Lima Newsroom, Dec 3, 2024 / 16:05 pm (CNA).

Catholics exiled from Nicaragua are expressing their gratitude for the recent letter of encouragement Pope Francis sent to the persecuted Church in the Central American country.  

“In the midst of this wave of repression and religious persecution unprecedented in our history, his words of encouragement are a balm for our spirit and a reminder of the transforming power of faith and hope,” said Félix Maradiaga in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Maradiaga, a former presidential candidate and former political prisoner, added that “the Holy Father’s closeness to us as a pastor reaffirms our trust in divine providence, even when we face trials and challenges that seem insurmountable.”

For Martha Patricia Molina, a researcher whose reports have documented hundreds of attacks by the Nicaraguan dictatorship against the Catholic Church in the country in recent years, Pope Francis’ letter shows that “he follows up and pays attention to the serious situation facing Nicaragua.”

“At this time, anything written by the Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference would be a reason for the Sandinista dictatorship to continue deporting bishops, and Pope Francis knows that,” Molina said. “I feel that’s why he sent us this beautiful message.”

“Our people are Marian, and during these days we are praying the novena to the Immaculate Conception. Receiving this pastoral letter from Pope Francis during this special time is a gift from God,” she added.

Industrial mechanic Pedro Gutiérrez, who was deported to Guatemala in September, told the Spanish-language edition of EWTN News that Nicaraguans and many other people in the world as well would like Pope Francis to take a tougher approach to the dictatorship, given the crimes that have been committed against the country’s Catholics.

After comparing Pope Francis to St. John Paul II, who “confronted dictators, great tyrants,” Gutiérrez called on the pontiff “not to remain silent about the injustices that these criminals are committing against the Catholic Church itself.”

“We would like a Pope Francis who defends the Catholic Church, who stands up for the Catholic Church,” he emphasized.

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

CNA Staff, Dec 3, 2024 / 15:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of December is for pilgrims of hope.

“Christian hope is a gift from God that fills our lives with joy. And today, we need it a lot. The world really needs it a lot,” the Holy Father said in a video released Dec. 3.

Pope Francis pointed out that “when you don’t know if you’ll be able to feed your children tomorrow, or if what you’re studying will allow you to get a good job, it’s easy to get discouraged.”

“Where can we look for hope?” he asked.

“Hope is an anchor — an anchor that you cast over with a rope to be moored on the shore. We have to hold onto the rope of hope. Hold on tight.”

He encouraged the faithful to “help each other discover this encounter with Christ who gives us life, and let’s set out on a journey as pilgrims of hope to celebrate that life. And entering into the upcoming jubilee is the next stage within that life.”

“Day by day, let us fill our lives with the gift of hope that God gives us, and through us, let us allow it to reach everyone who is looking for it,” he said. “Don’t forget — hope never disappoints.”

He concluded with a prayer: “Let us pray that this upcoming jubilee strengthens us in our faith, helping us to recognize the risen Christ in the midst of our lives, transforming us into pilgrims of Christian hope.”

Pope Francis’ prayer video is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.

ACI MENA, Dec 3, 2024 / 15:05 pm (CNA).

The city of Aleppo, Syria, has been under intense siege since Dec. 1, marked by the shelling of the Latin Holy Land monastery in the Al-Furqan neighborhood. While no casualties or injuries were reported, the attack caused extensive damage to the building.

A statement released by the Franciscan order revealed that a missile strike from a warplane hit the monastery, destroying one of its wings and setting its storage facility ablaze. Other areas, such as the sports center and chapel, also suffered significant damage.

The friars expressed in their statement that they categorically reject any form of violence, emphasizing their mission as one of peace and reconciliation wherever they are sent by God. They called on the international community to intervene and do everything in its power to protect the city’s infrastructure from further destruction.

Despite the attack, the monastery’s bakery and charity kitchen resumed operations the following day, preparing over 1,000 hot meals for free distribution, primarily to elderly residents. However, due to the scarcity of fuel and limited transportation, the church requested that recipients send representatives to collect the meals.

