Catholics gather to pray Rosary for Pope Leo as he undergoes surgery; Katie Zacharia holds first press conference, announces Ambassador Guilfoyle’s resignation; Trump continues campaign blitz for GOP candidates, storms Tennessee, Ohio and today Alaska; Louisiana senator quips: ‘Go vote. If dead people can do it, so can you’; Pope Leo posts opposition to the death penalty ahead of surgery; US bishops continue to denounce plans to broadcast execution of Fort Hood shooter, forbid Catholics to participate in firing squad; Minnesota Republicans issue statement on investigation of Ilhan Omar, turn her own words against her; Today Catholics commemorate the Feast of Our Lady’s Final Apparition at Fatima in 1917 and the ‘Miracle of the Sun’ (Holy Fatima videos to fill your day below); and more —
Catholics gather to pray Rosary for Pope Leo as he prepares for surgery
As Pope Leo XIV prepares for surgery on Tuesday, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Vicar General of Rome, will lead a Rosary at Gemelli Hospital and the Pope’s Augustinian confreres gather in prayer at a Marian shrine near Rome.
The Church across the globe will gather in prayer for Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday, October 13, as he is admitted to Gemelli Hospital for surgery to remove a “small, localized nodule” from his lung.
Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the Pope’s Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, will lead the Rosary at 6 p.m. in the hospital’s St. John Paul II Chapel.
He has invited every parish and religious community in the diocese to pray the Rosary at the same hour, entrusting the Holy Father to the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary.
Read more at Vatican News
New Press Secretary’s first day today
Watch @EricLDaugh; see full briefing @WhiteHouse (including resignation of Ambassador Guilfoyle)
See Trump rally in Tennessee (October 10)
Watch @RiteLineNews; watch Kid Rock support Trump in Tennesee @JakobASimmons
See Trump rally in Ohio with Buckeye state governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (October 12)
Watch @RightLineNews
Trump to rally in Alaska today October 13
Watch @DeborahJSimmon1
Louisiana senator cloaks truth in sardonic humor
Watch @SenJohnKennedy
Pope Leo posts opposition to the death penalty ahead of surgery
See @Pontifex
Catholic Jack Posobiec: ‘Why I support public executions’
Watch @RealAmVoice
US bishops continue to denounce plans to livestream execution of Fort Hood shooter
See @cnalive
Archbishop of the U.S. Military Says Catholics Cannot Participate in Firing Squad
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of all pastoral services to Catholics serving in the U.S. military, said that his fellow churchmen cannot participate in the upcoming firing squad of Nidal Hasan.
Controversy erupted last week when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon will be livestreaming Hasan’s execution, which has been scheduled for December 3. Hasan was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood that killed 14 people — 12 U.S. Army soldiers, one civilian, and an unborn child. Another 33 were injured.
In a statement on Monday, Broglio said that Catholics who serve on the firing squad would be going against church teaching, taking particular issue with the proposed livestream.
“I renew my expression of heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of those who died in the attack at Fort Hood. It was an attack that disregarded the dignity of the human person. I had the sad duty of presiding and preaching at the funeral of Michael Grant Cahill, the only civilian killed in that attack,” said Broglio.
Read more at Breitbart
Ilhan Omar’s US naturalization status under further investigation
See @bennyjohnson
Minnesota Republicans issue statement regarding investigation into Ilhan Omar
Read @mngop
UK CHRISTIAN TEACHER DISMISSED AFTER RESPONDING TO PUPILS, STATING THAT SHE IS PRO-LIFE
A Christian teacher at Biddick Academy in Sunderland has brought a religious discrimination claim after being dismissed following classroom conversations in which she expressed her pro-life beliefs. Anita Meston says she answered pupils’ questions before redirecting the class to the subject without imposing her views.
Anita Meston, a Christian teacher with 28 years of experience, is challenging her dismissal from Biddick Academy in Sunderland after telling pupils that she was pro-life. She argues that the school discriminated against her because of her Christian beliefs, with a preliminary employment tribunal hearing scheduled for 16 October 2026.
Meston joined Biddick Academy in October 2024 as a full-time supply teacher, primarily teaching French and serving as a year 10 form tutor. In March 2025, while covering a Year 8 history lesson, a pupil asked whether she was “pro-abortion”. She answered that she was “pro-life” and, when asked to explain, said her position reflected her Christian faith and her knowledge of women who regretted having abortions. When another pupil said she knew women who had not regretted their abortions, Meston simply replied, “fair enough”, and returned to the lesson.
Read more at Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe)
Ex-Muslim violently attacked for following Jesus urges Christians to share the Gospel
Ahmed Joktan was raised in a deeply religious Muslim family in Saudi Arabia, memorized the entire Quran by age 13, and was expected to follow in the footsteps of generations of relatives devoted to Islam. Christianity wasn’t something he had considered, and certainly was never a faith he imagined embracing.
But an unexpected encounter with a church in New Zealand changed the trajectory of the Mecca to Christ founder’s life, setting him on a path that would eventually cost him his family, his home, and 13 teeth after he was violently attacked for converting to Christianity.
Today, Joktan is a Christian evangelist who shares his testimony and equips believers to reach Muslims with the Gospel. In an interview with The Christian Post, the author of From Mecca to Christ: A True Story from the Son of the Meccan Mufti reflected on his journey from Islam to Christianity, the persecution he endured, and why he believes Western Christians must overcome their fear of evangelizing Muslims.
Read more at The Christian Post
Candlelight ceremony in Fatima on the eve of the Feast day of Our Lady
Watch @CatholicSat
Today October 13 marks the Feast day of Our Lady of Fatima, commemorating the final apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1917 and the ‘Miracle of the Sun‘
See @father_rmv
The Miracle of Fatima: Why 6 Million Pilgrims Still Visit the Shrine | Full Documentary
The Shrine of Fatima, 130 kilometers north of Lisbon, Portugal, is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world. More than 6 million visitors come every year to take a moment to pray, worship, or adore this monument dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Yet, back in the early days of the XX century, it was nothing more than a rural village that had a population of a few hundred inhabitants. How did this hamlet become one of the most beloved and worshipped places by Christians around the world?
Watch at Get factual
Highly regarded historical Fatima documentary (1984)
Ricardo Montalban narrates this PBS documentary about the 1917 appearance of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal to three children.
Highly regarded for its archival footage, period context (World War I era), and commentary from figures like Malcolm Muggeridge, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and others.
Watch at Internet Archive
Secret Witnesses of the Miracle of the Sun — Full Documentary
… At noon, on October 13th, 1917, a crowd of between 40 and 100 thousand people, including the three Fatima Seers, Lucia dos Santos, Francisco Marto, and Jacinta Marto, witnessed an event so shocking, news of it spread across the world. The event was so incredible, it has cemented itself as one of, if not the most credible examples of a modern miracle known to man. These Witnesses, gathered in a large, rain-soaked field, saw the noonday sun roll from left to right, dancing out of its predictable orbit, then draw close to the crowd, stopping above a small tree in the middle of the field. While it moved, the sun changed colors, changing from yellow, to every color in the rainbow, returning back to yellow as it drew close to the tree. The Witnesses all claim to have been able to look at the sun without pain. The sun was so hot that the field was reported to have dried within minutes, and the thousands of people who witnessed this event all claim to have left the area that day with their rain-soaked clothes completely dry. …
Watch at America Needs Fatima
