A student at Illinois’ St. Bede School, a K-8th grade school located in Ingleside, is racing against the clock to raise $400,000 in order to prevent the school from closing. As of the publishing of this article, the fundraising campaign has almost reached 85% of the goal, but there’s still a ways to go before Read More…

Athletes are a source of inspiration for many of us. In their often-grueling training routines, they highlight the value of hard work and diligence. Even athletes who engage in individual sports depend upon coaches, trainers, and other athletes, and show the importance of teamwork. Most importantly, athletes are aware of the fragility of the human Read More…

The Italian Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino is following the guidance of Pope Francis in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, awarding grants to “change-makers” who are working to renew their local economies. The award, the “Francis of Assisi and Carlo Acutis International Award for an Economy of Fraternity,” is only in its third year, but it Read More…

Unbound, an international non-profit that works to build unique paths out of poverty for children, youth, elders, and their families in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, is celebrating 1 million sponsorships. The group is joined for the milestone by The Chosen actor Jonathan Roumie, who has been supporting Unbound for years. Now, Roumie has sponsored Read More…

The other day I was given a lesson in hospitality on a flight from Rome. After eating my airline meal (not bad), the passenger seated next to me offered me some cookies he had brought onboard. When I smiled and took one, he firmly insisted that I take a second. Later as I was reading Read More…

A representative of a Catholic aid agency in the Holy Land sent an update this week to partners and supporters, warning that “the whole area is boiling and threatens to explode.” “If the war on Gaza continues, it will be difficult to control the outcomes,” wrote Joseph A. Hazboun, regional director of Catholic Near East Read More…

The Knights of Columbus, the world’s premier lay Catholic fraternity, is celebrating the donation of one million coats through their charity program Coats for Kids. Launched in 2009, the Coats for Kids program is active in 49 US states and all 10 Canadian provinces. The milestone was commemorated in a ceremony at Annunciation Catholic School, Read More…

It’s one of those things that many people take for granted. Dirty laundry? Just throw it in the wash. Not so for people who are forced to sleep on the street or in shelters.  But in Turin, Italy, homeless people now have a couple of places where they can get their clothes cleaned – and Read More…

October 29 is the 160th anniversary of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. In spite of the religious symbol used by this life-saving movement, the Red Cross is a secular organization. But its founder was motivated by deeply-held Christian principles. According to a blog of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Read More…

I’ll never forget the time that a Franciscan sister came to give a talk at my parish, and my whole understanding of my vocation to motherhood changed. She lived and worked in an inner-city Chicago neighborhood, and as she sat among the well-coiffed ladies of our women’s group, she gently urged us, “Find ways to Read More…

Another case of a possible saint from the United State is now in the hands of the Vatican. Representatives from the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, this past week brought to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints all the paperwork that was done for the cause of Fr. Patrick Ryan, an Irish-born priest who gave Read More…

More than 301,000 people have crossed the border from Sudan into South Sudan since conflict erupted in Sudan, and many of those people are showing up with signs of malnutrition. Fighting broke out in April between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. According to the Associated Press, at least one in five Read More…