predecessors' appeals for peace
Pope Leo XIV condemns war and the "allure of powerful and sophisticated weapons" in an appealforpeaceattheconclusion of his general audience in St. Peter'sSquareattheVaticanJune 18,2025.(CNS/VaticanMedia)
At the end of his General Audience June 18, with pilgrims in St Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV made a heartfelt appeal for peace, quoting his predecessors, Pope Francis and Pope Pius XII.
"The heart of the Church is rent asunder, by the cries rising up from places of war," especially Ukraine,
Iran, Israel, and Gaza, Pope Leo said. "We must never become accustomed to war" but instead "reject as a temptation the allure of powerful and sophisticated
He warned that the use of "scientific weapons of all kinds" in modern warfare risks "leading combatants to a barbarism far greater than that of times past."
Appealing directly to world leaders, Pope Leo echoed his predecessor, Pope Francis, who had so often declared: "War is always a defeat!"
He also recalled the words of Pope Pius XII, who led the Church during the Second World War. In 1939, Pius XII issued his famous appeal by radio as the world stood on the brink of the Second World War. Citing the historic radio message delivered by Pope Pius XII on 24 August 1939, Pope Leo invoked the same phrase with which his predecessor sought to avert global conflict:
"Nothing is lost with peace. All may be lost with war."
Pope Leo's message came a few days after he expressed deep concern over the "seriously deteriorating" situation in the Middle East shortly after Israeli airstrikes were carried out on nuclear sites in Iran and retaliatory drone attacks on Israel were launched June 13.
"No one should ever threaten the existence of another," the pope had said during an audience with pilgrims in Rome for the Holy Year 2025 June 14. While it is right to hope for a world "free from the nuclear threat," he said, "it is the duty of all nations to support the cause of peace, taking paths of reconciliation and promoting solutions that ensure security and dignity for all."
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, told the Italian news agency ANSA June 17 that the Holy See is advocating for nuclear disarmament and has prepared a document on the immorality of not only the use but the possession of nuclear arms a notion previously expressed by the late Pope Francis.❖ (ICN & CNS)
Sport reveals beauty of God, says Pope Leo - p2
As ‘new nightmare’ unfolds between Israel and Iran, ‘never-endingtragedy’ inGazacontinues - p3
A Christian Perspective on Social Issues - p4
SundayScripture - p5
Pope Leo’s former gym trainer reveals shock at learning client became pontiff - p6
Widow, mother of four nuns and a priest, herself becomes a nun - p7
BarbaricmassacrestargetChristiansinNigeria - p8
Children’s Page - p9
Why is June the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus? - p10
Pope Leo to young people: Be agents of peace in a divided world - p12
IrishteenscreateanimatedLego-CarloAcutisfilm-p12
Father’s Day blessings across the Diocese - p13
Catholic Memory Lane - p14
Bishop’s Engagements
Sunday, June 22nd
08:00hrs – Corpus Christi Procession and Joint Central Cluster Mass at Sacred Heart, Main Street
Tuesday, June 24th
18:00hrs – Diocesan Pastoral Council Meeting
Wednesday, June 25th
09:00hrs – Antilles Episcopal Conference Meeting – via Zoom
Saturday, June 28th
10:00hrs – Mass and Confirmation at St. Francis Xavier, Port Mourant, Corentyne
Sunday, June 29th
09:00hrs – 150th Anniversary Mass at St. Peter’s, BV, ECD
Francis Alleyne OSB
from Marriage Encounter Guyana, together with Fr. Carl Philadelphia, at the North American Conventionof WorldwideMarriage Encounter,being heldJune20-22in Trinidadand Tobago.
Sport reveals beauty of God, teaches
The Jubilee Prayer
Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever.
Amen
VATICAN CITY (CNS) Sport, with its demands for self-giving, collaboration and perseverance, reflects the beauty and dynamic love of God, Pope Leo XIV said.
Celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica June 15 to conclude the Jubilee of Sport, the pope told athletes and sports professionals that “every good and worthwhile human activity is in some way a reflection of God’s infinite beauty, and sport is certainly one of these.”
The Mass, attended by a variety of teams and groups in colorful
sporting jerseys, marked the conclusion of a weekend of celebrations of the world of sport throughout Rome. Pilgrims and athletes participated in events including a procession through the Holy Door, panel discussions with athletes on sports and hope, and a sports village in the center of the city intended to bring together the world of athletics with faith, prayer and fraternity.
The celebration coincided with the feast of the Holy Trinity, a convergence the pope said was not
accidental. Speaking on the relational nature of the Trinity, he noted how “the life of God is a kind of ‘dance'” of “mutual love.” “Sport can thus help us to encounter the Triune God, because it challenges us to relate to others and with others, not only outwardly but also, and above all, interiorly,” he said.
Reflecting on the Italian word “Dai!” often shouted by fans to cheer athletes and which literally means “Give!” the pope said sport is not just about (please turn to page 6)
Athletes bring up the Gifts to the Altar during the closing Mass for the Jubilee of Sport (@Vatican Media)
As ‘new nightmare’ unfolds between Israel and
Palestinians gather to receive aid supplies in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025, after being displaced by the Israeli military offensive. (OSV News photo/Dawoud Abu Alkas, Reuters)
JERUSALEM (OSV News) As continued bombardment between Israel and Iran entered its fifth day, Catholic clergy in both countries called for peace and an end to further bloodshed in the Holy Land and the Middle East.
“It seems like we have fallen into a new nightmare,” Franciscan Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land, said in an interview with Vatican News published June 16. “First, we saw the destruction caused by the war in the surrounding territories; now we see it in the heart of the Holy Land.”
