Through the Ages: Servant of God Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val

Rafael Merry del Val was born in London in 1865, the son of a Spanish diplomat and an English mother. His cosmopolitan upbringing was good preparation for a career as a Vatican diplomat. After studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University, he was ordained a priest on Dec. 30, 1888. At age 38, he was named a cardinal and appointed Vatican Secretary of State by Pope Pius X. In addition to his official job duties, however, he also carried out an active apostolate with children and young people in the Trastevere district of Rome. When Pope Pius X died, his successor appointed a new Secretary of State and transferred Cardinal del Val to a lesser role in the Vatican, a move which he accepted without complaint. Although he is often described as the author of the Litany of Humility, it is unclear whether he actually composed the prayer or simply promoted its use.

Cardinal Merry del Val died in 1930 at age 64, and his cause for canonization was opened in 1953. On Oct. 13, 2025, a meeting was held at the Vatican to mark the 160^th anniversary of his birth. Reflecting on the cardinal’s life, Pope Leo XIV told participants that “he was present among the children and young people of Trastevere, whom he catechized, confessed and accompanied with kindness. There he was recognized as a close priest, father and friend. This dual dimension — that of government diplomat and approachable pastor — is what gives his figure a particular richness, for he knew how to combine service to the universal Church with a concrete attention to the last among us.”

Church of Today: Servant of God Ruth Pakaluk

Ruth Pakaluk was a New Jersey native who was raised in a nominally Christian household. In high school, she was an accomplished musician, a stand-out athlete and an extremely bright student, but faith did not play a role in any part of her life. By the time she began her studies at Harvard University, she was a pro-choice atheist. “She had a kind of countercultural streak in her,” her husband Michael Pakaluk recalled. “She used to hang out with her friends on the railroad, wearing an Army jacket.” But after she and Michael got married while they were both students at Harvard, the two began an exploration of various Christian churches that ended in their conversion to Catholicism.

The couple had seven children, and while raising her family, Ruth also became a pro-life activist who worked on the political campaigns of pro-life candidates. She served as president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life and received a Mother Teresa Pro-Life award from the Diocese of Worcester Respect Life Office in 1998. She became a sought-after speaker and guest on many radio and television programs, often debating others on the issue of abortion. She was also very active in her parish, teaching religious education and organizing prayer groups for moms and their children.

At age 33, Ruth was diagnosed with breast cancer and successfully underwent treatment. Several years later, however, doctors discovered that the cancer had metastasized to her bones, leading to a terminal diagnosis.  She lived her remaining years to the fullest, staying active until the last possible moment. Ruth died at age 41 on Sept. 23, 1998. The Vatican approved the opening of her cause for canonization on Sept. 29, 2025.

Role Model for Youth: St. Carlo Acutis

Carlo Acutis was born in London in 1991 and grew up in Milan, Italy. Although he was not raised in a religious family, he exhibited a love for God and the Catholic faith from a young age, stating that his goal was to become a saint. "He always said, 'I want to please God,’” said his mother, Antonia Salzano. After he made his First Communion at age seven, he wrote, “To be united with God: this is my life program.” And he maintained that promise all his life until the end, his mother said.  Before his death from leukemia in 2006 at age 15, Carlo was an average teen with an above-average knack for computers. He used that knowledge to create an online database of Eucharistic miracles around the world. Although Salzano vividly remembers her son's devotion to Jesus and the Virgin Mary and his care for the poor, including using his own money to purchase sleeping bags for the homeless, she also remembers him as an average teenager who enjoyed life. "He loved (soccer), he loved basketball, he liked animals, he liked to play. A lot of friends loved him very much because he was always joking, making films," she recalled. "But at the center of his life was Jesus; he had a daily meeting (with Jesus) through the holy Mass, Eucharistic adoration, and the holy rosary. This was characteristic (of Carlo). And when you open the door of your heart to God, your ordinary life becomes extraordinary.” St. Carlo was canonized on Sept. 7, 2025, by Pope Leo XIV. His body is displayed in a shrine in Assisi, Italy.

Litany of Humility

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being loved, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being extolled, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being honored, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being praised, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being approved, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being despised, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, O Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

St. Josaphat

St. Josaphat was a 16^th-century priest who urged Ruthenian Christians in Ukraine to reunite with the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed Bishop of Vitebsk and Polotsk at a relatively young age, where he continued to encourage union with Rome even though the idea was not popular among the local clergy. He lived the virtues of poverty and chastity to a heroic degree, selling his own vestments to care for the needs of the poor. By refusing to align himself with one political party, however, he was seen as a threat, and a plot was hatched to drive him out of the diocese. He was killed by a mob and his body thrown into a river. However, it was later recovered and is now buried in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. He was the first saint of the Eastern Church to be canonized.

