The Secretary-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, speaks to Vatican News about his meeting with Pope Leo XIV, and the worsening humanitarian crisis in Palestine.

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The Solemn Closing Mass of the 49th Annual Seminar of the Bishops of Cameroon took place on 10 January 2026 in the Diocese of Kumba. The Sacred Heart Cathedral in Fiango, Kumba, was filled to capacity, resonating with joyful thanksgiving as priests, religious, and laity from the Diocese gathered to express their appreciation for the presence of the country’s Bishops in their diocese, the blessings received, and the successes of the Bishops’ annual seminar.

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Pope Leo receives the Venezuelan politician and activist in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.

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On the 800th anniversary of Brussels’ Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, the Holy See Secretary of State reflects on the spiritual future of a Europe marked by fragility and a loss of direction.

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Amidst domestic violence and the pain it leaves behind, religious sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd share their lives with women and girls in Malta and Portugal, as they face marginalization by society.

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The Baptism of the Lord Jesus didn't need to be baptized.  We do.  Jesus made the water Holy to give us a share in His Divine Life in our baptism.  Let us carry His Baptism with us every day. * Nugget from Fr...

Jan 11, 2026 / 10:32 am (CNA).

Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the apostolic nuncio to the Baltic states and longtime personal secretary to Pope Benedict XVI, said he now prays not for but to the late pontiff, asking for his intercession, and expressed hope the beatification cause will open soon.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Catholic magazine Kelionė at the Lithuanian National Library on Jan. 7, Gänswein offered personal reflections on his new diplomatic mission, the celebration of Christmas in Lithuania, and his decades-long collaboration with Joseph Ratzinger.

“I come from the most beautiful part of Germany, but I have lived in Rome for most of my life,” Gänswein said.

“As a bonus and thanks for all my work, I received an assignment to work in the Baltic states,” he said jovially.

Asked about differences between Christmas in Rome and in the Baltic region, the archbishop answered with characteristic humor: “I celebrated Christmas in Rome for 28 years, and in Vilnius for two. The first difference is the cold.” He added that Lithuania’s seasonal displays left a strong impression, drawing attention to “very beautiful Christmas decorations” and saying the Christmas trees “are very beautiful, maybe even more beautiful than in St. Peter’s Square, in the Vatican.”

Gänswein also expressed gratitude that the celebration of Christ’s birth in Lithuania is not merely cultural or superficial. He said he has sensed a reverence in which “its depth is felt here,” pointing to a faith that remains attentive to the mystery at the heart of the season.

During the conversation, the nuncio returned to the influence of Benedict XVI, describing his years beside Ratzinger as a gift of divine providence.

“All the years of cooperation together have left an indelible experience,” he said. “It was not only intellectual and theological formation but also formation of the heart, soul, and everything that we can call life.”

Gänswein recalled to the audience that his first encounter with Ratzinger came when he was still a young seminarian, reading the future pope’s articles and books while Ratzinger was a professor in Germany. “I tried to read and study all of his writings,” he said, explaining that he came to see Ratzinger not only as a theologian and academic but also as “a man full of faith and intelligence.”

After his priestly ordination in 1984, Gänswein served as an assistant parish priest before continuing his studies. He later completed doctoral work and eventually arrived in Rome, where he first met Ratzinger while the cardinal was serving as prefect of the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Gänswein said Ratzinger invited him into collaboration, an invitation he regarded as mysterious and grace-filled.

“What did he call me for? I don’t know,” he said, “but I see it as a great gift of Providence.” In 2003, he added, he became Ratzinger’s personal secretary.

Speaking of Benedict XVI after the late pope’s death, Gänswein made a striking remark about prayer and spiritual closeness: “And now, when Pope Benedict XVI has departed to be with the Lord, I notice that I do not pray so much for him, but to him, asking for his help.” He said there were moments, including during his service in the Baltics, when he found himself asking for Benedict’s intercession.

At the same time, he stressed the Church’s caution regarding sainthood causes. “The Church is a very wise and very prudent mother,” he said, noting that in beatification causes she is “twice wise and twice prudent” and that time must pass to discern whether public esteem reflects genuine holiness rather than passing fame.

In a December 2025 interview with German Catholic television network K-TV, Gänswein said: “Personally, I have great hopes that this process will be opened.” The interview aired shortly before a private audience he held with Pope Leo XIV during a discreet mid-December visit to Rome.

The Kelionė gathering also featured talks from other invited speakers. Educator Vytautas Toleikis, who works as a moral education teacher at Vilnius St. Christopher Gymnasium, is the founder of the informal education group “Walkers.” He described taking students on weekly walks around Vilnius to encounter people he personally admires. He said the goal is to broaden students’ horizons through lived encounters with kindness and human warmth, adding that these meetings often surprise him as much as they do the young people.

Singer Sasha Song, who represented Lithuania at the 2009 Eurovision, shared a brief personal testimony about his struggle with addiction and the transformation he experienced after rehabilitation. He said the experience taught him to value life differently, describing his current state as one marked by gratitude and a renewed sense of happiness.

Professor Robertas Badaras, a toxicologist with four decades of experience, reflected on how substance abuse has changed since the Soviet period. He noted that while alcohol once dominated, society now confronts an expanding array of substances, including a vast number of hallucinogens and stimulants.

Actress Justė Liaugaudė, representing the “Red Noses Clown Doctors,” spoke about offering emotional support to patients of all ages, especially those who struggle to find joy amid illness. She described how the organization’s presence has expanded in clinical settings, including, she said, being the only nonmedical personnel permitted to accompany children into operating rooms — a reminder that compassion can reach where words and medicine sometimes cannot.