The Holy Land Monastery, built in the 1940s, originally housed a prestigious school, which, like many other Christian institutions, was seized by the Syrian government two decades later. In 2020, the expansive school grounds were returned to the Church. Until last Friday, under the leadership of Franciscan Father Samher Ishaq, the monastery was providing development services to the local community alongside its ongoing relief efforts.

Meanwhile, Aleppo has witnessed internal displacement within the city itself. Many Christians have fled homes near the Kurdish-controlled area, which still maintains a foothold in a small section of the city, seeking refuge with relatives in safer locations.

The proximity of Kurdish forces to Christian cemeteries has created additional challenges for burying the dead. Fear of jihadist factions reaching their positions has prompted Kurdish fighters to enforce strict measures, with reports circulating of a sniper targeting anyone attempting to approach the cemeteries.

The city also grapples with severe shortages of food supplies and an almost complete blackout of mobile communication networks. Landlines and internet routers remain the only reliable means of communication.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 3, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

The U.S. bishops are once more teaming up with Catholic charity organizations to encourage the faithful to donate to Catholic causes on Giving Tuesday. 

In partnership with #iGiveCatholic, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is inviting the faithful to support the Church’s efforts to “feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, and preserve our Catholic heritage for future generations.” 

“You are an important part of the Church’s mission,” the USCCB states on its donations page. “Thanks to Catholics like you, faith communities and struggling populations in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and other parts of the world can face their challenges and thrive.” 

“Contributions are well-managed and put to use quickly,” the bishops added. “Every gift matters — by combining resources we make a tremendous impact and carry out more effectively our mission as Catholics.”

The #iGiveCatholic initiative is led by Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans; Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C.; and Bishop Joseph Kopacz of Jackson, Mississippi. It is responsible for leading the U.S. Catholic Church’s Giving Tuesday efforts. 

The organization is currently updating its donations “leaderboard” on social media. 

In its nearly eight-year existence, #iGiveCatholic has expanded to offer giving days year-round through its #iGiveCatholic Together platform, which hosts sites for charitable initiatives. 

According to its website, the first #iGiveCatholic on Giving Tuesday was held in 2015 in New Orleans by Aymond, who was the USCCB secretary at the time. 

“Orchestrated by the Catholic Foundation for the archdiocese for 112 of their parishes, schools, and ministries,” #iGiveCatholic was launched to encourage Catholic philanthropy and promote development throughout the New Orleans Archdiocese. 

Now, bishops and their dioceses across the country unite every year to accept donations from the faithful to support initiatives in the Church at home and abroad. 

Vancouver, Canada, Dec 3, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

Father Paul Goo, pastor of Christ the Redeemer Parish in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has been called to Rome to serve in the English-language section of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State starting in January 2025.

Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, who recommended Goo for the role, made the announcement in a Nov. 30 letter sent to archdiocesan clergy.

“As you all know, loyalty to the Holy Father and the Apostolic See is a defining characteristic of our archdiocese, notably in the joyful gift of Vancouver priests called to serve the Church as bishops,” he wrote.

“We have now been honored with a different kind of request from Rome; namely, that one of our pastors be released for service in the English-language section of the Secretariat of State, the Vatican dicastery which works most closely with Pope Francis in the exercise of his universal ministry.”

The archbishop said the papal nuncio to Canada, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, had asked him to suggest a priest suited to the responsibility, and Goo was his choice. “I responded knowing that we would lose — for a time — a dedicated and zealous pastor but with confidence that this sacrifice would bring blessings to the archdiocese.”

The appointment is for five years.

In a Nov. 30 letter to his parishioners, Goo expressed his mixed emotions about the “surprising” news.

“While I am both happy and excited about this new chapter in my priesthood, I will miss all of you. Serving as your pastor has been a tremendous blessing and joy. From the moment I arrived, I have said that this parish does not belong to me but to the Holy Spirit. It is the Lord who has brought us together, and it is the Lord who will carry us through this change.”

