Catholic News

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More than 400 people gathered at the Vatican on Wednesday to officially begin the Synod on Synodality. During the first full day of work October 5, participants met in small groups of about 12 people to discuss the first part of the Instrumentum Laboris, a document that will guide discussions over the nearly monthlong assembly.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255586/what-is-being-discussed-during-the-first-week-of-the-synod-on-synodality

Saint Alberto Hurtado Chapel in the Archdiocese of Concepción and Saint Joseph Church of the Diocese of Linares were set on fire over the weekend. Both churches are located in central Chile. According to a Facebook post by the Archdiocese of Concepción, the fire in the chapel was started around midnight on Sunday, October 1, and the building “was completely destroyed due to arson.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255589/two-churches-in-chile-struck-by-arson

Eleven people died and 60 were injured when the roof of Holy Cross Church in Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas state, Mexico, suddenly collapsed as baptisms were being performed there on October 1.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255578/update-11-dead-60-injured-from-collapse-of-church-roof-in-mexico-during-baptisms

Security officials in Nigeria’s Plateau State have reportedly arrested eight suspects in connection with a fire at a parish rectory in Nigeria’s Kafanchan Diocese that resulted in the death of a seminarian. Seminarian Na’aman Danlami died after Fulani bandits reportedly attacked St. Raphael Parish Fadan Kamantan on the night of September 7 and set the rectory ablaze in what was confirmed as a kidnapping attempt.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255582/suspects-arrested-in-killing-of-seminarian-in-nigerian-parish-rectory-fire

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Bruno of Cologne, founder of the Carthusian order of monks who remain notable for their strictly traditional and austere rule of contemplative life.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-bruno-founder-616

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Pope Francis in his opening remarks for the Synod on Synodality on Wednesday offered guidance to participants on how the monthlong assembly will proceed.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255577/new-grammar-of-synodality-on-display-at-start-of-synod-gathering

Pope Francis on Wednesday released a new document on the environment that he has described as the “second part” of his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si', and which warns of “grave consequences” if humanity continues to ignore the threat of climate change. The apostolic exhortation, titled Laudate Deum (“Praise God”), is meant to address what Francis in the document calls the “global social issue” of climate change. The pope said that in the eight years since Laudato Si’ was published, “our responses have not been adequate” to address ongoing ecological concerns. “Climate change is one of the principal challenges facing society and the global community,” the pope wrote in the document, arguing that its effects are borne by the world’s “most vulnerable people” and that the climate issue is “no longer a secondary or ideological question.” Francis wrote that the effects of climate change “are here and increasingly evident,” and warned of increasing heat waves and the possible melting of the polar ice caps, which he said would lead to “immensely grave consequences for everyone.” Laudate Deum’s publication date — October 4 — is the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, from whom Francis drew his pontifical name at the start of his papacy in 2013. It is also the start date of the first monthlong assembly in Rome of the ongoing Synod on Synodality.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255563/in-new-exhortation-pope-warns-of-climate-change-our-responses-have-not-been-adequate

The state of Florida executed a convicted murderer on Tuesday evening after pleas from Catholic bishops and other anti-death-penalty advocates fell on deaf ears.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255572/florida-executes-convicted-double-murderer-despite-pleas-from-catholic-bishops

Today, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska. Throughout her life, Jesus appeared to Saint Faustina. He asked her to become an apostle and secretary of his mercy, by writing down his messages of Divine Mercy for the world in her diary. Jesus also asked Saint Faustina to have an image painted of his Divine Mercy, with red and white rays issuing from his heart, and to spread devotion to the Divine Mercy novena. Saint Faustina and Jesus’ message of Divine Mercy impacted the future Pope Saint John Paul II greatly, and he canonized her in 2000 and instituted Divine Mercy Sunday on the Sunday after Easter.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-faustina-virgin-737

