The Poong Jesus Nazareno Filipino Catholic Center in Anaheim, California, is a first-of-its-kind Filipino Catholic center set to open in Anaheim, California, on July 21, 2025, offering a new spiritual and cultural landmark for Filipino Catholics in America’s most populous state. / Credit: Ian Tran/Diocese of Orange

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 21, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

A first-of-its-kind Filipino Catholic center is set to open in Anaheim, California, offering a new spiritual and cultural landmark for Filipino Catholics in America’s most populous state.

Bishop Kevin Vann of the Diocese of Orange is scheduled to bless the opening of the Poong Jesus Nazareno Filipino Catholic Center Monday evening, marking the launch of what the diocese says is the only such dedicated Filipino Catholic center operating in the United States.

“I feel blessed and excited that so many people are taking part in our mission to bring the people closer to Our Lord with Mary at the foot of the cross,” said Father Peter Lavin, a priest affiliated with the Philippines-based Alagad ni Maria (Disciples of Mary) institute who will serve as director of the center.

Alagad ni Maria currently has eight priests ministering in the Diocese of Orange, where they have been present since 2005 at the invitation of then-Bishop Tod Brown.

The center occupies a 1.4-acre site previously used by a Vietnamese-language congregation of the Southern Baptist Convention. It includes a 180-seat chapel where Mass will be offered in English and Tagalog as well as classrooms, offices, a music room, a fellowship hall, and a kitchen. Plans are also underway to build a rectory for priests on site.

According to a statement from the diocese, the center will provide the Filipino Catholic community in Southern California with a dedicated space for faith formation and cultural education. 

“Having the center will grant the local Filipino Catholic community dedicated spaces to engage in promoting education on their cultural heritage and traditions, including dance and song,” the diocese said in a press release.

While part of the Diocese of Orange, the Poong Jesus Nazareno Filipino Catholic Center will be owned and operated by Alagad ni Maria. Its primary mission will be to serve as a cultural and spiritual hub for the estimated 90,000 Filipino Catholics in the region.

Alagad ni Maria acquired the property for $5.2 million, raising $2.1 million from about 500 donors. Two individuals each contributed $500,000, and the Diocese of Orange assisted in securing the loan.

“For many years, it has been a heartfelt dream of the Filipino community here in the Diocese of Orange to have a center of their own — a sacred space where they can gather in faith, grow in spiritual fellowship, and pass on the richness of their heritage, language, and customs to future generations,” said Father Angelos Sebastian, vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Diocese of Orange. “The recent decision to guarantee the loan for the purchase of their property in Anaheim was a tangible expression of the diocese’s deep gratitude and esteem for their ongoing ministry and presence.”

“Bishop Kevin Vann, together with the entire Diocese of Orange, joins in celebrating this historic milestone: the opening of the only Filipino Catholic center in the country,” he continued. “With heartfelt joy, we offer our warmest congratulations, our prayers, and our full support as this long-cherished vision becomes a reality.”

The Poong Jesus Nazareno Filipino Catholic Center will be the sixth cultural center within the Diocese of Orange. The other five are a Polish center in Yorba Linda, a Vietnamese center in Santa Ana, and Korean centers in Irvine, Westminster, and Anaheim. 

The center will house an official replica of the Poong Jesus Nazareno statue. The original statue, brought from Mexico to Manila in 1606, has millions of devotees worldwide. 

The center will also serve as the U.S. headquarters for Alagad ni Maria, which has maintained a presence in the Diocese of Orange since 2005.

On July 18, a federal court blocked a law passed in Washington state that would have required clergy to report child abuse when shared in the confessional. Washington bishops had filed a lawsuit earlier this summer in Etienne v. Ferguson, claiming the law was “anti-Catholic” and violated religious liberty. “For centuries, Catholic faithful around the […]

The post Failed Washington bill raises concerns about child safety appeared first on U.S. Catholic.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. / Credit: Archdiocese of Cologne

CNA Newsroom, Jul 21, 2025 / 09:32 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Cologne has dismissed as “obviously baseless” a canonical complaint filed against Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki by German abuse survivors to Pope Leo XIV, calling the allegations unfounded and built on “false assumptions.”

