This highly anticipated second volume in historian Kevin Starr’s history of Catholics in the United States is nothing short of glorious.

The Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments asked priests to take special anti-COVID-19 precautions this year when distributing ashes on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, including sprinkling ashes on the top of people’s heads rather than using them to make a cross on people’s foreheads.

Praising those who help the sick and praying for those who are sick, Pope Francis called on Christians to practice what they preach, including by guaranteeing equal access to health care for all people.

Just as the political and criminal fallout has continued over the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol by people seeking to halt the Electoral College certification of President-Elect Joe Biden’s win in the November election, the fallout has extended to job losses for those who have been identified as taking part in the siege.

The Catholic Health Association issued an extensive list of priorities it would like President-elect Joe Biden’s administration to pursue.

Seeing the U.S. Capitol building being stormed by a rioting mob Jan. 6 brought a visceral reaction from Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican from Nebraska. Fortenberry, who is Catholic and often attends daily Mass at St. Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill, called the attack a “desecration.”

Recognizing “the gifts of each baptized person” — women and men — Pope Francis ordered a change to canon law and liturgical norms so that women could be formally installed as lectors and acolytes.

Pope Francis said he was “astonished” by the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol, especially because the people of the United States are “so disciplined in democracy.”

Tommy Lasorda, who won two World Series titles during his 21-year managerial reign with the Los Angeles Dodgers and became an ambassador for baseball in retirement from the sport, died Jan. 7 in Los Angeles at age 93.

There is no example in American history of a U.S. president inciting violence against American institutions or fellow citizens in the manner that President Donald Trump seemingly did on Jan. 6 when an angry mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, according to a historian at The Catholic University of America.