The Church also celebrates Saint Luigi Scrosoppi. With other priests and a group of young teachers, he dedicated himself to educating poor and abandoned girls in the practical skills of sewing and embroidery, as well as in reading, writing and arithmetic. Nine of these girls decided to take their vows as the first sisters of the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence, which Father Luigi founded in 1837. The congregation grew, and eventually he opened 12 houses of sisters.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-luigi-scrosoppi-424

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A pro-life display at a Saint Louis-area Catholic parish was defaced with red paint sometime between October second and third. Parishioners attending daily Mass Tuesday morning discovered the display — which consisted of a cluster of white crosses and a white banner facing the street reading “Pray to End Abortion” — with red spray-paint all over the crosses and the words, “Pro-life is a lie, you don’t care if people die” scrawled on the banner. The display was on the grounds of Saint Paul Catholic Church, a large parish with a school located in the suburb of Fenton, about 20 minutes outside of Saint Louis. SaintPaul, along with numerous other parishes around the archdiocese, held a public pro-life prayer service October 1 in honor of Respect Life Month. Father John Nickolai, Saint Paul’s pastor, told CNA that there appears to be no permanent damage to the church or school property. He said he encourages Catholics to “pray, fast, and make sacrifices for the conversion of hearts” in the face of the vandalism.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255566/pro-life-display-vandalized-at-st-louis-county-parish

All but a few ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region have fled their ancestral homeland following a violent takeover by Azerbaijan two weeks ago, the Armenian government announced Tuesday. According to the Armenian government, 100,617 Nagorno-Karabakh refugees — out of a population of 120,000 — have been “forcibly displaced.” The government said that 345 refugees are currently receiving medical care and that “many of them remain in critical and extremely critical condition.” Meanwhile, a small military clash close to the Armenia-Azeri border on Monday further evidenced rising tensions between the two neighboring nations.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255561/nearly-all-ethnic-armenians-have-fled-nagorno-karabakh

The National Eucharistic Congress on Monday opened its application form for young people to apply to become “perpetual pilgrims” during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which kicks off during summer 2024. The ambitious two-month pilgrimage will consist of four cross-country Eucharistic processions — a combined distance of 6,500 miles — converging in Indianapolis on July 16, 2024, at the National Eucharistic Congress, which is expected to attract thousands. The general public is invited to sign up to join for small sections at different points of the pilgrimage; however, a group of four dozen full-time “perpetual” pilgrims will commit to making the entire journey, accompanied by priest chaplains for weeklong segments. The deadline to submit an application to become a perpetual pilgrim is Nov. 28. Interview and further screenings will follow, with final selection taking place in January 2024.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255551/national-eucharistic-congress-opens-permanent-pilgrim-application-process

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Italian deacon who brought renewal to the Church through his decision to follow Jesus' words as literally as possible. At Mass one morning, he heard the Gospel reading in which Christ instructed the apostles to go forth without money, shoes, or extra clothing. This way of life soon became a papally-approved rule, which would attract huge number of followers within Francis' own lifetime. Through his imitation of Christ, Francis shared in the Lord's sufferings. He miraculously received Christ's wounds, the stigmata, in his own flesh during September of 1224.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-francis-of-assisi-614

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The roof of a Catholic church in the Mexican city of Madero collapsed on Sunday, killing at least 10 people while they were attending Mass, authorities said following the disaster.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255545/roof-of-church-collapses-in-mexico-killing-at-least-10

Pope Francis sent his condolences on Saturday to an Iraqi Christian community in Qaraqosh, northern Iraq, that was devastated by a massive fire at a crowded wedding reception that killed over 100 and injured 150.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255549/pope-francis-sends-telegram-to-iraqi-christian-community-after-tragic-wedding-fire

An annual Requiem Mass that has been held at Westminster Cathedral in London, England, for more than 50 years has been relocated amid the continued restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass issued by the Vatican.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255543/annual-requiem-latin-mass-canceled-at-westminster-cathedral-in-london-after-50-years

