Stories for week of January 11, 2026

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Saturday, Jan. 17

 Official takes stock of Vatican-Jewish relations
 French bishops urge nation’s senate to reject assisted suicide
 Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy forms men of God who build bridges, prelate says
 Rising sea levels, climate change threaten Guinea-Bissau, L’Osservatore Romano warns
 Vatican official hails documentary on jubilee
 Vatican newspaper enters discussion of ordo amoris
 Holy door of St. Peter’s Basilica sealed in solemn rite
 Vatican spokesman highlights Jordan’s holy sites
 Vatican official explains the ‘detachment from all sin’ required for plenary indulgences
 Angelo Gugel, private attendant to three Popes, dies at 90
 Cardinal Parolin concludes Kuwait trip with elevation of nation’s first church to basilica status
 Pope proclaims Year of Saint Francis, with special plenary indulgences
 Vatican to present details of upcoming World Day of the Sick
 Leading Slovenian bishops tell Pope of desire to build a more missionary, unified Church

Released Friday, Jan. 16

 Baltimore seminary names new rector
 Archbishop Chaput offers ‘thoughts on America, age 250’
 Bishop deplores proposed Virginia amendment enshrining abortion to moment of birth
 Welsh bishops urge lawmakers to reject assisted suicide
 Catholic News Agency rebranded as EWTN News
 DR Congo refugees suffer in a ‘hell of the forgotten,’ Vatican newspaper emphasizes
 Be humble prophets of peace and unity, Cardinal Parolin tells Kuwait’s priests, religious
 Pope Leo calls for a free press marked by fairness, search for truth
 Leading European prelate issues ‘strong common appeal’ to pray for peace
 Christ is close to you, Pope says to families of Swiss fire victims
 2nd-ranking official of pontifical abuse commission named to new position
 Kuwait affirms commitment to peaceful coexistence among religions
 Pontiff, UN agency president discuss assistance to poor farmers
 Background: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026

Released Thursday, Jan. 15

 Archbishop Weisenburger appoints former Buffalo seminary rector to lead Detroit’s seminary
 Secretary of State Rubio: US is working closely with Church in Cuba on disaster assistance
 USCCB welcomes Trump administration’s policy change on religious worker visas
 Malawi bishop warns young people against gambling
 Jerusalem’s Christian schools suspend classes to protest new Israeli restrictions
 Russian airstrikes damage Ukrainian Catholic chapel
 India’s Christians experienced ‘high level of violence and intimidation’ in 2025
 388 million Christians suffer ‘high levels’ of persecution and discrimination, report finds
 Vatican foreign minister denounces surrogacy
 Vatican newspaper highlights Iranian regime’s repression
 Manila’s Feast of the Black Nazarene draws record 9.6 million devotees
 Holy doors being sealed until next jubilee
 Cardinal Parolin begins trip to Kuwait
 Vatican Mosaic Studio completes mosaic of Leo XIV
 Pray and meditate on God’s Word daily, Pope emphasizes to pilgrims

Released Wednesday, Jan. 14

 God calls humanity to friendship through His Word, Pope Leo says in audience on Vatican II
 US Supreme Court appears likely to uphold transgender athlete bans
 Staten Island parishes vandalized; state senator pushes for more church security
 British Columbia Supreme Court hears case on Catholic hospital and euthanasia
 Former Anglican bishop discusses journey to Catholic faith
 Be a ‘drum major for justice,’ USCCB president says in MLK Day reflection
 Gambling advertising compromises festival’s Catholic character, archbishop says
 Vatican newspaper underscores suffering of Gaza’s people
 Responding to letter, Pope says ‘hours dedicated to catechesis are never wasted’
 Jerusalem cardinal weighs in on Iran, calls for pilgrims to return to Holy Land
 Central African Republic’s bishops denounce corruption, nepotism, abuse of power
 Venezuelan bishops: foster Christian humanism, peace, and democracy in nation’s schools

Released Tuesday, Jan. 13

 US bishops’ president meets with President Trump, Vice President Vance
 Be signs of peace for each other and for the world, Irish Primate says in new year’s message
 Arizona bill would hit priests with felony if they fail to break confessional seal to report abuse
 USCCB affirms support for Hyde amendment following President Trump’s comments
 Argentine diocese marks 50th anniversary of martyrs of La Rioja
 Group protests Tanzanian bishops’ comments on politics
 Vatican newspaper critiques Nuremberg film’s treatment of Pius XII
 Turin cardinal presents new website on Shroud
 Holy Land friars, diplomats gather at Jordan River to celebrate Christ’s Baptism
 Brazilian bishops invite Pope Leo to visit nation for 2029 missionary congress
 San Marino’s leaders meet with Pontiff
 Vatican court blocks prosecutor’s appeal in Becciu case
 UN official briefs Pope on Palestinians’ suffering
 Amid armed conflict, Cameroon’s bishops discuss communion, collegiality
 Venezuelan Nobel Prize winner María Corina Machado meets with Pope
 In Brussels, Cardinal Parolin urges Europe to rediscover Christian boldness

Released Monday, Jan. 12

 At consistory, Cardinal Zen slams synodality under Pope Francis as ‘ironclad manipulation’
 Former Irish president says infant baptism violates human rights
 Gabon’s leading prelate condemns ritual murders
 Bishop in Cambodia condemns Thai actions in border conflict
 EU leadership is hostile to the family, Catholic family association leader charges
 Specialist in medieval Franciscan history named bishop of Assisi
 Asturias president, Pontiff discuss international drift toward war
 EU official speaks of Pope’s ‘moral leadership’
 Regensburg bishop, a Synodal Way critic, meets with Pontiff
 Vatican newspaper highlights plight of Yemen’s Catholics, served by 1 priest
 Witness to Christ and listen to abuse victims, Pope tells world’s cardinals

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Sat17 January
Ordinary Time

Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot

Image for Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot

The Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (251-356) from the 3rd century. St. Anthony, the Father of the monastics, retired to the desert at about the age of eighteen in order to live in perfect solitude. Many heard about his ascetic life and came to join him in his hermitage, He laid the…

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