NATION/WORLD

CHICAGO (CNS) — With prayers, songs and sealing wax, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago formally closed the investigation into the life and virtues of Fr. Augustus Tolton Sept. 29 in a ceremony in the St. James Chapel at the Archbishop Quigley Center. The prayer service marked the binding and sealing of the dossier local research aimed at making Fr. Tolton, the first African-American diocesan priest, a saint.

After telling parishioners and students in the religious education program at Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Parish about what is happening in Syria, Fr. Rodrigo Miranda was impressed that a 13-year-old girl was one of the first to respond.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis warned against the abandonment and neglect of the elderly, calling it a "hidden euthanasia" rooted in today's "poisonous" culture of disposal and an economic system of greed. In the presence of his predecessor, Pope Francis also thanked retired Pope Benedict XVI for staying to live at the Vatican and being like "a wise grandfather at home."

A new 13-episode series featuring Catholics across the United States and Canada who have returned or converted to the Catholic Church has connections to the Diocese of Phoenix.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The three top leaders of the international Catholic peace organization also called upon the world, particularly the United Nations, to work together to seek nonviolent alternatives to stop the Islamic State's expansion and influence in Iraq and Syria.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis called for prayers and concrete help for the thousands of people affected by the deadly Ebola virus. It was the second time in the past 24 hours that the pope spoke about the outbreak.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Study after study has confirmed that those who are involved in religion and those who are married are healthier, physically and mentally happier and live longer than those who are not.

For many Catholic married couples, the training they received for their vocation started and ended with the required marriage preparation classes they took as engaged couples.

TIRANA, Albania (CNS) — Two survivors of Albania's communist crackdown against the church brought Pope Francis tears with their stories during a vespers service in Tirana's cathedral Sept. 21. "To hear a martyr talk about his own martyrdom is intense," the pope told journalists on the papal plane back to Rome the same evening.

Pope Francis has named Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Spokane, Washington, as archbishop of Chicago, succeeding Cardinal Francis E. George, who has headed the archdiocese since 1997.