Sometime in the summer of 1829, a young Spanish man, Anthony Claret, was walking along a beach in Barcelona. The 20-year-old cloth merchant was suffering from what today might be called burnout: He was overworked and, prone to ill health and stomach maladies, losing his appetite. “The only relief I could find was to go […]

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Lima Newsroom, Jun 5, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

As bishop of Chiclayo in Peru, Pope Leo XIV sought to build a basilica at the site of a Eucharistic miracle, currently a chapel. However, that goal has been impeded by a dispute over who owns the land and marred by the fact that non-Catholic liturgies have been held there.

The Peruvian government recently declared the site to be “of national interest,” introducing another factor into the matter.

Jesús León Ángeles, coordinator of the group 1649 Eucharistic Miracle in Peru, explained the situation to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

“In 2021, Pope Leo XIV — then bishop of Chiclayo — began a crusade for the construction of the Eucharistic Shrine of Peru on an 11-hectare [27-acre] plot of land he obtained in the Ciudad Eten district [of the Lambayeque region of Chiclayo province], where the country’s only Eucharistic miracle occurred in 1649,” León said.

León, who worked with then-Bishop Robert Prevost on the project, said that “Pope Leo XIV’s heart is full of love for our country,” which is why he dedicated part of his pastoral mission to promote the development of the shrine.

However, she explained that there are multiple obstacles to the construction of the Eten shrine. Just as the story of the Eten miracle “traces back to a sacrilege in Quito,” she said, today it also “has sacrilege and the desecration of the sacred place as stumbling blocks.”

The miracle of 1649: When the Divine Child appeared in the host

On Jan. 20, 1649, ciboria and consecrated hosts were stolen from the St. Clare Convent in Quito. When the sad news reached northern Peru, Masses of reparation were offered. Then on June 2, 1649, the eve of Corpus Christi, residents of Ciudad Eten claimed to see the Divine Child Jesus in a consecrated host. 

A month later, on the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, four Franciscan priests claimed to have witnessed the same apparition. Later, the image of the Child on the host disappeared, and in its place were three hearts, a symbol of the Holy Trinity.

“In 1649, people wept, the bells rang, and that grief spread throughout Peru. We are in the northern region, and the Franciscan priests were here at that time,” León explained.

This event, which is recorded in the Vatican Library in Rome, in the General Archive of the Indies in Seville, Spain, and in the library of St. Francis Convent Convent in Lima, was also celebrated by Blessed Carlo Acutis, who included it in his famous compilation of Eucharistic miracles.

In 2019, Prevost, as bishop of Chiclayo, initiated a process with the Vatican for the recognition of the Eucharistic miracle. The prelate told ACI Prensa that the miracle is well documented by “the history, the data, the continuous devotion over these 370 years” in the city of Eten and that in that sense “the miracle is approved.”

Multisectoral Committee opposes Church authority

One of the main obstacles to the construction of the long-awaited Eten shrine has been the opposition of the so-called “Multisectoral Committee of Eten City,” a group of residents who claim to have owned the land for more than 50 years. “Multisectoral” means “representing a broad section of society.” 

“Unfortunately — and I say this with shame — there is a group of fellow countrymen, my fellow countrymen from here in Eten, called the Multisectoral Committee, who have taken over the chapel and are bringing in false priests,” lamented Christian Pulcan, a member of the Catholic group 1649 Eucharistic Miracle in Peru.

Italo Chafloc, president of the committee, defended their position: “We just want them to respect our ownership of the land we have occupied for more than 50 years,” he said. “We have never closed the gates; we have always been open to dialogue.”

Chafloc further indicated that “there is a legal issue that has been in process for some time.” However, he maintained that “the role of the justice system takes a long time and is a process that is dragging on.”

However, the problems go beyond a legal dispute between the diocese and the committee.

Non-Catholic ceremonies and fake priests

In July 2018, Bishop Prevost was prevented from entering the chapel after learning that a supposed Mass was being celebrated without permission. Police intervened and found four men dressed as priests who later identified themselves as Anglicans. However, upon consulting with the official Anglican Church, that institution denied that they were members.

“I am a servant appointed by Pope Francis, the bishop of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Chiclayo. I came to this chapel and they closed the gates on me,” Prevost declared at the time, making a statement to the authorities.

