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Pope Leo XIV concluded the first session of the meeting with the cardinals yesterday with an off-the-cuff address, following work in linguistic groups in the Paul VI Hall. He thanked them for choosing two themes—synodality and mission in the light of Evangelii gaudium—from among four proposals, saying: “Thank you for this choice; the other themes are not lost. There are very concrete, specific issues that we still need to address.”
The Church-run St. Brigitta Learning Centre is working to empower the young people on Indonesia’s remote Kei Besar Island in Southeast Maluku, combining medicine and pastoral care.
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass with the Cardinals gathered for his first Extraordinary Consistory, and invites them to share their burden of pastoral care with each other as they seek to help the Pope guide the Church.
At the end of the first day of the Extraordinary Consistory, the Director of the Holy See Press Office tells reporters that the roughly 170 Cardinals participating voted to reflect on the themes of synodality and mission, noting that Pope Leo XIV told the Cardinals that he needs “to be able to count on you.”
Pope Leo XIV opens the Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals and recalls that Christ draws us to follow Him, warning that division in the Church scatters the faithful.
“Pray with the Pope” is a new initiative of the Dicastery for Communication and the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network that invites people around the world to share in a real communion of prayer with Pope Leo XIV, offering prayer as a path to unity in a divided world.
Tens of thousands of Congolese have fled renewed fighting in eastern DR Congo, with more than 80,000 people crossing into Burundi in recent weeks.
The Catholic Bishops of Cameroon are holding their 49th annual seminar in Kumba, in the Southwest Region, from 3 January to 10 January 2026. Under the theme “Communion and Collegiality,” this gathering brings together the entire Cameroonian episcopate for spiritual and pastoral exchanges in a context marked by socio-economic challenges in the country and the Crisis in the Anglophone regions.
As Sudan nears 1,000 days of conflict, the situation in the country remains dire: attacks are frequent, children are malnourished, and tens of thousands have been displaced from their homes due to the violence.
SEEK 2026, held across three cities and attended by over 26,000 young American Catholics, confirms their dynamic and resilient character in the United States, with the largest gathering held in Columbus, Ohio, to which Pope Leo XIV sent a message.
Pope Leo XIV has extended his Apostolic Blessing to participants in the Three Kings Parade, the world’s largest street Nativity scene held annually on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, which this year saw thousands march along Warsaw’s Royal Route, with similar events taking place at nearly 1,000 sites in Poland and worldwide.
Pope Leo XIV releases his prayer intention for January, and invites everyone to join his monthly prayer intentions under the new “Pray with the Pope” initiative.