St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales was born in the Savoy region of France in 1567. His family was part of the aristocracy, allowing him to receive an education in rhetoric, the humanities and law. He seemed destined for a career in politics, but he secretly made a vow of celibacy. Against his father’s wishes, he was ordained a priest in Switzerland in 1593 and set out to bring the country back to the Catholic faith. He traveled throughout the country preaching and disseminating religious tracts. As many as 70,000 Swiss Calvinists returned to the Church through his efforts. In 1602, he was named Bishop of Geneva, devoting the rest of his life to restoring the city’s churches and religious orders. Under his direction, the future St. Jane Frances de Chantal founded the Visitation order. His book “Introduction to the Devout Life” has become a spiritual classic. St. Francis de Sales is the patron saint of writers and journalists. His feast day is celebrated on Jan. 24, which falls during the Octave for Christian Unity that takes place each year from Jan. 18-25.

Servant of God Michelle Duppong

Michelle Duppong was born in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, in 1984 but grew up in Haymarsh, North Dakota. She attended North Dakota State University and graduated in 2006 with a degree in horticulture. She then spent six years as a missionary with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) at four college campuses, where she influenced hundreds of young people and played a role in helping some of them discern vocations to priesthood and religious life. In 2012, she became the Director of Adult Formation for the Diocese of Bismarck, and the following year she organized the diocese’s first Thirst Eucharistic Conference. In 2014, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer that required major surgery and chemotherapy. She died on Christmas Day in 2015 at age 31. Duppong is remembered for her intense spirituality, deep piety and deep concern for others, even as she suffered with cancer. Several women who have sought Duppong’s intercession for infertility have become parents. On Nov. 1, 2022 Bishop David Kagan of Bismarck opened Duppong’s cause for canonization. More information can be found at michelleduppongcause.org/the-cause.

In 2025, the Catholic Church celebrated the 1700^th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, an ancient city which is lies in ruins in modern-day Turkey. The bishops who had gathered in Nicaea in 325 A.D. had survived anti-Christian persecution but were facing the fracturing of their communities over disputes regarding "the essence of the Christian faith, namely the answer to the decisive question that Jesus had asked his disciples at Caesarea Philippi: 'Who do you say that I am?'" One source of division was a heresy spread by Arius, a priest from Alexandria in Egypt, who taught that Jesus was not truly the Son of God but rather an “intermediate being between the inaccessible God and humanity.” To counter this erroneous teaching, the bishops wrote a new creed, which is recited by most Catholics at Mass each Sunday and shared with other mainline Christian churches, called the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. It includes an article of faith inserted by the bishops at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 about the Holy Spirit. Western Christians say: "I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets." In his apostolic letter “In Unitate Fidei,” which he wrote for the council’s anniversary, Pope Leo XIV said that the phrase known as the "filioque" — “and proceeds from the Father and the Son” — "is not found in the text of Constantinople; it was inserted into the Latin Creed by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014 and is a subject of Orthodox-Catholic dialogue.” Recent popes, including Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis and Pope Leo, have omitted the phrase at ecumenical prayer services. In his letter, Pope Leo affirmed the Catholic Church's commitment to the search for Christian unity and said, "The Nicene Creed can be the basis and reference point for this journey." The complete text of Pope Leo’s apostolic letter can be found at: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_letters/documents/20251123-in-unitate-fidei.html

Servant of God Julia Greeley

Julia Greeley is known as Denver’s “Angel of Charity.” She was born into slavery in Hannibal, Missouri, between 1833-1848. Her right eye was destroyed by the whip of a slave master. Julia was freed after the Civil War in 1865 and found employment with Julia Pratte Dickerson, a St. Louis widow. When Mrs. Dickerson married Colorado Governor William Gilipin, Julia also went West to serve the household. Julia converted to Catholicism in 1880 and attended Sacred Heart Parish in Denver, a Jesuit parish that was established in 1879. She became a Third Order Franciscan and devoted herself to charitable works and spreading leaflets from the Sacred Heart League, especially to the poor and to Catholic firemen. She also delivered groceries, coal and other essentials to those in need, regardless of race. When Julia died in 1918, hundreds of people flocked to Sacred Heart Church for her funeral. In 2016, her cause for canonization was opened and her mortal remains were transferred to the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver. She is the first lay person to be interred at the cathedral.

Venerable Emil Kapaun

Father Emil Kapaun was a native of Pilsen, Kansas who was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Wichita in 1940. He joined the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps in 1944 and served as a chaplain in both World War II and the Korean War. He celebrated Mass for soldiers in all conditions, even while under fire. In 1950, he was captured during the Battle of Unsan by Chinese forces and put in a prison camp. While imprisoned, he ministered to fellow POWs, provided medical assistance and stole food to help alleviate their starvation. He succumbed to malnutrition and pneumonia on May 23, 1951, in the Pyoktong prison camp. In 2013, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on the battlefield. It is the United States' highest military honor.