For Gänswein, however, the evening’s most enduring note returned to what he called the quiet, lifelong schooling he received at Benedict’s side, a formation not only of the mind but also of the whole person and the conviction that gratitude, faith, and truth are never merely ideas but realities meant to be lived.

Why Was Jesus Baptized? This day we celebrate the baptism of Jesus, an event that formally began the public ministry of Jesus and ends the Christmas season for us today.  But it's a strange event. Why would the sinless, almighty...

Vatican City, Jan 11, 2026 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV baptized 20 infants, the children of Vatican employees, during Mass in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

In his homily, the pope urged parents to see faith as essential for their children’s lives, comparing it to the basic care no newborn can do without.

“When we know that something good is essential, we immediately seek it for those we love,” he said. “Who among us, in fact, would leave newborns without clothes or without nourishment, waiting for them to choose when they are grown how to dress and what to eat?”

“Dear friends, if food and clothing are necessary to live, faith is more than necessary, because with God life finds salvation,” the pope said.

Baptism as God’s closeness

Reflecting on the Gospel account of Jesus’ baptism, Leo said the Lord chooses to be found where people least expect him — “the Holy One among sinners” — drawing near without keeping distance. He pointed to Jesus’ reply to John the Baptist: “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness,” explaining that God’s “righteousness” is his saving action, by which the Father makes humanity righteous through Christ.

The pope described Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan as a sign renewed with deeper meaning — “death and resurrection, forgiveness and communion” — and said the sacrament celebrated for the infants is rooted in God’s love.

“The children you now hold in your arms are transformed into new creatures,” Leo told parents. “Just as from you, their parents, they have received life, so now they receive the meaning for living it: faith.”

A word to mothers and fathers

Leo emphasized the role of parents as the first witnesses and educators of faith, saying God’s provident love becomes visible on earth through mothers and fathers who ask for faith for their children.

He also noted the changing seasons of family life: “Certainly, the day will come when they will become heavy to hold in your arms; and the day will also come when they will be the ones to support you.”

The pope prayed that the sacrament would strengthen families in lasting love: “May baptism, which unites us in the one family of the Church, sanctify all your families at all times, giving strength and constancy to the affection that unites you.”

The signs of baptism

Turning to the rites themselves, Leo explained the meaning of baptism’s symbols: “The water of the font is the washing in the Spirit, which purifies from every sin; the white garment is the new robe that God the Father gives us for the eternal feast of his kingdom; the candle lit from the paschal candle is the light of the risen Christ, which illumines our path.”

“I wish you to continue it with joy throughout the year that has just begun and for your whole life, certain that the Lord will always accompany your steps,” he said.

The baptism of children of Vatican employees is a tradition begun in 1981 by St. John Paul II. The first ceremonies were held in the Pauline Chapel, and since 1983 the annual celebration has taken place in the Sistine Chapel.

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

Jan 11, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The four newly ordained priests and six newly ordained deacons for South Sudan’s Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio have been reminded of the urgency of their mission in the contemporary world, especially in communities wounded by conflict, poverty, and division.

In his Jan. 4 homily during the ordination Mass that coincided with the solemnity of the Epiphany at St. Augustine Parish in the diocese, Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala reflected on the role of priests in reconciling broken communities, forming consciences through education, restoring dignity among the poor, and remaining steadfast where fear and suffering persist.

“I am not ordaining you for an ideal country,” Hiiboro said and described South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, as a nation deeply loved by God and in need of committed pastoral leadership.

He noted that the Church sends priests into real situations marked by fragility but also hope.

The bishop, who serves as the president of the Integral Human Development Commission of the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, further urged those he was ordaining to be stars in guiding others to Jesus Christ in their respective ministries.

Hiiboro reflected on the story of the Magi and reminded the new priests and deacons that ordination does not replace Christ but points others toward him.

Reflecting on the star that guided the three Wise Men from the East to see the infant Jesus, Hiiboro urged the newly ordained deacons and priests to allow their lives to guide people to Jesus through faithfulness and witness.

“As the Magi followed the star and found Christ, you are now sent to be stars, guiding others to Jesus,” the bishop said.

Calling for unity among members of the clergy as one of the most powerful forms of preaching, the South Sudanese bishop encouraged fraternity, shared prayer, and forgiveness, reminding the clergy that love among priests is a visible sign of discipleship.

The bishop cautioned against constant complaint and division among members of the clergy, warning that such attitudes weaken vocation and harm communities.

Instead, he encouraged priests to embrace the cross of Christ, noting that suffering, when embraced with humility, sanctifies — but destroys one who rejects it.

Discouraging a “celebrity mentality” among priests, Hiiboro said the Church is more concerned with “holy shepherds rooted in the daily realities of the people.” Holiness, the bishop explained, is not an escape from life but faithfulness within it.

He urged priests never to abandon prayer, warning that a priest who stops praying gradually loses direction.

The South Sudanese Church leader went on to describe the three evangelical vows — celibacy, obedience, and simplicity/poverty — as paths to inner freedom, not limitations, which help priests overcome ego, attachment, and isolation.

Hiiboro, referencing the words of Pope Francis, urged priests to remain close to the communities they serve, portraying them as agents of peace, defenders of human dignity, promoters of education, and advocates for food security and self-reliance.

He emphasized that such involvement is not political activism but a genuine expression of living the Gospel.

The bishop also cited examples of saints who made a lasting impact on society through faith and service, including St. Benedict of Nursia, St. Daniel Comboni, St. Josephine Bakhita, and St. John Bosco — noting that they demonstrated courage even in challenging and imperfect circumstances.

The bishop also urged those he was ordaining to embrace their priestly identity with confidence, reminding them that their very presence, conduct, and appearance already preach before words are spoken.

This article was originally published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted for CNA.