Prince of Peace Parish

Vatican City, Mar 19, 2025 / 14:45 pm (CNA).

Hundreds of people in Rome joined celebrations organized by the Parish Basilica of St. Joseph al Trionfale in Rome to celebrate the March 19 solemnity of St. Joseph.

Festivities began March 9 with a vigil Mass at the parish to commence the March 10–18 novena leading up to the feast day dedicated to the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

For the jubilee year, the relics of St. Joseph’s cloak and Our Lady’s veil were on display inside St. Joseph al Trionfale for public veneration for four days from March 16–19.

It is believed the relics belonging to the parents of Jesus were hidden in the Basilica of Sant’Anastasia, located near the Circus Maximus, for more than 1,600 years after St. Jerome brought the relics to Rome in the fourth century.

Devotion to the holy cloak of St. Joseph has expanded beyond Rome. For American visitor Gina Pribaz, the holy patron of the universal Church is an important saint for her family.

“When I was expecting my first child and experiencing difficulty, I asked St. Joseph for his intercession — my daughter was born on his feast day,” Pribaz told CNA on Wednesday.

“Being able to venerate the relic of his cloak moved me; it helped me feel close to the real man who guided and protected the Holy Family and can do the same for our families now,” she said.

The 30-day Holy Cloak prayer devotion, which includes the recitation of the Litany of St. Joseph, has spread throughout the world. Each of the 30 days represents a year in the 30 years of Jesus’ hidden life — before he began his public ministry — under the protection of St. Joseph.

Wednesday’s celebrations at St. Joseph al Trionfale included six Masses; an afternoon street procession with the parish’s St. Joseph statue, accompanied by the Lazio region’s band orchestra and state police; food and games for children, including St. Joseph cream puff pastries; and an evening fireworks display.

Vatican City, Mar 19, 2025 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

The Vatican announced on Saturday its latest plans for the Synod on Synodality’s ongoing implementation — a multiyear “accompaniment and evaluation process” leading to a Church-wide assembly at the Vatican in October 2028.

CNA explains more about the process and why it has been initiated:

Implementation phase

Initiated by Pope Francis in October 2021, the Synod on Synodality was a multiyear, worldwide process of the Catholic Church focused on exploring the question “What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our ‘journeying together’?” 

The synod went through diocesan, national, and continental stages in phase one, the “consultation” phase. Two global, monthlong assemblies were held at the Vatican in October 2023 and October 2024 as part of the next “discernment” phase.

The 2024 synod gathering, which included for the first time both bishops and non-bishops as voting members, was largely focused on discussing the question “What processes, structures, and institutions are needed in a missionary synodal Church?”

At the end of the month, Pope Francis chose to ratify the assembly’s final report rather than write his own postsynodal document, stating that “there are already very concrete indications in the document that can be a guide for the mission of the Churches, on the different continents, in the different contexts.”

The third and final phase of the Synod on Synodality is the implementation phase, underway now.

Study groups examining 10 areas of possible reform, based on suggestions from the 2023 assembly, are part of the implementation of the synod. Some of the study groups are expected to deliver their final reports in June.

Accompaniment and evaluation process

On March 15, the Vatican’s synod office announced an additional initiative of the implementation of the Synod on Synodality: an over-three-year accompaniment and evaluation process that will begin in churches and dioceses, move to national and international gatherings, and eventually culminate in a global gathering at the Vatican in October 2028.

With the approval of Pope Francis, who signed off on the process from the hospital on March 11, the General Secretariat of the Synod sent a letter to all of the Catholic Church’s Latin-rite bishops and Eastern-rite exarchs as well as to bishops’ conference presidents explaining this next project.

The timeline of the accompaniment and evaluation process is as follows: This May will see the publication of a support document for the implementation phase, with guidelines for its use.

From June 2025 to December 2026 there will be implementation paths in local Churches.

In the first half of 2027 there will be evaluation assemblies in dioceses around the world.

The second of half of 2027 will see evaluation assemblies in national and international bishops’ conferences.

