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Members of the public will once again be able to attend in-person general audiences with Pope Francis, starting May 12. The audiences went virtual in March 2020, and were briefly held in person again beginning last September. Pilgrims will be required to observe safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The courtyard where the audiences will be held has a capacity of around 500 or so socially distanced and masked participants.
Thirty-four new Swiss Guards were sworn in on Thursday, in an elaborate ceremony in Vatican City. The Swiss Guard is one of the world’s oldest standing armies, and the new guards promised to protect the pope, even at the cost of their own lives. Although the Vatican increased the size of the Swiss Guards three years ago, from 110 to 135 men, it remains the world’s smallest army.
The Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, expressed its dismay Thursday after the state House passed a bill effectively allowing the state to resume executions, by using new methods such as electrocution and firing squad. A spokeswoman for the diocese said, quote, “It is time for our state to abolish the death penalty, not to find new ways to execute our brothers and sisters.”
The Catholic University of America has received a $20 million donation for its nursing school. The donation from honorary graduates Bill and Joanne Conway will give tuition assistance and other aid to 160 nursing students over the next five years.
Today the church celebrates St. John of Beverley, bishop of York, and also Saint Rosa Venerini, who founded Catholic schools for girls and young women in Italy during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.