As 2026 approaches, Vatican News revisits some reflections by the Popes on this transitional period between the end of 2025 and the arrival of the new year.

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On the third anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s death, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, celebrates Mass in the Vatican Grottoes and recalls the German Pope’s desire for Christians to seek the face of God throughout our earthly lives.

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At the final General Audience of 2025, Pope Leo XIV invites the faithful to give thanks for the past, seek forgiveness, and entrust the journey ahead to God’s mercy.

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As global conflict reaches levels unseen since the Second World War, Pope Leo XIV’s Message for the World Day of Peace challenges a war-centred understanding of security. Neil Thorns, CAFOD’s Director of Advocacy, reflects on why redefining “realism” is now essential.

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Dec 30, 2025 / 19:22 pm (CNA).

Catholic leaders in Bangladesh are mourning the death of Begum Khaleda Zia, an alumna of Catholic-run St. Joseph’s School who became the country’s first woman prime minister and maintained a lifelong bond with the Catholic community. She died Tuesday morning local time at age 80 at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka following a prolonged illness.

“She knew us and we had a good relationship with her,” said Bishop Gervas Rozario, vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh. “She protected minorities when she was in power.”

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which she led for decades, announced her passing. “Amma (Mother) is no more,” acting chairman Tarique Rahman told senior leaders. The interim government, led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, declared a three-day state of mourning and a public holiday for her funeral, to be held Wednesday at the National Parliament grounds.

From ‘putul’ to prime minister

Khaleda Zia’s journey began in the classrooms of Catholic-run schools. Born in 1945 in Jalpaiguri, she spent her formative years at St. Joseph’s School in Dinajpur, where she was affectionately nicknamed “putul” (doll) by her principal, Sister Pia Fernandes.

Father Albert Rozario recalled a memory from her time as the president’s wife. When taking her son for an admission test at St. Joseph’s School in Dhaka, she waited outside the gate until the principal, realizing who she was, invited her inside.

Politics was not her chosen path. It was thrust upon her by tragedy following the 1981 assassination of her husband, President Ziaur Rahman. As the BNP reeled from the loss of its founder, party leaders turned to the grieving widow to unite them and carry forward his legacy.

She rose to the challenge, becoming BNP chairperson in 1984. The woman once nicknamed “doll” as a girl led the movement against the military dictatorship of Hussain Muhammad Ershad, earning a reputation as an “uncompromising leader.”

Her perseverance paid off with an electoral victory in 1991, making her the first woman prime minister of Bangladesh.

Supporter of Christians

Her tenure was defined by reforms. She restored the parliamentary system and instituted the caretaker government model to oversee elections — a system meant to ensure fairness. She introduced free education for girls up to grade 10 and stipend programs for rural female students, boosting enrollment and literacy.

“She played a significant role in increasing access to education, expanding opportunities for women and girls and strengthening basic social services,” Bishop Rozario noted.

Her political life included three terms (1991–1996, a brief period in 1996, and 2001–2006) and intense rivalry. She endured imprisonment on corruption charges in 2018, release in 2020, and was finally acquitted in 2025 after a legal battle. Through it all, she remained a central figure in the nation’s consciousness.

For the Christian community, she was an ally. Father Albert Rozario, who celebrated Christmas with her three times, remembered her inclusive spirit. “She used to say, ‘Christmas is not only for Christians, it is for people of all religions.’” That she died during the Christmas season has added a layer of resonance for many.

Her passing has drawn condolences from across South Asia. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted her “important contributions … to India-Bangladesh relations.” Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is traveling to Dhaka to pay his last respects alongside dignitaries from Pakistan, Bhutan, and the Maldives.

In a televised address, Chief Adviser Yunus captured the national sentiment: “Today, our entire nation stands still in deep grief and sorrow… With her death, the nation has lost a great guardian.”

Dec 30, 2025 / 15:56 pm (CNA).

During the year 2025, the participation of the faithful in audiences and liturgical celebrations at the Vatican reached a total of 3,176,620 people.

The Vatican released on Dec. 30 the attendance figures for liturgical celebrations in 2025, a year marked by the Jubilee of Hope, the death of Pope Francis, and the election in May of Pope Leo XIV.

Under the pontificate of Pope Francis, who died on April 21, a total attendance of 262,820 faithful was recorded. The largest crowds were at the Angelus, with 130,000 people, followed by the liturgical celebrations, which drew 62,000 faithful.

The general and jubilee audiences were attended by 60,500 people, while the total for special audiences was 10,320. The months with the highest attendance were January and February, especially for the Angelus and liturgical celebrations.

Pope Francis did not preside over any ceremonies or hold any meetings or audiences during the month of March due to his extended stay at Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

For Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, which began on May 8, a total of 2,913,800 faithful attended various events. General and jubilee audiences had the greatest participation, drawing 1,069,000 people, followed by the Angelus, with 900,000 in attendance, and liturgical celebrations, which drew 796,500 faithful.

Special audiences brought together 148,300 people. The months with the highest attendance were September, October, and December, with October standing out for the large number of attendees at general audiences.

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

Dec 30, 2025 / 15:01 pm (CNA).

