Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon, France. / Credit: Claude Truong-Ngoc via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Rome Newsroom, Jan 7, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis accepted Tuesday the early resignation of French Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon following years of Vatican scrutiny over the ordination of clerics using pre-Vatican II liturgical books and other concerns.

Bishop François Touvet, appointed coadjutor bishop of the same diocese in November 2023, now automatically succeeds Rey.

In a Jan. 7 press release, Rey, who has led the diocese since 2000, said he was recently informed by the nuncio, the pope’s ambassador in France, that Pope Francis wanted him to submit his resignation after he had encouraged him not to resign in December 2023.

While Rey added that he does not know what changed in the intervening year, “faced with misunderstandings, pressures, and polemics that are still harmful to the unity of the Church, the ultimate criterion of discernment for me remains that of obedience to the successor of Peter.”

The Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon in the south of France was able to ordain six men to the transitional diaconate last month after all ordinations in the diocese were halted by the Vatican in June 2022 following a fraternal visit by Archbishop (now Cardinal) Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille.

The ordinations of six seminarians from the traditionalist community Missionaries of Divine Mercy took place in the Collegiate Church of Saint-Martin in Lorgues on Dec. 1, 2024.

In his announcement ahead of the ordinations, Touvet said they were “the fruit of a trusting and peaceful dialogue maintained with the superior of the community [of the Missionaries of Divine Mercy] and the Dicastery for Divine Worship [and the Discipline of the Sacraments].”

Pope Francis appointed Touvet a coadjutor bishop of Fréjus-Toulon in November 2023, putting him in charge of economic and real estate management, religious communities, and the training of priests and seminarians.

The Vatican requested the suspension of ordinations in the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon in the summer of 2022 due to “questions that certain Roman dicasteries were asking about the restructuring of the seminary and the policy of welcoming people to the diocese,” according to an announcement by Rey at the time.

Known for his support of the Traditional Latin Mass, Rey had also ordained diocesan clerics using the 1962 Roman Pontifical.

After Pope Francis promulgated Traditionis Custodes, the 2021 motu proprio restricting the celebration of Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, Rey highlighted the concerns of some priests and communities present in his diocese who offered Mass according to the old rite. 

Rey said in his Jan. 7 statement, posted to X, that “just as I have always tried to respond to the calls for the new evangelization of St. John Paul II, then to the encouragements of Benedict XVI to welcome and form priestly vocations, and finally to the orientations of Francis, I have agreed, in this case, to hand over the pastoral charge that had been entrusted to me in 2000 by John Paul II.”

“As I reach my 25th year of episcopate in service of the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, I thank God for the blessings and missionary fruits,” he added.

Rey announced he will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving in the diocese on Feb. 1.

Pilgrims cross the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Dec. 25, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Jan 7, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

More than half a million people have passed through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, two weeks after its Christmas Eve opening. 

Pope Francis, the first “pilgrim of hope” to cross the Holy Door’s threshold, inaugurated the 2025 Jubilee Year by opening the papal basilica’s door on Dec. 24, 2024. 

Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica before Mass on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2024, officially launching the Jubilee Year 2025. Credit: Vatican Media

Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization Archbishop Rino Fisichella said the great number of pilgrims marks “a very significant beginning” for the Catholic Church’s holy year, which will conclude on Jan. 6, 2026. 

“Hundreds of groups of faithful have already made their pilgrimage,” Fisichella said in a Jan. 7 media statement released by the Dicastery for Evangelization. 

“The dicastery is working tirelessly to ensure that pilgrims receive a welcome and an experience that lives up to their expectations,” he added.

Holy See and Italian authorities are collaborating to welcome an estimated 30 million people expected to come to Rome throughout the jubilee year.

“Preparations are underway all over the world to reach Rome in the coming months, with many children, young people, adults, and the elderly who have already entered the jubilee climate with the celebrations for the opening of the holy year,” Fisichella said.

Jubilees — a tradition celebrated in the Catholic Church since 1300 — are filled with special spiritual, artistic, and cultural events for people intending to come to Rome for pilgrimage. 

An important part of the jubilee is the opportunity to receive a plenary indulgence — a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin — by passing through a “Holy Door.”

Besides the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica, the other four Holy Doors of the 2025 Jubilee are located at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and in Rome’s Rebibbia prison.

“The thousands of people who filled the four papal basilicas during the days of the celebrations for the opening of the Holy Doors” reflects the “great desire” among pilgrims to participate in the Church’s jubilee festivities, according to the Dicastery for Evangelization.

The first major calendar event of the 2025 holy year is the Jubilee of the World of Communications to be held from Jan. 24–26. Thousands of journalists and media professionals from around the world are expected to come to Rome for the occasion.

Father Roberto Pasolini. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Rome, Italy, Jan 7, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Franciscan Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini is very comfortable with public speaking — it’s basically his job as a Scripture expert called on to give talks and lead retreats around Italy.

Yet, just late last year, he began a new adventure, one he finds a bit more intimidating: preaching to Vatican employees, cardinals, and the pope during Lent and Advent.

On Nov. 9 last year, Pope Francis named Pasolini the next preacher of the Papal Household, succeeding 90-year-old Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, who held the post for 44 years.

The 53-year-old Pasolini said the call to become the pope’s preacher was a big surprise and caused him “a great deal of fear.”

“The fact that God is calling me, at this moment, to go right into the heart of the Church, in front of the pope, the cardinals, the people who support the Christian institution, to speak such important, meaningful words, it scares me,” he told CNA during an interview at the Capuchin General House in Rome on Dec. 11, 2024.

“On the other hand, I also felt a great alignment with what was already happening [in my life],” he noted, “because I have always been following words, reading texts, and searching reality for the meaning that can give clarity to our existence.”

After receiving the news about the new role, Pasolini had just under a month before he gave his first Advent meditation to the Roman Curia on Dec. 6, 2024, the first of three he delivered on the December Fridays leading up to Christmas.

“During Advent, since the call was very recent, [I was] immediately trying to rummage through my pockets to find some words, some reflections that in recent years maybe I’ve already prepared a bit around the theme of the Incarnation, Advent, and Christmas,” he said about preparing his meditations.

‘I will not hold back my humanity’

The position of preacher of the Papal Household has existed in a stable way since the pontificate of Pope Paul IV in the mid-1500s. In 1743, Pope Benedict XIV established that the role should always go to a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchins.

On following the long and celebrated legacy of Cantalamessa, Pasolini said he is trying not to compare himself too much and plans to bring his own contribution, “giving catecheses that are maybe a little bit more narrative and more biblical than the theological genre that Father Raniero [Cantalamessa] used.”

“I think I will not hold back my humanity, which is the humanity of a much younger friar than Father Raniero, to communicate also through a language and a way of address that corresponds more to people of my age,” he said.

