CNA Staff, Nov 29, 2025 / 19:10 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV finished the third day of his apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon with a Mass at Volkswagen Arena, a venue in Istanbul's Maslak neighborhood.

The Holy Father marked the day in part by joining Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I for a declaration pledging continued dialogue aimed at restoring full communion between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The two leaders also participated in a Doxology together.

Watch LIVE the major events of Pope Leo’s apostolic journey Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 at youtube.com/@ewtnnews and follow our live updates of his historic visit:

EWTN News, Nov 29, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

Rashida Begum still remembers the day her life changed forever: Feb. 2, 2000, when her husband, Mojid Kaguchi, went to catch crabs in the Sundarbans, a vast mangrove forest in southern Bangladesh. Hours later, she heard the news — a tiger had taken him.

"My husband and five others went deep into the forest," Begum told Catholic News Agency. "A roaring tiger attacked one of them. Mojid tried to save his friend, hitting the tiger with a knife. The tiger let go of his friend and grabbed Mojid instead."

The tiger dragged Mojid into the forest. His friends never found him alive.

"After searching, we found only his head and two legs," Begum said. "The tiger ate the rest."

Begum was just 25 then, a mother of two. Married at 20, she had shared only five years with her husband.

Her father-in-law blamed her for his death and refused to give her land. Humiliated, she left her in-laws' home and returned to her father's village.

Life was hard. She worked in fields and homes to feed her children. Today, her sons work in a brick kiln.

"I lost my husband in the Sundarbans," she said. "I will starve if needed, but my sons will never go there."

Begum learned to sew. Recently, Caritas Bangladesh, a social aid agency of the Catholic Church, gave her 10,000 taka (about $81). She bought a sewing machine and fabric.

"I will make clothes and sell them," she said. "I can earn 3,000 taka (about $21) a month."

Amerun Nesa Begum, 48, shares a similar story.

On March 26, 2012, her husband was fishing in the Sundarbans when a tiger attacked.

"There was bleeding from my husband's neck," she recalled. "The tiger was eating him. His friends made noise to scare it away, but my husband died there."

Amerun Nesa, a mother of four, faced extreme poverty. She worked in fields and homes of others. Her sons later went to the Sundarbans to fish, risking their lives.

"The Sundarbans is our main source of income," she said. "We know the risks, but we cannot leave it."

She also received 10,000 taka from Caritas. She bought a sewing machine and fabric. She and her daughter-in-law now make clothes to sell in local markets.

On Nov. 15, Caritas Bangladesh helped 106 poor families, including 12 tiger widows like Rashida and Amerun Nesa. The aid came through the Community Managed Sustainable Livelihood and Resilience Project (CMLRP-II), supported by Caritas Australia.

"Tiger widows" are women whose husbands were killed by Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans mangrove forest while collecting honey, fishing, or cutting wood. These women face severe social stigma, branded as cursed and excluded from community life, alongside economic hardship and psychological trauma.

Santanu Roy, program officer for Caritas Khulna Region, said the widows' lives are heartbreaking.

"They face humiliation and neglect," Roy told Catholic News Agency. "Families slander them. We are happy to help them. This small support can improve their lives."

The Sundarbans spans three districts: Khulna, Satkhira, and Bagerhat. At least 3,000 tiger widows live in villages near the forest.

Roy hopes Caritas can assist more widows.

Apart from tigers, crocodiles also attack men who enter the forest for honey, fish, and crabs.

Tiger widows suffer more than grief. They face stigma. Many are called "husband eaters" or cursed. They are excluded from society.

They also lose their main income source. Most receive no government compensation.

Caritas offers hope. With sewing machines and training, these women can earn a living.

The Catholic Church has long worked in remote areas of Bangladesh. Caritas, its social arm, runs programs for disaster relief, education, and poverty reduction. Helping tiger widows is part of its mission to serve the most vulnerable.

For Rashida Begum and Amerun Nesa, this help means dignity and survival.

"I will never forget my husband," Rashida said. "But now I can dream again."

Amerun Nesa agrees. "I want my children to live without fear," she said. "I pray they never face what I faced."

