Christian News

The ancient commemoration of the birth of our Lord and Savior resounds through the ages and occupies a pivotal place in the Christian life. Faithful around the world mark the solemn occasion of our salvation with extra prayers, Mass attendance, sacramental participation and family traditions...

Looking for a way to go into the new year with some extra grace? Did you know the Church offers TWO chances for plenary indulgences as we ring in the New Year? The first opportunity comes on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, as we reflect on all God has done in 2025 and prepare for a new year — a Jubilee Year! For those who publicly recite the Te Deum, a plenary indulgence is granted under the normal conditions detailed below.

An aspect of the Christmas story we often fail to notice is the way that God, through the Incarnation, became a burden to Mary and Joseph and the people around them. From Luke’s Gospel we know that Jesus’s parents were not wealthy, yet that didn’t stop God from asking them to have a child sooner than they had anticipated...

The Catholic world is preparing for the centenary next year of the death of Antoni Gaudí, the Spanish architect who imagined the Sagrada Família church in Barcelona, a striking 20th-century conception of all creation singing the praises of God, in forms and shapes taken from the natural world...

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Vicar General of Rome and Archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, presides over the closing of the Holy Door and the subsequent Mass and invites the faithful to manifest the presence of God in the places where there is no fraternity, justice, truth and peace.

The Gospel begins with the departure of the magi and the message of an angel. It is hard to imagine a more exalted moment for a father, when great men have sought out his child and angels intervened for his safety. But the message of the angel must have been hard for Joseph to take...

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged Christian families to “cherish the values of the Gospel” and protect the “flame of love” in their homes against modern myths of success, power, and comfort that he said often leave people isolated and divided. Speaking to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square before the Angelus on Dec. 28...

Dick Van Dyke’s new memoir puts it out front: he’s no genius. Instead, he’s been lucky personally and professionally. On the professional side this book is flawless: no soft-pedaling failures or 20-20 hindsight about his prospects; no easy vengeance on long-dead nemeses; no pedantic hints for aspiring performers; and no (thank God!) explanations about what makes jokes funny.

South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the world. Its population is (optimistically) projected to shrink by over two thirds over the next 100 years. If current fertility rates persist, every hundred South Koreans today will have only six great-grandchildren between them.

Population growth, migration, and economic opportunity continue to pull millions into major metropolitan areas. At the same time, aging populations and limited space are beginning to slow growth in several long-established megacities.

One of the most comforting truths of our faith is also one of the hardest to accept. You’re not living the whole story — you’re living your current page. One of the most powerful (and overlooked) truths of the Bible is typology—the way God weaves the same story across centuries, fulfilling promises in ways no human author could plan...

The collect for today’s feast prays, “O God, who were pleased to give us the example of the Holy Family, graciously grant that we may imitate them.” Now, that’s a tall order. After all, the Holy Family was exceptional. Inimitable, one might say. Joseph and Mary were indeed married. But their marriage was unlike any other...