The practice of closing the Holy Doors at the conclusion of the Jubilee, established in 1975 and simplified by Pope Saint John Paul II during the Holy Year of 2000, is followed by the walling-up, which takes place privately around ten days later.

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Jan 5, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Key elections in November 2026 could reshape the balance of power in the U.S. government, potentially upending the current Republican trifecta in Washington and offering a referendum on President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

Thirty-three seats in the U.S. Senate are up for election, while two states will hold special elections. All 435 districts of the U.S. House of Representatives, meanwhile, are holding elections.

Republicans presently control the White House and both chambers of Congress, but their majorities in both legislative chambers are narrow; Democrats need only a net gain of four seats to flip the Senate and a net of three districts to take control of the House.

As is often the case, many of the races are seen as foregone conclusions, with Republican and Democratic candidates in most states and districts comfortably assured of victory. Yet key toss-up races could end up shifting some control of the national government to Democrats.

Chief among them is the Senate race in Maine, where GOP Sen. Susan Collins is facing reelection in a state Trump lost by about 7 points in 2024.

Maine has voted strongly in favor of Democratic presidential candidates for many years — the last time a Republican president took the state was 1988 — and while Collins has easily won election or reelection five times there since 1996, this year’s race could present a more significant challenge for the Republican, due in part to Trump’s declining favorability ratings.

Collins, who identifies as Catholic, next year may find herself racing against state Gov. Janet Mills, who is currently vying for the state’s Democratic nomination. The University of Virginia’s Center for Politics switched Maine to a “toss-up” election in October, citing Collins’ middling approval numbers and Mills’ potential challenge.

The Center for Politics points to three other “toss-up” Senate elections in 2026, those of Georgia, North Carolina, and Michigan.

In North Carolina, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis will not seek reelection, presenting an opportunity for Democrats to pick up another seat. Former state Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has declared his candidacy there, as has former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley.

A Democratic stronghold for years, the North Carolina state government has overall leaned more Republican since around 2010, though GOP presidential candidates have done well there for longer. Yet the state has overwhelmingly voted for Democratic governors for decades with few exceptions, and Trump’s vulnerability — polls show high levels of disapproval of the president there — could give Democrats a boost in a state they likely need to win to obtain control of the Senate.

House considered a toss-up; some states consider life, religion proposals

In Georgia, Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is expected to defend the seat he won in 2021, though he could be ousted in the primary election in May, when Republicans will also choose their candidate.

In Michigan, meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring, leaving Democrats scrambling to elect a new candidate; no clear challenger has yet emerged in either party there, with a primary election set for Aug. 4.

Though Michigan hasn’t elected a Republican senator in about 25 years, the state’s critical role in national elections will likely render it a competitive race into November. Trump beat Kamala Harris for the state’s electors by just over 1% in 2024; he lost that state to Joe Biden in 2020 by about 3%.

Analysts, meanwhile, say the U.S. House is a potential flip for Democrats. The Center for Politics projects a tentative 211-208 Democratic majority there.

Outgoing Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, predicted last week that Democrats would “win the House back” in November, declaring that Republican control of Congress will be “over” in 2027.

Amid the candidate elections, voters in some states will consider numerous ballot issues that could also offer referendums on Republican governance and Trump’s second term.

Some states are considering ballot initiatives related to abortion. Missouri voters will decide whether or not to enact sweeping restrictions on abortion in the state, while Nevada voters may amend the state’s constitution to create a right to an abortion there.

The Missouri measure, if passed, would also prohibit doctors from performing “gender transition” procedures on underage children. Abortion-related proposals may also appear on the ballots in Virginia, Idaho, and Oregon.

Some states may also consider religion-related ballot proposals. In West Virginia, voters in 2026 may consider a measure that would amend the state constitution to allow churches and religious denominations to incorporate under state law.

A potential proposal in Wisconsin, meanwhile, would prohibit the government from closing churches in response to public health emergencies and other crises.

Ahead of the midterms, Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob last week lamented that politics in the United States has become “so polarized” and warned Catholics not to “get caught in camps” that amplify political differences.

“Bishops, priests, deacons, church leaders that are not Catholic, other leaders — it’s easy to get drawn into one camp or another camp, whatever the case may be,” the prelate told WISN-TV.

“We have to remain true to ourselves,” he said, “and it’s not to a particular party, but it is to our Catholic faith.”

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and the Holy See’s official point man for the Jubilee, gives a round-up on the Holy Year during a press conference at the Vatican on Monday, January 5.

