St. Mary's of the Lake Roman Catholic Church

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Of the many traditions and penitential practices observed during the season of Lent, one of the more visible is the stark change in church decor and a complete absence of flowers.

That shift was markedly noticeable during Pope Leo XIV's series of pastoral visits to different parishes in Rome. 

He started the weekly Sunday visits Feb. 15, before Lent, and the areas around the altar in the Church of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido were resplendent with bright yellow and white blooms and lush greenery.

Then, after Ash Wednesday Feb. 18, each church visit has featured an altar and surroundings to be somberly bare of all floral decorations.

"Using flowers is absolutely forbidden" during the season of Lent, according to Micaela Soranzo, a professor and expert in liturgy and religious architecture. 

However, this doesn't mean the church should be devoid of greenery, as small plants or simple compositions made up of leaves and branches are permissible, Sorano told Catholic News Service in an interview in 2019. She has since published a book on the subject, "Il giardino del cielo. Arredo floreale e liturgia," (The Garden of Heaven: Floral decoration and the liturgy.)

Even fruit and berries are acceptable adornments all year, and the cherry is particularly suitable for Lent because, as St. Augustine noted, its red pulp is a powerful symbol of Christ's passion and the pit recalls the wood of his cross, said Soranzo, who has also worked for the liturgy office of the Italian bishops' conference for two decades.

A modest display of flowers during Lent is possible on "Laetare" (Rejoice) Sunday, the fourth Sunday in the season, when the liturgical vestments change from purple to rose. This sudden visual variation is meant to strike the faithful that something new and joyful is approaching as Easter draws near, she had told CNS. 

On Easter day, there is a true "explosion of flowers," representing new life and "light," which means the predominant colors should be yellow and white, she said. All the other colored blossoms and plants are there "to give the idea of a garden, the garden of the Resurrection," she said.

For the Catholic Church, those sprigs, sprays and bouquets adorning church interiors are meant to bring deeper meaning and attention to the liturgy and the key elements inside each place of worship, Soranzo said. 

"The liturgy needs the language of flowers" because they complement "the immobility of the architecture" and church furnishings with their ability to appropriately represent different feast days and the changing cycle of seasons both in nature and the liturgy, she said.

"Flowers are meant to be an integral part of the liturgy," Soranzo said, "not filler."

In fact, when the true purpose of floral arrangements is misunderstood, churches run the risk either of being bereft of any gift of nature presented in homage to Christ or of being turned into a greenhouse "obstacle course" with pots and plants placed in every available space, she said. 

The topic is so important that the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and bishops' conference guidelines include norms on the appropriate use of floral decoration, said Soranzo.

Like all adornments, flowers and plants must not ignore or detract from the symbolic and theological meaning of sacred spaces and furnishings, and they should highlight -- not hide -- the altar, the ambo and the baptismal font, said Soranzo.

The altar -- the table of the Lord -- is Christ; the ambo -- from where the word of God is proclaimed -- is the visible image of Christ resurrected; and the baptismal font is where God's children are welcomed into the Church, she said. 

The need to focus on Christ and his sacrifice means only those elements necessary for the eucharistic celebration should be on the altar, she said, which means flowers should be placed near or next to the altar, never on top -- unless the altar is so large that a small arrangement would not be in the way.

Potted plants with roots should never be used near the altar -- only cut flowers to represent life "that is sacrificed," like the sacrifice of the Eucharist, she said. That is also why no artificial flowers or fake candles should ever be used, she said, because objects near the altar must always be things that "are consumed," depleted and fade away.

The use of flowers also should reflect the hierarchy of what is most important in the church, she said; for example, "it is not right if there are more flowers adorning the statue of the patron saint than the altar."

Soranzo said that a frequent concern of sacristans and parish workers in Italy is the high cost of floral decorations.

She said she tells them, "We must recognize that nature offers us so much," not just the usual hothouse flowers and expensive imports. 

"Creation is so beautiful and wide. The Lord really gave us a lot," she said.

