Independence Day is a reminder that Americans’ “inalienable rights” mentioned in the Declaration of Independence — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — are gifts from God, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl said July 4 in the nation’s capital.

Participants in the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage carry on the “great legacy of faith” that has crucially shaped the U.S., now marking its 250th anniversary, said Pope Leo XIV in a message to those gathered for the pilgrimage’s concluding liturgy in Philadelphia.

Archbishop William E. Lori said that when Redemptorist Father Patrick Woods invited him several months ago to celebrate an Independence Day Mass on the grounds of the Carroll House, “I knew this is the place I had to be on the Fourth of July.”

For more than 30 years, Dr. Pietro Bartolo said he has examined more than 350,000 people and performed postmortem examinations on those who died making the crossing to Lampedusa, where migrants rescued from the Mediterranean first arrived.

July is my favorite month of the year. It’s my birthday month, so that adds to the joy, but July is also the heart of the summer—and summertime is the best.