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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

The first English-language translation of the Bible in the United States will become an "official state book" in Tennessee on July 1.

Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed a bill on Tuesday that names the Aitken Bible and nine other texts as official state books in the Tennessee Blue Book (an official manual on the state government). This is the first time Tennessee has formally recognized any official state books.

The Bible translation was published by Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken in 1782 and received an official endorsement from Congress. The American Revolution, which began in 1776, halted trade with Great Britain and cut off the supply of Bibles, which prompted Aitken to publish an English-language Bible in the country, according to the legislation.

Aitken's translation received its official endorsement from the Congress of the Confederation in 1782, which was the American legislative body that preceded the establishment of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The 18th-century resolution states that the lawmakers "highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interest of religion, as well as the interest of the progress of arts in this country." It further states that the lawmakers "recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States."

The translation, which is a version of the Protestant King James Version of the Bible, is not approved by the Vatican for Catholics. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops lists approved translations of the Bible on its website.

Tennessee's legislation that names the Aitken Bible as an official state book notes that the state is home to "the largest publisher of authentic reproductions of the Aitken Bible," which is the Aitken Bible Historical Foundation. It adds that Tennessee is home to "three of the five privately owned original first American Bibles remaining in the world today."

The legislation received strong support from Republicans in the Tennessee House and Senate, who hold strong supermajorities in both chambers. The bill faced opposition from most Democrats but received one Democratic vote in the House.

Some of the other historic books designated as official state books in this legislation included President George Washington's "Farewell Address" and "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville. The bill also recognized the 1977 book "Roots" by Alex Haley, which discusses slavery in the United States, and the 2016 book "Coat of Many Colors" by the Tennessee-born country singer Dolly Parton.

Tennessee lawmakers also passed a bill that would recognize November as "Christian Heritage Month." The legislation was sent to Lee, but the governor has not yet taken any action on it.

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Rome Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

As the Catholic Church's first African American cardinal was honored at a U.S. seminary in Rome, he recalled the legacy of faith and perseverance of Black Catholics in America, including at a time when they were not accepted by U.S. seminaries. 

Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, received this year's Rector's Award at an April 11 banquet at the Pontifical North American College, where seminarians from across 99 dioceses in the U.S. live while studying for the priesthood in Rome.

In an interview with CNA before the award ceremony, Gregory pointed out that in the 19th century, African Americans who had a vocation to the priesthood were sent to study in Rome and then to serve as missionaries in Africa because at the time they were not allowed to enter U.S. seminaries.

"Being in Rome reminds me also that Rome is the place that provided a seminary education and formation for Augustus Tolton, the first African American priest to serve openly in the United States," Gregory said.

Tolton "came to Rome because Rome … was willing to take him on as a seminarian when no other seminary in the United States would accept that."

Venerable Augustus Tolton, a former slave turned Catholic priest, is now on the path to sainthood in the Catholic Church. He studied in Rome near the Spanish Steps at the Pontifical Urban University, run by the Vatican's Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, from 1880 to 1886, when he was ordained in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.

Tolton offered his first Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on April 25, 1886. One hundred and thirty-four years later, Pope Francis made Gregory the first African American cardinal in a ceremony in the same basilica in 2020. 

"I know that the honor that was given to me by Pope Francis rested solidly on the faith of African American Catholics," Gregory told CNA.

"Even in times when we weren't respected, or understood, or honored, we remained faithful."

"And the fact that I can enjoy the office, knowing that it rests on the quality of goodness, faith, and charity of the African American community, humbles me deeply," the cardinal said with tears in his eyes.

Gregory has led the Archdiocese of Washington since 2019. He said that navigating a U.S. presidential election year as the archbishop requires prudence.

"We're living in a very divisive moment, both in our political life in the United States, but sometimes also … in our Church," he said.

"In the United States, we're struggling with trying to be one people —  one people with a common purpose, a common future. And sometimes the rhetoric gets to be so hostile and so vitriolic that it causes us to step back and say, 'Is this really the nation that is the land of the free and the home of the brave?'"

The cardinal, who will be in Rome for the month leading up to the U.S. election as a delegate in the Synod on Synodality, said that his task is "difficult, but not impossible."

"As the archbishop of Washington, I have to focus on the fact that in spite of all of the differences that are at play, I have wonderful people in my archdiocese. And people have great generosity and devotion to the country and to the Church."

