Northwest Catholic

05/29/2026

Pope Leo XIV will preside over a worldwide rosary for peace May 30, uniting Marian shrines across continents in simultaneous prayer to close the Catholic Church’s month of devotion to the Virgin Mary.

The pope will lead the prayer from the Lourdes grotto in the Vatican Gardens at 7 p.m. local time on Saturday, with participating shrines joining via livestream. In the United States, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington will take part at 1 p.m. Eastern time/10 a.m. Pacific time.

Find a livestream at the link below.

Pope Leo XIV will preside over a worldwide rosary for peace May 30, uniting Marian shrines across continents in simultaneous prayer.

05/29/2026

Deacon Simon Stehr shares about his call to the priesthood!

Learn more about Deacon Simon in the latest magazine issue of Northwest Catholic, check your mailboxes or read online at nwcatholic.org.

Deacon Simon will be ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Seattle on Saturday, June 6 at 10 a.m. at St. James Cathedral, Seattle.

05/28/2026

Though celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the story of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Kelso began around the same time Washington officially became a state in 1889.

While the present church was built and opened a century ago, early Catholics in Kelso worshiped at the homes of local Catholics Joseph Baxter, Daniel Baxter, Louis Plamondon and Richard McAuliffe.

Read more about the history of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Kelso at the link below👇

Though celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the story of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Kelso began the same time Washington became a state.

05/27/2026

"To best understand this newest papal encyclical, we must ask: 'What makes a person genuinely human?' This begins to put into perspective what is required for serving humanity well with technology that advances true relationships, justice and peace," Seattle Archbishop Paul D. Etienne wrote.

"A region such as ours is full of tremendous energy around new technology, and that’s something that can and should make us proud. Organizations like Microsoft have been in dialogue for years about how to ethically develop and use AI. Now, Pope Leo has extended that invitation of dialogue to the entire world. I hope individuals and companies alike are now willing to accept it."

Read Archbishop Etienne's article on Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas," at the link below.

Northwest Catholic is the official magazine and news site for the Archdiocese of Seattle, serving the Catholic community of Western Washington.

05/27/2026

A Brazilian nun has died after trying to save a fellow sister from strong waves off the coast of Sicily.

Sister Nadir Santos da Silva, 45, a member of the Carmelite Sisters Messengers of the Holy Spirit, was swept into deeper water May 11 near Catania while helping another nun who could not swim.

“Sister Nadir’s gesture,” in an attempt to help her fellow nuns in difficulty, “speaks for itself and recounts a life lived in giving and service. We entrust this sister of ours to the mercy of the Lord, with gratitude for the testimony of faith and charity she leaves our community,” Archbishop Luigi Renna of Catania said in a statement published by the Sir agency.

A Brazilian nun has died after trying to save a fellow sister from strong waves off the coast of Sicily.

05/26/2026

Pope Leo XIV published his landmark encyclical on artificial intelligence “Magnifica Humanitas” May 25, comparing the attempt to build an AI future that excludes God to the Tower of Babel and underlining the need to safeguard human dignity as it is “threatened by new forms of dehumanization."

“In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human. We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fullness in Christ, the splendor of which no machine can ever replace,” Pope Leo wrote.

In his first encyclical, Pope Leo XIV compares an AI future without God to the Tower of Babel and underlines the need to safeguard human dignity.

05/26/2026

Holding placards calling for “justice,” “trust” and “peace,” religious leaders led hundreds of peace activists, Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze in a march in Jerusalem May 18, days after thousands of Israeli ultra-nationalists chanting racists slogan clashed with Palestinian residents in the Old City during the annual Jerusalem Day’s Flag Parade.

“We march this evening out of a deep commitment to the sanctity of life. To the sanctity of every human life. To the ability to see an entire world within every woman, man and child,” said Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, co-chair of the Board of Rabbis for Human Rights.

Religious leaders led hundreds of peace activists, Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze in a march in Jerusalem May 18.

05/23/2026

Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” will be published May 25, addressing artificial intelligence and the protection of human dignity, the Vatican has announced.

The encyclical, the title of which is Latin for “Magnificent Humanity,” was signed by the pope on May 15, the 135th anniversary of “Rerum Novarum,” Pope Leo XIII’s foundational 1891 social encyclical on labor and capital written during the first Industrial Revolution.

Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” will be published May 25, addressing artificial intelligence.

05/22/2026

This summer, during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, when the Blessed Sacrament travels from St. Augustine, Florida, up to Portland, Maine, and then back down to Philadelphia, with numerous stops along the way, a young Seattle Catholic will be right alongside it.

Sharon Phillips, the youth minister at St. Monica Parish on Mercer Island and Sacred Heart Parish in Bellevue, was chosen to be one of nine “perpetual pilgrims” who will accompany the Eucharist during the May 24-July 5 pilgrimage that will involve 18 dioceses.

“I really look forward to stepping into such an intercessory role,” Phillips said. “This is going to be almost two straight months of almost constant Eucharistic presence, which is such a unique opportunity.”

“Eucharistic faith challenges you to believe something more than what you can see — to trust and to know in your heart that God draws as close to you as He can, giving everything to meet you in the Blessed Sacrament.”

Read more about Phillips' story and the pilgrimage at the link below.

This summer, during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, a young Seattle Catholic will be right alongside the Blessed Sacrament.

05/22/2026

Pope Leo XIV has encouraged young Catholics preparing to receive the sacrament of confirmation to ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of perseverance, warning that too many young people “disappear from the parish” after receiving the sacrament.

“It is so important that each of you also makes this commitment, this promise to the Lord: that you truly wish to continue as His friends, His disciples, His missionaries, and that you wish to persevere in the faith,” the pope said.

Pope Leo XIV has encouraged young Catholics preparing to receive the sacrament of confirmation to ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of perseverance.

05/21/2026

“There’s something amazing happening right now, and it’s not just originating in us. There’s a new renewal right now,” Chris Stefanick said at the Ascend Eucharistic Revival conference in Bellevue May 16. “And 3,000 people are here proud about their Catholic faith and joyful in their Catholic faith.”

The conference was one of the largest gatherings of Catholics in the Pacific Northwest in over a century, according to event organizers. Those in attendance ranged from infants to the elderly, representing the many different ethnic communities that make up the Archdiocese of Seattle.

Read more about the event at the link below👇

More than 3,000 local Catholics joined together in prayer led by Father Nicholas Wichert at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue May 16.