A total of 17 missionaries were killed worldwide during 2025, the Jubilee Year of Hope. With these figures, the number of missionaries and pastoral workers who have lost their lives by violence since the year 2000 to the present day has risen to 626.

On Dec. 30, Fides News Agency published its annual report, which documents the murders of missionaries and all Catholic Christians involved in pastoral activity who have died by violence.

The report includes priests, nuns, seminarians, and laypeople who died because of their faith in contexts often marked by violence, extreme poverty, and injustice. In many cases, they were true witnesses to the Gospel who remained faithful to their mission until the end, freely offering their lives to Christ.

Africa is once again the hardest-hit continent, with 10 missionaries murdered: six priests, two seminarians, and two catechists. Four deaths were recorded in the Americas — two priests and two nuns — while in Asia, a priest and a layperson were killed. In Europe, the report includes the murder of one priest.

Killed for their faith in Africa

In Burkina Faso, catechists Mathias Zongo and Christian Tientga were murdered, attacked by a group of armed men who were traveling on a motorcycle near the town of Bondokuy.

In Nigeria, diocesan priest Sylvester Okechukwu, pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Tachira, was killed in the Kaura local government area. Also in Nigeria, 21-year-old seminarian Andrew Peter died at the hands of armed men who attacked both the rectory and the church.

Father Godfrey Chukwuma Oparaekwe, parish priest at St. Ambrose Church in Ubakala, was murdered in June while trying to mediate a family dispute. Also killed were Father Matthew Eya, who was shot on the night of Sept. 19, and the young seminarian Emmanuel Alabi, who died from injuries sustained during his abduction.

In Kenya, Father Allois Cheruiyot Bett was shot and killed after armed men opened fire and one of the bullets struck him in the neck, causing instant death. In Sierra Leone, Father Augustine Dauda Amadu was murdered in his home, and Father Luka Jomo, a parish priest, was killed by shrapnel from an artillery shell along with two young men.

The report also included Father Tobias Chukwujekwu Okonkwo, a priest and pharmacist who was murdered near Ihiala, Nigeria, on the night of Dec. 26, 2024, but whose murder was not included in the report of that year.

Haiti, Mexico, and the United States

In the Americas, in Haiti, Sisters Evanette Onezaire and Jeanne Voltaire, members of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, were murdered on March 31 in Mirebalais, in central Haiti, by members of armed gangs.

In Mexico, Father Bertoldo Pantaleón Estrada — whose disappearance had been reported on Oct. 4 in Cocula, in Guerrero state — was found dead on Oct. 6 between the towns of Zumpango and Mezcala.

Father Arul Carasala, parish priest at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Seneca, a town in northeastern Kansas, was shot and killed by a man in his rectory on April 3.

Tortured and murdered for Christ in Asia

In Myanmar, 44-year-old diocesan priest Donald Martin Ye Naing Win lost his life because of his faith, becoming the first Burmese Catholic priest murdered in the civil conflict that is ravaging the country. His lifeless body, mutilated and disfigured with stab wounds, was found on Feb. 14 by some parishioners on the grounds of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, where he served as parish priest.

In the Philippines, Mark Christian Malaca, a 39-year-old teacher at St. Stephen Academy in the city of Laur, was shot and killed on Nov. 4 by unknown assailants in the town of San Juan, where he resided.

Priest murdered in Poland

In Europe, Fides News Agency reported the murder of Father Grzegorz Dymek, a 58-year-old priest who was found strangled in the rectory of his parish in Poland on Feb. 13. The priest had served in Our Lady of Fatima Parish since its founding in 1998.

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

Dec 30, 2025 / 13:34 pm (CNA).

Parishioners of St. Austin’s Msongari Parish, Kenya’s oldest inland Catholic church in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, have been told to find belonging in small groups within the parish — such as small Christian communities, Catholic Women Association, Catholic Men Association, and other apostolic entities within the parish.

In his homily on Dec. 14 during St. Austin’s Msongari 2025 Family Day celebration, Bishop David Kamau Ng’ang’a said that faith is best experienced as a community and not as an individual. It is in a community anchored in faith that weak Christians find a “backup” in their struggles, he said.

“Faith must be lived within a community. When Jesus resurrected from the dead and appeared to the apostles, one of them was not there. And when he was told ‘We have seen the Lord,’ he did not believe,” Kamau said. “Thomas was not able to see the Lord because he was not in the community.”

He added: “The community helps you to experience the love of God,” and he appealed to those gathered to “join a group. You need a backup. Don’t stay alone. You may not survive.”

Members of the parish celebrated their 2025 Family Day under the theme “Anchored in Faith, Alive in Hope,” a celebration of 126 years of evangelization in the east African country.

In his homily, the bishop underlined the importance of strengthening the family at home, in Christian communities, and at the parish level. He challenged the parishioners to ask themselves if their own families are stable.

“How far are we building our own families back at home?” he asked, adding: “If you have no home where you come from, then you don’t have a home even here either.”

The bishop said there are two families that every Christian should take as models: the family of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

“Love is what unites these two families,” he said, adding: “There was love, dialogue, and understanding in the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. That is why God entrusted his Son to that family.”

