Category: 2025 News

SCRANTON – Surrounded by family, friends, and fellow parishioners who supported them for five years of formation, eight men were ordained to the Permanent Diaconate for the Diocese of Scranton during a joyful Mass on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, at the Cathedral of Saint Peter.

The day marked a profound moment in the life of the Church of Scranton, and a milestone for the newly ordained who will now serve the People of God in the ministries of Word, Liturgy, and Charity.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, served as principal celebrant and homilist for the Mass, which drew clergy from throughout the Diocese.

In a homily rooted in the Gospel of Matthew, Bishop Bambera reminded the men that ordained ministry in the Church is not a place of privilege, but a call to radical service.

“To be a disciple of Jesus means to put ourselves in the humble, demanding role of servant to others, to intentionally seek the happiness and fulfillment of those entrusted to our care, regardless of the cost to ourselves,” Bishop Bambera said. “There is simply no other way to understand and manifest authentic ministry in the Church.”

Quoting Pope Leo XIV, the Bishop emphasized that perfection is not the requirement for ministry – credibility in witness is.

“God has called you to a vital ministry in service of the Gospel. Set aside your fears. Embrace your call with deep trust in Jesus’ promise to walk with you always,” he added. “Live the truth of the Gospel that is rooted in the person of Jesus. Follow always His example of selfless love and mercy.”

The men ordained included Fernando B. Alves, Francisco Castelan, Michaelangelo J. Colaneri, Frank A. Fanelli, Joel Marte, Jorge A. Roca, Rafael Sanchez Velasquez, and Christian D. Saunders.

The Ordination Mass featured the rich and ancient rituals of the Rite of Ordination of Deacons.

During the Election of Candidates, each man was called by name and presented to the Bishop, who formally affirmed their readiness for Ordination.

In the Promise of the Elect, the candidates declared their intention to be ordained and to undertake the duties of the diaconate.

As the cantor of the Mass chanted the Litany of Supplication, the eight candidates prostrated themselves before the altar – a powerful gesture of surrender and vulnerability.

For many ordinands, it was the most moving moment of the day.

“You put yourself in the absolute most vulnerable position and completely and totally turn everything that you are over to Him,” newly ordained Deacon Michaelangelo Colaneri said. “It is symbolic that you are dying to yourself and rising to Christ. When you are really in that moment, the symbolism takes true effect.”

The heart of the Sacramental ritual came with the Laying on of Hands and Prayer of Ordination, as Bishop Bambera conferred the Sacrament upon each man.

Following the prayer, the men were vested with the stole and dalmatic, handed the Book of the Gospels, and welcomed with the fraternal kiss by the attending deacons – a sign of belonging to the order.

Immediately following Mass, the emotional impact of the day was evident. As the newly ordained deacons greeted family and friends, many shed a few tears.

“It’s such a heart warming feeling to see friends and family that travelled for hours to come here. It’s such a moving experience,” Colaneri added. “This was beyond compare to anything I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

For Deacon Fernando Alves, who has been assigned to Saint Luke Parish in Stroudsburg, formation was both challenging and transformative.

“No one comes in thinking they know it all,” he said. “Most of us know that we’re not worthy to be here. We know we’re here because of what others have helped us with.”

But the journey was never solitary. Alves said he became close with his fellow deacons undergoing formation.

“We challenged each other and pushed each other forward,” Alves explained.

Deacon Joel Marte, one of three men who is being assigned to Saint Matthew Parish in East Stroudsburg, said the moment of vesting was unforgettable.

“When you get those garments, you see them and hear about them, but until you’re getting vested, that is when everything came together,” Marte shared. “That is when the tears came down.”

He, too, spoke of the deep bonds forged among the eight candidates.

“We have all become very close. We’ve shared our family, we share stories, faith, our backgrounds,” Marte said. “It is a bond I can’t explain.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Eighty-six young people and chaperones from the Diocese of Scranton traveled by bus to Indianapolis in late November to join more than 16,000 participants at the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC).

During the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, the event served as a major opportunity for Catholic teenagers to learn more about their faith and was a reminder that the future of the Church is vibrant, joyful, and deeply rooted in Christ.

