Political advocacy and media organization CatholicVote announced on June 19, 2025, that Kelsey Reinhardt will be its new president. / Credit: CatholicVote

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 19, 2025 / 17:33 pm (CNA).

CatholicVote has named Kelsey Reinhardt to serve as its new president effective June 19 in anticipation of the expected confirmation of the organization’s co-founding leader, Brian Burch, as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.

Reinhardt was previously the director of media and evangelization projects for CatholicVote, a national Catholic advocacy organization.

Before joining CatholicVote, Reinhardt served as executive director for the ACI group, an international network of news agencies operated by EWTN News (CNA’s parent company). Prior to her work with EWTN, Reinhardt had professed temporary vows with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in theology from the Augustine Institute. She also worked as a legislative correspondent for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on immigration and refugee issues. 

“I could not be more excited to serve such a noble cause,” Reinhardt said, according to CatholicVote. “Under Brian Burch’s fearless and Christ-centered leadership, CatholicVote has become one of the largest and most effective Catholic advocacy organizations in the country, making a difference in media, politics, law, and education.”

She continued: “The energy unleashed by the election of the first American pope provides American Catholics with the historic opportunity to look at our faith with gratitude and commit to incarnate that same faith with unprecedented energy and joy in the public square.”

Reinhardt comes to the position as Burch, who served as the organization’s president for 17 years, awaits Senate confirmation. CatholicVote had previously indicated that Burch would step down as president if confirmed by the Senate.

Senate Democrats blocked Burch’s confirmation last month, stalling the process ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural Mass. Senate Republicans had called for Burch’s nomination to be expedited through unanimous consent alongside the rest of President Trump’s ambassadorial nominees, but Democrats rejected the effort, forcing an individual vote on each nominee, including Burch, whose final confirmation vote is still pending.

Pope Leo XIV listens to the choir during an audience with participants of an event organized by the Domenico Bartolucci Foundation on June 18, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 19, 2025 / 17:03 pm (CNA).

At an event sponsored by the Domenico Bartolucci Foundation on Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV said that polyphony is a musical form “full of meaning” for prayer and Christian life, and cited the works of the famous Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina as an example.

The Holy Father offered his praise to polyphonic music while welcoming participants at the June 18 event commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Palestrina, a great composer of sacred music of the 16th century who directed institutions such as the Sistine Chapel, the Lateran Chapel, and the Liberian Chapel.

“Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was, in the history of the Church, one of the composers who most contributed to the promotion of sacred music, for ‘the glory of God and the sanctification and edification of the faithful’ in the difficult yet passionate context of the Counter-Reformation,” Leo XIV said.

Among Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s best-known works are “Tu es Petrus,” “Missa Papae Marcelli,” and “Missa brevis” (“You are Peter,” “Mass of Pope Marcellus,” and “Brief Mass”).

“His solemn and austere compositions, inspired by Gregorian chant, closely unite music and liturgy, ‘both by giving prayer a sweeter expression and fostering unanimity, and by enriching the sacred rites with greater solemnity,’” the pontiff added.

In this regard, Leo XIV said that polyphony “is a musical form full of meaning, both for prayer and for Christian life,” since “it is inspired by the sacred text, which it seeks to clothe with an appropriate melody so that the faithful may better understand the text.”

The pope explained that polyphonic music “achieves this goal by entrusting the words to several voices, each of which repeats the words in its own unique way, with varied and complementary melodic and harmonic movements.”

“Finally, everything harmonizes thanks to the skill with which the composer develops and interweaves the melodies, respecting the rules of counterpoint, echoing them, sometimes even creating dissonances that later find resolution in new chords,” he noted.

Leo XIV said that “the effect of this dynamic unity in diversity — a metaphor for our common journey of faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit — is to help the listener enter ever more deeply into the mystery expressed by the words, responding, if appropriate, with responsories or in alternations.”

The pontiff noted that “thanks to this richness of form and content, the Roman polyphonic tradition, in addition to having bequeathed us an immense artistic and spiritual heritage, remains even today, in the musical field, a reference to which we can turn, albeit with the necessary adaptations, in sacred and liturgical composition.”

In this way, through song, the faithful will be able to participate “fully, consciously, and actively in the liturgy, profoundly involving voice, mind, and heart.”

Pope Leo XIV held up the “Mass of Pope Marcellus” as an example of excellence “as well as the precious repertoire of compositions bequeathed to us by the unforgettable Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci, the illustrious composer and, for almost 50 years, director of the Sistine Chapel Choir.”