“I will try as much as possible to be natural, to remain myself,” he added, “and to continue to do what basically I have been doing until now: announce, with all my heart, with all the intelligence of which I am capable, the mystery of God.”

Return to faith

Before becoming a priest or preacher, Pasolini grew up in northern Italy, passionately following his favorite soccer team, Milan.

He grew up Catholic, but as a teenager, the priest experienced the desire to distance himself from the faith. “So I took my time off from God, and I did some years in which I sought the meaning of my life elsewhere, outside the parish and Church context in which I had grown up,” he explained.

Pasolini described those years as good, though difficult: “Because when we distance ourselves from God, on the one hand we feel a little bit free, and on the other hand we find that we still don’t know how to use our freedom well.”

“They were also years of choices that led me to suffer, to realize the darkness that was inside me,” he noted. 

The priest’s journey back to the faith began unexpectedly while studying information sciences at a university in Milan. 

Traveling one day on the city’s subway, he found a copy of the Gospel of St. Matthew, a free giveaway inside a newspaper, and started reading it. Little by little, he found his way back to the Church.

“I felt the desire to go to confession and then to participate in the Eucharist and to involve myself a little bit in my parish life, which I had hastily dismissed,” he said. “And that was kind of the time when I started to comprehend again the mystery of faith, the mystery of the Church, but especially the beauty of the Gospel, the love of Christ.”

‘A second calling’

As Pasolini was rediscovering the faith and experiencing more and more God’s love for him, he felt the growing desire to share this beauty with others.

It was during this time that he “met” St. Francis of Assisi through his writings, he said. 

“I found his style, his way of life, so beautiful, so simple, so inspired by the Gospel, that I got curious and tried to go and meet the friars in Milan,” the priest explained. “And little by little, going there, I felt my desire to live my baptism become concrete through embracing that form of life together with other brothers. And so I graduated [from university], left everything, and entered the convent.”

It was not long after entering the Capuchins that the friar’s superiors noticed the centrality of the word of God in “my life, my days, my way of speaking, my way of praying,” Pasolini elaborated. And so, after his initial formation for religious life and the priesthood, he was sent to Rome to study at the Pontifical Biblical Institute.

This, he said, was the beginning of “a second calling within my first calling” to be not only a priest friar but also an expert in sacred Scripture.

During his years of biblical formation, Pasolini studied in Rome and Jerusalem and was awarded a doctorate for a thesis on the Gospel of Mark.

He described that time as “seven years of wonderful formation in the word of God … which definitely defined me as a friar and a biblical scholar, and then as a preacher, able to draw from Scripture the resources to proclaim the Gospel, the kingdom of God, to others.”

Approach to preaching

According to Pasolini, the best preparation for preaching can and should begin long before standing at the ambo.

“For years, before I started the preaching ministry, I got into the habit of meditating on God’s word every day for me first of all — for my heart, for my life,” he said. “This habit of doing ‘lectio divina,’ as we would say today, accustomed me to stand before God, every day, as one who listens to him, receives a word, and tries to respond to this word.”

“So,” he continued, “when I became a priest and started giving homilies and catechesis, I would just tell others what God and I had already said to each other during prayer. Of course, in a somewhat organized form, because maybe God and I said some things to each other in prayer that are not really good to be told to everyone.”

“But … the best preparation to give a homily, to give a catechesis, is to let God’s word touch your heart personally,” he said to priests and others who preach publicly. “Then, if we have allowed ourselves to be touched, we will surely be able to touch the hearts of others.”

Pope Francis greets pilgrims gathered for Mass on the solemnity of the Epiphany on Jan. 6, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jan 6, 2025 / 12:05 pm (CNA).

The star the Magi followed to find the Christ Child is a symbol of God’s love for all people and not a sign of the power and fame of those who think of themselves as “stars,” Pope Francis said on Epiphany.

In his homily at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 6, the pope said the Magi “were satisfied by a different kind of light, symbolized by the star, which illumines and warms others by allowing itself to burn brightly and be consumed.”

“The star,” he continued, “speaks to us of that unique light that can show to all people the way to salvation and happiness, namely that of love. This is the only light that can make us happy.”

Cardinals, bishops, and laypeople gather for Mass on the solemnity of the Epiphany on Jan. 6, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

The solemnity of the Epiphany marks when the Magi, also called the Wise Men or three kings, arrived at the birthplace of Jesus bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. According to Scripture, when the Magi, who had been guided by a star from the east, found the child Jesus, they “prostrated themselves and did him homage.”

Italy and the Vatican celebrate Epiphany on the traditional date of Jan. 6, while in the United States, its celebration has been moved to the Sunday between Jan. 2 and Jan. 8.

Pope Francis in his homily explained that the light that makes us truly happy is, above all, “the love of God, who became man and gave himself to us by sacrificing his life.”

He asked Catholics to think about how they can be this same light for others, becoming with God’s help “a mutual sign of hope, even in the darkest nights of our lives.”

“Are we radiant with hope? Are we able to give hope to others with the light of our faith?” he said.

Pope Francis addresses pilgrims gathered for Mass on the solemnity of the Epiphany on Jan. 6, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Part of the papal Mass for Epiphany, after the proclamation of the Gospel, was the announcement by a deacon of the dates of “moveable feasts” in the Catholic Church in 2025, beginning with Easter Sunday, which will be April 20. 

“From Easter flow all holy days,” the deacon said, as he also proclaimed the dates of Ash Wednesday (March 5), the Ascension of the Lord (May 29), Pentecost (June 8), and the first Sunday of Advent (Nov. 30). These are “moveable feasts” because their observance falls on different calendar dates in different years.

In his homily, the pontiff also recalled two other characteristics of the Star of Bethlehem: that it was visible to everyone and that it pointed the way.

“The star, which shines in the sky and offers its light to all, reminds us that the Son of God came into the world to encounter every man and woman on earth, whatever ethnic group, language, or people to which they belong, and that he entrusts to us that same universal mission,” he underlined.

Francis reiterated that “God calls us to reject anything that discriminates, excludes, or discards people and instead to promote, in our communities and neighborhoods, a strong culture of welcome, in which the narrow places of fear and denunciation are replaced by open spaces of encounter, integration, and sharing of life.”

The star is in the sky not to be “distant and inaccessible,” he said, “but so that its light may be visible to all, that it may reach every home and overcome every barrier, bringing hope to the most remote and forgotten corners of the planet.”

That the Star of Bethlehem indicates a direction is also a helpful point of reflection during the Jubilee Year 2025, the pope said.

He noted that one of the main features of the newly-begun holy year is pilgrimage, and the light of the star “invites us to undertake an interior journey that, as St. John Paul II wrote [in a 1999 letter], frees our hearts from all that is not charity, in order to ‘encounter Christ fully, professing our faith in him and receiving the abundance of his mercy.’”

