Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church

Sister Mary Barron speaks at the eighth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica, Saturday, May 3, 2025 / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 12:50 pm (CNA).

At the eighth Novendiales Mass on Saturday, Pope Francis was hailed as a "humble and compassionate pastor," one who maintained "unwavering confidence in the vocation of women religious."

Sister Mary Barron, the president of the International Union of Superiors General, said at the Mass that the late pope "invited us out into the world and among all of God's creation to heal and accompany those most in need."

The pope "reminded us again and again of the importance of embracing our frailty not as a limitation but as a source of grace," she said.

Pope Francis appointed Barron—the superior general of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles—to the Dicastery for Evangelization last year. She said on Saturday that the pope "urged us women religious to lower ourselves in service as Christ lowered himself to wash the feet of his disciples."

"He inspired us to bring hope and healing to the darkest corners of the world, to bring a friendly smile with a helping hand and a heart filled with the love of Jesus," she said.

Barron praised the pope's "unwavering confidence" in women religious.

"You recognized our contribution as builders of communion, as custodians of the warmth and maternal tenderness of the Church and reminded us that our presence is indispensable," she said.

"We give thanks for your heart as a pastor, for your vision and for the deep trust you have placed in consecrated women," she said.

"We promise to carry out the mission you have entrusted to us and to be the caress of our loving Creator God especially toward those who suffer."

Credit: SevenMaps/Shutterstock

ACI Africa, May 3, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

In the aftermath of this year’s Holy Week massacres in Nigeria’s Plateau and Benue states that reportedly left over 170 people dead, the pastor of St. Joseph Aboki Parish in the Diocese of Katsina-Ala has shared firsthand testimony of the deadly attacks, which he says were carried out by Fulani herders.

Over 170 Christians were reportedly killed during Lent and Holy Week in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, with at least 72 deaths reported in Benue state alone during the Easter Triduum, between April 18–20.

The attacks, allegedly by Fulani militants, targeted Christian farming communities in Ukum and Logo counties, raising concerns over religious persecution and government inaction in the West African nation.

In an interview with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, on April 29, Father Moses Aondoanenge Igba shared his firsthand account of the horror that unfolded between Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

“It was a massive killing. I would say that above 70 people were killed at that time. After the attack, people continued counting their losses. When they could not find their missing brothers, sisters, or relatives, they searched the bushes and discovered their decomposing bodies, led by the odor,” Igba told ACI Africa.

He described the deadly attacks as well organized and systematic. He said: “What happened on that Holy Thursday, which I call Black Thursday, and the following day, Black Friday, was a massive attack and massive killing of innocent people in our communities.”

Alluding to previous deadly attacks in Nigeria during Christian festivities, the priest attributed the repeated killings to the agenda of Islamization on the part of the perpetrators and their accomplices.

“Do not forget the Islamization agenda they have. I ask myself, why is it always during Christian festive periods that these killings take place? Either Christmas or Easter, they come to disrupt our celebrations. It points to a conquest ideology. It is more than just terrorism; it is about land occupation and Islamization,” he said.

Igba explained that beyond the religious motives, there seems to be an economic intent to cripple agricultural activities. 

“In terms of food security, it is like they want to destroy what we have so that we can starve and abandon our land,” he said, alluding to the use of “scorched-earth” strategy.

Staying among his people despite the dangers, he recalled the tragic fate of some of his parishioners, who sought refuge at the parish house but still met brutal deaths.

“One of my parishioners, Mr. Augustine Uzu, was with me on the Tuesday of chrism Mass when his village was attacked. He fled to the parish house for safety,” Igba recalled.

Later that night, he recounted, Uzu “decided to return to his village to retrieve some belongings, thinking the danger had passed. Unfortunately, the Fulani attackers were still there. They caught him, and while he tried to escape back to the parish, they hacked him to death, leaving his remains on the roadside.”

Igba recalled how he asked a group of people to retrieve Uzu’s remains. “We waited a day and then mobilized some young men to collect his body parts. We buried him at night, around 2 a.m., under the cover of darkness, and rushed back to the parish.”

The priest also spoke about another parishioner who narrowly survived a machete attack.

“A young man from my parish was caught by the Fulani. They ordered him to lie on his back and then used machetes on him, cutting through his stomach and spilling his intestines. By the grace of God, he survived after being rushed to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Zaki Biam. He is now recovering and can talk and eat,” Igba recounted.

