By Jonah McKeown CNA Staff, Dec 26, 2023 / 04:00 am If “Good King Wenceslas” is one of the Christmas hymns you look forward to each year, you probably know which saint is celebrated today — St. Stephen, the first person to die for the risen Christ. Roman Catholics celebrate his feast on Dec. 26, …

A 15-metre Christmas tree lights up Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem this year after a two-year pause from all festivities in solidarity with the city’s fellow Palestinians in Gaza. By Linda Bordoni and Jean-Charles Putzolu in Bethlehem Celebrations are resuming across the West …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Dec 24, 2025 / 06:00 am Pope Leo XIV will celebrate his first Christmas at the Vatican by reviving the tradition of offering Christmas Mass on Dec. 25 in St. Peter’s Basilica, something no pope has done since 1994. The Christmas celebrations — which will be …

By Tessa Gervasini Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 22, 2025 / 13:07 pm Archbishop Paul Coakley said this week he is looking forward to speaking with President Donald Trump in “the near future.” Coakley, who was elected president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in November, said he has “not had …