The Vatican has released Pope Francis’ original responses to a set of dubia on highly-charged doctrinal questions submitted by five cardinals earlier this summer — and criticized the cardinals for going public with the matter just days before the start of the Synod on Synodality.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255540/vatican-releases-pope-francis-responses-to-pre-synod-dubia-criticizes-cardinals

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Mother Théodore Guérin. A Frech Sister of Providence, Mother Théodore Guérin was sent to Indiana in 1840 to found a convent of the Sisters of Providence in the diocese of Vincennes. There she pioneered Catholic education, opened the first girls’ boarding school in Indiana, and fought against the anti-Catholicism prevalent in the day. She was well known for her heroic witness to faith, her hope, and her love of God.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-mother-theodore-guerin-382

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Five cardinals have sent a set of questions to Pope Francis to express their concerns and seek clarification on points of doctrine and discipline ahead of this week’s opening of the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican. The cardinals said they submitted five questions, called “dubia,” on August 21 requesting clarity on topics relating to doctrinal development, the blessing of same-sex unions, the authority of the Synod on Synodality, women’s ordination, and sacramental absolution. Dubia are formal questions brought before the pope and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) aimed at eliciting a “yes” or “no” response, without theological argumentation. The word “dubia” is the plural form of “dubium,” which means “doubt” in Latin. They are typically raised by cardinals or other high-ranking members of the Church and are meant to seek clarification on matters of doctrine or Church teaching. The cardinals say they have not yet received a response to the reformulated dubia sent to the pope on August 21. For more information about the dubia, visit catholic news agency dot com.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255534/cardinals-send-dubia-to-pope-francis-ahead-of-synod-on-synodality

Pope Francis created 21 new cardinals from across the world at a Saturday morning consistory in Saint Peter’s Square, reflecting on how the geographic expansion of the Church’s leadership represents a fulfillment of the promise of Pentecost. “You new cardinals have come from different parts of the world, and the same Spirit that made the evangelization of your peoples fruitful now renews in you your vocation and mission in and for the Church,” the pope in his homily for the event told the new cardinals, 18 of whom are under age 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave. The September 30 consistory, which saw cardinals created from 15 different countries, was in continuity with Francis’ steady geographic diversification of the College of Cardinals, carried out over the nine consistories he has held during his 10-year pontificate.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255528/pope-creates-21-new-cardinals-continues-expansion-of-college-s-geographic-diversity

Pope Francis on Sunday announced a meeting with children to be held at the Vatican on November 6. The event in the Paul VI Audience Hall, sponsored by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, will be dedicated to the theme “Let us learn from boys and girls.” “It is an event to show the dream we all have: To go back to having the pure sentiments of children because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them,” the pope said after praying the midday Angelus on October 1. Accompanied by five children from five continents, the pope on Sunday said that children “teach us how to be transparent in relationships, how to welcome strangers, and how to care for creation.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255531/pope-francis-to-hold-meeting-with-children-at-the-vatican-on-nov-6

Today, the Church celebrates the Guardian Angels. The truth that each and every human soul has a Guardian Angel who protects us from both spiritual and physical evil has been shown throughout the Old Testament, and is made very clear in the New. Prayer to the guardian angels is encouraged. Here is a prayer you can pray.

Angel of God,

my Guardian dear,

to whom His love

commits me here,

ever this day

be at my side,

to light and guard,

to rule and guide.

