Pope Leo XIV places a crown on the Madonna of Sinti, Roma, and Walking Peoples during the audience of the Jubilee of the Roma, Sinti, and Traveling Peoples in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on Oct. 18, 2025. / Credit: Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 15, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Some Protestant scholars who spoke with CNA welcomed a Vatican document that clarified titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary that discouraged the use of Co-Redemptrix/Co-Redeemer and put limits on the use of Mediatrix/Mediator.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) issued the doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis on Nov. 4. It was approved by Pope Leo XIV and signed by DDF Prefect Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández on Oct. 7.

According to the document, using “Co-Redemptrix” to explain Mary’s role in salvation “would not be appropriate.” The document is less harsh about using “Mediatrix” and says “if misunderstood, it could easily obscure or even contradict” Mary’s role in mediation.

The document affirms Mary plays a role in both redemption and mediation because she freely cooperates with Jesus Christ. That role, it explains, is always “subordinate” to Christ, and it warned against using titles in a way that could be misconstrued to mitigate Christ as the sole Redeemer and sole Mediator.

Catholic reactions have been mixed, with some seeing the clarification as helpful and others defending the titles as consistent with the understanding of Mary’s role as subordinate and asking the Vatican to formally define the doctrines themselves rather than simply issue a note on the titles.

Positive reactions from Protestants

CNA spoke with three Protestant scholars, all of whom welcomed the Vatican’s doctrinal note on titles for Mary.

David Luy, theology professor at the North American Lutheran Seminary, told CNA he does not see the document as “Roman Catholics conceding anything to their tradition” but did see it as being written “with an attentiveness” toward certain concerns that Protestants raise.

Although Protestant communities vary widely on how they view Mary and what titles are proper, he said concern over the titles in question “sprouts from a desire to uphold the distinctiveness of Christ as the one mediator.”

Luy cited the second chapter of First Timothy. The translation of the text approved by the U.S. Catholic bishops states: “For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all.”

He said Protestants often emphasize the need to “uphold the distinctive mediatorship of Christ” and saw the document as expressing a “sensibility to that central Protestant concern” while also being careful “in the way it develops Mary’s role in the economy of salvation.”

“Does it relieve potential strain between Protestants and Catholics? The short answer would be yes,” Luy said.

However, he said the concept of mediation “is probably where there’d be a need for just ongoing conversation.” He said Lutherans understand the term “mediation” as being “the means through which God acts in the world” and that “most Lutherans are going to be cautious” of language that describes Mary in terms of mediation.

Catholic teaching recognizes Christ as “the one mediator,” according to Lumen Gentium, the dogmatic constitution on the Church issued by the Second Vatican Council in 1964. It teaches that humans cooperate with Christ’s mediation in a subordinate way and “the Church does not hesitate to profess this subordinate role of Mary.”

The Rev. Cynthia Rigby, a theology professor at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and co-author of “Blessed One: Protestant Perspectives on Mary,” told CNA she thinks the document could mark “a watershed moment” for relations between Catholics and Protestants.

Rigby said Mary should be understood as a woman with “great faith,” and, under that framing, “Christians will identify her less as a secondary savior but as an exemplary Christian.” She said “the weight will shift from trying to explain how it is that Mary brokers salvation without rivaling Christ … to what we can learn about the joy of salvation through her example.”

The Vatican document, however, goes much further than Rigby on Mary’s role. It states that she freely cooperates “in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience” during the time that Christ walked the earth and throughout the ongoing life of the Church rather than simply viewing her as an example to follow.

Tom Krattenmaker, a Lutheran pastor and theology professor at Yale Divinity School, told CNA the document is “very welcome” and called Mariology “one of the major points distinguishing Christian traditions since the Reformation.”

He said the guidance on titles and the explanation provided in the document are “extraordinarily helpful for ecumenical dialogue” because they affirm Christ as the sole redeemer and mediator and Pope Leo XIV “makes very clear that we can say so in ecumenical communality.”

Krattenmaker said this “is a reason for Protestants to embrace the clear step forward he is making toward Christian unity."

The Vatican document did not expressly state that ecumenism was the intended goal. However, the subject of Catholic Marian devotions is a frequent point of contention. The document did not alter any doctrines in dispute but instead focused on titles the dicastery felt may cause confusion about what the Church actually teaches about Mary.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Nativity scene and the Christmas tree are signs of faith and hope, Pope Leo XIV said.

