For the first time in history, 150 homeless people had a festive meal, served by Italian journalists and their families, under the famous baroque Bernini’s colonnade in St. Peter’s Square.

The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily stayed a district judge’s Dec. 7 ruling in favor of a pregnant mother who sued the state for an exemption to its abortion ban, after arguing her pregnancy would endanger her life and future fertility.

A Catholic church in Ukraine named for St. Nicholas marked its patron’s feast day by enshrining relics from St. John Paul II, who witnessed the power of faith over authoritarianism.

To connect with God, Christians must disconnect from the “pollution of vain words and chatter” that reach them through social media and instead seek silence in the desert, Pope Francis said.

Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Weeping Madonna of Syracuse, a plaster image of Mary hung in the bedroom of a newlywed couple in southern Italy that began shedding tears, Pope Francis said the miraculous sign is a reminder of Mary’s maternal presence and her desire that all people would know the love and peace of her son.

Away in a cave near Greccio, Italy, St. Francis of Assisi had the first Nativity scene — a live one — staged for the faithful on Christmas Eve in 1223. A 15th-century fresco now decorating the cave inspired the Nativity scene erected in St. Peter’s Square for the 800th anniversary celebrations.

A Nebraska priest has died after being attacked in the rectory of his parish in the early morning before he was to celebrate Mass for the Second Sunday of Advent.

Country start Craig Morgan grew up in various Christian denominations, predominantly Baptist and, for a time, Presbyterian. But there were some things that didn’t sit quite right with him until he began studying the Catholic faith.

In November, NET Ministries, a Minnesota-based Catholic youth ministry that has been inspiring and forming young people to live their faith for decades, announced that it was expanding its outreach to Hispanic youth through its YDisciple project.

A young singer-songwriter in Nashville, Tenn., is taking her music — and her faith — to a new level with her latest release.