As the violence has intensified, the parish premises has quickly become a place of refuge for parishioners and other community members fleeing the attackers, Igba told ACI Africa, adding that he chose to stay behind and offer hope rather than flee.

“I kept telling my people to have courage. I refused to run away. I stayed in the midst of my people, standing as a sign of hope for them. When bullets were flying over the church, I stood under a tree, directing those running into the parish to go behind the presbytery,” he recounted.

He recalled that many cautioned him about the dangers, but he remained resolute. 

“People were scared, telling me I was taking a risk, but I said to them, ‘I am a beacon of hope for you.’ If I had not been there, the people would have fled farther, and nobody would have remained at the presbytery,” he said.

Asked to weigh in on the advocacy for “self-defense,” the 61-year-old Nigerian priest spoke about the challenges that inhabitants of rural communities face there, particularly with the imbalance in firepower.

“When you talk about self-defense in the rural areas today, it is almost impossible. The war is no longer fought with bows and arrows. These people bring AK-47s, AK-49s, and even rocket launchers. Rural communities cannot match their firepower,” he said.

Igba faulted the Nigerian government for what he termed “double standards” in handling attempts by communities to defend themselves. “Communities that try to arm themselves are often branded criminals,” he said. “Meanwhile, the government turns a blind eye to the Fulani herders who carry illegal weapons and infiltrate villages.”

In the April 29 interview, Igba cautioned the faithful against despair in the face of the attacks and the related tragedies.

“My message to the faithful is that whether we have human defenders or not, God is our ultimate defender. Particularly now that we are in the Year of Hope, we must not believe that all is lost. Hope must guide us,” he said, referring to the theme of the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year.

He encouraged those mourning their loved ones to remain steadfast. “On Good Friday, during the veneration of the cross, I told the people that the suffering of Christ, once a distant reality, has now become our lived experience.”

“Our brothers and sisters have climbed the cross in a difficult and painful way. Those left behind carry the cross of sorrow and betrayal by those meant to protect them,” he said.

Igba went on to encourage the people of God caught up in the wave of attacks to look beyond the pain to the hope that is realized in the resurrection. 

“After the cross comes the resurrection. We must believe that their deaths will not be in vain,” he told ACI Africa during the April 29 interview.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Left photo: Pivato and Pope Francis in March 2024. | Right photo: Francis and Pivato in December 2013, at the start of his pontificate. / Credit: Photos courtesy of Marcelo Pivato

Lima Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Following Pope Francis’ passing, one of his closest Argentine friends remembered him with gratitude, emphasizing that his legacy is impossible to minimize: “He left us a great love, which we are obliged to replicate.”

“I feel that his legacy will be impressive and will be recognized in the years to come,” Marcelo Pivato told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Pivato is a retired teacher from Buenos Aires who had a close friendship with Jorge Mario Bergoglio for more than two decades. He met him in 1999 when he worked at the Argentine government’s ministry of education. From that first meeting, he was struck by Bergoglio’s simplicity: “He was affable, friendly, and immediately sought to be seen as a brother.”

Over the years, their friendship transformed into something deeper. Pivato said it was Bergoglio himself who testified in court for the adoption of Pivato’s only child, José Luis, whom the future pope also baptized. As pope, Francis later gave José Luis his first Communion in St. Martha’s House chapel in Rome.

Francis’ legacy

But beyond personal gestures, Pivato highlighted the universal legacy Francis leaves behind: “I think his greatest legacy is that he presented himself not as a king but as a man whom he himself recognized as a sinner. His approach was always the same: his option for the poor, for those invisible to society, his humility, and his austerity.”

In their final meetings — the last in June 2024 — they spoke at length about life, faith, and the meaning of suffering. “I told him about the idea my wife and I had of starting a foundation that would serve pregnant mothers in vulnerable situations, and he told me: ‘Do it, do it.’ He was a man of action.”

According to Pivato, Francis was a leader who never strayed from his essence: “He never changed. He could be with a king or with the humblest people, and he was the same. He didn’t put himself above anyone. He was always right there with you.” 

When asked what the pope leaves behind for those who are not Catholic, Pivato didn’t hesitate: “What he said left its mark on them: ‘All together, fratelli tutti’ [brothers one and all].”