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WASHINGTON - Catholics nationwide are invited to pray “9 Days for Life,” an annual Respect Life novena starting Friday, January 16.

In the Catholic Church, a ‘novena’ consists of prayers over nine successive days, and this particular novena is an opportunity for prayer and penance in observance of the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on January 22.

All are invited to sign up! Participants may access the novena or subscribe to receive the daily prayers by email or text message in English at 9daysforlife.com or in Spanish at respectlife.org/9-dias-por-la-vida. 

Sponsored by the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the novena began in 2013 in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade—the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal throughout the United States. While the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization returned the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives at federal and state levels, continuing efforts are needed to protect children and their mothers from the tragedy of abortion. This is the fourteenth year the novena is taking place. Since the novena began, it has reached hundreds of thousands of people in over one hundred countries spanning six continents.

The overarching intention of the novena is the end to abortion. Each daily prayer intention highlights a related topic and is accompanied by a reflection, educational information, and suggested daily actions. A resource kit is available, featuring the daily prayer intentions and reflections, in both English and Spanish. A press kit is also available.

For additional information and updates throughout the novena, please follow us on Instagram (@USCCB), Facebook (@USCCB), TikTok (@USBishops), Threads (@USCCB), Bluesky (@usccbofficial.bsky.social) and X (@USCCB).

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- An estimated 33 million visitors and pilgrims came to the Vatican to celebrate the Jubilee Year, exceeding early forecasts, officials said at a news conference at the Vatican Jan. 5.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization's section for new evangelization and chief organizer of the 2025 Holy Year, said the figure is based on estimates from a study by Roma Tre University, online registrations for the Holy Year, and the number of people who passed through the Holy Doors of Rome's major basilicas and attended papal events. 

By the time the Holy Year ends Jan. 6, he said, at least 33 million people will have taken part, which breaks down to more than 90,000 people a day. The period with the most pilgrims in Rome was during the Jubilee of Young People from July 21 to Aug. 10, which registered more than 13 million people. 

Early estimates had expected that the Jubilee Year would bring 30 million to 35 million visitors to the Vatican. The city saw about 22 million people come to Rome in 2024, Roberto Gualtieri, mayor of Rome, said during the news conference. 

Based on data collected solely from registered pilgrims, visitors from the United States ranked second only to Italy, accounting for nearly 13 percent of the total number of registered visitors, Archbishop Fisichella said. Pilgrims from more than 185 countries participated in the Jubilee Year.

"It is inevitable that such a milestone also brings with it an assessment of this year, which in many respects has been extraordinary. Begun under Pope Francis, the Jubilee concludes under Pope Leo XIV," the archbishop said in Italian. "The funeral and the new election were added to the entire Jubilee program, showing the whole world the ability to act with determination and confidence amid an exceptional series of events."

Archbishop Fisichella thanked Rome's officials for their hard work in supporting the inflow of visitors, and said that the increase also led to increased visitor rates across the city's tourist sites.

Gualtieri agreed, saying it was a year of unprecedented tourism across the city. To accommodate the Jubilee Year and the influx of visitors, construction crews completed 110 projects across Rome, including the restoration of historic squares, monuments and holy sites. 

Lamberto Giannini, Rome's prefect, who coordinates maintaining law and order in the city, said that city and Vatican teams worked together to complete the many construction projects "without serious accidents or workplace injuries and with extensive oversight to prevent mafia infiltration -- something clearly possible given the scale of the investments."

Vatican leaders have already begun planning the next Jubilee Year, which will take place in 2033 to commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

"The journey, therefore, is not finished," Archbishop Fisichella said. "This was only a significant step, preparing the way for another event of grace that must be planned with foresight and a strong awareness of an upcoming global event."
 

At least 114 people have lost their lives in the past week as Sudan's army and paramilitary forces clash in Darfur, according to local medical sources.

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The United Nations says its humanitarian aid plans for Yemen are only 25 percent funded, despite increasing needs and the near-collapse of the health system.

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At the Holy Innocents BPSS Centre, in the rural town of Timau in Kenya, religious sisters and lay professionals work together to help people battling addiction and mental health challenges. Known in the community as the “Friends of the Drunkards,” the sisters combine faith, science, and compassion to heal wounded lives and restore hope where society had once given up.

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The Epiphany of the Lord All the nations of the earth will adore the one King.  Christ blesses us as we close out the Christmas season.  The magi represent us as we are dismissed to go out to the rest of the world.

During the Sunday Angelus, Pope Leo XIV expresses once again his closeness to those in mourning following the fire in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on January 1.

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