Holy Angels Parish

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV, praying publicly for the victims of the school shooting in Minneapolis, also prayed for an end to the "pandemic" of gun violence.

After reciting the Angelus prayer with visitors in St. Peter's Square Aug. 31, Pope Leo switched from Italian to English when he led the prayers for the community of Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis where two children were killed during Mass Aug. 27 and 18 other people were injured.

In remembering "the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota," the pope said, "we include in our prayers the countless children killed and injured every day around the world."

"Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world," he said. "May our mother, Mary, the Queen of Peace, help us to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah: 'They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.'" 

Pope Leo also called again for an end to Russia's war on Ukraine, decrying renewed attacks on various Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv.

"Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine continues to sow death and destruction," the pope told thousands of people gathered for the midday prayer.

"I renew my closeness to the Ukrainian people and to all the wounded families," he said, calling on everyone "not to give in to indifference but to draw near (to the Ukrainian people) through prayer and concrete acts of charity."

"I strongly reiterate my urgent appeal for an immediate ceasefire and for a serious commitment to dialogue," he said. "It is time for leaders to abandon the logic of weapons and to take up the path of negotiation and peace, with the support of the international community. The voice of weapons must be silenced, while the voice of fraternity and justice must be raised."

Pope Leo also prayed for migrants from Africa who drowned Aug. 26 when their boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania as they were trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands.

"Our hearts are also wounded by the more than 50 people who died and around 100 still missing in the shipwreck of a vessel carrying migrants who were attempting the 1,100-kilometer (about 680-mile) journey to the Canary Islands, which capsized off the Atlantic coast of Mauritania," the pope said.

"This deadly tragedy is repeated every day around the world," Pope Leo said. "Let us pray that the Lord may teach us, as individuals and as a society, to fully put into practice his word: 'I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.'"

Speaking in both English and Italian, the pope entrusted all the "injured, missing and dead everywhere to our Savior's loving embrace."
 

Pope Leo prays for victims of Catholic school shooting

Pope Leo prays publicly for the victims of the Catholic school shooting.

WASHINGTON – As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) increases in the workplace, we must “advocate for the responsible use of technology, robust protection for those vulnerable to exploitation,” said Archbishop Borys Gudziak in a statement for Labor Day (Sept. 1). Archbishop Gudziak echoed Pope Leo XIV’s encouragement for the Church to turn to its social teaching in response to AI. 

“My brother bishops and I are particularly mindful those among us who are already vulnerable—immigrant workers, farm laborers, low-wage earners, and young people—who often suffer the greatest effects of economic disruptions. Catholics should insist that the benefits of emerging technology are shared equitably.” 

Archbishop Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. 

The full Labor Day statement is available here (Spanish).

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Ravaging the earth and creating environmental injustices are not what God had in mind when he entrusted creation to humanity, Pope Leo XIV said.

In fact, following Pope Francis' teachings on integral ecology must be accepted as "the right path to follow," the pope said in his message for the 2025 World Day of Prayer for Creation.

"Nature itself is reduced at times to a bargaining chip, a commodity to be bartered for economic or political gain. As a result, God's creation turns into a battleground for the control of vital resources," Pope Leo wrote.

"Agricultural areas and forests peppered with landmines, 'scorched earth' policies, conflicts over water sources, and the unequal distribution of raw materials, which penalizes the poorer nations and undermines social stability itself," are among the many wounds inflicted against creation and "are the effect of sin," he wrote.

"This is surely not what God had in mind when he entrusted the earth to the men and women whom he created in his image," he wrote in his message, which was released by the Vatican July 2. 

The World Day of Prayer for Creation, which will be celebrated Sept. 1, marks the start of the ecumenical Season of Creation. The season concludes Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology.

The theme for 2025, "Seeds of Peace and Hope," had been chosen by Pope Francis to be in harmony with the Holy Year dedicated to "Pilgrims of Hope." The 2025 message also coincides with the late pope's 2015 encyclical, "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," from which Pope Leo's message cited extensively.

"In Christ, we too are seeds, and indeed, 'seeds of peace and hope,'" Pope Leo wrote.

Just as the Holy Spirit "can make an arid and parched desert into a garden, a place of rest and serenity," he wrote, "prayer, determination and concrete actions are necessary if this 'caress of God' is to become visible to our world."

