NATION/WORLD

Pope Francis has erected a diocese in northern Mexico, located along the border of Arizona.

At the end of Pope Francis' spontaneity-filled meeting with priests, seminarians and religious in the cathedral of Naples, the vial of dried blood of the city's patron saint appeared to miraculously liquefy.

Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh was surprised at her home at the Sisters of Mercy motherhouse in Albany March 12 when visitors presented her with the Catholic Press Association's St. Francis de Sales Award.

Hearing a Catholic's confession should be awe-inspiring for a priest, an experience that makes him look at his own life and willingness to convert, Pope Francis told a group of seminarians, new priests and priests.

Within two years of becoming pope, Pope Francis now has an effect named after him.

Christian leaders again called for help for Assyrian Christians as Islamic State militants stepped up their attacks against their towns in northern Syria.

The Supreme Court March 9 ordered the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its previous ruling and review -- in light of the June Hobby Lobby decision -- whether the University of Notre Dame must pay for coverage of contraceptives in employee and student health insurance plans.

Christian faith and a moral life are responses to God's mercy and not the result of "titanic" human effort, Pope Francis said.

Cardinal Edward M. Egan, who retired as archbishop of New York in 2009, died March 5. The cause of death was cardiac arrest. He was 82.

Four nationally circulated Catholic publications called for abolishing the death penalty in the United States in a jointly published editorial.