The Sundarbans is beautiful but dangerous. It is home to the Bengal tiger, a national symbol of Bangladesh. But for poor families, it is also a place of death.

Every year, men enter the forest to collect honey, fish, and crabs. Many go without permits. They risk tiger attacks because they feel they have no other choice.

When tragedy strikes, their families fall into despair. Widows lose income and face social rejection.

Caritas steps in where others do not. Its small grants give women a chance to start again.

The Church's message is clear: every life matters. Every widow deserves hope.

Sunday, November 30, 2025 | First Sunday of Advent  |  Matthew 24:37–44 Friends, today’s Gospel compares the terror of the end times with that of the flood that destroyed the earth in Noah’s time. Why does the coming of...

Denver, Colorado, Nov 29, 2025 / 12:36 pm (CNA).

The First Sunday of Advent 2025 is tomorrow, Nov. 30, less than four weeks before Christmas this year, and while the Church provides this time to allow you to be caught by the joy of the Incarnation, you can be easily caught by surprise that it is Christmas. To help remedy this surprise, the Church provides songs, signs, and symbols to enter into the season of Advent more fruitfully.

Here are three ways the Church teaches us about the meaning of the season:

Advent hymns

Many of the customary hymns for Advent highlight the movement of the soul toward what Pope Francis termed in a homily on Advent as a “horizon of hope.” No hymn epitomizes this better than “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” with its overtones of expectation and its mournful remorse over the state of man, captive to sin. The cultivation of hope and expectation is also seen in Advent hymns such as “O Come Divine Messiah” and “People Look East.” 

The commingled darkness and hope that God will fulfill his promises, a theme characteristic of Advent, deepens with songs like the Spanish carol “Alepun.” The lyrics of “Alepun” move the faithful into an experience of waiting with a pregnant Blessed Virgin Mary while the rhythm and percussion evoke donkey hooves clattering across the plains of Israel to Bethlehem.

Church decor

Advent is a season of penance marked by joy and, in many ways, a little Lent. This is why the colors of purple and pink — with their ties to penance and the Lord’s Passion, and the joy of Laetare Sunday when Lent is almost over — are the colors of Advent. But did you know that the deep purple of Advent has a blue hue to it to teach the faithful in symbol about the Marian heart of the season?

The lack of church decor also teaches about the penitential nature of the season. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the lack of flowers on the altar, the restrained use of instruments, and the absence of the resounding and angelic Gloria all lead to a deliberate emptiness.

The emptiness will first be filled on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and, later, flowers will be allowed on Gaudete Sunday as the first expression of the festivity of the coming Christmas.

Saints and solemnities 

Following the solemnity of Christ the King, Advent begins with echoes of the power of Christ coming in glory before it stretches forward to the humble beginnings of the mystery of the Incarnation.

This means there is a certain focus the Church helps people enter into even in the way the liturgical calendar is marked by very few memorials of saints: just five in the course of the four weeks, most of whom are deeply embedded in the celebration of and preparation for Christmas in various countries.

St. Nicholas is the best known of the five: the generous bishop whose gifts inspired generations of lore and giving. St. Lucy, whose desire to give charity to prisoners in the catacombs meant she wore candles in her hair to free her hands, is another well-known saint with connections to Christmas whom we celebrate in Advent.

The Church also shows forth the importance of Mary during this season, which places her Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, a solemnity and holy day of obligation, at the very beginning of the liturgical year. Combined with the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12, the Church shows forth what God has wrought in a soul full of grace — a foreshadowing of the entire mystery of salvation in one soul.

Though there are many more signs and symbols that communicate the meaning of Advent, these can assist you as you enter the season of expectation, building anticipation for the celebration of Christmas so it doesn’t catch you by surprise.

This article was first published on Nov. 28, 2022, and has been updated.

Istanbul, Turkey, Nov 29, 2025 / 11:20 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV marked the start of Advent on Saturday with an appeal for unity and peace, telling thousands gathered for Mass in Istanbul that Christians “journey as if on a bridge that connects earth to Heaven,” keeping their eyes “fixed on both shores” until they are united “in the house of the Father.”