Pilgrims from nine different parishes attended this year’s conference. The parishes included: Our Lady Queen of Peace, Brodheadsville; Saints Peter and Paul, Towanda; Saint Matthew, East Stroudsburg; Saint Luke, Stroudsburg; Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Hanover Township; Saint Catherine of Siena, Moscow; Saint Eulalia, Roaring Brook Township; Our Lady of the Snows, Clarks Summit; and Saint Gregory, Clarks Green.

“We were with 16,000 other Catholic kids. I’ve never been able to experience that before,” Edward Scavone, a junior from Our Lady of the Snows Parish, said. “That was so cool.”

Breakout sessions covered topics including discipleship, vocations, and social challenges.

Several Diocesan participants highlighted a session led by Bishop Joseph Espaillat of the Archdiocese of New York called “Faith Amidst the Storm.”

“His energy and his compassion for humanity – and for being so real with our kids – was incredibly moving,” Christian Brown, youth minister for Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Eulalia Parishes, said.

During the session, the young adults were asked what the world needs right now. While many answered peace, hope, love, or kindness – Bishop Espaillat challenged them that what is needed more than anything right now is faith.

Marinellys Marte, from Saint Matthew Parish, said the session encouraged teens to approach their faith with courage.

“We talked about how there are a lot of problems in the world and how we have to use the tools God gives us to fight our battles,” Marte said. “Saints weren’t wimps. They were strong people who leaned on God.”

Other participants repeatedly cited Eucharistic Adoration inside Lucas Oil Stadium – the home of the Indianapolis Colts football team – as a defining moment of the conference.

“It was very moving for me. There were 16,000 people all kneeling. I was trying to fight back the tears – but then everyone on the ground floor went up and kneeled as close as they could – and I started crying,” she said.

“It was a very beautiful event because we got one-on-one time with God,” Layla Reyes of Saints Peter and Paul Parish, added.

Going into the conference, Natalie Weidner of Exaltation of the Holy Cross Parish, was excited to participate in a digital encounter with Pope Leo XIV.

“I think it’s just great that I got to listen to him talk. Not a lot of people get that opportunity,” Weidner said.

As the conference ended, participants said NCYC renewed their enthusiasm to live and share their faith.

“The power of the Holy Spirit was present here,” Hannah Rocco, a senior from Saint Eulalia Parish who is preparing for college, stated. “I’m excited to see where God is calling me in the next steps of my life.”

VATICAN CITY (OSV News) – In one of the most anticipated U.S. episcopal appointments of his pontificate so far, Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York and named as his successor Bishop Ronald A. Hicks of Joliet, Illinois.

The resignation and appointment were announced by the Vatican on Dec. 18.

Cardinal Dolan was named archbishop of New York by Pope Benedict XVI on Feb. 23, 2009, and three years later Pope Benedict elevated him to the College of Cardinals.

On Feb. 6, he turned 75, the age at which canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope.

Cardinal Dolan previously served as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and has held several national leadership roles, including chair of the USCCB’s pro-life and religious liberty committees. He served as chairman of Catholic Relief Services, and currently serves as a member of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches and the Dicastery for Evangelization.

Since Sept. 29, 2020, Archbishop Hicks, 58, has led the Diocese of Joliet, which includes Chicago’s western and southern suburbs, stretching into near-central Illinois. He will be heading the second largest archdiocese in the United States, which has 2.5 million Catholics, five times the 520,000 in Joliet.

The new archbishop will be managing a large-scale clergy abuse settlement among other work once he takes over his new assignment. Cardinal Dolan said in a Dec. 9 letter to his flock the archdiocese would be entering into mediation with 1,300 claimants over allegations of clergy sexual abuse. He said the archdiocese would need to raise $300 million toward settlements.

According to the Illinois Attorney General’s 2023 report on clergy sexual abuse in Illinois’ dioceses, Joliet had reported 100 credible cases of abuse that took place from 1949 to 2004. It has paid more than $7 million in settlements in three instances, the most recent in 2019, a year before now-Archbishop Hicks was installed.