The archdiocese’s response came after the “Betroffenenbeirat” (Affected Advisory Board) of the German Bishops’ Conference submitted a formal Church law complaint to Pope Leo XIV on Friday.

The complaint claimed the cardinal violated his pastoral duties regarding sexual abuse cases, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

“The accusations are obviously baseless and build — certainly unintentionally due to lack of better knowledge — on a series of false assumptions and claims,” the archdiocese stated in a response obtained by CNA Deutsch.

‘Retraumatizing’ for abuse survivors

The survivors’ advisory board said Woelki misled abuse victims about proper procedures and handled cases negligently. However, the archdiocese countered that recent investigations “were not conducted to clarify the handling of reports of possible sexual crimes, the reporting of perpetrators, and certainly not to work through abuse cases.”

The archdiocese also challenged the canonical complaint’s legal basis, arguing that since civil cases did not address abuse-handling procedures, “the application of the Church law norms mentioned in the letter is therefore completely out of the question.”

The statement also said that under German law, only courts — not prosecutors — can issue legally binding determinations and that no such findings had been made against Woelki.

The Betroffenenbeirat asserted it had “lost all confidence that under Cardinal Woelki’s leadership, abuse cases would be investigated without regard for the perpetrators.”

The board also described Woelki’s behavior as “retraumatizing” for abuse survivors.

The archdiocese dismissed additional allegations about negligent file handling and deception of survivors as vague accusations presented without documentation.

“These are also obviously baseless and decidedly to be rejected,” the statement concluded.

Advisory board structure and role

The complaint was submitted to Trier Bishop Stephan Ackermann, the senior bishop in Cologne’s ecclesiastical province, and addressed to Pope Leo XIV. The archdiocese noted that Woelki would have preferred the authors to engage in direct and open discussion with him.

The Betroffenenbeirat operates as an official advisory body to Germany’s bishops, established in 2019 to institutionalize survivor participation in Church abuse policies.

The 12-member board comprises individuals directly or indirectly affected by clerical sexual abuse and serves as an “expert committee” advising the German Bishops’ Conference on matters of sexual violence, according to its founding documents.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. / Credit: Archdiocese of Cologne

CNA Newsroom, Jul 21, 2025 / 09:32 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Cologne has dismissed a canonical complaint filed against Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki by German abuse survivors to Pope Leo XIV.

Readings (Year C): Genesis 18:20 – 32Psalm 138:1 – 2, 2 – 3, 6 – 7, 7 – 8Colossians 2:12 – 14Luke 11:1 – 13 Reflection: God is not behind a locked door There’s a song I learned in kindergarten that has stayed with me through the years:“Determination is my motto, determination…” Back then, we […]

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A rendering of the interior of Whistler’s Our Lady of the Mountain’s newest church, as designed by Oberto Oberti Architecture and Urban Design Inc. The grand opening of the new parish design is slated for later in the fall 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Oberto Oberti Architecture and Urban Design Inc.

Vancouver, Canada, Jul 21, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Nestled within Whistler’s many snow-covered peaks, Our Lady of the Mountains Parish finds itself just months away from the grand opening of its newly renovated church, a multimillion-dollar restoration project five years in the making, which is set to embrace the town’s historic alpine atmosphere.

As the only Catholic church in the popular British Columbia resort town in the Coastal Mountains north of Vancouver, Our Lady of the Mountains’ transformation will see what was once no more than a quaint multipurpose hall become a fully functional sacred space for prayer, service, and evangelization as well as a visual testament to the community’s steadfast faith and perseverance.

Whistler is part of the Diocese of Kamloops but has long been a spiritual home for many Catholics in the wider region who flock there for vacation.

Whistler welcomes around 3 million visitors each year — about 45% in winter and 55% in summer — so thousands of Catholics are served by the parish during ski weekends and summer getaways.

In early 2020, Our Lady of the Mountains launched an ambitious campaign to build a larger church, beginning with a vision that pastor Father Andrew L’Heureux called “a dream.” From the start, parishioners said they felt God walking with them through each challenge and triumph.