The pope celebrated Mass on Nov. 29 at the Volkswagen Arena, a large multipurpose venue within Istanbul’s Uniq cultural complex. The liturgy, held on the eve of the Feast of St. Andrew, patron of Turkey, took place during the third day of his first international apostolic trip, which has brought him to Turkey and will soon continue on to Lebanon.

In his homily, the pope reflected on the beginning of Advent, saying it prepares believers “to experience anew at Christmas the mystery of Jesus, the Son of God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father.” Drawing on the first reading from Isaiah (Is 2:1–5), he invited the faithful “to ascend the mountain of the Lord,” which he described as an image of divine light and peace.

Leo pointed to two key images in the reading. The first was the mountain “established as the highest of the mountains,” which he said reminds Christians that God’s gifts “are a gift not only for us, but for everyone.” He cited examples of evangelizing witness: St. Peter meeting Christ through St. Andrew’s enthusiasm, and St. Augustine coming to the faith through St. Ambrose. Recalling a line from St. John Chrysostom—“The miracle happens and passes, but the Christian life remains and continually edifies”—he urged the faithful to “keep watch” with prayer, charity, and spiritual vigilance.

The second image was the prophet’s vision of peace: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares… neither shall they learn war any more.” The pope said the message is especially urgent today, calling the Church to be a sign of reconciliation in a world marked by conflict.

Turning to the theme of bridges, Leo noted that the logo for his visit to Turkey features the Bosporus Bridge, which joins Asia and Europe. He said the image points to three essential “bridges of unity”: within the Catholic community, in relations with other Christians, and in dialogue with other religions.

The pope highlighted the four Catholic traditions present in Turkey—Latin, Armenian, Chaldean, and Syriac—calling them “a catholicity that unites.” Unity, he said, “needs care, attention, and maintenance.” Quoting Christ’s prayer “that they may all be one,” he appealed again for Christian unity and encouraged believers to be peacemakers.

The diversity of Turkey’s Catholic community was visible in the liturgy. A choir of about 200 members represented the country’s four rites. Scripture readings and prayer intentions were offered in Turkish, Aramaic, Syriac, English, Armenian, and Arabic, reflecting the multilingual and multicultural character of local Catholics.

On Sunday afternoon, the pope will depart Turkey for the second leg of his apostolic journey in Lebanon. Before leaving Istanbul, he is scheduled to participate in several ecumenical events in the morning.

Istanbul, Turkey, Nov 29, 2025 / 10:07 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople said on Saturday they are “deeply alarmed by the current international situation,” issuing a joint appeal for peace.

The appeal took place during the pope’s first international trip, a journey that has taken him to Turkey and will continue on to Lebanon.

The two leaders signed a joint declaration at the Palace of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul. The text rejects the use of religion to justify violence, urges global efforts toward peace, supports cooperation among believers of different faiths, and entrusts a suffering world to God with renewed hope in the Holy Spirit.

The pope and the patriarch, who is considered first among equals among Eastern Orthodox bishops, reaffirmed their shared commitment to dialogue aimed at restoring full communion between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches. Calling Christian unity a gift from God, they encouraged clergy and faithful to pray and work for the fulfillment of Christ’s prayer “that they may all be one.”

Marking the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, they pointed to the Nicene Creed as a shared foundation of faith and expressed hope for a future common celebration of Easter. They recalled with gratitude the 60th anniversary of the lifting of mutual excommunications in 1965 by St. Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I, and called for renewed courage in pursuing dialogue.

Acknowledging the obstacles that still hinder full communion, Leo and Bartholomew said they remain committed to addressing them through theological exchange and fraternal encounter.

In their declaration, they appealed to civil and political leaders to “do everything possible to ensure that the tragedy of war ceases immediately,” and asked all people of good will to join them in this plea. They encouraged efforts to build a just and supportive society and to care for creation, insisting that only such shared responsibility can overcome indifference, domination, greed, and xenophobia.

