We don’t often go off topic, but we did find this interesting, so we will share it with you.
Immigration is a hot—and divisive–topic here in the U.S. and elsewhere. Divisive amongst the overall population and, also, amongst many Catholics. “Love thy neighbor” is often invoked when discussing immigration (taken a bit out of context, in our humble opinion).
In his Summa Theologiae (originally published in 1274 AD), Saint Thomas Aquinas laid out one of the most charitable, yet practical, arguments concerning immigration that effectively shaped the West for almost 1,000 years.
1. Immigration must always be proportionate so that foreigners can properly assimilate into the culture and mode of worship of the state.
2. Citizenship – and associated rights – should only ever be granted after the third generation to preserve the culture, mode of worship, and constitution of the state.
3. The common good of the citizens must remain the highest priority of the state, meaning, the state’s obligation to provide aid to its neighbors can never be at the expense of the citizens.
However, Aquinas ends with the sobering reminder that some peoples and states are incompatible with one another, and these must be held as “foes in perpetuity”.
Mount Melleray Abbey was a historic Cistercian (Trappist) monastery on the slopes of the Knockmealdown Mountains near Cappoquin, County Waterford. It was founded in 1833 as the first post-Reformation Cistercian house established in Ireland in the post-Reformation period. It has served as a major Trappist community for nearly 200 years.
It was officially closed as an active monastic community in early 2025. By the time it closed, the community was down to single figures, yet the facilities were still there in a beautiful, peaceful setting.
Now, Ave Maria University will be using the famous monastery as a campus, keeping it open for Catholic purposes. Ave Maria University was founded by Tom Monaghan, who created Domino’s Pizza and his known for his Catholic philanthropic works.
The opening Mass was celebrated by Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan of Waterford and Lismore.
“Pétros ení” (“Peter is here”) is an immersive exhibition exploring the story of the apostle Peter and the world’s largest Christian basilica. A journey that weaves together spirituality, art and technology in a unique blend of past and present.
The exhibition itinerary unfolds inside the Octagonal Halls, historic spaces located within one of the pillars supporting the Dome. These halls have been expertly restored for the occasion by the skilled artisans of the Fabbrica di San Pietro and opened to the public for the first time for this occasion.
The narrative journey follows two paths. One reveals the origins of the Basilica and its construction history, focusing on the tomb of Saint Peter. The other guides the visitor through the key events of the apostle’s life, up to his martyrdom. The story of Peter is interwoven with that of the Basilica, which is shown as it evolves through the centuries.
“Pétros ení: Saint Peter’s Digital Experience” is therefore a temporal and spiritual journey built around the figure of Saint Peter and the relevance of his testimony, which lives on reflected in the history of the Basilica and its living community.
The full experience lasts approximately 60 minutes and includes check-in at the meeting point, the transfer to the Octagonal Halls, the immersive exhibition (approx. 30 minutes), and access to the Vatican Grottoes, from where the self-guided Basilica tour with the Digital Audio Guide begins.
The project is the result of a wider collaboration between the Fabbrica di San Pietro, Microsoft, Iconem and other international partners. It centres on a process that made it possible to digitise Saint Peter’s Basilica in 3D using over 400,000 photographs, creating a faithful ‘digital twin’, supported in addition by artificial intelligence.
According to the Vatican, “This model not only allows visitors to virtually explore the Basilica in a totally innovative way — through a journey that began over two thousand years ago — but that also serves as a powerful tool for the maintenance, management and preservation of the immense artistic heritage contained within it“.
According to official shrine sources, over the course of 2025, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, in the interior of São Paulo state, Brazil, welcomed 10,486,118 pilgrims, according to statistics released in the first week of January 2026; a 15 percent increase compared with 2024, when 9,057,885 faithful made the journey to Brazil’s principal Marian sanctuary.
The Shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of Aparecida (Nossa Senhora Aparecida), the principal patroness of Brazil. The devotion traces back to October 1717, when three fishermen (Domingos Martins Garcia, João Alves, and Filipe Pedroso) cast their nets in the Paraíba do Sul River after a fruitless day of fishing. They miraculously recovered a small, dark clay statue of the Virgin Mary in two pieces (body first, then head), after which their nets filled with fish. This event was seen as a miraculous sign, and the statue became known as Our Lady of Aparecida (“the Appeared One”).
