The 2016 Summer Olympics kick off with the lighting of the Olympic Torch on Aug. 5. The Olympic Games are a secular endeavor, but religion is everywhere, if you know where to look. For example, athletes who are religious may say a little extra prayer to St. Sebastian, the patron saint of athletes and of the host city of Rio de Janeiro. Who was St. Sebastian and how did he come to be the symbol of both?

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has appointed six men and six women to a commission to study the issue of women deacons, particularly their ministry in the early church.

WASHINGTON – Kyle Snyder's knack for making history began during his junior year of high school, when he helped win the first-ever state championship for the wrestling team of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, Maryland. In March 2015, Snyder helped Ohio State win its first national title in wrestling, and in September of that same year, Snyder became the youngest world champion in the history of USA wrestling.

KRAKOW, Poland – Questions about suffering have "no easy answers," Pope Francis said in a visit to Children's University Hospital.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – Mike Piazza, the superstar catcher inducted July 24 into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, gave credit to his Catholic faith for his success during his induction speech.

VATICAN CITY – An agreement between the Holy See and France handed responsibility for the church that towers above Rome's Spanish Steps to the French-founded Emmanuel Community.

What you sing and how you sing it on Sunday mornings is about to get a little more fine tuning. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has launched a search for hymns, songs, chants and Mass settings to include in a new national hymnal.

ROME – Carmen Hernandez, co-founder of the Neocatechumenal Way, died in Madrid July 19 at the age of 85.

TORONTO – When the Indy comes to town, organizers bring almost everything a race team could need — including a priest to celebrate Mass.

OAKLAND, Calif. – In what has become a staple of summer television, scores of athletic folks run an obstacle course that looks like a cross between a playground on steroids and the inner workings of a pinball machine.