According to Pulcan, Prevost was celebrating Mass at the St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Eten. “After Mass, he was informed that there was another liturgical celebration taking place here in this chapel. The [future] pope was celebrating alongside the parish priest of Eten, and therefore, there could not be another simultaneous celebration without his authorization,” he explained.

Upon learning of this, the then-bishop of Chiclayo went to the Eten chapel.

“Unfortunately, the group closed the iron gates and did not allow them to enter,” Pulcan added.

Similar situations have also taken place recently, including some witnessed by the team from the Spanish-language edition of EWTN News when they visited the site. On May 11, a man named Fernando Hoyos Ortega presided over a ceremony in which he distributed Communion without being a priest. He claimed to be an Episcopalian and said he had been invited by the Multisectoral Committee.

“Those who invited me to celebrate Mass were the people of Eten, not the diocese. That’s why you don’t need a special permit for that,” Hoyos stated.

In 2019, the diocese had specifically addressed Hoyos’ situation with a statement signed by then-Bishop Prevost, saying: “Fernando Hoyos is not a priest, nor does he have any type of authorization from the Diocese of Chiclayo to celebrate any liturgical act.”

Despite that statement, the president of the Multisectoral Committee recently stated that he was unaware that Hoyos was not Catholic: “Of course, now that you’ve just... let’s say, practically clarified it for me, well, yes,” Chafló said when asked by EWTN News.

According to Pulcan, another man named Héctor Urteaga has also gone to the chapel to celebrate non-Catholic ceremonies, supposedly as a bishop. “David Peña also came, who claimed to be a bishop. And currently, Mr. Fernando Hoyos, president of the Chiclayo Autism Association, is coming,” he added.

“It’s important for people to know all of this, because many are unaware of it. Valid liturgical celebrations in Eten take place at St. Mary Magdalene Parish. All celebrations must take place there,” the layman noted.

Pope Leo XIV’s objective: A basilica and a hospital

Despite the obstacles, in 2022 the Diocese of Chiclayo succeeded in obtaining a land lease from the regional government for use of an 11-hectare plot of land that includes the site of the miracle. Prevost’s original plan included a basilica, a pilgrim guesthouse, a hospital, and an artisan park for crafts, food, and performances. 

However, the project’s progress has been curtailed by legal disputes. The diocese’s lawyer, Ulises Damián, explained that there are currently two legal proceedings to determine ownership of the land.

The occupants of the site claim continuous possession for more than a decade, while the Church maintains that it is a cultural heritage site, meaning the state can only grant temporary use, not ownership.

“Legally, over time, they have attempted to access the property... however, that area has been declared a cultural heritage site,” Damián said. “When the Ministry of Culture prepared a report, it was determined that there are not just old but pre-Hispanic vestiges.”

For this reason, according to the lawyer, usage rights of the land are claimed not only by the diocese but also the Lambayeque regional government itself, the current legal owner of the property.

Damián also referred to the Multisectoral Committee that currently occupies the site, indicating that, although it has been formalized as an organization, it does not have the authority to administer churches or religious assets.

“Initially, they helped the priest during the feast of the Child of the Miracle, but over time, this became distorted. At one point, they even brought in people outside the Catholic Church who pretended to be priests,” he lamented.

Despite the conflict, the lawyer reiterated the diocese’s willingness to engage in dialogue with the occupiers. However, he insisted that communion with the Church requires respect for its authority. “The Church does not impose; the Church is a mother and teacher. But whoever wants to be within it must respect its hierarchy and doctrine,” he emphasized.

Both national and pending Vatican recognition

On May 17, the Peruvian government declared Ciudad Eten a “Eucharistic City of National Interest” and announced on May 21 that it would be part of the country’s “Paths of Pope Leo XIV” tourism route. Nonetheless, while the legal status of the land remains unresolved and the sacrileges continue, construction of the basilica shrine cannot move forward.

When he was prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, then-Cardinal Robert Prevost sought Vatican recognition for the Eucharistic miracle. In 2019, he presented Pope Francis with a document detailing the history of the devotion, which compiles 20,000 testimonies of faith. Since then, the Holy See has retained the documentation.

Today, with Prevost having become Pope Leo XIV, official recognition of the miracle is in his hands.