Gregory recently made headlines for calling President Joe Biden a "cafeteria Catholic" in an Easter interview on "Face the Nation," explaining that Biden "picks and chooses dimensions of the faith to highlight while ignoring or even contradicting other parts."

While he did not receive a response from the White House to the comments, the cardinal said that "the overwhelming response was positive" from the Catholics in his archdiocese.

"I respect the president. I believe that he is a sincere man of faith, I really do believe that. I would just ask that he would somehow find a way to better allow his personal religious convictions to engage in the public forum," Gregory said.

The cardinal pointed to the Vatican's recent declaration on human dignity, Dignitas Infinita, as "a wonderful summation of the Church's moral teaching."

Gregory said that he hopes that the Eucharistic revival in the U.S. will lead American Catholics to "draw closer together as a family of faith around the altar that Christ sets for us."

"The emphasis on the Real Presence also should generate the next question: If Christ is really present and I receive him in the Eucharist, what does that demand of me?" he said.

"His Eucharistic presence is a gift of unquestionable importance. But it's also a challenge that those of us who dine with him must live like him and have the same values that he expressed in the Gospels as his legacy of faith and love."

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CNA Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

When the altar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chaldean Catholic Church was consecrated earlier this month in Mosul, Iraq, a former parishioner now living in the United States said she was moved to tears.

"My eyes were filled with tears as I watched my church and my school return to the beautiful picture engraved in my memory," said Georgena Habbaba, who used to attend the parish and study at the parish school with her brothers. Her own children studied there, too, before the family had to flee Mosul amid worsening violence in 2007. (Note: Habbaba also writes for ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner.)

"I remembered the wonderful days I spent studying at this school and praying in this church. Very close to my family's house," she told CNA.

Habbaba remembers how all the statues as well as the altar and everything in the church were destroyed by ISIS. "I especially missed the statue of Our Lady of Perpetual Help above the altar," she said.

On April 5, Chaldean patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako presided at a Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help and consecrated the altar, expressing his happiness at its reconstruction. He said it "gives hope for a safe and better future for the people of this city."

"It is a distinguished achievement that may encourage Christians to return to their dear city and contribute to building confidence, promoting harmonious coexistence, and preserving the fabric of Mosul," he added.

In his comments, Sako also recalled when the foundation stone for the church was laid in 1944 and the construction of the school was finished in 1946.

"It is a great spiritual and cultural joy that we celebrate today the restoration of the opening of this great religious and educational edifice," he told ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner. The school has also been completely reconstructed.

Habbaba recalled that when the school first opened, it was directed by Chaldean nuns. "The school and the church owe a lot to the nuns," she said.

Habbaba also recalled that the school was a mixture of Christians and Muslims without discrimination, "although the numbers of Christians decreased beginning in 2003 until the school in its last days before the occupation of ISIS in 2014 was almost free of Christian students."

Before 2003, Christians in Iraq numbered nearly 2 million. Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq, had nearly half a million Christians. Today, Iraqi Christians number fewer than 200,000, though a lack of official statistics makes it difficult to know for sure. Christians are returning to Mosul but so far in small numbers. 

The most prominent pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was Father Faraj Rahho, who became the archbishop of Mosul and was kidnapped and martyred by terrorists in 2008. Sako, the current patriarch, also spent 15 years as pastor of the parish.

Also present at the special Mass on April 5 was Bishop Najib Mikhail, the pastor of the Chaldean Diocese of Mosul, who thanked the French donors, the SOS organization, and all those responsible for accomplishing the restoration work. The church was rebuilt according to its original architecture and building materials, despite difficult circumstances. 

Earlier this year, ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language partner, reported on another Catholic church in Mosul that was recently restored. The Dominican Church of Our Lady of the Hour was completely restored after destruction by Islamic State terrorists 10 years ago.

ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, contributed to this story.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 18, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The director of the Chair of Theology of the Consecrated Life at San Dámaso Ecclesiastical University in Spain, Sister Carolina Blázquez Casado, OSA, explained that the rite of peace at Mass "is not a greeting or friendly gesture."

The sister explained the meaning of the rite in a video posted by the university, which is under the Archdiocese of Madrid.

The sign of peace, which takes place between the recitation of the Lord's Prayer and the Fraction (breaking) of the Host, "is a prior step to be able to approach Communion with the body of Christ in a dignified manner," the Augustinian sister explained.