Regarding the final stage of his life when Francis faced double pneumonia and asthmatic bronchitis with fortitude, Pivato said: “He wanted to give his life to the end. He considered himself a bad patient because he didn’t want to stop doing things. But I think he put everything in God’s hands.”

“He left with great peace,” Pivato said, adding that he thinks many people who had a low opinion of him “are now learning to see him for his true worth.” 

Francis’ critics

Pivato also referred to the criticism Pope Francis received during his pontificate, especially from some sectors within the Church, noting that “the Church — like every institution — has its different variants. So, it’s logical that there would be criticism. And it’s also logical that these criticisms are heightened by a pope who came to break, in some ways, many molds.”

However, he affirmed that his friend Bergoglio “never went against the Gospel, against the teachings of Jesus, or against what the Bible says.”

He believes the figure of Francis will be more valued over time: “Perhaps — as often happens with prominent historical figures — with time, his work will be more recognized, or those who were against it will understand that there was no reason to be so against it.” 

Although he also admitted that “there will be those, along very, very conservative lines, who will think no, that he didn’t do any good for the Church.”

Some final memories

One of the most striking anecdotes Pivato recalled was when during the administration of President Carlos Menem, Bergoglio was warned by intelligence services of a possible attack during the Corpus Christi procession in Plaza de Mayo.

“They asked him to wear a bulletproof vest, but he refused,” Pivato recounted. He finally yielded, under pressure from the authorities, but didn’t like the idea. Pivato said that upon returning, Francis removed his vest, really annoyed, and told him: “I will never wear a bulletproof vest again, because if John Paul II was attacked and God protected him… he will protect me too.”

For Pivato, that attitude sums up his essence: “Humility always comes first.” And he recalled that, even as pope, he traveled fearlessly to high-risk areas, such as the Middle East and Africa, despite reports of possible attacks.

At the end of the interview, Pivato shared: “My family always considered him part of the family. God wanted him to be pope, but for us, he was one of us. He left us a great love, which we are obliged to replicate.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Cardinal John O’Connor attends the St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York City as grand marshal on March 17, 1995. / Credit: JON LEVY/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In 1975, Cardinal John O’Connor, the late former archbishop of New York, visited the Dachau concentration camp. His life-changing experience there eventually led him to found the Sisters of Life, a community of women dedicated to living out his mission: protecting and enhancing human life.

Today, 25 years after his death, more than a 100 of those sisters will gather with O’Connor’s relatives, friends, and those who have benefited from his ministry to celebrate his legacy.

Sister Maris Stella, vicar general of the Sisters of Life, reflected on that legacy and told CNA that throughout his life O’Connor “had great respect for the dignity of the human person” and always had the dream to work with people in need, specifically children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

Finding a ‘spiritual response’ to a ‘culture of death’

O’Connor entered the priesthood when he was 25 years old in his home state of Pennsylvania. He began teaching high school students while continuing his own education receiving degrees in ethics and psychology and later a doctorate in political science.

In his early 30s, O’Connor joined the United States Navy as a chaplain and wrote curriculum and leadership formation programs for Navy personnel, forming them in virtue and teaching them to have respect for the human person. His 27 years in the Navy greatly shifted his path. 

In the mid-1970s, he made a visit to Dachau in Germany, where thousands were killed during World War II. Sister Maris Stella told CNA that while he was there, he had a profound experience that changed his life.

“He went to the crematorium and placed his hands in the oven … and was pierced to the heart and cried out: ‘My God, how could human beings do this to other human beings?’”

“You could say that in placing his hand in the oven, he kind of placed his hand on the deepest wound in our culture, which he saw was this contempt for human life, this disregard for the dignity of the human person,” Sister Maris Stella said.

In that moment, O’Connor vowed to do everything in his power to protect human life.

In 1984 he was appointed the archbishop of New York, and just a year later he was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II. O’Connor became very active in the pro-life movement by preaching and advocating alongside other leaders. 

But despite his work, Sister Maris Stella said, “he wondered why there wasn’t greater progress being made on behalf of human life.” He began to pray and reflect on the Scriptures and the Gospel of Mark.

“There’s a story where Jesus sends out the apostles and they can do all these things in his name. But,” Sister Maris Stella said, “there was one demon they couldn’t cast out, and Our Lord says to them, ‘Some demons are only cast out by prayer and fasting.’”

