Aline Compaore sings along with the French choir, Chorale Sainte Marie Reine, at the end of Mass at the Church of Notre Dame in New York, on Sunday, March 6. Today, it is largely African Catholics who worship at the church's French service. (AP/Jessie War

African Catholics in NYC find community at French Mass

Mar 18, 2022

A New York City parish was founded as a chapel in 1910 by French missionaries. Now African Catholics worship there on Sundays, when priests celebrate Mass in French.

Fr. Athanasius Abanulo celebrates Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church in Lanett, Alabama, on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021. (AP/Jessie Wardarski)

US Catholic clergy shortage eased by recruits from Africa

Parish
People
Jan 3, 2022

Nigerian-born Fr. Athanasius Abanulo has filled various chaplain and pastor roles across the United States, epitomizing an ongoing trend of international clergy recruits as fewer American-born men enter seminaries.

Nathalie Charles poses for a portrait outside the Princeton University Chapel Dec. 8 in Princeton, New Jersey. (AP photo/Luis Andres Henao)

What's your religion? In US, a common reply now is 'none'

People
Spirituality
Dec 16, 2021

According to a survey released Dec. 14 by the Pew Research Center, the group commonly known as the "nones" — the religiously unaffiliated — now constitute 29% of American adults. That's up from 23% in 2016 and 19% in 2011.