As part of the celebrations, St. Austin’s Msongari Parish also launched seven newly established small Christian communities. At the launch, Kamau challenged the parish to “do even better,” adding: “Without small Christian communities, it will be difficult to build the Church.”

Further underscoring the importance of the small communities, he said: “You come here only on Sundays. How about the other days? That is why we build small Christian communities where we live to come together and pray together.”

“We bring the life in our small Christian communities here in our Church. This is why small Christian communities are important,” he reiterated, adding that the aim should be to build the parish to become a home “such that even if you are rejected out there, where you are working, you feel welcome when you come here.”

The bishop also expressed his admiration of St. Austin’s Church, noting that the historic parish had planted seeds of faith across what later became the Archdiocese of Nairobi and the Machakos and Kitui dioceses.

He said: “I am always proud of St. Austin’s Parish and the Holy Ghost Fathers because the Holy Ghost Fathers brought faith to the Archdiocese of Nairobi. I am also talking about Machakos and Kitui. They too were started by Holy Ghost Fathers. The old missionaries are the ones who taught us, even in those days.”

In his address at the Family and Fun Day celebrations, Father Henry Omwoyo, the pastor of St. Austin’s Msongari Parish, said the event was more than “just a date on the calendar” for the parish whose story began in 1899, when three missionaries of the Holy Ghost Fathers — Emile Augustin Allgeyer, Alain Hémery, and Blanchard Dillenseger — traveled inland from the Kenyan coast.

“We celebrate 126 years of God’s faithfulness, love, and grace poured out upon our parish family,” Omwoyo said. “From humble beginnings in 1899, when the pioneer Spiritan missionaries held the first Mass under the expansive African sky, to today, we stand as a vibrant, living community, deeply rooted in faith and alive in hope.”

He noted that for over a century, the parish has been a beacon of faith and unity in inland Kenya and has come to include communities such as the Catholic International Community and the Communauté Catholique Francophone de Nairobi.

“For decades, this parish has offered a home, a spiritual haven where generations have encountered Christ through sacraments, catechesis, outreach, prayer, fellowship, and service,” he said.

The parish also announced the projected opening of its prayer garden, a project that commenced as part of the parish’s 125 years of faith celebration.

Described as “a sanctuary of peace, reflection, and prayer for all who seek God’s voice,” St. Austin’s prayer garden will be dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and is scheduled to officially open in May 2026 on the eve of Pentecost Sunday.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

Thursday, January 1, 2026 is the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.  It is a Holy Day of Obligation. Mass will be held at St. Anthony Church at 8:00 a.m. There is also a Spanish Mass on Wednesday, December...

Dec 30, 2025 / 10:45 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV warned about the danger that gambling poses to many families during a Dec. 29 audience with members of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.

At the beginning of his address, delivered in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, the Holy Father explained that “the incarnation of the Son of God brings us face to face with a child, whose gentle fragility is in stark contrast to the crushing power of King Herod.”

In this context, he emphasized that “the massacre of the innocents ordered by him not only represents a loss of a future for society but is also a manifestation of an inhuman power that does not know the beauty of love because it disregards the dignity of human life.”

On the contrary, the pope explained that the birth of the Lord “reveals the most authentic aspect of all power, which is above all responsibility and service,” and noted that all authority must “embody the virtues of humility, honesty, and communion.”

The pontiff thus alluded to the public commitment of the Italian association, reminding them of the importance of listening “as a social dynamic that activates these virtues,” specifically “to the needs of families and individuals, especially caring for the most vulnerable, for the good of all.”

Pope Leo XIV focused his attention on certain realities that require special attention, such as the difficulties faced by families and young people as well as the loneliness of the elderly and the “silent cry of the poor.”

In this regard, he emphasized that “our cities are not anonymous places but rather faces and stories that must be safeguarded like precious treasures.”

He also quoted Venerable Giorgio La Pira, known as “the holy mayor” of Florence, who maintained that his fundamental duty was to care for and alleviate anyone who was suffering. In this way, the pope stated that “social cohesion and civic harmony require, first and foremost, listening to the least among us and the poor.”

He then urged the members of the National Association of Italian Municipalities to “become models of dedication to the common good, fostering a social alliance for hope.”

Problem of gambling addiction

After lamenting that cities are experiencing forms of marginalization, violence, and loneliness “that demand to be addressed,” Pope Leo specifically warned against gambling, “which ruins many families.” Citing the latest report from Caritas Italy, he emphasized that this type of gambling addiction is a “serious problem of education, mental health, and social trust.”

“We cannot forget other forms of loneliness from which many people suffer: mental disorders, depression, cultural and spiritual poverty, and social abandonment. These are signs that indicate how much hope is needed. To bear witness to it effectively, politics is called to forge authentically human relationships among citizens, promoting social peace,” the pontiff said.

He also urged that administrative activity promote “the talents of individuals, giving cultural and spiritual depth to cities.”

At the end of his address, he asked the members of the association to have “the courage to offer hope to the people, planning together the best future for their lands, in the logic of integral human development.”

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