“By looking at the star, we can also renew our commitment to be women and men of ‘the Way,’ as Christians were referred to in the first years of the Church,” Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis prays during the solemn Mass for the Epiphany on Jan. 6, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

In his meditation before the Angelus shortly after Mass, the pope asked Christians to reflect on whether they are more like the shepherds and Magi who actively sought Jesus or those who, despite living in Jerusalem, remained at “their ‘desks.’”

“Are we more similar to the shepherds, who on the very night [of Christ’s birth] itself go in haste to the grotto, and the Magi from the east, who set out confidently in search of the Son of God made man; or are we more similar to those who, despite being physically very close to him, do not open the doors of their heart and their life, remaining closed and insensitive to Jesus’ presence?” he said.

Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square on Jan. 6, 2025, the solemnity of the Epiphany. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

After leading the traditional Marian prayer, which he did standing at a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, Francis offered his warm wishes to the Eastern Christians who will celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7.

“I assure in a special way my prayer for those who suffer as a result of ongoing conflicts. May Jesus, prince of peace, bring peace and serenity to all of them!” he said.

Pope Francis greets Sister Simona Brambilla, superior general of the Consolata Missionary Sisters, on June 5, 2017 in Clementine Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: L’Osservatore Romano

Vatican City, Jan 6, 2025 / 09:25 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has named for the first time a woman, Sister Simona Brambilla, to head a dicastery of the Roman Curia, continuing to add to the number of women in leadership roles at the Vatican, a hallmark of his pontificate.

The 59-year-old Brambilla, a member and former superior general of the Consolata Missionary Sisters, has been secretary of the Vatican department for religious and consecrated life since October 2023.

Pope Francis appointed the Italian sister prefect of the department on Monday. She will lead the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life together with Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, who was named pro-prefect on Jan. 6.

A Spaniard, the 64-year-old Fernández concluded a decade as rector major of the Salesians last year. The appointment of an ordained bishop as pro-prefect of the same dicastery was necessary because Church law calls for ordination in order to carry out certain governing powers.

Brambilla, who trained as a nurse before entering religious life, was a missionary in Mozambique in the late 1990s. She then returned to Italy, where, with her advanced degree in psychology, she taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University in its Institute of Psychology. She was head of the institute of Consolata Missionary Sisters from 2011 until May 2023. 

Brambilla joins several other religious and non-religious laywomen appointed by Pope Francis to important posts in the Vatican, including Franciscan Sister Raffaella Petrini, the first woman to hold the second-ranking post in the government of the Vatican City State.

Other high-ranking women at the Holy See are Sister Alessandra Smerilli, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Sister Nathalie Becquart, an undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops; and laywomen Gabriella Gambino and Linda Ghisoni, undersecretaries of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.

A number of women are also secretaries of some of the Roman Curia’s commissions and councils.

Last month, Pope Francis also named Brambilla a member of the 16th Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod alongside Argentinian laywoman María Lía Zervino. They are the only women and non-bishops on the 17-member council.

In the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Brambilla and Fernández will be assisted by two undersecretaries, Father Aitor Jiménez Echave, CMF, and Sister Carmen Ros Nortes, NSC.

Cardinal Robert McElroy addresses the congregation at Rome’s Church of San Frumenzio ai Prati Fiscali during his formal installation as its titular cardinal on April 23, 2023. / Credit: Pablo Esparza/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Jan 6, 2025 / 06:08 am (CNA).

Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy, bishop of San Diego, to lead the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., the Vatican announced Monday.

The 70-year-old cardinal, who holds doctorates in moral theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and in political science from Stanford, succeeds Cardinal Wilton Gregory, 77, whose age-related resignation was simultaneously accepted by the pope on Monday. McElroy will lead the archdiocese that serves over half a million Catholics in southern Maryland and the U.S. capital.

In his nearly 10 years as bishop of California’s southernmost diocese, McElroy has been vocal on a number of controversial issues at the intersection of politics and Church life. He is considered by many to also be the U.S. cardinal whose thinking most aligns with Pope Francis.

Outspokenly progressive, McElroy is now poised to take over the ecclesiastical territory of the nation’s capital just as Donald Trump is sworn in for a second term as president of the United States.

Shortly after Trump’s inauguration for his first term in 2017, McElroy told a gathering of faith-based groups that if Trump was the candidate of “disruption,” then similar disruption is needed to build a better society.

“Well now, we must all become disruptors,” the bishop said, referencing the use of military force to deport undocumented migrants and the portrayal of refugees and Muslims as enemies.

In the political area, McElroy has been most outspoken on the subject of immigration. 

Speaking at an interfaith prayer vigil in front of the U.S. federal courthouse in downtown San Diego in 2021, McElroy decried Congress’ failure to create paths to legalization for some of the U.S.’ 11 million undocumented migrants.

“We can’t stand by anymore and watch our political processes — broken as they are — destroy the dreams and the hopes of the refugees and the immigrants who have not only come here and lived here but have helped build our nation and make it better,” he said.

He is also a frequently-heard voice in the “Eucharistic coherence” debate, in which he has often criticized what he sees as, in the U.S., the prioritization of abortion over other social concerns, such as the death penalty and care for migrants and the environment.

In recent years, McElroy has also asserted that to deny holy Communion to pro-abortion Catholic politicians is to weaponize the Eucharist for a political end.

In a May 5, 2021, essay, he decried what he called “a theology of unworthiness” to receive the Eucharist, whereby those who practice it focus too strongly, in his view, on discipline.

McElroy also supports women deacons for the Church and is a vocal supporter of LGBT-identified Catholics.

Born in San Francisco on Feb. 5, 1954, McElroy grew up in San Mateo County. He was ordained a priest in 1980 and served as an auxiliary bishop to San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone starting in 2010.

In 2015, Pope Francis tapped McElroy to lead the San Diego Diocese. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis in an August 2022 consistory after undergoing a successful coronary bypass surgery the year prior.

Before starting seminary, McElroy studied history at Harvard University, going on to also earn a master’s degree in American History from Stanford University.

After his ordination as a priest, he also earned a licentiate (similar to a master’s degree) in sacred theology and doctorates in moral theology and political science.

American Cardinal James Harvey opens the Holy Door at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on Jan. 5, 2025, completing the opening of all five Holy Doors in Rome for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee of Hope. / Credit: AIGAV pool

Rome, Italy, Jan 5, 2025 / 10:42 am (CNA).

American Cardinal James Harvey opened the Holy Door at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on Sunday, completing the opening of all five Holy Doors in Rome for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee of Hope.

Pilgrims who visit Rome during the jubilee, a holy year celebrated every 25 years, will have the opportunity to receive a plenary indulgence by passing through the doors.

