Health care professionals who help expectant mothers have a vocation that is an ode to life, Pope Francis said.

Concern is mounting that the ongoing tumult at the U.S. Agency for International Development is jeopardizing lives and livelihoods supported by the government’s humanitarian aid agency in countries all over the globe, including those assisted by Catholic and other faith-based humanitarian groups.

Pope Francis has extended the terms of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as dean of the College of Cardinals and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri as subdean, the Vatican press office announced.

On Feb. 9, Bishop Johnston’s favorite football team, the Kansas City Chiefs, meets the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Vice President JD Vance defended cuts to U.S. foreign aid in remarks to the International Religious Freedom Summit Feb. 5, arguing the funds were “spreading atheism” abroad.

After requesting tickets online before beginning their journeys, the visitors pick up their tickets at the office in Rome and receive clear information on when to get to the Vatican for the audience and what to bring or not bring — metal water bottles and rolling suitcases topping the no-no list.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops picked “Marriage: Source of Hope, Spring of Renewal. Pursue a Lasting Love!” as the theme for this year’s World Marriage Day, Feb. 9 and National Marriage Week, Feb. 7-14.

As an uneasy calm returned to the Congolese city of Goma, following a unilateral ceasefire declared by the rebels, people began burying the dead, and agencies rushed aid to thousands of displaced civilians, now camping in churches and schools.

Pope Francis said he was “deeply saddened” by the tragic shooting in a Swedish school, sending “assurance of his spiritual closeness to all affected by this traumatic incident,” in which 10 students of an adult education center lost their lives.

The National Catholic Educational Association, which represents some 140,000 educators serving 1.6 million students, announced the recipients of its President’s Awards and its Lifetime Commitment to Catholic Education Award.