The sign of peace is exchanged in recollection of the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 5:23-24, namely: "Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift."

Blázquez noted that "Christians, from when they first began to celebrate the Eucharist, had these words of the Lord in their minds and hearts. And that is why the rite of peace has been present since very ancient times in the Eucharistic celebration."

Consequently, the sign of peace is not a simple polite gesture or a gesture of human love, but rather it expresses "the sincere desire to be reconciled among ourselves, to overcome all divisions between us, to be instruments of peace, to be truly members, one of another, of the one body of Christ."

The video posted by the San Dámaso Ecclesiastical University is part of a series titled "The Eucharist. Learn More" in which several teachers from the institution explain various aspects of the sacrament.

Abuses of the rite 

In 2014, while Cardenal Antonio Cañizares was prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a letter on the subject titled "The Ritual Meaning of the Gift of Peace in the Mass" was approved and confirmed by Pope Francis.

The letter addresses problems arising from some "exaggerated expressions" of the rite of peace, which led Pope Benedict XVI to consult the bishops' conferences on the possibility of the rite being modified or eliminated from the Roman Missal.

In the end, it was decided to keep it in place while offering a series of "practical provisions to better explain the content of the exchange of peace and to moderate excessive expressions that give rise to disarray in the liturgical assembly before Communion."

The letter emphasized that "if the faithful through their ritual gestures do not appreciate and do not show themselves to be living the authentic meaning of the rite of peace, the Christian concept of peace is weakened and their fruitful participation at the Eucharist is impaired."

Among the provisions, the letter stated that the rite of peace can be omitted "and sometimes ought to be omitted" if circumstances deem it advisable. The bishops' conferences should consider, "in those places where familiar and profane gestures of greeting were previously chosen," replacing them with "other more appropriate gestures."

Abuses to avoid include "the introduction of a 'song for peace,' which is nonexistent in the Roman Missal; the movement of the faithful from their places to exchange the sign of peace; the departure of the priest from the altar in order to offer the sign of peace to some of the faithful" or taking advantage of the occasion "for expressing congratulations, best wishes, or condolences among those present." 

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 17, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

Arizona House Republicans blocked two attempts on Wednesday to repeal an 1864 law protecting life at conception.

In a near party-line 30-30 vote on Wednesday, House Democrats failed to gain a majority of votes to suspend the Legislature's rules to fast-track a so-called "abortion ban repeal" bill that would have overturned the 1864 pro-life law. 

Dormant since being invalidated by Roe v. Wade in 1973, the 1864 law protects all unborn life from conception and imposes prison time for those who "provide, supply, or administer" an abortion. 

This temporarily stalls ongoing efforts to repeal the law, which is set to go into effect in the next 37 days.

Debate on the House floor was tense just before the vote as Democrats called the pro-life law "abhorrent" and "archaic." 

Democratic Rep. Alma Hernandez bashed Republicans, saying that "the fact that we will not even entertain a motion to allow those who have been raped or pregnant by incest to be able to have an abortion is extremely, extremely disappointing." 

Republican Rep. Ben Toma, meanwhile, said: "I understand that we have deeply held beliefs [about abortion], and I would ask everyone in this chamber to respect the fact that some of us believe that abortion is in fact the murder of children." 

Abortion is currently legal in Arizona until the 15th week of pregnancy. If the 1864 law takes effect, however, all abortion will be illegal, except in cases in which the mother's life is in danger. 

Outrage from abortion advocates erupted last week when the Arizona Supreme Court issued an April 9 ruling that cleared the way for the law to go back into effect. The court ruled that since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision, there were no legal reasons to keep the law from being enforced.

Planned Parenthood is continuing abortions in Arizona for the time being. The abortion organization holds that a separate ruling by the Maricopa County Superior Court keeps the 1864 law from being enforced until 45 days after the high court's ruling. 

After the state Supreme Court's ruling, Democrats in the Arizona House moved quickly to repeal the law, demanding a vote on the measure on April 10. That attempt was also blocked by Republicans. After their efforts to repeal the law were blocked, Democrats began shouting "shame" and "blood on your hands" at their Republican colleagues on the House floor.

This comes as Arizona will likely be one of several states considering an abortion-until-birth amendment on the ballot this November. If passed, the amendment would enshrine a "right" to abortion in the state constitution, strike down virtually all of Arizona's pro-life protections, and legalize abortion until viability and through all nine months of pregnancy for physical or mental health reasons.