Tanks Fired Into Crowd in Gaza
On June 17, Israeli tanks fired into a crowd trying to get aid from trucks in Gaza, killing at least 59 people, according to medics, as reported by Reuters. It was “one of the bloodiest incidents yet in mounting violence as desperate residents struggle for food,” the agency said.
Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Church, the only Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, warned that the suffering of the Palestinians in the enclave is being forgotten.
According to another June 16 report by French newspaper Le Monde, the Gaza civil defense agency said Israeli soldiers opened fire and killed 20 people waiting to collect food at an aid distribution site in Rafah. The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident, Le Monde reported.
‘
What We See Is Shameful’
“Imagine a city like Rome (which has a population slightly larger than that of Gaza), whose inhabitants are forced to collect food in three or four distribution points located in different areas, with all that this entails in terms of hardship and danger. What we see today in Gaza is shameful,” Father Romanelli told SIR, the news agency of the Italian bishops’ conference.
Israel launched a June 13 preemptive strike against Iran and said the country’s nuclear ambitions posed an “existential threat.”
“Iran is only moments away from a nuclear weapon. The threat posed by Iran is imminent and Israel has no choice but remove it before it is too late,” Israel’s Embassy to the Holy See said in a statement sent to OSV News June 13.
Not long after Israel launched its attack, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which is led by Italian Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, tweeted a prayer for peace on its X account.
‘Lift Our
Hearts to You, Lord
’
“We lift our weary hearts to you, Lord, longing for your light amid the shadows of fear and unrest,” the prayer read. “Teach us to be peacemakers.”
Before Iran responded with its own volley of missiles, which struck Tel Aviv and Haifa, Cardinal Pizzaballa said the consequences of Israel’s preemptive strike were “difficult to predict at this time.”
“It is necessary to understand what kind of reaction will come from Iran,” the cardinal said in a June 13 interview with TG2000, the daily news program of the Italian bishops’ conference.
“There will certainly be a response. Its scale and real-world consequences will have to be determined. This is not an act that will aid deescalation.”
‘All
of Us Are Tired of War
’
“We are all tired, all of us are tired of war, but we are all fused inside this vicious cycle, incapable of looking beyond. The concentration of military force is also a sign of political weakness,” Cardinal Pizzaballa said.
Although it was not specified, the cardinal likely referred to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political troubles, including surviving a vote that would have dissolved the current parliament.
Outside of the cardinal’s interview with TG2000, the Latin Patriarchate has not issued any official statement regarding the conflict. However, the patriarchate took issue with a text circulating on WhatsApp and “on social media that falsely purports to be a statement” from Cardinal Pizzaballa, which included a prayer to the Virgin Mary.
“Cardinal Pizzaballa has not given any interviews or made any public statements on the matter in recent days, and the content of the text has neither been written nor approved by him,” wrote Faid Jubran, spokesperson for
the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in a June 17 statement.
‘Seems Incapable of Guaranteeing Peace’
In his June 16 interview with Vatican News, the custos of the Holy Land echoed Cardinal Pizzaballa’s concerns, lamenting the fact that “many here, not only Christians, want to leave a country which, in recent years, seems incapable of guaranteeing peace.”
The Holy Land, Father Patton said, has “become entangled in a spiral of war that continually expands like a fire that can no longer be controlled.”
“Christians, like the rest of the population, are scared,” he said. “I have already seen firsthand the terror of children during the war in Syria, I have heard it told from Gaza, now it is here too: children who tremble when they hear the sirens of the alarm and then the explosions of the missiles. These are traumas that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.”
Missionaries Will Stay
Despite the uncertainties of the escalating conflict, Father Patton told Vatican News that missionaries in the country have no intention of leaving.
“There is no longer any observance of the ‘rules’ of international law of war, and therefore we are all in the same boat, without distinctions of ethnic or religious affiliation,” he said. “We are not mercenaries who abandon the flock to save themselves. This is the mission that the church has entrusted to us, and here we will remain, trusting in the help of heaven.”
As the world’s attention shifted from the war in Gaza to Iran, Father Romanelli said the situation in the enclave is beyond desperate.
“Eyes that do not see, heart that does not hear,” the priest said of the situation in a June 16 interview with SIR.
‘
A Never-Ending Tragedy’
“No one talks about (the war in Gaza); international attention seems to have waned, but here, there is fighting every day, and the population is experiencing a never-ending tragedy,” the Argentine priest said.
The pastor of Holy Family said that the dire circumstances have led people in Gaza to “no longer have hope for a future different from this one.” Nevertheless, he added, as Christians, “we try to find a foundation of hope in prayer.”
“The war will end, we don’t know when, but it will end,” he said.❖
A Christian Perspective on Social Issues
By GHK Lall
Corpus Christi: This belief, this substance
A celebration of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. From an angel to a virgin to a baby in a manger to the agony of Gethsemane and to the journey to Calvary. All this comes right back to the presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. This is profoundly, often scornfully, baffling for those who don’t believe. For a believer, I am in the presence of the divine. Though I am not worthy, Jesus is with me. Emmanuel (“God is with us”). What follows is a social perspective; in truth, it is more of a spiritual one. This bread, this wafer, that is celebrated through the consecrated Holy Eucharistic Host. When we are near it, how should we be? When we have partaken of it, what must we become? When we share it with others, what grace is extended? Being in the presence of the Body of Christ is to be called to a state of reverence. One does not have to be on the altar, or involved in the work around it, to nurture that state of reverence. When we leave our homes, it means that our hearts are fixed on being in communion with Lord and Master. Crossing the gates of the Church
Dear Editor,
A new people stemmed from Jesus to which the whole of mankind is called. What counts is the realization of one's insufficiency and the readiness to receive the kingdom of God.
There are many indications that Jesus not only foresaw this new people but provided for them in advance.