Pilgrims pass through the Holy Door at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on Jan. 5, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

“The opening of the Holy Door marks the salvific passage opened by Christ through his incarnation, death, and resurrection, calling all members of the Church to be reconciled with God and with one another,” Harvey said.

The ceremony began in the basilica’s column-lined courtyard with the ancient sound of a shofar, a ram’s horn historically used by the ancient Israelites to announce jubilee years, as recorded in the Bible.

The opening of the Holy Door began with the ancient sound of a shofar, a ram’s horn historically used by the ancient Israelites to announce jubilee years, as recorded in the Bible. Credit: AIGAV pool

Harvey offered a prayer, asking that Christians live the jubilee year with the faith of the Apostle Paul, “so that captivated by the love of Christ and converted by his mercy we may proclaim to the world the Gospel of grace.”

He then pushed open the heavy bronze doors, pausing for a moment of silent prayer at the threshold before entering as the congregation sang the jubilee hymn “Pilgrims of Hope.”

Harvey, a Milwaukee native and archpriest of the basilica, presided over the Mass for the opening of the Holy Door. The 75-year-old cardinal formerly served as the prefect of the papal household for Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

“With the opening of the Holy Door this morning at the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls … we crossed the threshold of the sacred temple with immense joy because, in a symbolic way, we passed through the door of hope,” Harvey said during his homily.

Cardinal James Harvey, a Milwaukee native and archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, presides over the Mass for the opening of the Holy Door. Credit: Vatican Media

The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, one of Rome’s four papal basilicas, is built over the tomb of St. Paul and was first consecrated in 324 by Pope Sylvester. It has long been a significant site of pilgrimage, and during the jubilee, it will play a central role as one of the five Holy Door locations designated by the pope.

“By crossing the threshold of this basilica with faith, we enter the time of mercy and forgiveness so that according to the right expression of our holy patron St. Paul, the way of hope that does not disappoint may be opened to every woman and every man,” Harvey said.

In his homily, delivered at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, Cardinal James Harvey reflected on the virtue of hope, Jan. 5, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis chose “Pilgrims of Hope” as the theme of the 2025 Jubilee Year. In Spes Non Confundit (“Hope Does Not Disappoint”), the papal bull announcing the jubilee, Pope Francis described hope as a virtue that “does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love.”

In his homily, Harvey reflected on the virtue of hope, quoting Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Spe Salvi: “We have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey.”

“‘The good news,’ the Christian message, is the announcement of this accomplished reality of Jesus Christ died, risen, and glorified. He is our hope,” Harvey added.

The jubilee, the first ordinary one since the Great Jubilee of 2000, is expected to draw millions of pilgrims to Rome. The other four Holy Doors of the 2025 Jubilee are located at St. Peter’s Basilica, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the Basilica of St. Mary Major, and — for the first time in the history of jubilees — inside Rome’s Rebibbia Prison.

“The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life,” Harvey said, quoting Spe Salvi.

Harvey explained that hope is “a theological virtue because it’s infused by God and has God as its guarantor. It’s not a passive virtue which merely waits for things to happen. It’s a supremely active virtue that helps make them happen.”

HIGHLIGHTS | Cardinal James Michael Harvey, Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, opens the fifth and final Holy Door of the Jubilee of Hope 2025. pic.twitter.com/zrUQTAyIgO

— EWTN Vatican (@EWTNVatican) January 5, 2025

“The Church invites each pilgrim to undertake a spiritual journey in the footsteps of faith, and the Church strongly hopes that it may reignite the flame of hope,” he said.

The Holy Door at St. Paul’s will remain open until Dec. 28, 2025. “St. Paul left us these precious words when he wrote to the Romans, ‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit,’” Harvey said.

“The cross of Christ, the glorious symbol of victory over sin and death, is our unique hope,” he said.

“To radiate hope, to be sowers of hope … is certainly the most beautiful gift that the Church can give to all humanity, especially at this moment in its history,” the cardinal added.

Umbrellas dot St. Peter’s Square on the rainy Sunday afternoon as jubilee pilgrims brave the weather to hear Pope Francis give his Angelus message on Jan. 5, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jan 5, 2025 / 09:35 am (CNA).

In his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Francis encouraged Christians to be “messengers of hope” in the jubilee year by saying “‘yes’ to life.”

Umbrellas dotted St. Peter’s Square on the rainy Sunday afternoon as jubilee pilgrims braved the weather to hear Pope Francis give his Angelus message. The pope commended the crowd for their bravery in standing out in the rain and urged them to bring God’s light to their families and communities during the 2025 Jubilee of Hope.

Pope Francis waves to jubilee pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square to hear the Angelus on Jan. 5, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media

“Let us not be afraid to throw open bright windows of closeness to those who are suffering, of forgiveness, of compassion, and reconciliation,” Pope Francis said from the window of the Apostolic Palace on Jan. 5.

“This invitation resounds in a particular way in the jubilee year that has just begun, urging us to be messengers of hope with a simple but concrete ‘yes’ to life with choices that bring life.”

Reflecting on the prologue of John’s Gospel, the pope reminded the faithful that Jesus, the word incarnate, is “the light that shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Pope Francis said the Gospel “reminds us, then, how powerful is God’s love, which is not overcome by anything and which, despite obstacles and rejections, continues to shine and illuminate our path.”

The pope added that we are living in a time of “great need for light, for hope, and a need for peace” in which “men at times create situations so complicated that it seems impossible to get out of them.”

He underlined the eternal nature of God’s love, saying: “God never stops. He finds a thousand ways to reach everyone, each and every one of us, wherever we are, without calculation and without conditions, opening even in the darkest nights of humanity windows of light that the darkness cannot obscure.”

The rain doesn't deter pilgrims from St. Peter's Square on Jan. 5, 2025, as they gather to hear the pope pray the Angelus. Credit: Vatican Media

At the start of the new year, Francis encouraged everyone to reflect on their capacity to bring light into the lives of others: “How can I open a window of light in my environment and in my relationships? Where can I be a glimmer of light that lets God’s love pass through? What is the first step I should take today?”

Pope Francis invoked the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary as he led the crowd in the Angelus prayer in Latin, urging Christians to follow Our Lady’s example. “May Mary, star that leads to Jesus, help us to be shining witnesses of the Father’s love for everyone,” he said.

Pope Francis also prayed for war-torn regions of the world, calling on Catholics to continue praying for peace in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Myanmar, and Sudan.

“May the international community act firmly so that humanitarian law is respected in conflicts,” he said. “No more striking schools, hospitals; no more hitting workplaces! Let us not forget that war is always a defeat, always.”

During his audience with Italian Catholic educators, Pope Francis interacts with a young girl at the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican on Jan. 4, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Jan 4, 2025 / 08:58 am (CNA).