The project was spearheaded by Andy Szocs, a parishioner since the late 1970s and fundraising lead for the project. Szocs took on much of the fundraising himself, leveraging his network and experience from renovating a 250-year-old church in Hungary in 2010 to contribute toward the project’s $6.7 million target.

“I know the value of building a church up, and I saw this as a similar opportunity back at home,” the 85-year-old said. “It has been quite the challenge, and we had to rely on the Holy Spirit a lot. I would go to bed at night with all these challenges about where I would find this money, and I said to the Holy Spirit that I needed some answers. It happened so many times, it has to be divine providence.”

“Standing inside the new church is awe-inspiring,” L’Heureux wrote in a letter to parishioners this month. “It offers more than beauty — it is a sign of hope, unity, and the bright future of our parish.”

The journey hasn’t been without obstacles. Unexpected soil conditions, design refinements, and inflation pushed the original budget from $5.5 million to $6.7 million. After reaching the initial goal, the parish needed to urgently raise an additional $1.2 million. In June, an existing donor, along with partners and friends, stepped forward to close the gap.

“We believe, without question, that the Holy Spirit guided their hearts, reminding us once again that we are not alone in this mission,” L’Heureux said in his letter.

The new spiritual home, including the use of the preexisting hall, will seat 500 people — more than triple of the current capacity of 160.

The $6.7-million price tag also affords the parish a completely new interior, including a sanctuary, a 15-foot choir loft with space for 25 choir members and instruments, and an an interior design featuring 23 sacred elements such as the altar, crucifix, statues, lighting, and a communion rail — with stained-glass windows and a pipe organ remaining as future goals when funds allow.

Unique to the sanctuary’s design by Oberto Oberti Architecture is the 40-foot timber-frame ceilings, a design reflective of Whistler’s distinct outdoor ethos. A nod to Whistler’s prominent winter and ski culture, the interior is reminiscent of an old-school wooden ski chalet.

“I don’t think you can help but connect to it and feel impressed. It’s what we set out to create, which is something sacred, attractive, and reflective of that Whistler-style look and feel,” Szocs said.

He also shared that through donors’ efforts, close to 90% of the project was funded externally, with local pride in the world-class resort destination and a strong Catholic belief being the main draw for those involved.

“This was possible with a strong fundraising strategy, but we knew from the start that we couldn’t do this without help from our major donors. Quite a number of them, like myself, had an attachment to Whistler,” Szocs said.

“We have the lakes and the valley trails, the ski mountains. It’s just one of God’s beautiful nature scenes. We raised the money with those donors strictly through the personal efforts of selling the vision. We used the motto: ‘If we build the church, they will come.’”

Still, Szocs knew the parish couldn’t solely depend on traditional methods.

“You can’t do something like this with bake sales and bingo,” he said with a laugh, emphasizing the importance of his continued targeted strategy for intriguing wealthy donors.

With the grand opening of the new church slated for October, the Catholic community in Whistler continues to work amid the anticipation. L’Heureux noted in the church’s latest newsletter that many parishioners have contributed both their time and labor by assisting in drywalling, painting, and donating needed tools. One parishioner donated pews, accounting for up to 250 seats in the new sanctuary.

Beyond worship, Szocs sees the church as a beacon for evangelization, potentially hosting Catholic conferences inspired by the Napa Institute to draw Catholics to Whistler’s new spiritual appeal.

“It’s not just a church; it’s a place for people to find God,” he said.

Szocs said the project’s success comes from a balance of divine trust and devoted human action, as often expressed by St. Augustine and St. Ignatius.

“Some would say, ‘Leave it to the Holy Spirit,’ but you can’t just pray and wait. It doesn’t always work that way,” he said. “God gave us gifts for a reason. So I like the saying, ‘Pray like everything depends on God, and act like everything depends on you.’”

This story was first published by The B. C. Catholic and is reprinted here with permission.

Pope Leo XIV speaks by video call with Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin from Castel Gandolfo, Italy, on July 20, 2025. / Credit: Holy See Press Office

Rome Newsroom, Jul 21, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV marked the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with a video call to U.S. astronaut Buzz Aldrin and a visit to the Vatican Observatory, located on the papal estate of Castel Gandolfo, where he has been staying for two weeks.

