Te Deum Laudamus: Thanking God for 2025 and 2026
COMMENTARY: The Church pauses in prayerful awe, looking at the year that has passed in the light of Christ and entrusting the year to come to divine Providence. As the Christmas Octave and the year 2025 draw to a close, the Catholic Church invites us to pause prayerfully and do something that is right and […]
Pope Leo XIV: The Future Is in God’s Hands
Pope Leo XIV at a New Year’s Eve prayer service reflected on God’s divine plan of salvation for the world — and the hope of ordinary people. “The world moves forward in this way, propelled by the hope of so many simple people — unknown to the world but not to God — who, despite […]
Bosnian Priest Forgives Those Who Murdered His Family
Father Pero Miličević witnessed the cruelest face of war when he was just a child. On July 28, 1993, a group of Muslim militiamen from the Bosnia and Herzegovina army stormed his native village, Dlkani, in the Jablanica district. In just one morning, 39 people were killed, including his father and several members of his […]
Pope Leo XIV Ends 2025 Urging Catholics to Examine Conscience
Pope Leo XIV used the Vatican’s final general audience of 2025 on Wednesday to invite Catholics to look back on the past year with gratitude and repentance, and to place what lies ahead in God’s hands. In St. Peter’s Square on Dec. 31, the pope said 2025 brought both joy and sorrow, citing the jubilee […]
17 Missionaries Murdered Worldwide in 2025
A total of 17 missionaries were killed worldwide during 2025, the Jubilee Year of Hope. With these figures, the number of missionaries and pastoral workers who have lost their lives by violence since the year 2000 to the present day has risen to 626. On Dec. 30, Fides News Agency published its annual report, which […]
PHOTOS: Unforgettable Moments of the 2025 Papal Transition
2025 began with Catholics around the world uniting in prayer for Pope Francis’ health as he entered the hospital on Feb. 14. He was admitted to Gemelli Hospital in Rome for a respiratory infection that progressed to bilateral pneumonia, requiring a prolonged hospitalization that lasted almost six weeks. Soon after, on March 29, the pontiff […]
Pope Leo XIV Warns Gambling ‘Ruins Many Families’
Pope Leo XIV warned about the danger that gambling poses to many families during a Dec. 29 audience with members of the National Association of Italian Municipalities. At the beginning of his address, delivered in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, the Holy Father explained that “the incarnation of the Son of God brings us […]
More Than 3 Million Attend Vatican Events in 2025
During the year 2025, the participation of the faithful in audiences and liturgical celebrations at the Vatican reached a total of 3,176,620 people. The Vatican released on Dec. 30 the attendance figures for liturgical celebrations in 2025, a year marked by the Jubilee of Hope, the death of Pope Francis, and the election in May […]
Enter the Holy Silence of the Christmas Octave
Pause and ponder the miracle we’re celebrating. There is a ceaseless drone of noise in our modern culture. Smartphones buzz, notifications ping, and advertisements play automatically, adding to a cacophony that at times seems to drown out our very thoughts. Streaming, scrolling, and sometimes merely stepping out our door provides us with an endless loop […]
Pope Leo XIV: To Let God Work, You Must Empty Yourself
Pope Leo XIV on Monday explained that in order to allow God’s action in our personal lives, people must “empty” themselves and cultivate a deep inner life. The pontiff made the observation during a Dec. 29 audience at the Apostolic Palace with a group of pilgrims from St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Alcalá de […]