“When Cardinal read that, those words … jumped off the page to him, and he understood that this contempt for human life was a demon in our culture.”

“It was a spiritual reality that demanded a spiritual response,” Sister Maris Stella said. It inspired  O’Connor to found the Sisters of Life to be the “response to the culture of death [and] to pray and fast on behalf of human life.”

In order to find women to join, O’Connor wrote an article for his weekly column in the Catholic New York newspaper highlighting his vision with the headline: “Help Wanted: Sisters of Life.”

Soon after, eight women reached out to be a part of it.

The Sisters of Life

Today, three decades since the Sisters of Life began in New York, there are almost 140 women in the community serving across the globe. 

The sisters “believe that every person is sacred, unique, and unrepeatable, and infinitely loved by God. Not for anything they can do, produce, or achieve, but simply because they exist and are created in God’s image,” Sister Maris Stella said.

The sisters work to ensure human dignity is protected and enhanced by serving pregnant women in crisis, hosting retreats, and spreading the message of the dignity of life.

At one of their seven convents in the New York area, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Convent in Midtown Manhattan, the sisters also run the Holy Respite, inviting pregnant women to live with them throughout their pregnancies. It has been open for nearly 27 years and hundreds of women and children have stayed there as their guests. 

The sisters also hold their Entering Canaan retreats to serve women who are suffering after the experience of abortion so the women “can receive God’s healing and mercy and come back to the life of the Church.”

Each year, the sisters host a number of weekendlong women’s retreats and a men’s retreat to take time for silent prayer, Eucharistic adoration, Mass, confession, and hearing conferences by the sisters. Occasionally, they will hold similar retreats for people with disabilities, continuing O’Connor’s love for and outreach to them.

Sister Maris Stella told CNA that for O’Connor, “the vulnerability of people with disabilities and the vulnerability of the unborn, to him, showed more than anyone the sacredness of human life.”

“The unborn and those who are weak and suffering in a way carry within them the glory of God in a more magnificent way, because their dignity doesn’t arise from what they can do, because in many cases their capacities are limited, but their dignity arises from the fact that they are held into existence by God’s love.”

Celebrating ‘a legacy of life and love’

In celebration of O’Connor’s legacy 25 years after his death, on May 3 the Sisters of Life is hosting a block party on John Cardinal O’Connor Way, a street in New York named after the pro-life champion. O’Connor’s family members, families the sisters have helped over the years, and supporters of the organization will gather with the sisters for food, music, and games.

Following the festivities, the attendees will go to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a vigil memorial Mass to honor O’Connor and his “legacy of love and life” and his “entrance into eternal life.”

Cardinal John O’Connor attends the St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York City as grand marshal on March 17, 1995. / Credit: JON LEVY/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In 1975, Cardinal John O’Connor, the late former archbishop of New York, visited the Dachau concentration camp. His life-changing experience there eventually led him to found the Sisters of Life, a community of women dedicated to living out his mission: protecting and enhancing human life.

Today, 25 years after his death, more than a 100 of those sisters will gather with O’Connor’s relatives, friends, and those who have benefited from his ministry to celebrate his legacy.

Sister Maris Stella, vicar general of the Sisters of Life, reflected on that legacy and told CNA that throughout his life O’Connor “had great respect for the dignity of the human person” and always had the dream to work with people in need, specifically children with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

Finding a ‘spiritual response’ to a ‘culture of death’

O’Connor entered the priesthood when he was 25 years old in his home state of Pennsylvania. He began teaching high school students while continuing his own education receiving degrees in ethics and psychology and later a doctorate in political science.

In his early 30s, O’Connor joined the United States Navy as a chaplain and wrote curriculum and leadership formation programs for Navy personnel, forming them in virtue and teaching them to have respect for the human person. His 27 years in the Navy greatly shifted his path. 

In the mid-1970s, he made a visit to Dachau in Germany, where thousands were killed during World War II. Sister Maris Stella told CNA that while he was there, he had a profound experience that changed his life.

“He went to the crematorium and placed his hands in the oven … and was pierced to the heart and cried out: ‘My God, how could human beings do this to other human beings?’”

“You could say that in placing his hand in the oven, he kind of placed his hand on the deepest wound in our culture, which he saw was this contempt for human life, this disregard for the dignity of the human person,” Sister Maris Stella said.

