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....

Northern Ireland's only Catholic college celebrates 125 years of training teachers

Graduates pose with their degrees at St. Mary's University College in Belfast, Northern Ireland. / Credit: St. Mary's University CollegeEWTN News, Dec 29, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).Four generations of teachers, a Nobel Prize winner, and a kicker with the New Orleans Saints are among those who have graduated from Northern Ireland's only Catholic higher education institution.St. Mary's University College in Belfast is marking the 125th year of a remarkable journey that began in 1900.Since its foundation, St. Mary's has been synonymous with training Catholic teachers. It is rooted in a profound commitment to Catholic education, with its alumni teaching in every Catholic school in Northern Ireland and in schools around the world.St. Mary's University College is pictured on its campus on the Lower Falls Road in West Belfast, Northern Ireland. Credit: St. Mary's University CollegePrincipal Peter Finn told CNA: "At Christmastime, St. Mary's University College in Belfast celebrates an inst...

Italian family preserves 300-year tradition of handmade Nativity scenes

Bottega Ferrigno is located in the iconic "Christmas Alley," part of the southern Italian city of Naples' historic San Gregorio Armeno neighborhood. / Credit: Gianpiero Passalia/EWTN NewsRome Newsroom, Dec 28, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).On a small street in the center of Naples, Italy, artisans like Giovanni Giudice work to preserve the custom of handcrafted Neapolitan Nativity scenes, a tradition dating back more than 300 years."The story of the Neapolitan Nativity scene begins with the Bourbon domination, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and between them … a competition of who made the most beautiful and unique Nativity scene," Giudice, a third-generation artisan, told Valentina Di Donato of EWTN News. "So from there, the whole story began here in Naples."Artisan Giovanni Giudice speaks to EWTN News' Valentina Di Donato about his hand-crafted Neapolitan Nativity scenes, a tradition dating back more than 300 years, at Bottega Ferrigno in Naples, Italy. Credit: Gianpiero Passalia/EW...

2025 saw expanded access to physician-assisted suicide 

Empty wheelchairs used during the Nov. 4, 2025, anti-assisted suicide event in Rome. / Credit: Courtesy of ProVita & FamigliaWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 28, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Despite opposition from advocacy groups and Catholic leaders, multiple states and countries advanced legislation in 2025 to expand access to physician-assisted suicide.Delaware Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed a bill in May legalizing physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less to live. The law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026, allowing patients to self-administer lethal medication. After the bill was signed, several disability and patient advocacy groups filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Delaware on Dec. 8 alleging that the law discriminates against people with disabilities. Illinois The House passed a bill in May to legalize physician-assisted suicide in Illinois, and it stalled in the Senate during the regular s...

Vatican expert: Co-Redemptrix title of Mary not absolutely prohibited

Monsignor Maurizio Gronchi. Credit: EWTN NoticiasDec 28, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).Monsignor Maurizio Gronchi, an expert consultant for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, clarified that the measure established last month regarding the use of the titles "Co-Redemptrix" and "Mediatrix" for the Virgin Mary is "not an absolute prohibition" and that these titles can still be used in popular piety, provided their meaning is understood."It's not an absolute prohibition, but it will no longer be used in official documents or in the liturgy. But if used in popular devotion, understanding its meaning, no one will be reprimanded for it," the expert said in an interview with "EWTN Noticias," the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News.The interview took place after the Nov. 4 publication of the doctrinal note " Mother of the Faithful People" in which the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by Cardinal Víctor Fernández, stated that the use of the tit...