St. Maria Goretti Parish

The address of the Holy See’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York at the 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons underscores how the "total elimination of nuclear weapons" is "a necessary responsibility that calls for concrete and credible steps."

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Pope Leo XIV meets with a delegation from The Papal Foundation, and expresses his support for their charitable activities that have helped many in the Church.

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As it meets with Pope Leo XIV, The Papal Foundation announces it has approved over $15 million in grant allocations for 2026, a record in its 38-year history.

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WASHINGTON - Pope Leo XIV has appointed Reverend Gary R. Studniewski and Reverend Robert P. Boxie, III, as auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Washington. Bishop-elect Studniewski is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington and currently serves as pastor of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C. Bishop-elect Boxie is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington and currently serves as chaplain to Howard University in Washington, D.C. 

At the same time, the Holy Father accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Roy E. Campbell, 78, from the Office of Auxiliary Bishop of Washington. The appointments and resignation were publicized in Washington, D.C. on May 1, 2026, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

The following biographical information for Bishop-elect Studniewski and Bishop-elect Boxie was drawn from preliminary materials provided to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Bishop-elect Gary R. Studniewski 

Bishop-elect Studniewski is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington and currently serves as pastor of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C. He was born on May 8, 1957, in Toledo, Ohio. He received an Army commission through the ROTC program at the University of Toledo in 1979, completing a Bachelor of Education degree in Biology. He served in various artillery assignments in the 82d Airborne Division Artillery (1980-1981), and then in the 3d Infantry Division Artillery, United States Army Europe (1983-1986), and from 1987 to 1989 he served in the Army’s Personnel Command in Alexandria, Virginia.

In 1989 Father Studniewski left active duty to enter seminary, and studied at the Pontifical North American College in Rome (1990-1995), earning both a Bachelor of Sacred Theology and Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington on June 24, 1995.

Bishop-elect Studniewski served as military chaplain from 1995-2014, retiring with the rank of colonel. His pastoral assignments in the Archdiocese of Washington have included: Assumption parish in Washington (2014-2016); St. Francis Xavier parish in Leonardtown, Maryland (2016-2017); St. Peter’s parish in Washington (2017-2022); and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament (2022 to present).

Bishop-elect Robert P. Boxie, III

Bishop-elect Robert P. Boxie, III is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington and currently serving as chaplain to Howard University in Washington. Father Boxie was born on September 18, 1980, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering from Vanderbilt University (2002), a Juris Doctor from Harvard University (2007), and studied at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, earning a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (2015) and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (2017) from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 25, 2016.

Father Boxie’s pastoral assignments include: parochial vicar at St. Francis of Assisi parish in Derwood, Maryland (2016); and parochial vicar at St. Joseph parish in Largo, Maryland (2017-2020). Since 2020, he has served as chaplain at Howard University in Washington. Bishop-elect Boxie has also served as professor in the Archdiocese of Washington’s permanent diaconate program since 2018 and has been an assistant vocations director for the archdiocese since 2016.

The Archdiocese of Washington is comprised of 2,104 square miles in the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland.

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WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Mark E. Brennan, 79, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, and has appointed Most Reverend Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, currently auxiliary bishop of Washington, as his successor. 

The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on May 1, 2026, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Menjivar-Ayala’s biography may be found here.

The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston is comprised of 24,041 square miles in the State of West Virginia.

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WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Bishop James A. Tamayo, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Laredo, and has appointed Reverend John Jairo Gomez, as Bishop-elect of Laredo. Father Gomez is a priest of the Diocese of Tyler and currently serves as the vicar general of the diocese. The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C., on May 1, 2026, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

The following biographical information for Bishop-elect Gomez was drawn from preliminary materials provided to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Father Gomez was born on December 15, 1975, in Colombia. He received his master of divinity from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas (2009), and a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (2012). He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Tyler on May 23, 2009.

His parish assignments after ordination include: pastor at Holy Cross parish in Pittsburgh, Texas (2012-2017); pastor at Christ the King parish in Kilgore (2017-2018); and pastor at St. Charles in Frankston (2018-2020). His assignments for the Diocese of Tyler include: judicial vicar (2014-2015); member of the diocesan presbyteral council (2014 to present);; member of the diocesan college of consultors (2015 to present); member of the board of directors for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Tyler (2015 to present); member of the diocesan review board (2017 to present); member of the East Texas Catholic Foundation Board of Directors (2017 to present); member of the board of directors for the diocesan priest retirement plan (2017-2022); diocesan director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (2017 to present); member if the Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors of Hispanic Ministry (2022 to present); delegate of the apostolic administrator (2023-2025). He served as vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Diocese of Tyler from 2015 to 2023 and has also been serving in the role again from 2025 to present. 

Bishop-elect Gomez is a native speaker of Spanish.

The Diocese of Laredo is comprised of 10,905 square miles in the State of Texas.

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The Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) has rushed nearly $1.2 million in aid to support Church-sponsored relief efforts in Gaza and the West Bank since a ceasefire began in October 2025.

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The UN Secretary‑General has warned that the escalating crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could push tens of millions of people into poverty, drive a sharp rise in global hunger and potentially tip the world toward recession.

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Israeli police announce they have arrested a 36-year-old suspect for allegedly attacking a French-born religious sister, who works as a researcher at the French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research in Jerusalem.

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The Vatican Observatory announces that four asteroids have been named after important figures in its history, including Pope Leo XIII, who re-founded the institute in 1891 after the loss of the papal territories.

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