In that moment, O’Connor vowed to do everything in his power to protect human life.

In 1984 he was appointed the archbishop of New York, and just a year later he was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II. O’Connor became very active in the pro-life movement by preaching and advocating alongside other leaders. 

But despite his work, Sister Maris Stella said, “he wondered why there wasn’t greater progress being made on behalf of human life.” He began to pray and reflect on the Scriptures and the Gospel of Mark.

“There’s a story where Jesus sends out the apostles and they can do all these things in his name. But,” Sister Maris Stella said, “there was one demon they couldn’t cast out, and Our Lord says to them, ‘Some demons are only cast out by prayer and fasting.’”

“When Cardinal read that, those words … jumped off the page to him, and he understood that this contempt for human life was a demon in our culture.”

“It was a spiritual reality that demanded a spiritual response,” Sister Maris Stella said. It inspired  O’Connor to found the Sisters of Life to be the “response to the culture of death [and] to pray and fast on behalf of human life.”

In order to find women to join, O’Connor wrote an article for his weekly column in the Catholic New York newspaper highlighting his vision with the headline: “Help Wanted: Sisters of Life.”

Soon after, eight women reached out to be a part of it.

The Sisters of Life

Today, three decades since the Sisters of Life began in New York, there are almost 140 women in the community serving across the globe. 

The sisters “believe that every person is sacred, unique, and unrepeatable, and infinitely loved by God. Not for anything they can do, produce, or achieve, but simply because they exist and are created in God’s image,” Sister Maris Stella said.

The sisters work to ensure human dignity is protected and enhanced by serving pregnant women in crisis, hosting retreats, and spreading the message of the dignity of life.

At one of their seven convents in the New York area, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Convent in Midtown Manhattan, the sisters also run the Holy Respite, inviting pregnant women to live with them throughout their pregnancies. It has been open for nearly 27 years and hundreds of women and children have stayed there as their guests. 

The sisters also hold their Entering Canaan retreats to serve women who are suffering after the experience of abortion so the women “can receive God’s healing and mercy and come back to the life of the Church.”

Each year, the sisters host a number of weekendlong women’s retreats and a men’s retreat to take time for silent prayer, Eucharistic adoration, Mass, confession, and hearing conferences by the sisters. Occasionally, they will hold similar retreats for people with disabilities, continuing O’Connor’s love for and outreach to them.

Sister Maris Stella told CNA that for O’Connor, “the vulnerability of people with disabilities and the vulnerability of the unborn, to him, showed more than anyone the sacredness of human life.”

“The unborn and those who are weak and suffering in a way carry within them the glory of God in a more magnificent way, because their dignity doesn’t arise from what they can do, because in many cases their capacities are limited, but their dignity arises from the fact that they are held into existence by God’s love.”

Celebrating ‘a legacy of life and love’

In celebration of O’Connor’s legacy 25 years after his death, on May 3 the Sisters of Life is hosting a block party on John Cardinal O’Connor Way, a street in New York named after the pro-life champion. O’Connor’s family members, families the sisters have helped over the years, and supporters of the organization will gather with the sisters for food, music, and games.

Following the festivities, the attendees will go to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a vigil memorial Mass to honor O’Connor and his “legacy of love and life” and his “entrance into eternal life.”

Confessional. / Credit: AS photo studio/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 3, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Friday signed a controversial state law that requires priests to report child abuse to authorities even if they learn of it during the sacrament of confession.

The measure, introduced in the state Legislature earlier this year, adds clergy to the list of mandatory abuse reporters in the state but doesn’t include an exemption for information learned in the confessional.

A 2023 version of the proposal had offered an exemption for abuse allegations learned “solely as a result of a confession.” The latest bill does not contain such a carve-out and in fact explicitly notes that clergy do not qualify for a “privileged communication” exemption.

Ferguson told reporters that as a Catholic he was “very familiar” with the sacrament of confession. “[I] felt this was important legislation,” he said on Friday.

Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly, meanwhile, said in a Friday statement that clergy there would not break the seal of confession even if required to by law.

“[S]hepherds, bishop and priests” are “committed to keeping the seal of confession — even to the point of going to jail,” the bishop said.

“The sacrament of penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane,” he added.