The group advocating for the amendment, Arizona for Abortion Access PAC, has surpassed the required number of signatures and already filed language with the state to include the proposal on the November ballot.

The Arizona secretary of state's office has yet to verify the signatures, which must happen before the initiative will officially be on the ballot.

The Arizona Catholic Conference, which consists of the state's four bishops, has spoken out against the ballot initiative, saying that it would "remove most safeguards for girls and women" and "allow for painful late-term abortions of viable preborn babies." 

"We do not believe that this extreme initiative is what Arizona wants or needs, and we continue to pray that it does not succeed," the Arizona bishops said in a statement published April 9.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, 11,530 babies were killed through abortion in Arizona in 2022. 

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Rome Newsroom, Apr 17, 2024 / 09:14 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Wednesday presented the fourth and final cardinal virtue of temperance in his ongoing catechetical series of vices and virtues by noting that temperance itself is crucial for living a happy, balanced life.

"The gift of the temperate person is therefore balance, a quality as precious as it is rare. Indeed, everything in our world pushes to excess. Instead, temperance combines well with Gospel values such as smallness, discretion, modesty, meekness," the pope said to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday. 

"In a world where many people boast about saying what they think, the temperate person instead prefers to think about what he says," the pope said. "He does not make empty promises but makes commitments to the extent that he can fulfill them." 

The pope noted that "the temperate person succeeds in holding extremes together: He affirms absolute principles, asserts nonnegotiable values, but also knows how to understand people and shows empathy for them."

The pope opened his reflection on temperance by looking to Aristotle's "The Nicomachean Ethics," an ethical treatise on the art of living. Francis noted that according to the Greek philosopher, man's flourishing and the ability to live a happy life is realizable only by "the capacity for self-mastery, the art of not letting oneself be overcome by rebellious passions."

This reflection on Artistolean ethics sets the foundation for an understanding of virtue present in the Church's teaching. "Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods," the pope said, quoting from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

For the pope, temperance, as expressed in ancient thought and in the Church, can be summarized as "the virtue of the right measure," a point he made by contrasting it with those who are "moved by impulse or exuberance," which makes them "ultimately unreliable." 

Francis explained that being temperate does not always require one to be "peaceful" or with a "smiling face." Instead, in certain situations, "it is necessary to be indignant, but always in the right way."

"A word of rebuke is at times healthier than a sour, rancorous silence. The temperate person knows that nothing is more uncomfortable than correcting another person, but he also knows that it is necessary; otherwise, one offers free reign to evil," the pope observed.

Following the blessing at the end of the general audience, Pope Francis renewed his appeal for peace in Ukraine and in Gaza, imploring that "prisoners of war" and the "tortured" be freed. 

"The torture of prisoners is a very bad thing; it is not humane," the pope said. "Let us think of the many tortures that harm the dignity of the person and of the many tortured people."

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ACI Africa, Apr 17, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Members of the Africa Christian Professionals Forum (ACPF) have expressed their solidarity with the people of Rwanda as the landlocked central African country marks 30 years since the Rwandan genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people were murdered.

"The Africa Christian Professionals Forum (ACPF), dedicated to promoting and protecting the sanctity of Life, Family Values, and good governance, extends its solidarity to Rwanda as we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the genocide," officials of the organization said in their Sunday, April 7, statement.

ACPF members join "Rwanda's government, her citizens, African Union member states, and the global community in remembering the tragic loss of innocent lives," the statement continued.

Recalling the events of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which lasted approximately 100 days, ACPF officials said: "Thirty years ago, humanity witnessed unspeakable violence, resulting in countless innocent deaths."

"Today, we pause to reflect on the immense suffering endured by victims and their families, offering our deepest condolences to all affected," they added.

??The ACPF said the 30th anniversary of the genocide needs to inspire humanity to commit to seeking lasting peace.

"As we mark this solemn anniversary, let us recommit to creating a world where such atrocities never recur," they said. "May the memories of the victims inspire us to tirelessly pursue peace, tolerance, and understanding."

ACPF officials also called on the international community "to reaffirm its commitment to preventing genocide and mass atrocities, promoting justice, human rights, and dignity for all."

In the April 7 statement, the Christian leaders in Africa said they "commend Rwanda's resilience and determination in rebuilding, fostering unity, and reconciliation, offering hope to all."