Parishes can keep their costs down by working with florists or farmers and using what is available in their community, said Soranzo. Sometimes the greater the challenge -- be it low budgets, high snowdrifts or long droughts -- the more room for creativity.

"Often simplicity is what makes a composition more beautiful," she said.

The aim, she said, is to create a space where a person of faith or a visitor walks into church and says, "'How beautiful it is to be here.' It has to feel welcoming and flowers help do that."
 

WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has bestowed the designation of “Chaplain to His Holiness” upon Reverend Michael J.K. Fuller, General Secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The pontifical honor comes with the title of Monsignor.

“In his work, Fr. Fuller has demonstrated a pastoral heart, a theologian’s mind, and a worthy steward’s deft guiding hand,” said Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the USCCB, in making the surprise announcement during the USCCB’s Administrative Committee* meeting. He continued, “Last fall my predecessor, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, along with Fr. Fuller’s ordinary, Bishop David Malloy of Rockford, desired to bring an awareness of the exemplary priesthood and work of Fr. Fuller to the Holy Father. Together it was proposed that Fr. Fuller be duly recognized for his priestly life and his service to the broader Church as a seminary formator, a theologian, and as General Secretary.”

Monsignor Fuller is a priest of the Diocese of Rockford and has served the U.S. bishops for the last decade in a variety of roles at the Conference, beginning in 2016 as the head of the Secretariat for Doctrine and Canonical Affairs, and then in the offices of the General Secretariat since 2021.

Prior to his service at the USCCB, Monsignor Fuller was associate professor and chair of the Department of Spiritual Theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary from 2011 to 2016. He was also editor of the Chicago Studies Theological Journal (2012-2016), and from 2002 to 2016, he served as spiritual director and instructor for the Diaconate Formation Program of the Diocese of Rockford, and as instructor for the Diaconate Formation Program of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Monsignor Fuller also served as instructor, assistant professor, and chair of the Department of Christian Life (2002-2011), at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. He taught at the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska (2004-2008); and was instructor in Health Care Ethics at Saint Anthony School of Nursing, Rockford, Illinois (1998-2000). He also served as associate pastor of St. Bridget parish, Loves Park, Illinois (1997-2000).

Monsignor Fuller holds a doctorate in sacred theology, a master of divinity, a licentiate of sacred theology and a bachelor of sacred theology from the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rockford, in 1997. Prior to entering seminary formation, Monsignor Fuller spent two years in Swaziland, Africa, as a Peace Corps volunteer. He has written extensively in numerous scholarly publications and is the author of two books: Daily Prayer 2008 and The Virgin Martyrs: A Hagiographical and Mystagogical Interpretation.

*Led by the Conference president, the Administrative Committee is comprised of the USCCB’s officers, chairmen of the Conference’s standing committees, as well as a representative from each episcopal region of the United States. The committee operates as the board of directors of the Conference.

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WASHINGTON - Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Emanuel Hana Shaleta from the pastoral governance of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Saint Peter the Apostle of San Diego. 

The resignation was accepted in February and publicized in Washington, D.C., on March 10, 2026, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. At the same time the resignation was publicized, it was also announced that the Holy Father has appointed Most Reverend Saad Sirop Hanna, the titular bishop of Hirta, as the Apostolic Administrator sede vacante of the same eparchy.

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ROME (CNS) -- Every Catholic parish needs to show that Jesus, who promises a just, true and full life, is always near, Pope Leo XIV said.

"I encourage you to ensure that parish activities are a sign of a Church that -- like a mother -- takes care of her children, without condemning them, but rather welcoming them, listening to them, and supporting them in the face of danger," he told parishioners at the Church of St. Mary of the Presentation in Rome in his homily March 8.

"As a good and caring Shepherd, the Lord always waits for us and accompanies us, wherever we live and however we are. He mercifully heals our wounds and gives himself as a gift to us, enabling us in turn to become a gift for our brothers and sisters," he said. 

Earlier in the day, before praying the Angelus at midday with people gathered in St. Peter's Square, the pope urged Catholics to be men and women of peace and charity, which the world is thirsting for.

