In Galatians, Paul shares his experience of visiting Jerusalem after fourteen years. He is with Barnabas and Titus. Paul presents the Gospel he preaches to the Gentiles to the Church leaders, seeking their approval. They recognize his calling to minister to the Gentiles, just as Peter is called to the Jews. They agree to support each other, committing to remember the poor. However, Paul later confronts Peter in Antioch for withdrawing from eating with Gentiles, pointing out the inconsistency among the Jewish believers.
The Responsorial Psalm invites all nations to praise the Lord and share the Good News. It speaks of God's kindness and faithfulness. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. He encourages them to call God Father and to ask for daily bread, forgiveness, and protection from trials. This prayer highlights the relationship with God and the significance of forgiveness in the lives of believers.
Tennessee’s Catholic bishops called for an end to the death penalty, saying accountability for serious wrongdoing does not require taking another life. Their appeal came as President Donald Trump approved an execution by military firing squad.
Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth urged FedEx to consider whether shipping mifepristone into states that restrict abortion could violate federal law. He said the request was intended to further a culture of life.
More than 2.7 million people took part in Argentina’s pilgrimage to Our Lady of Luján. This year’s theme called on Mary’s embrace as a place where people recognize one another as brothers and sisters.
Catholic bishops in Denver marked the United States’ 250th anniversary with a message about migrants and refugees, recalling the generations who have helped bring the nation’s ideals to life. In California, a federal bankruptcy judge rejected the Diocese of Oakland’s settlement plan, ruling that it had not met bankruptcy requirements and did not qualify for a special religious dispensation.
In Galatians, the author shares his journey from being a zealous persecutor of the Church to a devoted follower of Christ. He speaks of a moment when God revealed His Son to him. After this experience, he did not seek advice from others. Instead, he went to Arabia and then returned to Damascus. Three years later, he visited Jerusalem, meeting only with Cephas and James, before traveling to Syria and Cilicia. The churches in Judea were astonished to learn that the former persecutor was now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. They glorified God for this transformation.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus visits Martha and Mary. Martha welcomes Him but feels overwhelmed by her tasks. She asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her. Jesus responds gently, noting that Martha is anxious about many things. He points out that Mary has chosen to focus on what matters by listening to Him. This moment highlights the importance of prioritizing spiritual nourishment over the distractions of daily life.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis has sued over restrictions on access to Catholic sacraments for people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The archdiocese says the limits discriminate against its efforts to minister to Catholic detainees.
French Bishop Matthieu Rougé condemned violence at protests and called for peaceful dialogue. As head of the French bishops’ conference’s Council for Catholic Education, he urged adults to guide young people in expressing their concerns peacefully.
An auxiliary bishop in Argentina has been removed from office following allegations made by two adults. For five years, he is barred from formal appointments and new offices and from administering the sacrament of penance, while remaining permitted to celebrate Mass and administer other sacraments.
A Red Mass in Washington marked the opening of the Supreme Court term. Cardinal Robert McElroy was the principal celebrant, and Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, preached the homily. Pope Leo, at a Mass honoring St. Michael the Archangel, urged Vatican gendarmes to protect others while exercising authority with humility and compassion.
In Galatians, the author is surprised that the community has turned away from the true Gospel of Christ. He warns that anyone who shares a different message, even an angel, should be cursed. The author makes it clear that his message comes from Jesus Christ, not from human teachings. He shows his dedication to serving God rather than seeking approval from others.
In the Gospel of Luke, a scholar asks Jesus how to attain eternal life. Jesus points him to the law, which teaches to love God and one's neighbor. When the scholar asks who qualifies as a neighbor, Jesus shares the parable of the Good Samaritan. In this story, a Samaritan helps a man who has been attacked, while a priest and a Levite pass by without helping. Jesus ends by telling the scholar to go and show the same compassion as the Samaritan.
Pope Leo XIV marked the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s death, saying the saint’s charism continues to bear fruit. He also asked for prayers that peoples might be freed from war.
The Villaregia Missionary Community has established a new presence in a Muslim-majority area of Ethiopia, where the Catholic Church has limited reach. The Italian community aims to serve local communities there.
The University of Notre Dame’s ethics center named Dominican sisters as recipients of its 2027 pro-life award. The center said their service offers a countercultural witness and supports a civilization grounded in truth and love.
Noah McKay, a philosopher at Princeton, has converted to Catholicism. He said evidence the Church presents for vindicatory miracles helped lead him to the faith. At the inaugural Sheen Awards, EWTN foundress Mother Angelica received the Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously.
The Church celebrates Saint Francis of Assisi on October 4. In 2026, the feast also falls in the 800th year since his death. Francis is loved for his gentleness toward animals, but his life began with a more demanding question: how could he follow Jesus Christ with nothing held back?