The 1994 Rwandan genocide was reportedly triggered by the deaths on April 6, 1994, of the country's president, Juvenal Habyarimana, alongside his counterpart in Burundi, President Cyprien Ntaryamira. The two presidents, both Hutu, were returning from peace talks between the Hutu and the Tutsi when their plane was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, killing everyone on board.

In May 2023, Pope Francis dismissed from clerical duties a Rwandan Catholic priest considered to be a mastermind in the genocide. 

Father Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, who was serving in France's Diocese of Evreux, was accused of playing an active role in the genocide in different parts of Kigali while he was pastor of Holy Family Parish in the Archdiocese of Kigali.

In November 2006, a military tribunal in Rwanda found Munyeshyaka guilty of rape and involvement in the 1994 genocide against Tutsi and sentenced him in absentia to life imprisonment, KTpress reported.

This article was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 16, 2024 / 17:55 pm (CNA).

A federal appeals court has blocked a West Virginia law titled the "Save Women's Sports Act" that prohibits biological males from competing in female sports in the state.

The 2-1 decision was issued by a panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday. The decision extends an already existing block on the law and sends the case back to a lower court for further consideration.

This is the latest development in B.P.J v. West Virginia State Board of Education, a case in which a 13-year-old child who identifies as a girl is alleging that the West Virginia law violates Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination.

The 13-year-old, who is a biological male named Becky Pepper-Jackson, is being represented by the ACLU of West Virginia. Pepper-Jackson is seeking to compete in a school track and cross country program.

The Fourth Circuit Court said that the lower court, which had upheld the West Virginia law in a January ruling, erred by ruling to allow the law to go into effect.

The law, signed by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice in April 2021, declares that "athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex" because "there are inherent differences between biological males and biological females."

The law states that allowing biological males in competitive female sports would "displace" female athletes from those spaces.  

The circuit court's Tuesday ruling said that Pepper-Jackson has demonstrated that if implemented the law "would treat her worse than people to whom she is similarly situated, deprive her of any meaningful athletic opportunities, and do so on the basis of sex."

Based on this, the panel ruled that the case be "remanded with instructions to enter summary judgment for B.P.J. on her Title IX claims and for further proceedings (including remedial proceedings) consistent with this opinion."

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Ann Arbor, Michigan, Apr 16, 2024 / 14:45 pm (CNA).

Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz told CNA that his monumental Stations of the Cross to be installed on the grounds of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Florida, is the fruit of nearly constant work over the last three years and is expected to draw thousands of visitors once completed this fall.

The 2,000-seat shrine is the closest Catholic church to Disney World in Orlando and is already well known for its striking works of sacred art. In addition, the church's 17-acre tract features a spacious esplanade and rosary garden. 

To all of this will be added a Gospel Garden that will feature massive bronze Stations of the Cross sculpted by Schmalz. Some of the stations are slated to be 30 feet wide and as high as 14 feet tall, weighing thousands of pounds. Inauguration of the project is expected to take place around November, although a precise date has yet to be determined.

"Some of Christ's parables are embedded in the sculptures. In the foreground of each station is the principal scene, but in the background are the teachings of Jesus as well as symbols," Schmalz told CNA. "It is an unusual version of the stations in the sense that it is filled with the New Testament. For instance, station 13 has more than 100 saints. It is unlike any other sculpture I have ever created."

Schmalz explained that the 14 stations will be his most complex sculpture yet, second only to his acclaimed Angels Unawares that is now in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican and at Catholic University of America.

Now that his creative clay sculpting for the project is complete, Schmalz said that casting the final sculptures in bronze remains to be done by a specialized foundry. Initial installation of the bronzes should begin this autumn in Orlando. 

Orlando may be an especially fruitful locale for this work of evangelization, given that more than 58 million people throng each year to Disney World alone. 

Speaking to the importance of visual arts, especially sculpture, Schmalz said that unlike film, "sculpture placed in a city center is like a film running 24/7 year after year. When I do a sculpture, I am conscious of the fact that it is frozen theater being performed and has to be right." 

"I wanted it to be called the Gospel Garden rather than Stations of the Cross because when speaking of the stations, you are bringing your ideas of what they are. For some, it might be a boring experience. In many churches, the stations were made without much care. I wanted to make stations that are more intense than what is seen on film; so intense, that if you are not Catholic, you would want to become Catholic. You would want to learn more," Schmalz said. 

