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From left, Tom Ochsenbauer, Father Zachary Ochsenbauer and Gail Dicus hug after the Mass of Thanksgiving for Father Ochsenbauer June 1 at St. Peter in Forest Lake. Dicus received the heart of Marcia Ochsenbauer, wife of Tom and mother of Father Zachary, after her death in 2005.

Ochsenbauer family describes heart transplant journey

After deliberating for several weeks, Tom Ochsenbauer of St. Peter in Forest Lake made a bold decision in 2006 to meet Gail Dicus for the first time. He flew to her home in Kansas City with his three young children.
Nation + World
Amy Novak, president of St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, and Todd Olson, president of Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, sign documents related to completion of the first step of their universities' strategic combination June 27, 2025, at Mount Mercy. Witnessing are Bishop Dennis G. Walsh of Davenport, and Julia Cavallo of the Conference for Mercy Higher Education.

2 Iowa Catholic universities are merging, offering a model for Catholic higher ed’s future

St. Ambrose University in Davenport and Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids have reached a major milestone in their journey to fully combine, which their presidents believe serves as a model for Catholic higher education.
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TCScvrJuly10_2025

Digital Edition – July 10, 2025

Organ transplant journey, Catholic media awards, Honoring religious jubilarians, Damascus partnership, Catholic health coach, Why I am Catholic, PECS in Rome
Amy Novak, president of St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, and Todd Olson, president of Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, sign documents related to completion of the first step of their universities' strategic combination June 27, 2025, at Mount Mercy. Witnessing are Bishop Dennis G. Walsh of Davenport, and Julia Cavallo of the Conference for Mercy Higher Education.

2 Iowa Catholic universities are merging, offering a model for Catholic higher ed’s future

St. Ambrose University in Davenport and Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids have reached a major milestone in their journey to fully combine, which their presidents believe serves as a model for Catholic higher education.
David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan star in a scene from the movie "Superman." The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Superman — PG-13/A-III

In the spring of 1938, when the figure of Superman made his first appearance in the pages of DC's "Action Comics #1," President Franklin Roosevelt's efforts to combat the Great Depression via the New Deal were at their height. There had as yet been only one world war and Lou Gehrig was still playing for the New York Yankees.
Streetlight on a dusk in a neighborhood

Seeking understanding

As a youngster growing up, I recall that when I went out with friends, my mom would tell me to make sure that I returned home before it got to be too dark and too late.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda

Witness and service of consecrated women and men

In a recent gathering with religious sisters, Pope Leo XIV spoke of the primacy that God should have in their lives. Quoting St. Augustine, he particularly reminded them that “God is your everything. If you are hungry, God is your bread; if you are thirsty, God is your water; if you are in darkness, God is your light that never fades; if you are naked, God is your everlasting garment.”
Archbishop Bernard Hebda

Testimonio y servicio de mujeres y hombres consagrados

En una reunión reciente con religiosas, el Papa León XIV habló de la primacía que Dios debe tener en sus vidas. Citando a San Agustín, les recordó en particular que “Dios es vuestro todo. Si tenéis hambre, Dios es vuestro pan; si tenéis sed, Dios es vuestra agua; si estáis en tinieblas, Dios es vuestra luz que nunca se apaga; si estáis desnudos, Dios es vuestra vestidura eterna”.
People who reside at the Kaya Godoma Rescue Center are pictured in Kilifi, a coastal town in Kenya, April 24, 2025. Some elderly individuals at Kaya Godoma have been accused of witchcraft by members of their community and even their relatives. This has led to them being violently driven from their homes.

Witchcraft accusations drive elders in Kenya from homes, seeking refuge with religious sisters

In the picturesque villages along Kenya's coastal region -- where the Indian Ocean breeze whispers through coconut palms and sand-covered paths wind through homesteads -- a sinister crisis is unfolding.
Pope Leo XIV and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wave from the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, during their meeting July 9, 2025.

Pope: Vatican still ready to host peace talks between Russia, Ukraine

Meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Pope Leo XIV reiterated his willingness to host representatives of Russia and Ukraine at the Vatican for peace negotiations.
People in San Jose, Calif., participate in a recitation of the rosary outside a Planned Parenthood facility Sept. 28, 2022. The gathering was held on the first day of the 40 Days For Life nationwide campaign, which calls for peaceful protests for 40 days outside abortion facilities.

Judge blocks, for now, Planned Parenthood defunding provision backed by bishops

A federal judge placed a temporary restraining order on a provision in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which President Donald Trump signed into law July 4, that would have stopped Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid payments for a year.
From left, Tom Ochsenbauer, Father Zachary Ochsenbauer and Gail Dicus hug after the Mass of Thanksgiving for Father Ochsenbauer June 1 at St. Peter in Forest Lake. Dicus received the heart of Marcia Ochsenbauer, wife of Tom and mother of Father Zachary, after her death in 2005.

Ochsenbauer family describes heart transplant journey

After deliberating for several weeks, Tom Ochsenbauer of St. Peter in Forest Lake made a bold decision in 2006 to meet Gail Dicus for the first time. He flew to her home in Kansas City with his three young children.
A medication used to induce a medication-based abortion is shown at a Planned Parenthood facility in Birmingham, Alabama, March 14, 2022.

Report: US abortions continue post-Dobbs rise in part due to telehealth

The rate of abortions in the U.S. continued to increase in 2024 following the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade, according to a report by #WeCount, a research project by the Society of Family Planning, a group that supports legal abortion.
Faith
Streetlight on a dusk in a neighborhood

Seeking understanding

As a youngster growing up, I recall that when I went out with friends, my mom would tell me to make sure that I returned home before it got to be too dark and too late.

The priest as humble servant

Five loaves and two fish

Vestments worn by priests

Commentary
German Advent Calendar

Therese Geuer Mueller helped bring liturgy — and Advent wreaths — into people’s lives

Motherhood was the primary vocation for Therese Geuer Mueller. The holder of a doctorate in economics and sociology, Mueller preferred to be addressed as Mrs. Franz Mueller. She resisted outside employment and restricted her writing to the evenings after her five children were in bed, at least while they were young. This experience with motherhood and as a wife became the chief gift she shared as she became active in helping Americans bring the liturgy into their homes in the 1940s and 1950s.

The apostolate of the laity

Even now, the ship will hold

Why I am Catholic
Practicing Catholic

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