VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Meeting an international cast of film directors and actors, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the power of cinema to help people "contemplate and understand life, to recount its greatness and fragility and to portray the longing for infinity." 

Sitting in the front row of the Vatican's frescoed Clementine Hall Nov. 15 were, among others: directors Gus Van Sant and Spike Lee and actors Monica Bellucci, Cate Blanchett, Viggo Mortensen and Sergio Castellitto, who played the traditionalist Cardinal Tedesco in the 2024 film "Conclave."

In a video released a few days before the meeting, Pope Leo said his four favorite films were: "It's a Wonderful Life," the 1946 film directed by Frank Capra; "The Sound of Music," the 1965 film by Robert Wise; "Ordinary People," the 1980 film directed by Robert Redford; and "Life Is Beautiful," Roberto Benigni's 1997 film.

Pope Leo asked the directors and actors to "defend slowness when it serves a purpose, silence when it speaks and difference when evocative."

"Beauty is not just a means of escape," he told them; "it is above all an invocation." 

"When cinema is authentic, it does not merely console, but challenges," he said. "It articulates the questions that dwell within us, and sometimes, even provokes tears that we did not know we needed to express."

Pope Leo acknowledged the challenges facing cinema with the closing of theaters and the increasing release of films directly to streaming services.

The theaters, like all public cultural spaces, are important to a community, he said.

But even more, the pope said, "entering a cinema is like crossing a threshold. In the darkness and silence, vision becomes sharper, the heart opens up and the mind becomes receptive to things not yet imagined." 

At a time where people are almost constantly in front of screens, he said, cinema offers more. "It is a sensory journey in which light pierces the darkness and words meet silence. As the plot unfolds, our mind is educated, our imagination broadens and even pain can find new meaning."

People need "witnesses of hope, beauty and truth," Pope Leo said, telling the directors and actors that they can be those witnesses.

"Good cinema and those who create and star in it have the power to recover the authenticity of imagery in order to safeguard and promote human dignity," he said.

Being authentic, the pope said, means not being afraid "to confront the world's wounds. Violence, poverty, exile, loneliness, addiction and forgotten wars are issues that need to be acknowledged and narrated."

"Good cinema does not exploit pain," Pope Leo said. "It recognizes and explores it."

"Giving voice to the complex, contradictory and sometimes dark feelings that dwell in the human heart is an act of love," he told them. "Art must not shy away from the mystery of frailty; it must engage with it and know how to remain before it."

Coming to the Vatican during the Jubilee of hope, he said, the directors and actors join millions of pilgrims who have made the journey over the past year.

"Your journey is not measured in kilometers but in images, words, emotions, shared memories and collective desires," the pope told them. "You navigate this pilgrimage into the mystery of human experience with a penetrating gaze that is capable of recognizing beauty even in the depths of pain, and of discerning hope in the tragedy of violence and war."

The pope prayed that their work would "never lose its capacity to amaze and even continue to offer us a glimpse, however small, of the mystery of God."

Pope Leo meets cinema greats

Pope Leo met an international group of film actors and directors, including Spike Lee and Gus Van Sant at the Vatican Nov. 15, telling them their art can offer hope, reveal truth, and confront the world’s wounds with authenticity.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV fulfilled a promise made by the late Pope Francis to return to Canada's Indigenous communities artifacts -- including an Inuit kayak, masks, moccasins and etchings -- that have been held by the Vatican for more than 100 years.

The pope gave 62 artifacts to the leaders of the Canadian bishops' conference Nov. 15, the Vatican and the bishops' conference said in a joint statement.

The bishops "will proceed, as soon as possible, to transfer these artifacts to the National Indigenous Organizations," which will ensure they are "reunited with their communities of origin," said a separate statement from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

Pope Leo "desires that this gift represent a concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity," the joint statement said. "This is an act of ecclesial sharing, with which the Successor of Peter entrusts to the Church in Canada these artifacts, which bear witness to the history of the encounter between faith and the cultures of the indigenous peoples."