Pope Francis warned that bullying in schools prepares students for war rather than peace in a powerful appeal to Catholic educators gathered at the Vatican on Saturday.

Speaking to approximately 2,000 Italian teachers, educators, and parents, the pontiff repeatedly emphasized his message against bullying, having participants pledge “No bullying!” during the audience.

“If at school you wage war among yourselves, if you bully girls and boys who have problems, you are preparing for war, not peace,” Francis told the Paul VI Audience Hall gathering.

The meeting on Jan. 4 marked the 80th anniversary of the Italian Association of Catholic Teachers and the 50th anniversary of the Association of Catholic School Parents. Francis used the occasion to outline “God’s pedagogy” of closeness, compassion, and tenderness.

Warning against a “remote pedagogy, distant from people,” the Holy Father stressed that effective education requires proximity and engagement. He illustrated this point with an anecdote about a family he had heard about, where parents and children sat together at a restaurant but remained fixated on their mobile phones instead of conversing.

“Please, in families, let’s talk!” the pope implored, emphasizing that “family is dialogue, it is dialogue that makes us grow.”

The papal address coincided with the beginning of the jubilee journey, which Francis noted has “much to say” to the world of education. He called educators to be “pilgrims of hope” who devote themselves with trust and patience to human growth.

“Their hope is not naive,” Francis explained. “It is rooted in reality and sustained by the conviction that every educational effort has value and that every person has dignity and a vocation worthy of being cultivated.”

The pontiff concluded by encouraging the formation of a “pact between associations” to better witness to the Church’s presence both in and for schools, reminding participants once more to stand firm against bullying.

The Holy Father’s strong message against bullying came on the same day he addressed another group of Catholic educators, the Union of St. Catherine of Siena Missionary Teachers, where he emphasized the importance of joyful witness in Catholic education.

Speaking to the teaching sisters in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall, Francis warned against what he called “vinegar faces,” saying stern countenances drive people away from the faith. The dual addresses highlighted the pope’s vision for Catholic education: combining warm, welcoming pedagogy with firm opposition to behaviors that undermine human dignity and peace.

Pope Francis shares a joyful moment with members of the Union of St. Catherine of Siena Missionary Teachers during an audience in the Vatican's Clementine Hall, Jan. 4, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Jan 4, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Pointing to the perils of pastoral pessimism, Pope Francis urged a congregation of teaching sisters on Saturday to cultivate joy in their ministry, warning them that stern countenances drive people away from the faith.

“Many times in my life I have encountered nuns with a vinegar face, and this is not friendly, this is not something that helps to attract people,” the pope said.

Speaking to participants in the General Chapter of the Union “St. Catherine of Siena” of School Missionaries in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall, Francis emphasized three essential qualities for religious educators: holiness, preparation, and friendliness.

The congregation, marking its centenary year, chose as its chapter theme “Understanding the present to comprehend together the future of the Union as it journeys with the Church” — an approach Francis praised as being “in line with the legacy” left by their founder, Venerable Luigia Tincani.

The pope quoted St. John Paul II’s 1995 description of their founding vision, which called for “constant commitment to one’s own sanctification, a serious theological and professional preparation, and a lifestyle that is friendly and loving toward everyone, especially young people.”

Francis particularly emphasized the Dominican motto that shapes their educational ministry: “contemplata aliis tradere” (to hand on to others the fruits of contemplation).

The pope also delivered a strong warning against gossip in religious communities. “Please, distance yourself from gossip. Gossip kills, gossip poisons,” he said. “Please, no gossip among you, none. And to ask this of a woman is heroic, but come on, let’s go forward, and no gossip.”

During an exchange about vocations, when sisters indicated they had “a dozen” novices worldwide, Francis encouraged them to actively seek new apostolates. “Look for a vocational apostolate, look for it!” he urged.

The Union of St. Catherine of Siena Missionary Teachers was founded in Italy in 1925 by Tincani. Following the spiritual heritage of St. Catherine of Siena and the Dominican tradition of combining contemplation with education, the congregation focuses on promoting Christian humanism through education, serving in schools and universities across several continents.

Pope Francis meets with members of the Italian Union of Blind and Partially Sighted People on Jan. 3, 2025, in Clementine Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 3, 2025 / 15:20 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Friday welcomed a group of children and young people from the Italian Union of Blind and Partially Sighted People in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall, encouraging them to be pilgrims of hope during the 2025 Jubilee Year.

At the beginning of his Jan. 3 audience, the Holy Father encouraged those present to repeat the “Pilgrims of Hope” theme of the 2025 Jubilee, getting louder and louder each time until he was satisfied with their enthusiastic response and congratulated them with a “bravo!”

Pope Francis then encouraged them to be “people on the journey” who always have the desire to continue, “never stopping, never arriving, always with the desire to move forward.”

In his talk, the pontiff recalled that a pilgrim is more than a traveler, because he has a particular goal: “A holy place, which draws him, which motivates him, which sustains him in his fatigue.”

In the case of the ordinary Jubilee of 2025, he said, the goal is a Holy Door “that allows us to enter into new life, free from the slavery of sin, free to love and serve God and neighbor.”

The pilgrim is also distinguished from the traveller, the pope said, because he is eager “to encounter Jesus, to know him, to listen to his word, which gives meaning to life, which fills it with a distinct joy, a joy that does not remain ‘outside,’ on the surface, but fills the heart and warms it, a joy that is peace, goodness, tenderness.”

Pope Francis then proposed examples of saints who show that “only Jesus can give this joy,” citing Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who is scheduled to be canonized this year; St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi; and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

The pontiff concluded by saying that pilgrims of hope are “children and young people who have encountered the Lord Jesus and have journeyed with him, and he is the hope for every man, for every woman, and also for the world.”

By following this path, Pope Francis added, “we too will become small signs of hope for those we meet.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims and visitors gathered for the Angelus on Dec. 29, 2024, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Jan 2, 2025 / 12:40 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of January is for the right to an education.

“Today we’re experiencing an ‘educational catastrophe,’ the Holy Father said in a video released Jan. 2. “This is no exaggeration. Due to wars, migration, and poverty, some 250 million boys and girls lack education.”

“All children and youth have the right to go to school, regardless of their immigration status,” he added.

The pope called education “a hope for everyone.”

“It can save migrants and refugees from discrimination, criminal networks, and exploitation — so many minors are exploited! It can help them integrate into the communities who host them.”

He pointed out that “education opens the doors to a better future.”

“In this way, migrants and refugees can contribute to society, either in their new country or in their country of origin, should they decide to return,” he said.

The Holy Father urged the faithful to never forget “that whoever welcomes the foreigner welcomes Jesus Christ.”

