Category: 2026 News

(OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV expressed “deep concern” following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by the United States in a large-scale attack.

After reciting the Angelus prayer with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square Jan. 4, the pope said the “well-being of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over all other considerations and lead to overcoming violence and pursuing paths of justice and peace.”

Entrusting Venezuela to its patroness, Our Lady of Coromoto, as well as the country’s recently canonized saints – Sts. José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles – Pope Leo called on Catholics to pray and highlighted the need to respect Venezuela’s right to autonomy and self-determination.

“This must guarantee the country’s sovereignty, ensure the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution, respect the human and civil rights of all, and work to build together a serene future of collaboration, stability, and harmony, with special attention to the poorest who suffer due to the difficult economic situation,” he said.

After months of tension, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the nighttime military operation Jan. 3, capturing Maduro and his wife, and transporting them to New York to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, The Associated Press reported.

According to AP, Venezuelan officials said some people were killed in the U.S. attack but did not disclose the number of casualties.

Reactions from around the world have been mixed, with many, particularly Venezuelans in the diaspora, hailing Maduro’s capture, while others expressed concerns that the U.S. attack violated international law.

The country’s bishops issued a brief “message of accompaniment and closeness with the People of God” via Instagram and X that did not comment directly on the capture of the Venezuelan president and his wife, but instead urged for “prayer for the unity of our people.”

“In light of the events that our country is experiencing today, let us ask God to grant all Venezuelans serenity, wisdom, and strength,” the bishops said. “We express our solidarity with those who were wounded and the families of those who died.”

Less than an hour later, the bishops issued a second brief statement calling on the people of Venezuela “to live more intensely in hope and fervent prayer for peace in our hearts and in society, rejecting any type of violence.”

“May our hands open for encounter and mutual aid, and may the decisions that are taken always be made for the well-being of our people,” the bishops wrote.

The statement was shared by other Latin American bishops’ conferences, including the bishops of Argentina and Mexico.

The Mexican bishops’ conference said it was “united in prayer with the bishops of Venezuela to ask God for serenity, wisdom, and strength for the Venezuelan people.”

In a brief comment to SIR, the news agency of the Italian bishops’ conference, Archbishop Jesús González de Zárate of Valencia, Venezuela, president of the country’s bishops conference, said he had been “awake since 2 a.m. to follow what was happening” and that he was accompanying “our people with prayer.”

While Venezuelans are still in shock, Archbishop Zarate said, “the facts are still in development to properly assess” the situation and emphasized his “trust in God and the values of our people.”

Bishop Juan Carlos Bravo Salazar of Petare, a diocese located east of the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, issued a statement Jan. 3 on the diocese’s Instagram account acknowledging that the people of Venezuela “are living through moments of confusion, uncertainty, and pain, in which we do not see clearly what is happening.”

“Our strength and hope are in the Lord of life and peace,” Bishop Bravo said, urging the need “to maintain serenity, peace, and above all a climate of prayer.”

He also urged caution, asking people to “take shelter and not go out.”

“For the good of our people, do not make calls to (take to) the streets, nor disseminate unverified and unconfirmed information, nor from sources that are not reliable or official. Let us stay in communication among ourselves, between pastoral zones, and with our closest collaborators,” he said.

(OSV News) – “Be open to what the Lord has in store for you,” Pope Leo XIV said in a video address to thousands of youth and young adults attending the SEEK 2026 conference.

The annual gathering — taking place Jan. 1-5 at event locations in Columbus, Ohio, Denver and Fort Worth, Texas — has drawn an estimated 26,000 participants for talks and workshops on encountering Christ, with the schedule including daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, the sacrament of reconciliation and fellowship.

Among the scheduled keynote speakers were Father Mike Schmitz, Matt Fradd, Chris Stefanick, Sister of Life Mary Grace and Sister Josephine Garrett, a sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

For 2026, conference organizer FOCUS — an international Catholic outreach ministering on more than 200 college campuses in the U.S., Mexico and Europe, as well as at some 20 parishes — selected the theme “To the Heights,” a favorite exhortation of the recently canonized St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, an avid mountaineer and patron of young adults.

As of midday Jan. 2, FOCUS reported that attendees numbered 16,115 in Columbus, 5,907 in Denver and 4,503 in Fort Worth.

In his pre-recorded video message to the SEEK attendees, which was posted along with a transcript to the Vatican website, Pope Leo appeared to echo St. Frassati’s sentiment, urging SEEK attendees to reflect on the call of the first two disciples of Jesus as detailed in John 1:35-51.

The pope said that Andrew and the other disciple — initially followers of John the Baptist — pursued Jesus, whose first recorded words in John’s Gospel were a question posed to the two: “What do you seek?”

“Jesus asks the disciples this question because he knows their hearts,” said Pope Leo. “They were restless — in a good way. They did not want to settle for the normal routine of life. They were open to God and were longing for meaning.”

And, said the pope, “today, Jesus directs this same question to each one of you.”

Pope Leo noted that conference attendees’ hearts may also be “restless, searching for meaning and fulfillment” as well as for “direction in your lives.”

To such profound questions, said the pope, “The answer is found in a person. The Lord Jesus alone brings us true peace and joy, and fulfills every one of our deepest desires.”

John’s Gospel passage details the process of discovering Christ and developing a life-changing relationship with him, said the pope, noting that the first two disciples replied to Jesus’ question by asking where he was staying.

“They wanted to get to know him personally by spending time with him,” said Pope Leo.

Although “the two disciples were initially with Jesus only for a few hours,” said the pope, “that encounter changed their lives forever.”

Andrew immediately sought out his brother Simon (whom Jesus later renamed Peter), excitedly sharing that he had found the Messiah — “in other words, ‘We have found the one we were looking for!'” said the pope.

Such a response to meeting Christ “is the answer that all of us can give once we too get to know the Lord,” said Pope Leo, adding that the Gospel passage “also therefore speaks to us of what it means to be a missionary. … We desire to share with others what we have received so that they, too, can come to know the fullness of love and truth found only in him.”

As they “draw close to Jesus” during the SEEK 2026 conference, Pope Leo urged attendees, “Do not be afraid to ask him what he is calling you to,” whether that vocation is the priesthood, religious life, or marriage and family life.

“If you sense the Lord calling you, do not be afraid,” said Pope Leo. “Once again, let me emphasize that he alone knows the deepest, perhaps hidden, longings of your heart, and the path that will lead you to true fulfillment. Let him lead and guide you!”

Pointing to the conference start date of Jan. 1, the feast of Mary, Mother of God, Pope Leo entrusted attendees to her maternal intercession.

He concluded his message with a blessing, saying, “I gladly invoke upon all of you and upon your families the divine blessings of this Christmas season.”