But Father Kapaun’s story does not end there. In 2003, a Korean war veteran, William Hansen, visited a VA medical clinic in Naples, Florida, and stumbled upon a copy of the Knights of Columbus magazine, Columbia, that featured an article about Father Kapaun. Hansen immediately recognized the beloved chaplain and recalled burying him in the prisoner-of-war camp. His testimony then became a significant factor that led to the eventual discovery and identification of Father Kapaun's remains in Hawaii. Seventy years after his death, a U.S. government forensics team — the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency — announced March 4, 2021, that it had identified his remains among those of unidentified soldiers long interred in Hawaii at the Punchbowl's National Cemetery of the Pacific. His remains were transferred from Hawaii to the Diocese of Wichita, where they were then taken as part of a procession to his hometown church in Pilsen, Kansas. There, the family was finally able to have a funeral Mass with Father Kapaun’s body present. His casket was interred in a tomb at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Wichita.

During the funeral vigil, a portion of a letter Father Kapaun wrote to his cousin was read: "I have a feeling that I am far, far from being a saint worthy to receive the Priesthood. Think what it means!! To offer up the Living Body and Blood of Our Savior every day in Holy Mass — to absolve souls from sin in Holy Confession and snatch them from the gates of hell."

St. Pier Giorgio Frassati

Pier Giorgio Frassati was born in 1901 in Turin, Italy. His father Alfred was a newspaper businessman and politician who served as an Italian senator and ambassador to Germany. Even as a child, Pier Giorgio was engaged in Catholic groups and sought to receive daily Communion. . Fortified by a robust prayer life rooted in Marian devotion and the Eucharist, at age 17 he joined the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to care for the poor and the wounded soldiers returning home from World War I. He was known for giving money and his possessions to people in poverty, and even skipped vacations to the family's summer home, saying, "If everybody leaves Turin, who will take care of the poor?"

His concern for marginalized and downtrodden people would persist throughout his short life. It influenced his decision to study mining engineering at Royal Polytechnic University of Turin, with the aim of ministering among the miners. Although he was smart, his studies suffered because of the amount of time he dedicated to helping the poor and political activism. In 1919, he joined Catholic Action, which promoted the church's social teaching, especially as articulated in the 1891 encyclical "Rerum Novarum," promulgated by Pope Leo XIII.

Two years later, he helped to organize in Ravenna the first Pax Romana conference, which aimed to unify Catholic university students to work for worldwide peace. In 1922, he joined the Lay Dominicans, also known as the Third Order of St. Dominic, choosing the name "Girolamo" after the fiery 15th-century Dominican preacher in Florence, Girolamo Savonarola.

Throughout his young adulthood, he was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed skiing and mountaineering, art and music, and poetry and theater. He regularly gathered together his friends and was known to be a practical joker, shortening his friends' bedsheets and waking them with trumpet blasts, ultimately earning the nickname "Fracassi," as in "fracas" — a noisy disturbance.

Frassati also engaged in actual fistfights for his faith-based political convictions -- on more than one occasion -- in scuffles with Communists, Fascists and crowd enforcement during activist rallies.

Amid his studies, social life and political activism, Frassati continued to take seriously his spiritual life, charitable works and evangelistic efforts, wasting no opportunity to invite his friends to join him in prayer, Scripture reading or at Mass.

In late June 1925, Frassati began to experience symptoms of polio, likely contracted while visiting Turin's sick and poor. As his suffering worsened, his mind was also on his friends and the poor. He implored his sister, Luciana, to deliver medicine and other promised items to those in need whom he regularly visited. She recounted this in her book "My Brother Pier Giorgio: His Last Days."

Pier Giorgio Frassati died July 4, 1925, at age 24, and his funeral was attended by hundreds of his city's poor, revealing to many, especially his family members, the fullness of his charity. He was initially buried in the family crypt in the nearby city of Pollone, but his body was moved to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin after his beatification in 1990. At Frassati's beatification, St. John Paul II described him as a "man of the beatitudes."

“To love someone is to desire that person's good and to take effective steps to secure it. Besides the good of the individual, there is a good that is linked to living in society: the common good. It is the good of “all of us”, made up of individuals, families and intermediate groups who together constitute society. It is a good that is sought not for its own sake, but for the people who belong to the social community and who can only really and effectively pursue their good within it. To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity. To take a stand for the common good is on the one hand to be solicitous for, and on the other hand to avail oneself of, that complex of institutions that give structure to the life of society, juridically, civilly, politically and culturally, making it the pólis, or “city”. The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbours, the more effectively we love them. Every Christian is called to practise this charity, in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the pólis. This is the institutional path — we might also call it the political path — of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbour directly, outside the institutional mediation of the pólis. When animated by charity, commitment to the common good has greater worth than a merely secular and political stand would have. Like all commitment to justice, it has a place within the testimony of divine charity that paves the way for eternity through temporal action. Man's earthly activity, when inspired and sustained by charity, contributes to the building of the universal city of God, which is the goal of the history of the human family. In an increasingly globalized society, the common good and the effort to obtain it cannot fail to assume the dimensions of the whole human family, that is to say, the community of peoples and nations, in such a way as to shape the earthly city in unity and peace, rendering it to some degree an anticipation and a prefiguration of the undivided city of God.” — Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI, June 29, 2009.