"As we contemplate them in our homes, parishes and town squares, let us ask the Lord to renew in us the gift of peace and fraternity," he said, calling for prayers for all those who suffer because of war and violence. "We must eliminate hatred from our hearts."

The pope was speaking Dec. 15 during a meeting with the government representatives, artisans and donors responsible for providing the Christmas decorations in the Paul VI Audience Hall and in St. Peter's Square.

Pope Leo thanked the Costa Rican artist who created the Nativity scene for the audience hall, titled "Nacimiento Gaudium." Created by Paula Sáenz Soto, it features a pregnant Virgin Mary and 28,000 colored ribbons, each representing a life saved from abortion thanks to the prayers and support provided to many mothers in difficulty by Catholic organizations, according to a press release by the Vatican City State's governing office. 

On Christmas Eve, the statue will be replaced with a different image of Mary kneeling in adoration of the newborn Baby Jesus, and 400 ribbons will be placed in Jesus' manger containing prayers and wishes written by young patients at the National Children's Hospital in San José.

"I thank the Costa Rican artist who, together with the message of peace at Christmas, also wanted to launch an appeal for the protection of life from the moment of conception," Pope Leo said.

"The Nativity scene and the Christmas tree are signs of faith and hope," he said to all those present. "Let the tenderness of the child Jesus illuminate our lives. Let God's love, like the branches of an evergreen tree, remain fervent in us."

The pope thanked those from a small town in the northern autonomous province of Bolzano who donated the 82-foot-tall Norway spruce weighing 8.8 tons that was to be lit in a special ceremony Dec. 15 when the large Nativity scene in the square would be unveiled.

"For pilgrims from all over the world who will gather in St. Peter's Square, the Nativity scene will remind them that God draws close to humanity, becomes one of us, entering our history in the smallness of a child," the pope said.

"Before every Nativity scene, even those made in our homes, we relive that event and rediscover the need to seek moments of silence and prayer in our lives, to find ourselves and enter into communion with God," he said.

The Nativity scene in St. Peter's Square for 2025 came from a diocese south of Naples, not far from the Amalfi coast. Among the gifts being offered by the shepherds are agricultural products famous from the region, such as San Marzano and Corbarino tomatoes, walnuts, spring onions and artichokes.

Both the creche and the tree were to be in St. Peter's Square until Jan. 11 -- the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. 

The Vatican City State governing office said that the tree's needles and green branches will be sent to an Austrian company to extract its essential oils, and the wood will be donated to a charity.

When Pope Leo met Dec. 13 with hundreds of people acting in a living Nativity scene being held at Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major, he said the creche "is an important sign: it reminds us that we are part of a wondrous adventure of salvation in which we are never alone."

"Spread this message and keep this tradition alive. They are a gift of light for our world, which so badly needs to be able to continue to hope," he said.

WASHINGTON – In the wake of news about the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in Australia at a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday that left 16 people dead, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, sent a letter to leaders of the Jewish community in the United States, expressing the Catholic Church’s prayerful solidarity with the Jewish community.

The text of his letter follows:

The festival of Hanukkah begins this year for the Jewish community with a moment of profound sorrow. The shooting in Sydney, Australia is a painful reminder that hatred remains a threat to our lives, our communities, and the bonds that unite us. At the same time, the selfless intervention of a Muslim man who disarmed one of the gunmen stands as a sign of hope that compassionate concern for others can still prevail. On behalf of the Catholic community in the U.S., I promise our prayers and our solidarity at this difficult moment. 

This Festival of Lights – which commemorates an event in salvation history cherished by Catholics as well as Jews – proclaims the truth that light endures, even when darkness seems overwhelming. As the prophet Isaiah declares, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who lived in a land of gloom a light has shone” (Isaiah 9:1). In lighting candles at Hanukkah, the Jewish people bear witness to God’s faithfulness, to hope preserved through suffering, and to the courage to believe that darkness does not have the final word. 

Moments like these revive old fears and deepen a sense of vulnerability that no community should have to bear. I wish the Jewish community to know that the Catholic community stands with them in sorrow and in resolve, committed to friendship that does not waver when fear threatens to paralyze us.

As this year’s Hanukkah celebration coincides with the season of Advent observed by the Church, Jews and Catholics both share in the promise that light and hope prevail over darkness. May these celebrations strengthen our hearts, honor the memory of those killed and injured, and help us to build a world shaped by justice, compassion, and peace.