He concluded with a prayer: “Let us pray for migrants, refugees, and those affected by war, that their right to an education, which is necessary to build a more human world, might always be respected.”

Pope Francis’ prayer video is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.

Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Oct. 9, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Jan 2, 2025 / 09:40 am (CNA).

Pope Francis offered his condolences after 15 people were killed in New Orleans when a U.S. Army veteran drove a pickup truck with an Islamic State flag into a crowd celebrating the New Year.

The pope sent a condolence message to New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond on Jan. 2 offering prayers for the souls of the deceased as well as the healing and consolation of the injured and bereaved. 

“His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the attack that took place in New Orleans,” said the message sent on the pope’s behalf by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

“In assuring the entire community of his spiritual closeness, His Holiness commends the souls of those who have died to the loving mercy of Almighty God and prays for the healing and consolation of the injured and bereaved. As a pledge of peace and strength in the Lord, the Holy Father sends his blessing.”

The New Orleans attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism by the FBI, which believes that the driver, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, did not act alone. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with police after driving a truck with an explosive device into a crowd of people celebrating the new year in New Orleans’ French Quarter three hours after midnight.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday evening that the driver had posted videos to social media saying that he was inspired by the Islamic State group in the hours before what Biden called the “heinous act.”

About 30 other people were injured by the New Orleans attack, including two police officers wounded by gunfire from the suspect, according to Reuters. 

Among the 15 victims were a mother of a 4-year-old, an 18-year-old aspiring nurse from Mississippi, and a student-athlete who was visiting home for the holidays.

“Our prayers go out to those killed and injured in this morning’s horrific attack on Bourbon Street,” Aymond said in a brief statement released on the archdiocese’s website.

“This violent act is a sign of utter disrespect for human life,” he said. “I join with others in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans in offering prayerful support to the victims’ families. I give thanks for the heroic duty of hundreds of law enforcement and medical personnel in the face of such evil.”

FBI officials have said they are also looking for any links with a separate incident in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day in which one person was killed and seven people were injured when a rented Tesla Cybertruck exploded into flames outside of the Trump International Hotel.

Pilgrims cross the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Dec. 25, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 2, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A jubilee is one of the most significant events of the Catholic Church that occurs only every 25 years.

With the beginning of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, there are many questions the faithful may ask: What can the jubilee contribute to my life of faith? What is a Holy Door? What is a jubilee church? How can I participate if I don’t go on pilgrimage to Rome? The answers to these and other questions will help Catholics understand the value of this exceptional time of grace.

The importance of a jubilee

Why is the jubilee such an important event for Catholics? The answer is simple: It offers an extraordinary opportunity to attain salvation and experience that God’s holiness can transform us. Ultimately, it is a gift that helps us reach heaven.

Why? Because it makes available to the faithful all the easy means to obtain benefits from the “treasury” of the Church, for example, a plenary indulgence, which returns the soul to the state it was in when it received baptism.

Speaking with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Father Giuseppe Bonomo, an Italian priest at the Atri Cathedral in Teramo, Italy — where there is a Holy Door instituted by Pope St. Celestine V — emphasized that the jubilee is also a unique time for “personal and community conversion.”

In fact, during each month of the year, one or more jubilees dedicated to different groups will be celebrated in Rome. In January, for example, there is the Jubilee of the World of Communications, in February the Jubilee of Artists, in April the Jubilee of Teenagers, in May the Jubilee of Confraternities. You can consult the calendar here.

Two indulgences in one day?

In the sacrament of penance sins are forgiven. However, the temporal punishment required by divine justice remains. The indulgence grants the remission of all temporal punishment in purgatory, so that if a person dies after receiving this gift, he or she goes directly to heaven.

The immense value and profound significance that this “treasure” contains makes it a privilege reserved for specific places and times designated for it to be granted. This is where the greatness of the jubilee year lies, a time when the opportunities to obtain it are multiplied — even twice in one day!

Although there is a rule that only one plenary indulgence can be obtained per day, during the jubilee year a second one can be obtained if it is done for the souls in purgatory, i.e., the second one will be applicable only to the deceased.

Requirements to obtain the jubilee indulgence

To obtain the jubilee indulgence it is important first to know how it is granted (the requirements) and second, where (the specific place or times) it is granted. With the arrival of the Jubilee of Hope, the Vatican noted the three usual conditions:

“All the faithful, who are truly repentant and free from any affection for sin, who are moved by a spirit of charity and who, during the holy year, purified through the sacrament of penance and refreshed by holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the supreme pontiff, will be able to obtain from the treasury of the Church a plenary indulgence, with remission and forgiveness of all their sins, which can be applied in suffrage to the souls in purgatory,” the document states.

How can one experience the Jubilee 2025 without going on pilgrimage to Rome?

During the year 2025, Catholics will be able to obtain the indulgence on pilgrimages to any holy place of the jubilee, those churches designated for this purpose. In Rome, in addition to the four main basilicas, there are 13 other churches.

The Eternal City is undoubtedly the center of the 2025 Jubilee, and during the year it expects to welcome 30 million people. However, if one cannot go on pilgrimage to Rome, there are many other ways to obtain the indulgence and experience a true conversion and strengthening of faith.

Bonomo explained to ACI Prensa that any Catholic who wishes can do so in his or her own city. “You must ask your bishop how many churches there are in your diocese” with these qualifications, he explained. 

“There are many jubilee churches! And of course you can obtain the plenary indulgence in these churches,” he said.

You can also obtain it if you visit sacred places such as Marian shrines or other basilicas. You can check which ones here.

It can also be received by performing works of mercy and penance, such as visiting those in need or in difficulty (the sick, prisoners, the lonely elderly, etc.), even by abstaining, at least for one day, from “trivial distractions,” such as social media and “superfluous consumption.”

In addition, those who cannot participate in pilgrimages for “serious reasons” can gain the indulgence if they recite “the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any approved form, and other prayers in conformity with the objectives of the holy year … offering up their sufferings or the hardships of their lives.”

The Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN NewsWhat is a Holy Door and how many are there in the world?

Pope Francis officially inaugurated the 2025 Jubilee of Hope by opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 24, 2024. Passing through a Holy Door during the jubilee symbolizes entry into a new life in Christ and the beginning of a journey of conversion.

Bonomo noted that Holy Doors “can be permanent or not.” The first category includes only nine in the whole world: “The most famous is that of St. Peter in the Vatican, followed by those of the three major basilicas in Rome: St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major.”

“But there are also others outside Rome, such as the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela [Spain], the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L’Aquila [Italy], the Basilica-Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Québec [Canada], the Atri Cathedral [Italy], and Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi [India],” he added.

Furthermore, the Italian priest explained that “the basilicas with permanent Holy Doors have their own statutes.” For example, “the Basilica of Atri is open every year from Aug. 14–22, while those in Rome are open only during a jubilee year,” he continued.

