. A major finding is that Nigeria faces “a terrifying crisis of religious violence.”.

Vicky Hartzler, President of the USCIRF and a former Republican member of the House of Representatives from Missouri, said in her remarks at the event that the people of Nigeria “continue to face violations of religious freedom and suffers a deeply tragic and ongoing crisis of violence” at the hands of “non-state militants who advocate a violent interpretation of Islam.”.

“The Nigerian government has been negligent for too long in seriously and directly addressing the violence and its complex underlying factors,” he said.

‘Country of special concern’.’

The Trump administration recently designated Nigeria as a «country of special concern,» a State Department designation for nations or entities that commit systematic violations of religious freedom. The U.S. also carried out a deadly attack in Nigeria on Dec. 25, which President Trump called an attempt to target Islamic State group terrorists persecuting Christians in that country.

Among the cases of violence in Nigeria cited in the report, it said that “in September, Father Matthew Eya of St. Charles Catholic Church in Enugu State, southern Nigeria, was returning home from his pastoral duties when unidentified gunmen pulled up on a motorcycle, shot out his tires and then executed him on the spot in his vehicle.”.

Students from St. Mary's Catholic School in Papiri, Nigeria, arrive at the Niger State Government House December 8, 2025, after being released from captivity when they were abducted by gunmen on November 21. (Photo by OSV News/Marvellous Durowaiye, Reuters).

Against Christian and Muslim communities

Violence against Christians in Nigeria has intensified in recent years at the hands of Islamic extremist groups such as Boko Haram. However, Muslim communities have also been severely affected by the violence. Disputes between farmers and herders have also led to violence and displacement.

The report also states that Christians across Central Africa “have become increasingly vulnerable to targeted attacks by non-state actors.”.

Nigeria was among the countries that USCIRF recommended for designation as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC), which also included Afghanistan, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Libya, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam.

Serious violations of religious freedom

The State Department designates CPCs for particularly serious violations of freedom of religion or belief under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The IRFA requires the U.S. government to annually designate CPCs, which are defined in law and policy as countries where governments commit or tolerate “particularly serious violations” of religious freedom.

Non-state actors that engage in similar conduct are designated as «entities of special concern.» The State Department also has a “Special Watch List” for serious violations of religious freedom that do not meet the criteria for CPC designation.

Damage inside the Al-Adum Jumaat Mosque on Christmas Day, 2025, in Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria, a day after an explosion following evening prayers. The blast killed at least five people in what police described as a probable suicide bombing (Photo by OSV News/Ahmed Kingimi, Reuters).

California Senator: freedom of religion, key importance

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-California, stated at the event that “there is nothing more important to American values than freedom of religion. It's in the First Amendment for a reason, and we need a foreign policy that reflects our values as a nation.”.

“This commission, which sheds light on oppressed religious groups around the world, has contributed greatly to elevating our foreign policy discourse,” he said. “I commend the commission for presenting this report to us. It will be the subject of deep and thorough debate.”.

The impact of USAID cuts

The report also pointed to cuts to programs aimed at promoting religious freedom through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the government's now-closed humanitarian aid agency in countries around the world, as one of the causes affecting programs that provided humanitarian assistance to persecuted religious communities.

“USCIRF received information that a significant portion of the programs that used funds appropriated by Congress to promote IRF were cancelled,” the report states.

“This included projects to combat blasphemy laws and other legal restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, establish early warning systems to protect religious minorities, promote interfaith dialogue, and document violations of the IRF, including crimes against humanity and genocide. Emergency assistance for religious freedom activists in Burma and Afghanistan was also cancelled, as was a USAID flagship program that had supported 4,000 members of religious minorities facing discrimination and persecution.”.

Effects of funding cuts in Nigeria

Citing the organization's concerns about Nigeria, the report added: “As an example of how such cancellations could affect conditions of religious freedom, one source argued that ending a USAID program that supported early warning systems in Nigeria's Middle Belt could leave communities without support to prevent violence, creating vulnerability for future attacks against Christians.”.

However, the report noted that some of the commissioners took issue with that section and argued that “comments” on “an administration's decisions regarding the redirection of funds, especially as they relate to NGO funding, are, as we understand it, beyond the scope of USCIRF and our vocation.”.

Among other recommendations to Congress and the Trump administration, the report also called for a reduction in barriers for those fleeing religious persecution abroad to resettle as refugees in the United States, which Stephen Schneck, commissioner of USCIRF, noted in his remarks at the event.

Increased anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bias

“Admittedly, there were areas in 2025 where the administration's approach to international religious freedom fell short, such as protecting those beings in some of the world's most extreme environments for religious persecution,” Schneck said.

In comments at the event, Asif Mahmood, vice president of USCIRF, also noted a “widespread rise in anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bias” in parts of the world, as well as violations of religious freedom in areas facing conflict or political turmoil, among other major areas of concern for USCIRF.

—————–

Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. You can follow her at @kgscanlon.

—————-

The authorOSV / Omnes

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Experiences

Why go on a spiritual retreat? 5 elements to do it right

You could be as rich as a king, but miserable, if you have no friends. Or as poor as dirt, but happy, because you are surrounded by loved ones. What personal relationship could be more important than your relationship with God? Here are 5 useful elements to make a good retreat.

OSV / Omnes-March 9, 2026-Reading time: 5 minutes

- Father Francis J. Hoffman, OSV News

The saints, notoriously happy, bore witness to this reality. Even St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Claretian martyrs of Barbastro and the Carmelite nuns of Compiègne sang hymns of joy on their way to martyrdom. Immersed in conditions that would sadden mere mortals, these friends of God faced suffering with joy. It was their friendship with God that gave them strength and joy.

