Cardinal Canizares, the retired Archbishop of Valencia, Spain, is 79 years old and in frail condition.

Cardinal Njue, who retired from his post as Archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya, is also in poor health. But his absence from the conclave includes an interesting story. Because the actual date of his birth was not recorded, for years the Vatican listed him as being born on December 31, 1944: a birthdate that would have made him ineligible for this year’s conclave. Only recently the Vatican updated that birthday, listing it as January 1, 1946, and making him eligible—an adjustment that now appears to have made no practical difference.

WASHINGTON – Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of the Diocese of Victoria, the bishop-promoter of Stella Maris in the United States, will commemorate National Maritime Day and the Catholic Church’s observation of the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and People of the Sea on May 22. The maritime apostolate for the Catholic Church that serves those who work or travel on the high seas and work in ports is known as “Stella Maris” (Star of the Sea). 

The men and women who make their living working on the seas include merchants, sailors, seafarers, fishermen, port personnel and many others in the maritime industry whose work is vital to global commerce. The work of seafarers ensures that raw materials, food, medicines and countless other products are transported to keep the global economy moving.

The nature of maritime work means they are not always a visible presence in the community, and seafarers make great sacrifices with their families to carry out their work. Stella Maris chaplains, deacons and lay ministers serve at ports across the United States to welcome them and be a network of support for them and their families. 

“On National Maritime Day, we thank our brothers and sisters who work as seafarers for their dedication. We also seek the intercession of Our Lady, Star of the Sea -- that she protect and guide those in this important industry that is vital to global commerce,” said Bishop Cahill. 

Commemoration in the Dioceses

In commemoration of National Maritime Day, Bishop Cahill is encouraging dioceses in the United States to remember seafarers during Mass. Dioceses may also wish to consider holding events to support and thank seafarers and raise public awareness of the contributions they make to our country.  

Commemoration in Washington, D.C.

Bishop Cahill will celebrate the Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the Sea, on Saturday, May 24, 2025, at 12:10 p.m. in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (400 Michigan Ave. NE; Washington, D.C.  20017)

Jubilee Year 2025

Pope Francis has designated the 2025 Holy Year as a time to renew ourselves as “Pilgrims of Hope.” The Vatican has appointed the Italian naval ship Amerigo Vespucci, as a Jubilee church and pilgrimage site, providing seafarers the opportunity to be part of the Holy Year celebrations. A pilgrimage to the ship will allow the faithful to gain a plenary indulgence during the Jubilee Year. Read more about the Amerigo Vespucci from Catholic News Service in Rome: https://catholicreview.org/chapel-onboard-historic-italian-naval-ship-designated-a-jubilee-church/. 

For more information on the ministry of Stella Maris, please visit: https://www.usccb.org/stellamaris.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The next pope needs to continue the path set by Pope Francis: Promoting a church that is welcoming, listens to everyone and unifies, some members of the College of Cardinals told reporters April 29.

As members of the College of Cardinals head most days to the Vatican's New Synod Hall for their pre-conclave meetings, scores of reporters and camera operators rush toward them in a wave seeking information about the closed-door deliberations and insight into what they are looking for in a pope.

Speaking to reporters April 29, Cardinal Louis Sako, the Iraq-based patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, said the atmosphere among the cardinals is "fraternal and sincere."

Cardinal Jorge Jiménez Carvajal, the 83-year-old retired archbishop of Cartagena, Colombia, said there was "a great spirit of communion" even with the expression of many different opinions.

Cardinal John Ribat of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 68, said the atmosphere was "free, welcoming" with everyone being open to one another. 

Cardinal Sako said there is a sense of responsibility "in finding someone who continues Francis' efforts." Asked to comment on the April 28 homily of Cardinal Baldassare Reina, who said the church cannot go backward, and whether this was the right direction for the church, Cardinal Sako said, "For me it is."

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, retired archbishop of Vienna, 80, also agreed with the homily's message and said, "We are always moving forward. Do not be afraid."

Salvadoran Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez, 82, retired auxiliary bishop of San Salvador, said there is a sense that the church needs to be a kind of "utopia" where there is room "for everyone: 'todos, todos, todos."

The next pope could be a surprise, he said, just as Pope Francis was a surprise for most.

As the cardinals each get a turn to say what they see happening in the church and the world, and what they would like to see happen, Cardinal Rosa said the late pope made those priorities "very clear" in his brief final testament: the need for world peace and brotherhood among peoples.

Cardinal Ribat said the next pope should be "open to all," but there should also be "a way of kind of controlling, not in a bad way, but in a way that keeps everyone together and unites everyone and to journey together in that way."

So far most of the cardinals who have spoken at the general congregation have been from Europe, he added.

