Ver este correo electrónico en español: Haga clic aquí para abrir el correo en un navegador y, a continuación, utilice la función de traducción del navegador. | | Welcome to The New Messenger, your weekly archdiocesan newsletter featuring messages from Archbishop Gustavo, news briefs, event previews, and updated information. The Archdiocese of San Antonio's weekly newsletter is published every Friday morning. | | The Holy See | Pope Leo XIV | | Thousands of young French Catholics converge on soccer stadium for prayer with pope | | About 80,000 young people greet Pope Leo XIV at the Stade de France on Sept. 25, 2026. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News | | At least 80,000 young Catholics flocked to France’s national soccer stadium north of Paris on Friday night, September 25, pray with Pope Leo XIV and to hear his message for the Church whether they were lifting their arms in praise-and-worship or silently venerating the relics of saints and the Holy Tunic of Christ, the entire Stade de France was united in prayer before Leo’s arrival and throughout an hour and a half-long program. | | Message from Archbishop Gustavo
García-Siller, MSpS | |
 | | What will guide your steps? Life moves more quickly than we imagine. Youth blossoms, seasons change, strength rises and falls, and every human achievement eventually passes. Yet this is not a gloomy message. It is an invitation to walk in the light. Wisdom is not measured by how much time we have, but by whom we walk with. Jesus reveals that the deepest light of God will shine from the Cross. This is especially important for our young people. Many young men and women, particularly those who have not yet had a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, do not know what awaits them. In other words, they don’t know what they don’t know. The future can appear exciting, confusing, and uncertain all at once. What they need is not a perfect plan. It is a living friendship with the Lord Jesus. As Pope Leo XIV recently said, “An encounter with Jesus Christ fills the heart with joy and gives us the strength to bear witness to His love and mercy.” Jesus gives us the wisdom that the world cannot manufacture and the love that death cannot extinguish. Choose one young person and accompany them intentionally. Listen, encourage, invite, and share with them something of your own friendship with Jesus. And may Our Lady of Guadalupe, who carried the true Light within her, teach us to walk wisely, joyfully, and always toward her Son.
| | Four Verbs for Every Disciple | | Welcome. Protect. Promote. Integrate. In Part IV of the pastoral letter, We Will Come to You: United in Solidarity with Our Brothers and Sisters in Migration these four verbs become a concrete plan for the archdiocese: parishes forming accompaniment ministries that reach into homes, Know Your Rights sessions, care for families with a loved one in detention, and an appeal to civic leaders grounded in dignity, family unity, and due process. Every ministry, from the Guadalupanas to the Knights of Columbus to youth ministry, is asked one question: How are we welcoming the stranger? This week, read Part IV, ask your parish how you can help, and keep praying daily for migrant sisters and brothers. | | Around the Archdiocese of San Antonio | | |
Every Life a Gift: Respect Life Mass
Sunday, October 4, at 10:45 a.m., at St. Mary Magdalen Church
| | "You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13, NABRE). Every human life is created in God's image and likeness, from the child not yet born to the elder in the frailty of old age. This Sunday, Auxiliary Bishop Gary Janak will celebrate the Respect Life Mass at St. Mary Magdalen Church (directions) at 10:45 a.m. to begin the archdiocese's observance of Respect Life Month. Together we will give thanks for the gift of each human life and pray for mothers and families in need. Archbishop Gustavo has promised that the Church will never abandon them. Bring your family and your parish community, and let us begin this month as one people of life. Prayer continues with a Respect Life Month novena from Oct. 22 to 30. All are welcome. | | Discovering people, stories, artistry, and traditions that shape legacy of the missions today, October 10, at 12:30 p.m., at the Padre Margil Pilgrimage Center | | |
“Before America: Art and the Making of San Antonio” is a special exhibition presented by Las Misiones bringing together artwork from local artists, parishioners, and community members, including works by Cletus and other artists inspired by the San Antonio Missions. Spanning generations and artistic perspectives, the exhibition explores how the Missions have been seen, experienced, and remembered through art.
From historic interpretations to contemporary works, these pieces reflect the enduring presence of the missions within San Antonio’s landscape and their influence on the faith, culture, identity, and communities of the region.
Together, the works invite visitors to see the missions not only as historic landmarks, but as living places whose story continues to unfold through the people who worship, create, preserve, and gather here today.”
As part of a speaker series, Honorable Rebecca Simmons, former executive director of the Old Spanish Missions, will offer a presentation titled “A Hidden Story of the American Revolution” on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 12:30 p.m., at the Padre Margil Pilgrim Center (directions).
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For Those Who Care for the Sick
Sunday, October 18, at noon, at St. Luke Church
| | Think of the nurse who stayed past the end of a shift, the doctor who took time to explain, the chaplain who prayed at a bedside. Jesus receives that care as care given to Himself: "ill and you cared for me" (Matthew 25:36, NABRE). On the feast of St. Luke, patron of physicians, Auxiliary Bishop Gary Janak will celebrate the Health Care Professionals Mass at St. Luke Church (directions). He will offer a special blessing for all who serve the sick, from physicians, nurses, and counselors to hospital ministers and family caregivers. Medical professionals present may also renew their oath of service. Admission is free. Share this invitation with those you know who serve in the medical profession, and consider coming to pray alongside them. | | |
Why I’m Going
Centennial Mass, Saturday, November 7, at 4 p.m., at Nelson W. Wolff Stadium
| | This month, across our social media channels, you will meet parishioners, priests, religious, and young people from across 19 counties answering one question: “Why am I going to Assembly 2026?" Some are going for their grandparents, whose sacrifices built the parish where they were baptized. Some are going for their children, who will inherit the Church we renew. All are going because history like this comes once in a hundred years. #ArchSA100 | | |
World Mission Sunday
October 17 and 18
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This month, the church will be united in its one mission: to make know the One True God, Jesus Christ (John 17: 3).
On October 18, the Church invites all the faithful to take part in a global collection known as World Mission Sunday. The donations received on this day, large or small, become a lifeline for parishes in remote and impoverished regions. From building simple chapels to training catechists and supporting seminarians, your gift helps local church communities grow into vibrant centers of faith.
Begin praying now and plan on how you will give during Mass at your parish October 17 and 18.
Learn more about World Mission Sunday on the Pontifical Mission Societies website.
| | Catholic Television of San Antonio | | On “SA News” a historic moment in the Catholic Church as Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is declared Blessed during a beatification Mass in St. Louis at The Dome at America's Center. | | Redemptorist provincials of North and Central America recently visited the Redemptorist seminarians at St. Gerard’s Church. | |
Today's Catholic Newspaper
| | The next issue of Today's Catholic Newspaper is Friday, October 9. | | Today’s Catholic is grateful to our advertisers for their continued support. To advertise with Today’s Catholic, call (210) 734-1693 or contact Joann Hopkins at jhopkins@archsa.org. | |
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Treasures of the Archdiocese of San Antonio: A Commemorative Book
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Inside Treasures of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, read about San Francesco di Paola, and much more. When you purchase this commemorative book, you will also receive the Today's Catholic 150th anniversary magazine as an added bonus.
Don't let this opportunity slip away. Purchase your book now and take home or pass along a piece of history!
- Published by Editions du Signe | ISBN: 978-2-7468-4515-2
- 9.65” x 11.81”
- Soft cover – glossy paper – 440 pages
- Full color throughout
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Seeking to live in sacramental communion with one another, the Archdiocese of San Antonio exists to make disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ to prepare for the promise of Eternal Life.
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