Amen.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/the-guardian-angels-612

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Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts football team, announced this week that he is donating $5 million to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago in honor of his late cousin, Sister Joyce Dura. Irsay, a billionaire businessman who grew up in the Chicago area, praised his cousin’s service to others during her time as a religious sister. “Sister Joyce spent a half-century giving back to others, so with this gift I only hope to emulate my dear cousin’s spirit, grace, and her commitment to our communities,” Irsay said.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255506/indianapolis-colts-owner-donates-5-dollars-million-to-catholic-charities-chicago-to-honor-his-cousin-a-nun

The Archdiocese of Saint Louis may close more than 25 Catholic elementary schools amid a major restructuring plan that has already closed and merged many parishes. Roughly one-third of the 80 Catholic parish elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis will meet with representatives from the Office of Catholic Education and Formation and their Episcopal Vicar to consult on their current and future status, the archdiocese announced September 27.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255513/one-third-of-st-louis-catholic-schools-face-possible-closure

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City on Thursday called the execution of convicted murderer Anthony Sanchez, which took place a week ago, “fundamentally at odds with the culture of life the state of Oklahoma proclaims to be building.” Sanchez was convicted of the 1996 rape and murder of 21-year-old University of Oklahoma student Juli Busken, KOCO5 reported. He died September 21 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, about a 130-mile drive from Oklahoma City.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255516/oklahoma-archbishop-decries-execution-of-anthony-sanchez-as-archaic

The Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) on Mount Graham in southern Arizona celebrated its 30th anniversary this month, and the observatory has several days worth of celebrations planned for this weekend. The VATT is a relatively recent extension of the Vatican Observatory, which has roots dating to 1582, making it one of the oldest active astronomical observatories in the world. The observatory was re-founded in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, who intended to reinforce the Catholic Church’s support of science. Originally located near Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the Vatican Observatory moved to Castel Gandolfo under Pope Pius XI due to light pollution from the city. In 1981, again due to growing light pollution, the observatory launched another research center under the famously dark Arizona skies. The VATT, which is paid for by private donations, is today located on a mountaintop in rural Arizona about 200 miles southeast of Phoenix.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255512/celebrations-planned-for-30th-anniversary-of-vatican-observatory-s-arizona-telescope

Today, the Church celebrates the three Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, the only angels named in Sacred Scripture. All three have important roles in the history of salvation. Saint Michael is the "Prince of the Heavenly Host," the leader of all the angels. Saint Gabriel, whose name means "God's strength," is mentioned four times in the Bible. Most significant are Gabriel's two mentions in the New Testament: to announce the birth of John the Baptist to his father Zacharias, and the at Incarnation of the Word in the womb of Mary. Saint Raphael’s name means "God has healed,” and Tobit is the only book in which he is mentioned. His office is generally accepted by tradition to be that of healing and acts of mercy.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/sts-michael-gabriel-raphael-archangels-609

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A fire that ripped through a wedding venue in northern Iraq has killed more than 100 people in a majority-Christian town still rebuilding after years of ISIS occupation. The hall in Qaraqosh on the Nineveh Plains burned Tuesday night during a Syriac Catholic wedding celebration. Witnesses and civil defense officials told the BBC that the fire was sparked, with hundreds of guests present, by fireworks set off as the bride and groom danced. Archbishop Bashar Warda, who leads the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil, said in a statement to EWTN News that “patriarchs, bishops, and priests from all faiths gathered today in Qaraqosh to bury those who had perished.” “No words can adequately describe the mourning of those bringing their loved ones to their final resting places in their ancient land. What was to be a time of joy has now turned into a whole community into mourning and deep shock,” the archbishop, for years an outspoken advocate for the Middle East’s persecuted Christian minority, told EWTN News. “I ask for your prayers for those souls we have lost and the severely injured. I ask you to pray for the Syriac community and their families within Iraq and the diaspora.” Iraqi authorities are investigating the disaster.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255500/breaking-iraq-archbishop-calls-for-prayers-after-tragic-wedding-fire

The Maryland attorney general’s office on Tuesday released an unredacted report on child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore that names most of the individuals accused.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255499/names-of-accused-in-maryland-ag-s-sex-abuse-report-on-baltimore-archdiocese-are-released

Ruben Vardanyan, a former high-ranking official in the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, was arrested by Azerbaijan authorities on Sept. 27 as he attempted to flee the region along with over 50,000 other ethnic Armenian refugees.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255496/former-nagorno-karabakh-armenian-leader-arrested-as-over-50000-refugees-flee-region