Evaluation assemblies at the continental level will take place in the first half of 2028. 

June 2028 will see publication of the Instrumentum Laboris, or guiding document, for the October 2028 assembly.

Finally, in October 2028, the Vatican will host the ecclesial assembly.

According to Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod and the author of the letter about the accompaniment and evaluation process, “synodal teams” made up of priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, and laypeople — accompanied by their bishops — will organize and conduct the process in each diocese.

What is it all about?

Grech said in his letter the implementation phase of the Synod on Synodality should be understood “not as merely the ‘application’ of directives from above but rather as a process of ‘reception’” of the suggestions made in the final document of the October 2024 synodal assembly.

“It is essential to move forward together as the whole Church,” the cardinal emphasized, noting the importance of “harmonizing” the synod’s reception throughout the Church.

Pope Francis, in his final speech to synod participants on Oct. 26, 2024, said: “There are and there will be decisions to be made.” 

“I, then, will continue to listen to the bishops and the Churches entrusted to them,” he continued. “This is not the classic way of postponing decisions indefinitely. It is what corresponds to the synodal style with which even the Petrine ministry is to be exercised: listening, convening, discerning, deciding, and evaluating.”

“The process,” Grech explained, “will also be an opportunity to evaluate together the choices made at the local level and recognize the progress made in terms of synodality. Thanks to this process, the Holy Father will be able to listen to and confirm the orientations deemed valid for the whole Church.”

In an interview with Vatican News, Grech provided more background to the decision to implement an “application and evaluation process” in the Church.

He said it boils down to the need to have a synodal mentality and “simply publishing a ‘document’ is not enough for what emerged in the two phases of the synodal process to be implemented in the Church’s life.”

Because Pope Francis adopted the final document of the 2024 assembly into his ordinary magisterium, the whole Church is “required” to live the third phase, the implementation, of the synod, he continued.

This new process and its steps “constitute a map for the conversion and renewal of the Church in a synodal sense,” Grech said. “All the work that awaits us in these next three years is inspired by the contents of this document, which must be experimented with, in order to verify the possibility of realizing them in the life of the Church.”

Vatican City, Mar 19, 2025 / 13:45 pm (CNA).

Minecraft, the popular video game known for its blocky, pixelated graphics, has launched a new educational edition that challenges students to explore and restore St. Peter’s Basilica. 

Michelangelo’s dome, Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s colonnade, and the ancient tomb of the Apostle Peter have been recreated within Minecraft’s iconic digital world of 3D cubes and retro gaming aesthetic. 

Microsoft and the Vatican unveiled the game, “Peter Is Here: AI for Cultural Heritage,” at a press event in Rome on March 18. The project is the latest step in their collaboration on an AI-enhanced experience of St. Peter’s Basilica. 

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, placed the educational video game under the patronage of St. Joseph, who was “the educator par excellence of the child of God.” 

“Those who play with St. Peter’s Basilica in Minecraft Education have the opportunity to try their hand at creative architectural interventions, to discover the history of the basilica, to restore it, and to enter into the hidden meanings that it holds,” the cardinal said. 

Restoring the Vatican, one block at a time 

Designed for students aged 8–18, the game allows players to take on roles of skilled craftsmen and restoration workers responsible for maintaining St. Peter’s Basilica. By completing restoration tasks, they earn golden papal key tokens while learning about the basilica’s history, art, and architecture. 

Eleven-year-old Michael Sterpi was one of the lucky students selected to test out the game.  

“I play Minecraft on Xbox and PC at home,” Sterpi told CNA. “This game is like really, really, cool. With each block, they made the whole Vatican!” 

Sterpi, who has been studying the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis in school, said he thinks that Carlo “would love this game.” 

Yet, the student from Rome’s Jesuit-run Massimiliano Massimo Institute was quick to point out that nothing can replace seeing St. Peter’s Basilica in person. 

“The real thing is much better, obviously,” he said. 

Minecraft as an educational tool? 