In different parts of the world, "our earth is being ravaged," Pope Leo wrote. "On all sides, injustice, violations of international law and the rights of peoples, grave inequalities and the greed that fuels them are spawning deforestation, pollution and the loss of biodiversity."

"Extreme natural phenomena caused by climate changes provoked by human activity are growing in intensity and frequency, to say nothing of the medium and long-term effects of the human and ecological devastation being wrought by armed conflicts," he wrote.

The destruction of nature does not affect everyone in the same way, he wrote. "When justice and peace are trampled underfoot, those who are most hurt are the poor, the marginalized and the excluded. The suffering of Indigenous communities is emblematic in this regard." 

"The Bible provides no justification for us to exercise 'tyranny over creation,'" the pope wrote. On the contrary, the biblical texts imply "a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature."

Environmental justice, he wrote, "can no longer be regarded as an abstract concept or a distant goal" and it involves "much more than simply protecting the environment."

"It is a matter of justice -- social, economic and human," he wrote. "For believers, it is also a duty born of faith, since the universe reflects the face of Jesus Christ, in whom all things were created and redeemed."

"In a world where the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters are the first to suffer the devastating effects of climate change, deforestation and pollution, care for creation becomes an expression of our faith and humanity," Pope Leo wrote.

"Now is the time to follow words with deeds," he wrote.

Pope Francis' encyclical, "'Laudato Si',' has now guided the Catholic Church and many people of goodwill for ten years. May it continue to inspire us and may integral ecology be increasingly accepted as the right path to follow," he wrote.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- "So much of who I am I owe to the spirit and the teachings of St. Augustine," Pope Leo XIV told his Augustinian confreres and their benefactors who were celebrating the saint's feast day in Philadelphia.

As Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the pope had been scheduled to be in Philadelphia for the celebration Aug. 28 and to receive an award. But in May he was elected pope.

So instead, Augustinian Father Robert P. Hagan, prior of the order's Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, based outside Philadelphia, presented the St. Augustine Medal to Pope Leo in July in Castel Gandolfo where the pope was taking a summer break.

The presentation was filmed along with a long video message by Pope Leo, reflecting on St. Augustine and the religious order inspired by him, which the future pope joined in 1977. The video was played in Philadelphia Aug. 28. 

St. Augustine, who lived 354-430, "was one of the great founders of monasticism; a bishop, theologian, preacher, writer and doctor of the church," the pope said. "But this did not happen overnight. His life was full of much trial and error, like our own lives."

"But through God's grace, through the prayers of his mother, Monica, and the community of good people around him, Augustine was able to find the way to peace for his restless heart," he said.

St. Augustine recognized that "we all have God-given gifts and talents," the pope said, "and our purpose, fulfillment and joy comes from offering them back in loving service to God and to our neighbor."

That service, he said, includes ministering to immigrants.

The friars in the United States, he said, "stand on the shoulders of Augustinian friars like Father Matthew Carr and Father John Rossiter whose missionary spirit led them in the late 1700s to go forth (from Ireland) and bring the good news of the Gospel in service to Irish and German immigrants searching for a better life and religious tolerance." 

"Jesus reminds us in the Gospel to love our neighbor, and this challenges us now more than ever to remember to see our neighbors today with the eyes of Christ: that all of us are created in the image and likeness of God," he said.

As Christians and as people inspired by St. Augustine, the pope said, "we are called to go forth to be peacemakers in our families and neighborhoods and truly recognize God's presence in one another."

"Through friendship, relationship, dialogue and respect for one another," Pope Leo said, "we can see past our differences and discover our true identity as sisters and brothers in Christ."

"Peace begins with what we say and do and how we say and do it," the pope said.

And listening is an important part of peacemaking, he said.

"St. Augustine reminds us that before we speak, we first must listen," the pope said, "and as a synodal church, we are encouraged to re-engage in the art of listening through prayer, through silence, discernment and reflection."

"We have the opportunity and responsibility to listen to the Holy Spirit; to listen to each other; to listen to the voices of the poor and those on the margins whose voices need to be heard," Pope Leo said.

