Sages

Dentist, Social Media Producer and Religious Sister. All these titles could be included in the job description of Sr. M. Paula Blum, Schoenstatt Sister of Mary, ISSM, from Ecuador. The 34-year-old is in her final year of studies to become a dentist and has a passion for spreading the “Good News” via Instagram.

A conversation with Fr James Martin, SJ, author of “Come Forth: The Raising of Lazarus and the Promise of Jesus’s Greatest Miracle.”

'They've let comedians in, which is always a bad idea! Always!,' jokes Conan O'Brien to Vatican News and other reporters, on the sidelines of Pope Francis' unforgettable audience with comedians, as he expresses a collective sense of gratitude felt by him and the other famous US comedians present.

In an interview with Vatican News, death row prison chaplain and author, the Rev. Joseph B. Ingle, reflects on his pastoral work and advocacy and talks about the time he was part of an effort to gain pardon for Robert Sullivan, a death row inmate in the 1980s, that involved Pope John Paul II who personally pleaded for clemency to save Sullivan's life.

For centuries, men have predominantly overseen the academic domain of theology and key committees in the Church, but women have an essential role to play. Sr. M. Isabell Naumann, a Schoenstatt Sister of Mary, shares insights on her journey as a woman in various leadership roles within the Church.

In an interview with Vatican News, the Head of NASA, Administrator Bill Nelson, reveals Holy See-US Space collaboration, commends the Vatican's Observatory for shedding light on the heavens, and shares how space travel teaches valuable lessons about human fraternity.

Trafficking in persons has been a cruel reality in Nigeria since the 1980s, one that is unfortunately still present. In response to an appeal made by the Bishops of Nigeria and Major Superiors to join in the fight against human trafficking, Sister Anthonia M. Essien, HHCJ, and her team have launched awareness raising programs in rural villages in Akwa Ibom State.

Catholic-inspired organizations are implementing a series of social programs in Ceuta and Algeciras, assisting those arriving from Africa to enter Europe. One of the greatest challenges is the fight against human trafficking which exposes women to forced prostitution.

Fr Filippo Perin, 52, is a missionary in Ethiopia’s Gambella region on the border with South Sudan. A beautiful land where, however, there is no water; the people are starving and the climate is unbearable. His project, supported by the Salesians and the non-profit organization Cuore Amico, opens as many wells as possible to ensure the population’s survival in a country where the average life expectancy is below 50 years of age.

Ahead of International Marconi Day and 150 years since his birth, we recall the rich legacy of Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor-entrepreneur who set up Vatican Radio in 1931 and installed a ‘big cell phone’ in Pope Pius XI’s car that connected to the Vatican.

“In some ethnic groups of Sub-Saharan Africa, people with intellectual disabilities are often marginalized,” says Sr. Claudia Samba, FCSM who has worked with children with intellectual disabilities in both Senegal and Mauritania for eight years, at the “Sr Claire” Center in Rosso.

February 2025 will mark 30 years since the Institute of the Ursuline Sisters of the Immaculate Virgin Mary of Gandino arrived in Poland.

The exponential increase of foreign women arriving in Brazil poses a challenge for the state and civil society. Various ecclesiastical organizations offer multiple opportunities through training, employment, and support for entrepreneurship.

Daniel Bourha, a young Cameroonian Catholic, speaks to Vatican News about his perilous two-year journey to reach Europe. He was participating in MED24, a conference on migration organised by the French Archdiocese of Marseilles.

Mrs Pontsho Florina Tumisi, a widow and mother of two children is a member of the Saint Anne’s Catholic sodality in Lesotho. When she found herself dealing with her daughters’ drug addiction, she reached out to other mothers facing trials.

How an experience inside an overstretched emergency ward in Rome’s “San Camillo” Hospital gave new meaning to the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and to Pope Francis’ call to be the same.

For all women religious, responding to a call from God to devote their lives to Him and His work is the beginning of a new life. Sister Elaine Sanchez began her new life caring for children of working-class families at Sisters of the Holy Family Day Homes in California and Nevada.

The four most recent winners of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity met in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of February and shared their experiences as leaders in different areas of society. They also share with us as women the uniqueness that brings to their work for justice.

When you sip tea, remember what goes into its production: stories of slavery affecting entire families.

The first episode of a journey visiting the Development Centers coordinated by MAGIS (Movement and Action of Jesuits Together for Development) to support the poorest and most exploited segments of Sri Lanka’s population.

In an interview with Vatican News, a young woman from Kherson recounts her and many of her compatriots' choice to dedicate themselves to helping soldiers on the front lines in this time of war, and explains that volunteering is a relatively new phenomenon for Ukrainians, developed especially in the last two years.

In Ngaoundal, Cameroon, the nuns of Saint Jeanne Antida Thouret run a women's training centre and two clinics, and according to the sister who runs it "Since we have been here there have been improvements in the condition of women".

Just over fifty years ago, three Dominican Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus began a mission in an underprivileged area of Colombia. Today, these sisters are purusing another dream.

Religious life, both contemplative and active, as we know it today, has evolved over two millennia. In this second of four essays, Christine Schenk describes original research into the archaeological evidence for early Christian women found on late 3rd to early 5th century sarcophagus friezes.

Suffering, personal difficulties, and distance from their families could not break the dreams of Martial and Saleha. These two foreign-born young people have fought tenaciously to build a future in Spain, where, with the help of Catholic Church organizations, they are realizing those dreams.

Sister Nelly León has dedicated the last 25 years of her life to accompanying female inmates inside and outside prison facilities, creating a foundation that helps women reintegrate into society after serving time. Her testimony and dedication are now recognised worldwide with the 2024 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.

Mohamed, at just 9 years old, fled his home in Morocco to seek a future in Europe. After passing through various centers for the protection of minors, a community of nuns welcomed him, gave stability to his life, and accompanied him in a human process that today sees him working toward a university master's degree and...

In Sicily, Paola Gurrieri, together with her brothers, heads La Mediterranea, a leader in the cultivation of chrysanthemums. The company is the first in Italy to adopt water vapor soil sterilization and to have adopted environmental and social sustainability strategies such as free preventative health screenings for employees and providing housing for foreign workers who, like Italians, are hired on an equal-opportunity basis.

In the mountain town of Alausí, in Ecuador, the Oblate Sisters of Saint Francis de Sales run a school, though everything has changed since a landslide on 26 March, with Austrian Sr. Klara-Maria Falzberger regularly visiting the town to bring essential goods and hope.

Religious sisters brought voices of the local communities and marginalised to the COP28. The conclusion of the UN conference opens complex questions like the one on the fossil fuel lobby, but it also shows determination for planet protection, they say in a statement issued by UISG.