Nearly three-quarters of the 135 cardinal electors -- 99 of them -- were elevated to the college by Pope Francis. Fifty-two of them were named in the last three years, and 20 were named less than five months ago. There are a total of 252 cardinals in the whole college.

That means the cardinals have also spent the first six general congregation meetings trying to get to know each other better, Cardinal Rosa said. "We don't know each other yet."

Nonetheless, he and Cardinal Sako said they expect the conclave to be brief and last two to three days. While not revealing a name, Cardinal Sako said he already had a "very clear" idea of who he intended to vote for.

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Contributing to this story was Justin McLellan at the Vatican.
 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- True discipleship is not measured by the creeds Christians recite or the theology they know, but by how deeply they love, a cardinal said at a memorial Mass for Pope Francis.

"It is not the profession of faith, the theological knowledge or the sacramental practice that guarantees participation in the joy of God," said Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, "but the qualitative and quantitative involvement in the human experience of the least of our brothers and sisters."

Celebrating Mass in the basilica April 29 for the fourth day of the "novendiali" -- nine days of mourning for Pope Francis marked with Masses -- the cardinal said that Christ's final judgment will not be based on knowledge or status, but on acts of mercy toward the hungry, the stranger, the sick and the imprisoned.

His message came as cardinals gathered in Rome said they are beginning to reflect on what qualities the next pope must embody. The cardinals are meeting daily in general congregation meetings ahead of the conclave, which is scheduled to begin May 7.

Concelebrating the Mass with Cardinal Gambetti were the cardinals who lead the three other papal basilicas in Rome: Cardinal Baldassare Reina, papal vicar of Rome and archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran; Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major; and U.S. Cardinal James M. Harvey, archpriest of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

Patrick Kelly, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, was seated in a front row.

Reflecting on the Gospel's imagery of sheep and goats, Cardinal Gambetti explained that those who are welcomed into God's kingdom are not those who sought independence and self-interest, but those who lived with gentleness, solidarity and compassion.

"At the personal and institutional level, we must ask ourselves: which of these two styles do we embody?" he said.

Pope Francis' humanity, tenderness and commitment to peace touched believers and nonbelievers alike, the cardinal said. Quoting Edith Bruck, a Holocaust survivor, poet and friend of Pope Francis, Cardinal Gambetti said the late pope was "a man who loved, who wept, who invoked peace, who embraced and spread warmth wherever he went."

True evangelization, the cardinal said, does not come through grand proclamations but through humble acts of solidarity that reveal God's love in tangible ways.

"Who touches humanity touches God; who honors humanity honors God; who scorns humanity scorns God," he said.

Recalling Pope Francis' conviction that "all, all, all, are called to live in the church," Cardinal Gambetti reflected the on the episode from the Acts of the Apostles in which St. Peter meets Cornelius.

In that account, St. Peter enters the gentile's home despite Jewish custom forbidding him to do so, and, after preaching about Jesus, the Holy Spirit descends upon them both, and the apostle baptizes Cornelius.

The Gospel account is "an episode that, in an age that is globalized, secularized and thirsting for truth and love such as ours" reveals the first pope's attitude toward evangelization, the cardinal said: "Openness to the human person without reservation, gratuitous concern for others, sharing and deepening experiences to help every man and woman give credit to life, to the grace of creation."

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Reporting by CNS Rome is made possible by the Catholic Communication Campaign. Give to the CCC special collection in your diocese May 10-11 or any time at: https://bit.ly/CCC-give

On April 28, members of the College of Cardinals met in their fifth general congregation since Pope Francis’s death. Over 180 of the 252 members of the College of Cardinals were in attendance, the Vatican newspaper reported.

An estimated 200,000 people, including participants in the Jubilee of Teenagers, were in attendance at the Mass, on the second of nine days of Masses in the late Pontiff’s memory. In a separate article, the Vatican newspaper reported that 200,000 teenagers took part in the jubilee.

“It is precisely the Father’s mercy, which is greater than our limitations and calculations, that characterized the Magisterium of Pope Francis and his intense apostolic activity,” Cardinal Parolin preached. “Likewise the eagerness to proclaim and share God’s mercy with all—the proclamation of the Good News, evangelization—was the principal theme of his pontificate.”

He added:

It is important to welcome as a precious treasure this principle on which Pope Francis insisted so much. And—allow me to say—our affection for him, which is being manifested in this time, must not remain a mere emotion of the moment; we must welcome his legacy and make it part of our lives, opening ourselves to God’s mercy and also being merciful to one another ...

Only mercy heals and creates a new world, putting out the fires of distrust, hatred and violence: this is the great teaching of Pope Francis.