The Holy Father recalled the words of St. Augustine, who, “speaking of singing the Easter Alleluia, said: ‘Let us sing it now, my brothers ... As wayfarers sing, but walk ... Go forward, go forward in good ... Sing and walk! Do not stray from the path, do not turn back, do not stop!’”

“Let us make his invitation our own, especially in this sacred time of joy. My blessing to all,” he concluded.

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

Pope Leo XIV listens to the choir during an audience with participants of an event organized by the Domenico Bartolucci Foundation on June 18, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 19, 2025 / 17:03 pm (CNA).

At an event sponsored by the Domenico Bartolucci Foundation on Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV said that polyphony is a musical form “full of meaning” for prayer and Christian life, and cited the works of the famous Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina as an example.

The Holy Father offered his praise to polyphonic music while welcoming participants at the June 18 event commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Palestrina, a great composer of sacred music of the 16th century who directed institutions such as the Sistine Chapel, the Lateran Chapel, and the Liberian Chapel.

“Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was, in the history of the Church, one of the composers who most contributed to the promotion of sacred music, for ‘the glory of God and the sanctification and edification of the faithful’ in the difficult yet passionate context of the Counter-Reformation,” Leo XIV said.

Among Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s best-known works are “Tu es Petrus,” “Missa Papae Marcelli,” and “Missa brevis” (“You are Peter,” “Mass of Pope Marcellus,” and “Brief Mass”).

“His solemn and austere compositions, inspired by Gregorian chant, closely unite music and liturgy, ‘both by giving prayer a sweeter expression and fostering unanimity, and by enriching the sacred rites with greater solemnity,’” the pontiff added.

In this regard, Leo XIV said that polyphony “is a musical form full of meaning, both for prayer and for Christian life,” since “it is inspired by the sacred text, which it seeks to clothe with an appropriate melody so that the faithful may better understand the text.”

The pope explained that polyphonic music “achieves this goal by entrusting the words to several voices, each of which repeats the words in its own unique way, with varied and complementary melodic and harmonic movements.”

“Finally, everything harmonizes thanks to the skill with which the composer develops and interweaves the melodies, respecting the rules of counterpoint, echoing them, sometimes even creating dissonances that later find resolution in new chords,” he noted.

Leo XIV said that “the effect of this dynamic unity in diversity — a metaphor for our common journey of faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit — is to help the listener enter ever more deeply into the mystery expressed by the words, responding, if appropriate, with responsories or in alternations.”

The pontiff noted that “thanks to this richness of form and content, the Roman polyphonic tradition, in addition to having bequeathed us an immense artistic and spiritual heritage, remains even today, in the musical field, a reference to which we can turn, albeit with the necessary adaptations, in sacred and liturgical composition.”

In this way, through song, the faithful will be able to participate “fully, consciously, and actively in the liturgy, profoundly involving voice, mind, and heart.”

Pope Leo XIV held up the “Mass of Pope Marcellus” as an example of excellence “as well as the precious repertoire of compositions bequeathed to us by the unforgettable Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci, the illustrious composer and, for almost 50 years, director of the Sistine Chapel Choir.”

The Holy Father recalled the words of St. Augustine, who, “speaking of singing the Easter Alleluia, said: ‘Let us sing it now, my brothers ... As wayfarers sing, but walk ... Go forward, go forward in good ... Sing and walk! Do not stray from the path, do not turn back, do not stop!’”

“Let us make his invitation our own, especially in this sacred time of joy. My blessing to all,” he concluded.

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

An 1889 rendition by architects Bullard & Bullard of the National Emancipation Monument proposed for Springfield, Illinois (Library of Congress), superimposed on a 34-star U.S. flag dating to the Civil War. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 19, 2025 / 16:33 pm (CNA).

Catholic churches are celebrating the national holiday of Juneteenth this week by honoring the freedom won by formerly enslaved Black Americans at the end of the Civil War.

The National Museum of African American History calls the commemoration of Juneteenth, a federal holiday celebrated on June 19, the nation’s “second independence day.” The holiday marks General Order No. 3 that enforced the Emancipation Proclamation freeing enslaved African Americans in Texas in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved people were now all free.

Wendi Williams, executive director of cultural diversity and outreach for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., noted many parishes started their Juneteenth celebrations early.

“This past weekend, dozens of parishes celebrated Juneteenth liturgies, as a Sunday Mass, and the various kinds of activities, gatherings, and fellowship that would follow the Mass,” she told CNA.

