Heart to Heart

How a Polish nun became known as 'mother of children' in Senegal

In the Pulaar language, 'Néné Soukabé' means 'mother of children.' This name stuck to the Polish missionary, Sister Chrysologa Mnich SMCB, shortly after she opened a Сenter for malnourished children in the Senegalese town of Vélingara.

Bishop Berardi: Gulf Christians called to be witnesses of peace

The Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia says Gulf Christians are called to be witnesses of peace, unity and the Gospel as conflict and tensions continue to escalate across the region.

Bishop Twal: Jordan is a message of coexistence

In this interview with Vatican Media's Andrea Tornielli, Bishop Iyad Twal, the Vicar of the Latin Patriarchate – who lives in Amman – stresses that “unless there is justice and peace for the Palestinian people, we will always live in a state of crisis”.

Fr. Madej on 30 years among Muslims: 'I never felt like an outsider'

After nearly 30 years of ministry in Turkmenistan as a missionary, Fr. Andrzej Madej, OMI, tells Vatican News that his goal was to build relationships with all people based on respect and peace, since 'where Christ comes, love comes with Him.'

Cardinal Pizzaballa: The West Bank is a 'lawless land'

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem spoke on the final day of the Rimini Meeting, calling for greater diplomatic engagement by the West to halt the escalating violence in the Middle East. He also reiterated the need to build hope and foster interreligious dialogue from the ground up, rejecting the dehumanization of the other and supporting the two-state solution.

First woman rector of a shrine: Witnessing to the Gospel through listening

At the Rimini Meeting, we spoke with Anna Medeossi, who has been entrusted with the care of Notre-Dame de Santa Cruz in Oran, Algeria, about her story of encounter, faith, and listening.

Papal Almoner’s Office supports solidarity kitchen in Ukraine

On Thursday, August 20, 2026, Father Viktor Bilous, a staff member of the Apostolic Nunciature in Ukraine, visited a solidarity kitchen in the village of Berestia, in the Rivne region of northwestern Ukraine and delivered aid to the volunteers on behalf of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity. In an interview with Vatican News, he speaks about this initiative.

St. Maximilian Kolbe was ‘a testament to life in the face of death’

In the month the Church celebrates the liturgical memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Catholics in the United States continue to pray for his intercession as they work to honor life through opposition to the death penalty.

Roseline Hamel and Nassera Kermiche: Beyond sorrow

On the sidelines of the 2026 Rimini Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, Roseline Hamel and Nassera Kermiche, who have come to be known as “sisters in sorrow', speak to Vatican News about the tragedy that unites them. Roseline is the sister of Fr Jacques Hamel, the French priest who was killed while celebrating Mass in a terrorist attack in 2016. Nassera is the mother of one of the two teenagers who perpetrated the attack and was subsequently shot dead by police.

Tanzania: Religious women evangelize through Television and social media

As technology and communication continue to evolve, the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Usambara (COLU) in Tanzania is increasingly using media as a tool for evangelization. Through television and social networks, the sisters seek to share the Gospel, engage young people, and respond to questions about the Catholic faith.

Spanish nurse gives Pope a book on her brother: 'His life had meaning because of love'

Elisabet Argemí, a nurse from ICOF Hospital Clínic in Barcelona, spoke briefly with Pope Leo at Castel Gandolfo and gave him 'Learning to Die in Order to Live', a book that recounts the testimony of her brother, Xavier Argemí, who died at the age of 29 from muscular dystrophy.

One Polish sister's life of service and spiritual promotion

The vocational journey to religious life is unique for every consecrated woman. Sr. Małgorzata Cur, of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mary Immaculate, shares her journey of faith and how her life of service has touched many people. Her path was influenced early by the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary, who served in her home parish.

In the footsteps of St. Rita: A Brazilian woman on mission in Italy

Sister Maria Atília Collet has found in the saint of impossible causes a guiding light for her own life and that of thousands of pilgrims. Before arriving in Roccaporena, the Italian town where Saint Rita was born in 1381, her religious mission took her from inland Brazil to Italy, Portugal, Spain and Mozambique. She spent over 15 years in the African country, where she deepened the human and spiritual experience that today guides her in welcoming pilgrims.

Choose life: Catholic nun brings hope in rural Zimbabwe

Hope has been reborn in Matabele, in southern Zimbabwe, a windy and dry land which stands in silence and whose inhabitants had lost hope when the HIV and AIDS pandemic reached its peak in Africa. Sr. Ludbirga Schumacher’s heart was touched by their plight and founded the Sketimpilo Centre, with many other religious sisters following in her footsteps.