It would, of course, be wrong to think that by the time of his death and resurrection, he had set up an extensive
should (must) enhance that sense of reverence. And entering through the doors of the sanctuary must fill with awe that this is a sacred space, a holy home of the Lord. Roman Catholics must feel that they are so empowered, and do their utmost to extend that grace unto others. Not just in the church, but outside of it, and wherever we go.
Sharing in the Body and Blood of Christ must be allowed to introduce its resonance in us. I yearn for that, and so should all of us. For then that righteous resonance glows in a world darkened by hostility and bigotry, poverty and different kinds of catastrophe. The world is in dire need of a little light, then a little more; it is how darkened it is by anger, scorn, and even hate in its nuanced and blatantexpressions.Thepeacefulaura of Jesus, his very embodiment, is what the world needs now, but of such there will be scant admission. Men and women have become too haughty in their self-promotions, what takes away from God, and prioritizes the human. Scripture has warned in many verses: do not put trust in earthly men, whether prince or prophet. There have been false ones. Wicked ones. Destructive ones. Being a disciple of the Master Teacher should have opened our eyes to discern the frailness and falseness in men who mislead and misdirect, to our detriment. Our faith is in the unseen, and all the glories seen. Those are of divine origins, and not the monuments of man. The essence of the Body of Christ instils giving Caesar what is rightfully due. The Eucharist is also of obeying God above all, which includes humbling ourselves before his Holy Will, whatever it holds.
The Holy Eucharist teaches humility help starting with repentance. Heartfelt words are good, but more is demanded. Our entire spirit, being, must be about contrition and making amends, plus the resolution to help others to their grace of correction before maker and creator. When there is repentance, others are seen in a different light. Fellow worshippers, are like myself, frail and prone to error. There is no rush to point fingers and judgment, no readiness to gossip and condemn further. We condemn ourselves when others are brought down, due to the cliques we form, the malice that may be hidden inside. Repentance leads to reconciliation w the eyes of Jesus, and be willing to walk his way. It is the righteous way, one that is enriched by the timeless commandof
This Guyana of me and you could use some Christlike love. The love of God, and not the hypocritical one that man is skilled at pretending to be. Love opens up space in the environment, because it starts in the heart. Jesus the Christ was about love even when the hardest blows rained, the ugliest insults slapped him front and center. Guyanese know how cruel their times and their peers can be. Still, when we are as one with Jesus, then we are ready to be of a true heart with anybody, including the worst of the worst. When Jesus is with us, around, above and about us, and is allowed to guide us full-time, then the essence of the Eucharist, the Body of Christ, is lived and loved. Our country, our communities, our church are all better for it. Jesus! pray for us. Lord! bless us.❖
Gracious and loving God, we thank your for the gift of our priests. Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments.
Help our priests to be strong in their vocation.
Set their souls on fire with love for your people.
Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom.
Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel.
Allow them to experience joy in their ministry.
The New Church
organization. As a prophetic teacher, it was man's heart he sought.
Let's not misunderstand his character if one thought of him as an idealistic prophet preaching his words heedlessly abroad, making no effort on the human level to ensure that a human community resulted.
The clearest sign that Jesus wanted a community to develop is that he deliberately gathered disciples around him. It is noticeable that they did not choose him, but that he calls those whom he desires, without beating about the bush, and with sovereign authority. (Mk 3:13-15)
He paid special attention to the formation of twelve of them whom he called Apostles. The very name "Apostle" indicates great authority. Apostolos" is Greek for "he who is sent," an "envoy" with authority to cast out unclean spirits and to heal every disease and every infirmity (Mt. 10:1).
Jesus gave us the new people a Church consoled by the promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against it and Peter as leader of the church with the instruction to feed his lambs. (Jn. 21: 15-17)
Leon Jeetlall
Help them to become instruments of your divine grace.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest. Amen
FIRST READING Genesis 14:18-20
He brought bread and wine.
Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. He pronounced this blessing:
“Blessed be Abraham by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High for handing over your enemies to you.”
And Abraham gave him a tithe of everything.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 109:1-4
Response: You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
1. The Lord’s revelation to my Master: “Sit on the right:
I will put your foes beneath your feet.” Response
2. The Lord will send from Zion your sceptre of power: rule in the midst of all your foes. Response
3. A prince from the day of your birth on the holy mountains; fromthewombbeforethedaybreakIbegotyou.R/
4. The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change. “You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.” Response
SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death.
This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.” In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant of my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.” Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.
Sequence
Sing forth, O Zion, sweetly sing
The praises of thy Shepherd-King, In hymns and canticles divine; Dare all thou canst, thou hast no song Worthy his praises to prolong, So far surpassing powers like thine. Today no theme of common praise Forms the sweet burden of thy laysThe living, life-dispensing food
Today, we observe the Solemnity of the of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. This beautiful feast celebrates the gift of the Eucharist, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church
-That food which at the sacred board Unto the brethren twelve our Lord His parting legacy bestowed. Then be the anthem clear and strong, Thy fullest note, thy sweetest song, The very music of the breast: For now shines forth the day sublime That brings remembrance of the time When Jesus first his table blessed. Within our new King’s banquet-hall They meet to keep the festival That closed the ancient paschal rite: The old is by the new replaced; The substance hath the shadow chased; And rising day dispels the night. Christ willed what he himself had done Should be renewed while time should run, In memory of his parting hour: Thus, tutored in his school divine, We consecrate the bread and wine; And lo – a Host of saving power. This faith to Christian men is given -Bread is made flesh by words from heaven: Into his blood the wine is turned: What though it baffles nature’s powers
teaches is the source and summit of our Christian faith. “For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ Himself” (CCC 1324).