The new Vatican edition is part of Microsoft’s larger effort to bring cultural and religious history to life through digital learning in Minecraft Education. 

“Introducing complex topics to students in an immersive 3D virtual world makes challenging concepts easier to understand,” Allison Matthews, head of Minecraft Education at Microsoft, said at the game’s Rome premiere. 

“We’ve created a lot of classroom-ready resources that educators can download to make it very easy,” she added. 

Minecraft Education also features other religious and cultural sites, such as Syria’s Monastery of St. Elian — an ancient Christian church destroyed by the Islamic State — available in the UNESCO’s History Blocks edition of the game. A different edition lets students explore the monuments of ancient Rome. 

The game’s launch comes at a time when video games are often viewed with skepticism, especially in educational settings.  

Mauro Antonelli, the head of Italy’s technical secretariat for the Ministry of Education and Merit, acknowledged a need to “counter gaming addiction” among young people today but called the initiative an example of how technology can serve educational purposes. 

“It is really a paradigm shift — gaming is often seen with a negative connotation,” he said. 

The Vatican’s involvement reflects a growing interest in artificial intelligence, social media, and digital tools that engage younger generations.  

In April, the Catholic Church is expected to canonize Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old who loved video games, as the first computer-coding saint during a worldwide gathering of teenagers at the Vatican. 

Franciscan Father Enzo Fortunato, the director of communications for St. Peter’s Basilica, also suggested that the Minecraft game could become the official game of the Vatican’s next World Children’s Day event in September 2026. 

Microsoft has been working with the Vatican on digital preservation projects through its AI for Good Lab. This latest venture builds on previous efforts to create an AI-enhanced digital twin of St. Peter’s Basilica, using advanced photogrammetry techniques to map its intricate details. 

“This partnership with St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican is one of Microsoft’s most cherished,” Matthews said. “We are honored to be able to use the power of AI to help preserve St. Peter’s Basilica and make it more accessible to people all around the world.” 

How to play Minecraft Vatican edition? 

“Peter Is Here” is available in the Minecraft Education lesson library for all licensed users. A trial version can be downloaded for free by logging in with an Office 365 or Microsoft 365 Education account. 

The game offers two distinct modes. In “Restoration Mode,” players work on key sections of the basilica, including restoring the Vatican Obelisk, exploring St. Peter’s Tomb, reinforcing the colonnade, and repairing Bernini’s baldacchino.  

After completing restoration tasks, players can switch to “Exploration Mode,” where they navigate the basilica, interact with historical figures, and uncover the history of its art and architecture. 

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice chair and president, called the launch “a big step forward” in making the Vatican’s cultural and religious heritage more accessible to young people everywhere. 

“This is the way we take this wonderful institution — the culture, the religion, the heritage — and then put it into the hands of children in every country around the world,” he said. “What could be more special than that?” 

Archbishop Carlo Maria Polvani, the undersecretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, said he hopes that millions of young people will use the game to discover one of the world’s greatest heritage sites, especially during the jubilee year. 

CNA Staff, Mar 19, 2025 / 13:10 pm (CNA).

The Maryland Senate passed a bill Monday that would allow $25 million in funding to go toward abortions. 

The grant program is designed to fund abortions for women whose insurance does not cover the procedure, using money from premium funds collected by health insurance carriers.  

If approved by the state’s governor, the program would become the first of its kind in the country.

Funding for the Public Health Abortion Grant Program would require “certain premium funds collected by health insurance carriers be used to provide certain coverage and to support improving access to abortion care clinical services under certain circumstances,” according to the text of the bill. 

The grant program was approved in the House last week and in the Senate on Monday. The two bills must be reconciled before legislators send a final version to be signed by the state’s governor, Wes Moore.

Moore has a track record of pro-abortion action and has pledged his support “for a woman’s right to choose.”  

In 2025, Maryland voted overwhelmingly in favor of enshrining a right to abortion in the state constitution via an amendment that passed with roughly 75% voting yes. The state has no gestational limits on abortion. Its broad acceptance of abortion makes it an abortion destination for some in neighboring states such as West Virginia. 