According to Deacon Dominic Cerrato, the new archbishop of New York is up to the task of leading a significantly larger (arch)diocese because “all of his skills” as bishop are “transferable and scalable.”

In particular, Deacon Cerrato, who recently retired as director of the diaconate at the Diocese of Joliet, said Archbishop Hicks is a “very prayerful man” whose spirituality guides his leadership.

“A humble man, in the sense that he always asks for prayers. He would be praying for whatever audience and say, ‘Please pray for (him),'” Deacon Cerrato told OSV News. “Without a doubt, he was clearly seeking God’s will as he shepherded the diocese. We would certainly always begin with prayer, but (his) demeanor bespeaks a man of deep spirituality.”

The diocese went through a restructuring in 2023, where 16 parishes were slated for mergers and closures. Officials cited aging buildings, fewer priests and diminishing Mass attendance but made no mention of abuse settlements for the consolidation.

In a 20-page pastoral letter about discipleship to the faithful in the Diocese of Joliet titled “Make!,” now-Archbishop Hicks laid out plans to carry out the vision he brought when he was first installed five years ago, of “putting catechesis, evangelization and faith into action.”

With a heartfelt admission that “vulnerably reflects (his) heart” in his diocesan website blog dated Sept. 30 about the letter the bishop wrote, “I love Jesus and I want you to love Him too.”

“The letter offers a clear path: conversion, confession, communion, commission, all held together by prayer. These are not abstract concepts but real, concrete steps that anyone can begin today,” he said. A website is dedicated to the plan with sections on these five areas on the path to making disciples of the faithful.

Deacon Cerrato described the bishop’s leadership style as one that “builds communion, strengthens mission, and reflects the gentle authority.”

He recalled Archbishop Hicks asking him what he thought the diocese should do during a meeting on one occasion.

“And I’m like, shocked because what I discovered is that he was very open to solutions if there was a challenge brought before him. He was open to listening to what might happen. So his governance wasn’t just high level, but he dipped down into the people. You could say, like, Christ he stooped low into the people to listen,” said Deacon Cerrato.

He said the newly named archbishop also spent a lot of time with the faithful at various events.

Deacon Cerrato said, “When you saw him, the smile, the availability. I mean, the guy would stand for pictures for hours with people. He just wouldn’t go to an event and then just leave. So in that respect, there was a sense of shepherding. There was a sense of caring. There was a sense of listening. That having been said, he certainly was a decisive leader in the sense that, if a decision had to be made, he would make the decision.”

Earlier, he was appointed vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich in 2015, and in September 2018, he was ordained an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.

Archbishop Hicks was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 21, 1994. He served as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Chicago from 1994 to 1996 and at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Orland Hills, Illinois, from 1996 to 1999. From 1999 to 2005, he lived and ministered at St. Joseph College Seminary in Chicago as the dean of formation.

In July 2005, with permission from Cardinal Francis E. George, then archbishop of Chicago, Archbishop Hicks moved from Chicago to El Salvador to begin a five-year term as regional director of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, or NPH, in Central America. NPH is a home dedicated to caring for more than 3,400 orphaned and abandoned children in nine Latin American and Caribbean countries.

From 2010 to 2014, Archbishop Hicks served as the dean of formation at Mundelein Seminary.

Like Pope Leo, he was born in Chicago. He graduated from Quigley Preparatory Seminary South in 1985. He received his bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from Niles College of Loyola University, Chicago, in 1989, and both his master of divinity degree in 1994 and his doctor of ministry degree in 2003 from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois.

Archbishop Hicks serves on the USCCB’s Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations and as the conference’s liaison to the Association of Ongoing Formation of Priests and the National Association of Diaconate Directors. He has also been appointed to the USCCB’s Charter Review Workgroup. He also serves on the board of the Catholic Extension Society and the Mundelein Seminary Advisory Board.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (OSV News) – The violence that erupted at the Brown University’s campus Dec. 13 was more than a national headline; it was a deeply personal tragedy that struck at the heart of the Providence community.