The Gospel came first
Francis grew up in a prosperous merchant family in Assisi. His change of heart was gradual. Prayer, the neglected church of San Damiano, and an encounter with a person suffering from leprosy drew him away from the life he had expected. He chose to live among the poor and to preach repentance, peace, and the love of God. The Franciscan Rule still begins with the heart of his vocation: living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
That matters when Francis is remembered only as a kindly figure in a garden. He did not look away from people whom his society avoided. Poverty, for him, was a way to be free to serve and to depend on God; it was never a reason to ignore someone else’s hunger or suffering. A Franciscan reading of his feast begins with that concrete love of neighbor.
Peace, praise, and the created world
Francis called others to peace, but he also knew that peace asks something of the person offering it: patience, humility, and a willingness to meet someone face to face. His care for animals belongs within the same Gospel vision. Creatures were not props in a charming story. They shared a world given by God, and Francis saw in them a reason to give thanks.
Near the end of his life, while seriously ill, Francis composed the Canticle of the Creatures. He praised God through sun, moon, wind, water, fire, and the earth that sustains us. The song did not come from an easy life. It came from someone who could still recognize gifts around him in pain. That is why the Franciscan concern for creation also includes concern for the people most exposed to its harm. Pope Francis made that connection in Laudato Si’.
Keeping the feast
Francis died on October 3, 1226; the Church keeps his feast the following day. Franciscans call his passing the Transitus. On this 800th anniversary, a simple way to honor him is to pray, make peace where it is needed, help someone who has been overlooked, and treat the living world with care. Many churches also offer a blessing of animals around his feast.
For those grateful for an animal companion, Catholic Masses offers a Saint Francis–inspired pet enrollment card with a prayerful message. It can be a small way to remember a beloved pet and the joy of caring for God’s creatures.
Barcelona’s Sagrada Família draws visitors for its towers and coloured light. It is also a working Catholic basilica. For a pilgrim, the most useful way to visit is to give the building time: look at the Gospel scenes outside, step inside, and leave room for prayer as well as photographs.
A church still being built
Work began in 1882 under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. Antoni Gaudí took over in 1883 and reshaped the project around the life of Christ. Construction continues today, more than a century after Gaudí’s death in 1926. The basilica’s official history is a useful guide to what was built in his lifetime and what later generations have completed.
The three planned façades tell a story: the Nativity, the Passion, and the Glory of Christ. Before entering, take a few minutes with the figures on the Nativity and Passion façades. They are meant to be read, not just admired from a distance. Inside, the branching columns draw the eye upward, while sunlight through the stained glass changes the colour of the nave over the course of the day.
The stained glass changes the light inside throughout the day.
The crucifix above the altar.
The papal visits
On 7 November 2010, Pope Benedict XVI dedicated the church and its altar for worship and designated it a minor basilica. His visit marked a turning point: this extraordinary building was formally set apart as a place for the Church’s liturgy, even as work on it continued.
On 10 June 2026, exactly a century after Gaudí’s death, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass here. He visited Gaudí’s tomb in the crypt, then blessed the newly completed tower of Jesus Christ. In his homily, Leo described the façades as a path through Christ’s Nativity, Passion and glory. The Vatican’s recording of the Mass and tower inauguration is below.
The basilica’s worship page lists an international Mass on Sundays and holy days at 9 a.m. and a Saturday evening Mass at 8 p.m. Attendance is free, but space is limited; both use the Nativity façade entrance on Carrer de la Marina. Check the official page shortly before you go, as special events can change the schedule. The site also links to Masses in the crypt and arrangements for pilgrim groups.
A sightseeing visit uses a separate timed visitor ticket. If you want to understand the building rather than hurry through it, allow time for the façades, the nave and the museum. The basilica is still under construction, so a return visit may reveal something new. Its purpose, though, has stayed clear: Gaudí designed a church where the story of Christ could be encountered in stone, colour and worship.
I had only a short time in Istanbul. I walked, looked up, and took more photographs than I expected. What stayed with me most was Hagia Sophia: a place I knew from history books, but whose Christian mosaics I had never seen with my own eyes. I left knowing I had barely started.
The skyline at sunset.
The city after the lights came on.
Inside Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia opened in 537 as the great church of Constantinople. After the Ottoman conquest in 1453 it became a mosque. It later served as a museum and reopened for Muslim worship in 2020. It is a mosque today, so I entered as a visitor with respect for the people who pray there. The building is also part of the UNESCO-listed historic areas of Istanbul.
