Courtney Mares

Courtney Mares is a Rome Correspondent for Catholic News Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she has reported from news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees.

Pope Francis visits the Basilica of St. Augustine in Rome on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Makes Surprise Visit to St. Monica’s Tomb in Rome

During his Tuesday visit to the basilica near Piazza Navona in Rome’s historic center, the pope prayed in the side...

“To the beloved people of Nicaragua: I encourage you to renew your hope in Jesus. Remember that the Holy Spirit always guides history toward higher designs,” Pope Francis said at the end of this Angelus address on Aug. 25. / Credit: Vatican Media.

"Renew your Hope in Jesus": Pope Francis Prays for People of Nicaragua at Sunday Angelus

The pope entrusted Nicaragua to the protection and intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Pope Francis addresses the faithful during second vespers on the feast of Our Lady of the Snows at the Basilica of St. Mary Major on Aug. 5, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Pens Preface to U.S. Death Row Chaplain’s Book on Death Penalty

The pope personally penned the introduction to “A Christian on Death Row: My Commitment to Those Condemned” by Dale Recinella.

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims at the Vatican during the Sunday Angelus, August 18, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Reflects with Wonder on "the miracle of the Eucharist"

Pope Francis said Sunday that the Eucharist is a “miracle” in which Jesus nourishes us with his life and satisfies...

Our Lady of Lourdes grotto, Lourdes, France. / Credit: Elise Harris/CNA

Baths at Our Lady of Lourdes in France Fully Reopened as 30,000 Expected for Assumption Pilgrimage

More than 30,000 pilgrims are expected in Lourdes for the Aug. 15 feast day.

Vatican Urges Iran to Avoid "in any way" Escalating Conflict in Middle East

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, spoke on the phone on Monday morning with Iran’s new president, Masoud...

Pope Francis greets pilgrims at the Sunday Angelus at the Vatican, August 11, 2024 / Vatican Media

Pope Francis: True faith Opens the Mind and the Heart

“Brothers and sisters, when faith and prayer are true, they open the mind and the heart; they do not close...

Nearly 60,000 people attended the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-21, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

National Eucharistic Congress in U.S. Ends with Prayer for "new Pentecost" for Church in America

“Those who choose to stay with Jesus will be sent by Jesus,” Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle told the crowd of...

Rose petals fall in St. Mary Major Basilica Aug. 5, 2017 to commemorate the "miracle of the snow." / Daniel Ibanez/CNA.

Pope Francis to Attend "Miracle of the Snow" Commemoration in Rome

Each year white rose petals fall from the ceiling of the papal Marian basilica in commemoration of a miraculous snowfall...

null / Credit: Blue Planet Studio/Shutterstock

Pope Francis Tells AI Leaders: No Machine Should Ever Choose to Take Human Life

In a message to an AI ethics conference in Hiroshima, Japan, the pope underlined that artificial intelligence has implications for...

Delegates to the Synod on Synodality meet in the final days of the synod, Oct. 25, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media

Synod Organizer Says Vatican Doctrine Office is Studying Women Deacons

Cardinal Mario Grech said the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is studying “the women’s diaconate” within the context...

Documents from the Pontificate of Pius XII released by the Vatican Apostolic Archive. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Pope Francis Appoints New Prefect of Vatican Archives

The Vatican Apostolic Archive contains 53 miles of shelving preserving documentation preserving important documents for the Church dating to the...

Archbishop Carlo Viganò. / Credit: Edward Pentin/National Catholic Register

Vatican Excommunicates Former Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S. for Schism

The Vatican has officially excommunicated Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith announced Friday.

On the last day of June, a month that the Catholic Church dedicates to the Sacred Heart, the pope asked people to continue praying for Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, and other parts of the world where there is much suffering caused by war. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Asks Sacred Heart of Jesus to Convert Hearts Who Want War

Pope Francis prayed for the intercession of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Sunday to convert “the hearts of those...

A 1775 painting of the fireworks over Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome, painted by Jakob Philipp Hackert. / Credit: Public Domain

Vatican fireworks: A 500-year-old Tradition for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul

Each year on June 29, fireworks are launched from atop Castel Sant’Angelo in celebration of the co-patron saints of Rome,...

Pope Francis delivers a message to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Sunday Angelus on June 23, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis: Jesus in the Eucharist Strengthens us in Times of Trial

Speaking from an Apostolic Palace window on June 23, Pope Francis asked the crowd in St. Peter’s Square to reflect...

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square during his general audience on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis fields questions from students about gender identity and LGBTQ discrimination

In the one-hour conversation on June 20 organized by Loyola University’s Building Bridges Initiative, Pope Francis spoke directly to students from...

Venerable Matt Talbot, an Irishman whose journey from alcoholism to the heights of holiness has inspired many who struggle with addiction, is being considered for sainthood in the Catholic Church. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

From Alcoholic to Future Saint: The Inspiring Conversion of Ireland’s Matt Talbot

Venerable Matt Talbot has inspired many who struggle with addiction and is being considered for sainthood in the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Angelus address on Sunday, June 16, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis: The Seeds of the Gospel Take Time to Bloom

Reflecting on Jesus’ parable comparing the kingdom of God to a mustard seed, the pope said Christians should have an...

Statue of St. Peter in front of St. Peter's Basilica. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican Publishes New Document with Proposals “for renewed exercise of bishop of Rome’s ministry of unity”

The study document is the first Vatican text since Vatican II to outline the entire ecumenical debate on papal primacy.