Christians committed to the exercise of justice on behalf of a nation or the Catholic Church, must strive to fully respect the law, the dignity of the person and the need for reconciliation and forgiveness, Pope Leo XIV said.

Under a very warm midday sun Sept. 20, the pope greeted thousands of participants in the Jubilee of Justice. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and judges, lawyers, court officials, canon lawyers and law professors from about 100 countries attended the event.

Pope Leo focused his remarks on the beatitude, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness (or justice) for they will be satisfied." 

Deacon Richard Koppes, who served the diocese for more than 26 years, died on September 9, 2025. He was 79 years old. 

Bishop Rey Bersabal will preside at a funeral mass on Friday, October 3, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. at St. Anthony Parish, 660 Florin Rd Sacramento, CA 95831.

Richard Koppes, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, and dear friend to many was born on August 20, 1946, in Norfolk, Virginia to his loving parents, William and Mary Ann Koppes, Rich grew up in Lakewood, California and for the past 53 years has made Sacramento his home.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The greatest risk in life is to waste it by not seeking to follow God's plan, Pope Leo XIV said, proclaiming two new saints -- two young laymen of the 20th and 21st centuries.

"Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upward and make them masterpieces," the pope said Sept. 7.

"The simple but winning formula of their holiness," he said, is accessible to everyone at any time. "They encourage us with their words: 'Not I, but God,' as Carlo used to say. And Pier Giorgio: 'If you have God at the center of all your actions, then you will reach the end.'" 

More than 80,000 people gather in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for the canonization Mass of Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis celebrated by Pope Leo XIV Sept. 7, 2025.