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Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, Australia. / Credit: EWTN News

EWTN News, Dec 14, 2025 / 23:02 pm (CNA).

Catholic leaders in Australia have issued strong condemnations of what they described as a “festering” atmosphere of antisemitism following a terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that left 16 people dead.

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney issued a statement expressing “profound grief and righteous anger” at the violence.

“That a celebration of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah could end in at least 16 dead, including a young child, and many more injured, horrifies ordinary Australians,” Fisher said.

“The brazen and callous disregard for human life and the hatred of some people toward all Jews is an unspeakable evil that must be repudiated by every Australian.”

Personal connection for the archbishop

Fisher warned that an “atmosphere of public antisemitism has festered” in Sydney for more than two years, pointing specifically to inflammatory activity near the city’s Catholic cathedral.

“Opposite my own cathedral in Hyde Park there have been weekly demonstrations where inflammatory messages have been regularly articulated, which could only have ‘turned up the temperature’ and perhaps contributed to radicalization,” he said. “This must stop.”

The archbishop also revealed a personal connection to the tragedy, noting his own Jewish ancestry: “My great-grandmother was a Jew… Christians are children of the Jews,” he wrote. “And so, an attack on the Jews is an attack on all of us.”

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, SDB, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, joined Fisher in condemning “the scourge of antisemitism,” saying the violence had “shaken Australians to the core.”

“The twisted motives behind those who perpetrated these terrible acts are now clearly linked with the scourge of antisemitism,” Costelloe said. “This is a shocking and deeply distressing reality that calls into question our own understanding of ourselves as Australians.”

He warned that “blind prejudice and hatred point to a dark and destructive stain in our society that threatens not just our Jewish brothers and sisters but, in fact, all of us.”

Fisher announced that the Catholic community would “redouble its efforts” to combat antisemitism through education and preaching. He also offered Catholic educational and counseling services to the Jewish community while their own institutions are “locked down or overwhelmed.”

“We love our Jewish neighbors and friends, and we must do all we can to keep them safe,” Fisher said.

Terrorist incident declared

Authorities confirmed that a 10-year-old girl was among those killed when two gunmen opened fire on the “Chanukah by the Sea” gathering on Sunday evening. More than 40 others were injured.

New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed the attackers were a father and son, identified by local media and police sources as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that Naveed Akram had been investigated six years ago by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, ASIO, for his links to a Sydney-based Islamic State cell.

ABC cited an unnamed senior official from the joint counterterrorism task force who said Naveed was believed to have had close ties to Isaac El Matari, an Islamic State member arrested in July 2019 and later convicted of preparing a terrorist act.

The elder Akram was shot and killed by police at the scene. His son remains in critical condition under police guard.

Authorities raided the family’s home in the Sydney suburb of Bonnyrigg on Sunday night, where police said they discovered improvised explosive devices in a vehicle linked to the attackers. The shooting has been formally declared a terrorist incident.

Costelloe praised the “remarkable courage of the police and other first responders.”

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns highlighted the actions of a bystander who tackled one of the gunmen, calling him a “genuine hero” who saved lives.

‘An act of evil’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the violence as a “targeted attack on Jewish Australians” and an “act of evil.”

“To the Jewish community, we stand with you,” Albanese said. “You have the right to worship and study and live and work in peace and safety. An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian.”

This story was updated on Dec. 14, 2025, at 11:34 p.m. ET with further details.

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the Angelus on December 14, 2025. / Vatican Media

Vatican City, Dec 14, 2025 / 08:05 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday voiced deep concern over renewed fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, urging an immediate end to violence and a return to dialogue in line with ongoing peace efforts.

After leading pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square in praying the Angelus on the Third Sunday of Advent, the pope said he was “following with deep concern the resumption of fighting in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

“While expressing my closeness to the people, I urge the parties in the conflict to cease all forms of violence and to seek constructive dialogue, respecting the ongoing peace process,” he said.

The pope’s appeal came amid reports of intensified clashes involving the M23 rebel group in the mineral-rich eastern region, despite a recently signed peace agreement between Congolese and Rwandan leaders.

Pope Leo also recalled recent beatifications of martyrs in Spain and France, praising their fidelity to the faith amid persecution. “Let us praise the Lord for these martyrs, courageous witnesses to the Gospel, persecuted and killed for remaining close to their people and faithful to the Church,” he said.