"Let us ask Mary, Mother of the Church, to be able to serve, with Jesus and like Jesus, those men and women thirsting for truth and justice," he said. "This is not the time for opposition between one church and another, between 'us' and 'them': those who worship God seek to be men and women of peace, who worship him in Spirit and in truth."

Later in the early evening, Pope Leo made his fourth visit to a parish in Rome in the run-up to Easter. As bishop of Rome, he has been celebrating Mass and meeting with the faithful and priests in different parts of his diocese, most often in neighborhoods that face a variety of difficulties, such as poverty, violent crime and drug dealing. 

"Young people risk growing up deceived by those who peddle death or disillusioned about the future," he said in his homily. "Many are waiting for a home, a job that ensures a dignified life, safe spaces where they can meet, play and plan something beautiful together."

"Men and women arrive at this parish wounded in spirit, their dignity injured and thirsting for hope," he said. "You have the urgent and liberating task of showing them the closeness of Jesus, his desire to redeem our existence from the evils that threaten it with a proposal for a just, true and full life."

The faithful can find strength in the Eucharist, he said, "and may the Gospel, which springs forth in us as a source of truth, help each of us to open our eyes, to wisely evaluate what is good and what is evil, thus forming free and mature consciences."

Before celebrating Mass, the pope met with families and young people outside. 

"Jesus is coming to your home, in your heart, in your life. We have to be ready to open that door to find Jesus, who is waiting for us," he said.

"Jesus is close to us. Let's open our eyes!" he said, indicating the Lord can be found in those who suffer or seek help. "He asks us to bring them what we have received."

Pope Leo also urged the children to make peace with everyone in their lives as part of bringing peace to the world, which is "truly necessary today."

There is always a way to overcome disagreements and difficulties without resorting to bullying or violence, he told the children.

Before visiting the parish in the early evening on the outskirts of Rome, Pope Leo prayed the Angelus at midday at the Vatican. 

The pope highlighted the day's Gospel reading of the Samaritan woman meeting Jesus at the well (John 4:5-42). 

"According to custom, he ought to have simply ignored that Samaritan woman; instead, Jesus speaks with her, listens to her and shows her respect -- without a hidden agenda and without disdain," he said.

"How many people seek in the Church this same sensitivity, this availability! And how beautiful it is when we lose track of time in order to give attention to the person we are encountering," he said.

So many people in the world are searching "for this spiritual spring," he said, quoting the Dutch Jewish writer Etty Hillesum, who was killed at age 29 in the Auschwitz death camp in 1943: "Sometimes I am there too. But more often, stones and grit block the well, and God is buried beneath. Then he must be dug out again."

"Dear friends, there is no energy better spent than that dedicated to freeing our heart," the pope said.

WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, Titular Archbishop of Sepino, as the new Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. Archbishop Caccia, 68, has served as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations since 2019, and succeeds Cardinal Christophe Pierre, 80, who has held the post since 2016.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, welcomed the March 7 appointment: 

“It is with joy that I welcome the news that our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has appointed as his personal representative and nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Caccia. On behalf of my brother bishops, I wish to extend our warmest welcome and our prayerful support to him as he carries out his responsibilities across the United States, and we look forward to working with him.

“At the same time, I wish to express my sincere and prayerful appreciation to Cardinal Pierre, who has served as nuncio to the United States for nearly a decade. I have had many opportunities to work with Cardinal Pierre over the years, particularly over the last four months through the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Thank you, Your Eminence, for your tireless service to the Church in the United States, and on behalf of my brother bishops, I offer our heartfelt prayers and best wishes in your retirement.”

Archbishop Caccia was born on February 24, 1958, in Milan, Italy. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1983 and has served in the Diplomatic Service to the Holy See since 1991. His curriculum vitae may be found here.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- More than 50 years before the first Paralympic Games were held in 1960 in Rome, the Vatican had already hosted what might have been the very first international sporting and gymnastics event with athletes living with disabilities.