The Saturday shooting at the Ivy League University, which claimed the lives of two students, Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook, and injured nine others, prompted a response from Providence Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, who offered prayers for all affected by this tragedy.

The violence unfolded just after 4 p.m. during the university’s final exam period in the Barus and Holley building, which houses the School of Engineering and the Physics Department. As of Dec. 17, the police were still looking for the suspected shooter, and two victims had been discharged from the hospital. Seven remained hospitalized, with six patients in stable condition and one in critical condition but stable.

“As are many, I am deeply saddened and troubled by the senseless shooting today at Brown University in Providence,” Bishop Lewandowski said. “Let us unite in prayer for those who lost their lives, for the injured, for the Brown University community and all affected by this tragedy.”

“May God continue to guide our elected officials, law enforcement, and first responders as they work to keep everyone safe. The Diocese of Providence offers its resources, clergy and personnel, and charitable assistance wherever needed. May God bless us all and may Our Lady of Providence keep us in her care.”

Gaudete Sunday — the third Sunday of Advent, from the Latin word meaning “rejoice” — is meant to be a joyful shift toward Christmas for Catholics. Yet, for the congregation attending the Saturday vigil Mass Dec. 13 at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Providence, a few short blocks from where the shooting took place, that theme was dramatically challenged by the sound of sirens wailing in the background.

The news reached the pastor, Father Joseph Escobar, via a text message from a parishioner shortly before the 5 p.m. Mass. He chose to share the developing tragedy with his congregation.

“There were a lot of loud gasps,” Father Escobar told Rhode Island Catholic, Providence’s diocesan news outlet. “Some had seen police cars and ambulances on their way in, but didn’t know what was happening.”

In his homily, acknowledging the difficult truth the community was facing, Father Escobar encouraged his congregation to seek solace in their faith.

“In my homily, I tried to tie to Gaudete Sunday that in the midst of turmoil and crisis we still have the joy because that joy comes from our faith in God who is with us,” he explained. “We pray that they apprehend those responsible for this tragedy, and we pray for the victims and their families. We can’t allow ourselves to be paralyzed by these things, but nonetheless, we have to stay vigilant.”

The mood among the mood for the Brown/Rhode Island School of Design Catholic Community, or BRCC, was anything but joyful on Sunday, Dec. 14.

“It is sadly ironic that this is the day we light our third Advent candle, symbolizing hope,” said Dominican Father Justin Bolger, BRCC chaplain, during his homily. “When dark purple is infused with light, it turns pink, and today’s pink candle is meant to celebrate that hope. As we gather today, we still celebrate the light of God, even in this darkness.”

For a state so far unaccustomed to this type of violence, the events of Dec. 13 took a subject that many had become desensitized to seeing it in national headlines and made it tragically real.

It hit especially close to home for BRCC members, however, as one of the victims was a regular at evening Mass and the various events hosted at the Catholic Center during the year. Sophomore Ella Cook may have been Episcopalian, but she was “a very dear friend” to the Catholic community.

“Despite being from another tradition, Ella was very involved with the BRCC,” Father Bolger explained. “She had been spending time here since she got to the university a year and a half ago — coming to Mass with her Catholic friends, going on retreat with us, joining us for prayer and activities. I remember being impressed with her right away: She was very sweet and affable, but also a very courageous young woman who truly loved her faith and who was committed to living it out.”

The Mass on Dec. 14 was offered for the repose of the souls of Cook and Umurzokov, the other fatality. A table with a photo of Ella surrounded by candles and religious statues stood at the front of the Catholic Center. Several students stopped at the memorial table to pray on their way out, with a few remaining behind after Mass to say a rosary in front of it.

The shooting has sent shockwaves throughout Rhode Island.

The Dominican Province of St. Joseph (which serves the Brown/RISD Catholic Community) said they “feel this attack acutely and entrust the University and Providence communities to the maternal care of Our Lady of Sorrows.”

Both of Rhode Island’s Catholic colleges, Providence College and Salve Regina University, also released statements of solidarity with their colleagues and neighbors at Brown.