The very word, Eucharist, means “thanksgiving” or “gratitude,” and so this feast is especially meaningful to all of us who are striving to live as grateful stewards of all God’s blessings to us. Surely the Eucharist is the greatest of
Of sense and sight? This faith of ours
Proves more than nature e’er discerned. Concealed beneath the two-fold sign,· Meet symbols of the gifts divine, There lie the mysteries adored: The living body is our food; Our drink the ever-precious blood; In each, one undivided Lord. Not he that eateth it divides The sacred food, which whole abides Unbroken still, nor knows decay; Be one, or be a thousand fed, They eat alike that living bread Which, still received, ne’er wastes away. The good, the guilty share therein, With sure increase of grace or sin, The ghostly life, or ghostly death: Death to the guilty; to the good Immortal life. See how one food Man’s joy or woe accomplisheth. We break the Sacrament; but bold And firm thy faith shall keep its hold; Deem not the whole doth more enfold Than in the fractured part resides: Deem not that Christ doth broken lie; ‘Tis but the sign that meets the eye; The hidden deep reality In all its fullness still abides.
GOSPEL Luke 9:11-17
They all ate as much as they wanted.
Jesus made the crowds welcome and talked to them about the kingdom of God; and he cured those who were in need of healing.
It was late afternoon when the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the people away, and they can go to the villages and farms round about to find lodging and food; for we are in a lonely place here.” He replied, “Give them something to eat yourselves.” But they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we are to go ourselves and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. But he said to his disciples, “Get them to sit down in parties of about fifty.” They did so and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them; then he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the crowd. They all ate as much as they wanted, and when the scraps remaining were collected they filled twelve baskets. ❖
all blessings because it is not only from God, it is God the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Today’s second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians reminds us of the depths of love our Lord has shown us in the gift of the Eucharist, recalling Christ’s words at the very first Eucharistic celebration. “The Lord Jesus took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that
is for you.’” In that moment, and at every celebration of the Mass thereafter, Jesus gives us His very Self in an act of complete humility and perfect love. How can we possibly show our gratitude forsuch a sublime gift? We can receive the gift of the Eucharist with the greatest possible reverence and love. And, following our Lord’s example, we can give ourselves generously to others inthe week ahead.❖
Gospel Reflection
During the time of his public ministry, Jesus spent his time among the people, especially the poor, teaching them about the kingdom of God and healing them of their illnesses. In today’s Gospel passage we see him doing something else. He fed them when they were hungry. Today he does the same for us. When we gather for worship we hear his voice when the Scriptures are read to us. These are not dead words of a time long in the past. They are living words that teach us, console and inspire us and they challenge us. He also heals us from our selfishness, unconcern and sin. And he also sets out to heal the divisions that may exist in our community. And most of all we are nourished with the food of the Eucharist, Jesus himself. He tells us that without this spiritual food we would not have life in us. And what is especially important to know is that at the end of the Mass we are not sent home, we are sent forth to serve, to teach, heal and feed, in short,tobebearersoflifetoothers.
The Eucharist is not celebrated just as a memorial of Jesus. We don’t just remember him. He becomes present in a very special way and his presence gives us life. We become his Body so that we too can give life. We become his healing hands, his words of comfort and reconciliation, his wonderful and consoling presence to those in need. Most of us really would like to respond whenever we see the need, the pain and the suffering around us but we shy away from the task because of the sheer enormity of it all and our feelings of inadequacy. But the more we come to trust in God’s presence in the Eucharist, the more we become confident of being part of the body of Christ and the easier it will become to respond to the needs of others and to give from what we have. Therefore the Eucharist is not just a memorial of Jesus. It makes us aware of the many around us who can do with our “five loaves and two fishes” and we trust that God will help us to give and never be empty. ❖
[From:
Pope Leo’s former gym trainer reveals shock at learning client became pontiff
(CNN) - An Italian personal trainer has spoken of his shock after learning his client for two years had been elected to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics as Pope.
“Here in the gym, no one knew that Robert, now Leo XIV, was a cardinal, least of all me who trained him,” Valerio Masella, 26, told the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. The Pope, then Cardinal Robert Prevost, trained regularly in the gym near the Vatican, Il Messaggero reported, often working out multiple times a week.
Masella had suspected the reserved ‘Robert’ from the gym was a professor or an academic. The clergyman certainly wasn’t turning up for a session dressed in his cardinal cassock, the trainer explained.
“He came in informal clothes. However, he was always kind, never nervous or irritated. A truly serene and balanced person,” Masella said.
It wasn’t until Prevost stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as Pope Leo XIV that the penny dropped.
“Seeing him on TV, I recognized him immediately. I couldn’t believe it,” Masella said. “Basically, I trained the future pontiff: it’s incredible, but for me, he was a client like any other, and he behaved like all the clients of this gym,” he added.
As for his physical condition? “For a man of his age exceptional,” Masella told the Italian paper. “Typical of someone who has never stopped playing sports, with an excellent ratio of muscle mass, bone mass, and fat mass.”
The gym’s president and founder, Alessandro Tamburlani, described his excitement upon discovering he already knew the new pontiff, in a separate interview with the Catholic News Agency.
“My joy was doubled or tripled. Joy to finally have a new Holy Father after the obligatory period of mourning we went through. And joy also to know that he’s a good person and, moreover, someone we all already knew here at the gym,” Tamburlani, founder of the Omega Fitness Club in central Rome said.
The gym founder added that Pope Leo’s healthy lifestyle sets a good example for all, and praised his ability to combine “spirituality and sports training.”
A known lover of tennis, Pope Leo XIV met with the world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in May. The Italian tennis star gifted the pontiff a racket, which he might put to use on the Vatican’s own tennis court. ❖
Sport reveals beauty of God, teaches teamwork, humility and hope
Pope Leo XIV greets people as he rides in the popemobile in St. Peter’s Square after celebrating Mass on the feast of the Holy Trinity and for the conclusion of the Jubilee of Sport in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican June 15, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez
performance. Instead, “it is about giving of ourselves, putting ourselves ‘inplay.'”