Because so many children come to nearby Disney World, Schmalz also made certain that plenty of children appear in the work and see themselves in it. Saying that a sculpture such as the immense Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, may make viewers disconnected from its theme, he said: "When I started making the stations, I wanted them to be life-size. I wanted people to touch the hands of Jesus who is reaching out after falling with the cross." 

Reflecting on the challenges faced by artists working on religious themes, he said: "Unless you do something spectacular, it's going to be invisible. That's how we are today. We have a society today where the Catholic Church is competing with mainstream culture. We have to be tough and strong. Even though we are dealing with the Gospels, with eternal truths, the execution often falls short."

"When I was growing up, I heard the famous quote attributed to Michaelangelo that the sculpture is in the stone and the artist's job is to release it. I believe that in some Platonic sphere or paradise there are great masterpieces, so it's my job as a sculptor to pull them to earth for people to see," Schmalz said.

Schmalz recounted that at age 19, he dropped out of a prestigious art school in Canada. "Pope John Paul II spoke of the culture of death. If you really want to see that, go to an art school. It is nihilism on acid." 

Rather than clash with his instructors, Schmalz left for schooling on his own but with traditional masterworks as his guide to create Christian art.

"I was the most radical artist in Canada," he said, "because what I was doing with representing Jesus and the Virgin Mary was the only thing that was not allowed in an art gallery. There they wouldn't even call it art."

"Just like the Impressionists of the 1800s, who weren't accepted in the salons of the day, Christian art is not wanted in today's salons," Schmalz noted.

Schmalz came to world attention with his Homeless Jesus statue, which was first installed at Regis College in Toronto in 2013. The bronze depicts a human figure reclining on a park bench, which has been mistaken at times for a living person. Upon close inspection, viewers can see the marks of the crucifixion on its feet. Copies have since been installed in Capernaum, Israel; Fátima, Portugal; as well as many cities, including Detroit and Pope Francis' native Buenos Aires, Argentina. Schmalz's works are found in churches, universities, and public places in cities around the world.

Among Schmalz's other projects, he is also working on making sculptural representations of Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical Laudato Si', which laments consumerism, global warming, and environmental degradation. He also has a project in the works depicting the holy Eucharist and Blessed Carlo Acutis, the Italian teen who documented Marian apparitions and Eucharistic miracles.

Schmalz is also the official sculptor for the coming National Eucharistic Congress to be held this July 17–21 in Indianapolis.

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CNA Staff, Apr 16, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Many know Ferrero Rocher for its popular hazelnut chocolates, but the company's tie to Our Lady of Lourdes is lesser known.

Michele Ferrero, the company's founder and a devout Catholic, had a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and wanted to honor her through his work. It is reported that he named his company "Rocher" after the rock grotto, the Rocher de Massabielle, which marks the location where the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France.

In fact, "rocher" means "rock" in French. With this in mind, many point to the chocolate's crunchy coating and uneven gold wrapping as Ferrero's attempt to resemble this rock formation at Lourdes, which had a special meaning to the chocolatier. 

At the 50th anniversary of the founding of the company, Ferrero said: "The success of Ferrero we owe to Our Lady of Lourdes; without her we can do little."

In an interview with CNA's Spanish-language news partner, ACI Prensa, in 2023, Father Mauricio Elias, a chaplain at the Sanctuary of Lourdes, said: "Mr. Ferrero had a lot of devotion to the Virgin of Lourdes; he came a lot to Lourdes and was a benefactor."

"He was a man who always came here, he had a lot of devotion to the Virgin, he confessed, he led a Christian life," Elias added.

It was said that Ferrero made annual pilgrimages to Lourdes and also organized a visit for his employees. He also had a statue of the Virgin Mary in each of his company's 14 production facilities around the world. 

Ferrero passed away on Feb. 14, 2015, at the age of 89. Shortly before his death, a flood damaged the sanctuary at Lourdes. Ferrero promised "a great donation to recover what was lost," Elias shared. After his death, his children kept their father's promise and helped with the repairs. 

The family-run business continues its tradition with Michele's son, Giovanni Ferrero, running the company today. Founded in 1946 in Alba, Italy, by Pietro Ferrero, Michele's father, today Ferrero Rocher is the third-largest chocolate producer in the world. Since its launch in other European countries in 1982, the company has expanded to include other brands such as Nutella, Tic Tac, and Kinder, among others.

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