The artifacts, which came from different First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities, "are part of the patrimony received on the occasion of the Vatican Missionary Exhibition of 1925, encouraged by Pope Pius XI during the Holy Year, to bear witness to the faith and cultural richness of peoples," the joint statement said.

"Sent to Rome by Catholic missionaries between 1923 and 1925," it said, "these artifacts were subsequently combined with those of the Lateran Ethnologic Missionary Museum, which then became the 'Anima Mundi' Ethnological Museum of the Vatican Museums." 

Members of Canada's Indigenous communities have been asking for years that the items be returned. In the spring of 2022, when community representatives visited the Vatican for meetings with Pope Francis before his trip to Canada, they visited the Vatican Museums and were given a private tour of the collection.

Pope Leo's decision to give the artifacts to the Canadian bishops instead of to the government or to an Indigenous organization "is a tangible sign of his desire to help Canada's Bishops walk alongside Indigenous Peoples in a spirit of reconciliation during the Jubilee Year of Hope and beyond,” said Bishop Pierre Goudreault, president of the Canadian bishops' conference.

In 2023, the Vatican did something similar, giving the Orthodox Church of Greece three marble fragments from the Parthenon in Athens; the church then gave the marbles to the government.

Speaking to reporters in April 2023, Pope Francis had said the Canadian artifacts would be returned.

"This is the Seventh Commandment: if you have stolen something, you must give it back," he said. What can be returned to its rightful owners should be, he added.

The return of the artifacts "is an important and a right step," Joyce Napier, the Canadian ambassador to the Holy See, told Catholic News Service.

The artifacts will go first to Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, she said. There, the Indigenous communities, their experts and elders will try to identify them and their provenance and determine where they should be kept.
 

Ernest Board (1877-1934), “Albertus Magnus Teaches in the Streets of Paris.” / Credit: Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0

National Catholic Register, Nov 15, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Albert the Great, the teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas, was an assiduous Dominican whose accomplishments and gifts to the Church are difficult to exaggerate.

Residents carrying their belongings, wade through a flooded street in Mandaue City, Cebu province on Nov. 4, 2025, after Typhoon Kalmaegi hit overnight. / Credit: Alan Tangcawan/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 14, 2025 / 16:13 pm (CNA).

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) revealed emergency relief efforts in the Philippines began before Typhoon Kalmaegi made landfall, thanks to a new law the humanitarian workers championed. 

“Together with the Tagbilaran City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and other local leaders, we worked on getting families evacuated and helped organize some community briefings,” said Jonas Tetangco, CRS Philippines country representative. 

“All of the work we were able to do before Typhoon Kalmaegi hit is in part due to recently-passed legislation,” he said. “RA 12287 is the world’s first national legislation that enables work to be done prior to a dangerous natural disaster. We are proud to have contributed to the legislation and thankful for the work it allows us to do, including help communities prepare for these kinds of events and minimize their impact.”

CRS also distributed shelter vouchers worth about $100 to nearly 500 families in Tagbilaran City. “These vouchers allowed families to buy materials to protect and reinforce their homes from the rain and strong winds,” he said.

After the typhoon swept through the Philippines earlier this week, CRS teams “traveled to the hardest-hit areas” and began working in tandem with Caritas Philippines “to evaluate the most urgent needs,” according to Tetangco.

Regarding conditions on the ground, Tetangco told CNA: “We’ve received several reports of roads and bridges that are still damaged and impassable. Local governments are managing evacuation centers, passing out food and water to families, trying to restore roadways, and working on getting power and phone lines back up and running.”

“Families here still need food, clean drinking water, hygiene kits, and emergency shelter materials like tarps and blankets,” he said, adding: “Families across the Philippines need prayers right now. The country has experienced several typhoons and destructive earthquakes.”

U.S. Border czar Tom Homan defended the morality of the Trump administration’s enforcement policies. / Credit: “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo”/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 14, 2025 / 15:13 pm (CNA).

Border czar Tom Homan strongly opposed the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) “special message” on immigration, saying the statement would encourage people to make a dangerous trek to the United States.

