Nation & World

Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, Poland, the longtime personal secretary of St. John Paul II is seen in a 2018 file photo. Cardinal Dziwisz celebrated the Jan. 17, 2026, funeral Mass for Angelo Gugel, the pontifical butler and witness to modern papal history, who stood silently behind St. John Paul for nearly three decades and contributed to saving the pope on the day of the assasination attempt in 1981. Gugel died Jan. 14 at age 90. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
A silent life behind three popes: Farewell to Angelo Gugel, the iconic papal butler
Pope Leo XIV blesses two lambs in the Urban VIII Chapel at the Vatican Jan. 21, 2026, the feast of St. Agnes. The lambs are bound and placed in baskets to prevent them from running away. The wool from the lambs is used to make the palliums worn by new metropolitan archbishops. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
In a moment of Vatican sweetness, Pope Leo receives lambs in ancient St. Agnes tradition
Bishop Joseph C. Bambera of Scranton, Pa., speaks at The Catholic University of America in Washington in this Nov. 7, 2019, file photo. He is chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and the Catholic co-chair of the Holy See's International Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue committee, part of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. (OSV News photo/Tyler Orsburn)
Bishop Bambera: Christian unity is 'vital' and 'not an add-on'
An attendee holds a poster during the 52nd annual March for Life rally in Washington Jan. 24, 2025. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
'Life Is a Gift': How to embrace the March for Life's 2026 theme
Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., addresses attendees at an evening retreat titled "A Wounded Church: Finding Peace and Healing" at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton, Minn., Jan. 12, 2026. (OSV News photo/Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit)
'Evil wounds us,' but healing can come from Jesus during daily prayer, bishop says
Caregivers push the sick and disabled at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in southwestern France in this May 16, 2014, file photo. In a message for the Feb. 11 World Day of the Sick, Pope Francis emphasized a patient-centered approach to medical care. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Everyone can be a good Samaritan, pope says in message for world's sick
Cardinals Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey; Blase J. Cupich of Chicago; and Robert W. McElroy of Washington, D.C., are pictured together. The three cardinals issued a joint statement on January 19, 2026, regarding the morality of U.S. foreign policy under the Trump administration, particularly with respect to Greenland, Ukraine, and Venezuela. (OSV News Archives/Simone Orendain, Mihoko Owada/The Catholic Standard, CNS Photo/Kendall McLaren)
 US cardinals call for 'genuinely moral foreign policy for our nation'
Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, the first African American cardinal and now retired archbishop of Washington, greets a young man after concelebrating the Diocese of Phoenix's annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Mass Jan. 17, 2026, at Xavier College Preparatory High School's Chapel of Our Lady in central Phoenix. Smiling at right is Phoenix Bishop John P. Dolan. (OSV News photo/Brett Meister, courtesy Diocese of Phoenix)
Rev. King reminded us there is no 'faking our life in Christ,' Cardinal Gregory says
Sue Kohl, Msgr. Liam Kidney and Paola Sessarego during a visit to the site of Corpus Christi Church in Pacific Palisades, Calif., in Dec. 2025. Behind them are multiple rebuilt homes under construction following the devastating fires. Tens of thousands of people were impacted after the Pacific Palisades and Eaton blazes began Jan. 7, 2025. (OSV News photo/Reese Cuevas, Angelus)
A year after LA wildfires, parishes hit hard by the blaze look to rebuild community
Man sitting on bench overlooking water
How to get more comfortable with being less comfortable
Augustinian Father Tom McCarthy is pictured in an undated photo. Father McCarthy was elected prior provincial of the Chicago-based Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel Dec. 22, 2025, in a vote by 73 friars from the Midwest, Canada and the Chulacanas Vicariate of northern Peru, according to the province secretary. (OSV News photo/courtesy Midwest Augustinians)
Prior provincial-elect of Midwest Augustinians looks to growth and the 'Leo effect'
Pope Leo XIV joins Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and other Christian leaders for an ecumenical prayer service in Iznik, Turkey, Nov. 28, 2025. The gathering marked the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, convened in 325 A.D., which produced the Nicene Creed and defined foundational Christian doctrine. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
For Pope Leo XIV, Christian unity is not just an ideal, but an imperative
