Speaking just hours after his wartime Christmas visit to Gaza City Holy Family Parish, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, delivered a poignant Christmas message during a press conference at the Latin Patriarchate Dec. 23.
Faith
To have a true Christian pilgrimage experience along the Camino de Santiago — the popular pilgrimage in northern Spain that leads to the tomb of St. James — pilgrims must cultivate silence, prayer, and charity along their route, Pope Francis said.
As a part of Dallas Kolbe Prison Ministries, volunteers minister to inmates by offering them the opportunity to encounter God and His Church during three-day retreats in prison—transforming these Texas correctional facilities into holy places of worship.
Pope Francis told young people preparing to seek employment not to accept just any kind of work, especially if it is “evil,” and not to compromise their beliefs for any reason, even for money or social status.
When computer issues at work forced Mariana Foster to contact the IT department at Texas A&M University-Commerce, she was not expecting the fix to be the beginning of a new chapter in her life. Calling IT for help, she struck up a conversation with Justin Foster, the tech-savvy voice on the other end. What started as small talk to fill an awkward silence quickly turned into a shared discovery—they were both Catholic.
From Nigeria to Mozambique, Sudan and Congo to Burkina Faso, Christians across Africa were victims of horrific persecution in 2024, mainly because of their faith.
Mexico’s Catholic clergy have called for a truce on Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and on Christmas Day as criminal violence wracks swaths of the country and clergy working in conflictive regions come under threat.
Jesuit Father Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, the dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of California-based Santa Clara University, has been awarded “The Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation” by the archbishop of Canterbury for his “outstanding contribution to ecumenical work,” honoring “his leadership of a 2019 retreat for politicians on opposing sides in South Sudan’s civil war.”
“With tears in our eyes, let us raise our prayer for peace,” Pope Francis said as he thanked the people of Bethlehem and Palestinian authorities for a Nativity scene to decorate the Vatican audience hall.
The list of miracles that have taken place at the French Marian shrine in Lourdes now includes, for the first time, an English-speaking soldier-patient.