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

Dublin, Ireland, Jun 5, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Church leaders in Dublin say Ireland’s increase in adult baptisms is a journey of accompaniment and catechesis.

Dublin, Ireland, Jun 5, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Thirty-year-old Mahon McCann was baptized during the Easter Vigil Mass in his parish of Rathfarnham in Dublin this year. He was one of 70 adults baptized into the Catholic faith that evening in the Dublin Archdiocese, the largest number of adult baptisms recorded there. 

The recent upturn in the number of people being received into the Catholic faith in Ireland can be partly explained by young adults who are seeking and searching, people who are looking for a home, somewhere they can be accompanied and grow in faith, according to Patricia Carroll, director of the office for mission and ministry in the archdiocese.

“The new Irish are coming from other countries. Then the others are Irish,” Carroll told CNA. “A lot of parents here decided that they wouldn’t bring their children through the sacraments. So that generation is starting to come to the fore, seeking and searching, looking for something.”

Carroll highlighted one development she considers integral and essential. “In our diocese, our youth and pastoral teams have focused a lot on training catechists. That means places are growing where you can come to get your catechesis.” 

In Dublin in May, 52 laypeople received certificates as catechists. The archdiocese offers a dedicated course in catechetics for those who feel called to the ministry of catechist, including people already doing some parish catechesis and members of parish sacramental teams.

Auxiliary Bishop Donal Roche of Dublin speaking at the Presentation of the Diocesan Certificate in Catechesis Our Lady of Victories Church in Ballymun said: “We are making great progress in the task of opening the hearts and minds of those who have come to the door of the Church to look in, not sure who or what they will encounter inside.”

Speaking at the 800th anniversary of the canonization of Laurence O’Toole in France in May, Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell directly referenced the phenomenon of faith resurgence happening in Ireland. 

”Beneath the surface in Dublin, another story emerges, albeit faintly,” the archbishop said. “Small numbers of young adults are discovering their faith and gathering to celebrate it. Dublin had the largest group ever seeking adult baptism during this Jubilee of Hope. Most of these people are young adults who have come to Ireland, and it is among the new Irish that renewal is most evident.”

McCann is one example of that. “I was raised as an atheist, not just with no religion but in opposition to religion,” he said. “In the sense that there was no God; Christianity was a lie. Catholicism was a lie. It was kind of something we would get past or get over. I never went to Mass and would have gone to a few funerals. I had no real experience with Catholicism or any institutional religion at all.”

When McCann was growing up in Dublin, the percentage of people answering “none” to the question of their religious denomination was in the single digits; now it has ballooned to about 25%.

Carroll told CNA that there is a noticeable increase among adults seeking baptism.

“Since Easter, I get two or three calls per week from young persons who want to become Catholic and wonder what they are to do,” she said. “So what we do is direct them to parishes where there are catechists so that they can accompany them.”

“That is a kind of spin-off of two years now of catechist training,” she continued. “Diocesan catechism in our RCIA [Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, now called OCIA in the U.S.] is becoming more alive and more intentional. So I think those are all factors explaining why the numbers have gone up.”

Carroll is optimistic for the future.

“I expect the numbers to continue to go up because I think in the city of Dublin itself, there are a lot of what I would call ‘seeking and searching’ young people, and they’re looking for a home, they’re looking for somewhere they can be accompanied and grow in faith. So that’s a very hopeful kind of story, really, for us, and it counteracts that story of the Church is dying. The Church is not dying. The Church is not going to go back to the way that it was. And that would be regressive anyway. There is a new Church emerging.”

Carroll outlined the typical journey these new Catholics take when it comes to joining the Church. 

“It’s a process of accompaniment,” she said. “First of all, there’s a whole period of inquiry. And that’s not about filling in a form; that’s about that spiritual search moment. Depending on the person, that can be a long, extended period, or shorter. After that, they are then into the catechumenate. They need to more intentionally be accompanied, to understand the sacramental life, the Church, and the creed. Those were two big things, and once they’ve done that, they’re ready for the Easter Vigil.”

There are many positive stories elsewhere. In the Diocese of Dromore, Tyrell Scarborough recently underwent the journey of seeking faith, culminating in his baptism.

“Many of my friends throughout my life have been Catholic, and I’ve always been curious about Catholicism. Everyone, except for myself, was Catholic, and I was like, I just felt like the odd one out every single time I would go to events.”