Deacon Timothy Flanagan, of St. Teresa and St. Christopher Parishes in Tiverton is a physician who teaches at Brown Medical School. He made the trip to campus on Sunday to attend Mass with the community.

“I just really wanted to be with the students,” he told Rhode Island Catholic. “They’re all feeling terrible pain, deep sorrow, and confusion after such an awful, heinous act. It’s a tight community, however, and they all care about each other.”

Deacon Flanagan’s point was illustrated by the sheer volume of students who turned out for Sunday’s Mass, which far exceeded typical attendance on Sunday evenings.

“We see people seeking rituals when faced with circumstances they can’t understand — even in a secular climate, you’ll see people engaging in rituals like candlelight vigils. So, it makes sense for them to come to the Catholic Mass, the greatest ritual and most powerful prayer of the church.”

Seeking understanding is natural in the face of evil, says Father Bolger, although the solution isn’t always clear.

“I visited the injured students at Rhode Island Hospital recently,” he said. “One of them just asked me ‘Why? Why did this happen?’ And I didn’t have a good answer. Something this unjust doesn’t make sense.”

In times of darkness, Father Bolger said he finds solace in music, including in the gospel standard “Poor, Wayfaring Stranger.”

“We are all ‘poor, wayfaring strangers’ as we travel through this world,” he explained. “For some of us our life on this earth may be long. For some, like Ella, it might be short. But Christ, who we follow, was no stranger to the darkness. At this time of year, we remember that he abandoned the bliss of heaven for the darkness of the stable and the manger because he loved us.

“And Christ’s love is the only thing that can light the darkness we encounter in this world.”

(OSV News) – After two gunmen targeted Jewish beachgoers at an event celebrating the first day of Hanukkah in a terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Pope Leo XIV said he is “deeply saddened” by the attack he called “horrific.”

In a Dec. 15 telegram signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the pope said he is praying for those recovering and those grieving “the loss of a loved one,” hoping that “those tempted to violence will undergo conversion and seek the path of peace and solidarity.”

“Enough with these forms of antisemitic violence!” Pope Leo said earlier on Dec. 15, speaking with the groups that donated this year’s Vatican Christmas tree and Nativity scene. “We must eliminate hatred from our hearts,” he highlighted.

In an overnight statement sent to OSV News Dec. 14, Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney said that “as we follow the horrific news coming from this evening’s shooting at Bondi Beach, let us pray for those who have been killed or injured, the many who were forced to run for their lives and our emergency service workers who are right now trying to keep people safe.”

Archbishop Fisher asked that “Our Lady, Queen of Peace, intercede for all affected, and for our beloved city at this time.”

In a Dec. 15 statement, Archbishop Fisher called for an end to an “atmosphere of antisemitism” in Australia.

“Any attack on individual Jews is an attack on the whole Jewish community and an affront to the Australian way of life,” Archbishop Fisher said as he called for an unequivocal condemnation of the attack and swift justice for the victims.

He also shared that he personally has Jewish heritage from his great-grandmother, and that as Christians, “an attack on the Jews is an attack on all of us.”

“We all share in profound grief and righteous anger following last night’s terrorist attack on Bondi Beach,” the archbishop said.

“That a celebration of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah could end in at least 16 dead, including a young child, and many more injured, horrifies ordinary Australians.

“The brazen and callous disregard for human life, and the hatred of some people toward all Jews, is an unspeakable evil that must be repudiated by every Australian.”

U.S. bishops also reacted to the attack.

The Catholic community of the Archdiocese of New York “prayed this morning at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for our Jewish neighbors and friends, who are suffering again after that terrible diabolical atrocity in Australia,” Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said Dec. 14

“It gives us cause to intensify our advocacy for the defense of our Jewish friends and neighbors, and also brings to mind the message of Hanukkah and Christmas that light will always conquer darkness,” the cardinal stressed.

Bishop Michael C. Barber of Oakland, California, called the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach a “horrific tragedy.”

“We condemn such violence, especially violence in the name of anti-Semitism. In solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters we pray for God’s mercy and that He may change hearts and minds toward love of neighbor,” Bishop Barber said.

