By Amira Abuzeid CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2025 / 18:35 pm Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, arrived in Gaza City on Dec. 19 for a pastoral visit to Holy Family Parish, the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip, just days before Christmas. Accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali, the …

By Daniel Payne CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 09:00 am Multiple Catholic schools in Kansas were targeted by what were apparently hoax bomb threats this week, according to authorities. Law enforcement agencies in the Kansas City area reported investigating threats at numerous Catholic schools on Dec. 19. The Archdiocese of …

By Amira Abuzeid CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2025 / 07:00 am Now that the Vatican has announced that Archbishop-designate Ronald Hicks will succeed Cardinal Timothy Dolan as archbishop of New York, what comes next for the cardinal? “I’ll always keep working,” Dolan told Father Dave Dwyer, a Paulist priest, executive director of Busted Halo …

By Daniel Payne CNA Staff, Dec 19, 2025 / 07:30 am The Holy See said on Dec. 19 that Pope Leo XIV had made two new episcopal appointments in the United States, with the Vatican announcing a new bishop for the Diocese of Palm Beach as well as an auxiliary bishop …

By Daniel Payne CNA Staff, Dec 18, 2025 / 06:00 am The newly announced leader of the Catholic Church in New York expressed “heartfelt gratitude” on Dec. 18 for having been appointed to the post by Pope Leo XIV. Archbishop-elect Ronald Hicks, who will head the Archdiocese of New York after …

By CNA Staff Vatican City, Dec 17, 2025 / 10:18 am Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Ramón Bejarano, currently auxiliary bishop of San Diego, as the next bishop of Monterey in California. The appointment was publicized on Dec. 17 by the Holy See Press Office at the Vatican and by …

By Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Dec 17, 2025 / 09:58 am Pope Leo XIV has chosen Bishop Ronald Hicks of the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, to be the next archbishop of New York — the most consequential U.S. episcopal appointment of Leo’s pontificate thus far. The appointment was confirmed by EWTN …

By Katie Yoder Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 4, 2022 / 07:00 am An emeritus Texas bishop is highlighting an Advent message hidden in the O Antiphons — prayers that are recited or chanted in an ancient tradition leading up to Christmas. “Composed in the sixth or seventh century, the seven O …

By Tessa Gervasini Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 15, 2025 / 16:06 pm About half of American adults who were raised Catholic and stayed in the Church said the faith continues to “fulfill their spiritual needs,” according to a Pew Research Center report. The Dec. 15 report, “Why Do Some Americans Leave …

By Francesca Pollio Fenton CNA Staff, Dec 14, 2025 / 06:00 am 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 …