Courageous witnesses to the faith: 17 missionaries were murdered in 2025

Father Sylvester Okechukwu of the Diocese of Kafanchan in Nigeria was found murdered on Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025. | Credit: Diocese of Kafanchan, NigeriaDec 30, 2025 / 15:01 pm (CNA).A total of 17 missionaries were killed worldwide during 2025, the Jubilee Year of Hope. With these figures, the number of missionaries and pastoral workers who have lost their lives by violence since the year 2000 to the present day has risen to 626.On Dec. 30, Fides News Agency published its annual report, which documents the murders of missionaries and all Catholic Christians involved in pastoral activity who have died by violence.The report includes priests, nuns, seminarians, and laypeople who died because of their faith in contexts often marked by violence, extreme poverty, and injustice. In many cases, they were true witnesses to the Gospel who remained faithful to their mission until the end, freely offering their lives to Christ.Africa is once again the hardest-hit continent, with 1...

More than 3 million people attended Vatican audiences and ceremonies in 2025

Aerial view of St. Peter's Square filled with thousands of mourners including clergy and dignitaries gathered for Pope Francis' funeral Mass under a clear blue sky on April 26, 2025, in Vatican City. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN NewsDec 30, 2025 / 15:56 pm (CNA).During the year 2025, the participation of the faithful in audiences and liturgical celebrations at the Vatican reached a total of 3,176,620 people.The Vatican released on Dec. 30 the attendance figures for liturgical celebrations in 2025, a year marked by the Jubilee of Hope, the death of Pope Francis, and the election in May of Pope Leo XIV.Under the pontificate of Pope Francis, who died on April 21, a total attendance of 262,820 faithful was recorded. The largest crowds were at the Angelus, with 130,000 people, followed by the liturgical celebrations, which drew 62,000 faithful.The general and jubilee audiences were attended by 60,500 people, while the total for special audiences was 10,320. The months with the highe...

Pope Leo XIV warns against gambling, which 'ruins many families'

Credit: Zolnierek/ShutterstockDec 30, 2025 / 10:45 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV warned about the danger that gambling poses to many families during a Dec. 29 audience with members of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.At the beginning of his address, delivered in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, the Holy Father explained that "the incarnation of the Son of God brings us face to face with a child, whose gentle fragility is in stark contrast to the crushing power of King Herod."In this context, he emphasized that "the massacre of the innocents ordered by him not only represents a loss of a future for society but is also a manifestation of an inhuman power that does not know the beauty of love because it disregards the dignity of human life."On the contrary, the pope explained that the birth of the Lord "reveals the most authentic aspect of all power, which is above all responsibility and service," and noted that all authority must "embody the virtues of humility, hon...

PHOTOS: Unforgettable moments from the 2025 papal transition

The coffin of Pope Francis rests before the altar at the funeral Mass on St. Peter's Square, April 26, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAVatican City, Dec 30, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).2025 began with Catholics around the world uniting in prayer for Pope Francis' health as he entered the hospital on Feb. 14. He was admitted to Gemelli Hospital in Rome for a respiratory infection that progressed to bilateral pneumonia, requiring a prolonged hospitalization that lasted almost six weeks.Soon after, on March 29, the pontiff was readmitted into the hospital with difficulty breathing. On April 21, the day after Easter, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88 from a stroke, coma, and irreversible cardiovascular collapse, according to the death certificate published just over 12 hours after his death.On April 26, more than 400,000 people filled St. Peter's Square for the funeral of Pope Francis as the world said goodbye to the first Latin American pope who led?the Catholic Church for 12 y...

Pope Leo XIV: To let God work in your life, you have to empty yourself

Pope Leo XIV meets with a group of pilgrims from St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, on Dec. 29, 2025, in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. | Credit: Vatican MediaDec 29, 2025 / 14:48 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Monday explained that in order to allow God's action in our personal lives, people must "empty" themselves and cultivate a deep inner life.The pontiff made the observation during a Dec. 29 audience at the Apostolic Palace with a group of pilgrims from St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Alcalá de Henares, Spain.The event took place in the context of the Jubilee Year of Hope, which the Holy Father described as "a particularly significant time for the Church." Leo XIV thanked the pilgrims for their spiritual closeness and support for the successor of Peter "with their prayers and generosity," emphasizing that this is "a gesture of communion and closeness."In his greeting, the pope recalled the figure of St. Thomas of Villanova, an Augustinian Spa...