A similar bill did not pass last year due to legal concerns over the use of insurance company funds to support abortion clinics. 

The grant program is designed to ensure that uninsured or underinsured women have funding for abortions. The funding comes from a dollar-per-month fee that certain insurers are required to collect on every policy under the Affordable Care Act. The fund has grown to $25 million over time, increasing by about $3 million annually.

The Senate bill was sponsored by Guy Guzzone, D-Howard, chair of the Budget and Taxation Committee. Lesley Lopez, D-Montgomery, and other delegates sponsored the House bill. 

A local report said the legislators’ debates over the bill grew heated and emotional over the past few weeks, with legislators on both sides of the aisle bringing up their own personal experiences.

The Maryland Catholic Conference has encouraged lawmakers to redirect resources toward pregnancy support rather than abortion, calling on local Catholics to take action via a statewide alert. 

Jenny Kraska, the Maryland Catholic Conference executive director, urged the state government to put funds toward mothers in need.

“Instead of allocating public funds to expand abortion access, our state should prioritize policies that support mothers in need, provide real health care solutions, and affirm the dignity of both mother and child,” Kraska told CNA.

Kraska also shared her concerns that taxpayer funding could go toward abortion.

“We also hope that the federal government will act to ensure that taxpayer dollars cannot be used in this manner to fund or subsidize abortion at the state level,” she said.

If signed, the bill would go into effect July 1.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 19, 2025 / 12:40 pm (CNA).

Ahead of the fifth anniversary of its program supporting mothers in need in the United States, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has issued a call for parishes across the country to magnify efforts to “put the gospel of life into action” by opening up and offering help to vulnerable women and children. 

The solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord on March 25 will mark the fifth anniversary of Walking with Moms in Need and the 30th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s pro-life encyclical Evangelum Vitae (“The Gospel of Life”) that inspired it. 

Walking with Moms in Need is a nationwide parish-based initiative that works “to increase outreach and support to pregnant and parenting mothers in need.” 

Parishes participate in the initiative according to the USCCB’s Parish Action Guide, beginning with a yearlong process that includes making an inventory of available resources to mothers in the community and creating a plan by which the parish may fill any leftover gaps. Parishes are encouraged to take steps such as creating new ministries and reaching out to mothers in the community. 

Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, oversaw the program’s launch in 2020 while at the time serving as the chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. 

“Since the launch of Walking with Moms in Need, Catholics in dioceses and parishes across the country have put the gospel of life into action, uniting in a shared mission to surround pregnant and parenting mothers in need with loving support and personal accompaniment,” Toledo, Ohio, Bishop Daniel Thomas, the committee’s current chair, said in a statement Wednesday. 

“Heroic volunteers have stepped forward to make our parishes places where a mother can be connected with meaningful resources and assistance and, most importantly, know that she and her baby are not alone,” Thomas said.

“The Annunciation reminds us that Our Lord Jesus came to earth as a vulnerable child in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” the prelate continued. 

“Every parish has something unique that God is calling them to contribute to the Church’s efforts to transform our society into a culture of life and civilization of love,” he added. 

The bishop concluded his message by asking for prayers that the ministry will continue to become established in every parish and diocese across the country. “May every mother know that she can turn to her local Catholic parish for help in her time of need,” he said.

Vatican City, Mar 19, 2025 / 11:55 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Wednesday said doubts and uncertainties are not a reason to fear for those who seek Jesus’ guidance throughout life’s journey. 

In his prepared March 19 catechesis on “Jesus Our Hope,” published amid his lengthy stay in the hospital, the Holy Father reflected on Nicodemus’ encounter with the Son of God in St. John’s Gospel.

“Nicodemus goes to Jesus at night: It is an unusual time for a meeting,” the pope shared. “He is a man who finds himself in the darkness of doubt, in that darkness that we experience when we no longer understand what is happening in our lives and do not see clearly the way forward.”

