Liturgy and Divine Worship•Local Church•Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV to the French episcopate: Seek inclusive solutions for Catholics who use the Old Missal

The Pope’s intervention reveals a dual concern: healing wounds without erasing truth, and preserving unity without suppressing legitimate diversity. Nowhere is this more evident than in his approach to the question of the Vetus Ordo—the pre-conciliar form of the Roman rite, often associated with the Tridentine Mass

Mar 25, 2026 21:50

Covadonga Asturias

Religious Freedom

French Court Upholds Ban on Religious Symbols in Local Council, Reigniting National Debate

On March 18, the Administrative Court of Dijon validated a decree issued by Gilles Platret, mayor of the city of Chalon-sur-Saône, which prohibits elected officials from wearing “ostentatious” religious symbols during municipal council sessions

Mar 24, 2026 18:13

Covadonga Asturias

Local Church•Pope Leo XIV

For the first time, a Pope will address the Spanish Parliament: it will be Leo XIV during his visit to Madrid in June 2026

According to converging confirmations from parliamentary and ecclesial sources, the Vatican and the Spanish Congress have agreed to convene a joint session of both chambers of the Cortes Generales so that the Pope may address deputies and senators gathered in the hemicycle

Feb 28, 2026 12:45

Covadonga Asturias

Local Church•Pope Leo XIV

Did Pope Leo XIV speak out against the Spanish party Vox, which is aligned with the Trump administration?

The episode underscores how quickly nuanced papal language can be refracted through national political debates—and how carefully episcopal conferences now feel compelled to guard the boundary between pastoral guidance and partisan interpretation

Feb 24, 2026 23:20

Covadonga Asturias

Bioethics

Assisted suicide increases by 30% in Spain: the drift toward which other countries are heading

Newly released official figures show that 426 people ended their lives through state-approved assisted suicide or euthanasia in 2021 — a 27.54% increase over 2023, when 334 deaths were recorded

Jan 28, 2026 17:37

Covadonga Asturias

Good News•Local Church

100,000 euros in two weeks: How Spain came together to heat its monasteries

Last winter, DeClausura raised €68,400, enabling support for 64 contemplative communities, with an average of €1,070 per monastery. This time, surpassing €100,000 in record time reflects not only donor generosity but also heightened public awareness—an awareness sparked in large part by recent media coverage

Jan 25, 2026 13:07

Covadonga Asturias

Local Church

Church containing relic of the crown of thorns desecrated and Eucharist stolen. What will the Church do?

The setting of the latest profanation adds further gravity. The monastery of La Santa Espina is known for safeguarding a revered relic traditionally identified as one thorn from the crown placed on Jesus during his Passion

Dec 30, 2025 17:17

Covadonga Asturias

Analysis Opinion•Local Church

The return of confession: a sacrament regaining its place. What a French study says

The confessional, long considered a casualty of modernity, may thus be reemerging as a defining space for a Church that has learned to live as a minority—smaller, more urban, and more intentional than before

Dec 12, 2025 19:33

Covadonga Asturias

Dicasteries•Local Church

Vatican ends decades of speculation: alleged apparitions of Jesus in Dozulé declared “not of supernatural origin”

The decision, approved by Pope Leo XIV on November 3 and communicated to Bishop Jacques Habert of Bayeux-Lisieux on November 12, 2025, represents the culmination of a long process of discernment that began decades ago

Nov 13, 2025 13:46

Covadonga Asturias

Local Church•Religious Freedom

Spain’s anti-clerical government presents winning project to redefine the Valley of the Fallen from the left

For the anticlerical government of Pedro Sánchez, the “resignification” project is framed as an act of democratic renewal, a way of transforming a space long associated with Francoist triumphalism into one of inclusivity and plural memory. For critics, it represents a politically motivated desecration—a rewriting of history at the expense of faith, art, and cultural continuity

Nov 12, 2025 13:31

Covadonga Asturias

Local Church•Virgin Mary

Church proposes to French government recognition of candlelight procession as intangible cultural heritage of the country

The application, filed with the Ministry of Culture on September 26, represents more than a bureaucratic gesture. It is a declaration that what began with the humble act of Bernadette Soubirous carrying a single candle has blossomed into a kaleidoscopic

Oct 01, 2025 16:52

Covadonga Asturias