The Nativity scene and the Christmas tree are signs of faith and hope, Pope Leo XIV said.
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Even in difficult situations and harsh places, like prisons, when people focus on caring for one another, respecting each other, and offering forgiveness, “beautiful flowers spring forth from the ‘hard ground’ of sin and suffering,” Pope Leo XIV said.
Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski of Providence offered prayers for “all affected by this tragedy” in the wake of a Dec. 13 shooting at Brown University that left two students dead and nine others injured.
Condemning the attack on Jews celebrating Hanukkah in Sydney, Pope Leo XIV said, “Enough with these forms of antisemitic violence! We must eradicate hatred from our hearts.”
Two gunmen targeted Jewish beachgoers at an event celebrating the first day of Hanukkah in an apparent terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, New South Wales police said.
Antonia Brenner was twice divorced and had raised seven children when she gave up her comfortable life in Southern California to live in a small prison cell in the border city of Tijuana.
For the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, and for millions of other people as well, the Catholic Church’s 2025 was primarily about the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV.
More than 550 people attended a medical professionals conference at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, that focused on human dignity and explored the theme, “Mission-Driven Healthcare in a Profit-Driven World.”
Christian archaeology seeks to see, hear, and touch the Word made flesh, Pope Leo XIV said, inviting the world’s bishops and others to encourage young people, lay people, and priests to study archaeology.
Recipients were awarded grants this fall totaling almost $1 million from The Catholic Foundation on Nov. 14 during a ceremony at Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ Vietnamese Church in Carrollton.