“Being a ‘good sport’ is more important than winning or not,” he said.
Quoting St. John Paul II, he described sport as “joy of life, a game, a celebration,” and emphasized its role in building friendship and openness, “quite apart from the harsh laws of production and consumption and all
other purely utilitarian and hedonistic approaches to life.
”
Pope Leo then outlined three ways sport serves as a tool for human and Christian development. First, he said, it fosters a sense of community in an individualistic society. “Sport, especially team sports, teaches the value of cooperating, working together and sharing.” Second, in a digital world where
(From Page 2)
“technology brings distant people closer together yet often creates distances between those who are physically close,” sport offers real-life engagement and helps maintain “a healthy contact with nature and with real life, where genuine love is experienced.”
Third, the pope said that sport teaches the value of failure and resilience in a competitive culture. “Champions are not perfectly functioning machines, but real men and women, who, when they fall, find the courage to get back on their feet.”
He also pointed to figures like Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, patron of athletes, who is set to be canonized Sept. 7, as role models to follow in pursuing sainthood in the same way that one pursues athletic excellence. “Just as no one is born a champion, no one is born a saint,” he said. “It is daily training in love that brings us closer to final victory.
”
Pope Leo urged athletes to live their vocation in the realm of sport with joy and faith.
“The church entrusts you with a beautiful mission: to reflect in all your activities the love of the Triune God,” he said. “Let us ask (Mary) to accompany our effort and enthusiasm, and to guide it always toward the greatest victory of all: the prize of eternal life on that playing field where games will never end, and our joy will be complete.”❖
Journeying with the Word of God, The Religious Education Department, Diocese of Georgetown, Guyana ]
Personal trainer Valerio Masella (AP)
Widow, mother of four nuns and a priest, herself becomes a nun
Augustinian Recollect
Agustinosrecoletos.org
(CNA) - Sister Maria Zhang Yue Chun made her perpetual vows on May 13 at the convent of the Augustinian Recollects in Vitigudino, Salamanca province, Spain. Her prioress, Sister Berta, said she is “an example” for her community.
Born in Shangqiu, Henan province, China, Maria lived without any connection to Catholicism. She was married and took care of her five children. During a serious illness, however, the support provided to her by a community of active Augustinian Recollects opened hereyestothefaith.
On July 1, 2007, she was baptized along with her four daughters. Her husband and son followed in her footsteps at Christmas that year. The following year, Maria was widowed. One by one, her daughters joinedacommunityofAugustinian nuns who have had a presence in the Asian country since 1931. This past April 25, her only son was ordained an Augustinianpriest.
Ever since her husband’s death, Maria felt a strong calling to live her faith more radically as a contemplative nun. However, in China, the Augustinian nuns do not have a community of this nature.
Thus, in 2015, Maria left her native country ready to fulfill the vocation to which she was being called. She was especially helped in this endeavor by one of her daughters, who is also
part of an Augustinian community in Spain.
But it wasn’t easy. Despite her familybackgroundfullofconsiderable and evident spiritual merits, various communities turned her down, primarily due to her age (56 at the time) and because she didn’t know Spanish.
However, with the support of a Chinese priest and making use of an electronic translator, she arrived at the Vitigudino convent. The prioress, Sister Berta Feijó, recounted to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, what that first contact was like when she was allowed to experience religious lifewithintheconvent.
“Little by little, she learned the essentials for our contemplative life and adapted,” Sister Berta said. “What we observed in her is that she was always smiling andhappy.”
The prioress, originally from Peru, said Sister Maria “is an example for the community of a dedicated life, of recollection, of a sisterhood also because she is eager to serve,” especially the older sisters of the convent, all of whom are in their 90s.
The community currently consists of 16 sisters from four different continents: Five are Spanish, seven are from Tanzania, and the rest are from Guatemala, Peru, Venezuela, andChina.
Journeying with the Word of God
MAKING THE WORD OF GOD YOUR OWN
Step 1: Lookattoday’sReadingsprayerfully.
1st Reading: The pagan priest Melchizedek presents gifts of bread and wine to Abraham. Our Christian tradition sees this as telling of the Eucharist in the future.
Despite the obvious language difficulties, Sister Berta recalled that Sister Maria was determined: “She never flinched, she never seemed sad, nor did she ever complain about anything, always happy to this day.” So much so that the first thing she learned to say in Spanish was that “she’shappy.”
Maria took the white veil for novices in 2017 and three years later made her temporary vows in a ceremony accompanied by one of her daughters, Sister Maria Sun Shen, who sang to the Virgin in her native language attheendoftheMass.
This past May 13, after publicly expressing her total devotion and invoking the saints with the litany, Sister Maria prostrated herself on the floor as a sign of humility while two sisters coveredherwithrosepetals. ❖
2nd Reading: St. Paul tells of an event at the last meal Jesus had with his disciples and of what they weretoldto doinhismemory.
Gospel: We read of the miraculous feeding of the people with just five loaves of bread and two fishes. His blessing and breaking of the bread brings to mind the Eucharist.
Step 2: ApplyingthevaluesoftheReadings toyourdailylife.
1.Paul tells us that every time we share in the Eucharist we proclaim the death of Jesus. Why do you think remembering the death of Jesus important to Christians?
2.The Eucharist is, for us, more than just a memorial of Jesus. In the bread and wine he is truly present to us in a special, life-giving way. Therefore, how should we respond after sharing in the Eucharist?
3.The Gospel passage shows Jesus preaching, healing and feeding. These are what disciples today are expected to do. How do you see yourself preaching, healing and feeding?
