St. Joseph Catholic Church

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Marking the anniversary of the attempted assassination of St. John Paul II and the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, Pope Leo XIV said Mary is the “perfect model” of what the Church is called to be and urged Catholics to imitate her “humility, active faith and obedience.”

During his May 13 general audience in St. Peter’s Square, the pope dedicated his catechesis to Mary, reflecting on her role as “model,” “mother” and “pre-eminent member” of the Church through the teaching of the Second Vatican Council’s dogmatic constitution "Lumen Gentium."

The date marked 45 years since St. John Paul was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter’s Square during a general audience in 1981. The Polish pope was struck twice while passing through the square in his open popemobile. He was rushed to the hospital, where it was discovered that no vital organ was pierced. He later credited his survival to the protection of the Virgin Mary and maintained a lifelong devotion to Our Lady of Fatima.

The shooter, Mehmet Ali Ağca, was apprehended immediately and later visited by the pope who forgave him and called for his pardon. After serving 20 years in an Italian prison, he was deported to his country of Turkey in 2000. 

The pope was shot May 13, 1981, the anniversary of the first of the Fatima apparitions, and the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Three children were tending sheep May 13, 1917, when they had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The apparitions continued once a month until Oct. 13, 1917. The children said Mary asked them to promote devotion to her Immaculate Heart and to pray the rosary daily to bring peace to the world. 

In greeting the Portuguese speakers, Pope Leo said that the Church turns its gaze to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima today, where Mary delivered a message of peace.

"In that place, so dear to Christianity, numerous pilgrims from the five continents gather today: their presence is a sign of the need for consolation, unity, and hope of the people of our time," he said in Italian. 

Pope Leo said Mary is the model of what the "Church is meant to be," because her "unconditional 'yes' shows us how to be members of the Church."

"Let us be challenged by Mary’s example of humility, active faith and obedience," he said to English speakers following his address. "Let us generously respond in love, magnifying God in our hearts, and receiving strength from the sacraments."

He called Mary an “icon of the Mystery,” saying that in her, God’s plan of salvation is revealed through both divine grace and her free acceptance of God’s will.

Continuing his catechetical series on the Second Vatican Council, the pope quoted "Lumen Gentium," saying the council’s teaching on Mary helps the faithful "love the Church and to serve within her the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God."

The Church contemplates the mystery of Mary, not only because of her faith, her charity and the fact that she is the mother of Jesus, but also because, above all, she fulfilled all that she was called to be through the Lord.

Pope Leo called on the faithful to ask for Mary to help through her intercession, saying that everyone can learn from her example of humble and active faith, ending his address by saying, "Let us ask the Virgin to obtain this gift for us: that love for the Holy Mother Church may grow in all of us."

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WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Bishop Frank J. Dewane, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Venice, and has appointed Reverend Emilio Biosca Agüero, OFM Cap., as Bishop-elect of Venice. Father Biosca is a member of the Capuchin Franciscan Friars of the Province of Saint Augustine in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and currently serves as pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington, D.C. 

The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on May 13, 2026, by Monsignor Većeslav Tumir, chargé d’ affaires, a.i., of the Apostolic Nunciature in the United States. 

The following biographical information for Bishop-elect Biosca was drawn from preliminary materials provided to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Father Biosca was born on December 15, 1964. He received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Borromeo College in Wickliffe, Ohio (1987); a master’s degree in theology (1992) and a master of divinity (1992) from Oblate College in Washington, D.C.; and pursued studies (2004-2007) at the John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C., earning a licentiate in sacred theology.

He entered the Capuchin Franciscans on August 2, 1987, and made his perpetual profession to the religious order on August 17, 1991. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 1994. 

Father Biosca’s assignments after ordination include: serving as a missionary in Papua New Guinea from 1994 to 2006, where he was assigned to St. Mary, Queen of the Friars Minor parish in Kagua (1994-2001), and to the Pangia Capuchin Fraternity (2001-2004); he also served as a missionary in Cuba from 2007 to 2019, where he was assigned to the Capuchin Fraternity of Cristo de Limpias in Havana (2007), Iglesia Jesús de Miramar in Havana (2007-2008), Iglesia La Divina Pastora in Santa Clara (2008-2011), and Iglesia La Purísima Concepción in Manzanillo (2011-2019). He has been pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington, D.C. since 2019.

Bishop-elect Biosca speaks Spanish and Tok Pisin (a Creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea).

The Diocese of Venice is comprised of 9,035 square miles in the State of Florida.

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