Check out the most-read local stories and commentaries on CatholicReview.org for 2024.
Feature
Little highlanders from Poland win the internet with their midnight Mass caroling
An army of little violinists dressed in traditional attire of Polish highlanders, or “górale,” went viral playing their Christmas carol in a gorgeous church in southern Poland, making a local legendary children’s orchestra go global.
Pope praises Jimmy Carter’s ‘deep Christian faith’
Offering his condolences, Pope Francis praised former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s Christian faith and his lifelong mission to advance peace.
Radio Interview: Year-end 2024 with Archbishop Lori
As we come to the end of 2024, Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty sits down with Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori to look at the year that is ending, which included the World Synod of Bishops, lots of activity around the Seek the City to Come initiative that reshapes ministry in Baltimore City with an emphasis on evangelizing communities, the upsurge in vocations and more. Archbishop Lori also looks ahead to 2025 and the celebration of the Jubilee Year of Hope.
African bishops cry out for their people amid horrific persecution in 2024
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.
Jimmy Carter, the first president to host a pope at the White House, dies at 100
Former President Jimmy Carter died Dec. 29 at his home in Plains, Georgia, his presidential library announced. At 100, Carter, who had been in hospice care since February 2023, was the longest-living U.S. president.
Archbishop Lori opens local Jubilee Year with Mass at Cathedral of Mary Our Queen
Just five days after Pope Francis opened the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and inaugurated a yearlong Jubilee of Hope, Archbishop William E. Lori welcomed the Holy Year locally with a Mass at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland Dec. 29.
How Father Tolton handled travails, transitions is model for living out the faith, says bishop
A Missouri native, Father Augustus Tolton is recognized as the first African American to be ordained a priest. A candidate for sainthood, he has the title of “Venerable.”
European Catholics take stock of year’s mixed progress on life issues
When British parliamentarians approved a law to allow physician-assisted suicide on Nov. 29, it followed a year of legislative inroads against Catholic social teaching across Europe.
Pope Francis’ 2024: Turning 88, praying for peace, presiding over synod
Pope Francis, who celebrated his 88th birthday Dec. 17, mostly uses a wheelchair instead of walking and presides over rather than concelebrates most public liturgies. Still, he had a 2024 full of important engagements, the longest trip of his papacy and major preparations for the Holy Year 2025, which he is set to open Dec. 24.
God wants all people to be saved; he forgives all who repent, pope says
God wants to save each and every person, and Christians are called to give witness to that fact by praying even for people who have harmed them, Pope Francis said.
School Sisters of Notre Dame announce progress on sale of IND property for affordable housing
The School Sisters of Notre Dame recently announced that they are making progress on the sale of the buildings that housed the Institute of Notre Dame in Baltimore, while also emphasizing their mission to continue to minister to the neighborhood surrounding the Aisquith Street property.