Religion – Page 28 –

Notre Dame players celebrate beating Villanova in Rome on Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Villanova had Pope Leo’s support, but Notre Dame wins both games in Rome: ‘Once-in-a-lifetime experience’

By Andrew Dampf

November 1, 2026 at 2:43 p.m.

Villanova had the pope’s support and many more traveling fans. Notre Dame prevailed on the...

Christ United Methodist Church in Rockford member Mark West holds his necklace before church services on Sept. 27, 2026. The necklace was crafted from broken stained glass after a fire in February. "It gives me a connection to the church and to God. It shows that something that is broken can be resurrected," he said. (Ryan Rayburn/for the baiduhai)

A stained glass window of the crucifixion was shattered in a church fire. Worshippers transformed the broken pieces into symbols of renewal.

By Angie Leventis Lourgos

November 1, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

After a stained glass window of the crucifixion was destroyed in a church fire, worshippers...

(From right) Villanova basketball player Jasmine Bascoe along with Villanova President Peter M. Donohue presents Pope Leo XIV with a basketball in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on Oct. 31, 2026, during an audience with some 7,000 university representatives ahead of the Eternal City Tip-Off, a men’s and women’s college basketball doubleheader in Rome on Nov. 1. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo tells Villanova and Notre Dame basketball teams that he is neutral, but ‘Prevost has another opinion’

By Andrew Dampf

October 31, 2026 at 8:26 a.m.

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday told the basketball teams from his alma mater, Villanova, and...

Pope Leo XIV arrives to preside over the first Vespers and the ‘Te Deum’ in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV asks that Rome welcome foreigners as he closes out 2025

By Associated Press

December 31, 2025 at 11:49 a.m.

Pope Leo XIV closed out 2025 on Wednesday with a prayer that the city of...

The Nativity scene outside Lake Street Church of Evanston on Dec. 24, 2025, which has been updated to a scene of family reunification. Federal agents included in the original display were turned into shepherds. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Immigration-themed Nativity scene at Evanston church turns ICE agents into shepherds for a peaceful Christmas

By Angie Leventis Lourgos

December 26, 2025 at 3:41 p.m.

The outdoor creche had drawn mixed reactions, with some praising the anti-immigration enforcement message as...

Deacon Rob Petro, Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle Frank Schuster and Bishop of Gary Robert J. McClory tour the Port of Indiana with Port Director Ryan McCoy. Schuster, bishop promoter for Stella Maris USA, visited the Diocese of Gary in August to learn more about the nation’s ports and how best to minister to the needs of seafarers. (Diocese of Gary/Erin Ciszczon photo)

From vapes to Mass, deacon ministers to mariners’ needs

By Doug Ross

December 26, 2025 at 2:28 p.m.

Buying vapes might not seem like ministry work, but for Robert Petro, it’s all in...

Britain’s King Charles III during the recording of his Christmas message in the Lady Chapel of Westminster Abbey, central London, Thursday Dec. 11, 2025. (Aaron Chown/PA via AP, Pool)

King Charles III calls for kindness and unity in Christmas message amid global conflicts

By Danica Kirka

December 25, 2025 at 10:36 a.m.

Delivering his annual holiday address from Westminster Abbey, King Charles III said Thursday the Christmas...

Pope Leo XIV urges the faithful on Christmas to shed indifference in the face of suffering

By Silvia Stellacci

December 25, 2025 at 8:36 a.m.

Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day message on Thursday urged the faithful to...

Musicians, from left, baritone Ryan Cox, conductor Mary Hopper, mezzo soprano Janet Mensen Reynolds, tenor Joseph Fosselman, soprano Olivia Doig and her 4-year-old daughter

gather after performing Handel’s Messiah last week at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in La Grange. (Hank Beckman/Pioneer Press)

Emmanuel Episcopal brings world class musicians to La Grange for ‘Messiah’ performance

By Hank Beckman

December 25, 2025 at 5:06 a.m.

The crowd became the chorus last week as La Grange’s Emmanuel Episcopal Church brought to...

Pope Leo XIV blesses the crowd with holy water during his installation Mass in St. Peter’s Square on May 18, 2025, at the Vatican. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Pope Leo XIV’s historic rise forges special Vatican connections for Chicago

By Angie Leventis Lourgos

December 25, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Seven months into his papacy, Pope Leo XIV's Chicago roots have helped frame both his...

Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land, arrives at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Faithful return to Bethlehem and Pope Leo XIV celebrates his first Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter’s

By Melanie Lidman

December 24, 2025 at 10:51 p.m.

Thousands of people flocked to Bethlehem’s Manger Square on Christmas Eve as families there and...

Faith leaders and other participants pray for detainees and staff that were inside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Dec. 24, 2025. The faith leaders were denied entry to the facility to offer pastoral care. (Dominic Di Palermo/baiduhai)

Faith leaders denied access to pray in Broadview ICE facility on Christmas Eve

By Laura Turbay

December 24, 2025 at 3:47 p.m.

The faith leaders who were turned away instead led a prayer and sang hymns near...

Pope Leo XIV talks to journalists as he leaves the Castel Gandolfo residence to head to the Vatican, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope disappointed over approval of assisted suicide legislation in his home state of Illinois

By Paolo Santalucia

December 23, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.

Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday he was “very disappointed” that his home state of Illinois...