Jonathan Roumie tells Father Mike Schmitz: 'Everything in my life has prepared me for this role'

Actor Jonathan Roumie, known for his role as Jesus in "The Chosen," and Father Mike Schmitz, known for the "Bible in a Year" podcast, sit down for an in-depth interview. Credit: Ascension PresentsDec 29, 2025 / 17:21 pm (CNA).In a new sit-down interview with Father Mike Schmitz, who is best known for the "Bible in a Year" podcast and YouTube videos on Ascension Presents, actor Jonathan Roumie spoke in depth about his role portraying Jesus in the hit series "The Chosen.""Everything in my life has prepared me for this role," Roumie told Schmitz in the 43-minute-long interview, which aired Dec. 28 on the Ascension Presents YouTube channel.Looking back at his childhood, Roumie recalled a couple of moments and experiences that deeply impacted him and his own portrayal of Jesus. He said at 12 years old he reenacted Christ's passion and crucifixion in his backyard after watching Robert Powell's portrayal of Jesus in "Jesus of Nazareth.""I had 2-by-8 planks that I found and I hammered...

Popular Catholic speaker pleads for a miracle amid son's medical emergency

Micah Kim, 5, son of popular Catholic speaker Paul Kim, is anointed by a priest on Dec. 26, 2025. Credit: Courtesy of Paul Kim's Facebook pageDec 29, 2025 / 17:51 pm (CNA).Paul Kim, a highly popular Catholic youth and young adult speaker, continues to share updates on his 5-year-old son, Micah, who remains on life support following a sudden medical emergency just days before Christmas.Entering his ninth day in the hospital, Micah's condition has sparked an outpouring of prayers across the globe, with the family invoking the intercession of Venerable Fulton Sheen for a miracle amid grim medical prognoses.The ordeal began when Micah was rushed to the hospital last week after experiencing severe internal bleeding and other complications. Kim, a devoted husband and father of six known for his engaging talks on faith and family at Catholic conferences, first alerted followers via social media on Dec. 22: "My son Micah is having a medical emergency right now and headed t...

Bishop of Columbus grants Mass dispensation to immigrants who fear deportation

Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, carries the Blessed Sacrament during a procession at Pickaway Correctional Institution on June 28, 2024, at one of the stops on the Seton Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. Credit: Catholic Times/Ken SnowDec 29, 2025 / 14:18 pm (CNA).The bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, has granted a dispensation from Mass for parishioners who fear deportation by immigration enforcement officers, who have increased activity in the area since mid-December.Bishop Earl Fernandes announced in a letter and video last week that those who fear immigration enforcement action are free from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass until Jan. 11, 2026. The bishop said the dispensation was precipitated by increased immigration enforcement activity in Ohio stemming from Operation Buckeye, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiative launched Dec. 16 that is allegedly targeting "the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens i...

U.S. executions rise in 2025 amid shifting public opinion

The lethal injection chamber at the Oklahoma State Penintentiary, May 7, 2010. Credit: Josh Rushing via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)Dec 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).A rise in executions in the United States in 2025 occurred alongside "shifting public opinion" against the death penalty, offering anti-death-penalty advocates a hopeful sign going into 2026 even amid high levels of capital punishment.The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit group that tracks and catalogs executions in the United States, said in its year-end report that 48 prisoners were executed in the U.S. in 2025, up from 25 the year before.The near-100% increase in executions was driven in large part by Florida, which at 19 executions counted for about 40% of the year's total, the group noted.The year also saw the expanded use of a controversial method of execution, that of nitrogen gas. Louisiana and Alabama both killed two condemned prisoners using this method, which advocates have said poses the...

6 Catholic public figures who made major headlines in 2025

Pope Leo XIV, Pope Francis, Michael Iskander, Bishop Mark Seitz, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Andrea Bocelli. Credit: Vatican Media; ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images; Jason Davis/Getty Images; Hakim Shammo/EWTN News; Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem; Franco Origlia/Getty ImagesACI Prensa Staff, Dec 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).The year 2025 will be etched in the memory of the Catholic Church for various profoundly significant events, including the death of Pope Francis, the election of a new pontiff, and a series of testimonies of faith that resonated throughout the world.Below we take a look back at six Catholic public figures who made major headlines this past year.1. Pope FrancisPope Francis offers Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on Easter Sunday April 4, 2021. - Credit: Vatican MediaPope Francis passed away on April 21, Easter Monday, after a pontificate marked by pastoral closeness, defense of the poorest, and a missionary approach of reaching out to the peripheries....