St. Augustine taught the faithful "to listen to the inner teacher, the voice that speaks from within all of us. It is within our hearts where God speaks to us," he said.

Learning to hear that inner voice, the pope said, is especially important in a world filled with noise where "our heads and hearts can be flooded with many different kinds of messages," which "can fuel our restlessness and steal our joy."

"As a community of faith, striving to build a relationship with the Lord," Pope Leo encouraged people to "strive to filter the noise, the divisive voices in our heads and hearts, and open ourselves up to the daily invitations to get to know God and God's love better."
 

WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Reverend Andres (“Andy”) C. Ligot, as Auxiliary Bishop of San José. Father Ligot is a priest of the Diocese of San José and currently serves as vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of San José, and as pastor of St. Elizabeth of Portugal parish in Milpitas, California. The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on August 29, 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 Ligot was drawn from preliminary materials provided to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Father Ligot was born November 30, 1965, in Laoag City, Philippines. Bishop-elect Ligot studied at San Pablo College Seminary in Baguio City, Philippines, graduating in 1986 with a degree in philosophy. Father Ligot attended seminary at Colegio Eclesiástico Internacional Bidasoa in Pamplona, Spain. He received a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines in 1988. Bishop-elect Ligot also studied at the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain receiving a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology (1992), a master’s degree in theology (1992), a licentiate canon law (1997), and a doctorate in canon law (1999). Father Ligot was ordained to the priesthood on June 14, 1992, for the Diocese of Laoag, Philippines. He was incardinated into the Diocese of San José on March 30, 2004.

Bishop-elect Ligot’s assignments after ordination include: parochial vicar at St. Andrew parish in Bacarra Ilocos Norte, Philippines (1992); and from 1992 to 1995, he served as national coordinator for Evangelization 2000; director of the national office for Catholic School of Evangelization for Asia in Manila, Philippines; parochial vicar at St. William Cathedral in Laoag City, Philippines; and director for the Diocese of Laoag’s Commission on Christian Education. From 1995 to 1999, Father Ligot served as director of the Casa Sacerdotal Padre Baraee and chaplain of the University Medical Center at Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. 

In the 1999 Bishop-elect Ligot was given permission by his bishop in Laoag to minister in California, and he served as a chaplain at the Veterans Medical Center in San Francisco, California, and as a visiting priest at Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park. He served in the tribunal for the Diocese of San José as defender of the bond (1999-2000), and judge (2000-2003). He was parochial vicar at St. John Vianney parish in San Jose (2003-2005); pastor at St. Lawrence the Martyr parish in Santa Clara (2005-2009); and judicial vicar for the diocese (2008-2021). Bishop-elect Ligot has been pastor of St. Elizabeth of Portugal parish in Milpitas since 2021, and vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of San José since 2023. 

Bishop-elect Ligot speaks Tagalog, Ilocano, Spanish, and English. 

The Diocese of San José in California is comprised of 1,300 square miles in the State of California and has a total population of 1,903,198 of which 513,000 are Catholic.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christian hope is not about avoiding pain and suffering but about knowing that God gives people the strength to persevere and to love even when things go wrong, Pope Leo XIV said.

When Jesus allowed himself to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, he showed that "Christian hope is not evasion, but decision," the pope told thousands of people gathered in the Vatican audience hall Aug. 27 for his weekly general audience.

"The way that Jesus exercised his freedom in the face of death teaches us not to fear suffering, but to persevere in confident trust in God's providential care," the pope said in his address to English speakers.

"If we surrender to God's will and freely give our lives in love for others, the Father's grace will sustain us in every trial and enable us to bear abundant fruit for the salvation of our brothers and sisters," he said. 

A person of faith, the pope said, does not ask God "to spare us from suffering, but rather to give us the strength to persevere in love, aware that life offered freely for love cannot be taken away by anyone."

Jesus lived every day of his life as preparation for the "dramatic and sublime hour" of his arrest, his suffering and his death, the pope said. "For this reason, when it arrives, he has the strength not to seek a way of escape. His heart knows well that to lose life for love is not a failure, but rather possesses a mysterious fruitfulness, like a grain of wheat that, falling to the ground, does not remain alone, but dies and becomes fruitful."