The bishop noted that the Spokane Diocese maintains “an entire department at the chancery” dedicated to protecting children and that it employs a zero-tolerance policy regarding child sexual abuse.

“As this matter continues to unfold, I intend on keeping you informed and updated,” the bishop wrote. “An important element to the greatness of America is our constitutional commitment to religious freedom.”

A bill proposed in Montana earlier this year similarly proposed to “eliminate clergy exemption in mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect.” 

Clergy “may not refuse to make a report as required ... on the grounds of a physician-patient or similar privilege,” the Montana bill said. That measure stalled at committee in January.

In May 2023 Delaware legislators proposed a bill requiring priests to break the seal of confession in cases of reporting sexual abuse. A similar law was proposed in Vermont around the same time. Both bills failed to advance in their respective legislatures.

Confessional. / Credit: AS photo studio/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 3, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Friday signed a controversial state law that requires priests to report child abuse to authorities even if they learn of it during the sacrament of confession.

The measure, introduced in the state Legislature earlier this year, adds clergy to the list of mandatory abuse reporters in the state but doesn’t include an exemption for information learned in the confessional.

A 2023 version of the proposal had offered an exemption for abuse allegations learned “solely as a result of a confession.” The latest bill does not contain such a carve-out and in fact explicitly notes that clergy do not qualify for a “privileged communication” exemption.

Ferguson told reporters that as a Catholic he was “very familiar” with the sacrament of confession. “[I] felt this was important legislation,” he said on Friday.

Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly, meanwhile, said in a Friday statement that clergy there would not break the seal of confession even if required to by law.

“[S]hepherds, bishop and priests” are “committed to keeping the seal of confession — even to the point of going to jail,” the bishop said.

“The sacrament of penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane,” he added.

The bishop noted that the Spokane Diocese maintains “an entire department at the chancery” dedicated to protecting children and that it employs a zero-tolerance policy regarding child sexual abuse.

“As this matter continues to unfold, I intend on keeping you informed and updated,” the bishop wrote. “An important element to the greatness of America is our constitutional commitment to religious freedom.”

A bill proposed in Montana earlier this year similarly proposed to “eliminate clergy exemption in mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect.” 

Clergy “may not refuse to make a report as required ... on the grounds of a physician-patient or similar privilege,” the Montana bill said. That measure stalled at committee in January.

In May 2023 Delaware legislators proposed a bill requiring priests to break the seal of confession in cases of reporting sexual abuse. A similar law was proposed in Vermont around the same time. Both bills failed to advance in their respective legislatures.

Cardinal Francis Arinze speaks to EWTN News on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, May 3, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Cardinal Francis Arinze has said that the Church needs “a pope who is full of fire for the kingdom of Christ.” 

In an interview with EWTN earlier this year, the 92-year-old cardinal reflected on the qualities needed in the next pope, offered wisdom to younger cardinals who will enter their first conclave, and spoke of the challenges facing the Church today. 

“We want a pope who is full of fire for the kingdom of Christ,” the Nigerian cardinal said. “A pope who is there spreading the Gospel. … A pope through whom people will believe.” 

For Arinze, who has served as a bishop for 60 years and a cardinal for 40, the next successor of St. Peter must above all be a witness to Christ, a pope whose “life is powerful.” 

“The biggest challenge for the Church is to convince people to accept Christ and live according to his teaching and example,” he said. “Easy to say, difficult to do. But that is what the Church is for. The Church is to evangelize.” 

Arinze attended the final session of the Second Vatican Council as the youngest bishop in the world at the time and later served more than two decades in the Roman Curia. He took part in the conclave that elected Benedict XVI in 2005.  

“The Church is founded by Christ for the salvation of humanity,” he said. “The Church’s work is to share the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ so that people may know Jesus Christ as their Savior … and live according to that way which he showed us, which is the Gospel.” 

Advice for cardinals in the conclave 

As cardinals from around the world gather in Rome, many for their first conclave, Arinze offered them words of guidance. 

“Realize that we are in God’s hands,” he said. “And that the Church is not made by me or by the pope but by Christ. If the Church had not been founded by Christ, it would have fallen to pieces long ago. But because Christ founded the Church, it will stand.” 

The cardinal reflected on Jesus’ words “I will be with you always until the end of time,” adding: “Even Judas Iscariot could not pull down the Church.” 