Finland’s first new Catholic school, the Helsinki Catholic School, is set to open in August 2026, following the national curriculum with Catholic values and welcoming students of all beliefs, marking a significant development for the growing Catholic community in the nation.
While there are no existing Catholic schools, Finland provides Catholic religious education in public schools when requested by parents in a municipality request it, alongside other faiths like Lutheranism and Orthodoxy. Catholic parishes also provide catechesis and sacramental preparation (like First Communion).
Note: the word ”first” in some announcements online is not to be understood historically but only in the sense that there is no other catholic school in Finland at the moment. There were a few (but very small) catholic schools already a hundred years ago, and a famous one, the English School was founded in 1945, and remained Catholic until 1995.
The curriculum will follow the Finnish national curriculum, but incorporates Catholic values and a distinct Catholic curriculum for moral/cultural education. Admission is open to all children, regardless of faith, with participation in religious activities being voluntary. The aim is to provide a faith-based education within Finland’s secular system, starting with preschool and grades 1-3.
This new school addresses the needs of a growing Catholic population and fills a gap in faith-based education, as Finland’s strong public system traditionally emphasizes secular education.
In Île-de-France, three new churches are TO BE BUILT, carried by the Chantiers du Cardinal, which have been supporting the development, renovation, and enhancement of the RELIGIOUS HERITAGE of Île-de-France for nearly 100 years.
• The Saint-Colomban church in Val d’Europe, in Seine-et-Marne.
• The Sainte-Bathilde church in Chelles, in Seine-et-Marne, whose inauguration is scheduled for March 2026.
• The Saint-Joseph-the-Benevolent church in Versailles.
Île-de-France is a region in north-central France. It surrounds Paris.
In a Dec. 2 statement released by Bishop Michael F. Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, he announced “with profound joy and gratitude to God” that the Vatican had “granted permission for the establishment of a Discalced Carmelite Monastery in Northern Cooke County, Texas, in the Diocese of Fort Worth.”
Calling the news “a moment of extraordinary grace for our local Church,” Bishop Olson explained that the new Carmelite monastery, “the Carmel of Jesus Crucified, will be a place where the beauty of contemplative life radiates outward into the world. Through prayer, silence, work, and sacrifice, the Discalced Carmelite nuns will accompany the faithful and intercede for the needs of our communities.”
The six nuns will come from Carmelite monasteries connected to the Christ the King Association of Discalced Carmelite Monasteries….a federation of Carmelite monasteries across the country. Along with those nuns are expected to come two women in formation for religious life, he said.
The Monastery will begin its life in Texas with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, scheduled for December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, at a temporary monastery location.
We will bring more details once the location is finalized.
Note: This follows the controversy when The Discalced Carmelite Nuns in Arlington, Texas (also in the Diocese of Fort Worth) faced a major dispute with the Fort Worth Diocese, leading to their dismissal from religious life by Bishop Michael Oson, who cited “their own actions,” while the nuns’ supporters formed a foundation to own their monastery, making the nuns tenants, to remove property contention, though the diocese stated they never claimed the property, creating an ongoing situation where the nuns are now linked with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) and the bishop urged Catholics to avoid the monastery.
As you already know, The Holy See considers that the society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has broken away from communion with the Catholic Church. Although the 1988 excommunication of the four SSPX bishops was remitted in 2009, the SSPX bishops and priests were still unable to exercise any episcopal or priestly ministry in the Catholic Church.
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Vatican news agency Fides reported on November 8, 2025 that the Catholic Church in Japan, in collaboration with European religious groups, is set to establish a new pilgrimage route in southern Japan to honor the first Christian missionaries and the “hidden Christians” who preserved their faith despite centuries of persecution.
The general route of the pilgrimage will be between Kagoshima and Nagasaki that touches upon the sites of early Christian missionaries such as Francis Xavier, Luis de Almeida, and Alessandro Valignano. The pilgrimage aims to rediscover and enhance the spirituality and cultural and scenic beauty of a heritage invaluable to the history of the Church.
