Articles by Courtney Mares
Pope Leo XIV signals potential shift on China, talks Trump and Gaza
Sep 18, 2025 / 10:08 amPope Leo XIV signaled he may be open to future changes to the Vatican’s controversial deal with China, saying that he is in dialogue with persecuted Chinese Catholics.
Armenian patriarch invites Pope Leo XIV to visit Armenia
Sep 16, 2025 / 13:06 pmCatholicos Karekin II, the patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, met Pope Leo for the first time on Sept. 16 at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo.
Pope Leo XIV creates ‘new’ China diocese amid diocesan border dispute with Beijing
Sep 10, 2025 / 12:21 pmPope Leo XIV has created a new Catholic diocese in northern China with the same name as one established decades ago by Beijing without Vatican approval.
More than half a million pilgrims have visited St. Carlo Acutis’ tomb so far this year
Sep 9, 2025 / 11:42 amMore than 620,000 people have visited the tomb of St. Carlo Acutis in the first eight months of 2025, according to the Diocese of Assisi, Italy.
Carlo Acutis’ teachers share their memories of him at school
Sep 4, 2025 / 13:57 pmIn the classroom, Carlo Acutis was a lively student with a gift for friendship, teachers recall.
12 things you should know about soon-to-be saint Carlo Acutis
Sep 3, 2025 / 04:30 amWho was Carlo Acutis? Was his body found incorrupt? Was he really a gamer? What did he play? Here are 12 things you should know about the soon-to-be saint.
How a parish play about Carlo Acutis inspired love for the Eucharist
Sep 3, 2025 / 04:05 amFather Epeli Qimaqima told CNA that the play has sparked lasting spiritual transformation and “brought the parish together in more ways than one.”
From Malawi to Houston: Catholic schools around the world named after Carlo Acutis
Sep 1, 2025 / 06:00 amSchools across the world named for Carlo Acutis are getting ready to celebrate his canonization on Sept. 7 in Rome.
Zelenskyy shares letter from Pope Leo XIV on Ukraine’s Independence Day
Aug 24, 2025 / 10:10 am“With a heart wounded by the violence that ravages your land, I address you on this day of your national feast,” the pope wrote in the letter.
Pope Leo XIV: Jesus challenges presumption of those who think they are already saved
Aug 24, 2025 / 08:20 amSpeaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Aug. 24, the pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from Luke.
Pope Leo XIV urges Catholic legislators to look to Augustine’s ‘City of God’
Aug 23, 2025 / 09:30 amThe pope called on parliamentarians to ensure that “power is tamed by conscience and law is at the service of human dignity.”
Knock Shrine in Ireland draws pilgrims with confessions, healings, and message of hope
Aug 21, 2025 / 13:20 pm“We have a very, very big outreach here in terms of confessions,” Father Richard Gibbons, who has led the shrine for more than a decade, told CNA.
Pope Leo XIV could visit Lebanon before the end of the year, patriarch says
Aug 20, 2025 / 09:30 amPope Leo XIV could visit Lebanon before the end of the year, the leader of the country’s Maronite Catholics, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Raï, said Tuesday.
From AI to the White Sox: Pope Leo XIV’s first 100 days break new ground
Aug 16, 2025 / 04:00 amHere are some of the highlights of the first 100 days of Pope Leo XIV.
A dog, a torch, and a saint: The fiery mission of St. Dominic
Aug 8, 2025 / 04:00 amSt. Dominic’s divine fire still burns through preaching and prayer throughout the world.
PHOTOS: White rose petals fall from ceiling of Rome basilica to mark fourth-century miracle
Aug 5, 2025 / 11:23 amAccording to tradition, the miracle involved a miraculous snowfall in Rome on Aug. 5 in the year 358.
Archbishop Fisher: Holy relics are not ‘just a quirky Catholic thing’
Aug 4, 2025 / 16:29 pmArchbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney delivered the homily at the closing Mass of the weeklong public veneration of Frassati’s body during the Jubilee of Youth.
Next World Youth Day to be historic first in non-Christian country, bishop says
Aug 4, 2025 / 12:05 pmBishop Paul Kyung-sang Lee emphasized the significance of the upcoming 2027 World Youth Day event in South Korea during the recent Jubilee of Youth in Rome.
‘To give them Jesus’: Missionaries of Charity bring powerful witness to Jubilee of Youth
Aug 1, 2025 / 07:30 amMore than 50 sisters of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity are in Rome this week for the Catholic Church’s Jubilee of Youth.
Jubilee of Youth: Meet the brave Catholic communicators who are telling their stories
Jul 31, 2025 / 07:00 amMeet some of the bold Catholic communicators in training at the 2025 EWTN Summer Academy in Rome, which coincides with this year’s Jubilee of Youth.