In New Mexico, Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe said, “The atrocious attack on those beginning to celebrate Hanukkah at Bondi Beach is incomprehensible, shocking, and evil.”

“Our hearts go out to our Jewish communities here in New Mexico and beyond,” he said. “May the lighting of the menorah during these eight days dispel the darkness of hatred and violence that has enveloped our world.”

At a press conference in Sydney Dec. 14, just hours after the shooting, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told journalists that 12 people were dead, including one of the gunmen, but later the death toll rose to 15, and The Guardian reported a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi and two Holocaust survivors were among victims.

The second gunman, police confirmed, was in custody and in critical condition.

According to authorities, over 40 people were wounded and taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital.

“What should have been a night of peace and joy, celebrated in that community with families and supporters, has been shattered by this horrifying evil attack,” Minns said.

“Our heart bleeds for Australia’s Jewish community tonight. I can only imagine the pain that they’re feeling right now to see their loved ones killed as they celebrate this ancient holiday,” he added.

The attack occurred in the early evening as hundreds were gathered for a Hanukkah celebration at Archer Park, a grassy area in Bondi Beach. A video circulating online showed a beachgoer tackling and disarming one of the gunmen while the other gunman fired from a nearby bridge.

At the press conference, Mal Lanyon, police commissioner for the state of New South Wales, said he could not confirm if there was a third offender, but wanted “to make sure there’s no stone left unturned.

“I cannot confirm there is a third offender, but I want to make sure there’s no stone left unturned,” Lanyon said.

He also confirmed that police located a vehicle near Bondi Beach that contained several improvised explosives and that “we have our rescue bomb disposal unit there at the moment working on that.”

In an address following the shooting, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the attack was “an act of evil antisemitism, terrorism, that has struck the heart of our nation” and that an “attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian.”

“Every Australian tonight will be, like me, devastated by this attack on our way of life. There is no place for this hate, violence, and terrorism in our nation,” Albanese said.

“Let me be clear: We will eradicate it. Amidst this vile act of violence and hate will emerge a moment of national unity where Australians across the board will embrace their fellow Australians of Jewish faith,” he added.

Robert Gregory, the head of the Australian Jewish Association, criticized Albanese’s government, saying the attack was “a tragedy but entirely foreseeable.”

“The Albanese government was warned so many times, but failed to take adequate actions to protect the Jewish community,” Gregory said in a statement published on the association’s X account.

“Tonight, many Jews are pondering whether they have a future in Australia. Our thoughts are with our community and all the impacted, some of whom we are close to,” he wrote.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed his condolences to the victims and their families and called on the Australian government to act on rising violence against Jewish people in the country.

“We repeat our alerts, time and again, to the Australian government to seek action and fight against the enormous wave of anti-Semitism which is plaguing Australian society,” Herzog said.

Archbishop Fisher also condemned a rise in antisemitism over the past two years. “(It has) festered, leading to intimidation, division, and the normalization of incendiary language,” he said.

“Opposite my own cathedral in Hyde Park there have been weekly demonstrations where inflammatory messages have been regularly articulated which could only have ‘turned up the temperature’ and perhaps contributed to radicalization. This must stop.”

On behalf of Sydney’s Catholic community, the archbishop extended condolences to all those affected and said the archdiocese would redouble its efforts to combat antisemitism through education and preaching.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Nativity scene and the Christmas tree are signs of faith and hope, Pope Leo XIV said.

“As we contemplate them in our homes, parishes and town squares, let us ask the Lord to renew in us the gift of peace and fraternity,” he said, calling for prayers for all those who suffer because of war and violence. “We must eliminate hatred from our hearts.”

The pope was speaking Dec. 15 during a meeting with the government representatives, artisans and donors responsible for providing the Christmas decorations in the Paul VI Audience Hall and in St. Peter’s Square.

Pope Leo thanked the Costa Rican artist who created the Nativity scene for the audience hall, titled “Nacimiento Gaudium.” Created by Paula Sáenz Soto, it features a pregnant Virgin Mary and 28,000 colored ribbons, each representing a life saved from abortion thanks to the prayers and support provided to many mothers in difficulty by Catholic organizations, according to a press release by the Vatican City State’s governing office.

