Holy Year pilgrimage is chance to begin again, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A holy year is an opportunity to start fresh with one's relationship with God and with other people, Pope Francis told thousands...
Read More
CLOSE
America's oldest Catholic newspaper
World News
Vatican diplomats discuss paths toward peace in Middle East
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican's top diplomat met with papal representatives to various Middle Eastern countries to discuss possible avenues toward...
Read More
Israel, Hamas reach ceasefire, hostage agreement, as Gaza Catholics rejoice
(OSV News) -- After more than a year of war and thousands killed or wounded, negotiators representing Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal. A six-week...
Read More
Christian persecution on the rise worldwide, new report says
MALMÖ, Sweden (OSV News) -- A new report by Open Doors International said that more than 380 million Christians faced persecution and discrimination...
Read More
Cuba to release 553 prisoners for Jubilee at pope's request
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Taking up the spirit of the recently inaugurated Holy Year 2025, the Cuban government has announced the release of 553 people currently...
Read More
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity to focus on Creed
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As Christian churches prepare to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will...
Read More
Pope looks back on his life, urges people to look to future with hope
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While calling himself an "old man" and saying he never expected to be pope this long, Pope Francis said he still has dreams for the...
Read More
Divest from companies that exploit children, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- People and institutions can protect children by changing what they buy and what they invest in, Pope Francis said. "Fighting exploitation,...
Read More
Kidnapped Nigerian nuns released unconditionally, congregation says
(OSV News) -- Two Nigerian women religious who were kidnapped Jan. 7 as they returned home from a meeting in Ogboji, a town in Anambra state in Nigeria,...
Read More
Sister Clare Crockett, who lived 'exceptional, holy life,' begins road to sainthood as cause opens
(OSV News) -- Her wide smile and eyes beaming with joy are a signature of Sister Clare Crockett, a 33-year-old Northern Irish nun, who tragically died...
Read More
Pope appoints three US experts, two of them women, as dicastery members
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has named three U.S. experts -- two women and an abbot -- to be members of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the...
Read More
Italian bishops say don't automatically exclude gay men from seminary
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Italian bishops' new program of priestly formation, approved by the Vatican, repeats a prohibition against admitting to the seminary...
Read More
U.S. sister killed in the Amazon honored at Rome 'new martyrs' shrine
ROME (CNS) -- "It's quite an honor for her to be here with the likes of St. Oscar Romero," Tom Stang said after a relic of his sister was placed on an...
Read More
Best gift a child can receive is faith, pope says at baptisms
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When children are baptized, their parents and the church are giving them the greatest gift ever: the gift of faith, Pope Francis...
Read More
Chapel onboard historic Italian naval ship designated a Jubilee church
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Italian naval ship "Amerigo Vespucci," currently completing its global tour, has been designated a Jubilee church for the Holy...
Read More
Bishops call for Venezuelan vote to be respected
(OSV News) -- Venezuela's bishops called for the country's electoral decision to be respected on the eve of the Jan. 10 inauguration of President Nicolás...
Read More
Pope to diplomats: Sweep away 'clouds of war,' let 'winds of peace' blow
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- During the Holy Year 2025, the international community should strive "to overcome the logic of confrontation and embrace instead...
Read More
At age 116, religious sister from Brazil is the oldest person on the planet
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (OSV News) -- Teresian Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas from Brazil has become the world's oldest person, reaching 116 years and 210 days. She...
Read More
Pope condemns economy that 'does not respect life,' exploits children
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While society is increasingly focused on pushing the limits of human achievement, it must not lose sight of its duty to protect the...
Read More
Spain's famed Camino wraps up the year with a record half million pilgrims
(OSV News) -- The boom in the number of pilgrims on Spain's famous El Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, hit a new record of almost half a million...
Read More
St. Peter's Holy Door sees more than half million pilgrims in two weeks
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- More than half a million pilgrims crossed the threshold of the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica in the first two weeks after Pope...
Read More
Christ's birth brings light to a troubled world, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a troubled world, the birth of Christ reveals God's unwavering determination to draw all people to himself and illuminate even...