In the case of Santiago de Compostela, a holy year occurs when July 25, the saint’s feast day, falls on a Sunday. During that year, the plenary indulgence can be obtained at the cathedral.

The ‘nonpermanent’ Holy Doors

Nonpermanent Holy Doors are those that are opened only for a specific jubilee year, as on Dec. 26, 2024, when for the first time in the jubilee tradition, Pope Francis opened a Holy Door in the Rebibbia prison, located on the outskirts of Rome.

Ten years ago, during his trip to the Central African Republic, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of the Bangui cathedral, a gesture made shortly after the beginning of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy to encourage “peace in this country and the world.” In addition, on Dec. 18 of that year he opened the Holy Door of Charity in a reception center in Termini in Rome.

During the Extraordinary Jubilee of 2015, Pope Francis granted the opening of the Holy Door also in cathedral churches and allowed the dioceses to establish Holy Doors. This, however, will not happen in 2025, since this year the rules for an ordinary jubilee are followed and not an extraordinary one.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

A Sister of the Missionaries of Charity touches the bronze Holy Door at the papal basilica during its opening for the 2025 Jubilee Year. The religious sister, wearing the distinctive white and blue habit of the order founded by Mother Teresa, joins other faithful in this traditional gesture of devotion as they pass through the ceremonial door on Jan. 1, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Jan 1, 2025 / 16:17 pm (CNA).

The pealing of a precious ancient bell marked a momentous beginning to the 2025 Jubilee Year at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major, where Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas opened the Holy Door on Jan. 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

The Lithuanian cardinal, elevated to the College of Cardinals in December 2024, presided over the ceremony at Rome’s preeminent Marian shrine, where the “Bell of the Lost” rang out across the Eternal City from atop the Esquiline Hill.

Faithful gather at the flower-adorned Holy Door of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome on Jan. 1, 2025, as the jubilee year gets underway. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

In his homily, Makrickas emphasized the bell’s spiritual significance, noting how it has called pilgrims to prayer since the Church’s first jubilee and continues to serve as a sonic symbol of Mary’s guidance, much like the “Star of the Sea” that illuminates the darkness.

Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas blesses the congregation during the opening ceremony of the Holy Door at Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major on Jan. 1, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

“Every pilgrim who crosses the threshold of the Holy Door of this first Marian shrine of the West during the jubilee year will pray before the icon of the Mother of God, Salus Populi Romani, and before the sacred crib of Jesus,” the cardinal said during his homily.

Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, wearing Marian blue and cream vestments, delivers the homily during the Mass opening the Jubilee Year at Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major on Jan. 1, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

The papal basilica, also known as the “Bethlehem of the West,” houses both the venerated icon of Mary and relics of Christ’s crib. Makrickas highlighted how these sacred objects connect to Pope Francis’ document “Spes Non Confundit,” which announced the jubilee year.

A pilgrim touches the bronze panels of the newly-opened Holy Door at St. Mary Major on Jan. 1, 2025, continuing a centuries-old tradition of passing through the sacred portal during jubilee years. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Quoting the papal bull, the cardinal reminded the faithful that pilgrims are especially invited to “make a prayer stop at the Marian shrines of the city to venerate the Virgin Mary and invoke her protection.”

The faithful fill the ornate nave of the Basilica of St. Mary Major during the opening Mass of the jubilee year on Jan. 1, 2025, in Rome. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

The basilica’s location at the center of a star-shaped road network symbolically evokes the Star of Bethlehem, Makrickas noted, reflecting its 1,600-year mission to serve as “a bright star, at the service of the True Light, pointing to the Savior, true God and true man, born of the Virgin Mary.”

An illuminated Nativity scene display stands before the baroque facade of the Basilica of St. Mary Major at night, with the church's iconic bell tower visible against the dark Roman sky, on Jan. 1, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

The cardinal concluded his homily by entrusting the jubilee year to the Mother of God, praying that she might lead all pilgrims to Jesus, “the fullness of time, of all time, of everyone’s time.”

Daniel Ibáñez contributed to this report.

Cardinal Angelo Amato. / Credit: Presidencia El Salvador/Wikimedia (CC0)

CNA Newsroom, Jan 1, 2025 / 08:33 am (CNA).

Cardinal Angelo Amato, the former prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints who oversaw numerous significant canonizations including that of Mother Teresa, died Dec. 31. He was 86.

A member of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Amato served the Holy See in key positions spanning four decades.

In a telegram announcing his death, Pope Francis on Wednesday praised the “edifying witness of this spiritual son of St. John Bosco who for many years spent himself with human refinement and generosity for the Gospel and the Church.”

The pope’s message, sent to Father Stefano Martoglio, vicar of the Rector Major of the Salesians, highlighted Amato’s “priestly spirit and theological preparation” through which he served the Holy See, particularly in the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The funeral Mass will be celebrated Jan. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica, with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as the main celebrant. Pope Francis will preside over the final commendation and farewell.

Born in Molfetta, Italy, on June 8, 1938, Amato made his first religious profession in 1956 and was ordained a priest in 1967.

His scholarly path led him to roles in theological education, including positions at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Salesian University, where he served as dean. His academic journey included time in Greece, where he conducted research on Orthodox theology.

Pope John Paul II appointed him secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2002, and Pope Benedict XVI later named him prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 2008. Benedict created him a cardinal in 2010.

“Faithful to his motto ‘Sufficit gratia mea,’ [‘my grace is sufficient’] even in recent times marked by suffering, he abandoned himself to the goodness of the Heavenly Father,” Pope Francis noted in his message.

Pope Francis speaks to the crowd gathered on St. Peter’s Square, Jan. 1, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Jan 1, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis marked the Angelus prayer on the first day of 2025 by calling on Christian nations to set an example through debt relief for the world’s poorest countries and renewing his passionate plea for peace in global conflict zones.

Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace to what the Vatican reported as approximately 30,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the pontiff connected the Church’s World Day of Peace with the upcoming jubilee year, emphasizing debt forgiveness as a concrete path to peace.

St. Peter's Square as seen through the colonnade during the New Year's Day Angelus with Pope Francis, Jan. 1, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media

“The first to forgive debts is God, as we always ask him when praying the ‘Our Father,’” Francis said. “And the jubilee calls for translating this forgiveness to the social level, so that no person, no family, no people may be crushed by debt.”

The pope encouraged “the leaders of countries with Christian traditions to set a good example by canceling or reducing as much as possible the debts of the poorest countries.”

Powerful plea for peace amid global conflicts

Reflecting on global conflicts, Francis expressed gratitude for those working toward dialogue and negotiations in war zones. He specifically mentioned Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, Myanmar, and Kivu, a region in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that has suffered from prolonged violence and instability.