Homan told EWTN News on Nov. 14 that the “Catholic Church is wrong. I’m sorry. I’m a lifelong Catholic. I’m saying it as not only a border czar. I’ll say it as a Catholic. I think they need to spend time fixing the Catholic Church in my opinion.”

The bishops approved the message on immigration at the 2025 Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore on Nov. 12. “We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people,” the message said.

More than 95% of the American bishops voted to support the message. The bishops said in the message they “are bound to our people by ties of communion and compassion in Our Lord Jesus Christ” and “are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants.”

The bishops’ message cited Scripture such as Luke 10:30-37, referring to the good Samaritan who “lifts us from the dust,” and Matthew 25, in which “we see the One who is found in the least of these.” Floor debate on the measure included bishops’ discussion of “the One” referring to the face of Jesus Christ as seen in the migrant.

“The Church’s concern for neighbor and our concern here for immigrants is a response to the Lord’s command to love as he has loved us (John 13:34),” the statement said.

Homan said: “So according to [the bishops] the message we should send to the whole world is: ‘If you cross the border illegally, which is a crime, don’t worry about it. If you get … removed by a federal judge, that’s due process, don’t worry about it, because there shouldn’t be mass deportations.’” 

He added: “If that’s the message we send the whole world, people are still going to put themselves in harm’s way to come to the greatest nation on earth.” 

Homan said during the Biden administration that more than 4,000 people died making the journey and 250,000 Americans died from fentanyl. Homan said he wants the Catholic Church to understand that secure borders save lives. 

U.S. bishops acknowledged the need for secure borders in their special message, writing: “We recognize that nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good.” 

Homan said: “We’re going to enforce the law, and by doing that, we’re saving a lot of lives. One of the reasons no one talks about why we have the most secure border in the history of this nation is because [of] exactly what ICE is doing.” 

“ICE has sent a message to the whole world: ‘Don’t give your life savings to come to [the] country, because you’re not gonna be released. You’re not going to cross [the] border illegally. You’re going to be prosecuted,’” Homan said.

President Donald Trump expanded use of deportations without a court hearing this year and ramped up federal law enforcement efforts to identify and arrest immigrants lacking legal status. The administration set a goal of 1 million deportations this year.

Besides criticizing the bishops’ opposition to indiscriminate mass deportation, Trump administration officials also have condemned an “activist judge” who issued a temporary restraining order mandating cleanliness and hygiene standards as well as adequate legal representation at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Illinois. Court records, advocacy groups, and detainees’ reports have included claims about the stench of sweat, urine, and feces at U.S. immigration facilities, worm-infested slop, and an insufficient supply of menstrual products.

‘Worst of the worst’

Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a Nov. 14 statement to CNA: “DHS is targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens — including murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles, and terrorists. 70% of illegal aliens ICE arrested across the country have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges just in the U.S. This statistic doesn’t account for those wanted for violent crimes in their home country or another country, INTERPOL notices, human rights abusers, gang members, terrorists, etc. The list goes on.”

McLaughlin said: “We are a nation of laws, and, as America’s largest law enforcement agency, DHS is committed to enforcing those laws, all of which are just. Lawbreakers should unquestionably be living in a ‘climate of fear and anxiety,’ that they will be caught and sent home.”

In San Bernardino, California, Bishop Alberto Rojas granted a dispensation in July from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass for those within the diocese who fear deportation. The Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, similarly indicated in May that “no Catholic is obligated to attend Mass on Sunday if doing so puts their safety at risk.”

Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 4 said: “Many people who’ve lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what’s going on right now.” Leo invited authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of detainees.

He reminded that “Jesus says very clearly … at the end of the world, we’re going to be asked … how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him and welcome him or not? And I think that there’s a deep reflection that needs to be made in terms of what’s happening.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported Homan said 40 million Americans died from fentanyl. (Published Nov. 17, 2025.)