He told CNA: “I thought would it hurt for me to also, like, look into delving into this, this religion I’ve always felt a close association with. So I was like, right, why not at least look and see what this journey would be like, or would it be like for me to become that?”

“I was just recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. They call it the lonely disease because it is, like, not working anymore. I needed a sense of community again, and the Church has provided it for me,” he shared.

In Dublin, McCann’s faith journey continues: “Obviously, I’ve never done any of this stuff before, so I’m working off the kind of five stones or five pillars: trying to go to Mass every week, prayer, a bit of fasting, you know, reading Scripture, and also just trying to meet other people who are on a similar journey, getting a sense of community, and then, you know, giving back in any way I can.”

WASHINGTON - “The Wisconsin Supreme Court badly erred when it concluded that Catholic Charities is essentially secular because it does not engage in activities such as proselytism. I am grateful for the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, following the Court’s unanimous decision in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission. 

He offered the following statement: 

“Catholic Charities carries out ministries of the Catholic Church, the body of Christ, in the world today. Through Catholic Charities, the Church feeds the hungry and clothes the naked. The Church engages in these activities in obedience to Jesus, informed by millennia of tradition from the Apostles.

“The Catholic Charities agency of the Diocese of Superior applied for a religious exemption from the state’s unemployment tax program so that it could participate instead in a church-run program that offers the same level of benefits. Catholic Charities was denied the exemption, because according to the state, it is not religious. This was a ludicrous claim, and the Court has rightly reversed. The Court has unanimously affirmed that the government cannot discriminate against our ministries simply because they do not conform to the government’s narrow idea of religion. I am grateful the Court has recognized that basic principle here.”

The USCCB filed an amicus brief in support of Catholic Charities, which can be found at https://www.usccb.org/resources/25-0203_CCB_v_WILaborIndustry.pdf 

Bishop Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty.

###

WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Reverend Simon Peter Engurait, a priest of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux and current diocesan administrator, as the Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux.

The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on June 5, 2025, by Monsignor Većeslav Tumir, chargé d’ affaires, a.i., of the Apostolic Nunciature, in the temporary absence of Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

The following biographical information for Bishop-elect Engurait was drawn from preliminary materials provided to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Father Engurait was born on August 28, 1971, in Ngora, Uganda. He attended St. Peter’s College in Tororo, Uganda, and studied at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana. He received a bachlor’s degree at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda (1995), a master of divinity from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana (2013) and a master of business administration at Maastricht School of Management in The Netherlands (1999). He was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 2013.

Father Engurait’s assignments after ordination include: parochial vicar at the Cathedral of Saint Francis de Sales in Houma (2013-2015), Saint Genevieve parish in Thibodaux (2015-2016), and Christ the Redeemer parish in Thibodaux (2016-2017). He has served as pastor of Saint Bridget parish in Schriever since 2017. 

Bishop-elect Engurait has also served as the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux’s vicar general (2017-2024), and as moderator of the curia since 2016. He has served as the Diocesan Administrator since 2024. He speaks English, Ateso, Kishwahili, and Spanish.

The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux is comprised of 3,500 square miles in the State of Louisiana, and has a total population of 257,548, of which 75,761, are Catholic. 

###

ROME (CNS) -- The Council of Nicaea 1,700 years ago recognized that Christian unity had to be based on a common faith and should be demonstrated by a common celebration of Easter, the most sacred feast of the Christian year, said speakers at a Rome conference.

Yet as Christians mark the anniversary of the council, held in 325, they celebrate their common profession of the basics of faith in the Creed adopted at Nicaea while also continuing to experience division, said Paul L. Gavrilyuk, president of the International Orthodox Theological Association.

The association and the Institute for Ecumenical Studies of Rome's Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas organized the June 4-7 conference with the support of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. 

Gavrilyuk, who holds the Aquinas Chair in Theology and Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the other speakers noted the coincidence of the anniversary year and the election of Pope Leo XIV whose episcopal motto is "In Illo uno unum," an expression of St. Augustine meaning "In the One (Christ), we are one."

"Nicaea was a landmark exercise in collective truth seeking and discernment with an enduring and universally significant dogmatic outcome enshrined in its famous creed," Gavrilyuk said.