With the Winter Paralympic Games starting in Milan-Cortina March 6 and running until March 15, the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, highlighted that among the series of gymnastics and sporting events held inside the Vatican at the beginning of the last century, the "games" it held Sept. 23-27, 1908, included athletes who were hearing- and vision-impaired and amputees.

For that reason, "perhaps the Paralympics were born right in the Vatican courtyard of San Belvedere, which was transformed into an extraordinary athletics field" and stadium before a large crowd that included St. Pope Pius X, the Vatican newspaper said March 2. 

Athletes from Italy, France, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and Canada competed in the first international Catholic gymnastics and athletics competition in late September 1908, which was opened with two blasts of a trumpet.

Out of the nine vision-impaired young people competing in the high jump, the winner, known only by his last name, Cittadini, won with a leap of 1.10 meters (3-foot-6). In a short-distance race for athletes missing a limb, an unnamed Irishman won, it added, according to the newspapers' archives.

In an article dated Sept. 26, 1908, a reporter for the Vatican newspaper asked the high jump winner if he was happy with how much applause he received after his win. "I would be even happier if I could (jump as high as) sighted people," he said.

The events were "truly superb," the historic article said, conjuring up memories of "a time long ago when the Belvedere Courtyard was the stage for equestrian tournaments."

The Italian magazine "L'Illustrazione Italiana" also described the events in 1908, reporting that the hearing-impaired gymnasts watched for the nods of the director of their Catholic boarding school's club to guide them in their routine, noting the young athletes couldn't hear the enthusiastic applause from the pope and the crowd.

The international gathering ended with the athletes parading through nearby streets in Rome and an audience with St. Pius, who praised the young people for their skills and deep faith; he awarded honorary certificates to the different associations in attendance. 

According to Antonella Stelitano, an expert in the history of the popes and sports, gymnastics events inviting local oratories and parishes were held every Sunday in the Vatican's courtyards of San Damaso or Belvedere starting in 1903, and the first Italian Catholic sports conference was held in 1905 and was organized by Catholic Action.

The pope used the Sunday gatherings to catechize the young people, she wrote in 2021 in RivistaDirittoSportivo.it.

The Vatican newspaper gave ample coverage of the weekly exhibitions with rankings, commentaries, interviews and even notes from medical teams, complete with details of injuries sustained by competitors. Notices of rainouts were published as well as the schedules of the Swiss guards and Vatican gendarmes who took turns welcoming the athletes every week, including with musical fanfare from their respective bands, L'Osservatore Romano wrote.

The pope's speeches to the athletes were always on the front page, it added.

St. Pius saw the Church should encourage games, exercise and play as a wholesome and healthy outlet for adults and young people, not only to practice the virtues of fair play but also as an alternative to pressures to spend one's free time drinking or gambling, according to Stelitano.

The Vatican's special gatherings came right after Pope Pius' election in 1903. The first modern Olympic Games had just been revived in Athens in 1896 after French Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894.

According to Stelitano, de Coubertin was disappointed by the low turnout for the second and third editions of the modern Games in Paris in 1900 and St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904.

He wanted the 1908 games to be held in Rome and thought attendance would be boosted by public support from the pope, she wrote. So, the French baron went to Rome in 1905 and met with the pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val, who also loved sports stemming from his time growing up in England and attending Eton College. 

While the Vatican was supportive of the idea, no public papal promotion would come because of the so-called "Roman question," a lengthy dispute with the Italian government over the sovereignty of the Holy See that kept popes essentially confined inside the walls of the Vatican from 1870 to 1929 after revolutionaries fought against papal control in their struggle to unify Italy.

The Games ended up being held in London in 1908 after the Italian government said it did not have enough money to host the global event and preferred to spend its resources on investing in the nation.

The pope, nonetheless, attended the Vatican's own sporting celebration in 1908, which included those living with disabilities.

It seems fitting that the first-ever Paralympic Games were held in Rome Sept. 18-25, 1960.