Ordained to the priesthood in 2015, Goo was appointed as assistant pastor at Christ the Redeemer and named pastor in July 2023. He was vocations director for the Archdiocese of Vancouver from 2019 to 2013.

In his letter, Goo said he will be “supporting the coordination of the Holy Father’s communication in English-speaking parts of the world.”

Miller will appoint a temporary parish administrator to work with Goo in December and assume responsibility for the parish in January until next year’s pastoral appointments are named.

Goo reflected on the unexpected move, saying: “I know this news may come as a shock to many, just as it was to me. Transitions like these are always a challenge, but they also remind us of the mysterious and providential ways of the Holy Spirit.”

He asked for his parishioners’ prayers and, quoting John 3:8, he wrote: “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

The Vatican Secretariat of State, historically the Holy See’s chief administrative and diplomatic body, has been undergoing changes under Pope Francis. Traditionally, the secretariat served as the hub for legislative, financial, and diplomatic matters.

In 2023, Pope Francis issued a new Fundamental Law to modernize the Vatican City civil constitution. Francis’ new constitution is the third Fundamental Law since 1929, when the Vatican City State was founded with the Lateran Treaty. It defines the role of the Secretariat of State, stating that “representation of the Vatican City State in relations with states and with other subjects of international law, in diplomatic relations and for the conclusion of treaties, are reserved to the supreme pontiff, who exercises them through the Secretariat of State.”

This story was first published by The B.C. Catholic and is reprinted here with permission.

Rome Newsroom, Dec 3, 2024 / 12:45 pm (CNA).

Cardinal-elect Dominique Mathieu, archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan and the highest-ranking Catholic authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran, discussed the situation of Christians in Iran, regional Middle East conflicts, and his personal life in a wide-ranging interview with EWTN News.

The 61-year-old Franciscan will be among the cardinals receiving their red hats from Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica this Saturday, Dec. 7. The pope announced the names of 21 new cardinals from the Apostolic Palace window on Oct. 6 following the Angelus prayer.

“I trembled after the nomination,” Mathieu recalled. He was in a car in Rome with a fellow friar when the announcement came over the radio. Initially, he didn’t fully grasp the news until his companion’s phone began ringing with congratulations.

“I reacted with trembling at that moment. I’m diabetic, and I began turning completely white. It took some time to recover,” the cardinal-elect said.

“It was a surprise. But if you want, you could say that afterward, I realized there might have been signals from the Holy Father during some visits I had with him.”

Faith amid challenges

When asked about his past life and why he spent several years as a Conventual Franciscan friar in Lebanon — becoming a missionary in the Middle East when many were leaving — Mathieu explained that he first visited the “country of cedars” for the ordination of a priest in 1993. He saw Beirut in its post-civil-war state but was deeply moved by people’s devotion to their saints and the Virgin Mary, and their determination to rebuild despite everything.

There are nearly 2,000 Latin-rite Catholics in Iran among a population of almost 89 million people, the vast majority of whom are Shia Muslim. These Catholic Christians “can gather in churches that are recognized by the state. Only they can enter these places of worship,” Mathieu explained. “Generally, they can do this during services or during times that have been announced to the authorities regarding the churches themselves.”

“Our doors exist and are open for these people but are closed to almost everyone else. We, as Latins, also keep the doors open to our Assyrian or Armenian Church brothers and sisters — they can come, it’s not a problem, because we are not an ethnic Church,” Mathieu said. “We maintain a door, praying from within, hoping that one day perhaps the door can open to others.”

Living witness

“I am convinced, perhaps strengthened by the fact that I am Franciscan, of the importance of our witness, which is not verbal,” the Tehran archbishop said regarding Christians’ role in Iranian society. “Proselytism cannot be done, but we are not prevented from living in society and bearing witness.”

Unlike in Turkey, Christians in Iran can wear religious habits and pectoral crosses in public, Mathieu noted. He emphasized that he constantly reminds people: “The importance of our witness, of praying, of having a virtuous life, of working on our sanctification, because there we are truly also a leaven for the country. We can be that salt that gives life.”