On the second day of the 2023 Plenary Assembly of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), a bishops’ committee provided recommendations on diocesan policies that are focused on protecting minors and vulnerable adults to all the bishops in attendance.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255493/canadian-bishops-address-protection-of-minors-vulnerable-adults-at-meeting

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Wenceslaus, a Central European ruler who died at the hands of his brother while seeking to strengthen the Catholic faith in his native Bohemia.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-wenceslaus-608

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Pope Francis’ new document on the environment, to be released October 4, will be called Laudate Deum, which means “Praise God” in Latin. October 4 is also the first day of a monthlong assembly for the Synod on Synodality and the conclusion of the Season of Creation, a Vatican-supported ecumenical initiative about caring for the environment. Pope Francis had announced last month he would be releasing a follow-up document, the kind of papal document known as an “exhortation,” to the 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’. The theme of that encyclical, which means “Praise be to you,” is human ecology, a phrase first used by Pope Benedict XVI. The document addresses issues such as climate change, care for the environment, and the defense of human life and dignity.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255478/pope-francis-next-environmental-document-to-be-called-laudate-deum

Pope Francis has awarded a UK church “co-cathedral status,” making it the first of its kind in Britain’s history. The Church of Saint Mary of the Isle, located in Douglas on the Isle of Man, has achieved this rare status after Douglas was formally recognized as a city during the late Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee celebrations in June 2022. The Isle of Man is a self-governing island situated between Great Britain and Ireland with a population of about 84,000 people. Saint Mary of the Isle will be co-cathedral along with Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. The two cathedrals are 80 miles apart and are separated by the Irish Sea, but both fall within the Archdiocese of Liverpool. Co-cathedrals are a rarity in the Catholic Church and usually exist when two dioceses, each with its own cathedral, are merged, or when one diocese spans two different civil jurisdictions, as in the case of the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255477/pope-makes-uk-church-first-co-cathedral-in-british-history

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Vincent de Paul, the French 17th century priest known as the patron of Catholic charities for his apostolic work among the poor and marginalized.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-vincent-de-paul-607

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The Diocese of Enugu in Nigeria has expressed its gratitude to God and the faithful following the release of Father Marcellinus Obioma Okide, who had been abducted on September 17. Father Wilfred Chidi Agubuchie, the chancellor of the Enugu Diocese, said: “We are glad to inform you that our brother and priest, Father Marcellinus Obioma Okide, has been released from the den of the kidnappers.” Nigeria has been experiencing insecurity since 2009 when Boko Haram insurgency began with the aim of turning the country into an Islamic state. Since then, the group, one of largest Islamist groups in Africa, has been orchestrating indiscriminate terrorist attacks on various targets, including religious and political groups as well as civilians. The case of Okide is the latest in a series of kidnappings and murders in Africa’s most populous nation involving members of the clergy, seminarians, and other Christians.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255468/abducted-priest-in-nigeria-released-diocese-grateful

The Diocese of Rome on Monday said it is anticipating thousands of pilgrims in attendance at an ecumenical prayer vigil at the Vatican later this week, with the event scheduled ahead of the start of the historic synod taking place in Rome in October. The diocese said in a press release that “approximately 3,000 people” are expected to attend the event “Together — Gathering of the People of God” being hosted in that city over Friday and Saturday. The prayer service is occurring just days before the launch of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will take place in Rome over the course of October. The vigil “will be an opportunity to entrust the work of the [synod] to the Holy Spirit,” the diocese said. Hundreds of visitors are expected from numerous countries including France, Hungary, Vietnam, and the United States. Nearly 500 are projected to come from Poland alone. The overall synod itself — dubbed the “synod on synodality” due to its focus on synodality, or collaboration and participation among the Catholic faithful in the furtherance of the Church’s mission — is occurring over the course of several years. Next month’s gathering of bishops is the first of two major assemblies, with the second planned for October of next year.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255464/diocese-of-rome-says-thousands-expected-at-vatican-for-ecumenical-prayer-vigil-ahead-of-synod

