As deadly wildfires ravage Los Angeles, Catholics are mobilizing to help those impacted.
World News
At age 116, religious sister from Brazil is the oldest person on the planet
Teresian Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas from Brazil has become the world’s oldest person, reaching 116 years and 210 days.
As last major hospital lies in ruins, people of Gaza dying ‘slow death,’ Caritas rep says
With northern Gaza Strip’s last major hospital lying in ruins following a raid by Israeli forces, the director of Caritas Jerusalem said that with limited medical resources and basic supplies, Palestinians in the ravaged territory are running out of time.
Pope condemns economy that ‘does not respect life,’ exploits children
While society is increasingly focused on pushing the limits of human achievement, it must not lose sight of its duty to protect the dignity of the vulnerable, especially children exploited by the “scourge of child labor,” Pope Francis said.
Pope to diplomats: Sweep away ‘clouds of war,’ let ‘winds of peace’ blow
During the Holy Year 2025, the international community should strive “to overcome the logic of confrontation and embrace instead the logic of encounter,” Pope Francis told ambassadors and other diplomats accredited to the Holy See.
L.A. Palisades Fire destroys Corpus Christi Catholic Church, damages school
A church in Pacific Palisades appeared to be destroyed and more than 60 Catholic schools were closed as several major fires in the Los Angeles area burned overnight into Jan.8.
Fellow bishops welcome Cardinal McElroy’s appointment to Washington Archdiocese
A number of fellow prelates are offering their congratulations to Cardinal Robert W. McElroy on his appointment to the Archdiocese of Washington, an influential see that is home to the White House, Congress, and numerous lobbying and nonprofit organizations.
Polish Three Kings Parades break records with 2 million participants in Jubilee Year
Three Kings Parades across Poland Jan. 6 broke records in the Jubilee Year as 2 million people marched down the streets of 905 cities and towns in an initiative that spread abroad from the European country with vibrant popular faith.
Biden cancels final foreign trip, including papal audience, amid California wildfires
President Joe Biden has canceled his upcoming trip to Italy, including an audience with Pope Francis, in order to “remain focused on directing the full federal response” in the wake of the devastating wildfires raging in California, the White House said.
Families are ‘not alone’ in sorrow over deaths, injuries suffered in NOLA terror attack, Biden says
Saying he carried with him the sorrow of the nation for a “horrific act of terrorism” on New Year’s Day that claimed the lives of 14 people on Bourbon Street, President Joe Biden told grieving families at an interfaith prayer service Jan. 6 at St. Louis Cathedral that they would one day be released from their shared pain.
Spain’s famed Camino wraps up the year with a record half million pilgrims
The boom in the number of pilgrims on Spain’s famous El Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, hit a record of almost half a million last year. Among them were 38,000 Americans.
Ahead of U.S. Franciscans’ synod, friars say ‘communal discernment’ long-held tradition for order
While “synodality” might be a new concept to Catholics surprised by the Vatican’s request that dioceses worldwide engage in community discernment from 2021-2024, the U.S. friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe — humble as they are — would still like to gently remind us it’s something Franciscans like themselves have been doing for centuries.