Read More
Pope names Consolata Missionary as the first woman dicastery prefect
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has appointed Consolata Missionary Sister Simona Brambilla to be the first woman to lead a Vatican dicastery, naming...
Read More
Spanish public television mocks the Sacred Heart of Jesus on New Year's Eve
MADRID (OSV News) -- The president of the Spanish bishops' conference, Archbishop Luis Argüello of Valladolid, reacted to Spanish public television's...
Read More
Catholic priest in Belarus convicted of treason, sentenced to 11 years in penal colony
MINSK, Belarus (OSV News) -- Father Henrykh Akalatovich, pastor of the Catholic parish in Valožyn, was sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony in...
Read More
Change of heart key to Holy Year indulgence, Latin patriarch says in Nazareth
NAZARETH, Israel (OSV News) -- An indulgence granted during the Jubilee Year is not just an occasion to "get something" but rather is a sign of the Holy...
Read More
Pope praises Jimmy Carter's 'deep Christian faith'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Offering his condolences, Pope Francis praised former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's Christian faith and his lifelong mission to advance...
Read More
Vatican says 13 missionaries were killed in 2024
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Thirteen Catholic "missionaries" were killed in 2024, most of them during the commission of a robbery, but several obviously were...
Read More
Pope Francis, bishops pray for families of those who perished in South Korean plane crash
MUAN, South Korea (OSV News) -- A passenger plane arriving from Bangkok exploded after skidding off the runway at a South Korean airport in Muan Dec. 29,...
Read More
Holy Family is a model of dialogue, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Holy Family, though made up of saints and God incarnate, faced real challenges and offers a model for navigating the "dramatic"...
Read More
Gunmen shoot Catholic priest dead in Nigeria on Boxing Day
IHIALA, Nigeria (OSV News) -- In a dark sign of descending security in Africa's most populous country, a Catholic priest has been shot dead on the open...
Read More
God wants all people to be saved; he forgives all who repent, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God wants to save each and every person, and Christians are called to give witness to that fact by praying even for people who have...
Read More
Don't lose hope, pope says as he opens Holy Door at Rome prison
ROME (CNS) -- Wearing red vestments for the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Pope Francis knocked on the door of the church in Rome's...
Read More
For Holy Land Christians, Christmas means life, as patriarch preaches Jubilee hope
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (OSV News) -- The Christmas spirit in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, was festive yet overshadowed on Christmas Eve by the grim...
Read More
Pope urges war-torn world to walk through door of peace on Christmas
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As millions of pilgrims prepare to cross through the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis called on individuals, nations...
Read More
Christians protest in Syria after Christmas tree burned
(OSV News) -- A Christmas tree was reportedly set ablaze in a Christian-majority town in Syria, prompting protests in the war-torn nation just two weeks...
Read More
Pope at Christmas: Jesus' birth brings hope for world of justice, peace
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Celebrating Christmas Mass after opening the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis said the birth of Jesus fills Christians with hope and...
Read More
Pope opens Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, launching 'Jubilee of Hope'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In the quiet of Christmas Eve, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, launching what he called a "Jubilee of...
Read More
A visual tour of the Holy Doors Pope Francis will open for the 2025 Jubilee
The rite of opening the Holy Doors of the main basilicas of Rome to inaugurate the 2025 Jubilee Year is perhaps one of the most solemn events of the Catholic...
Read More
Pope, suffering a cold, focuses on mothers and children before Christmas
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Leading the recitation of the Angelus prayer from inside the chapel of his residence because of a cold, Pope Francis nevertheless...
Read More
Pope, bishops, hundreds of faithful pray for victims of shocking Christmas market attack
MAGDEBURG, Germany (OSV News) -- Several hundred people gathered at Magdeburg Cathedral in the evening of Dec. 21 for an ecumenical prayer service to remember...
Read More
Curia's role is to help bring God's blessing to the world, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and laypeople who work in the Roman Curia are called to spread the blessings of God, but...
Read More