Before turning to Jesus for answers, Nicodemus sensed “that something no longer works in his life,” the pope explained in his catechesis. 

“He feels the need to change, but he does not know where to begin,” he continued. “This happens to all of us in some phases of life.”

Emphasizing the need not to be closed in on ourselves and to accept change, the 88-year-old pontiff said Nicodemus is an example of a man who accepted the light of faith and was “reborn.”

“Changes sometimes frighten us,” the Holy Father said. “On the one hand they attract us, at times we desire them, but on the other we would prefer to remain in comfort.”

By choosing to embrace change and overcome inflexible habits and ways of thinking, the pope said people are able “to find a new way to love” others.

“The Spirit encourages us to face these fears,” he added.

Though Nicodemus was “a teacher of Israel,” the pope noted that he needed to trust Jesus’ authority and deepen his knowledge of Scripture.

“Nicodemus is able to do it: In the end he will be among those who go to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus (cf. Jn 19:39)!” he said. 

“Nicodemus has finally come to the light, he is reborn, and he no longer needs to stay in the night,” he continued. 

Praying for all people to have the ability to face their fears and doubts and be free, the pope concluded: “In him we find the hope to face the changes in our lives and be born again.”

CNA Newsroom, Mar 19, 2025 / 09:25 am (CNA).

Writing from Gemelli Hospital, Pope Francis emphasized the role of hope in vocational discernment in his message for the 62nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations released by the Vatican on Wednesday.

“Vocation is a precious gift that God sows in hearts, a call to step outside oneself to undertake a journey of love and service,” wrote Francis in his address on March 19.

The hospitalized pope described how vocations develop through “trust in providence” and said Christian hope goes beyond optimism to become “a certainty rooted in faith in God, who works in the history of every person.”

Francis called on Church leaders to support younger generations in their vocational journeys while encouraging young people to work with “the Holy Spirit” in discovering their life’s purpose.

The pope pointed to young saints as examples of those who found “complete happiness in relationship with the living Christ” through their vocations.

On the solemnity of St. Joseph, Francis explained that vocational paths develop through “daily fidelity to the Gospel, prayer, discernment, and service” and concluded by urging Church communities to foster vocational awareness across various aspects of life.

“The Church is alive and fruitful when it generates new vocations,” he added.

“Our world looks, often unknowingly, for witnesses of hope who proclaim with their lives that following Christ is a source of true joy. Let us never tire, then, of asking the Lord for new laborers for his harvest, certain that with great love he continues to call them.”

In closing, the pope entrusted efforts of the young faithful “to follow the Lord to the intercession of Mary, mother of the Church and mother of vocations. Keep walking as pilgrims of hope on the path of the Gospel! I accompany you with my blessing and I ask you, please, to pray for me.”

The Holy See Press Office announces that Pope Francis no longer requires mechanical ventilation at night, and has less need of high-flow oxygen therapy during the day. His motor and respiratory physiotheraphy is also making progress.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 19, 2025 / 08:49 am (CNA).

Nearly 100 members of the Catholic clergy are expected to be among those praying for President Donald Trump and the country during a Catholics for Catholics event at the president’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday evening.

“The goal of this event is to pray — and to pray in a specifically Catholic way,” Catholics for Catholics President John Yep told CNA ahead of the group’s second annual Mar-a-Lago gathering.

Founded in 2022, Catholics for Catholics describes itself as an organization “at the intersection of faith and politics” that aims to “change hearts and minds for Jesus Christ and his Church.”

The March 19 event — which coincides with the solemnity of St. Joseph — will also feature various prominent Catholic speakers, including Bishop Joseph Strickland, Father Richard Heilman, pro-life activist Jean Marshall, detransitioner Nancy Charles, and Catholic commentator Taylor Marshall.

Jean Marshall is one of the 23 pro-life activists who were arrested under former President Joe Biden’s administration and subsequently pardoned by Trump. William Goodman and Father Dave Nix, both of whom were also arrested for their roles in pro-life protests, are not listed as speakers but will be brought on stage as well.