The town of El Cobre in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba was one of the hardest hit by hurricane Melissa in October 2025. Home to some 7,000 people, it is also the site of the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity, the patron saint of Cuba.
The hurricane made landfall in eastern Cuba on October 29 about 20 mi (30 km) east of Chivirico, with sustained Category 3 winds of 120 mph (195 km/h). No deaths were reported after the Civil Defense evacuated more than 735,000 people across eastern Cuba ahead of the storm. Residents were slowly starting to return home as of November 1. Heavy equipment began to clear blocked roads and highways and the military helped rescue people trapped in isolated communities and at risk from landslides.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba called Melissa’s impact “a catastrophe of enormous proportions” and noted that this disaster adds “to the already difficult daily reality of our people.”
The prelates asked for “everything” for the victims: food, clothing, mattresses, household items, and shelter, “especially for the many elderly people living alone and all those who are naturally experiencing this time with sadness and discouragement.”
Finally, they appealed for solidarity “from Cubans in other parts of the world and throughout the country, to all those who with goodwill want to and are able to help us.”
Story courtesy of Catholic News Agency ( first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
As announced in 2023, World Youth Day 2027 will be held in Seoul, South Korea. Pope Leo XIV has set the dates to be August 3 through 8, 2027 and the theme is “Take courage! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).
South Korea has experienced a remarkable transformation from poverty to prosperity…..from authoritarianism to democracy. It went on to become an economic powerhouse in Asia. For example, imports from South Korea to the U.S. totaled $131.5 billion in 2024. China draws that figure at $438 billion, but it is still a large amount for such a small country (the population of China, at 1.4 billion, is roughly 27 times the population of South Korea).
South Korea represents a unique blend of faith, culture, and global influence, making it a fitting location to host World Youth Day that can help bridge the gap between the Global South and the Global North, as well as between East and West
The Catholic Church in Korea is vibrant, although it is still a minority religion, with about 11% of the population, it is characterized by its harmonious coexistence with diverse religious traditions. Unlike many other Asian countries, Korea was not colonized by Western imperialist powers; instead, it was colonized by Japan, an Asian imperialist power, in the first half of the 20th century and ruled the country until the end of World War II in 1945.
Pope John Paul II visited South Korea twice. His first visit was in 1984 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Korean Catholic Church, during which he canonized 103 Korean martyrs. His second visit was in 1989 to attend the 44th International Eucharistic Congress.
Crowds at Pope Francis’ visit to South Korea 2014
Pope Francis visited South Korea in August 2014 as part of the 6th Asian Youth Day, marking his first trip to Asia.
The Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in Daejeon drew an estimated crowd of 800,000.
South Korea, particularly Seoul, is seen as a gateway to East Asia, and those organizing and hosting World Youth are expecting a “radiant beacon of unity embracing the rich culture of East Asia”.
The event provides an opportunity to showcase Korean culture and faith to the world.
The location has geo-political implications as well, since the Communist government of North Korea (backed by Communist China) will certainly be dis-pleased at such an event on their doorstep. The de-militarized zone between North and South Korea remains a potential flash point, and it should be remembered that the Korean War ended with an armistice on July 27, 1953. An armistice is a formal agreement to stop fighting, but it doesn’t necessarily signify the end of a war. It’s a ceasefire that allows for negotiations towards a lasting peace, but in the case of Korea, those negotiations have never resulted in a peace treaty.
If the crowds at the 2025 “Pilgrims of Hope” Youth Jubilee 2025 in Rome are anything to go by (over one million in attendance), this will be a huge event. Even secular news sources like the Associated Press (AP) and CBS News noted the enthusiastic participants in the Youth Jubilee 2025.
These events inspire us to have an optimistic outlook for the future of The Church.
In his Summa Theologiae (originally published in 1274 AD), Saint Thomas Aquinas laid out one of the most charitable, yet practical, arguments concerning immigration that effectively shaped the West for almost 1,000 years.