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., are pictured in a combination photo. Marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan. 19, Archbishop Coakley urged Catholics to reflect on how they are called to be "drum majors for justice" in their own communities, drawing on the Civil Rights leader's words and the Church's Gospel mission in a Jan. 13, 2026, statement released by the USCCB. (OSV News photo/Bob roller/LBJ Library)
USCCB president exhorts faithful to heed MLK's call to be 'a drum major for justice'
Pope Leo XIV meets relatives of victims of the Crans-Montana bar fire at the Vatican Jan. 15, 2026. The New Year's night fire claimed the lives of 40 people and injured 116 in the Swiss resort tragedy. The pontiff was "deeply moved and shocked" to meet the families. (OSV News photo/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media)
Pope Leo comforts families of victims of Swiss Crans-Montana tragic bar fire
A hunter's moon rises behind a statue of St. Francis of Assisi on the grounds of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wis., Oct 8, 2022. (OSV News photo/Sam Lucero, CNS)
Pope sets Jubilee to mark 800th year since St. Francis' death; saint's body to be displayed
Matt Stommes works with his twin daughters, Etta and Esme, at at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis Jan. 10, 2026, for FletcherFest in honor of Fletcher Merkel, who died in an Aug. 27, 2025, shooting during an all-school Mass at Annunciation Church in south Minneapolis. The event featured food, games and socializing as people celebrated Fletcher's life. (OSV News photo/Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit)
FletcherFest celebrates young legacy of student killed in shooting at all-school Mass
Archbishop Mor Anthimos Jack Yakoub, the Syriac Orthodox patriarchal vicar for Jerusalem, Jordan and the Holy Land, stands in front of the restored ancient altar in the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Monastery of St. Mark in Jerusalem Jan. 11, 2026, after an intensive two-year restoration process. (OSV News photo/Debbie Hill)
Historic altar at St. Mark's monastery in Jerusalem unveiled for first time in 350 years
Biblical king David, voice of Phil Wickham as an adult, is pictured in a scene from the animated film "David." The OSV News classification is A-I – general patronage. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. (OSV News photo/Angel Studios)
Movie Review: David
Pope Leo XIV greets visitors in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican as they gather to pray the Angelus, Jan. 11, 2026. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Baptism provides light in darkness, gateway to heaven, pope says
Pope Leo XIV greets a mother and child as he baptizes 20 children in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican Jan. 11, 2026, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. (OSV News photo/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media)
Parents can't wait for children to choose baptism, says pope, baptizing 20 infants in Sistine Chapel
Pope Leo XIV addresses members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican at the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Jan. 9, 2026. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Pope delivers fierce defense of the unborn in address to diplomatic corps
Cardinals Pablo Virgilio Siongco David of Kalookan, Philippines; Stephen Brislin of Johannesburg, South Africa; and Luis José Rueda Aparicio of Bogotá, Colombia, participate in a news conference at the Vatican Jan. 8, 2026. The cardinals reflected on the meaning and outcomes of the extraordinary consistory that had just concluded. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
Cardinals leave consistory with a clear vision from pontiff: 'A Church that cares' 
Religious leaders, including Father Dale Korogi, pastor of Ascension Catholic Church in Minneapolis, next to a broadcast speaker, attend an interfaith news conference in Minneapolis Jan. 8, 2026, at the scene of the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. The 37-year-old woman was shot in her car Jan. 7, according to local and federal officials. (OSV News photo/Tim Evans, Reuters)
Minneapolis Catholic leaders speak out about community fear after ICE-involved shooting
Polish pilgrims from Torun: from left, Iwona, Wioletta and Kasia, are seen on a Jan. 6, 2026 photograph on St. Peter's Square, at the conclusion of the Jubilee Year of Hope. What really visibly stayed with the faithful after the Jan. 6 Epiphany Mass was Pope Leo's urge to keep the church alive. "If we do not reduce our churches to monuments, if our communities are homes, if we stand united and resist the flattery and seduction of those in power, then we will be the generation of a new dawn," the pope said.
As jubilee year ends, the faithful heed Pope Leo's call to keep the church alive
Young Catholics react Jan. 1, 2026, at the SEEK26 conference at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas. oung Catholics and attendees of all ages were invited to embrace the conference's theme inspired by St. Pier Giorgio Frassati: "To the Heights," This year SEEK the Jan. 1-5 conference was being held in Denver, Columbus, Ohio, in addition to Fort Worth. (OSV News photo/Juan Guajardo, courtesy North Texas Catholic)
SEEK 2026 summons youth to draw close to Christ, discover his plan for their lives
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