The fact that Christians today continue to use the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, not just liturgically but as a statement of orthodox Christian belief, means it is a continuing source of Christian unity, speakers said.

"The restoration of the unity of the church requires agreement on the essential content of the Christian faith, not only among the churches and ecclesial communities of today, but also in continuity with the church of tradition, and above all, with its apostolic origins," said Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

The Creed is "the strongest ecumenical bond of the Christian faith," the cardinal said. "The Council of Nicaea took place at a time when Christianity had not yet been divided by so many subsequent schisms; its creed is therefore shared by all Christian churches and ecclesial communities, uniting them in a common confession to this day. Its ecumenical importance cannot be underestimated." 

Orthodox Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, a theologian and Orthodox co-chair of the Catholic-Orthodox theological dialogue, said the Council of Nicaea could serve as a model of Christian unity today because it determined the essential points of Christian faith while allowing differences on other matters.

"The Nicene Creed does not represent a confession of faith at a particular moment in the history of the church but rather manifests the confession of faith that transcends the limits of time and space," he said. It was introduced into the liturgy at the turn of the sixth century, "which shows how much this text became a universal confession of the faith confessed by the one church, received from Christ through the apostles and handed down by the holy fathers."

Cardinal Koch said the celebration of the Nicaea anniversary also is an occasion to make a renewed commitment to synodality -- shared listening, reflection and discernment -- and for members of different churches to learn from the synodal structures of each other's churches.

"The creed of the Council of Nicaea is not merely the result of theological reflection, but the expression of a joint, more precisely, synodal struggle of bishops for an orthodox and doxologically appropriate formulation of the Christian faith," Cardinal Koch said. At the time of Nicaea, there were about 1,800 Christian bishops, and most experts believe about 318 of them participated in the council.

The Council of Nicaea also is known for setting the formula for determining the date of Easter at a time when Christian communities were celebrating Jesus' resurrection on different dates. A common celebration of Easter held until Pope Gregory XIII reformed the calendar in 1582. 

Cardinal Koch reminded his audience that since the 1960s, the Catholic Church has repeatedly said it would accept an ecumenical proposal for returning to a common date for Easter "on the condition that all Christian churches reach an agreement."

"The endeavor to find a common date for Easter is an important pastoral concern, particularly for families of different denominations, and in light of the increasing mobility of people today," the cardinal said. "Above all, a shared celebration of Easter would bear more credible witness to the profound conviction of the Christian faith that Easter is not only the oldest but also the central and most important feast of Christianity."

At Nicaea, Metropolitan Job said, the bishops determined that the church would celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the full moon after the spring equinox -- a formula based on "observable astronomical phenomena" and not on any specific calendar.

"All Christians today, without exception, determine the date of Easter according to the Nicene rule," he said, but with Western Christians using the more accurate Gregorian calendar and Eastern Christians using the Julian calendar, the celebrations only occasionally coincide.

A decision on a proposal for the Orthodox churches "to use the most accurate scientific data to determine the date of Easter, using as a reference the meridian of Jerusalem, place of death and resurrection of Christ," has been postponed multiple times, he said. 

Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams, the former archbishop of Canterbury, looked specifically at how celebrating the Nicaean anniversary is a call to deeper faith and to greater unity.

To profess the Creed is to profess belief in the Trinity, a community of life that gives life to the church, the body of Christ, the archbishop said.

"The unity of the church is neither a goal toward which human negotiators struggle, nor a timelessly given identity untouched by history," he said. Rather, "it is a constantly realized and constantly frustrated or denied movement between subjects, bringing one another alive in the one life of the eternal Son."

"The faith articulated at Nicaea and later in Constantinople cannot, I would say, be understood just as a set of claims about the life of God in abstraction from the call of God into the life of the new creation," he said. 
 

We may never understand why things happen to us or how we are going to overcome them. But if we never forget who we are in the eyes of God, the power of God that we have within us, and our eternal destiny to be with God, there is no way that we will ever […]

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We live in an age in which the debate on euthanasia is becoming increasingly heated and widespread in Europe and around the world. It is therefore essential and urgent to reaffirm the values of Catholic doctrine concerning the dignity of human life, the nature of death, and the meaning of Christian hope. Contemporary culture, often […]

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