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More than 28,600 young adults from 1,300 US groups are headed to Lisbon, Portugal, for World Youth Day next week. The pilgrims number more than twice the amount of U.S. attendees who went to the 2019 World Youth Day in Panama, according to numbers from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The celebration in Panama took place in January. The last World Youth Day celebration to take place in the summer was when it was held in 2016 in Krakow, Poland, when more than 40,000 Americans were registered to attend. World Youth Day, a global event for young people that takes place about every three years, offers a deeper encounter with Jesus Christ through liturgical celebrations, networking, faith sharing, catechetical sessions, and prayer with the Holy Father. Established by Pope John Paul II in 1985, the weeklong World Youth Day celebrations usually attract hundreds of thousands of young people from across the globe.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254884/here-s-how-many-american-pilgrims-are-headed-to-world-youth-day-in-lisbon
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City responded to Oklahoma’s execution of convicted murderer Jemaine Cannon with a call for the abolition of the death penalty, which he called an “archaic punishment.” Coakley also called for prayers for the condemned man, his victim, and their families. Cannon, 51, was executed by lethal injection on Thursday morning at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, about a 130-mile drive from Oklahoma City. He was sentenced to die for the 1995 murder of a Tulsa woman. Coakley called for prayers. “Please join me in praying for the soul of Sharonda Clark, her family, Jemaine Cannon, his family, and the corrections staff involved in carrying out the execution,” he said.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254881/after-latest-oklahoma-execution-archbishop-coakley-calls-for-death-penalty-abolition
Today, the Church celebrates Saint James the Apostle, the brother of John the Evangelist, and the first Apostle to be martyred. He was beheaded by order of Herod of Agrippa. The Gospels tell us that the two brothers left their father, Zebedee, and followed Jesus as soon as He called out to them. James was one of the three Apostles who were particularly close to the Lord. He was there with the Lord and his brother, John, and Peter at the Transfiguration and in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is known as James "the Greater" to distinguish him from the other Apostle by the same name. He is the patron saint of Spain and of pilgrims. In northwestern Spain, he is venerated at Santiago de Compostela, a mediaeval pilgrimage site that is still very popular today.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-james-547