The cardinal-elect also explained the openness toward Christianity from some Muslim study centers, such as the University of Qom. He noted that the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue maintains relations with Iranian state entities.

Signs of hope

Describing signs of hope among Iranian Catholics today, Mathieu said: “There is a great thirst for spirituality.” He explained that besides himself, the apostolic nuncio, and the nuncio’s secretary, there are no Latin Catholic bishops or priests in the country. However, there are five Daughters of Charity sisters, two of whom have worked for many years in a leprosarium in northern Iran.

Regarding the direct and indirect conflict between Iran and Israel over the past year and its influence on Christians in Iran, the cardinal-elect said: “I don’t believe there is a direct influence on Christians and the population, because their concern is really about the sanctions and embargo.”

Finally, addressing how to achieve peace in the Middle East as Christmas approaches, the cardinal-elect expressed sadness that, apart from Vatican diplomacy, peace and dialogue diplomacy seemed to be often lacking and replaced by threats and retaliation.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 3, 2024 / 11:35 am (CNA).

When President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2025, the incoming administration has the opportunity to reverse the promotion of gender ideology and abortion at the Department of Defense (DOD), according to those closely watching these issues. 

“[We hope] that President-elect Trump and his appointees will follow the law, promote health, and stop censorship,” Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Matt Bowman told CNA.

“The Biden-Harris administration radicalized the federal bureaucracy to promote abortion and dangerous gender procedures and suppress opposition to their agenda,” Bowman said. “We hope President-elect Trump’s appointed leaders will restore the rule of law, respect biological reality, and stop targeting free speech.”

Under President Joe Biden’s administration, the DOD has used taxpayer money to fund gender transitions and abortion-related travel expenses for service members and their families. 

During Biden’s presidency, the DOD also reversed a policy that restricted people with gender dysphoria from serving in the military. In addition, officials encouraged staffers to use gender-neutral language and pronouns that match a person’s self-asserted gender identity, even if they do not match his or her biological sex.

Trump announced he would nominate Pete Hegseth — a military veteran, Fox News host, and former executive director of Concerned Veterans for America — to serve as secretary of defense, which leads the DOD. This position requires a Senate confirmation. 

Hegseth has frequently criticized what he calls “woke” policies in the DOD, including policies related to gender ideology. Trump has said he intends to fire “woke” military generals. Hegseth is also pro-life and has referred to abortion in the United States as “generational genocide.” 

Promotion of gender ideology

Under current DOD policy, the Military Health System covers health care services through its TRICARE program, which serves about 9.5 million people, according to the Congressional Research Service. This includes service members, military retirees, and dependents covered through the health care program.

Both service members and dependents can receive some transgender services through this taxpayer-funded program, including transgender drugs. Although TRICARE does not cover transgender surgeries, the DOD can pay for such surgeries for service members through the taxpayer-funded Supplemental Health Care Program.

Biden’s Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ended a rule from the first Trump administration that prohibited most people with gender dysphoria from serving in the military. In 2023, he issued a rule that service members should be referred to with gender-neutral pronouns such as “themself” when receiving military awards, although he later walked back that policy. 

Bowman said the incoming Trump administration should reverse the promotion of “dangerous gender procedures” and “mandating false pronouns,” telling CNA that DOD policies “should not be used to attack the life, health, and speech of innocent citizens.”

In 2019, the Trump administration issued a report on gender dysphoria in the military, which noted that people who identify as transgender “suffer from high rates of mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders.” It also found that service members with gender dysphoria are nine times more likely to have mental health encounters and eight times more likely to attempt suicide. 

According to the report, transgender surgeries will put a person on limited duty for more than five months while recovering. The report warned that allowing people with gender dysphoria who are seeking surgery or have undergone surgery to serve in the military would “undermine readiness, disrupt unit cohesion, and impose an unreasonable burden on the military that is not conducive to military effectiveness and lethality.”

Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, said in 2017 that “military readiness is of utmost importance to our servicemen and women” but went further, saying that the report did not “address the essence of the issue — the dignity of the human person.”

