The St. John Paul II statue in the main courtyard at Gemelli Hospital in Rome (NCR photo/Camillo Barone)
Vatican News

At Gemelli Hospital, workers and visitors unite in prayer for Pope Francis

Vatican

From the hushed prayers in a hospital chapel to the flickering candles outside Gemelli Hospital, Pope Francis' hospitalization has become a testament to faith and solidarity.

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Editors' Choice

Focus

Protestors demonstrate outside the scheduled execution of South Carolina inmate Brad Sigmon, on March 7, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP/Chris Carlson)

In Focus

Editorial: South Carolina's firing squad execution magnifies cruelty of death penalty

Brad Sigmon chose to be the first person executed in the U.S. by firing squad in 15 years because he believed the alternatives — lethal injection and electrocution — are more horrific.

Most Read Stories

Parishioners pray at the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary in Moscow in an undated photo. (Dreamstime/Uladzimir Zuyeu)

#1
At 3 years of war, Russian Catholics reflect on the place of their small community

The Feb. 24 anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine was an opportunity to offer "ever more fervent prayers for peace," but Trump's reset in relations with Putin was also proving difficult to understand.

ByJonathan Luxmoore
Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, speaks during the July 20, 2024, revival night of the National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (OSV News/Bob Roller)
Editorial

#2
Editorial: Bishop Barron goes to Washington. Will it be word on fire or a smokescreen?

National Catholic Reporter has said that silence in the face of President Trump's cruelty is complicity. In this daunting national moment, will Bishop Robert Barron speak truth to the powerful, or continue his silence?

ByNCR Editorial Staff
People hold a banner with a greeting in Italian for Pope Francis outside Rome's Gemelli Hospital on March 6. The banner says, "Cercola is praying for you. Stay strong, rise and walk." The phrase "rise and walk" is from the Acts of the Apostles, and Cercola is a town near Naples. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
Vatican News

#3
Pope Francis sends first audio message since hospitalization, offering gratitude for prayers

Pope Francis' recovery from double pneumonia is continuing on a positive trajectory, with the pontiff remaining stable for another day. Francis on March 6 released a brief audio message expressing gratitude for the prayers he has received during his three-week hospitalization. 

ByChristopher White, Camillo Barone

#4
JD Vance 'surprised' by pushback from Pope Francis, US bishops on immigration

#5
Bishop Barron compares Trump's address to Congress to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

#6
Catholic women go on Lenten strike to highlight their work in the church

Opinion

Ignore Cardinal Dolan's disrespect. We need Pope Francis.

Guest Voices

Ukraine's fight against Russian fossil fuels is everyone's battle

Guest Voices
British Foreign Minister David Lammy David Lammy meets with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Feb. 14 at the Munich Security Conference. (Wikimedia Commons/Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office/Elliot Vick)

A vision worth fighting for: A Canadian response to JD Vance

Guest Voices

For me, God is more important than my country, but my country is still worth fighting for. It's my home, and it's where I continue to learn what love is. 

Remember when we called POTUS the 'leader of the free world'?

NCR Voices

'Nonviolence is the only way forward,' Marie Dennis tells John Dear

Guest Voices
Protestors demonstrate outside the scheduled execution of South Carolina inmate Brad Sigmon, on March 7, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP/Chris Carlson)

Editorial: South Carolina's firing squad execution magnifies cruelty of death penalty

Editorial

Brad Sigmon chose to be the first person executed in the U.S. by firing squad in 15 years because he believed the alternatives — lethal injection and electrocution — are more horrific.

Vatican

Nuns pray rosary in St. Peter's Square with large video scree.
Vatican News

Pope Francis' latest X-rays confirm improvement

Pope Francis' latest X-rays confirm that his condition is improving while hospitalized for a lung infection and double pneumonia, the Vatican said on March 12. 

Eric LeCompte, executive director of the Jubilee USA Network, poses for a photo at the Vatican on June 4, 2024. Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of faith-based development and debt-relief advocacy organizations. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
Vatican News

Despite pope's hospitalization and Trump's USAID cuts, Jubilee Year push for debt relief continues

In recent centuries, the church has celebrated the tradition of jubilee years as a time of debt forgiveness. Despite the pope's hospitalization, the head of Jubilee USA Network said efforts toward debt cancellation continue.

ByChristopher White
The St. John Paul II statue in the main courtyard at Gemelli Hospital in Rome (NCR photo/Camillo Barone)
Vatican News

At Gemelli Hospital, workers and visitors unite in prayer for Pope Francis

From the hushed prayers in a hospital chapel to the flickering candles outside Gemelli Hospital, Pope Francis' hospitalization has become a testament to faith and solidarity.

ByCamillo Barone
Vatican News

Italian prisoners pray for Pope Francis, a longstanding advocate for the incarcerated

As Pope Francis remains hospitalized at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, Italian prisoners are praying for his recovery, Catholic chaplains said, noting the pope's longtime focus on addressing the needs of incarcerated people.