Naturally, Pope Leo said, Jesus "is troubled when faced with a path that seems to lead only to death and to the end. But he is equally persuaded that only a life lost for love, at the end, is ultimately found."

"This is what true hope consists of: not in trying to avoid pain, but in believing that even in the heart of the most unjust suffering, the seed of new life is hidden," he said. 

After spending more than 90 minutes greeting people in the audience hall, including dozens of newlywed couples, Pope Leo went into St. Peter's Basilica, where hundreds of people who did not get a place in the hall had been watching the audience and waiting for their turn to see the pope.

The pope thanked them for their patience, which, he said, "is a sign of the presence of the Spirit of God, who is with us. So often in life, we want to receive a response immediately, an immediate solution, and for some reason God makes us wait."

"But as Jesus himself taught us, we must have that trust that comes from knowing that we are sons and daughters of God and that God always gives us grace," the pope said. "He doesn't always take away our pain or suffering, but he tells us that he is close to us."
 

Pope Leo: Trust in God amid suffering

A look at Pope Leo's general audience Aug. 27.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV sent his "heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness" to all those affected by the "terrible tragedy" of a shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis that left two children dead and 17 people injured.

The pope's condolences went particularly to "the families now grieving the loss of a child," said a telegram to Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.

The shooting Aug. 27 took place while the children of Annunciation Catholic School were in the parish church for the first Mass of the school year.

Police said a gunman in his 20s, armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, shot through the church windows at the students in the pews and then killed himself.

The dead children were 8 and 10 years old. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters 17 other people were injured, including 14 children.

Police did not release the gunman's name or speculate on a motive for the shooting. 

The papal message to Archbishop Hebda said that "while commending the souls of the deceased children to the love of Almighty God, His Holiness prays for the wounded as well as the first responders, medical personnel and clergy who are caring for them and their loved ones."

"At this extremely difficult time, the Holy Father imparts to the Annunciation Catholic School community, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the people of the greater Twin Cities metropolitan area his apostolic blessing as a pledge of peace, fortitude and consolation in the Lord Jesus," it said.
 

WASHINGTON – In response to the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minn., Archbishop William E. Lori, vice-president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement.

“As a Church, we are following the tragic news from Annunciation School in Minneapolis with heartbreaking sadness. Whenever one part of the Body of Christ is wounded, we feel the pain as if it were our very own children. Let us all beg the Lord for the protection and healing of the entire Annunciation family.”

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV appealed to Israel and Hamas to stop the violence that has caused "so much terror, destruction and death."

"I plead for all hostages to be freed, a permanent ceasefire to be reached, the safe entry of humanitarian aid to be facilitated and humanitarian law to be fully respected," the pope said at the end of his weekly general audience Aug. 27.

Without naming Israel, Pope Leo specified that he was calling for full observance of "the duty to protect civilians and the prohibitions against collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of populations."

The pope said he endorsed the statement made Aug. 26 by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Patriarch Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, calling for an end to "this spiral of violence, to put an end to the war and to give priority to the common good." 

The two patriarchs, who both have parishes in Gaza City sheltering the displaced, said, "It seems that the Israeli government's announcement that 'the gates of hell will open' is indeed taking on tragic forms" as the Israeli military campaign against Hamas intensified.

Local media reported that Israel wants civilians in Gaza City, including the hundreds of people in the Greek Orthodox compound of St. Porphyrius and the Catholic Holy Family compound, to evacuate to southern Gaza.

But "among those who have sought shelter within the walls of the compounds, many are weakened and malnourished due to the hardships of the last months," the patriarchs wrote. "Leaving Gaza City and trying to flee to the south would be nothing less than a death sentence. For this reason, the clergy and nuns have decided to remain and continue to care for all those who will be in the compounds."

Praying for the conversion of hearts and for peace, the patriarchs said, "There has been enough devastation, in the (Palestinian) territories and in people's lives. There is no reason to justify keeping civilians as prisoners and hostages in dramatic conditions. It is now time for the healing of the long-suffering families on all sides."

Pope Leo ended the audience asking that "Mary, queen of peace, source of consolation and hope," would intercede "to obtain reconciliation and peace in that land so dear to all."
 