“Even if you get a pope who is not a good pope, or a bishop who is not a good bishop, or a priest who is not a good priest, they cannot pull down the Church,” he said. “But they can do damage. They can hurt. They can injure. So every one of us has to, in fear and trembling, ask himself: ‘What is God calling me to do in the Church, for the Church, and with the Church?’” 

At 92, Arinze will not be inside the Sistine Chapel when the conclave begins, but he along with other cardinals over the age of 80 are taking part in the general congregation discussions about the Church and the world ahead of the conclave. 

“No pope is a photocopy of another pope,” Arinze said. “Pope John Paul II is not the same as Pope Benedict. Pope Benedict is not the same as Pope Francis. But each of them is a pope, just as St. Peter was not the same as St. Paul, and they were not the same as John in the Gospel; they were all different, but all apostles of Christ.” 

“Pope Francis — people will appreciate his love for the poor, for the forgotten, for the migrant, for those far away, those at the peripheries, whether they are geographical peripheries, far away, or they are society’s peripheries,” he said. “You notice that Holy Father Pope Francis privileges the weak, not so much the strong or the powerful. Every pope has his style.” 

Wisdom from 92 years 

When asked to share some wisdom with younger Catholics from his 92 years of life, the cardinal emphasized the importance of God’s providence for each one of us. 

“God is the director general of history,” he said. “He is also the providence for each individual … God knows best. We think that we are directing everything, but God is there, who looks into the details.” 

He quoted the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta: “May God help us not to spoil his work.” 

“If we would be faithful to God … God will do great things for us,” he said. “He did for the Blessed Virgin Mary, who confessed: ‘The Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.’ With many things God does, we think we are the clever ones who did them. We just beg God that we do that little part which he expects of us, so that his work will succeed.”  

“If every one of us will remain open to God’s action and know that God takes the initiative, his grace leads us to start, to continue, and to bring to a happy finish the action in his kingdom.” 

A clip of CNA’s interview with Arinze can be viewed below.

Cardinal Francis Arinze speaks to EWTN News on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, May 3, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Cardinal Francis Arinze has said that the Church needs “a pope who is full of fire for the kingdom of Christ.” 

In an interview with EWTN earlier this year, the 92-year-old cardinal reflected on the qualities needed in the next pope, offered wisdom to younger cardinals who will enter their first conclave, and spoke of the challenges facing the Church today. 

“We want a pope who is full of fire for the kingdom of Christ,” the Nigerian cardinal said. “A pope who is there spreading the Gospel. … A pope through whom people will believe.” 

For Arinze, who has served as a bishop for 60 years and a cardinal for 40, the next successor of St. Peter must above all be a witness to Christ, a pope whose “life is powerful.” 

“The biggest challenge for the Church is to convince people to accept Christ and live according to his teaching and example,” he said. “Easy to say, difficult to do. But that is what the Church is for. The Church is to evangelize.” 

Arinze attended the final session of the Second Vatican Council as the youngest bishop in the world at the time and later served more than two decades in the Roman Curia. He took part in the conclave that elected Benedict XVI in 2005.  

“The Church is founded by Christ for the salvation of humanity,” he said. “The Church’s work is to share the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ so that people may know Jesus Christ as their Savior … and live according to that way which he showed us, which is the Gospel.” 

Advice for cardinals in the conclave 

As cardinals from around the world gather in Rome, many for their first conclave, Arinze offered them words of guidance. 

“Realize that we are in God’s hands,” he said. “And that the Church is not made by me or by the pope but by Christ. If the Church had not been founded by Christ, it would have fallen to pieces long ago. But because Christ founded the Church, it will stand.” 

The cardinal reflected on Jesus’ words “I will be with you always until the end of time,” adding: “Even Judas Iscariot could not pull down the Church.” 

“Even if you get a pope who is not a good pope, or a bishop who is not a good bishop, or a priest who is not a good priest, they cannot pull down the Church,” he said. “But they can do damage. They can hurt. They can injure. So every one of us has to, in fear and trembling, ask himself: ‘What is God calling me to do in the Church, for the Church, and with the Church?’” 

At 92, Arinze will not be inside the Sistine Chapel when the conclave begins, but he along with other cardinals over the age of 80 are taking part in the general congregation discussions about the Church and the world ahead of the conclave. 

