St. Paul observed a city filled with individuals seeking God in misguided ways, prompting him to go to the public square and preach the tru

There is so much wisdom to be gained in the Bible for us fathers, and there is a tremendous amount of collective knowledge to be garnered from our own fathers, as well. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Instruct a child in the way he should go, and when he grows old, he will not leave it.”

Our Catholic Churches have long served as more than places of worship. They are the heartbeat of our communities. They are centers of faith, fellowship, and resilience. Yet, these sacred spaces face a grave threat — complacency.

Still reveling in the aftermath of the election and installation of Pope Leo XIV, I am blown away by Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, the first U.S.-born pope — a pontiff who personifies the universality of the Catholic Church and whose motto is “In the One, we are one.”

If I’m honest, it’s not always easy to be Catholic—especially as someone from a minority group. Being both Black and Catholic often means standing in the minority in both the Catholic Church and within the broader Black community.

Being in St. Peter’s Square at the moment a new Holy Father was elected is an experience I will never forget. I hadn’t expected to see the white smoke. My flight home was scheduled for the next morning, and I had already made peace with the idea that I would miss the announcement.

Pope Francis wrote in his 2025 Jubilee announcement, “Spes Non Confundit,” that “hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring.”

Pope Francis was, without question, the most important and most influential religious and theological figure of the 21st century, not just for Roman Catholics, not just for Christians, but for Jews as well.