Cardinal Timothy Dolan is among the New York prelates who condemn the deportations of migrants who are seeking refugee status in the United States and criticize the government’s actions to strip some asylum seekers of temporary protected status in a Nov. 14, 2025, statement. / Credit: U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 14, 2025 / 13:58 pm (CNA).

The Catholic bishops of New York issued a joint statement that condemns the deportations of migrants who are seeking refugee status in the United States.

“We do not support the sweeping revocation of the temporary protected status that was granted to many migrants who arrived in this country to escape the horrors occurring in their own, and who have justifiably relied upon the legal protections our government offered to them,” the statement said.

“Such persons should not be subject to the arbitrary cancellation of their legal status and threatened with a sudden return to the troubled and dangerous nations from which they fled,” the bishops added.

The Nov. 13 statement, titled “For You Too Were Once Aliens,” was published by the New York State Catholic Conference (NYSCC). Every bishop who leads a diocese in New York, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan, signed onto the statement.

It comes one day after the USCCB issued a unified statement to oppose “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.” More than 95% of the voting bishops agreed with the special message, with 216 voting to approve it, five voting against it, and three abstaining.

The New York bishops wrote that “many … refugee migrants have come to New York,” some of whom have been granted refugee status, asylum status, or temporary protected status, while others are given no legal status.

“Some have arrived from war-torn countries like Ukraine and Afghanistan; others from Central or South America have fled poverty, authoritarian governments, and drug cartels that made life in their country of origin dangerous for themselves and their families,” they wrote.

“Most of these migrants — the majority, our neighbors — are good people who arrived on our shores seeking a better life,” they added.

Former President Joe Biden expanded the temporary protected status program by adding six countries, including Venezuela, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. President Donald Trump has worked to remove this designation from nine countries, including Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Afghanistan.

Bishops invoke Mother Cabrini

The bishops invoked St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, commonly known as Mother Cabrini, in their statement. She immigrated from Italy to the United States and “established, with God’s grace, numerous charitable institutions and schools to serve those finding their way in a new land,” the bishops noted. 

The statement cited Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te, which says the Church “knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community.”

The bishops also cited the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that prosperous nations “are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin.” It adds: “Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.”

In the statement, the bishops acknowledged that “sadly, as in any group, some have exploited the system and committed serious crimes and other misdeeds” and wrote “those immigrants or refugees who commit crimes should face the appropriate criminal and civil penalties, including deportation.” 

“At the same time, general enforcement of the immigration laws must be carried out in a humane manner that does not target the hardworking and law-abiding; that does not permit the wanton and unnecessary separation of families; and that does not rely on campaigns of fear that cripple whole communities,” they wrote.

The bishops called on the intercession of Mother Cabrini, who is the patron saint of migrants, and asked Catholics to sign onto the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) “The Cabrini Pledge,” which calls for solidarity with migrants.

“We seek her intercession for the concerns we have mentioned,” they wrote. “By joining us in signing the pledge, you commit your prayers and energy for the welcome, protection, promotion, and integration of migrants.”

null / Credit: Srppateros via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 14, 2025 / 12:04 pm (CNA).

While the Vatican issued new guidance that encourages limits on the use of certain Marian titles out of a concern that they may overstate the Blessed Mother’s role in redemption and mediation, the intra-Catholic debate on the subject has continued.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), issued a doctrinal note with the formal approval of Pope Leo XIV that reaffirms Mary’s “unique cooperation” in God’s plan for salvation but expresses worry about two titles sometimes employed to communicate her role: Mary as Co-Redemptrix/Co-Redeemer and Mary as Mediatrix/Mediator.

According to the doctrinal note, using the title “Co-Redemptrix” to explain Mary’s role “would not be appropriate.” The document’s language for the title “Mediatrix” was less harsh but says “if misunderstood, it could easily obscure or even contradict” Mary’s role in mediation.

The beginning of the document lays out a biblical foundation of Mary’s cooperation in salvation, beginning with her “yes” to the archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation through to her presence at the Passion and standing before Jesus Christ at the foot of the cross.

