World News

El Salvador celebrates its first saint, whose legacy continues

During the Oct. 14 at the Vatican -- very early morning in El Salvador -- Salvadorans gathered in the square outside the cathedral to watch the ceremony on big screens; others watched in their parishes.

St. Romero’s brothers rejoice at his canonization

Before the sun rose in Rome Oct. 14, 88-year-old Gaspar Romero and his brother, 93-year-old Tiberio Romero were at the head of the line of thousands of people waiting to get into St. Peter's Square.

Relics offer physical reminder that saints were real people

The very formal relics, present in reliquaries with a red-wax seal, were set at the feet of a statue of Mary during the Mass. Most were what the church traditionally described as "first-class" relics: a piece of the actual physical remains of the saint, often bone fragments.

For Catholics, St. Oscar Romero’s canonization a dream come true

For many pilgrims from El Salvador and for many Catholics who focus on the tie between faith and justice, waiting for the canonization of St. Oscar Romero was an exercise in patience.

Hometown saints: Pilgrims at canonization support their local ‘heroes’

As the sun rose over the Tiber River, seven banners hanging on the facade of St. Peter's Basilica depicting the church's newest saints were illuminated by the new day.

Saints risk all for love of Jesus, pope says at canonization Mass

Carrying Pope Paul VI's pastoral staff and wearing the blood-stained belt of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador, Pope Francis formally recognized them, and five others, as saints of the Catholic Church.

Pope expels two Chilean bishops from priesthood

The Vatican said 84-year-old Francisco Jose Cox, the former archbishop of La Serena, and 53-year-old Marco Antonio Ordenes, the former bishop of Iquique, were dismissed from the clerical state by the pope and there would be no appeal.

Young people want leaders who are fathers, not Pharisees, observer says

The Catholic Church must be a place of justice and mercy, and its members must be catalysts for change, some young observers said at the Synod of Bishops Oct. 11.

Class action request aimed at Quebec nuns for physical, sexual abuse

The Sisters of Charity of Quebec said they were "surprised" and "troubled" by allegations that children who once stayed at the Mont d'Youville orphanage in Quebec City were sexually abused not only by lay educators but also by nuns.

Young people need small, nurturing networks to help them discern

Youth are looking for a relationship "with Jesus through the faith and witness of the evangelizer," not "an encounter with a doctrine.