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In this week’s news from the Eastern Churches, produced in collaboration with L’Œuvre d’Orient: Christians in Damascus prepare for Christmas with prayer and remembrance at the Church of Mar Elias, Iraqi faithful celebrate the much-loved feast of the martyrs Mar Behnam and Sara, and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church launches Svitlyk, a new YouTube channel bringing faith-filled content to children.
Pope Leo XIV greets several young members of the Italian Catholic Action, and invites them to make peace with somebody close to them before Christmas, emphasizing that peace is built starting from our daily relationships.
As the world prepares for the Christmas season, Christians in Pakistan are working together with civil authorities to implement special measures to ensure maximum security near Christian churches.
Pope Leo XIV accepts the resignation of Cardinal Vincent Nichols and appoints Richard Moth as the new Archbishop of Westminster, in Great Britain.
Students at the Assumption Antipolo Catholic school in the Philippines launch the PASAHero commuter-safety movement, after their submission won funding at the MISSION POSSIBLE Philippines Hackathon, an initiative inspired by the Synod on Synodality.
Pope Leo XIV writes an introduction to “The Practice of the Presence of God,” a book by Carmelite Brother Lawrence, in a new edition released by the Vatican Publishing House (LEV). Written by a humble French religious in the 1600s, the book marked the spiritual life of Fr. Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo.
Pope Leo XIV authorises the promulgation of decrees relating to the upcoming beatification of nine seminarians, a priest, and a layman, martyrs during the Spanish Civil War; as well as an Argentine family man, Enrique Ernesto Shaw, an entrepreneur involved in various ecclesial works. As of today, Fra Berardo Atonna and Sister Domenica Caterina dello Spirito Santo, both Italian, and Joseph Panjikaran, an Indian priest, are recognized as venerable.
Kenya’s Pontifical Society of Missionary Childhood in Kakamega Diocese recently led 30 children on a Pilgrimage of Hope and Solidarity to the Diocese of Lodwar. The children, accompanied by their priest and other religious, brought along food, some clothing items, prayer materials, their joy, and smiles.
Pope Leo XIV meets with the Italian Order of Employment Consultants, and invites them to be close to those who are in need, as they continue promoting safety in the workplace.
As Pope Leo XIV accepts the resignation of Cardinal Timothy Dolan and appoints Archbishop Ronald Hicks to shepherd the Archdiocese of New York, Archbishop Hicks tells Vatican News that the Church must bring God’s peace and healing into the world, while walking alongside survivors of clerical sexual abuse.
In his Message for the 2026 World Day of Peace, Pope Leo XIV addresses the escalation of war, rearmament and fear in international relations, and reiterates the Church’s opposition to deterrence based on military force. He calls for disarmament, dialogue and the conversion of hearts as necessary conditions for a lasting and unarmed peace.
In the aftermath of the Bondi Beach terror attack, Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher describes how the local community gathered together in front of the Catholic Cathedral to remember the victims at a special Christmas light show.
Vatican Media’s headquarters holds a launch event for a new book by Chinese author Chiaretto Yan, entitled “My Chinese Dream: Dialogues and Encounters with Christianity”
Pope Leo XIV receives a telephone call from Isaac Herzog, President of Israel, following the recent terrorist attack in Sydney, and reiterates the Catholic Church’s condemnation of all forms of antisemitism.
Among rice paddies and temples in northern Thailand, Idente Missionaries live alongside families in villages, transforming their shared life into a place of encounter between the Gospel and local traditions.
In his greetings to the faithful from the different language groups during the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Leo XIV underlines the importance of Advent as a time of preparation, prayer, and reflection so that we may welcome the birth of Christ at Christmas.
In his catechesis at the weekly General Audience, Pope Leo XIV explains that our hearts can only find true rest in God and not in the many daily “activities that do not always leave us satisfied.”
At a “small, slightly more personal” encounter inside the Paul VI Hall, Pope Leo XIV greets people with various illnesses and disabilities, offering a special blessing and the wish that “the joy of the Christmas season may accompany” them, their families, and their loved ones.
Pope Leo XIV joins children at a school Christmas concert in Castel Gandolfo, and invites those present to communicate to all the gift of love at Christmas.
In a letter sent on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the International Union of Superiors General, Pope Leo XIV urges women religious to be “pilgrims and missionary disciples of hope,” to heal the wounds of those they encounter.
Holy See Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin presides over at Mass in a hospital chapel in Rome, and visits the oncology ward, bringing Christmas greetings to the patients.
The Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) have made a further appeal to the Global Community to come to the aid of the 165 learners and staff of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Nigeria, who have been in captivity for the fourth week since their abduction on 21 November.
The Australian direction of the Pontifical Mission Societies condemns the attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, in which 15 people were killed and 25 more injured.
The UN children’s agency warns that children are being forced to flee as M23 rebels advance in South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Vatican lights up the Christmas tree and Nativity Scene in St. Peter’s Square in a ceremony with Sister Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governatorate of the Vatican City State, and Italian civil and religious representatives of the dioceses that donated the Christmas elements.
