Nation & World

Silver vessels containing sacramental oils are displayed during the chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican April 17, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
What are the three holy oils?
Former astrologer Molly Curtis described astrology as a system where one is always looking inward, trying to discover how signs in the sky affect one's life. In Christ, Curtis said, she is now looking outward, discovering how Jesus is affecting those in the world, including herself. After putting Christ at the center, she is to be confirmed at Easter 2026 in the Archdiocese of Detroit. (OSV News photo/Valaurian Waller, Detroit Catholic)
Former astrologer rediscovers Catholic roots, will enter full communion with Church at Easter
Groups of tourists walk around the Basilica of the Holy Family, known in Spanish as Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona, Spain, June 30, 2025. Pope Leo XIV will visit Barcelona in June 2026 to mark the centenary of the death of the Sagrada Familia’s iconic architect, Antoni Gaudí, a candidate for sainthood declared venerable by Pope Francis April 14, 2025. (OSV News photo/Albert Gea, Reuters)
Gaudí's hidden dimension: Visionary Sagrada Familia's architect was a giant of faith
Pope Leo XVI poses with King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain during a private audience at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace March 20, 2026. (OSV News photo/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media)
Pope Leo XIV meets Spanish royals at Vatican, renewing crown's historic bond with Basilica of St. Mary Major
Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, Va., signs the Book of the Elect for catechist Donald Brown at the Diocese of Richmond's Rite of Election at Our Lady of Nazareth in Roanoke, Va., March 1, 2026. (OSV News photo/Ryan Hunt, Diocese of Richmond)
'People are hungry for the Lord,' says catechist as record numbers prepare to join Church
Luis Barrera and Nancy Zevgolis, his kidney donor, pose for a photo at Inova in Fairfax, Va., in April 2025 prior to their surgeries. More than 94,000 Americans are waiting for a kidney transplant, according to national data. (OSV News photo/courtesy via Arlington Catholic Herald)
The miracle of a living kidney donor: Virginia man realizes the power of persistent prayer
Pope Leo XIV meets with former classmates who graduated from the lower school of St. Mary of the Assumption in Chicago in 1969 after the general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican March 18, 2026. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Childhood classmates from the United States reunite with Pope Leo 
An Ethiopian Christian woman prays at the locked doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem March 4, 2026, on day five of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. The church and other religious sites as well as stores were locked shut by order of the Israeli government as Iranian ballistic missiles were fired at Israel. (OSV News photo/Debbie Hill)
Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem remains closed
Annunciation by Fra Angelico
Why does the Annunciation loom so large in Catholicism?
St. Louis Billikens guard Amari McCottry drives to the basket against Dayton Flyers forward Amael L'etang during the first half in an Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Semifinal game at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, March 14, 2026. (OSV News photo/Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images, Reuters)
Catholic hoops at the highest level take over this year's March Madness
Ryan Gosling stars in a scene from the movie "Project Hail Mary." The OSV News classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.(OSV News photo/Jonathan Olley, Amazon)
Movie Review: Project Hail Mary
Jackie Flavin, mother of Harper Moyski, who died in the Aug. 27, 2025, shooting at Annunciation Church in south Minneapolis, looks at desks she set up Feb. 23, 2026, in honor of Harper and another Annunciation student, Fletcher Merkel, who also died in the shooting. Flavin and other Annunciation volunteers set up those two desks plus others outside the Minnesota capitol building to signify children who have died by gun violence in Minnesota since 2021. They are part of an organization of parents called Annu
Annunciation shooting showed online violent radicalization at work, expert says
Pope Leo XIV greets a baby and family at the conclusion of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican Aug. 27, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Pope Leo XIV calls bishops to Rome to discuss marriage and family in October 
This is the cover of "Sister Lumberjack" (North Star Press) by Candace Simar. The book was the Catholic Media Association's 2025 third place winner for Catholic novel. (OSV News photo/North Star Press)
Catholic novel shows how God works in our messes
IRELAND-JESSIE-BUCKLEY-OSCAR-PRO-LIFE
St. Patrick's Day celebration twist: Catholic Irish actress brings pro-life message to Oscars stage
A sled dog team awaits the signal to go at the 54th annual Iditarod Trail start line in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, on March 7, 2026. The crowd of spectators lining the street included a pilgrimage group with the Napa Institute. (OSV News photo/Levi Livengood, Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau)
As Iditarod kicks off, pilgrims find missionary spirit is the Church in Alaska's North Star
Timothy Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics, delivers the commencement address at Jesuit-run Fairfield University in Connecticut May 18, 2025. Shriver is the recipient of the 2026 Laetare medal, a prestigious honor given by the University of Notre Dame to American Catholics. (OSV News photo/Fairfield University)
Timothy Shriver, Special Olympics chair, awarded Notre Dame's Laetare Medal
 Pope Leo XIV greets two children giving him a gift during a parish visit to the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome, Italy, March 15, 2026. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
God's name can never be used to justify 'absurd' pursuit of war, pope says
Parishioners of St. John the Evangelist Church in Spencerport, N.Y., are pictured in a file photo taking part in a meatless buffet that was part of the church's St. Joseph's Table. The celebration to mark St. Joseph's feast day dates back to Sicily in the Middle Ages when the saint was called on to end a famine. (OSV News photo/Mike Crupi, Catholic Courier)
Setting a table for St. Joseph's Day
Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division participate in a prayer session as they wait to board a transport plane at Fort Bragg, N.C., Feb.14, 2022. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Drake, Reuters)
America at 250: Celebrating both a birthday and a history of religious liberty
Academy Awards statue
Academy Awards Best Picture Nominees
A child looks on as she and other children take part in activities March 11, 2026, at a school sheltering displaced civilians after an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the U.S. and Israel-Iran war in Beirut. (OSV News photo/Khalil Ashawi, Reuters)
As humanitarian crisis looms in Lebanon, Mideast Christians face uncertain future
Students at Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City, Mo., seen an undated photo, greet Hattie Mae, the school's new therapy dog. The lovable, 60-pound Bernese mountain dog-poodle mix has been trained and certified to help students find calm throughout their hectic school days. (OSV News photo/courtesy Tate Wehrle and Noah Doolittle)
Lovable therapy dog brings serenity, fun to Catholic school every day, one tail wag at a time
Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu of Tehran and Isfahan, Iran, speaks to the media after being elevated to cardinal by Pope Francis during a consistory at the Vatican Dec. 7, 2024. Cardinal Mathieu surfaced in Rome March 8, 2026, after days of uncertainty about his whereabouts following the start of a U.S. and Israel-Iran war. (OSV News photo/Remo Casilli, Reuters)
Cardinal Mathieu in Rome after evacuation from Iran
Some members of a delegation from the Archdiocese of Baltimore meet with U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in Washington March 5, 2026, to advocate on behalf of immigrants. (OSV News photo/Yvonne Wenger)
Diocesan delegations bring migrants' voices to Capitol Hill, advocate for immigration reform
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