According to the Vatican, the pontiff’s July 20 call with the 95-year-old Aldrin, the last surviving Apollo 11 crew member, included reminiscing on the historic 1969 landing and meditating together on the “mystery, greatness, and fragility” of God’s creation as described in Psalm 8.

Earlier in the day, Leo visited the Vatican’s internationally-recognized observatory, called the Specola Vaticana, where he was able to look through the astronomical center’s historic telescopes.

The Vatican Observatory has been located on the papal estate of Castel Gandolfo, around 18 miles southeast of Rome, since the 1930s, but the history of the institution dates to the 18th century. After several years of closure in the late 1800s, Leo’s predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, re-founded the observatory in 1891.

In 1993, the Vatican Observatory Research Group, which opened a second research center at the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1981, completed construction of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope in Mount Graham, Arizona.

Pope Leo has been taking a break from the heat of Rome with a sojourn at the lakeside town of Castel Gandolfo, a revival of a tradition last observed by Pope Benedict XVI. The pontiff’s stay was originally expected to end July 20, but the Vatican announced Sunday that Leo had extended the two-week stay an additional two days, through July 22.

A pope close to science

On June 16, Pope Leo XIV, who holds a degree in mathematics from Villanova University, expressed his appreciation for astronomy when he received the participants of this year’s Vatican Observatory Summer School.

On that occasion, he asked the young scientists to never forget “that what they do is meant to benefit everyone.”

“Be generous in sharing what you learn and what you experience, to the best of your ability and in any way possible,” he added.

The pope also urged them not to hesitate to share “the joy and wonder born of your contemplation of the ‘seeds’ which, in the words of St. Augustine, God has sown in the harmony of the universe.”

The summer program, held every two years, brings together young astronomers from different countries. The most recent edition hosted 24 students from 22 nations under the theme “Exploring the Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope,” an instrument that has revolutionized astronomical observation since 2022.

During his meeting with astronomy students, Pope Leo highlighted the importance of the advances made by the telescope: “For the first time we can deeply observe the atmosphere of exoplanets where life may be developing and study the nebulae where the planetary systems themselves are forming” as well as trace “the ancient light of distant galaxies, which speaks of the very beginning of our universe.”

Pope Leo XIV speaks by video call with Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin from Castel Gandolfo, Italy, on July 20, 2025. / Credit: Holy See Press Office

Rome Newsroom, Jul 21, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV marked the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with a video call to U.S. astronaut Buzz Aldrin and a visit to the Vatican Observatory, located on the papal estate of Castel Gandolfo, where he has been staying for two weeks.

According to the Vatican, the pontiff’s July 20 call with the 95-year-old Aldrin, the last surviving Apollo 11 crew member, included reminiscing on the historic 1969 landing and meditating together on the “mystery, greatness, and fragility” of God’s creation as described in Psalm 8.

Earlier in the day, Leo visited the Vatican’s internationally-recognized observatory, called the Specola Vaticana, where he was able to look through the astronomical center’s historic telescopes.

The Vatican Observatory has been located on the papal estate of Castel Gandolfo, around 18 miles southeast of Rome, since the 1930s, but the history of the institution dates to the 18th century. After several years of closure in the late 1800s, Leo’s predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, re-founded the observatory in 1891.

In 1993, the Vatican Observatory Research Group, which opened a second research center at the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1981, completed construction of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope in Mount Graham, Arizona.

Pope Leo has been taking a break from the heat of Rome with a sojourn at the lakeside town of Castel Gandolfo, a revival of a tradition last observed by Pope Benedict XVI. The pontiff’s stay was originally expected to end July 20, but the Vatican announced Sunday that Leo had extended the two-week stay an additional two days, through July 22.

A pope close to science

On June 16, Pope Leo XIV, who holds a degree in mathematics from Villanova University, expressed his appreciation for astronomy when he received the participants of this year’s Vatican Observatory Summer School.

On that occasion, he asked the young scientists to never forget “that what they do is meant to benefit everyone.”

“Be generous in sharing what you learn and what you experience, to the best of your ability and in any way possible,” he added.