Earlier, in his catechesis before leading the Angelus, Pope Leo reflected on the Gospel reading for the Third Sunday of Advent, which presents John the Baptist imprisoned for his preaching yet still seeking the truth about Jesus.

From prison, John hears “about the works of Christ” and sends his disciples to ask whether Jesus is truly the one who is to come, the pope noted. Jesus’ response, he said, points not to abstract claims but to concrete signs.

“Christ announces who he is by what he does. And what he does is a sign of salvation for all of us,” Pope Leo said. Encountering Jesus, he explained, restores meaning to lives marked by darkness and suffering: “The blind see, the mute speak, the deaf hear… Even the dead, who are completely lifeless, come back to life. This is the Gospel of Jesus, the good news proclaimed to the poor.”

“The words of Jesus free us from the prison of despair and suffering,” the pope said, adding that Christ “gives voice to the oppressed and to those whose voices have been silenced by violence and hatred” and “defeats ideologies that make us deaf to the truth.”

Concluding his reflection, Pope Leo said that Advent calls Christians to unite their expectation of the Savior with attentiveness to God’s action in the world. “Then we will be able to experience the joy of freedom in encountering our Savior,” he said, echoing the Church’s celebration of Gaudete Sunday.

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

Holy Week in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa sector. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Holy Week Organizing Committee in Iztapalapa

Puebla, Mexico, Dec 14, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The perennially popular representation of the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, held every Holy Week in the Iztapalapa sector of Mexico City, has been declared a Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The decision was made during a UNESCO meeting in New Delhi, India, where the nomination of the Iztapalapa Way of the Cross was reviewed and approved.

Speaking at the event, Edaly Quiroz, deputy director of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, said that Holy Week in Iztapalapa is not merely a theatrical performance but a manifestation “of unity, faith, and resilience that brings together thousands of people in a collective exercise of memory, identity, and participation.”

On its website, UNESCO states that this list includes “practices, knowledge, and expressions that communities recognize as part of their cultural identity” and emphasizes the need to protect them for future generations.

Juan Pablo Serrano, custodian of the image of the Lord of the Little Cave in the Iztapalapa Cathedral, explained in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that this tradition is closely linked to the origin of the image and a 19th-century promise made by the community.

He recounted that in 1687, an image of Christ was being transported from Oaxaca to Mexico City for restoration. During the journey, those carrying it rested in a cave in the Hill of the Star, and when they tried to resume their trip, “they could no longer move the image.”

“It was understood that the image representing Christ in the tomb wanted to remain there. [Being in a cave] a very particular devotion began to develop,” he noted.

Serrano explained that the direct connection with the depiction of the Stations of the Cross arose in 1833 during a cholera epidemic. Faced with the high death toll, the inhabitants carried the image in procession and asked for Christ’s intercession. After several days of prayer, the plague ceased, an event that was interpreted as a miracle.

Approximately 2 million attendees in 2025

Following that event, the community vowed to reenact the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ every year as a sign of gratitude, and each year the tradition has grown, both in the number of participants and the audience. In Holy Week 2025 alone, it drew approximately 2 million people.

Serrano expressed his joy at the recognition, which he said “is something we [the residents] always boast about with pride and honor.”

He noted that during the years he has been in charge of the image he has witnessed the arrival of thousands of visitors, including people who do not identify as Catholic, who “when drawn by the representation, visit the image, visit the church, and experience a true reflection in their hearts and a real conversion.”

Serrano emphasized that this new status represents a greater commitment for the community so the celebration can continue to be “an expression of gratitude to God. Everything done as an offering to God ultimately becomes [a form of] catechesis and evangelization.”

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

The fir tree and the Nativity scene are ready for the dedication in St. Peter’s Square on Dec. 15, 2025. / Credit: Victoria Cardiel/EWTN News

Vatican City, Dec 14, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Governorate of Vatican City State has announced the origins of the fir tree and Nativity scenes that will adorn St. Peter’s Square and the Paul VI Audience Hall this Christmas as well as those who prepared the tree’s decorations.

The decorations in St. Peter’s Square will once again have an Italian touch.

The chosen tree, an imposing 80-foot Norway spruce, comes from the town of Val d’Ultimo in Ultental, one of the most picturesque and lesser-known valleys of South Tyrol in the Alto Adige region of Italy. Along with the large tree, 40 smaller trees destined for Vatican offices and buildings will arrive soon.