But friendship takes time and needs to be strengthened by conversation. Couples with strong marriages will tell you how important it is to get away for a long weekend to talk alone. We need to do the same with God, which is why the Church strongly recommends annual retreats for the faithful.

Retreats are a time away from our usual activities to reconnect with God, examine life's priorities and make concrete, practical resolutions for improvement. Retreats can be a powerful step toward personal conversion.

Our Lord: days of retreat

Before our Lord began his public ministry, he spent forty days in the desert praying and fasting in preparation for the important work that awaited him (cf. Lk 4:1-13). These were days of retreat.

During his three years of public ministry, Jesus sometimes invited his disciples to «withdraw to a solitary place to rest a while» (Mk. 6:31). Again, days of retreat.

When Jesus burst forcefully into St. Paul's life, he instructed him to get up and go to the city, where he would be told what to do. For three days, St. Paul did not eat or drink, preparing to receive spiritual direction from Ananias (see Acts 9:1-9). These were also days of retreat.

Great saints and founders

Over the centuries, the Holy Spirit has raised up great saints and founders for the reform and service of the Church. While the methods of Franciscans, Jesuits and members of Opus Dei have varied considerably, what their founders shared was a deep spiritual experience during their retreats, whether in the woods surrounding Assisi, in the caves of Manresa or in a residence of St. Vincent de Paul.

These saints sought solitude to listen to God. Jesus called them to a secluded place to spend time with him.

The current ecclesiastical legislation urges the parish priest to organize periodic retreats or missions for the good of the faithful, while all those who are to be ordained must make a one-week retreat. Likewise, priests and religious are asked to make an annual retreat.

For the good of the Church, as well as for the good of their own souls and families, lay people are also encouraged to take a few days away each year to rekindle their relationship with Christ.

Top 5 elements to make a good retreat

There are many types of retreats, and many church organizations offer retreats of varying lengths and themes. Retreats can last two or forty days; they can be for men, women or couples.

They can follow a traditional format with a preaching priest as retreat master, offering several spiritual conferences or daily meditations. Or they can have a more charismatic tone.

They can be directed or not. You can make a retreat with a large group in a hotel or alone in a Trappist monastery. In general, however, prudent pastoral experience suggests that the following elements are the most helpful for a good retreat: silence, the Holy Eucharist, confession, spiritual reading and closeness to the Blessed Virgin.

Silence, Holy Eucharist

First, the silence. Seek a place of retreat that fosters an atmosphere of silence, not as a penance, but as a means of listening to the Holy Spirit and getting to know Jesus while knowing yourself.

When you go on a weekend retreat, you go to be with God and deepen your friendship with him. Too often in daily life, we are overwhelmed by sensory distractions and fail to hear God's voice. When you go on retreat, turn off your cell phone and disconnect from all cyber communication. God wants your attention. Others can wait.

Secondly, the Holy Eucharist. Since the Holy Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, it is extremely beneficial for the practitioner to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion daily during the retreat. It is also helpful to spend time in silent conversation in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament and even to participate in the Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament during the retreat.

The Church so strongly recommends Eucharistic adoration that a plenary indulgence can be obtained whenever one of the faithful spends 30 minutes in adoration before Our Lord.

Confession, spiritual reading

Third, the confession. A retreat is about seeking, finding and loving Christ. By spending time in silent reflection and examination of conscience, the Holy Spirit will prompt you to confess your sins to a priest.

Often, the annual retreat provides special graces for a deeper examination of conscience, which impels the soul to a deeper contrition. Souls sometimes seek to make a general confession of their whole life - renouncing pride, envy, lust and jealousy - and thus open their souls to the redeeming graces of Christ.

For true and lasting spiritual progress, it is essential that the person make a deep and profound examination of conscience, express sincere contrition and confess his sins to a priest.

Fourth, spiritual reading. What a joy to read the Bible slowly and in silence! How good it is for the soul!

Priority should be given to the New Testament, and in the first place to the Gospels. The soul benefits greatly from reading and reflecting on the words and actions of our blessed Savior.

Early morning is usually the best time to nourish the soul and spirit with the words of the Gospel. Many also find it very helpful to read spiritual works of saints and great teachers.

Timeless classics, such as «The Three Ages of the Interior Life» by Father Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange, «The Imitation of Christ» by Thomas á Kempis or «In Conversation with God» by Father Francis Fernandez are always a good bet.

Blessed Mother, Rosary

Fifth, closeness to the Blessed Mother. After Our Lord's ascension into heaven, the apostles gathered around Our Lady and accompanied her in prayer. Ten days later, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit infused his grace into each of those present in the Upper Room, and thus the Church was born.

Those days of prayer and petition were fruitful because of the Apostle's closeness to the Blessed Mother.

During your retreat, take time to pray the rosary daily and meditate deeply on each mystery. By reflecting on the example of the Blessed Mother, you will draw closer to Our Lord.

Some practical and generous purposes

As you near the end of your retreat, be sure to make some practical and generous resolutions (no more than three) to improve in prayer, service and sacrifice. Write those resolutions down in your notebook or save them in your phone.

Finally, beware of post-retirement syndrome, also known as post-retirement syndrome. This is the tendency to fail at one or more of your resolutions soon after returning. Forget it and start over.

With God's grace and your humble contrition, you will progress.

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Father Francis J. Hoffman, also known as ‘Father Rocky,’ is the executive director of Relevant Radio (relevantradio.com).

The authorOSV / Omnes

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