Father Frank Mann and Donald Trump, former president and now president-elect, have become so close that the Brooklyn-born priest has been invited to deliver the closing benediction at Trump’s inauguration ceremony Jan. 20 in Washington.

Her wide smile and eyes beaming with joy are a signature of Sister Clare Crockett, a 33-year-old Northern Irish nun, who tragically died in the 2016 Ecuador earthquake.

Throughout this season-long journey of excellence that now includes a 13-game winning streak and an opportunity to seize a 12th national title and first since 1988, Notre Dame players and coaches have been besieged by media requests for interviews.

President-elect Donald Trump is preparing a wave of executive orders for his first day in office, including what could constitute dramatic action on deportations as well as other policy items on his agenda.

The negotiations on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the first release of hostages to begin Jan. 19 are seen as an “encouraging sign of peace,” said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace.

While many people around the world seek a blessing for their animals around the Oct. 4 feast of St. Francis of Assisi, in Italy the traditional date to pray for the protection of one’s pets and livestock is Jan. 17 — the feast of St. Anthony the Abbot.

The chief rabbi of Rome said Christian-Jewish dialogue has been a victim of the war unleashed with the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.

During the Holy Year 2025, which is centered on proclaiming a message of hope, Pope Francis told future priests to let hope be the guiding principle of their lives.

A new report confirms OSV News’ previous finding that U.S. Catholic dioceses and eparchies have paid more than $5 billion to settle abuse claims filed over the past two decades — but credible allegations have declined significantly over the same period, with the majority of cases preceding a landmark set of anti-abuse protocols established by the U.S. bishops in 2002.

In the waning days of his single term in the White House, President Joe Biden announced he would bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to Pope Francis.