In Reston, Virginia, St. John Neumann Catholic Church celebrated the holiday on Saturday, June 14, with children’s activities, an interactive story time, a lecture, food, music, and dance. 

“This is our third year having a Juneteenth celebration,” said Elizabeth Wright, communications director for St. John Neumann Catholic Church. “It’s a combination of education and celebration. There’s history around the lunch and the foods we serve, trying to honor Black culture, African American culture, in every way.”

Spencer Crew, a professor of history at George Mason University and former interim director of the Smithsonian African American History Museum, hosted a lecture at the parish titled “Journey to Freedom: A Community Celebration.”

Wright emphasized that in their outreach they invite not just parishioners but the entire community.

North of the nation’s capital, meanwhile, in Sandy Spring, Maryland, multiple Christian denominations came together to host a community event earlier today called “Juneteenth: Freedom, Resilience, and Pursuit of Equality,” which featured music, dance, and the spoken word. 

Among the participating groups were the Africa and Diaspora Ministry of St. Augustine Catholic Church and the Anti-Racism Initiative of St. Camillus Parish. 

Steve Yank, leader of St. Camillus’ Anti-Racism Initiative, referenced a 2018 pastoral letter from the U.S. bishops for inspiration for the Juneteenth event.

“The bishops’ letter, ‘Open Wide Our Hearts,’ makes clear that racist acts are sinful … Sinful because they fail to acknowledge human dignity,” he explained. “In that spirit, the anti-racism initiative of the St. Camillus Justice Peace Integrity of Creation Ministry observes Juneteenth, a day to reflect on the evils of slavery and to celebrate freedom for enslaved Africans in America. It’s part of our charge to recognize life and human dignity as sacred.”

Williams connected the celebration of Juneteenth to synodality, a theme the late Pope Francis promoted. 

“Synodality is walking with people. Synodality is bringing people together. Discussions shape dialogue. Bringing different speakers that are fluent in particular subjects helps the faithful learn from different vantage points,” she said.

“We invite the faithful and the broader community to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans to reflect on the dignity of every human person. [Juneteenth is] a sacred opportunity for us to affirm our shared human dignity while also celebrating the rich heritage of African Americans.”

An 1889 rendition by architects Bullard & Bullard of the National Emancipation Monument proposed for Springfield, Illinois (Library of Congress), superimposed on a 34-star U.S. flag dating to the Civil War. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 19, 2025 / 16:33 pm (CNA).

Catholic churches are celebrating the national holiday of Juneteenth this week by honoring the freedom won by formerly enslaved Black Americans at the end of the Civil War.

The National Museum of African American History calls the commemoration of Juneteenth, a federal holiday celebrated on June 19, the nation’s “second independence day.” The holiday marks General Order No. 3 that enforced the Emancipation Proclamation freeing enslaved African Americans in Texas in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved people were now all free.

Wendi Williams, executive director of cultural diversity and outreach for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., noted many parishes started their Juneteenth celebrations early.

“This past weekend, dozens of parishes celebrated Juneteenth liturgies, as a Sunday Mass, and the various kinds of activities, gatherings, and fellowship that would follow the Mass,” she told CNA.

In Reston, Virginia, St. John Neumann Catholic Church celebrated the holiday on Saturday, June 14, with children’s activities, an interactive story time, a lecture, food, music, and dance. 

“This is our third year having a Juneteenth celebration,” said Elizabeth Wright, communications director for St. John Neumann Catholic Church. “It’s a combination of education and celebration. There’s history around the lunch and the foods we serve, trying to honor Black culture, African American culture, in every way.”

Spencer Crew, a professor of history at George Mason University and former interim director of the Smithsonian African American History Museum, hosted a lecture at the parish titled “Journey to Freedom: A Community Celebration.”

Wright emphasized that in their outreach they invite not just parishioners but the entire community.

North of the nation’s capital, meanwhile, in Sandy Spring, Maryland, multiple Christian denominations came together to host a community event earlier today called “Juneteenth: Freedom, Resilience, and Pursuit of Equality,” which featured music, dance, and the spoken word. 

Among the participating groups were the Africa and Diaspora Ministry of St. Augustine Catholic Church and the Anti-Racism Initiative of St. Camillus Parish. 

Steve Yank, leader of St. Camillus’ Anti-Racism Initiative, referenced a 2018 pastoral letter from the U.S. bishops for inspiration for the Juneteenth event.