In a novel initiative to ensure environmental sustainability and respect for nature, after Christmas, the main fir tree will be used to produce essential oils — a process that will be handled by the Austrian company Wilder Naturprodukte — and the rest of the wood will be donated to a charitable organization.

The Nativity scene, which is more of a village scene and will include life-size figures, will also be monumental in size. It measures 56 feet in length and is nearly 40 feet wide with a height of 25 feet and comes from the Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno, one of the oldest in Italy whose origins date back to the third century, when Nuceria Alfaterna — the ancient Roman city in the Sarno Valley — already had an organized Christian community.

The scene recreates emblematic elements of early Christian art from this region of Italy and includes a reproduction of the sixth-century baptistery from St. Mary Major Basilica, one of the best-preserved in the country. It also features an octagonal baptismal pool and frescoes that reveal Byzantine influences.

Also represented is the Helvius Fountain (“Fons Helvii”), an ancient monumental Roman fountain built between the first and second centuries A.D. associated with a local aqueduct that supplied water to the Roman population.

Upon this symbolic architecture unfolds a narrative that fuses sacred art, cultural heritage, and local identity.

The life-size figures of the Holy Family have been created by craftsman Federico Iaccarino, and the rest of the Nativity scene will include characters inspired by saints associated with this Italian region.

For example, among those represented are St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, who in 1732 founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), dedicated to evangelizing the most abandoned, especially in rural and marginalized areas; and a shepherd inspired by the Servant of God Don Enrico Smaldone, a priest who dedicated his life to caring for orphans, poor young people, and people with intellectual disabilities, for whom he created educational initiatives and welcoming spaces within the Church.

Around them, shepherds and animals parade across a pavement that evokes the ancient Roman roads.

In the central scene, Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus are accompanied by the ox and the donkey, the three Wise Men, and a shepherdess offering local produce — artichokes, San Marzano tomatoes, and dried fruit — as a tribute to the land that inspired the work.

The ensemble includes elements that invite spiritual reflection: a pendulum clock that alludes to the passage of time, an observer leaning over a balcony representing the human perspective on the mystery, and a fisherman holding an anchor, a symbol of faith and the spiritual journey of the jubilee.

The luminous star with a tail in the shape of an anchor that crowns the composition stands out, uniting the celestial and the earthly in a single gesture of hope.

The dedication will take place Monday, Dec. 15, at 5 p.m. local time in a ceremony presided over by Sister Raffaella Petrini, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, accompanied by Archbishop Emilio Nappa and lawyer Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, general secretaries of the Vatican body.

The day will begin with several audiences with Pope Leo XIV, who will receive in the morning the delegations that donated the tree and those responsible for the huge Nativity scene that will adorn the square.

Among others, the afternoon ceremony will be attended by Bishop Ivo Muser of Bolzano-Bressanone; the mayor of Lagundo, Alexandra Ganner; and the mayor of Ultimo, Stefan Schwarz.

During the morning, the official presentation of a Nativity scene from Costa Rica, which will be installed this year in the Paul VI Audience Hall, will also take place.

Titled “Nacimiento Gaudium” (“Nativity of Joy”), the work by Costa Rican artist Paula Sáenz Soto, is an “affirmation of life from conception.” The piece consists of a figure of a pregnant Virgin Mary and 28,000 colored ribbons that symbolize lives preserved thanks to the support provided by Catholic organizations to pregnant women in vulnerable situations.

The Nativity scene — 16 feet long, 10 feet high, and 8 feet deep — will feature two interchangeable representations of the Virgin Mary: an image of her pregnant during Advent and another of her adoring the newborn child from Christmas Eve onward. In addition, 400 ribbons with prayers and wishes from children at the National Hospital of San José, Costa Rica, will be placed in the manger on Dec. 24.

The Costa Rican delegation that will meet with the pope will be composed of First Lady Signe Zeicate; her daughter, Isabel Chaves Zeicate; and the country’s ambassador to the Holy See, Federico Zamora.

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

The Rorate Caeli Advent Mass celebrated at The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion. / Credit: The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion

CNA Staff, Dec 14, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Advent is a season filled with rich Catholic traditions, but a slightly lesser-known one is growing in popularity among younger Catholics.

The ancient liturgy of the Rorate Caeli Advent Mass honors the Blessed Virgin Mary through a Mass celebrated at dawn, in complete darkness, and lit only by candles, which symbolizes Christ, the Light of the World, entering into the world with Mary as the vessel. 