Earlier in the day, Pope Leo joined Patriarch Bartholomew for a Doxology, a liturgical prayer of praise to God, at Saint George’s Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchal Church in Istanbul. The pope said he felt “great emotion” upon entering the historic church, noting that he was mindful of the gestures of his predecessors and grateful for the friendship he has shared with Bartholomew since the beginning of his ministry as bishop of Rome.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate, based in Istanbul, is recognized as the central coordinating seat of the Orthodox Church. Patriarch Bartholomew I, widely known for his leadership in ecumenical dialogue and environmental advocacy, is considered the 270th successor of St. Andrew.

On Saturday morning, the pope also met privately with leaders of Christian Churches in Turkey at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem in Istanbul, where he was welcomed by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II. Concluding the meeting, he reflected on the significance of the Council of Nicaea and the Gospel of the Incarnation, calling the assembled leaders to prayer, unity, and renewed evangelization. He invited them to journey together toward the 2033 Jubilee with the hope of advancing toward full communion, inspired by the motto In Illo Uno Unum (“Unity in the One”).

Mor Ephrem, located in Yeşilköy, is the first church to be built in Turkey since the founding of the Republic. Construction began nearly a decade before its inauguration in 2023, but was slowed by administrative delays, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2023 earthquake.

During the gathering, a choir sang an invocation to the Holy Spirit before the leaders sat together at a round table for a closed-door exchange. Each offered brief remarks, followed by the pope’s address. The Patriarchal Vicar led the Lord’s Prayer before the pope’s departure.

The Syriac Orthodox Church, headquartered in Damascus, Syria, numbers around two million faithful worldwide, and its patriarch plays an important role in ecumenical relations.

CNA Staff, Nov 29, 2025 / 08:30 am (CNA).

The papal plane set to fly Pope Leo XIV from Turkey to Lebanon on Sunday is one of thousands of Airbus A320 aircraft affected by a computer issue.

Around 6,000 Airbus planes were grounded this weekend after it was discovered that intense solar radiation could interfere with onboard flight control computers, according to the BBC.

For most of the affected aircraft, the issue could be resolved with a software update, but around 900 planes, including the papal plane, needed onboard computers physically replaced.

According to Director of the Holy See Press Office Matteo Bruni, a plane arrived in Istanbul from Rome on Saturday with a technician and the replacement computer for Pope Leo’s ITA Airways A320neo. 

Leo is scheduled to take a two-hour flight from Istanbul to Beirut around midday on Nov. 30 for the second leg of his apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon.

The highlights of Pope Leo XIV's third day in Türkiye include a visit to Istanbul's Blue Mosque, an ecumenical meeting with Christian leaders, prayer with Patriarch Bartholomew, and Mass with Catholic faithful from across the country.

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EWTN News, Nov 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Roughly 500 miles east of Bali lies the island of Flores, a vocational powerhouse that supplies seminarians not only to Indonesia but also to Catholic communities around the world. Catholicism first arrived here in the 16th century, when Portuguese spice traders brought missionaries to the rugged, mountainous island. Today, the faith is deeply rooted, with more than 80% of the island’s 2 million people being Catholic.

Flores hosts several seminaries, most clustered around Maumere on the island’s northern coast. Religious congregations including the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), the Somascan Fathers, the Rogationists, the Vocationists, and the Carmelites all operate seminaries there, creating a dense network of vocational formation rarely found elsewhere in Asia.

Archbishop Paulus Budi Kleden, SVD, of Ende and a native of Flores, stressed the island’s importance not just for the Indonesian Church but for dioceses and religious congregations worldwide.

“Many of the alumni of these seminaries are working outside the country,” he noted, highlighting the island’s contribution to the global clergy. A thriving minor seminary system also feeds this pipeline, which currently has 650 students enrolled at the junior and senior high school level.

“Once the students finish their school, they can opt for dioceses or different congregations,” Kleden explained. “We do not limit their choice.”

Pope Francis alluded to Flores’ reputation in a 2022 homily on religious life, joking about how some congregations look “to an island in Indonesia” when searching for vocations. The remark, made in a broader reflection on renewal in consecrated life, subtly acknowledged the island’s global significance as a source of seminarians.