Today, the Vatican's own official sports association, Athletica Vaticana, includes athletes with disabilities and migrants, and it is affiliated with the Italian Federation of Paralympic and Experimental Sports and the Italian Athletics Federation.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) --The Catholic Church is both a community made up of fragile and limited human beings and a divine reality, Pope Leo XIV said at his weekly general audience.

The pope continued his series on the Second Vatican Council March 4 in St. Peter's Square, emphasizing one of its principal documents, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, "Lumen Gentium," which examines the nature and identity of the Church. 

He said the Church is "a community of men and women who share the joy and struggle of being Christians, with their strengths and weaknesses, proclaiming the Gospel and becoming a sign of the presence of Christ who accompanies us on our journey through life."

However, he added, it also has a "divine dimension." Its divine nature "does not consist in an ideal perfection or spiritual superiority of its members, but in the fact that the Church is generated by God’s plan for humanity, realized in Christ," he said. 

As proof of this coexistence, Pope Leo pointed to the life of Jesus Christ to illustrate the two dimensions of the Church. People were moved by his humanity, the sounds of his voice, as well as his message.

"Those who decided to follow him were moved precisely by the experience of his welcoming gaze, the touch of his blessing hands, his words of liberation and healing," the pope said. "At the same time, however, by following that man, the disciples opened themselves to an encounter with God. Indeed, Christ’s flesh, his face, his gestures and his words visibly manifest the invisible God."

It is through this humanity, through the struggles and fragility of the faithful that Christ's presence is manifested, the pope said.

"This is what constitutes the holiness of the Church: the fact that Christ dwells in her and continues to give himself through the smallness and fragility of her members," he said.

Pope Leo said this dichotomy is quintessential of God's love, making himself visible through the weakness of his creation and "continuing to manifest himself and to act." The faithful are called to act through communion and charity among all.

"Let us strive to be authentic witnesses of the love of Christ so that all can recognize in us and among us the charity that characterizes true Christians and builds up the Church," the pope said in his greetings to English-speakers.

CASTEL GANDOLFO (CNS) -- In a fractured world threatened by war, Christians can strengthen their bonds of unity to show the world that peace is possible, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago said.

Leaders in the Catholic Church also "need to make sure people understand what's at stake when we opt for war and the consequences that result," he told Catholic News Service March 2.

"I think that church leaders need to pastor our people, giving them a voice about what are the principles from a moral dimension when it comes to pursuing peace, and what should be kept into consideration as we see conflicts in some way trying to be resolved by acts of war, wars that seem to be a choice rather than something that is a matter of necessity," he said.

Cardinal Cupich spoke to CNS during a special visit to the papal farm and the Borgo Laudato Si' center in the papal gardens in Castel Gandolfo. He was taking part in an ecumenical pilgrimage together with Metropolitan Nathanael, who presides over the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. 

The two Christian leaders traveled from the Windy City to Istanbul to meet with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and then on to Rome to visit key Christian sites and to meet with Pope Leo XIV. 

"There'll be three people from Chicago: the pope, Cardinal Cupich and myself," Metropolitan Nathanael told CNS. "We will have a lot to talk about when we meet," though he was unsure about admitting to the pope -- a White Sox fan -- that he is a Yankees fan.

Before meeting the pope March 4, Cardinal Cupich and the metropolitan spent half a day March 2 at the papal gardens and the Borgo Laudato Si' zero-environmental-impact complex devoted to promoting Pope Francis' teachings on caring for creation.

The trip offers an opportunity "to strengthen the bonds of unity between our churches," especially at a time when the world seems to be so fractured by war and conflict, and "to announce to the world that peace is something we should all embrace," Cardinal Cupich said.

"It's an opportunity for us as well to double down on the importance of working together so that humanity can all flourish in a world in which there is peace," he said, adding that coming together at the Vatican-run center dedicated to promoting integral ecology, sustainability and a circular and generative economy was a good place to emphasize that call. 