Emerging in the Middle Ages, the Rorate Caeli Mass gets its name from the prophecy of Isaiah. Rorate Caeli is Latin for “drop down, ye heavens.” These are the opening words of this liturgy’s Introit, which is used as an opening psalm or entrance antiphon and comes from Isaiah 45:8.

Father Tony Stephens, rector at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin, calls this Mass “a teachable moment.”

“As all of us are gathered in the church, only lit with the candles, slowly the light begins coming in through the windows and it’s like the light of Christ,” he told CNA. The process symbolizes “the light of Christ coming into our lives, slowly but surely and progressively as we go through life.”

“And just like that light begins to come in through the windows, as the physical sun rises, so in our journey as Catholics, the closer we get to Christ, the more his light shines in our life,” he said.

Stephens has been rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion for two years but was scheduled to celebrate the Rorate Caeli Mass there for the first time on Dec. 13. The shrine is the first and only approved Marian apparition site in the United States. It was here that the Blessed Mother is believed to have appeared to Adele Brise in 1859. 

When speaking about the Blessed Mother’s role in Advent, Stephens described it as “a season of anticipating Our Lord, but when you look at the subtext of Advent, things about Mary are everywhere — in the readings and her role in salvation history is so important. And so that’s, again, part of the reason you have these special Marian Masses honoring her during this Advent season.”

He also highlighted the fact that this ancient Mass is seeing a resurgence in popularity and credited Pope Benedict XVI, in part, for reintroducing Catholics to older, traditional practices and his “desire of the hermeneutic of continuity.” 

“He in his pontificate really emphasized a desire to have that continuity between the earlier traditions of the Church, even prior to the [Vatican II] council … looking at all of the rich liturgical heritage that we have as Catholics,” he added. 

The priest pointed out that young people are also searching for more traditional practices.

“There is a great love, especially amongst young people, for things that are traditional,” he said, adding that the Mass also “appeals to the senses in a way that technology and phones don’t.” 

“The real light of a candle is way different than the electronic light put off by a cellphone screen,” he said. “A burning, living candle, the way it flickers, and you can’t recharge a candle — it gives everything it has like Jesus did on the cross. A candle burns with all its might to put off that light. And so there is a selflessness about that light of that candle that’s different than technology, and young people desire that kind of self-gift and authenticity.”

Stephens said he hopes those who attend a Rorate Caeli Mass will leave with “an eager anticipation of Jesus coming at Christmastime.”

“A Rorate Caeli Mass is one of those times that we can have a little consolation and we’re reminded of the author of all consolation and his mother,” he said.

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for the Jubilee of Hope for prisoners in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on December 14, 2025. / Vatican Media

Vatican City, Dec 14, 2025 / 05:25 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday presided over the final major celebration of the Holy Year, calling for renewed commitment to justice, rehabilitation, and hope as he celebrated a Jubilee Mass dedicated to prisoners in St. Peter’s Basilica.

About 6,000 pilgrims from some 90 countries took part in the Jubilee of Prisoners, including detainees and their families, prison chaplains, correctional officers, police, and prison administrators. Participants came from across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, including Italy, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Poland, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, the United States, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Australia.

In his homily, the pope said that as the Jubilee Year drew to a close, significant challenges remained within prison systems worldwide.

“While the close of the Jubilee Year draws near, we must recognize that, despite the efforts of many, even in the penitentiary system there is much that still needs to be done,” he said. Quoting the prophet Isaiah — “the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing” — Leo said the passage recalled that “it is God who ransoms, who redeems and liberates.”

The pope acknowledged the harsh realities of incarceration, saying prison was “a difficult place and even the best proposals can encounter many obstacles.” For that reason, he said, people must not “tire, be discouraged or give up,” but continue “with tenacity, courage, and a spirit of collaboration.”

Leo stressed that justice should not be reduced to punishment alone. “There are many who do not yet understand that for every fall one must be able to get back up, that no human being is defined only by his or her actions and that justice is always a process of reparation and reconciliation,” he said.

Reflecting on the meaning of the Jubilee, the pope said that even in difficult conditions, the preservation of compassion, respect, and mercy could bear unexpected fruit.