A notable institution on Flores is St. Paul’s Major Seminary, perched on the hilltop of Ledalero and founded in 1937 by Divine Word missionaries. It began with SVD novices but soon welcomed local youth called to the priesthood as well as students from other religious orders. To date, the seminary has formed nearly 1,500 SVD missionary priests, with around 500 serving in more than 70 countries worldwide.

At Ledalero, seminarians study philosophy for four years, followed by two years of theology, and complete one to two years of pastoral service before ordination. Those who discern that priesthood is not their calling can leave the program at any time and earn a bachelor’s degree from the nearby Ledalero Catholic School of Philosophy.

According to Father Sefrianus Juhani, SVD, a professor at St. Paul’s Major Seminary, religious vocations remain “quite dynamic.” He noted that annual intake after the novitiate almost never falls below 50, which he sees as proof that the vocation spirit is still very much alive in Indonesia despite cultural and social challenges.

But quantity is never the seminary’s priority. Juhani stressed that Ledalero’s formation aims to shape emotionally mature, disciplined, and spiritually grounded men — priests who are honest and passionate, ready to serve, not to seek fame or social status. The path is long and demanding, he admitted, “but the aim never changes.”

Juhani pointed to the digital world as a major challenge for seminarians. “Our seminarians live in a fast-paced information environment,” he said. “Often this environment propagates disinformation, fake news, and a shortsighted mindset.” Such influences, he believed, make it harder for young men to cultivate silence and reflection, which are essential for spiritual growth.

To protect this interior space, the seminary enforces strict limits on electronics, with Wi-Fi available only during certain hours — a policy designed not to punish but to teach self-regulation and spiritual focus. “Some try to bend the rules,” Juhani admitted, “but we view it as part of their character formation and personal responsibility.”

Finances pose another challenge. With more than 320 seminarians, resources are often stretched thin. Priests and brothers contribute everything they earn, from teaching to small agricultural projects, while families support the seminary however they can.

Even so, funding rarely meets needs. While seminarians are given monthly stipends, they must still manage their own finances and, if they feel they need more, they work the fields for it. To develop economic self-reliance, the community harvests from its own gardens while raising pigs and chickens for food.

The seminarians come from a wide range of family backgrounds. “Some come from well-off families, others from humble ones,” Juhani noted. Some grew up as an only child, others among many siblings.

This diversity, he said, actively enriches priestly formation. Living and studying together teaches seminarians to build “cross-cultural, cross-lingual, and interpersonal brotherhood,” a solidarity that becomes central to their priestly identity.

Daily life at Ledalero follows a disciplined rhythm of prayer, study, and work. Mornings begin with meditation and Mass before moving into lectures, writing assignments, and manual labor that instills “responsibility, teamwork, and humility.” Seminarians cook their own meals and spend evenings participating in choir, writing workshops, and cultural clubs, developing the confidence, creativity, and social skills essential for future pastoral work.

Weekends pull the seminarians into the wider community — mentoring youth, staying with village families, visiting prisoners and patients living with HIV. Their formation is not confined to classrooms. Seminarians are active in environmental advocacy, joining protests against mining projects and helping residents articulate their concerns through print media.

When Mount Lewotobi erupted in July and again in October, Ledalero’s students were on the ground, assisting in evacuation and relief efforts. These encounters, Juhani noted, are designed to cultivate a spirit of service and solidarity, placing seminarians with the people they hope to serve in the years ahead.

“Ledalero is not just a place to learn theology but a school of life,” Juhani said. The simple, brotherly, and inquisitive community life has made Ledalero a living, breathing center of formation in Indonesia.

Each year, new young men arrive with different stories, different dreams, and the same desire to serve something larger than themselves. In their early morning prayers, their long days of study, and their shared meals cooked over simple stoves, they carry forward a vocation that refuses to fade.

The faithful present at the Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV at the Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul on Saturday share their excitement and express their belief that his visit is a message of peace and unity for all.

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