The pope also urged them not to hesitate to share “the joy and wonder born of your contemplation of the ‘seeds’ which, in the words of St. Augustine, God has sown in the harmony of the universe.”

The summer program, held every two years, brings together young astronomers from different countries. The most recent edition hosted 24 students from 22 nations under the theme “Exploring the Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope,” an instrument that has revolutionized astronomical observation since 2022.

During his meeting with astronomy students, Pope Leo highlighted the importance of the advances made by the telescope: “For the first time we can deeply observe the atmosphere of exoplanets where life may be developing and study the nebulae where the planetary systems themselves are forming” as well as trace “the ancient light of distant galaxies, which speaks of the very beginning of our universe.”

Catholic images and crucifixes fill the walls in Times Square Tattoo. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Tommy Houlihan

CNA Staff, Jul 21, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

In the heart of New York City, nestled among the tall buildings of Times Square, sits a small tattoo shop with two 17-inch signs of the Miraculous Medal hanging outside the front door. Inside, walls of rosaries, crucifixes, and religious images greet visitors, while an old church pew serves as a place to sit and wait. A glass jar filled with blessed Miraculous Medals sits on the front desk. 

The tattoo parlor, Times Square Tattoo, is more than a tattoo parlor, according to owner Tommy Houlihan, who has a deep devotion to the Miraculous Medal and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The 55-year-old told CNA that he views his shop as a “ministry for the Miraculous Medal.”

Houlihan has been a tattoo artist since 1990. He grew up in a Catholic household in Hell’s Kitchen, a neighborhood on the west side of midtown Manhattan, and by the age of 18 began his career in body art.

In the early years of his tattoo career, Houlihan shared that he was making a lot of money — he wore expensive jewelry and tailored clothes, went to steakhouses every night, and “lived like a rock star.”

“That’s all gone now,” he said. “It’s all gone because I went and really cracked down on my faith.”

About five years ago, Houlihan returned to the Catholic faith. A big factor was the powerful testimony of Zachary King, a former Satanist who had a powerful conversion to Catholicism after an encounter with the Miraculous Medal, a sacramental based on the vision of a French nun in 1830. St. Catherine Labouré, a young sister at the time, was instructed in an apparition of the Virgin Mary to have a special medal cast. Originally called the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, it became better known as the “Miraculous Medal.”

After hearing King’s testimony, Houlihan began digging deeper into his faith and praying about what he should do with his tattoo shop. He also spoke to several priests, some of whom were exorcists, about his struggle of wanting to keep his tattoo shop open but also honoring his faith.

In one of his conversations, Houlihan told the priest about the kinds of places around his shop — a Wiccan coven to his right, a Masonic temple to his left, and a church of Scientology across the street — describing it as being “in a den of vipers.” The priest told Houlihan that he was the “antivenom.” This response moved Houlihan to hand his shop over to the Blessed Mother.

“I work almost exclusively on tourists from all over the world,” Houlihan explained. “And every single person that comes in my shop gets a medal when they first walk in. And then they fly back to France, Germany, Argentina, Canada, wherever they’re going back to, so that makes us a worldwide ministry.”

Houlihan has implemented strict guidelines for the type of work he and his employees do.

Some of the images that Houlihan’s shop declines to do include Satanic symbols, zodiac signs, anything related to witchcraft or sorcery (including shows like “Wicked” or “Harry Potter”), anything that desecrates a sacred image, anything related to the LGBT “pride” movement, and other things. He says he will also not tattoo on places on the body that are primarily meant to sexualize the individual.

“I cannot attach myself to anything in the occult and I can’t put that image on you. One day I got to answer for that,” he said.

Despite turning down many requests and handing out Miraculous Medals to those who are religious or not, Houlihan pointed out that “almost everybody gives a positive reaction.”

“I think 60% of the people react really favorably; I’d say maybe 30% are indifferent. But I do get some that don’t want it or people [who] are outright hostile to it,” he said.

When asked how his guidelines have impacted the business, Houlihan said: “I definitely took a hit, but the Blessed Mother’s making sure that I make enough money to get by.”

Seeing his tattoo shop as a ministry, Houlihan said he hopes those he encounters experience a change in their lives and in their faith.