ByClaire Giangravé, Religion News Service

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Francis, the comic strip

Francis, the comic strip: Symbol in the chaos

Vatican News

Doctors declare Pope Francis no longer in 'imminent danger'

Vatican News

Vatican reports 'slight improvement' in Pope Francis' condition

Viewpoints

No, Elon, we should not go to Mars

 It makes more sense to spend money saving the Earth from climate change, ecological destruction and international conflicts than it does going to Mars.

Missionary Sister of the Queen of Apostles Ajita Mathew Vettikuzhakunnel celebrates India's Independence Day with members of her women's group in Uttar Pradesh in northern India. (Courtesy of Ajita Mathew Vettikuzhakunnel)
Justice

Q&A with Sr. Ajita Mathew Vettikuzhakunnel, champion of women farmers in India

Missionary Sister of the Queen of Apostles Ajita Mathew Vettikuzhakunnela started a farming company in September 2023, owned and governed by rural women in northern India. 

ByThomas Scaria
Catholic University of America students take measurements of the pastoral center for the Newark Archdiocese as part of a pilot course providing energy and sustainability recommendations to Catholic dioceses. (Patricia Andrasik)
Faith

Energy & Laudato Si' 101: CUA students advise archdiocese on sustainability upgrades

A new architecture course at Catholic University of America combines energy ethics and technical skills for hands-on sustainability projects that can aid U.S. dioceses in improving energy use and reducing emissions.

ByBrian Roewe
Miner with gold
Justice

'Yes to life, no to mining': Sisters in El Salvador join church's protest

Sisters are participating in the church's campaign: "Yes to life, no to mining," calling for the restoration of a law against metal mining in El Salvador. 

ByRhina Guidos

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Resumed UN nature summit provides faith groups pathway to log conservation progress

Viewpoints

NCR recipes for Lent: High-protein broccoli cheddar soup

Viewpoints

'Flood injustice' calls us to declare the dignity of vulnerable communities

Culture

Victor Bento performs as S. Adriano (countertenor) in "Sweet Chains" on Oct. 19, 2024, at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in New York City. (Courtesy of David Thompson Fairchild)

Academy of Sacred Drama brings lost Baroque oratorios back to life after 300 years

Hidden gems of these lost sacred dramas are returning to the stage, thanks to the Academy of Sacred Drama. In a unique blend of music, storytelling and history, the ensemble is bringing works back to life after centuries of silence.

'Hip-Hop Mass' brings African American Catholic flair in Atlanta

The new composition premiered this month in Georgia at the Lyke House Catholic Center, with a planned expansion due in the coming months.

BySamantha Smith, Black Catholic Messenger
Image from the Netflix documentary, 'Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever'

'Don't Die,' Ballerina Farm and the theology of self-optimization

Bryan Johnson, the focus of the Netflix documentary "Don't Die," and Hannah Neeleman of Ballerina Farm have something in common: a theology of pleasure-denial now to yield ultimate reward later. 

ByAnna Rollins
Christ on the Road to Emmaus
Book Reviews

'The Road to Wisdom' requires trust in both science and faith

The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust by Francis S. Collins, a medical doctor and head of the team of scientists uncovering the human genome project, offers a timely message of truth and understanding as a possible antidote to today’s political turmoil and social unrest.

By

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Oscars recap: 'Conclave' ripples well beyond its one win

Best Actress Oscar favorite Demi Moore's 'The Substance' is disturbing, disgusting – and liberating

The father of 'Wicked' is a gay Catholic

Miriam Marston, a consecrated virgin of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, is consecrated in 2020, by Archbishop Alexander Sample. (Courtesy of Miriam Marston)

Growing number of women choose vocation of consecrated virginity

"I hope that in my joyful witness of what a relationship with God can look like, I can perhaps inspire others to look at a relationship with God in their own life," says Miriam Marston, a consecrated virgin of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon.

Cropped photo of Jesus Christ on a crucfix with out-of-focus stained glass in the background at at Holy Sacrament Church in Itajai, Brazil.
Columns

Religious vocation: A perpetual commitment to Christ

I had to wait for eight years to make my perpetual vows. These vows committed me to Christ forever. In the words of St. Paul, I was ready to lose everything to gain Christ.

By
Missionary Sister of the Queen of Apostles Ajita Mathew Vettikuzhakunnel celebrates India's Independence Day with members of her women's group in Uttar Pradesh in northern India. (Courtesy of Ajita Mathew Vettikuzhakunnel)
Justice

Q&A with Sr. Ajita Mathew Vettikuzhakunnel, champion of women farmers in India

Missionary Sister of the Queen of Apostles Ajita Mathew Vettikuzhakunnela started a farming company in September 2023, owned and governed by rural women in northern India. 

ByThomas Scaria
Antonio M. Lagdameo, the permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations and chair of the Committee on the Status of Women in 2024, pictured at the podium and upper part of screens addressing the opening of the 68th session of the CSW in March 2024.

Monday Starter: CSW meetings to focus on 30 years since Beijing Declaration

Plus, a new study from UNANIMA looks at how certain groups, such as women and children, experience homelessness.

ByChris Herlinger

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

'Yes to life, no to mining': Sisters in El Salvador join church's protest

Agrospiritual ponderings: Cultivating spiritual richness within ourselves

Sr. Lucia Caram, who helps Ukrainians in Spain, calls out Trump, pleads for help

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