Courtney Mares

Courtney Mares

Courtney Mares is a Rome Correspondent for Catholic News Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she has reported from news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees. She is the author of “Blessed Carlo Acutis: A Saint in Sneakers” (Ignatius, 2023), https://ignatius.com/carlo-acutis-sscap/.

Articles by Courtney Mares

Pope Francis prays for people of Nicaragua: ‘Renew your hope in Jesus’

Aug 25, 2024 / 10:08 am

The pope entrusted Nicaragua to the protection and intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Pope Francis pens preface to US death row chaplain’s book on death penalty

Aug 19, 2024 / 14:15 pm

The pope personally penned the introduction to “A Christian on Death Row: My Commitment to Those Condemned” by Dale Recinella.

Pope Francis reflects with wonder on ‘the miracle of the Eucharist’

Aug 18, 2024 / 10:20 am

“All of us need the Eucharist,” Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on Aug. 18.

St. Maximilian Kolbe’s weapon for evangelization: the Miraculous Medal

Aug 14, 2024 / 04:00 am

As World War II raged around him in Poland, St. Maximilian Kolbe fought for souls using a printing press and another weapon — the Miraculous Medal.

Lourdes baths have fully reopened as 30,000 expected for Assumption pilgrimage

Aug 13, 2024 / 09:08 am

More than 30,000 pilgrims are expected in Lourdes for the Aug. 15 feast day.

Vatican urges Iran to avoid ‘in any way’ escalating conflict in Middle East

Aug 12, 2024 / 10:25 am

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, spoke on the phone on Monday morning with Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

Pope Francis: True faith opens the mind and the heart

Aug 11, 2024 / 08:45 am

“Brothers and sisters, when faith and prayer are true, they open the mind and the heart; they do not close them,” Pope Francis said on Aug. 11.

Eucharistic congress hears story of ‘the bishop of the abandoned tabernacle’

Jul 21, 2024 / 18:20 pm

Bishop Gerardo Colacicco, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York, shared the story of the passionate Spanish saint during a homily at Mass.

National Eucharistic Congress ends with prayer for ‘new Pentecost’ for U.S. Church

Jul 21, 2024 / 14:00 pm

“Those who choose to stay with Jesus will be sent by Jesus,” Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle told the crowd of nearly 60,000.

Eucharistic congress ‘a moment of unity’ for the U.S. Church, Bishop Cozzens says

Jul 20, 2024 / 14:20 pm

More than 50,000 Catholics from all 50 states who speak more than 40 languages are at the congress, which features keynote speeches and Eucharistic adoration.

Scott Hahn urges priests at National Eucharistic Congress to ‘rekindle Eucharistic amazement’ 

Jul 19, 2024 / 17:55 pm

During the first session with nearly 1,000 priests on Wednesday, Scott Hahn offered a retreat meditation on the biblical account of the road to Emmaus.

Catholics from across country meet in Indiana for National Eucharistic Congress

Jul 18, 2024 / 16:29 pm

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, called the congress “a moment of unity” for the Church in the United States.

National Eucharistic Congress begins in Indianapolis: ‘We did this for you, Lord’

Jul 18, 2024 / 09:35 am

The Congress, which has drawn tens of thousands of people to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, is the first such event to be held in the U.S. since World War II.

National Eucharistic Congress to draw more than 50,000 to Indianapolis

Jul 15, 2024 / 09:00 am

The five-day congress will be the first National Eucharistic Congress held in the United States since World War II. 

Relics of Carlo Acutis and 6 saints coming to National Eucharistic Congress

Jul 13, 2024 / 07:00 am

Relics of Carlo Acutis, Elizabeth Ann Seton, Juan Diego, and other saints can be venerated at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis next week.

Pope Francis to attend ‘Miracle of the Snow’ commemoration in Rome

Jul 12, 2024 / 11:25 am

Each year white rose petals fall from the ceiling of the papal Marian basilica in commemoration of a miraculous snowfall in Rome on Aug. 5 in 358 A.D.

Pope Francis meets Russian Orthodox Church’s ‘foreign minister’ at the Vatican

Jul 12, 2024 / 09:18 am

The pope met Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Anthony at the Vatican, the head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, on Thursday.

Pope Francis tells AI leaders: No machine should ever choose to take human life

Jul 10, 2024 / 10:33 am

In a message to an AI ethics conference in Hiroshima, Japan, the pope underlined that artificial intelligence has implications for the future of war and peace in our world.

Synod organizer says Vatican doctrine office is studying women deacons

Jul 9, 2024 / 15:05 pm

Cardinal Mario Grech said the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is studying “the women’s diaconate” within the context of its in-depth study of ministries.

Pope Francis appoints new prefect of Vatican archives

Jul 6, 2024 / 09:05 am

The Vatican Apostolic Archive contains 53 miles of shelving preserving documentation preserving important documents for the Church dating to the eighth century.