At Borgo Laudato Si', he said, "we see firsthand how we are one with all of God's creation, and that we live on this tiny speck of cosmic dust called Earth, in which we all are responsible for making sure it is a place that's a home, a common home for all of us."

Metropolitan Nathanael said, "Looking around the beauty of the grounds, we see what can occur when there's synergy, not only between God and human beings, but amongst human beings."

The Greek Orthodox leader, who is based in Chicago, presides over 58 parishes and two monastic communities in six U.S. states.

"I want to encourage all of our people -- Catholic, Orthodox and even nonbelievers -- to do all they can to find common ground among ourselves as children of God, to love God with all our heart and all our mind and all our soul, and to also love our neighbor," he said. "It's important for us to not just coexist, but to find ways to come closer to God and to one another."

Born in Thessaloniki, Greece, the metropolitan said he felt at home during a tour of the papal farm and saw the donkeys -- which provide milk to pediatric patients -- and four horses leisurely munching on a hill of clover. 

While one chestnut horse happily bonded with the metropolitan, the purebred white Arabian horse named "Proton" skittishly avoided his orbit.

Cardinal Cupich and Metropolitan Nathanael also brought freshly-cut flowers grown at the papal farm with them to leave and pray at the tomb of Pope Francis in Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major.

Pope Leo visited and inaugurated the center in Castel Gandolfo Sept. 5, 2025. U.S. Father Manuel Dorantes, a Chicago priest, has been the administrative-management director of the Laudato Si' Center for Higher Education since Dec. 1, 2024, when Pope Francis appointed him to a four-year term.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When millions of visitors flock to the Sistine Chapel each year, their seemingly invisible breath and sweat are slowly leaving a mark on this Renaissance masterpiece, according to Vatican Museums officials.

After 30 years since the chapel's last big renovation, the director of the Vatican Museums, Barbara Jatta, said the impact of five to six million visitors a year has created a white film over different surfaces in the chapel. The largest damage was found on Michelangelo's famous fresco of the Last Judgment.

She said the increased accumulation of residue from human sweat and breath on the artwork may be linked to climate change, as Italy has experienced warmer temperatures in recent years. 

"Every day, we check the Sistine Chapel, but last year, we realized that there is a layer of salt," she told the press invited to the chapel Feb. 28. "It's something that probably is due to the presence of the people, even if we have a very sophisticated climate system" meant to mitigate their impact.

Spread across the entire back wall, greeting visitors as they walk into the chapel, Michelangelo's Last Judgment depicts the second coming of Christ at the moment before delivering his final verdict, surrounded by saints and angels as the blessed rise to heaven and the damned are dragged to hell. 

Jatta said the film is "nothing too serious" and the work is a simple maintenance project. Restorers have been gently brushing deionized water over layers of Japanese paper pressed against the fresco, preserving the underlying pigment while gradually removing the calcium lactate film. 

Every January and February, the museum carries out minor patch repairs on the fresco surrounding the chapel, including removing the whitish film from certain sections, Jatta said. Most of the time, this maintenance can be done quickly with mobile scaffolding. During previous inspections, calcium lactate was found in smaller spots, including on the so-called "Quattrocento paintings." These paintings by several Florentine artists were commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV for two side walls. 

This year, staff found the residue throughout the Last Judgment. Jatta said it was more effective to address the issue by setting up scaffolding rather than use multiple temporary setups. So Feb. 23, the Vatican Museums erected scaffolding concealed by a full-scale image of the Last Judgment fresco on a screen, allowing visitors to continue touring the Sistine Chapel as staff work to delicately remove the residue from the artwork and refresh the mural. 

The scaffolding and screen are expected to remain in place until Holy Week, Jatta said. 

In order to preserve the artwork, Jatta said they have already reduced the number of visitors allowed in the chapel at any one time and extended museum hours. Museum officials plan to add climate control to the upper and lower galleries by the end of 2026 to reduce the effects of visitors' perspiration and breath, she said.

The maintenance work is meant to ensure the vibrancy of Michelangelo's iconic work remains visible to tourists. Staff performed some cleanings last year, "and we realized that it's much better," Jatta told reporters. 