I kept looking up. One mosaic shows Mary holding the Christ Child. Another, often called the Deësis, shows Christ between Mary and John the Baptist. I could see the worn places where parts of the image have been lost. Nearby are the large round panels of Arabic calligraphy added during the building’s life as a mosque. Those details say more about Istanbul’s long religious history than any quick photograph of the dome could.
Mary and the Christ Child in Hagia Sophia.
A mosaic above a doorway.
Christ, with Mary and John the Baptist, in the Deësis mosaic.
One of the great calligraphy panels.
Hagia Sophia is an active mosque today.
Why Constantinople matters to a Christian
Istanbul was Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and home of a church whose influence reached far beyond this city. If you say the Nicene Creed at Mass, part of its story belongs here. The creed began at Nicaea in 325 and was completed at the Council of Constantinople in 381. The Vatican’s account of the councils explains that history. Standing among the mosaics gave those dates a place in my mind.
The city’s Christian life did not end with the Byzantine Empire. The Ecumenical Patriarchate is still based here, and Istanbul has Catholic parishes too. On a longer visit I would make time for the Patriarchal Church of Saint George, the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, and Saint Anthony of Padua. These are living places of prayer; check their own pages before going for Mass or a visit.
Pope Leo came that November
Around the time of my trip, Pope Leo XIV visited Türkiye in November 2025 on the first apostolic journey of his pontificate. In Istanbul he met Catholics at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, prayed with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at Saint George, and celebrated Mass. He also went to İznik, the ancient Nicaea, for the 1,700th anniversary of the first council. His visit brought the ancient councils and today’s Christian communities into the same conversation.
A little of the city beyond it
A short tour also leaves room for ordinary Istanbul. I photographed Galata Tower, a cat with her kitten, and the Grand Bazaar entrance. Near Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern takes you below the streets into the city’s Roman past. None of these was the reason I came as a pilgrim, but they helped me see the city as more than a collection of monuments.
Galata Tower.
A pause along the way.
The Grand Bazaar entrance.
The Basilica Cistern beneath the city.
Across Sultanahmet Square, I also photographed the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, often called the Blue Mosque, and its courtyard. It is another active house of worship. The ancient obelisk nearby stands in what was once Constantinople’s Hippodrome. In a few minutes’ walk you pass Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history, while people around you are simply going about their day.
Inside the Blue Mosque.
The mosque courtyard.
At the old Hippodrome.
I would go back with more time. I would visit the churches I missed and leave room to pray with the Christians who live here now. This brief visit gave me a start: a face of Christ in a mosaic, a city still at prayer, and a much longer list for next time.
If you are going to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, leave yourself more time than you think you need. You may come for Mass and the image of Our Lady, but the plaza, the older churches and Tepeyac Hill are worth time too.
There is no need to see it all in a hurry.
The older churches beside the plaza.
Start in the plaza
The old Basilica is still here, though today it is called the Expiatory Temple of Christ the King. Nearby is the round new Basilica, completed in 1976 when the earlier church could no longer hold the crowds. From the plaza you can see both.
Inside the new church, look toward the altar: the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is visible even from the back.
The image above the altar
This is why people come to Tepeyac. According to Catholic tradition, Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego at this very place in December 1531 and asked for a church to be built. Juan Diego took roses from the hill to the bishop inside his tilma.
When he opened the cloak, the Lady’s image was on it. The image you see above the altar is the same one pilgrims have come to pray before for centuries.
If you can, before you go to Mass try the moving walkway beneath the image. You will have only a brief moment as it carries you past the image to truly take in it’s beauty.
Afterward, find a seat in the church. You can stay, pray for someone by name, or simply sit quietly for a few minutes and attend Mass if you wish.
Juan Diego opens his tilma in a sculpture on the Basilica grounds.
The image above the Basilica’s altar.
Stay a while
Once you have been inside, walk back through the grounds. Visit the old Basilica and the chapels if they are open. If you have the time and energy, go up toward Tepeyac Hill, the place associated with Mary’s meeting with Juan Diego.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, I bring you the people I love and the things I cannot put right on my own. Pray for us, and lead us to your Son.
Before you go
The Basilica is in the north of Mexico City at Fray Juan de Zumárraga No. 2, Villa Gustavo A. Madero. Its posted opening hours are 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily. Check the official Mass schedule before you leave; times may change, especially around the December 12 feast.
The Basilica’s directions page lists La Villa-Basílica on Metro Line 6 and Deportivo 18 de Marzo on Line 3 as nearby stations. Bring water if you plan to walk the grounds.
Can’t be there in person? The Basilica carries a live video feed. The stream shown there on October 4, 2026 is below. If it has ended, the Basilica’s website has the current video and Mass times. You can also visit its YouTube channel. Times are local to Mexico City.