“The bishops’ letter, ‘Open Wide Our Hearts,’ makes clear that racist acts are sinful … Sinful because they fail to acknowledge human dignity,” he explained. “In that spirit, the anti-racism initiative of the St. Camillus Justice Peace Integrity of Creation Ministry observes Juneteenth, a day to reflect on the evils of slavery and to celebrate freedom for enslaved Africans in America. It’s part of our charge to recognize life and human dignity as sacred.”

Williams connected the celebration of Juneteenth to synodality, a theme the late Pope Francis promoted. 

“Synodality is walking with people. Synodality is bringing people together. Discussions shape dialogue. Bringing different speakers that are fluent in particular subjects helps the faithful learn from different vantage points,” she said.

“We invite the faithful and the broader community to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans to reflect on the dignity of every human person. [Juneteenth is] a sacred opportunity for us to affirm our shared human dignity while also celebrating the rich heritage of African Americans.”

Early photo of Robert Prevost from the Midwest Augustinian Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel. / Credit: Courtesy of the Midwest Augustinian Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel

Vatican City, Jun 19, 2025 / 16:03 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV celebrated the 43rd anniversary of his priestly ordination today. On June 19, 1982, Robert Prevost was ordained a priest by Belgian Archbishop Jean Jadot in St. Monica Chapel, located just outside the Vatican. He was 26 years old. He entered the Augustinian order in 1977 and took his first vows on Sept. 2, 1978.

St. Monica Chapel, located next to the Plaza del Santo Oficio — where the pontiff currently resides — holds particular symbolic value for Leo XIV. Not only was it the place of his ordination, but it was also the titular church assigned to him as a cardinal in September 2023, about a year and a half before his election to the papacy on May 8 of this year.

According to Vatican News, the commemorative holy card for his ordination includes an image of the Last Supper, taken from 15th-century Russian iconography, and words from St. Augustine that still resonate powerfully in his ministry today: “I cannot feed you with ordinary bread, but this Word is your portion. I feed you with the same table that feeds me. I am your servant.”

These words — taken from the bishop of Hippo’s 339th sermon — defined the spirituality of the young Augustinian priest, who would soon be sent as a missionary to Peru, where he ministered for almost two decades.

Also in his work “Exposition on the Psalms (Psalm 103, III, 9),” St. Augustine said: “You are a good servant of Christ if you serve those whom Christ has served … May he grant us to perform this service well.”

This spirit of service was evoked by Pope Leo XIV himself in the homily he preached when for the first time as the bishop of Rome he ordained 11 deacons to the priesthood.

“The love of Christ in fact possesses us!” the pope exclaimed. “It is a possession that liberates and enables us not to possess anyone. Liberate, not possess. We belong to God: There is no greater wealth to appreciate and share. It is the only wealth that, when shared, multiplies.”

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

Early photo of Robert Prevost from the Midwest Augustinian Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel. / Credit: Courtesy of the Midwest Augustinian Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel

Vatican City, Jun 19, 2025 / 16:03 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV celebrated the 43rd anniversary of his priestly ordination today. On June 19, 1982, Robert Prevost was ordained a priest by Belgian Archbishop Jean Jadot in St. Monica Chapel, located just outside the Vatican. He was 26 years old. He entered the Augustinian order in 1977 and took his first vows on Sept. 2, 1978.

St. Monica Chapel, located next to the Plaza del Santo Oficio — where the pontiff currently resides — holds particular symbolic value for Leo XIV. Not only was it the place of his ordination, but it was also the titular church assigned to him as a cardinal in September 2023, about a year and a half before his election to the papacy on May 8 of this year.

According to Vatican News, the commemorative holy card for his ordination includes an image of the Last Supper, taken from 15th-century Russian iconography, and words from St. Augustine that still resonate powerfully in his ministry today: “I cannot feed you with ordinary bread, but this Word is your portion. I feed you with the same table that feeds me. I am your servant.”

These words — taken from the bishop of Hippo’s 339th sermon — defined the spirituality of the young Augustinian priest, who would soon be sent as a missionary to Peru, where he ministered for almost two decades.

Also in his work “Exposition on the Psalms (Psalm 103, III, 9),” St. Augustine said: “You are a good servant of Christ if you serve those whom Christ has served … May he grant us to perform this service well.”

This spirit of service was evoked by Pope Leo XIV himself in the homily he preached when for the first time as the bishop of Rome he ordained 11 deacons to the priesthood.

“The love of Christ in fact possesses us!” the pope exclaimed. “It is a possession that liberates and enables us not to possess anyone. Liberate, not possess. We belong to God: There is no greater wealth to appreciate and share. It is the only wealth that, when shared, multiplies.”

