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Dutch Missionary Nun Sainthood Cause Advanced, Rising Faith on Campus, and Pope Leo’s Global Catholic Witness
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Maggie Murray of OSV News catches you up on the Catholic news of the day for April 28, 2026. Tune in and visit us online at osvnews.com.
Read the stories in this episode:
- Pope Leo XIV advances five sainthood causes, including Sister Teresia of the Most Holy Trinity, a Dutch Carmelite nun who served and suffered quietly in Missouri.
- Seoul organizers announce five patron saints for World Youth Day 2027, highlighting holiness, justice, and faith for a new generation of Catholic youth.
- Msgr. Robert Coll, the priest behind Catholic Relief Services’ Rice Bowl program, is remembered for a legacy of service that helped raise nearly $350 million for the poor.
- Catholic leaders in South Sudan renew calls for justice three years after the disappearance of Father Luke Yugue Mbokusa and his driver.
- Universities across the U.S. report a surge in students seeking confirmation, with many young adults saying they found faith while searching for meaning and belonging.
Hello, I'm Maggie Murray of OSV News, and this is your OSV Newscast for Tuesday, April 28th, 2026. Let's catch you up on the Catholic News of the Day. Here we go. Pope Leo XIV has advanced the causes of sainthood for five candidates this week, including a Dutch nun whose missionary journey brought her to the American Midwest. Yesterday, the Pope met with Cardinal Marcelo Samararo, prefect of the Dicaster for the Causes of Saints, and recognized the heroic virtues of Sister Teresia of the Most Holy Trinity. Born in the Netherlands in 1897, she entered the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus as a young woman and traveled to the United States as a missionary sister in 1919. After arriving, she developed severe kidney disease, but continued to serve at her convent in St. Charles, Missouri until she could no longer do so. Her congregation describes her bearing her suffering silently hidden from the world. She died in 1926 at just 28 years old. The Pope also recognized martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, a Spanish lay missionary, and two Italian religious women. The lineup focuses on the themes of truth, peace, and love, with the inclusion of St. John Paul II, the founder of World Youth Day, Korean martyrs, Saints Andrew Kim Taigan and Companions, St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, patron of immigrants, Saint Josephine Bikita, patroness of victims of human trafficking, and St. Carlo Akutis, known for bringing the faith to people through the internet. Organizers said the selection followed consultations with youth and pastoral leaders, and that the saints reflect modern struggles including persecution, migration, and social isolation. Cardinal Kevin Farrell said patron saints play a key role preparing for World Youth Day in helping young pilgrims respond to God's call. Archbishop Peter Chung of Seoul expressed hope the saints will show today's youth that holiness is attainable. Organizers also launched an interactive Meet Your Patron Saint quiz on the official World Youth Day website, where visitors can be matched with one of the five saints. The priest who created Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl program has died after a lifetime of service to the church and the poor. Monsignor Robert J. Cole, a retired priest of the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, died April 20th in Naples, Florida, at age 95. Over the past five decades, Operation Rice Bowl has become one of the church's best-known Lenten traditions of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, raising nearly$350 million for hunger and poverty relief programs around the world and at home. CRS president and CEO Sean Callahan called Monsignor Cole a visionary priest whose legacy will endure for generations. Bishop Alfred Schlert of Allentown said his life was a gift poured out in service, touching countless lives through compassion, leadership, and faith. In a 2025 interview with OSV News, following cuts to foreign aid under the Trump administration, Monsignor Cole said Rice Bowl was entering its strongest moment, calling the operation an appeal for the world. Three years after a Catholic priest and his driver vanished without a trace in South Sudan, the church is renewing its calls for answers and continuing to pray for justice. Bishop Eduardo Kusala of Tumburo Yambio marked the April 27th anniversary of the disappearance of Father Luke Yugue Umbucosa and his driver, Michael Gabeco, by offering masses in their memory and urging continued prayer. Though the diocese declared Father Luke deceased in 2024, no details about what happened have ever emerged, and their remains have not been recovered. Bishop Kusala told OSV News the pair likely vanished in a rebel-controlled area still too dangerous to access. He also criticized authorities for their inaction, with no arrests and no new information after three years. Church leaders described the case as a national wound in a country where more than 6,000 people remain missing nationwide. As of March, 2.6 million South Sudanese were internally displaced due to renewed conflict, with another 2.3 million living as refugees in neighboring countries. Across the country, Catholic campus ministries are reporting a major rise in college students seeking the sacrament of confirmation this academic year. Many of those students were confirmed during the Easter Vigil and described the experience as life-changing. At the University of Dayton, 20-year-old junior Brooklyn Guerin said she received baptism, first communion, and confirmation this Easter and could not wipe the smile off her face. She described the vigil as filled with joy and grace. At Otterbane University in Ohio, senior nursing student Casey Rigel said she pursued confirmation after realizing she felt unfulfilled and wanting to seek something greater than herself. Students from both Catholic and public universities told OSV News that friendships with practicing Catholics often helped lead them to the faith. Jason King, director of the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary's University, said students searching for meaning and struggling with loneliness are drawn to God's love and the call to love others. Marianist father Bob Jones, University Chaplain at University of Dayton, added that he sees students realize something is missing in their lives when they befriend other students living out their faith. And that's your OSV Newscast for today. I'm Maggie Murray of OSV News. Check out the show notes for direct links to the stories in this episode. Make sure to subscribe to this podcast, follow us on social media, and bookmark osvnews.com. Thanks so much for listening and God bless. This has been an OSV News production. To learn more, visit osvnews.com.
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