Other speakers include several political figures who are Catholic, including retired U.S. Army General Michael Flynn, veteran political consultant Roger Stone, and Human Events Editor Jack Posobiec.

Yep told CNA the speakers will discuss “how prayer has worked in their lives” and “how do you bring your Catholic faith to the public square,” among other things. He said the speakers are some of the “frontline warriors who are bringing prayer into real life.”

He said he wanted Catholics to gather in Mar-a-Lago because “the place where you pray is also very important,” adding: “We want to go to the home of the current president, President Donald Trump.”

“That home is very significant and we want to be there in person … to consecrate that place to Our Lady and to the protection of St. Joseph and to pray for the entire country,” he said.

Holding the event on the solemnity of St. Joseph holds significance in several ways, according to Yep.

Yep noted Pius XI named St. Joseph the patron of the Church’s fight against atheistic communism in his 1937 encyclical Divini Redemptoris. Yep said “St. Joseph is a patron for these times” because of “the rise of atheistic marxism [that has been] happening in recent decades.”

Additionally, St. Joseph is the “patron of the universal Church, and we want to go to him for protection,” Yep added.

The presence of Catholic clergy is expected to be significantly larger than last year’s event, which only drew 10 members of the clergy. There will be nearly 10 times more members of the clergy present this year.

“This is the largest Catholic event in the history of Mar-a-Lago,” Yep said.

Catholics for Catholics intends to continue holding annual events on the solemnity of St. Joseph and will keep them at Mar-a-Lago for the time being.

The Catholic vote and Trump’s agenda

Trump made significant gains with the Catholic vote in the 2024 presidential election, particularly with Hispanic Catholics. 

Yep said Trump’s message resonated with Catholic voters and Hispanic voters in the same way it resonated with other sectors of the American electorate, noting a desire for a “safe border” and “safety in their neighborhoods.”

Catholics for Catholics, Yep added, is also “grateful for the moral clarity on the two genders” and the end to “ridiculous lawfare against pro-lifers,” along with the restoration of “law and order that is coming back … in our communities” and “cleaning things up financially [regarding] some of this government waste.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) praised Trump’s executive actions to combat gender ideology and recognize the existence of only two genders. However, the USCCB has sharply disagreed with the president on his mass deportation plan and efforts to strip federal funds from nongovernmental organizations that provide assistance to migrants, including suing his administration over the latter matter.

When asked about the bishops’ criticism of Trump’s immigration policies, Yep noted that the Vatican recently increased penalties for illegal entry into Vatican City, which could be punished by up to four years in prison. Yep said if Trump follows the Vatican’s lead, “we’ll be in good shape as a country.”

Yep added that some of the speakers will also touch on the Catholic Church’s opposition to in vitro fertilization (IVF) — a fertility treatment that has been embraced by Trump. The Church is against IVF because it separates procreation from the conjugal act and results in the destruction of millions of human embryos.

Yep said there will be speakers who “present the science behind IVF” and said he “absolutely” sees room for Trump to shift on that issue. He said: “We have to be a witness to the fullness of the Catholic faith,” emphasizing the need to “continue to be there and present the fullness of that truth.”

Some speakers critical of Francis

Some of the speakers scheduled to appear at the event have been publicly critical of Pope Francis, who himself has sharply criticized some of Trump’s immigration and deportation plans.

Strickland was removed from his post in November 2023 amid his public criticism of Pope Francis. He remains a bishop but is not assigned to oversee any diocese.

Yep said Catholics for Catholics would “take any bishop” who wants to speak at the event, noting their importance as “successors of the apostles.” He added that he is “so grateful for [Strickland’s] voice, the voice of just truth and keeping the focus on Jesus Christ through this time.”

During the event, Yep said Catholics for Catholics will also “very much be praying for the Holy Father Pope Francis and his health” amid the pontiff’s now more than monthlong hospital stay.

The Mass, held in the Hungarian Chapel in the Vatican Grottos, will be presided over by Cardinal Peter Turkson, the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

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