4.We notice that not only were the 5000 fed but that there was much left over. The Lord deals in abundance. How have you shared in the Lord abundance?
Step 3: Accepting the message of God’s Wordinyourlifeoffaith.
At the last meal Jesus ate with his friends he gave them something by which to remember him. In his blessing and sharing he invites us to become his life. We become the Body of Christ so that we can help to bring healing and reconciliation to other members of his Body, the Church.
Step 4: Somethingtothink&prayabout
1.At the end of the Mass we are not just dismissed to go our separate ways. We are sent out to bring life to others. How do you see yourself as being bearer of life to others? ❖
[From: Journeying with the Word of God, The Religious Education Department, Diocese of Georgetown, Guyana ]
The
nun Sister Maria Zhang, with her daughter Sister Maria Sun Shen. Credit:
‘Barbaric massacres’ target Christians in Nigeria
NAIROBI, Kenya (OSV News) After a scene of horror in which around 200 people were “brutally killed” in Yelwata, in Benue state, Nigeria, Pope Leo XIV prayed for the victims, calling it a “terrible massacre.”
Despite extreme persecution, the Catholic Church grows in the country, with a record number of confirmations and Mass attendance.
Most of those killed in the recent tragic events were internally displaced persons “sheltered by the local Catholic mission,” Vatican News reported.
Speaking just before delivering the Sunday Angelus prayer, the pope prayed for “security, justice, and peace” in Nigeria, adding that he was thinking in particular of the “rural Christian communities of the Benue State who have been relentless victims of violence.”
‘Almost Daily Bloodshed’
Responding to the attack on June 14, Amnesty International Nigeria called on the country’s authorities to “immediately end the almost daily bloodshed in Benue State and bring the actual perpetrators to justice.”
The advocacy group Save the Persecuted Christians said that overnight between June 13 and 14, “Muslim Fulani militants raided a predominantly Catholic Christian town” outside of the town of Makurdi, “killing hundreds, say early reports from contacts within the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi.”
The group said that “infants, toddlers and the elderly are among the butchered and burnt bodies. Fleeing victims were shot and hacked with machetes and thrown back into the fire.”
Possible Retaliation for Bishop’s Testimony
Save the Persecuted Christians suggested the attacks were retaliation for Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Makurdi’s testimony before the U.S. Congress and at the U.K. Parliament this spring.
In the British Parliament in March, Bishop Anagbe talked about how his flock have seen their homes torched and been forced to flee to camps set up for people who are internally displaced, according to the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need
The bishop said that Benue state, which includes Makurdi and nearby Yelwata, has been attacked by Islamist extremists and Fulani herders targeting Christian communities and has seen farmers driven from their land, churches burned, and priests, religious and lay members killed.
“The militant Fulani herdsmen bear on defenseless villagers without consequence,” Bishop Anagbe said.
“They follow orders to conquer, kill, and occupy. They attack even those who have managed to escape into our IDP camps.”
‘Church Under Islamist Extermination’
He added that for his people, their experience today “can be summed up as that of a Church under Islamist extermination.”
Save the Persecuted Christians added in their June 14 X post: “This is Genocide.”
At the beginning of June, at least 85 people were killed in coordinated waves of attacks in a span of a week in Benue state. The attacks began on June 1, when armed Fulani ethnic militia
majority.
“The bishop feels joyous and thankful because the Gospel is taking flesh in this part of the world. It is a positive development and he feels happy seeing the rewards of evangelization blossom in such numbers,” Father Anthony Aneke, diocesan director of communications, told OSV News.
Despite Persecution, Church Is Growing
“It portrays the growth of the Catholic faith in Nigeria, despite widespread religious persecution and obstacles. The church in Nigeria is experiencing growth and increase despite the problems bedeviling her.”
Numerous confirmations are being viewed as bright light in the midst of dark clouds.
Father Aneke attributed the huge number of confirmations to several factors, including the increased longing of people for the sacraments, positive evangelization initiatives by both pastors and lay ministers, and proper catechesis and deepening of faith.
In the June 4 ceremony, held as part of the diocese’s feast of Pentecost and attended by the clergy, parishioners and families, each parish and institution had sent two candidates.
attacked Gwer West and Apa counties killing at least 43 people. Similar attacks earlier in Gwer County left another 42 people dead and thousands displaced.
Benue Concern Youths, a local advocacy organization, expressed the people’s frustration in a letter to the state governor.
‘Innocent Lives Lost Once More’ “Innocent lives have been lost once more,” Unaji Pax Romana, the group’s spokesman said in the letter. “We look to you for leadership and hope.”
The Nigerian bishops’ conference condemned earlier in June what it called a “barbaric massacre” of innocent citizens in Benue state.
“These cold-blooded attacks on defenseless communities where countless have been slaughtered, homes destroyed and families left in anguish are an affront to God, a stain on our shared humanity and a terrifying reminder of the utter breakdown of security in our land,” said Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri, and the president of the bishops conference.
Steadfast Faith Amid Terror
Despite growing and horrific persecution, Nigerian Catholics hold tight to their faith. The confirmation of nearly 1,000 Catholics in Nigeria has underscored the growth of the church in the West African country.
Auxiliary Bishop Ernest Obodo of Enugu Diocese, in the southeastern part of the country, conferred the sacrament of confirmation on 983 people at the Holy Ghost Cathedral on June 4. The ceremony included both minors and adults, but youth made up the
‘The Spirit Purifies, Sanctifies’ Bishop Obodo, presiding over the ceremony said that “Like wind and fire, the Spirit purifies, sanctifies and strengthens us,” he said as quoted on ChoiceFlame website.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is experiencing deadly violence in several parts of the country from internationally recognized terror groups such Boko Haram, from mainly Islamic Fulani herders, bandits or gangs.