“No pope is a photocopy of another pope,” Arinze said. “Pope John Paul II is not the same as Pope Benedict. Pope Benedict is not the same as Pope Francis. But each of them is a pope, just as St. Peter was not the same as St. Paul, and they were not the same as John in the Gospel; they were all different, but all apostles of Christ.” 

“Pope Francis — people will appreciate his love for the poor, for the forgotten, for the migrant, for those far away, those at the peripheries, whether they are geographical peripheries, far away, or they are society’s peripheries,” he said. “You notice that Holy Father Pope Francis privileges the weak, not so much the strong or the powerful. Every pope has his style.” 

Wisdom from 92 years 

When asked to share some wisdom with younger Catholics from his 92 years of life, the cardinal emphasized the importance of God’s providence for each one of us. 

“God is the director general of history,” he said. “He is also the providence for each individual … God knows best. We think that we are directing everything, but God is there, who looks into the details.” 

He quoted the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta: “May God help us not to spoil his work.” 

“If we would be faithful to God … God will do great things for us,” he said. “He did for the Blessed Virgin Mary, who confessed: ‘The Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.’ With many things God does, we think we are the clever ones who did them. We just beg God that we do that little part which he expects of us, so that his work will succeed.”  

“If every one of us will remain open to God’s action and know that God takes the initiative, his grace leads us to start, to continue, and to bring to a happy finish the action in his kingdom.” 

A clip of CNA’s interview with Arinze can be viewed below.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain and the Sistine Chapel usually top the "must see" list of visitors to Rome and the Vatican.

But as 133 of the world's cardinals prepared to enter the conclave May 7 to elect the new pope, the Sistine Chapel was closed to visitors April 28.

In preparation for the conclave, workers placed a protective covering over the marble mosaic floors and started carrying in pipes, couplers and sheets of subflooring. 

The chapel is the highlight of most tours of the Vatican Museums and close to 7 million people visit each year, especially to see the ceiling Michelangelo painted between 1508 and 1512 and the massive wall fresco of the Last Judgment he painted between 1535 and 1541.

As documented by the Vatican Media video team beginning April 28, the din of tourists, constantly reminded that it is a chapel and they must whisper, was replaced with the sounds of hammering and sawing, the ping of metal couplings hitting metal couplings and the thud of the subfloor being laid.

The new floors and a few ramps, set on top of mini-scaffolding, will eliminate most steps and make the chapel more accessible for the cardinals, whose average age is over 70. Rows of tables and chairs will be added along the north and south walls so that the cardinals face each other. The tables closest to the walls will be raised slightly so that the cardinals in the back have a clear view. 

While photographers, and tourists with a keen eye, watched from St. Peter's Square as Vatican firefighters installed a chimney on the chapel roof May 2, Vatican Media photographers documented what was happening inside.

Two stoves, connected by a copper pipe, were installed: one to burn ballots and the other to burn chemicals to create either dark black or bright white smoke to let the public know if a pope was elected or not. 

Before the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, the ballots were burned with wet or dry straw, which produced the right color, but never really created enough smoke to offer a clear signal.

Maintaining secrecy is part of the cardinals' oath, so technicians will sweep the chapel for electronic surveillance or recording devices before the conclave.

Before the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, then-Vatican spokesman, told reporters that jamming devices are used to disable cellphone signals, but that they are not installed under the false flooring as often is reported.

In 2003, two years before his death, St. John Paul II reflected on his experiences in the Sistine Chapel in a series of poems "Roman Triptych."

He wrote about the two conclaves of 1978 -- the first that elected Pope John Paul I and then the conclave that elected him. 

"It is here, at the feet of this marvelous Sistine profusion of color that the Cardinals gather -- a community responsible for the legacy of the keys of the Kingdom," St. John Paul wrote. "They come right here. And once more Michelangelo wraps them in his vision."

That vision, he wrote, begins with the "creating hand" of God giving life to Adam and ends with the Last Judgment. But it also includes Jesus telling St. Peter in Matthew 16:19: "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

"It is necessary that during the Conclave, Michelangelo teach them," the late pope wrote. "Do not forget: 'Omnia nuda et aperta sunt ante oculos Eius' ('All things are laid bare and open before his eyes'). You who see all -- point to him! He will point him out."