'Algorithmization' of life and preserving human dignity

Bruno Giussani, author of a book on artificial intelligence’s impact on our lives, reflects on Pope Leo XIV’s Message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, “Preserving Human Voices and Faces.”

Religious sisters living mission and faith in highlands of Argentina

In northern Argentina, the Diocesan Missionaries Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church are making the dream of a synodal and missionary Church a reality as they live among the region’s indigenous people, sharing in their culture, offering pastoral care, and coexisting with the challenges of their territory.

Coaching the Boston Celtics with the spirit of a deacon

NBA Coach of the Boston Celtics, Joseph Mazzulla, stresses how indebted he is to God for the ability to bring together all his passions - family, faith, and basketball - and live out his dream job, all while keeping his faith at the center of his life.

Psychology and Gospel: Sr. Kakali brings hope to young people in India

In relation to technocracy and digitalization, students are experiencing increasing mental health issues and isolation. By combining psychological listening and her religious experience, Sr. Kakali, a sister of the Society of the Helpers of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, accompanies young people in their journeys of healing.

DR Congo: Comboni Missionary Sisters make common cause with most vulnerable

The Sisters of the Comboni Missionaries Postulancy share their lives with Kisangani9;s street children, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, offering their services at the Saint Laurent Centre, which is not merely a refuge, but a chance for a better future.

Salesian religious sisters fostering hope in Timor-Leste

In the villages around Venilale, in the heart of Southeast Asia, the Salesian sisters combat malnutrition by educating children and encouraging them to build a different future.

Nigeria: Sisters plant seeds of hope in IDP camps in Benue State

Following the displacement of families across Nigeria’s Middle Belt, the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary are working to restore hope and dignity among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Benue State. The empowerment of young people, especially women, through education, which lies at the heart of their charism, remains central as they minister to all.

The story of Annella Zervas: Examples of holiness needed close to home

A 26-year-old woman from the state of Minnesota joins another 100 U.S. born men and women on the path to canonization as a century after her death, she continues to inspire “the faithful in every state of life to deepen their relationship with Jesus in the Church.”

Ann Carter: A heart for the Church’s communication

Ann Carter, age 69, who served as a Consultor to the Dicastery for Communication, has passed away. She leaves a legacy of deep faith, professional excellence, and personal warmth, and will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

‘Women in Prayer’ for their Muslim neighbours

The FMM Fraternity of “Tiberiade” in Clichy-Sous-Bois, on the outskirts of Paris, is a faithful presence in a complex context that is multicultural and multinational, which is often a sensitive subject in France.

Kenya: Sisters confront human trafficking in the digital age

Though perpetrators try to keep it hidden, human trafficking violates human dignity and cuts across borders, cultures, the vulnerable, poverty-stricken communities, and the desperate. Yet, it is much closer than we think, inhabiting our phones and social media as a promise of opportunity popping on screen. Religious sisters with Talitha Kum Kenya are tenaciously building a network with both local presence and global impact.

Benki Piyãko, Brazilian indigenous spiritual leader awarded Niwano Peace Prize

The Niwano Peace Foundation announces its 43rd Niwano Peace Prize is awarded to Mr. Benki Piyãko, an Indigenous spiritual leader of the Ashaninka People in Brazil’s Amazon, internationally recognized for his leadership in defending Indigenous land and culture and for pioneering reforestation and environmental protection over the past fifteen years.

Papuan women carry mercy to remote homes

On Basilaki Island in Papua New Guinea, the women of the parish bring prayer, companionship, and the Eucharist to the sick and elderly during the Lenten season. Celebrating the Women’s month of March, we remember those who serve the Church in the peripheries.

Tanzania: Pallotine Sisters’ legacy, empowering women through education

What began as a small rural mission in Singida is now a lifelong source of hope for generations of Tanzanian girls. For decades, the Pallotine Sisters have championed education as a tool for empowering girls and women and transforming communities.

Ratzinger and the Church that welcomes people while leaving them free

In the book “The Faith of the Future”, a homily by the then Cardinal presents Saint Monica and her attitude toward her son Saint Augustine as the personification of the ecclesial community: a space of life, of welcome, of freedom, where each person’s freedom is respected and faith is never imposed.

Elettra Marconi: Radio remains the most reliable medium

‘All my affection and gratitude.’ Those are Princess Elettra Marconi9;s words on the 95th anniversary of Vatican Radio, inaugurated by her father Guglielmo on 12 February 1931 at the invitation of Pope Pius XI.