Christian News

The world’s cardinals are gathered in Rome this week for the extraordinary consistory of the college, convened by Pope Leo XIV to mark the beginning of his first full year as Bishop of Rome. Cardinals, bishops, and curial staffers across the Vatican have, in the months since the conclave which elected Leo, reported that the new pope consciously decided to close 2025 before embarking on any major tone-setting or shifting projects.

When Pope Leo XIV announced this week’s consistory in Rome — somewhat earlier and more unexpectedly than most Vatican watchers predicted — it sent ripples of surprise and speculation through the Church. Yet perhaps the consistory shouldn’t surprise us at all. In fact, it may well offer a window into the inner logic of a pontificate that is only beginning to reveal its shape.

Dr. Anthony Lilles, Julie Enzler, and Dominican Father Ignatius Schweitzer pray the ‘Oblation to the Trinity,’ written by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity on Nov. 21, 1904.

Pope Leo has announced that he will hold an annual consistory for discussion and consultation with the world’s cardinals, beginning this year in June. The announcement was made Jan. 8, at the conclusion of Leo’s first extraordinary consistory. The pope plans to hold a second consistory this year, followed by annual, slightly longer meetings of the College of Cardinals starting next year...

Last weekend, spread across three locations, 26,000 young adults gathered for SEEK, the annual conference sponsored by FOCUS (the Fellowship of Catholic University Students), to learn and celebrate the faith, to adore the Eucharistic Jesus, and to be inspired to live as missionary disciples. They showed what several popes and scores of youth ministers...

I would like to thank His Excellency Ambassador George Poulides, dean of the Diplomatic Corps, for his kind and respectful words on your behalf. I welcome all of you to this meeting for the exchange of greetings at the beginning of the new year. This is a traditional occasion in the life of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See; but it is a new experience for me...

A parish built on the successes of past generations may actually be in trouble today because of those successes. That may sound strange—even ungrateful. After all, many of our parishes were built by faithful Catholics who sacrificed, prayed, and served generously. We inherited schools, buildings, programs, and traditions that once bore tremendous fruit...

Epiphany means “manifestation.” Traditionally this feast is observed twelve days after Christmas on January 6, although in the United States it is typically moved to the nearest Sunday. The Epiphany is a very ancient part of the Church’s liturgical calendar—even older than the celebration of Christmas...

If you used a digital camera in the early 2000s, there's a good chance whole chapters of your life have been erased. A generation of photos has vanished on broken hard drives and defunct websites. For my 40th birthday, I asked my friends and family members for one gift: pictures of me in my early 20s...

As much as I enjoy and look forward to the annual Christmas break, by the end I am genuinely eager to get back into the ordinary swing of things. Indeed, this Sunday closes the liturgical season with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, after which we find ourselves once again in Ordinary Time, an easily misunderstood season and one which I try to give its proper due every January.

“War is back in vogue and the zeal for war is spreading,” Pope Leo XIV said in a January 9 speech to the Vatican diplomatic corps. Basing his address on the thought of St. Augustine, the Pontiff made an appeal for a new approach to international collaboration, which “cannot depend on mere circumstances and military or strategic interests.” The annual audience at which the Roman Pontiff speaks to the diplomats...

Only a few minutes separated President James A. Garfield from the beginning of his summer break from the business of the White House. Starting from the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Station on the morning of Saturday, July 2, 1881, he planned to retreat to his farm in Mentor, Ohio. But first, the president needed to attend his 25th-year reunion at Williams College...