A participant in the Jubilee for Prisoners reflects on the historic Jubilee as a powerful sign of inclusion at the heart of the Church.
Pope Leo XIV sends a telegram to the Archbishop of Sydney, Australia, to offer his condolences and assure his prayers for those affected by the attack on the Jewish community that killed 16 people on 14 December.
The Deputy Editorial Director of Vatican Media, Alessandro Gisotti, succeeds German journalist Stephanie Pieper of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, as President of the EBU Radio News Group. “I am convinced that radio remains essential in the era of Artificial Intelligence because it offers reliable information and a connection with the community that algorithms cannot replace,” he says.
Ahead of the Jubilee for Tourism on Monday, Roman tour guide Dr Elizabeth Lev speaks with Vatican Radio about the role of tour operators and tour guides during the Jubilee Year, and what it means to go from being a guide to a pilgrim.
Following the tragedy of the attack on the Jewish community at Bondi Beach in Australia, Vatican News speaks to the parish priest of the local community. The Archbishop of Sydney also issues a statement urging the Catholic community to end antisemitism through education and preaching.
Countless stories of courage go untold, but the book “Living Ancestors” emerges as a voice for the unseen, the unheard and the deeply faithful women who have shape Africa’s spiritual and social spaces through decades of consecrated service. This ground-breaking work has been brought to life by Sr. Mumbi Kigutha of the Sister of the Precious blood Dayton, Ohio, CPPS, offers a rare glimpse into their lived experiences.
Speaking with the groups that donated this year’s Vatican Christmas Tree and Nativity Scene, Pope Leo XIV highlights God’s closeness to humanity and calls for prayers for those who suffer on account of war and violence, especially the victims of Sunday’s terror attack on the Jewish community in Sydney, Australia.
As you prepare for all of the gifts, parties and dinners headed your way this season, here are some ideas for how to decrease stress during the holidays.
Officials believe two men were involved in a shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia.
After celebrating Mass for the Jubilee of Prisoners, Pope Leo delivers his Angelus address for the third Sunday of Advent, saying that Christian joy endures "when life seems to lose its meaning and everything appears darker.”
During the Sunday Angelus Pope Leo appeals for those fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo to stop the violence which has broken out and return to constructive dialogue. He also remembers the newly beatified martyrs in two separate beatifications in Spain and in France on Saturday 13 December.
During his homily on the Sunday of the Jubilee of Prisoners, Pope Leo XIV challenges both inmates and those responsible for the prisons to hold on to hope and he reminds everyone “that no human being is defined only by his or her actions and that justice is always a process of reparation and reconciliation.”
After conflict reignited between Cambodia and Thailand earlier this month, the Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, Cambodia highlights how the local community is using the Advent season to place their uncertain situation in God’s hands whilst the young people join in Pope Leo's call for peace.
Three different groups of martyrs, nearly 200 in total, are beatified in celebrations in the Cathedrals of Jaen, Spain, and Notre Dame in Paris.
Speaking at the Jubilee for Italian Diplomacy, Pope Leo repeats the appeal of Paul VI for an end to war, and calls on diplomats to be men and women of dialogue.
Pope Leo meets with artists and organisers involved in the Vatican’s Christmas Concert, saying that the festive period reminds us that God comes to meet us “at the very heart of our small human stories.”
As the Church celebrates Gaudete Sunday - Fr Edmund Power reflects on the theme of "joy" that permeates the liturgy on the Third Sunday of Advent.
Speaking to about 1,000 people taking part in the “Living Nativity” tradition at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, Pope Leo challenges them to spread the message that we are never alone and continue to be “pilgrims of hope, bearers of consolation and inspiration for all those you meet.”
In the presence of Pope Leo XIV, Maestro Riccardo Muti conducts Cherubini’s "Mass for the Coronation of Charles X" at a Christmas concert in the Paul VI Hall, during which he receives the 2025 “Ratzinger Prize“. The concert was made possible thanks to the collaboration of the Dicastery for Culture and Education and the Pontifical Foundation "Gravissimum Educationis".
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in St Peter’s Basilica for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who awakens “in the inhabitants of America the joy of knowing they are loved by God.”
The Catholic Bishops of Thailand and Cambodia voice their concern for the intensifying conflict along the two countries' shared border, as thousands of people have been displaced.
Fr. Roberto Pasolini, the Preacher of the Papal Household, delivers his second Advent meditation to Pope Leo XIV and members of the Roman Curia.
In an address to Italy's secret services, Pope Leo XIV calls for security rooted in ethics, warning that the pursuit of peace must never come at the expense of human dignity or truth.
In a message addressed to Latin American priests, seminarians, and religious men and women studying in Rome, Pope Leo XIV encourages them to remember their calling to follow Christ and strive to place God above everything.