It explains Mary is not just “a passive instrument in the hands of God” but is “freely cooperating in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience,” citing Lumen Gentium, the dogmatic constitution on the Church issued by the Second Vatican Council in 1964. This cooperation extends “throughout the life of the Church.”

Mary’s cooperation, however, should never be misconstrued to mitigate “Christ’s sole mediation … in the work of salvation” or suggest Mary’s role is equal to his, according to the doctrinal note. Due to the need of “explaining Mary’s subordinate role to Christ” when “Co-Redemptrix” is used, the doctrinal note asks Catholics to not use it at all.

“When an expression requires many, repeated explanations to prevent it from straying from a correct meaning, it does not serve the faith of the people of God and becomes unhelpful,” the note adds.

The document further explains Mary’s subordinate mediator role but adds “special prudence is required when applying the term ‘Mediatrix’ to Mary.”

It adds: “We cannot talk of any other mediation in grace apart from that of the incarnate Son of God.” It warned of “a tendency to broaden the scope of Mary’s cooperation through this title” and asked Catholics to “specify the range of its value as well as its limits.”

Tom Nash, a staff apologist for Catholic Answers, told CNA that the document helps to clearly explain Mary’s unique subordinate role by avoiding titles that “blur proper doctrinal distinctions between the Blessed Mother and her Divine Son” in some cases.

“The DDF doctrinal note helps proclaim clearly Our Lord Jesus Christ and his Gospel anew to a new generation, while also reaffirming his Blessed Mother as the Mother of God, our spiritual mother, and thus our great intercessor,” he said.

Nash said he expects to see “a shift away from using these Marian titles” from theologians. He said those inclined to use those titles will likely “make efforts to provide explanatory disclaimers if they do use them on occasion, as a means to preempt any doctrinal confusion.”

Frustration among some scholars

Not every Catholic academic has received the doctrinal note warmly, due to the long-standing historical use of both titles and an effort by some of the faithful for the Church to declare a fifth Marian dogma about Mary’s role in redemption and mediation.

Nash said he believes that effort “has been short-circuited” as a consequence of the doctrinal note.

Mark Miravalle, a theologian at Franciscan University and proponent of a declaration of a fifth Marian dogma, questioned the rationale of abandoning a title because it “has to be explained,” telling CNA that many teachings of the Church need deep explanations, including the Trinity, papal infallibility, transubstantiation, and currently defined Marian dogmas.

“I think that kind of begs the question of the Immaculate Conception and the [title] ‘Mother of God,’ which has to be repeatedly explained,” he said.

Miravalle said the doctrinal note has “understandably caused a lot of confusion” because “so many popes, saints, [and] mystics … have used the titles.” The document does note that St. John Paul II did use the term “Co-Redemptrix” but that Pope Francis was opposed to it, as was Pope Benedict XVI when he was still a cardinal.

Laurie Olsen, the author of the 2024 book “Mary & the Church at Vatican II,” also expressed reservations about the doctrinal note and emphasized that the title “Mediatrix” was included in the Second Vatican Council’s Lumen Gentium.

She told CNA the council fathers had an “in-depth theological discussion about the term” and its inclusion in the document was very intentional, despite a coordinated campaign to have it taken out.

Of the council fathers who expressed a clear opinion on the title “Mediatrix,” she said 87 opinions were submitted by 678 council fathers supporting it and 45 opinions were submitted by 540 council fathers opposing it, showing “a clear majority favors the term.” Additionally, she said 275 requested the language about Mary’s mediation be made stronger, which is “the single most requested change.”

Though “Co-Redemptrix” is not used in the council, Olsen said “mediation is the overall umbrella,” which includes “Mary’s role in the objective redemption.”

Both terms, Olsen said, respect the fact that Mary “is always subordinate to Christ,” which was always the understanding when they were employed. She said: “It is only because Christ is our redeemer that Mary is playing a part in his work.”

She does not think this will prevent theological discussions about the subject but rather said the doctrinal note “gives us an opportunity to continue to explore and clarify what we mean when we talk about Mary’s role in the redemption.”

