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Hello, I'm Gina Christian, and you're listening to our OSV newscast for Monday, October 5th, 2026. Today is the feast of St. Faustina Kowalska, the 20th-century Polish religious sister to whom the Lord revealed the divine mercy devotion and its accompanying image. In his apparitions to her, Jesus stressed he wanted to draw humanity close and, as he said, bind them fast to my merciful heart. Faustina was just 33 when she died of tuberculosis on this day in 1938. In 2000, Pope John Paul II, who'd long championed the devotion to the Divine Mercy, canonized St. Faustina and established Divine Mercy Sunday. And five years later, he himself entered heaven on the eve of that very feast. Saint Faustina, pray for us. Now let's catch you up on the Catholic news of the day, and here we go. Well, it's been ten years since Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Latitia, or the joy of love, was released. And this week, some 200 bishops, theological experts, and a number of families will gather at the Vatican to begin a series of meetings looking at what churches have learned so far about the document by living it out in diverse circumstances. Pope Leo XIV convened leaders of the bishops' conferences and Eastern Catholic churches for the discussions, which will run from October 7th to the 14th. Organizers said the meetings will address secularization, declining sacramental marriages, and accompaniment of couples and families, including those in complex situations. Speaking to reporters on October 2nd, Jesuit father Giacomo Costa, a consultant to the Synod Secretariat, described the meetings as an exchange of gifts among local churches, and he said Pope Leo hopes to participate throughout. Four U.S. bishops met with Pope Leo at the Vatican today. Among them was Bishop Louis Tilka of Peoria, Illinois, who presented the Pope with a relic of Blessed Fulton Sheen, the recently beatified Archbishop and Catholic communications pioneer who, like Pope Leo, was born in Illinois. Monsignor Jason Gray of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation joined Bishop Tilka for the audience. Monsignor Gray said Pope Leo spoke fondly of Archbishop Sheen and recalled watching him on television as a child. Pope Leo has previously called Sheen a light of faith, hope, and love, and said he would have liked to attend his beatification. Along with Bishop Tilka, the Pope also received Archbishop Thomas Wensky of Miami for an individual private audience, as well as Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Conference Vice President Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas. The U.S. Bishops Conference leaders' annual Rome visit includes meetings with Vatican offices to provide updates about the church in the U.S. Pope Leo XIV sent a condolence message to Holy Family Parish in Gaza after an Israeli missile strike killed five people, including Christian mother Myssa Khader Ibrahim Abu Daoud and her daughter Mary Hafez Michel Najar. Holy Family's pastor, Father Gabriel Romanelli, shared the Pope's message in a video update yesterday. Reading the Pope's note, Father Romanelli said Pope Leo had been praying for the victims, their families, and everyone in Gaza, writing from Psalm 13, How long, Lord? The Pope thanked the priest for supporting parishioners and others who only want to live in peace. According to Turkey's Anadolu Agency, the women were among five people killed October 3rd in an airstrike on a residential building in Gaza City. Church leaders in Jerusalem offered condolences and prayers for peace. Father Romanelli said 62 Catholic and Orthodox Christians have died during the war, including 25 in bombardments or sniper attacks. He said Gazans are exhausted and pleading for peace. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem also issued a statement on behalf of Cardinal Pier Battista Pizzabala, who expressed condolences to the families of those who had died and to the Christian community in Gaza. The Patriarchate said, his Beatitude offers his prayers to the Lord, asking him to receive the two deceased in his abundant mercy, grant them eternal rest in his kingdom, and bestow upon their families and loved ones the grace of consolation, strength, and hope. And here in the U.S., the Supreme Court began its new term today, with cases on its schedule including religious liberty, guns, immigration policy, and the environment. Among the cases the High Court will hear this term is St. Mary Catholic Parish versus Roy, a clash between Catholic preschools and the state of Colorado over whether those schools can participate in the state's universal preschool program. Other cases the court will consider include a challenge to the Trump administration's policy of carrying out third country deportations, or removals to a country where a person who'd migrated to the United States has no ties. The Trump administration's policy of mandatory detention during deportation proceedings will also be examined, as will state prohibitions on assault-style rifles. The new term opens as President Donald Trump has criticized the judges for ruling against his position in some cases from the court's previous term. In an interview with Time published on October 1st, Trump lashed out about the cases he saw as losses and said he regretted selecting the three judges he nominated to the High Court during his first term. Today the court was scheduled to hear two cases: a lawsuit from officials in Boulder, Colorado seeking to hold oil companies liable for driving climate change, and another case regarding a law limiting disability benefits for some incarcerated veterans. And finally, a priest known for his nationwide radio ministry has been tapped to lead the first and only church-approved Marian apparition site in the U.S. Opus Dei priest Father Francis J. Hoffman has been named president and rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, located in the Wisconsin town of the same name. Father Hoffman is probably better known as Father Rocky, chairman and CEO of Relevant Radio, a U.S.-based Catholic radio and streaming network, and he'll continue in those roles as he directs the shrine, which commemorates the place where the Virgin Mary is alleged to have appeared three times in 1859 to servant of God Adele Bryce, a Belgian immigrant to Wisconsin who dedicated her life to religious education. Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin formally opened Bryce's canonization cause in January, and he announced Father Hoffman's appointment to the shrine in a September 22nd letter to the faithful made public on October 2nd. Father Hoffman will succeed current shrine director, Father Tony Stevens, a member of the Fathers of Mercy, who will continue serving at the shrine as Director of Sacramental Life and Pastoral Care of Souls. And that's your OSV Newscast for today. I'm Gina Christian. Check out the show notes for a link to our website. That's where you can find the stories in this episode, plus a whole lot more. As always, please make sure to subscribe to this podcast, give us a follow on social media and bookmark osvnews.com. A shout out to our listeners around the world. I'd love to see you checking in. Drop us a line, let us know what you think. Thanks so much for listening and God bless.

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