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

Pope Leo XIV visits Vatican Radio’s transmission center on June 19, 2025, in Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 19, 2025 / 15:33 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV visited the Vatican’s radio transmitter station in Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy, on Thursday and thanked staff for their dedicated work in communicating the Church’s mission around the world.

During the June 19 site visit, the Holy Father blessed staff working in the central radio center on the Vatican’s Corpus Christi holiday and reaffirmed the “missionary value” of their work in communication.

Leo told staff he was grateful for Vatican news reports while in Africa and in Latin America as a missionary, the Holy See Press Office indicated in a telegram post on Thursday.

The last pope to visit the Santa Maria di Galeria central radio center was John Paul II in 1991. Pope Pius XII inaugurated the site in 1957, more than two decades after Pope Pius XI pioneered Vatican Radio with Italian engineer and Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi in 1931.

The Holy Father also shared light refreshments with staff present Thursday morning to celebrate with them the 43rd anniversary of his June 19 priestly ordination. 

As part of his visit to Santa Maria di Galeria, a Vatican extra territory outside of Rome, Leo had the opportunity to examine the project site being studied for an “agrivoltaic system” for farming and solar energy production.

Nearly one year has passed since Pope Francis revealed his plan for the Vatican state to transition to solar energy as its main power source, as outlined in the 2024 motu proprio Fratello Sole, or “Brother Sun.”

Pope Leo XIV visits Vatican Radio’s transmission center on June 19, 2025, in Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 19, 2025 / 15:33 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV visited the Vatican’s radio transmitter station in Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy, on Thursday and thanked staff for their dedicated work in communicating the Church’s mission around the world.

During the June 19 site visit, the Holy Father blessed staff working in the central radio center on the Vatican’s Corpus Christi holiday and reaffirmed the “missionary value” of their work in communication.

Leo told staff he was grateful for Vatican news reports while in Africa and in Latin America as a missionary, the Holy See Press Office indicated in a telegram post on Thursday.

The last pope to visit the Santa Maria di Galeria central radio center was John Paul II in 1991. Pope Pius XII inaugurated the site in 1957, more than two decades after Pope Pius XI pioneered Vatican Radio with Italian engineer and Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi in 1931.

The Holy Father also shared light refreshments with staff present Thursday morning to celebrate with them the 43rd anniversary of his June 19 priestly ordination. 

As part of his visit to Santa Maria di Galeria, a Vatican extra territory outside of Rome, Leo had the opportunity to examine the project site being studied for an “agrivoltaic system” for farming and solar energy production.

Nearly one year has passed since Pope Francis revealed his plan for the Vatican state to transition to solar energy as its main power source, as outlined in the 2024 motu proprio Fratello Sole, or “Brother Sun.”

null / Credit: Butusova Elena/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Jun 19, 2025 / 14:02 pm (CNA).

The man with the highest reported IQ in the world has gained attention worldwide after publicly proclaiming his Christianity on social media.

On June 17, South Korean scientist YoungHoon Kim, who claims he has an IQ of 276, the highest IQ ever recorded, posted on X: “As the world’s highest IQ record holder, I believe that Jesus Christ is God, the way and the truth and the life.”

His post has received 14 million views and a quarter-million likes as of Thursday, June 19.

Kim’s claim to being the world’s highest IQ record holder has been verified by organizations such as the Giga Society, Mensa, World Memory Championships, World Memory Sports Council (in partnership with Guinness World Records), and Official World Record.

Kim, responding to the tremendous popularity of his original post, said in another X post on June 19 that he “will use this opportunity to lead many souls to God.”

“Amen. Christ is my logic,” Kim, 36, said in another response to a commenter on X.

The Catholic Church teaches that God’s existence can be known through reason alone, as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 36): “God, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason.” 

This doctrine, rooted in Vatican Council I’s Dei Filius, emphasizes that human reason, by observing creation’s order, can ascertain God’s existence, affirming that “God… can be known with certitude by the natural light of human reason from created things.” 

Kim stated in February on X: “God exists. 100%,” and recently suggested: “Our consciousness is not just brain activity. It may be quantum information — something that continues after death.”

Kim is founder and CEO of NeuroStory, an organization dedicated to finding “AI-powered brain health solutions” and backed by the South Korean government.

He also founded the United Sigma Intelligence Association and is on the board of Lifeboat Foundation, which promotes scientific advancements while mitigating human risks from technologies like AI.