On Christmas Eve, the statue will be replaced with a different statue of Mary kneeling in adoration of the newborn Baby Jesus, and 400 ribbons will be placed in Jesus’ manger containing prayers and wishes written by young patients at the National Children’s Hospital in San José.

“I thank the Costa Rican artist who, together with the message of peace at Christmas, also wanted to launch an appeal for the protection of life from the moment of conception,” Pope Leo said.

“The Nativity scene and the Christmas tree are signs of faith and hope,” he said to all those present. “Let the tenderness of the child Jesus illuminate our lives. Let God’s love, like the branches of an evergreen tree, remain fervent in us.”

The pope thanked those from a small town in the northern autonomous province of Bolzano who donated the 82-foot-tall Norway spruce weighing 8.8 tons that was to be lit in a special ceremony Dec. 15 when the large Nativity scene in the square would be unveiled.

“For pilgrims from all over the world who will gather in St. Peter’s Square, the Nativity scene will remind them that God draws close to humanity, becomes one of us, entering our history in the smallness of a child,” the pope said.

“Before every Nativity scene, even those made in our homes, we relive that event and rediscover the need to seek moments of silence and prayer in our lives, to find ourselves and enter into communion with God,” he said.

The Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square for 2025 came from a diocese south of Naples, not far from the Amalfi coast. Among the gifts being offered by the shepherds are agricultural products famous from the region, such as San Marzano and Corbarino tomatoes, walnuts, spring onions and artichokes.

Both the creche and the tree were to be in St. Peter’s Square until Jan. 11 — the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

The Vatican City State governing office said that the tree’s needles and green branches will be sent to an Austrian company to extract its essential oils, and the wood will be donated to a charity.

When Pope Leo met Dec. 13 with hundreds of people acting in a living Nativity scene being held at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major, he said the creche “is an important sign: it reminds us that we are part of a wondrous adventure of salvation in which we are never alone.”

“Spread this message and keep this tradition alive. They are a gift of light for our world, which so badly needs to be able to continue to hope,” he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Even in difficult situations and harsh places, like prisons, when people focus on caring for one another, respecting each other and offering forgiveness, “beautiful flowers spring forth from the ‘hard ground’ of sin and suffering,” Pope Leo XIV said.

Dressed in rose vestments for Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, the pope celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 15 for the Jubilee of Prisoners.

Inmates and former inmates — both adults and juveniles — from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta and Chile accompanied by guards and chaplains participated, as well as representatives from 85 other countries. It was the last of the major Jubilee events before Christmas and the closing of the Holy Year Jan. 6.

The hosts consecrated during the Mass were made by inmates at the Italian prisons of Opera, San Vittore and Bollate. They are part of a project that involves more than 300 inmates in prisons throughout Italy that regularly make hosts for 15,000 churches and parishes.

In his homily, Pope Leo acknowledged that living and working in a prison is difficult “and even the best proposals can encounter many obstacles.”

But inmates, staff and family members must never give up, he said. “No human being is defined only by his or her actions,” and “justice is always a process of reparation and reconciliation.”

Prisons, jails and detention facilities must keep working to address overcrowding and a lack of commitment to guaranteeing “stable educational programs for rehabilitation and job opportunities.”

“On a more personal level,” he told them, everyone involved must deal with “the weight of the past, the wounds to be healed in body and heart, the disappointments, the infinite patience that is needed with oneself and with others when embarking on paths of conversion, and the temptation to give up or to no longer forgive.”

For the Lord, though, “only one thing is important: that no one be lost and that all ‘be saved,'” Pope Leo said.

“Let no one be lost! Let all be saved! This is what our God wants, this is his kingdom, and this is the goal of his actions in the world,” he said. “As Christmas approaches, we too want to embrace more strongly his dream, while being steadfast and faithful in our commitment.”

Christians, he said, “know that even in the face of the greatest challenges, we are not alone: the Lord is near, he walks with us, and with him at our side, something beautiful and joyful will always happen.”

