News

Over 2,000 students completed courses by PFI

The Pastoral Formation Institute looks ahead with renewed vision

The Pastoral Formation Institute (PFI) concluded another academic year on Tuesday, 17 June 2025, having accompanied over 2,000 participants across 78 course occurrences, a remarkable increase from last year’s 1,052 participants across 28 courses.

The evening commenced with a Thanksgiving Mass, presided over by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi, followed by a moment of communion among students, lecturers, and staff. This gathering reflected the spirit of shared growth and community that defined the past year… Read more »

Julian Fenech awarded 2025 Pope John XXIII Prize for Goodness

Julian Fenech, li jmur fl-Iskola Primarja STC Annibale Preca Ħal Lija, huwa r-rebbieħ tal-Premju Papa Ġwanni XXIII għat-Tjubija 2025. Huwa ġie mressaq għal dan il-premju mill-kap tal-iskola, is-Sur Lawrence Darmanin.

Waħda mill-aktar kwalitajiet notevoli ta’ Julian hija d-dedikazzjoni tiegħu lejn studenti bi bżonnijiet speċjali u dawk minn kulturi differenti. Hu dejjem lest jaħdem magħhom, speċjalment meta jkun hemm xogħol fi gruppi.

Julian huwa eżempju ta’ xi jfisser li tkun ta’ qalb tajba… Read more »

Pope Leo XIV to spend summer holidays in Castel Gandolfo

Photo: Vatican Media (main square of Castel Gandolfo)

Pope Leo XIV will resume the tradition of spending some time in Castel Gandolfo during the summer holidays.

According to a statement published by the Prefecture of the Papal Household on Tuesday, the Holy Father will spend two separate periods in the hilltop town near Rome.

He will spend half of July at the papal residence and then return for the holiday of the Feast of the Assumption on August 15… Read more »

Concerns voiced by disability advocates on embryo screening and euthanasia practice

Photo by RDNE

As the Maltese Federation of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (MFOPD), we are deeply concerned about the growing trend in some EU countries to expand euthanasia and assisted dying legislation in ways that may endanger the dignity and rights of persons with disabilities.

While euthanasia is often framed as a personal choice in the face of unbearable suffering, international experience has shown that persons with disabilities can be disproportionately affected… Read more »

Cardinal Grech meets Patriarch Bartholomew: Let us build bridges

A fraternal meeting—marked by an embrace reminiscent of those often exchanged with Pope Francis—took place on the afternoon of June 17 at the Phanar between Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I and Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, who is currently in Istanbul for the meeting of the General Secretaries of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE).

During the gathering, Cardinal Grech presented to all participants the process accompanying the implementation phase of the Synod… Read more »

Pope Leo XIV Celebrates the 43rd Anniversary of His Ordination

Pope Leo XIV celebrated the 43rd anniversary of his priestly ordination today. On June 19, 1982, Robert Prevost was ordained a priest by Belgian Archbishop Jean Jadot in St. Monica Chapel, located just outside the Vatican. He was 26 years old. He entered the Augustinian order in 1977 and took his first vows on Sept. 2, 1978.

St. Monica Chapel, located next to the Plaza del Santo Oficio — where the pontiff currently resides — holds particular symbolic value for Leo XIV… Read more »

All is set for the BOV Volleyball Marathon of id‑Dar tal‑Providenza

The BOV Volleyball Marathon in aid of id‑Dar tal‑Providenza is back with 53 hours of non‑stop play in the Home’s Siġġiewi car park. The 15th edition of the marathon will get under way by H.E. Dr Myriam Spiteri Debono, President of Malta, on Friday 18th July at 6.30pm and end at midnight of Sunday July 20th 2025. Forty players, selected after six weeks of training, will form 5 teams and enter the challenge of fifty‑three hours of continuous volleyball not for any personal gain but to help others… Read more »

Pope at Audience: the heart of Christ is the true house of mercy!

Cycle of Catechesis – Jubilee 2025. Jesus Christ our Hope. II. The life of Jesus. The Parables. 10. The healing of the paralytic. “When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be well?’”

Dear brothers and sisters,

Let us continue to contemplate Jesus who heals… Read more »

Fr Ivan Attard OP confirmed as Europe’s Regional Promoter for Justice and Peace

The Dominicans have a long history of commitment to human rights

Patri Ivan Attard ġie kkonfermat bħala Promotur Reġjonali tal‑Ewropa għall‑Ġustizzja u Paċi, f’mandat li għandu jservi għal tliet snin. Dan ġie kkonfermat mill-Majjistru, Patri Gerard Timoner III wara l-konfirmazzjoni tal‑Provinċjali Ewropej fl‑IEOP u tal‑promoturi tal‑Ewropa għall‑Ġustizzja u l‑Paċi fi Vjenna permezz ta’ dokument uffiċjali.

Id-Dumnikani għandhom storja twila ta’ impenn fil-qasam tad-drittijiet tal-bniedem u fis-sistemi ekonomiċi, soċjali u oħrajn li jifformaw u jaffettwaw ħajjitna… Read more »

Pope Leo on Jubilee of Sport: No one is born a champion or saint

In St. Peter’s Basilica in front of thousands of athletes of all levels, backgrounds and sports, Pope Leo XIV presided over Mass to close the Jubilee of Sport and celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

In his homily, the Pope reflected on how “unusual” the connection between the Trinity and sport might seem. However, he pointed out that since every good human activity reflects God’s infinite beauty in some way, “sport is certainly one of these.”

Sports, Pope Leo continued, can help us encounter God because they challenge “us to relate to others and with others, not only outwardly but also, and above all, interiorly.” If not, sport becomes “nothing more than an empty competition of inflated egos.”

Sports require giving

At sporting events the Italian word spectators use to cheer on athletes is “dai”, which literally means “to give”… Read more »