Miravalle said he thinks the doctrinal note will likely “galvanize the movement” for declaring a fifth Marian dogma. He said the comment about the titles does not shut down any theological discussion about Mary’s unique cooperation in redemption and said the doctrines themselves are more important than the titles.

“I would hope that [this] would not be considered a final word,” he said. “Final words are usually reserved for dogmatic statements, which I think would be wonderful.”

French press reports on the jihadist terror attacks the night of Nov. 13, 2015. / Credit: BalkansCat/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 11:34 am (CNA).

Ten years ago on Nov. 13, armed jihadists stormed the Bataclan concert hall in Paris and elsewhere in the city, murdering over a hundred innocent people.

Father Stephen Gutgsell. / Credit: Archdiocese of Omaha

CNA Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 11:04 am (CNA).

An Iowa man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after he pleaded guilty in October to stabbing a Nebraska priest to death in 2023. 

Kierre Williams last month pleaded guilty to the assault that claimed the life of Father Stephen Gutgsell. Williams broke into the rectory of St. John the Baptist Parish in Fort Calhoun on Dec. 10, 2023, and stabbed Gutgsell, who later died of his injuries at a hospital. 

Williams himself was arrested shortly thereafter. He originally argued that he was not guilty of the murder by reason of insanity before changing his plea to guilty last month. 

Washington County Chief Deputy Attorney Erik Petersen said in court this week that the murder “shattered the innocence” of the small town of Fort Calhoun.

“I’m hoping this court’s sentence will bring some peace to the citizens” of the town, he said, according to local media reports.

Gutgsell’s sister Therese Hupf, meanwhile, said in court that his family “cannot, even today, fully grasp his absence.” 

“He was stolen from his family and his parish family, who are hurting beyond words,” she said. 

Gutgsell’s funeral was held at St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha followed by his burial at nearby Calvary Cemetery. He was 65 years old at the time of his death. 

The priest grew up in Omaha and attended the College of St. Thomas — now the University of St. Thomas — and St. Paul Seminary in Minnesota. He was ordained in 1984. In addition to his priestly ministries he taught adult education including Bible study, sacramental preparation, and Church history.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presides over the closing Mass of the National Eucharistic Congress in Lucas Oil Stadium on July 21, 2024, in Indianapolis. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

CNA Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 10:34 am (CNA).

In a move to renew a “long-lost tradition,” the U.S. bishops confirmed the next National Eucharistic Congress will take place in the summer of 2029. 

At the plenary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Baltimore on Nov. 12, the bishops voted to confirm the date for the country’s second National Eucharistic Congress of the 21st century. 

Last year’s National Eucharistic Congress, the first to take place on American soil since World War II, attracted tens of thousands of people for several massive sessions of Eucharistic adoration in Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium.

The event also featured numerous talks and workshops related to the Catholic faith and a 60,000-participant Eucharistic procession through downtown Indianapolis.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, who chaired the first congress, said it was “a time of great grace for the Church in the United States.”

“I believe that continuing the transformational, unitive events every four years can continue to stoke the fires of revival and support the incredible work that you’re already doing in your diocese in evangelization,” he told the bishops at the plenary assembly on Nov. 12. 

Prior to 2024, the last Eucharistic Congress in the U.S. was held in 1941. Cozzens said holding two events so close is a bid to “resume our long-lost tradition of having a National Eucharistic Congress every four years.” 

“I believe that the Eucharistic Revival was a great gift to our country from the Holy Spirit,” Cozzens said. 

In December the bishops will publish findings on the “lasting fruit” of the three-year Eucharistic Revival that culminated in the Eucharistic Congress, according to Cozzens.

“It was a moment of unity, a moment of celebration, a moment of incredible grace, a moment of mission,” the bishop said. 

Many dioceses are seeing increased Mass attendance and rising OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) participation, Cozzens noted during the assembly. 

The revival was initially inspired by Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium on the proclamation of the Gospel in the world today.

“We were inspired by those two pillars of encounter and mission,” Cozzens said. “Pope Leo carries forth this missionary zeal, as he said on Corpus Christi of this year.”