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Pope Francis opened two new laundromats for the homeless in the northern Italian city of Turin last week.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255912/pope-francis-opens-two-new-laundromats-for-the-homeless
Pope Francis is continuing to keep a full schedule even as the Holy Father said he was not feeling well during a meeting Monday morning with Jewish rabbis from Europe.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255920/pope-francis-keeps-busy-schedule-despite-feeling-not-well
The Diocese of Brooklyn announced Saturday that a local pastor who allowed a pop star to shoot a lewd music video in the church no longer has administrative oversight over the parish. Additionally, the diocese told CNA that Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated a Mass of reparation at the church on Saturday morning in response to the desecration.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255917/brooklyn-church-music-video-altar-desecrated-pastor-disciplined
A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, including a cloth mantle, was left intact amid the devastation caused by Hurricane Otis, which struck the coastal city of Acapulco and other areas of the Mexican state of Guerrero last month with wind gusts of up to 200 miles per hour.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255914/our-lady-of-guadalupe-statue-untouched-by-hurricane-otis-destructive-winds-in-mexico
A lack of security is impoverishing the Church in Nigeria, the bishop of Nigeria’s Sokoto Diocese said this week, noting that in the northern part of the country alone, more than 30 million naira (about $37,200) has been spent to rescue Church personnel.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255909/nigerian-bishop-more-than-30-million-naira-spent-to-rescue-kidnapped-priests-seminarians
Today, the Church celebrates Saint Leonard of Noblac, a French hermit and monastery founder. Leonard had a great compassion for prisoners, and converted many and obtaining their release.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-leonard-of-noblac-45
The Church also celebrates the feast of Saint Jean-Théophane Vénard, a French missionary to Vietnam who was martyred for the faith. Saint Jean was born in France, became a priest in the Society of Foreign Missions, and was sent to Vietnam. Due to the persecutions of the anti-Christian emperor Minh-Menh, priests were forced to hide in the forest and live in caves. They were able to sneak out at night and minster to the people. Eventually someone betrayed Saint Jean, and he was arrested. During his trial, he refused to renounce his faith in order to save his life. He was condemned to death, and spent the last few weeks of his life locked in a cage. It was during his incarceration that he wrote many letters, some to his family. His most famous line is from a letter to his father in which he said, “We are all flowers planted on this earth, which God plucks in His own good time: some a little sooner, some a little later.” In reading these letters, Saint Therese the Little Flower came to understand and use the image of being a little flower, whom God nevertheless cared for and cultivated, despite her small size. Saint Jean was beheaded February 2, 1861.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-jean-theophane-venard-647