Saying that retired Pope Benedict XVI was “very sick,” Pope Francis asked people to offer special prayers for him.

While 2022 finally saw the publication of Pope Francis’ constitution reforming the Roman Curia, the biggest news and the biggest changes in his ministry came from Russia’s war on Ukraine and from the pope’s own problems walking.

In the midst of the multiday blizzard that paralyzed parts of western New York, Father Seil, chaplain for the Buffalo Fire Department, had to evacuate the rectory at his parish in the city’s Old First Ward neighborhood on Christmas Eve, then spent the night aboard the department’s fire boat and celebrated a short Mass Christmas morning for crewman Jack Kelleher.

Intermittent electricity and air raid sirens cannot and should not stop Ukrainians from celebrating the birth of Jesus, said Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

The day after Christmas the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, which emphasizes how the story of Jesus’ birth is not a “fairy tale,” but a call to live as witnesses of the Gospel, Pope Francis said.

Twenty years later, at their assembly in Baltimore Nov. 14-17, the bishops acknowledged the charter’s anniversary and said that they have made steps in addressing clergy sexual abuse and would continue to listen, care for and walk with survivors.

The number of those in America without legal documentation has climbed into eight figures.

With the birth of Jesus, God became flesh to share the joys and sorrows, hopes and fears of all people, especially the poor and those living daily amid danger, Pope Francis said in his Christmas message.

Bishop Robert E. Barron spoke to Catholic News Service about the Word on Fire Catholic Ministries’ Bible project, which will be a seven-volume series when completed.

Christ was born to touch people’s hearts and show that love is the power that changes the course of history, Pope Francis said.