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Almost five years ago, on a beautiful, warm summer evening, while watching our daughter play soccer, my husband turned to share some life-changing news with me. I remember it clear as day. He told me: “I’ve been quietly discerning the diaconate for the past 9 months.” It was not something I ever exp...

Written by JD Flynn and published May 12, 2026.ShareAre you a paying subscriber?Visit pillarcatholic.com/listen on your phoneCheck the top right corner of the webpage to ensure you are logged into your Substack account.Tap ‘set up podcast’ next to The Pillar TL;DRHaving issues? Email our producer Ka...

Welcome to Starting Seven, The Pillar’s daily newsletter.I’m Luke Coppen and I aim to guide you each weekday morning to the most interesting Catholic news and commentary. Read more

One year ago, Joe Kuebler decided he wanted to start taking dating seriously.A 25-year-old software engineer, Joe struggled to find a long-term relationship, so he took his desire to prayer. Later that month, he met a woman named Cameron at a parish retreat.Now, a year later, the two are engaged.Joe...

The Vatican welcomed Monday the election of a new head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, one of the 14 universally recognized self-governing Eastern Orthodox Churches.Shio III of Georgia. Credit: President.ge/wikipedia CC BY 4.0.Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Uni...

The Vatican press office has clarified that an award given to the Iranian ambassador to the Holy See is not an exclusive honor, but a customary award routinely given to ambassadors after two years of service.The clarification came after several Iranian outlets reported May 12 that Pope Leo XIV had g...

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith reiterated Wednesday that if the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X carries out plans to illicitly consecrate bishops in July, those involved will commit an act of schism and be subject to the canonical penalty of excommunication.Cardinal Víctor Manuel F...

When a country has been engulfed by civil war for five years, it’s surprising to hear a cardinal describe the local Church as “incredibly flourishing.”Cardinal Charles Bo, pictured on May 12, 2016. © Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk.ShareBut that is the phrase Cardinal Charles Bo used to sum up the Catholi...

St. Teresa of Avila used to carry a small piece of paper in her breviary that listed the 33 saints (or categories of saints, e.g. angels, patriarchs, martyrs, or saints of the Carmelite Order) to whom she was chiefly devoted (Apuntaciones, 8). At the top of the list was St. Joseph, which is not surp...

In his first encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI looked over the course of his life, beginning before World War II, throughout which he witnessed firsthand the propensity of human beings to hate, interspersed with episodes of what the world called “love.” Love, he reflected, “has become one of the most fr...

The early Church faced the problem of the unjust distribution of food among her members, as we learn in Acts 6: “The Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.” The Twelve addressed this issue immediately so that it would not distra...

I can only imagine the anguish devout Catholic parents must feel when their child, be they adolescent or adult, moves away from God. They stand sadly by, hoping and praying that their offspring will return to the loving embrace of their heavenly Father. Hope and prayer, the mainstay of our Christian...