“Brothers, sisters, war destroys, it always destroys! War is always a defeat, always,” the pope emphasized.

Francis reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from Luke 2:16-21, which recounts the shepherds’ arrival at the manger in Bethlehem. He drew attention to both what the shepherds saw — the child Jesus, whose name in Hebrew means “God saves” — and what remained unseen: Mary’s heart that “treasured and meditated on all these things.”

“God chose to be born for us,” Francis said. “The Lord came into the world to give us his very life.” He connected this divine choice to what he called “the hope of redemption and salvation” that beats in Mary’s maternal heart for all creation.

Earlier in the day, the pontiff pleaded for peace and the protection of human life at St. Peter’s Basilica, calling for “a firm commitment to promote respect for the dignity of human life, from conception to natural death” in his New Year’s Day homily.

Pope Francis delivers his homily during the Jan. 1, 2025, Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, marking both the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and the 58th World Day of Peace. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Jan 1, 2025 / 06:35 am (CNA).

Pope Francis began 2025 with a plea for peace and the protection of human life, calling for “a firm commitment to promote respect for the dignity of human life, from conception to natural death” in his New Year’s Day homily.

Speaking at St. Peter’s Basilica during Mass for the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God — which coincides with the 58th World Day of Peace — the pope particularly emphasized the dignity of every person “born of woman.”

“Protecting life, caring for wounded life, restoring dignity to the life of every ‘born of woman’ is the fundamental basis for building a civilization of peace,” Francis said in his homily.

A statue of Mary and the child Jesus, adorned with crowns and surrounded by poinsettias and white orchids, is displayed during the New Year's Day Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

The pontiff connected the themes of peace and human dignity to the celebration of Mary’s divine motherhood, emphasizing how Christ’s incarnation — being “born of woman” — reveals God’s presence in human frailty.

“If he, who is the Son of God, became so small as to be held in a mother’s arms, cared for and nursed, this means that today too he comes among us in all those who need similar care,” the pope said.

The Mass also marked the jubilee year, launched on Christmas, with Francis noting that “Mary is the door through which Christ entered this world,” quoting St. Ambrose.

Reflecting on modern challenges, the pope warned against imagining an “abstract God” disconnected from human reality, instead emphasizing Christ’s concrete presence in human suffering and need.

The pope concluded by entrusting the new jubilee year to Mary, praying that “hope may be reborn and peace may finally spring up for all the peoples of the earth.”

The interior of St. Peter's Basilica during the New Year's Day Mass, Jan. 1, 2025, which also marked the beginning of the 2025 Jubilee Year. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Pope Francis presides over vespers and the Te Deum of thanksgiving in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 31, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Dec 31, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis celebrated first vespers for the vigil of the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, in St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday, saying the last day of 2024 is a time to reflect and give thanks for the “universal vocation” of Rome.

“Rome is called to welcome everyone so that everyone can recognize themselves as children of God and brothers and sisters among themselves,” the Holy Father said during a brief homily following the vespers reading (cf. Gal 4:4-5).

According to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, more than 30 million people are expected to visit Rome during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, which concludes on Jan. 6, 2026. 

Expressing his gratitude for the work of thousands of men and women for the opening days of the jubilee year, the pope said their work to welcome pilgrims corresponds to the specific yet universal vocation of the Eternal City to bring people together with “the hope of a fraternal world.” 

“It is beautiful to think that our city in recent months has become a construction site for this purpose,” the pope said. “To welcome men and women from all over the world, Catholics and Christians of other confessions, believers of every religion, seekers of truth, freedom, justice and peace, all pilgrims of hope and fraternity.”

Bishops and cardinals join Pope Francis for vespers and the Te Deum of thanksgiving in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 31, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Insisting that fraternity is not just an ideology, economic system, or technological progress, the Holy Father said: “The holy Mother of God gives us the answer by showing us Jesus.” 

“She, who holds the mystery of Jesus in her heart, also teaches us to read the signs of the times in the light of this mystery,” he said during vespers. 

“The hope of a fraternal world is he, the incarnate Son, sent by the Father so that we can all become what we are, that is, children of the Father who is in heaven, and therefore brothers and sisters among ourselves,” he added. 

Addressing cardinals, bishops, priests, religious men and women, and laypeople inside the basilica, the pope challenged them to work on the “construction site that involves each of us” during the jubilee. 

“This construction site is the one in which, every day, I will allow God to change in me what is not worthy of a son — change! — what is not human, and in which I will commit myself, every day, to live as a brother and sister to my neighbor,” he said.

At the conclusion of his homily, the Holy Father invoked the Mother of God to “help us to walk together, as pilgrims of hope, on the path of fraternity.”

“May the Lord bless us, all of us; may he forgive us our sins and give us the strength to continue on our pilgrimage in the coming year,” he prayed.

Each year, the pope presides at the annual celebration of first vespers (evening prayer) for the vigil of the Jan. 1 solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, followed by the traditional singing of the Te Deum hymn in thanksgiving for the past year.

Pope Francis on Dec. 29, 2024, appointed Bishop Roberto Calara Mallari as new bishop of the Diocese of Tarlac in the Philippines. / Credit: Diegohanyu16/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 4.0

Vatican City, Dec 31, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Sunday appointed Bishop Roberto Calara Mallari as the new bishop of the Diocese of Tarlac in the Philippines.

Mallari, 66, will succeed the late Bishop Enrique Macaraeg, who died in October 2023, to become the fourth bishop of the Tarlac Diocese. 

As bishop of Tarlac, he will oversee a diocese of 1.2 million Catholics spread across approximately 60 parishes located in the Philippines’ central Luzon region.

After being ordained to the episcopate in 2006, Mallari has since served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga, from 2006 to 2012 and as bishop of San Jose Diocese, Antique, since 2012.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI also assigned Mallari the Italian titular see of Erdonia. 

Mallari was ordained a priest in 1982 and has since served several Catholic communities and parishes across the Philippine provinces of Pampanga and Antique — except for two years when he was appointed parish priest of Immaculate Conception in the Philippines’ capital, Manila, from 1987–1989. 

In Pampanga, Mallari was appointed spiritual director of the Mother of Good Counsel Minor Seminary in San Fernando from 1983–1987 and 1989–1994, and was director of the Commission on Family and Life — connected to the Social Action Center of Pampanga — from 1994–1997.

According to CBCP News, the official news service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Mallari has also served as chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education and previously chaired the Office of Social Communications of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.

Prior to his priestly ordination, Mallari attended San Carlos Seminary in Makati City and obtained a master’s degree in spirituality at the Focolare Movement’s Priest School for Asia in Tagaytay City. He concluded his studies at the Priestly School of Florence in Italy.