“Sexual orientation and gender identity issues reflect a rapidly increasing and incorrect societal attitude that individual behaviors in life should pursue immediate and personal choices rather than eternal truth,” Broglio said.

“In extending the maternal care of the Church to the faithful of this archdiocese, it is opportune to reaffirm that personal choices in life, whether regarding the protection of the unborn, the sanctity of marriage and the family, or the acceptance of a person’s God-created biology, should be made not solely for a penultimate reality on his earth but in anticipation of the ultimate reality of sharing in the very life of God in heaven,” said Broglio, who also serves as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

Funding abortion travel

Under Biden’s administration, the DOD also established a policy to pay for travel expenses and provide paid time off for members of the military who are obtaining an abortion. The policy also provides coverage for travel expenses for spouses and dependents of a military member who is seeking an abortion.

Although the Hyde Amendment, which has been in effect since 1980, prohibits the federal government from funding abortion in most cases, it does not explicitly ban funding for travel related to abortion or paid time off.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, told CNA that Trump should reinstate “the commonsense policies” of his first administration and reverse what she called “the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented violation of longstanding federal laws.” 

“Among the actions he can take, we trust that he will stop the illegal funding of abortion through the Veterans Administration and Department of Defense, start enforcing nondiscrimination laws again so Americans are never forced to participate in abortion, reinstate the Protect Life Rule at home and abroad to stop funneling tax dollars to the abortion industry, and free the patriots unjustly put in prison for peacefully protesting the killing of unborn children,” Dannenfelser said.

Republican lawmakers sought to prohibit the funding of travel for abortions through the National Defense Authorization Act in 2023 but were unsuccessful.

In April 2023, Broglio called the policy “morally repugnant and incongruent with the Gospel, which the faithful are commissioned to share throughout the world.” 

“I implore the faithful of this archdiocese to continue to advocate for human life and to refuse any participation in the evil of abortion,” Broglio said. “As Pope Francis instructs, our defense of the innocent unborn must be ‘clear, firm, and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of human life, which is always sacred and demands love for each person, regardless of his or her stage of development.’”

National Catholic Register, Dec 3, 2024 / 11:05 am (CNA).

The announcement of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to nominate Kash Patel to become the next FBI director shocked the political world over the weekend, teeing up what is sure to be a fierce confirmation battle.

If confirmed, Patel, seen by many as a Trump loyalist bent on vengeance, will head an agency shrouded in controversy, including the targeting of traditional Catholics and pro-life activists in recent years.

Patel, who was born to Gujarati-Indian parents in New York, has served in numerous defense and intelligence roles. A former federal prosecutor, he was senior adviser to the director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term and a U.S. National Security Council official. In November 2020, he was named chief of staff to the acting defense secretary. 

Patel was a strong defender of Trump during the “Russia collusion” controversy that engulfed American politics for the first three years of his presidency. While working as an aide to former Rep. Devin Nunes, R-California, he authored the “Nunes memo” that detailed errors made by the Justice Department in obtaining a FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) warrant to spy on Trump adviser Carter Page.

Some Catholic figures and groups hailed the selection, citing Patel’s eagerness to root out corruption in the FBI. 

“Every intel official in D.C. who lied in court to illegally spy on Trump and Americans is currently panicking frantically right now. Justice is on the way,” the political advocacy group CatholicVote posted on X. 

Conservative Catholic columnist David Marcus of Fox News wrote of the pick: “I feel confident that Kash Patel will not allow the FBI to spy on my Catholic Church. That alone is a massive upgrade.”

Former National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, Patel’s former superior, also hailed the pick. 

“I was able to count on him to get any job done no matter how complex or difficult the task,” he wrote on X. “He handled some of the nation’s most sensitive issues with care and discretion.”

Democrats and “never-Trump” Republicans, however, reacted with horror to the selection.

“[Patel] has no other agenda but revenge,” former Obama administration official Juliette Kayyem told CNN. “I mean, it’s not like he has a theory of law enforcement, a theory of reducing crime or financial crimes. He exists for one reason, and he’s close to Trump for one reason, which is he will be the enforcer of what might be called sort of the revenge tour of this second term.”

Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, called Patel an “unqualified loyalist.”

Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI who was investigated for making false statements during the Russia-collusion investigation, took aim at Patel’s qualifications. 

“It’s a terrible development for the men and women of the FBI and also for the nation that depends on a highly functioning, professional, independent Federal Bureau of Investigation,” McCabe told CNN. “The fact that Kash Patel is profoundly unqualified for this job is not even, like, a matter for debate.”

Following his stint at the Pentagon, Patel remained a pro-Trump voice in the media, often making incendiary statements about seeking retribution against political opponents in government and beyond. 

“Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections,” Patel said on a podcast with Stephen Bannon in 2023. “We’re going to come after you, whether it’s criminally or civilly — we’ll figure that out. But, yeah, we’re putting you all on notice.”

In 2022, Patel authored a children’s book called “Plot Against the King” that retold the Russia-collusion saga, with Trump cast as a king and Patel himself as “Kash the Distinguished Discoverer.”

Patel also authored the book “Government Gangsters” that argued for firing government employees who undermine Trump’s agenda should he retake the White House.

In February, Patel told the Conservative Political Action Conference: “We’re blessed by God to have Donald Trump be our juggernaut of justice, to be our leader, to be our continued warrior in the arena.” 

Trump’s former attorney general, Bill Barr, a member of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast and a former board member of the Catholic Information Center, wrote in his memoir that Patel had “virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world’s preeminent law enforcement agency. … The very idea of moving Patel into a role like this showed a shocking detachment from reality.”

Other prominent Republicans saw the nomination differently. 

“I worked elbow to elbow with Kash,” said former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy on Fox News. “He’s a former federal prosecutor, a former federal public defender. I think he’s been unfairly maligned. You would not know about FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) abuse, and you would not know about Fusion GPS had it not been for the hard work of a guy named Kash Patel.”

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

Seattle, Wash., Dec 3, 2024 / 09:05 am (CNA).

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to travel to Paris this Saturday to attend the grand reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, marking his first foreign visit since winning the presidential election in November.

Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform, stating: “It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the reopening of the magnificent and historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago.”

He also praised French President Emmanuel Macron, saying he has done a “wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!” Macron was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Trump after his electoral win last month.

The reopening will be a high-security affair. About 6,000 police officers and members of the gendarmerie will be deployed on Saturday and Sunday for the event, which is expected to be attended by about 50 heads of state and government, Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said at a press conference. Pope Francis said in September he would not attend.

The Île de la Cité, where Notre Dame is located in the middle of the River Seine, will be accessible only to invited guests and residents of the island, Nuñez added. There will be room for 40,000 spectators along the Seine’s southern bank.

The reopening service, presided by Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, will be attended by Macron, other officials, donors and Parisian clergy. The service will include the singing of the Te Deum, the Magnificat, prayers for the world, and the Lord’s Prayer.

In a gesture of unity, Catholic churches throughout the United States have been encouraged by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to peal their bells at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 7.

The inaugural Mass will be celebrated the following day, where the archbishop will consecrate the high altar. About 170 bishops and priests from around the world will participate, along with one priest from each of the 106 parishes in the Archdiocese of Paris.

Events from Dec. 8–15 will follow, inviting the faithful and those involved in the restoration to daily services. The cathedral will resume its daily schedule starting Dec. 16.

Notre Dame, an iconic symbol of French heritage and Gothic architecture, suffered major damage in April 2019 when a fire engulfed its roof and spire. Its main structure was saved, along with many of its priceless contents, but the $760 million restoration project has been monumental, involving teams of architects, artisans, and engineers dedicated to preserving the cathedral’s historical integrity.

Prior to the fire, the cathedral attracted between 14 million to 15 million visitors annually, according to France’s Tourism Board.

Intentions of this novena: For an increase in personal prayer in our parish For the success of the 150th parish anniversary celebration in 2028 For the success of With One Heart in our parish For the private intentions of the...