"The colors and the incredible and magnificent fresco of Michelangelo will be back," she said.

Completed between 1536 and 1541, the Last Judgment was essentially painted only by  Michelangelo. Fabrizio Biferali, curator of the museums' department of 15th–16th century art, said the cleaning process has allowed them to uncover new technical details of his work. 

Speaking with reporters on the scaffolding, Biferali pointed to visible revisions in the fresco, explaining how the artist adjusted his figures directly on the wall. 

Biferali drew attention to what are called “pentimenti" or "changes of mind,” where Michelangelo repainted a figure after realizing “the foreshortening wasn’t perfectly effective from below.” Sometimes he even left areas of plain plaster exposed instead of adding a layer of pigment so that “the light plaster itself supplies the highlight.” 

The most recent major restoration of the Last Judgment was completed in 1994, removing a layer of smoke and wax buildup, the Vatican Museums said in a press release.

The Florida Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums covered restoration costs, and Jatta said the museums are very grateful for their support over the years. 

Timothy Lisenbe and Diane Lisenbe, a couple visiting from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, said that while it's not the full experience to see Michelangelo's work during the maintenance project, the Sistine Chapel remains a sight to behold. 

"I've been hearing about this since I was in grade school. Now I'm 64 years old, and it's still fresh on my mind what the teachers told us in school," he told Catholic News Service Feb. 28. "It's really something to see it in real life."

The Lisenbes said they understand that restorations are necessary. She said she also visited the Sistine Chapel during its first major modern-day restoration project and found it ironic that her second visit was again hampered by scaffolding. 

"That means we will have to come back," she said to her husband.

WASHINGTON - On the weekend of March 14-15, Catholics in many dioceses across the United States will be asked to help some of the most poor and vulnerable people. The U.S. bishops’ annual Catholic Relief Services Collection helps those in need in the United States and worldwide by benefiting six agencies and offices affiliated with the Catholic Church, including the U.S. bishops’ flagship international relief and development agency, Catholic Relief Services. Gifts are also accepted online at https://www.igivecatholic.org/story/USCCB-CRS.

“The Church in the United States was built on ministry among immigrants. We help all who are marginalized, including victims of war and disaster overseas. The Catholic Relief Services Collection combines all these kinds of assistance,” said Bishop Daniel H. Mueggenborg of Reno, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on National Collections. “Our Lord tells us to love our neighbors – those we know, those we don’t and those we think are very different from us. The Catholic Relief Services Collection is one way that we show that love. Today it is more vital than ever.”

Of nearly $13.5 million distributed from The Catholic Relief Services Collection in 2024, nearly $8 million went to Catholic Relief Services for international relief and development efforts in places affected by war and natural disaster.

The other recipients are:

• The Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC): Provides training and support to a dedicated network of more than 400 Catholic and community-based immigration law providers in 49 states.
• USCCB Secretariat of Migration (formerly the Department of Migration and Refugee Services): Assists dioceses in carrying out their ministries to newcomers, publishes educational resources, and promotes policies that affirm the life and dignity of immigrants and refugees.
• Two initiatives of the USCCB Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church: pastoral ministries to migrant workers, travelers, and seafarers through its Subcommittee on the Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees, and Travelers, and its Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs, which helps the Church address the unique pastoral needs across many boundaries of language and tradition.
• USCCB Secretariat of Justice and Peace: Engages in advocacy on behalf of the poor around the world and works with policymakers and government officials to end violent international conflicts through its International Justice and Peace program.
• Holy Father’s Relief Fund: Helps Pope Leo XIV rush aid to areas of the world in crisis.

“Together, these agencies help victims of war and natural disaster, support sustainable economic development overseas, advocate for international peace and human rights, help refugees and immigrants in the United States to obtain legal support, offer pastoral support to a wide variety of people who migrate for work and build cross-cultural understanding,” Bishop Mueggenborg said.

For more information on The Catholic Relief Services Collection please visit www.usccb.org/catholic-relief.

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