“I hope they have an instant conversion,” he shared. “And if they’re a bad Catholic, [that] they become a good Catholic, and if they’re a good Catholic, [that] they become a great Catholic.”

He added that not only has his shop helped to keep his own faith “in line,” but it has also given him a way to evangelize and to “give the word of God” to all those who visit. 

Catholic images and crucifixes fill the walls in Times Square Tattoo. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Tommy Houlihan

CNA Staff, Jul 21, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

In the heart of New York City, nestled among the tall buildings of Times Square, sits a small tattoo shop with two 17-inch signs of the Miraculous Medal hanging outside the front door. Inside, walls of rosaries, crucifixes, and religious images greet visitors, while an old church pew serves as a place to sit and wait. A glass jar filled with blessed Miraculous Medals sits on the front desk. 

The tattoo parlor, Times Square Tattoo, is more than a tattoo parlor, according to owner Tommy Houlihan, who has a deep devotion to the Miraculous Medal and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The 55-year-old told CNA that he views his shop as a “ministry for the Miraculous Medal.”

Houlihan has been a tattoo artist since 1990. He grew up in a Catholic household in Hell’s Kitchen, a neighborhood on the west side of midtown Manhattan, and by the age of 18 began his career in body art.

In the early years of his tattoo career, Houlihan shared that he was making a lot of money — he wore expensive jewelry and tailored clothes, went to steakhouses every night, and “lived like a rock star.”

“That’s all gone now,” he said. “It’s all gone because I went and really cracked down on my faith.”

About five years ago, Houlihan returned to the Catholic faith. A big factor was the powerful testimony of Zachary King, a former Satanist who had a powerful conversion to Catholicism after an encounter with the Miraculous Medal, a sacramental based on the vision of a French nun in 1830. St. Catherine Labouré, a young sister at the time, was instructed in an apparition of the Virgin Mary to have a special medal cast. Originally called the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, it became better known as the “Miraculous Medal.”

After hearing King’s testimony, Houlihan began digging deeper into his faith and praying about what he should do with his tattoo shop. He also spoke to several priests, some of whom were exorcists, about his struggle of wanting to keep his tattoo shop open but also honoring his faith.

In one of his conversations, Houlihan told the priest about the kinds of places around his shop — a Wiccan coven to his right, a Masonic temple to his left, and a church of Scientology across the street — describing it as being “in a den of vipers.” The priest told Houlihan that he was the “antivenom.” This response moved Houlihan to hand his shop over to the Blessed Mother.

“I work almost exclusively on tourists from all over the world,” Houlihan explained. “And every single person that comes in my shop gets a medal when they first walk in. And then they fly back to France, Germany, Argentina, Canada, wherever they’re going back to, so that makes us a worldwide ministry.”

Houlihan has implemented strict guidelines for the type of work he and his employees do.

Some of the images that Houlihan’s shop declines to do include Satanic symbols, zodiac signs, anything related to witchcraft or sorcery (including shows like “Wicked” or “Harry Potter”), anything that desecrates a sacred image, anything related to the LGBT “pride” movement, and other things. He says he will also not tattoo on places on the body that are primarily meant to sexualize the individual.

“I cannot attach myself to anything in the occult and I can’t put that image on you. One day I got to answer for that,” he said.

Despite turning down many requests and handing out Miraculous Medals to those who are religious or not, Houlihan pointed out that “almost everybody gives a positive reaction.”

“I think 60% of the people react really favorably; I’d say maybe 30% are indifferent. But I do get some that don’t want it or people [who] are outright hostile to it,” he said.

When asked how his guidelines have impacted the business, Houlihan said: “I definitely took a hit, but the Blessed Mother’s making sure that I make enough money to get by.”

Seeing his tattoo shop as a ministry, Houlihan said he hopes those he encounters experience a change in their lives and in their faith.

“I hope they have an instant conversion,” he shared. “And if they’re a bad Catholic, [that] they become a good Catholic, and if they’re a good Catholic, [that] they become a great Catholic.”

He added that not only has his shop helped to keep his own faith “in line,” but it has also given him a way to evangelize and to “give the word of God” to all those who visit.