Pope Leo appeals for peace in Holy Land

At the end of his general audience Aug. 27, Pope Leo appealed for peace in the Holy Land.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV will preside over his first canonization Mass Sept. 7, declaring the sainthood of two young Italians whose devotion to the Eucharist nourished a deep involvement in the cultures of their day.

Pier Giorgio Frassati was born April 6, 1901, in Turin and died there July 4, 1925, of polio at the age of 24. Carlo Acutis was born to Italian parents May 3, 1991, in London and died in Monza, Italy, Oct. 12, 2006, of leukemia at the age of 15.

Pope Francis had been scheduled to canonize Blessed Acutis in April during the Jubilee of Adolescents and to canonize Blessed Frassati in early August during the Jubilee of Young Adults.

While Christine Wohar, founder and executive director of FrassatiUSA, initially was disappointed that the canonizations were delayed, she told Catholic News Service that Pope Leo declaring them saints at a Mass apart from the jubilees also sends a message. 

Their lives "are not really a message for just teenagers or young adults. They are a message for every Catholic," she said. "You do not have to be 15 or 24, you just have to be somebody who is serious about living your Catholic faith."

For Father Primo Soldi, a Turin priest and author of a biography of Frassati, the two young men are united by "a deep faith firmly tied to real life who arrived at the perfection of Gospel living, that is, they lived faith, hope and charity and the other cardinal virtues in a heroic way."

"Just think about how both of them lived the ordeal of their illnesses and death -- like saints: Carlo with the joy and faith with which he faced his treatment and Pier Giorgio with the patience with which he endured the agony of those few days" between the onset of symptoms and his death, Father Soldi told CNS.

Frassati and Acutis both had a deep devotion to the Eucharist and went to Mass every day. 

In 1905, just four years after Frassati was born, St. Pius X published the decree "Sacra Tridentina Synodus," encouraging frequent, even daily reception of the sacrament at a time when many Catholics received only a few times a year.

One of his Jesuit high school teachers encouraged him to go to Mass each day, receive the Eucharist and spend time in adoration.

For Frassati, Father Soldi said, it was not simply Eucharistic devotion but the entryway into a real relationship with Jesus and, as Frassati himself said, one that became the nourishment he relied on as he helped the poor, discerned the path of his life and became involved in politics and the struggle against the growth of fascism in Italy.

The same could be said for Acutis, who is well known for the database on global Eucharistic miracles he complied as a young tech-savvy student.

Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Pope Francis' delegate at Acutis' beatification in 2000, said the young man's strength came from "having a personal, intimate and deep relationship with Jesus," one in which the Eucharist was "the loftiest moment." 

Acutis "never withdrew into himself but was able to understand the needs of people, in whom he saw the face of Christ," the cardinal said at his beatification. His was "a luminous life offered completely to others as Eucharistic bread."

Prayer and service to others went hand in hand for both Frassati and Acutis. Both also endured teasing and misunderstanding because of their devotion but gently challenged their peers to embrace faith.

Living a little bit longer and in the tumultuous period between World War I and the rise of fascism in Italy, Frassati had more time to prepare for his vocation -- he wanted to be a mining engineer and work with miners, who were among the poorest workers in the region.

He was born when Pope Leo XIII was pope and he studied "Rerum Novarum," the encyclical published in 1891 that launched Catholic social teaching and focused particularly on the rights of poor workers. And Frassati joined the Italian Popular Party, founded by Father Luigi Sturzo and based on Catholic social principles.

"What gave him a humanity that was so rich, alive, complete, full and happy ultimately was Jesus," Carlo Tabellini, a 38-year-old lawyer in Turin and member of the Pier Giorgio Frassati Cultural Center, told CNS.

When Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass with a million people attending the Jubilee of Young Adults Aug. 3, he urged them to follow Jesus and do something great with their lives, improving themselves and the world.

"Let us remain united to him, let us remain in his friendship, always, cultivating it through prayer, adoration, Eucharistic Communion, frequent confession and generous charity following the examples of Blessed Piergiorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis who will soon be declared saints," the pope said.
 

Pope Leo's first saints: Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati

One month after a crowd of more than one million young people came to Rome for the 2025 Jubilee of Young Adults, the church’s mission to inspire the next generation is set to gain new momentum with the Sept. 7 canonizations of Carlo Acutis and Pier...