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Motorcade Fletcher Funeral

Fletcher Merkel funeral service held a mile from Annunciation church

The funeral service for Fletcher Merkel, 8, was held Sept. 7 at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, just over a mile from Annunciation Catholic Church, where he and another student were shot and killed during an Aug. 27 all-school Mass. Eighteen other students and three adults were injured. The suspected shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Nation + World
Pope Leo XIV looks at a horse as he greets an employee of the papal gardens in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Sept. 5, 2025. The pope inaugurated Borgo Laudato Si' the same day, officially opening the historic papal residence as a center dedicated to the principles of care for creation and human dignity outlined in Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si'.

Pope inaugurates center, farm dedicated to zero-waste, inclusive economy

Surrounded by formal Italian gardens, ancient Roman ruins and long avenues of lush trees, Pope Leo XIV inaugurated a new "zero environmental impact" complex devoted to promoting Pope Francis' teachings on caring for creation at the papal gardens in Castel Gandolfo.
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Motorcade Fletcher Funeral

Fletcher Merkel funeral service held a mile from Annunciation church

The funeral service for Fletcher Merkel, 8, was held Sept. 7 at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, just over a mile from Annunciation Catholic Church, where he and another student were shot and killed during an Aug. 27 all-school Mass. Eighteen other students and three adults were injured. The suspected shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Archbishop Bernard prays a livestream rosary with a teacher and students from Holy Trinity Catholic School in South St. Paul.

People across the country join archdiocese in rosary for Annunciation

Archbishop Bernard Hebda, three Catholic elementary school students and one of their teachers led a rosary of the sorrowful mysteries Sept. 5 for Annunciation in Minneapolis.
Ellie Mertens, left, youth minister at Annunciation church in Minneapolis, hugs others attending a prayer service at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield Aug. 27 to support those affected by a shooting at the church that morning, Mertens was at the Mass in the church when the shooting occurred.

Annunciation shooting survivor embraces mission to help bring Jesus, healing to Annunciation youth

Ellie Mertens huddled under a pew at Annunciation church in Minneapolis on the morning of Aug. 27 as a barrage of bullets screamed past her, mere inches from her head.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda processes out of the gym at Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield following a prayer service Aug. 27 in the hours following a shooting at Annunciation’s church in Minneapolis.

Grateful for prayers, Archbishop Hebda on becoming ‘a community of even greater love’

Q) Archbishop, you have guided us through these really terrible, tragic days. How are you doing? A) I feel really privileged to be here, even though it's a very difficult time.
Pope Leo XIV looks at a horse as he greets an employee of the papal gardens in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Sept. 5, 2025. The pope inaugurated Borgo Laudato Si' the same day, officially opening the historic papal residence as a center dedicated to the principles of care for creation and human dignity outlined in Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si'.

Pope inaugurates center, farm dedicated to zero-waste, inclusive economy

Surrounded by formal Italian gardens, ancient Roman ruins and long avenues of lush trees, Pope Leo XIV inaugurated a new "zero environmental impact" complex devoted to promoting Pope Francis' teachings on caring for creation at the papal gardens in Castel Gandolfo.
Natalia Pinchuk, representing her husband, the activist Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, gives her Nobel Prize lecture during the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 in Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway, Dec. 10, 2022.

Wife of Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski urges Pope Leo to back jailed Catholic leader

Supporters of a Catholic winner of the Nobel Peace Prize have urged Western church leaders to take up his cause four years after he was detained and jailed in Belarus on trumped-up charges.
Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati are pictured in these undated photos. The two blesseds will be canonized Sept. 7, 2025.

Where to watch the Carlo Acutis, Pier Giorgio Frassati canonizations

Thousands will gather in St. Peter's Square Sept. 7 for the highly anticipated canonization of two modern saints -- but if flying to Rome isn't an option, one can watch every moment of the joyous occasion via livestream at OSV News.
Jason Adkins

MCC: Special legislative session would be a first step in addressing gun violence

Jason Adkins — executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) — said Sept. 5 that Gov. Tim Walz’s call for a special legislative session to address gun violence in the wake of the Annunciation church shooting would be a first but insufficient step to address all issues involved.
Fiorella Sacco and her husband, Massimo Mennelli, pose with handmade dolls representing Blessed Carlo Acutis during a pilgrimage in Assisi, Italy, Aug. 21, 2025. Sacco, who is a catechist with her husband, created the dolls with other volunteers at their parish of St. Joseph the Artisan in San Severo, Foggia, Italy.

Buried in Assisi, new saint is ‘true disciple’ of St. Francis, rector says

Soon-to-be St. Carlo Acutis is a fresh "shoot" budding from the 800-year-old spiritual "vine" of Sts. Francis and Clare in Assisi, said the rector of the shrine housing the millennial teenager's tomb.
The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV in the Dolton, Ill., suburb of Chicago is pictured May 9, 2025. Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, then-Cardinal Prevost was elected pope at the Vatican May 8 and is the first American pope in history.

Pope Leo’s vocation took root in childhood; never ‘a doubt in anyone’s mind’ he’d be a priest

As Pope Leo XIV neared his 70th birthday Sept. 14, those closest to the American-born pontiff said they knew, very early on, that he was in for lifelong service to the church.
Laura Carmichael, Harry Hadden-Paton, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, and Michelle Dockery star in a scene from the movie "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale." The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

Both the upstairs and downstairs inhabitants of the titular stately home get a splendid send-off in "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale" (Focus). A couple of subplots interwoven into this third big-screen iteration of the franchise, however, suggest the abundant elegance it offers is best reserved for grown-ups.
Faith
Limbo

How low can you go?

Limbo is a game based on traditions that began on the island of Trinidad. The goal of the game is to pass under a horizontal bar (known as the limbo bar) as it is lowered. Contestants must bend backward and allow no part of their body to touch the bar while only their feet can touch the floor or ground. Sometimes, people will chant “how low can you go!” as the bar is lowered bit by bit. Fun fact, the world record for the lowest limbo bar height is 6 inches, set by Dennis Walston in 1991. Ha! He must have been really flexible and really skinny! How low can you go?

God of mercy, God of justice

The priest as spiritual father

Commentary
Holy Family

Grace of a happy death — and new life

Many rosary devotees may ponder the grace of a happy death — one of my favorite reflections is the fourth glorious mystery — the Assumption of Mary. Just a couple of weeks ago we celebrated that Church dogma as a holy day of obligation. And just a week after that came the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

What a beautiful family

Jesus’ kingdom announcement

Why I am Catholic
Practicing Catholic

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