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.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, presides over the Mass for the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers on July 29, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Cardinal Tagle at Influencers Jubilee: "Love cannot be generated by an algorithm"

“You are not only influencers, you are also missionaries,” Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said during a Mass in St. Peter’s...

Pope Leo XIV greets a young woman along the streets of Albano, Italy before offering Mass in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Pancras near Castel Gandolfo on July 20, 2025. / Vatican Media

Summer "providential time" to Savor Prayerful Moments with God, Others: Pope Leo XIV in Sunday Homily

Pope Leo XIV, who is spending two weeks on summer holiday at the papal estate in Castel Gandolfo, encouraged people...

Pope Leo XIV delivers the Angelus address on July 13, 2025 from Liberty Square in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, where he is spending a two-week summer break. / Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV Prays by Name for Gaza Parish Strike Victims, Renews Plea for Ceasefire

“I express my profound sadness regarding last Thursday’s attack by the Israeli army on the Catholic Parish of the Holy...

Top, left to right: St. Catherine of Siena, St. John Paul II, Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Francis de Sales. Bottom, left to right: St. John Henry Newman, St. Gertrude of Helfta, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. Thomas Aquinas. / Credit: Brooklyn Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Gov.pl, CC BY 3.0 PL, via Wikimedia Commons; Leiloeira São Domingos, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Corrado Giaquinto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Giovanni Battista Lucini, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Herbert Rose Barraud, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Public domain via Wikimedia Commons; Céline Martin, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Carlo Crivelli, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Wisdom from 20 Saints on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

“Dilexit Nos,” meaning “He Loved Us,” describes how devotion to the heart of Christ “reappears in the spiritual journey of...

Blessed Carlo Acutis (left) and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. | Credit: Diocese of Assisi/Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Blessed Carlo Acutis to Be Canonized alongside Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati on September 7

The Vatican announced Friday that Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, two young Catholics beloved for their vibrant...

Pope Leo XIV addresses cardinals in the Sistine Chapel during his first Mass as pope on Friday, May 9, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

In First Mass as Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV Urges Bearing "witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the Savior”

Preaching in the Sistine Chapel on May 9 to the cardinals who elected him, the first pope born in the...

Cardinal Francis Arinze speaks to EWTN News on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Pope Francis’ Successor Should Be “full of fire for kingdom of Christ, spreading the gospel": Nigeria’s Cardinal Arinze

In an interview with EWTN earlier this year, 92-year-old Cardinal Francis Arinze reflected on the qualities needed in the next...

Cardinals celebrate the sixth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on May 1, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Papal Conclave Set to Kick Off May 7 To Be the Largest in Catholic Church’s History

The unprecedented number of 133 cardinal electors surpasses all previous papal conclaves, breaking the previous record of 115 electors in...

Cardinals celebrate the Novendiales Masses on the fourth day of mourning for Pope Francis on April 29, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

College of Cardinals Asks for Prayers ahead of May 7 Papal Conclave

The appeal came as the cardinals concluded their seventh general congregation — the daily meetings leading up to the start...

Detail from St. Catherine of Siena from the circle of Baldassare Francheschini (17th century). / Credit: Baldassare Franceschini, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Pope Francis’ Praise for St. Catherine of Siena, “great female figure of faith”

The late pope sent a telegram marking the 560th anniversary of the saint’s canonization in 2021 calling her “a great...

Blessed Carlo Acutis and the Four Popes

Carlo went on pilgrimage to see John Paul II, offered up his suffering from cancer for Benedict XVI, and was...

Pallbearers carry the wooden coffin of Pope Francis, marked with a cross, into St. Peter's Square for the funeral Mass on April 26, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Pope Francis’ Funeral: A Global Farewell to a Humble Shepherd

Under the bright Roman sun and amid crowds extending down the Via della Conciliazione, the funeral Mass unfolded within the...

Catholics Bid Final Farewell as Pope Francis Lies in State at St. Peter’s Basilica

Long lines of mourners, many waiting more than four hours under the hot Roman sun, wound around St. Peter’s Square...

A panoramic view of St. Peter’s Square filled with faithful attending Easter Sunday Mass at the Vatican on April 20, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

What Happens during the Nine Days of Mourning for the Pope? CNA Explains

Rooted in ancient Christian and Roman customs, the Novendiales is a period of nine consecutive days dedicated to mourning the...

The body of Pope Francis lies in state at the Vatican's Domus Sanctae Marthae chapel, surrounded by Swiss Guards, cardinals, and Vatican officials paying their respects before his transfer to St. Peter's Basilica for public veneration on April 22, 2025. The mortal remains of Pope Francis will be transferred to St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday, April 23. / Vatican Media

Pope Francis to Be Buried at St. Mary Major Basilica Following Saturday Funeral

In accordance with his personal wishes, Francis will not be buried in the Vatican grottoes but instead at the Basilica...

A reliquary containing relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis at the Church of Sant'Angela Merici in Rome, Oct 11, 2021. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican Postpones Carlo Acutis Canonization Following Pope Francis’ Death

The Vatican announced Monday that the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis has been postponed following the death of Pope Francis.

Catholics gather for Easter Vigil Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday, April 19, 2025 / Credit: Zosia Czubak

Pope Francis in Easter Vigil homily: Christ is the "turning point" in Human History

“It falls to us to proclaim this Easter hope, this ‘turning point’ where darkness becomes light,” the pope wrote in...

Pope Francis meets with inmates in a surprise visit to the Regina Coeli Prison on Holy Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Rome. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Makes Surprise Visit to Regina Coeli Prison on Holy Thursday, Meets with Some 70 Inmates

According to the Vatican, the pope met with approximately 70 inmates who regularly participate in activities and catechesis organized by...

More than 1,800 priests gathered with cardinals and bishops at St. Peter’s Basilica for the Holy Thursday chrism Mass, April 17, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

More than 1,800 Catholic Priests, Cardinals, Bishops Celebrate Holy Thursday Chrism Mass Inside St. Peter’s Basilica

On Holy Thursday, more than 1,880 priests, bishops, and cardinals renewed the promises made at their ordinations during the chrism...

Pope Francis appears at St. Peter’s Basilica absent his usual papal attire on Thursday, April 10, 2025. / Credit: EWTN News/screenshot

Vatican Offers Health Update after Pope Francis’ Surprise Visit to St. Peter's Basilica without Papal Attire

A Vatican spokesman told journalists the pope had wanted to get some air and then decided to extend his time...