Beautiful:  Martin Baani was just 24 years old when he risked his life as a seminarian to rescue the Blessed Sacrament from the imminent invasion of Islamic State terrorists in his hometown. Now, he is returning to his native village as a priest, ready to serve the people through the Eucharist. On August 6, 2014, Baani received a call from a friend who warned that a nearby village had fallen into the hands of ISIS, and that his hometown of... Read more

From The Arlington Catholic Herald:  Catholics from the Arlington Diocese and beyond venerated the relics of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina May 20 and 21 at St. Ann Church in Arlington. The relics included a glove St. Pio wore to cover the stigmata, a lock of hair, a piece of cloth with a blood stain from the stigmata and a fragment from his bed. The relics are part of a tour sponsored by the St. Pio Foundation. (Full disclosure: I serve as... Read more

From Bishop Daniel Jenky’s Facebook page—along with some beautiful pictures—here are the names: To the Permanent Diaconate: Robb Joseph Caputo; Robert Thomas DePauw; Hector Diaz; Michael Claire Driscoll; Anthony Michael Evers; Michael Alan Harris; Mark Scott Jackson; R. Joseph Knapp; John Andrew Kusek; Faustino Lopez; Guadalupe Ildefonso Lopez; Wendell Justin Lowry III; Albert Louis Lundy; Edmund Joseph Mallow, Jr.; Thomas Edward Mann; Joseph Anthony McCleary; Daniel Thomas Moffitt; Anthony Brian Nickrent; Daniel John O’Connor; Marshall Benjamin Plumley; Mark Howard Scamp;... Read more

Wednesday will mark the historic meeting between Donald Trump and Pope Francis. La Stampa’s Vatican Insider (in a somewhat fractured translation) explains the story behind it: Who maneuvered since the beginning to foster contact, in agreement with the nuncio in the US, Christoph Pierre, and the Vatican Secretariat, was Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington. The path to the first unofficial approach with the new administration has gone through the evangelical world and precisely in the context of the National Prayer Breakfast,... Read more

From AFP:  The Philippine authorities have banned hanging rosaries and religious icons off car dashboards because of safety concerns, prompting an outcry from the Catholic Church, which insists these items offer divine intervention on the nation’s chaotic roads. The ban, which will take effect on Friday (May 26), is part of a wide-ranging new law aimed at eliminating distractions for drivers. These include talking or sending messages on mobile phones, putting on make-up, and eating or drinking coffee while driving, according... Read more

A heartbreaking tragedy, from The Washington Post:  As her husband was buying her flowers, Diane Aluska began her Mother’s Day as she did every Sunday morning — at church. She attended an 8 a.m. Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Lindenhurst, N.Y., with her 16-year-old daughter, Jenna, before stopping by a bakery to buy some dinner rolls, CBS New York reported. As Aluska, 55, and her daughter were walking together on a sidewalk, at about 9:10 a.m., a car lurched toward... Read more

The press release: Fifteen men were ordained as deacons for service in the Diocese of Metuchen on Saturday, May 20. Two of the men are preparing for eventual service in the priesthood. The Ordination took place beginning at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, 32 Elm Avenue. The Most Rev. James F. Checchio, Bishop of Metuchen, was the celebrant. The 15 newly ordained deacons originally hail from India, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Pennsylvania, New York... Read more

Last week, a colleague of mine at work began a pastoral visit to one of the forgotten corners of the world: Armenia. Armenia is a country suffering from devastations most of us can only imagine – genocide, war, earthquakes, economic disaster. It’s all taken a toll. The young have left, looking for better opportunities. Many of those left behind—the elderly and even young mothers with children—live in what my colleague called “grinding poverty.” Their homes are tin sheds with no... Read more

This is part of Michael Bloomberg’s commencement speech, delivered yesterday at Villanova University: The reason America grew into such a great country is that, in times of crisis, the values that inspired our Declaration of Independence have been our North Star. In every generation, men and women have understood that putting America first means putting American values first. That, I believe, lies at the heart of patriotism. When someone tells you that patriotism simply means love of country, remember this:... Read more

From my neighbor to the east, Bishop John Barres of Rockville Centre. Watch the video above. Read more