California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, sued five pro-life pregnancy centers September 21 over their promotion of a drug that is meant to reverse chemical abortions.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255466/california-ag-sues-pro-life-pregnancy-centers-over-abortion-pill-reversal-drug

Today, the Church celebrates Saints Cosmas and Damian, twins born to Christian parents in Arabia, in the third century. They lived in the region around the border between modern day Turkey and Syria. They were physicians who were renowned for their skill as well as their refusal to charge for their services. Their charity and Christian witness won many converts to the faith and earned them a place of prominence in the Christian communites of Asia Minor. They were both martyred by beheading.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/sts-cosmas-and-damian-606

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Pope Francis condemned euthanasia and abortion as actions that “play with life” and said there is such a thing as “bad compassion” during a press conference aboard the papal plane from Marseille to Rome on Saturday. Aboard the plane, Pope Francis was asked by a French journalist whether he had spoken about euthanasia in his private conversation with France’s President Emmanuel Macron earlier in the day. Francis said he did not address the topic of euthanasia with Macron on Saturday but that he had expressed himself “clearly” on the issue when the French president visited him at the Vatican last year. “Whether it is the law not to let the child grow in the mother’s womb or the law of euthanasia in disease and old age,” he said, “I am not saying it is a faith thing, but it is a human thing: There is bad compassion.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255459/you-don-t-play-with-life-pope-francis-condemns-euthanasia-abortion-on-papal-plane

In Marseille on Friday, before a memorial to people lost at sea, Pope Francis said humanity is at a crossroads between fraternity and indifference regarding the migrant crisis. “We can no longer watch the drama of shipwrecks, caused by the cruel trafficking and the fanaticism of indifference,” he said September 22. “People who are at risk of drowning when abandoned on the waves must be rescued. It is a duty of humanity; it is a duty of civilization.” “On the one hand, there is fraternity, which makes the human community flourish with goodness; on the other, indifference, which bloodies the Mediterranean. We find ourselves at a crossroads of civilization.” The pope spoke during a meeting with local religious leaders at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants lost at sea on the first of a two-day visit to Marseille. The day after the pope’s visit — and the concluding day of the encounter, Sunday, September 24 — is the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The first quarter of 2023 was the deadliest since 2017 in the Central Mediterranean, with at least 441 people dying, though that’s considered an undercount.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255451/pope-francis-in-marseille-it-s-a-duty-of-humanity-to-save-migrants-abandoned-at-sea

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, the woman twice arrested for silent prayer outside UK abortion clinics, has received a police apology and confirmation that she will not face charges for violating a local “buffer zone” protection order. Vaughan-Spruce is the director of March for Life UK and helps support women in crisis pregnancies. She has regularly prayed near abortion clinics for 20 years.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255453/woman-arrested-for-silent-prayer-at-uk-abortion-clinics-gets-police-apology

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Hermann Contractus. He was born crippled and unable to move without assistance. It was an immense difficulty for him to learn to read and write, however he persisted and his iron will and remarkable intelligence were soon manifested. Upon discovering the brilliance of his son’s mind, his father, Count Wolverad II, sent him at the age of seven to live with the Benedictine monks on the island of Reichenau in Southern Germany. He lived his entire life on the island, taking his monastic vows in 1043. Students from all over Europe flocked to the monastery on the island to learn from him, yet he was equally as famous for his monastic virtues and sanctity. Hermann chronicled the first thousand years of Christianity, was a mathematician, an astronomer, and a poet and was also the composer of the Salve Regina and Alma Redemptoris Mater – both hymns to the Virgin Mary. He died on the island on September 21, 1054.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-hermann-contractus-372