The groups have encroached on farmlands, threatening farm owners and forcing out Christians. Analysts have described this as slow, but silent persecution, which until now, authorities have not classified as terrorism.
The Nigerian church is also experiencing numerous kidnappings of priests.
Father Alphonsus Afina, assigned to several parishes across Alaska from September 2017 through 2024, was abducted June 1 in Nigeria, his home country, along with an unspecified number of fellow travelers while in Nigeria’s Borno state, near the northeastern town of Gwoza. Faithful on two continents are praying for his safe return.
In December, Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics released a report showing more than 2 million had been abducted between May 2023 and April 2024 alone, with 600,000 Nigerians killed and Nigerians paying some $1.42 billion in ransom an average of $1,700 per incident during that period.
Despite ongoing persecution, 94% of self-identified Nigerian Catholics surveyed said they attend weekly or daily Mass, according to a study published in early 2023 by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.❖
Auxiliary Bishop Ernest Obodo of Enugu, in the southeastern part of Nigeria, conferred the sacrament of confirmation on 983 people at the Holy Spirit Cathedral on June 4, 2025. Faith grows in Nigeria amid extreme persecution. (OSV News photo/courtesy Diocese of Enugu)
Dear Boys and Girls,
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (also known as Corpus Christi ) - the gift of Jesus Himself to us.
This is the day when many boys and girls receive First Holy Communion.
We remember how Jesus ate with his disciples on the night before he died. It was his last supper with them. At this meal, Jesus gave thanks and praise to his Father. He changed bread and wine into himself. He offered himself to his Father for us. He gave himself to his disciples as food and drink.
Jesus gave his body and blood for love of us. We are now Christ’s body in this world. We are called to help others just as Jesus didwhenhewalkedontheearth. ❖
(CNA) - June is known as the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus most simply because the solemnity of the Sacred Heart is celebrated during this month. This year, the solemnity falls on June 27th. The date changes each year because it is celebrated on the Friday after the Corpus Christi octave, or the Friday after the second Sunday after Pentecost.
However, other reasons exist as to why June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart.
The feast dates back to 1673, when a French nun who belonged to the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (Visitandines) in eastern France began to receive visions about the Sacred Heart.
Jesus appeared to Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque and revealed ways to venerate his Sacred Heart and explained the immense love he has for humanity, appearing with his heart visible outside his chest, on fire, and surrounded by a crown of thorns. These different ways include partaking in a holy hour on Thursdays and the reception of the Eucharist on the first Friday of every month.
Jesus told Sister Margaret Mary: “My Sacred Heart is so intense in its love for men, and for you in particular, that not being able to contain within it the flames of its ardent charity, they must be transmitted through all means.”
These visions continued for 18 months.
On June 16, 1675, Jesus told Sister Margaret Mary to promote a feast that honored his Sacred Heart. He also gave Sister Margaret Mary 12 promises made to all who venerate and promote the devotion of the Sacred Heart.
He said: “I ask of you that the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi be set apart for a special feast to honor my heart, by communicating on that
day, and making reparation to it by a solemn act, in order to make amends for the indignities which it has received during the time it has been exposed on the altars. I promise you that my heart shall expand itself to shed in abundance the influence of its divine love upon those who shall thus honor it, and cause it to be honored.”
Sister Margaret Mary died in 1690 and was canonized by Pope Benedict XV on May 13, 1920.
The Vatican was hesitant to declare a feast to the Sacred Heart, but as the devotion spread throughout France, the Vatican granted the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to France in 1765.
In 1856, Pope Pius IX designated the Friday following the feast of Corpus Christi as the feast of the Sacred Heart for the universal Church. Ever since, the month of June has been devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and his immense love for us all.
On the current calendar, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a solemnity, the highest-ranking feast in the liturgical calendar, although it is not a holy day of obligation.
These are the promises the Sacred Heart of Jesus made to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:
1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will give peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in my heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
9. I will bless those places wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my heart.
12. In the excess of the mercy of my heart, I promise you that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the first Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour ❖
The Central Cluster i.e the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Fatima and Sacred Heart will be hosting a joint mass celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ at Sacred Heart, Main Street on Sunday, June 22. Novena prayers will be said at 07:50am, followed by a procession of the Blessed Sacrament around the Parish. Mass, which will be celebrated by His Lordship Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB, will follow.❖
agents of peace in a divided world
(Vatican News) - Thousands of young people gathered at Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox Major League Baseball team, on Saturday, June 14, for a joyful celebration organised by the Archdiocese of Chicago to honour the recent election of their native son, Pope Leo XIV.
In a video message, the newly elected Pope, formerly Archbishop of Chiclayo, Peru, expressed gratitude and encouragement to the young people of his hometown and the world.
The event, held on the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, was attended by Cardinal Blase Cupich, auxiliary bishops, clergy, families, and youth from across the Archdiocese.
In his message, the Pope began by reflecting on the significance of the Trinity as a model of divine love and unity. “Three persons in one God live united in the depth of love, in community, sharing that communion with all of us,” he said, inviting his young listeners to reflect on their own relationships and communities in that
same spirit of love.
The power of faith and community
The Pope acknowledged the challenges young people face today, particularly in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic.
“You may realize (…) the context of your life has not given you the opportunity to live the faith,” he said, encouraging them to open their hearts to God’s presence, “to that longing for love in our lives, for searching, a true searching, for finding the ways that we
may be able to do something with our own lives to serve others.”
He highlighted the healing power of faith and community, and encouraged young people to seek friendship, support, and shared mission in their parishes and neighbourhoods.
“Coming together as friends (…) we can find that the Lord’s grace, that the love of God can truly heal us,” he said, and he called on those present to become “beacons of hope” in a world often burdened by division and despair.