Reciting the Angelus at noon, Pope Leo quoted the introductory words to the day’s Mass: “‘Gaudete in Domino semper’ –- Rejoice in the Lord always.”

On Gaudete Sunday, the church calls believers to rejoice because “Jesus is our hope, especially in times of trial, when life seems to lose meaning and everything appears darker, words fail us, and we struggle to understand others.”

“The words of Jesus,” he said, “free us from the prison of despair and suffering. Every prophecy finds its expected fulfillment in him.”

Christ “gives voice to the oppressed and to those whose voices have been silenced by violence and hatred,” the pope said. “He defeats ideologies that make us deaf to the truth. He heals the ailments that deform the body.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV prayed for Mary’s maternal intercession so that she would help nations avoid lies and hatred and instruct leaders to protect the dignity of all human life.

He also prayed that families find strength, young people find meaning and people of faith seek greater communion because “within the church, Mother, your children cannot be divided.”

In his homily at Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 12, Pope Leo also asked Mary to support him in his ministry as the successor of St. Peter and “grant that, trusting in your protection, we may advance ever more united, with Jesus and among ourselves, toward the eternal dwelling place that He has prepared for us and where you await us.”

While it was his first Mass marking the Marian feast day at the Vatican as pope, as Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, he had already served as the main celebrant at the altar during the Dec. 12 Mass in 2024 and 2023 when he was prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Pope Francis had presided over both of those Masses, but due to bouts of illness, he remained seated during the celebrations and gave the homily.

Pope Leo, who spent more than two decades as a missionary in Peru, gave the homily in Spanish and recalled how the Marian apparitions in 1531 in Tepeyac, Mexico, awakened “in the inhabitants of America the joy of knowing that they are loved by God.”

Devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe is deeply rooted in Latin America. According to tradition, Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego, an Indigenous Mexican, and left her pregnant image imprinted on his cloak. It was said she assured him in his native language not to be afraid because, “Am I not here, who am your Mother?” offering protection, health and safety in the folds of her mantle.

“It is the voice that echoes the promise of divine fidelity, the presence that sustains when life becomes unbearable,” especially “amidst unceasing conflicts, injustices and pains that seek relief,” Pope Leo said.

Her motherhood “makes us discover ourselves as children,” and “as children, we will turn to her to ask” what must be done, especially “how to grow in faith when our strength fails and shadows grow,” the pope said. Referring to her son, Jesus, she will “tenderly reply: ‘Do whatever he tells you.'”

Pope Leo then prayed for Mary’s intercession, asking that she “teach nations that want to be your children not to divide the world into irreconcilable factions, not to allow hatred to mark their history or lies to write their memory.”

“Show them that authority must be exercised as service and not as domination,” he said. “Instruct their leaders in their duty to safeguard the dignity of every person during all stages of their life,” and may these people create places “where every person can feel welcome.”

He prayed that Mary would accompany young people so they could find strength in Christ “to choose what is good and the courage to remain firm in the faith, even when the world pushes them in another direction.”

“Show them that your Son walks beside them. May nothing afflict their hearts so that they may fearlessly welcome God’s plans,” he said, praying that she also help keep young people safe “from the threats of crime, addiction and the danger of a meaningless life.”

“Seek out, Mother, those who have strayed from the holy church,” he said. “May your gaze reach them where ours cannot, break down the walls that separate us, and bring them back home with the power of your love.”

Pope Leo then implored Mary to touch the hearts of those “who sow discord toward your Son’s desire that ‘they may all be one’ and restore them to the charity that makes communion possible, for within the church, Mother, your children cannot be divided.”

“Strengthen families,” he prayed. “Following your example, may parents educate their children with tenderness and firmness, so that every home may be a school of faith.”

He prayed that those who teach be inspired to share the truth “with the gentleness, precision and clarity that comes from the Gospel,” and he prayed that the clergy and consecrated men and women find support and encouragement to be faithful, prayerful and revitalized.

“Holy Virgin, may we, like you, keep the Gospel in our hearts,” he said, and help Christians understand “we are not the owners of this message, but, like St. Juan Diego, we are its simple servants.”