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Pope Francis’ arm, tied up in a white sling, was visible in photos taken on the morning of Jan. 16, 2025, in the apostolic palace during his scheduled audiences. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Suffers Bruised Right Arm after Falling at His Residence: Vatican

Jan 16, 2025

Pope Francis’ arm, tied up in a white sling, was visible in photos taken on the morning of Jan. 16 in the apostolic palace during his scheduled audiences.

Pope Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby exchange greetings with other Christian leaders at an ecumenical second vespers at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Jan. 25, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Rome to Host Ecumenical Vigil during Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Jan 16, 2025

On Jan. 25, the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Pope Francis will conclude the week with vespers in St. Paul Outside the Walls Basilica at 5:30 p.m. Rome time.

Pope Francis blesses a baby during the Saturday jubilee audience in the Vatican’s audience hall on Jan. 11, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis to Give Monthly Bonus to Vatican City Employees with 3 or More Children

Jan 16, 2025

At Pope Francis’ personal initiative, Vatican City employees with three or more children will receive a monthly 300-euro bonus and new fathers will get extended paid leave.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin meets with Cuba President Miguel Díaz-Canel on June 20, 2023, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Cuba Prisoner Release "a sign of great hope": Vatican Secretary of State

Jan 16, 2025

Cardinal Pietro Parolin also commented on Biden’s commutation of death sentences for 37 death row inmates, expressing hope there will be more “gestures of clemency.”

Members of the Episcopal Conference of Benin (CEB). Credit: CEB

Church in Benin to “welcome”, Venerate Relics of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus in 2025 Jubilee Year Celebrations

Jan 15, 2025

Members of the Episcopal Conference of Benin (CEB) have unveiled a list of spiritual activities planned for the Catholic Church in the West African country during the 2025 Jubilee Year celebrations, including a veneration of the relics of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.

37 priests and religious sisters were kidnapped in 2024, an increase from 2023. Credit: ACN

Hope for Church in Nigeria as Fewer Priests, Consecrated Kidnapped in 2024, All “eventually released”: Report

Jan 15, 2025

A 2025 report that the Pontifical charity foundation, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, published on Monday, January 13 shows that 11 Priests and Religious were kidnapped in Nigeria in 2024, down from a total of 25 who were kidnapped in the previous year in the West African country.

Bento Sitongua

Angola’s Proposed Bill to Regulate Alcohol Sale, Consumption “necessary to correct harmful behaviors”: Catholic Official

Jan 15, 2025

The Coordinator of the Environment Department of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST) has lauded the proposed Bill that seeks to regulate the sale and consumption of alcohol in Angola.

Pope Francis greets pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall for his Wednesday general audience on Jan. 15, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Calls for Global Commitment to Eradicate Child Labor and Exploitation

Jan 15, 2025

The Holy Father told groups of pilgrims attending his Jan. 15 general audience that they should be aware that millions of children are trafficked.

Church at the Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kaduna, Nigeria. / Credit: Father Samuel Kanta Sakaba, rector of a Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kaduna

Nigeria Tops Report for Number of Christians Killed, Kidnapped in 2024

Jan 15, 2025

The World Watch List, released Jan. 15, found that 3,100 Christians were killed and 2,830 Christians were kidnapped in Nigeria in 2024.

Pope Francis meets with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on June 20, 2023, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Cuban Government Announces Release of 553 Prisoners Through Mediation of Pope Francis

Jan 15, 2025

The Cuban government announced the release of 553 prisoners through the mediation of Pope Francis “in the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025.”

Bishop Duncan Tsoke was present during the launch of the Jubilee Year. Credit: Kimberley Catholic Diocese

South African Catholic Bishop Decries “specter of strained relationships”, Wants Diocesan Unity Fostered in Jubilee Year

Jan 14, 2025

The Catholic Diocese of Kimberley is grappling with the unpleasant and dangerous experience of “trained relationships”, the Local Ordinary of the South African Episcopal See has lamented. 

Two Catholic Sisters Abducted in Nigeria Released, “in good health” after Weeklong Captivity

Jan 14, 2025

The two members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Mother of Christ (IHM), who were abducted on January 7 from Nigeria’s Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha have regained their freedom, the leadership of the Sisters’ Congregation in the West African nation has said.

Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja. Credit: Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja

Let’s Speak “language of collaboration rather than blame”: Catholic Archbishop in Nigeria on Ending Hunger, Saving Lives

Jan 14, 2025

The Local Ordinary of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese in Nigeria has appealed to the government of the West African country to work with the Church in ensuring that no one dies of hunger in the country.

null / Credit: Andy - Rock News/Shutterstock

A Look at Vatican City’s New Artificial Intelligence Law

Jan 14, 2025

The decree titled “Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence” was enacted by the Pontifical Commission of Vatican City State and came into effect on Jan. 1.

Bishop Bruno Ateba of Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Maroua-Mokolo. Credit: ACN

“Boko Haram has shrunk”: Catholic Bishop in Cameroon Corroborates Message of Nigerian Visionary Bishop

Jan 13, 2025

Boko Haram is no longer the lethal group that terrorized locals in the West African nation of Nigeria and parts of neighbouring countries through kidnappings and beheadings especially of Christians, a Catholic Bishop in Cameroon has said.

Santos Gotine. Credit: ACI Africa

Caritas Official in Mozambique Blames “institutionalized” Corruption for Protracted Violence

Jan 13, 2025

The Secretary General of Caritas Mozambique has decried entrenched corruption in the Southern African nation, describing the vice as “institutionalized”, and called for leadership that prioritizes public welfare over personal gain.

The Amerigo Vespucci Italian naval ship. / Credit: Superchilum, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Historic Italian Naval Ship Designated a 2025 Jubilee Church, Chaplain to Accompany Sailors “in this precious time”

Jan 13, 2025

The Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian naval ship named after the 15th-century explorer that inspired the name “America,” has been designated a 2025 Jubilee church.

The Two Newly Created Cardinals in Africa Appointed to Vatican Dicasteries: Doctrine of Faith, Interreligious Dialogue

Jan 12, 2025

Pope Francis has appointed the recently created Cardinals in Africa to two Vatican Dicasteries as members, Ignace Cardinal Bessi Dogbo of Ivory Coast’s Catholic Archdiocese of Abidjan to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and his counterpart Jean-Paul Cardinal Vesco of Algeria’s Catholic Archdiocese of Algiers, to the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.

Pope Francis baptizes a baby at the feast of the Baptism of the Lord at the Sistine Chapel, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis: Baptism a "new birthday," Faith the "greatest gift" for Children

Jan 12, 2025

“Today, each of you parents and the Church herself give the greatest, greatest gift: the gift of faith to children,” Pope Francis told families.

Pope Francis meets with the journalists covering the Vatican on Jan. 22, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Journalists to Gather in Rome for Jubilee of the World of Communications

Jan 12, 2025

Media professionals from different countries will gather Jan. 24–26 in the Eternal City to take part in the Jubilee of the World of Communications.