God works through our lives
And referring to Saint Augustine’s reflections on the “restless heart,” he reminded young people that their longing for meaning is a sign of spiritual vitality rather than something to suppress.
“We shouldn’t look for ways to put out the fire,” he said, “but to recognise that God can work through our lives.” Young people, the Pope reiterated, are called to be agents of peace and unity. “The world looks to you to announce a message of true hope and to promote peace,” he said.
Quoting both Saint Paul and Saint Augustine, he anchored his message in the Church’s tradition while encouraging youth to embrace their unique role in shaping the future.
Concluding, Pope Leo XIV invoked God’s blessing upon those gathered: “May the Lord’s love and peace come upon each and every one of you (…) so that you might always be beacons of hope, a sign of hope and peace throughout our world.” ❖
Watch the video here: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?
v=K1dwENW-5hU
Inspired by millennial soon-to-be-saint, Irish teens create animated Lego-Carlo Acutis film
“We wanted to reach people of our own age,” 16-year-old Louis Flynn said.
“Carlo really inspired all three of us. He was a normal teenager who loved football and video games, but he also had a profound love for the Eucharist. He lived in the same kind of world as we do – surrounded by technology. Everybody uses it, but not everyone is using it in the way that God wants us to use it. Carlo used it to glorify God. That really resonated.”
In addition to Louis, the talented young film crew is made up of his Iosaf, 14, who “does the narrating and set-building for the films,” and Oliver, 18, who, with Louis, does “the animating (filming all the shots) and planning.”
Louis also does the editing. “We animate our videos using the Stop
Motion Studio Pro app and then we edit them on iMovie,” he explained.
Completed films are broadcast on their YouTube channel – Fiontar Floinn – which is Irish for Flynn Enterprises. They have made five saint animations so far, including one on St. Patrick, Ireland’s national patron saint, and another on Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“The Incredible Life of Carlo Acutis is our most detailed yet.” The fiveminute video was crafted over several months. It impresses not just for its technical excellence but also for its evangelising message.
Their animation brings Blessed Carlo’s story to life with surprising detail and theological depth, from the portrayal of the Eucharistic miracles, which Blessed Carlo promoted, to the Milan, Italy, setting. ❖
(CathNews) - Three teenage brothers from rural Limerick, Ireland, are using Lego as a tool for evangelisation, inspired by Blessed Carlo Acutis, who continues to inspire a new generation
of digital evangelists. Source: OSV News
The boys have
Pope Leo XIV delivers a video message during a public celebration hosted by the Chicago White Sox and the Archdiocese of Chicago for the election of the pontiff ahead of a Mass in his honor at Rate Field in Chicago June 14, 2025. (OSV News photo/Carlos Osorio, Reuters)
Holy Spirit
Aishalton
Cathedral
Diamond
Springlands
Churikadnau
Santa Rosa
Sacred Heart
Fatima Karasabai Hague
By Francis Canzius
Our Lady of Guyana –The Fatima Float
As part of Guyana’s Independence celebrations in 1966, a Float Parade was organized (a float is a decorated vehicle). The parade passed through the main streets of Georgetown and was also viewed by the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Government officials from a viewing stand on the Merriman’s Mall on Saturday May 28, 1966.
Our picture shows the Fatima Float organized by the Youth Group of Our Lady of Fatima church going along Brickdam. The youths had put together the structure with a huge map of Guyana and the statue of Our Lady of Fatima placed in front of the map. Hundreds of flowers were donated by residents of Georgetown which covered the entire front of the float. Members of the Youth Group stood at the four corners of the display. Walking in front of the Float were other Youth Group members throwing petals in the pathway of the Float. For the entire parade the statue wore a silver crown. The Float was given the number 37: there were over fifty Floats in theparade.❖
Saint of the Week
June 22nd: Saint John Fisher
John Fisher is usually associated with Erasmus, Thomas More, and other Renaissance humanists. His life therefore, did not have the external simplicity found in the lives of some saints. Rather, he was a man of learning, associated with the intellectuals and political leaders of his day. He was interested in the contemporary culture and eventually became chancellor at Cambridge. He had been made a bishop at 35, and one of his interests was raising the standard of preaching in England. Fisher himself was an accomplished preacher and writer. His sermons on the penitential psalms were reprinted seven times before his death. With the coming of Lutheranism, he was drawn into controversy. His eight books against heresy gave him a leading position among European theologians.
In 1521, Fisher was asked to study the question of King Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, his brother’s widow. He incurred Henry’s anger by defending the validity of the king’s marriage with Catherine, and later by rejecting Henry’s claim to be the supreme head of the Church of England.
In an attempt to be rid of him, Henry first had Fisher accused of not reporting all the “revelations” of the nun of Kent, Elizabeth Barton. In feeble health, Fisher was summoned to take the oath to the new Act of Succession. He and Thomas More refused to do so because the Act presumed the legality of Henry’s divorce and his claim to be head of the English Church. They were sent to the Tower of London, where Fisher remained 14 months without trial. Finally both men were sentenced to life imprisonment and loss of goods.
When the two were called to further interrogations, they remained silent. On the supposition that he was speaking privately as a priest, Fisher was tricked into declaring again that the king was not supreme head of the church in England. The king, further angered that the pope had made John Fisher a cardinal, had him brought to trial on the charge of high treason. He was condemned and executed, his body left to lie all day on the scaffold and his head hung on London Bridge. More was executed two weeks later.
Reflection
Today many questions are raised about Christians’ and priests’ active involvement in social issues. John Fisher remained faithful to his calling as a priest and bishop. He strongly upheld the teachings of the Church; the very cause of his martyrdom was his loyalty to Rome. He was involved in the cultural enrichment circles as well as in the political struggles of his time. This involvement caused him to question the moral conduct of the leadership of his country.❖ [ www.franciscanmedia.org]]