Vatican says close to 3 million people saw Pope Leo at the Vatican in 2025 January 1, 2026By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, Jubilee 2025, News, Vatican, World News Close to 3 million pilgrims and visitors attended audiences, liturgies or meetings at the Vatican with Pope Leo XIV from the time of his election in May through December, according to the Prefecture of the Papal Household.
Take time to review the past year with God, pope suggests December 31, 2025By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, Jubilee 2025, News, Vatican, World News Before the final countdown to the New Year, Christians should take a moment to remember all God’s blessings of the past year and to reflect honestly on how they responded to those graces, Pope Leo XIV said.
Vatican agency says 17 church workers murdered in 2025 December 30, 2025By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Missions, News, Vatican, World News Seventeen Catholic priests, sisters, seminarians and lay workers were murdered in 2025, according to Fides, the Vatican’s missionary news agency.
As Holy Doors close, cardinals emphasize God’s arms are always open December 29, 2025By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Jubilee 2025, News, Vatican, World News The path to conversion, the door to God’s mercy and the call to live in Christian hope all continue beyond the Jubilee Year, said the three cardinals who closed the Holy Doors at three major basilicas in Rome.
Open your hearts to baby Jesus and one another, pope says on Christmas December 25, 2025By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Jesus entering the world as a little baby in need of everything is a sign of God’s solidarity with every person in need, longing for love and a helping hand, Pope Leo XIV said at Christmas morning Mass.
Pope thanks priests, encourages them to share responsibilities with laity December 22, 2025By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, Vocations, World News At a time when so much pressure and so many demands are placed on priests, they should find support, freedom and relief in recognizing the gifts of laypeople and collaborating with them, Pope Leo XIV said.
Pray for peace in front of the Nativity scene, pope asks children December 22, 2025By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV asked children to pray in front of their Nativity scenes this Christmas and, especially, to pray “that all the world’s children may live in peace.”
Pope urges people to protect, cultivate even smallest signs of peace, hope December 18, 2025By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News The “confrontational” tone dominating both global and national politics is “deepening instability and unpredictability day by day,” Pope Leo XIV wrote in his message for World Peace Day.
Pope, Israeli president speak by phone about Sydney attack, peace in Gaza December 17, 2025By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, Gun Violence, News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV and Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke by telephone Dec. 17, just days after a terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia led to the deaths of 15 people.
God wants all people to be saved, pope says at Jubilee of Prisoners December 15, 2025By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Jubilee 2025, News, Vatican, World News 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.
Pope condemns ‘antisemitic violence,’ ‘terrorist massacre’ in Sydney December 15, 2025By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, Feature, Gun Violence, News, Vatican, World News 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.”
Pope says US-European alliance needs to be strong December 11, 2025By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, War in Ukraine, World News The evening before meeting a group of conservative European politicians, Pope Leo XIV expressed disappointment at what appears to be a weakening alliance between the United States and Europe.