“When even in difficult situations we are able to maintain and preserve the beauty of feelings, sensitivity, attention to the needs of others, respect, the capacity for mercy and forgiveness, beautiful flowers spring forth from the ‘hard ground’ of sin and suffering,” Leo said, adding that “gestures, projects, and encounters, unique in their humanity, mature even within prison walls.”

The pope also recalled the hopes expressed by his predecessor, Pope Francis, for the Holy Year. Leo said Francis had wanted Jubilee celebrations to include “forms of amnesty or pardon meant to help individuals regain confidence in themselves and in society” and to offer “real opportunities of reintegration” to all.

“I hope that many countries are following his desire,” the pope said, noting that in its biblical origins the Jubilee was “a year of grace in which everyone was offered the possibility of restarting in many different ways.”

Addressing both prisoners and those who work in the penal system, Leo said the task entrusted to them was demanding. He pointed to challenges such as overcrowding, insufficient educational and rehabilitation programs, and limited job opportunities, as well as personal burdens including past wounds, disappointment, and the difficulty of forgiveness.

“The Lord, however, beyond all this, continues to repeat to us that only one thing is important: that no one be lost and that all be saved,” he said. “Let no one be lost! Let all be saved! This is what our God wants, this is his Kingdom, and this is the goal of his actions in the world.”

According to organizers, delegations attending the Jubilee included inmates and staff from several Italian prisons, including Rebibbia, Casal del Marmo, Brescia, Teramo, Pescara, Rieti, Varese, and Forlì, as well as international groups coordinated by prison chaplaincies in Portugal, Spain, Malta, and Chile. A group of 500 pilgrims was accompanied by the General Inspectorate of Chaplains of Italian prisons.

The Hosts used for the Mass were produced by prisoners through the “Sense of Bread” project run by the Fondazione Casa dello Spirito e delle Arti. Since 2016, the initiative has involved more than 300 inmates each year in making Communion Hosts for more than 15,000 dioceses, religious communities, and parishes in Italy and abroad.

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

FOCUS Founder Curtis Martin announces his retirement from the role of FOCUS CEO, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025 / Credit: FOCUS

CNA Staff, Dec 13, 2025 / 14:25 pm (CNA).

Curtis Martin, who founded the Catholic student ministry group FOCUS nearly 30 years ago, announced this week that he will step down from his management role there while continuing to serve in the long-running campus ministry organization.

In a Dec. 12 letter announcing his retirement from the role of CEO, Martin said that after nearly three decades, the organization now numbers “more than 1,000 FOCUS missionaries … in over 250 locations,” reaching “nearly 60,000 students and parishioners” in 2025 alone. 

Since 2008, meanwhile, missionaries with the group have led “over 1,200 mission trips” that have sent more than 20,000 people to more than 50 countries. 

Martin said the “ever-increasing time demands” of his multiple roles at the company, coupled with several years of prayer with the organization’s board of directors, led him to step into an “expanded-public facing role” of “Founder,” one that will allow him to continue to work at the organization, including serving on its board.

“My desire is to do what is best for the institution I love so dearly,” he said. 

Longtime board member Tim Thoman will serve as interim chief executive as the organization launches a search for a permanent CEO, Martin said, adding that he felt “extraordinarily blessed that [Thoman] agreed to lead FOCUS … during this time of transition.”

Describing his work at FOCUS as “one of the deepest privileges of my life,” Martin urged the organization to “be who we are meant to be, so that through us, God can set the world on fire.” 

In a video announcing the transition, meanwhile, Thoman said FOCUS is marked by “tenacity and professionalism, but mostly the love of Jesus and the trust in God.” 

“The idea of working with people who wake up and come to work with a love for Jesus and a desire to do his will and live authentically their faith and also fulfill the Great Commission — I can’t imagine better people to work with, or a more worthy cause, than FOCUS,” he said.  

The Martins last year were awarded EWTN’s 2024 Mother Angelica Award for what EWTN Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Warsaw called their “passion for the new evangelization” and their work at transforming “countless lives” through evangelization. 

Curtis Martin had announced FOCUS’s founding in 1997 on an episode of “Mother Angelica Live.” Michaelann Martin last year described receiving the Mother Angelica Award as “a humbling honor for both of us.” 

“We are grateful to Mother Angelica for her example of faith and courage, and to EWTN for continuing her work of evangelization,” she said. 

“But this is not about us. It is about the countless missionaries who have given their lives to this work and the students whose lives are being transformed by the Gospel,” she added.