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Vatican City, Dec 26, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis recalled the witness of persecuted Christians around the world on Thursday as he celebrated the feast of St. Stephen, the Church's first martyr.

In his Angelus address on Dec. 26, Pope Francis reflected on Stephen's last words as he was being stoned to death as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them."

Pope Francis said: "Even though at first sight Stephen seems to be helplessly suffering violence, in reality, as a truly free man, he continues to love even his killers and to offer his life for them, like Jesus; he offers his life so that they may repent and, having been forgiven, be given eternal life."

"Today there are, in various parts of the world, many men and women who are persecuted, at times up to death, because of the Gospel," the pope added. "What we have said about Stephen applies to them too. They do not allow themselves to be killed out of weakness, nor to defend an ideology, but to make everyone participants in the gift of salvation. And they do so first and foremost for the good of their killers … and they pray for them."

Francis pointed to the example of Blessed Christian de Chergé, one of the French Trappist monks kidnapped from Algeria's Tibhirine abbey in 1996 who is now counted in the Church among the "Martyrs of Algeria."

In de Chergé's last testament left with his family "to be opened in the event of my death," he contemplated what he would say to his killer if he were to become "a victim of the terrorism which now seems ready to encompass all the foreigners living in Algeria."

"And you also, the friend of my final moment, who would not be aware of what you were doing. Yes, for you also I wish this 'thank you' — and this adieu — to commend you to the God whose face I see in yours. And may we find each other, happy 'good thieves,' in paradise, if it pleases God, the father of us both. Amen," the Trappist monk wrote.

Pope Francis lauded this "beautiful example" left by the 20th-century Trappist martyr as well as St. Stephen 19 centuries prior who likewise prayed for those who killed him.

"Stephen appears to us as a witness of that God who has one great desire: that 'that all men be saved' (1 Tm 2:4) — this is the desire of God's heart — that no one be lost (cf. Jn 6:39; 17:1-26)," the pope said.

"Stephen is a witness to the Father — our Father — who wants good and only good for each of his children, and always; the Father who excludes no one, the Father who never tires of seeking them out and of welcoming them back when, after having strayed, they return to him in repentance (cf. Lk 15:11-32) and the Father who does not tire of forgiving."

The pope offered this reflection from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square shortly after he returned from offering Mass and opening a jubilee Holy Door in Rebibbia Prison Complex, one of the largest prisons in Italy.

"This morning, I opened a Holy Door, after that of St. Peter's, in the Roman Rebibbia prison. It was, so to speak, 'a cathedral of pain and hope,'" he said.

In addition to clemency, the forgiveness of debts is also a special characteristic of jubilees historically. 

Pope Francis expressed hope that during the jubilee year people will support the Caritas Internationalis campaign titled "Turn Debt into Hope," which aims to promote development by offering relief to countries oppressed by unsustainable debts.

"The question of debt is linked to that of peace and the 'black market' of weapons," the pope said. "No more colonizing peoples with weapons. Let us work for disarmament, let us work against hunger, against disease, against child labor. And let us pray, please, for peace throughout the world! Peace in tormented Ukraine, in Gaza, Israel, Myanmar, North Kivu, and in so many countries that are at war."

At the end of the Angelus, the pope offered a greeting to all of the pilgrims who will visit Rome for the 2025 Jubilee Year, which officially began on Christmas Eve.

"I think that many of you have made the pilgrim journey that leads to the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica. It is a good sign, a sign that expresses the meaning of our life: going toward Jesus, who loves us and opens his heart to let us enter into his kingdom of love, joy, and peace," Pope Francis said.

"May Mary, queen of martyrs, help us to be courageous witnesses of the Gospel for the salvation of the world," he said.

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ACI Africa, Dec 26, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Katsina, whose erection the Vatican made public on Oct. 16, 2023, is realizing "creative methods" of evangelization, the pioneer local ordinary said in a recent interview. 

In the Dec. 18 interview with ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, days after marking his first episcopal anniversary on Dec. 12, Bishop Gerald Mamman Musa said the innovative approaches to evangelization are bearing fruit in various sectors of his diocese, including governance, education, and pastoral care.

"Evangelization is at the heart of our work. We focus not only on traditional preaching but also on finding creative methods to reach people, especially those in remote or underserved areas through various strategies including living a good Christian life," Musa said.

He said the Katsina Diocese is realizing a "like-unto-like" approach as central to the evangelization mission. "We encourage youths to evangelize youths, farmers to evangelize fellow farmers, and professionals to connect with their peers," he explained.

"This method fosters understanding and trust, as people are more likely to listen to those they can relate to," Musa said.

He also identified the training of lay leaders with a particular focus on female catechists as another important approach to evangelization in his diocese.

"We've trained women to take a central role in catechizing children and other women," Musa said, adding: "Their natural patience and connection with children make them effective teachers."

The focus on building the capacity of female catechists, he said, "also helps us create a more inclusive and diverse team of evangelizers."

The diocese is modernizing its catechetical methods to ensure thorough preparation of catechumens and candidates before receiving the sacraments, Musa said. 

"We are developing comprehensive curricula to ensure that catechesis is not rushed," he explained. "People must deeply understand the sacraments, whether it's first Communion, confirmation, or matrimony. For example, marriage preparation now includes in-depth teachings to reduce the rising rates of divorce and separation."

The Diocese of Katsina has also invested in functional education by strengthening Catholic schools, Musa said, adding that the approach offers an opportunity for the many school dropouts in the region as well as families that cannot afford education for their children.

"Many children in our region are dropouts or lack access to quality education. We're working to ensure they not only receive religious education but also acquire the skills needed for a better future," he said.

The Katsina Diocese, the 60th diocese in Nigeria at its creation in October 2023, was carved out from the country's Diocese of Sokoto as the seventh suffragan diocese in the Archdiocese of Kaduna, alongside Kafanchan, Kano, Kontagora, Minna, Sokoto, and Zaria.

Measuring 11,200 square miles, the diocese started off with a population of 9,669,439, of which 19,000 are Catholics, according to 2023 Vatican statistics. St. Martin de Porres Church in Katsina was identified as the cathedral church of the diocese.

In the Dec. 18 interview, Musa highlighted some of the challenges the people of God under his pastoral care grapple with, including insecurity and a shortage of priests. 

He said banditry has led to attacks on some parishes and the displacement of entire farming communities. 

"We actively support those affected and provide pastoral care despite these hardships," he said.

On the shortage of priests in his diocese, Musa shared: "Manpower remains another hurdle, with a limited number of priests serving the diocese."

"To address this, we've accepted seminarians and are investing in their formation to ensure we become self-sufficient in the future," he said, adding: "This year alone, we admitted 12 seminarians out of 50 applicants."

"We're building for tomorrow so we can give back to other dioceses someday. Having received priests on 'fidei donum' from other dioceses, we too can give out when we become self-sufficient," Musa told ACI Africa.

Reflecting on his episcopal anniversary, Musa, who had pledged to foster "constructive conversations" days after his episcopal appointment, advocated for collaboration in the evangelization ministry in his diocese.

"Everyone has a role to play in spreading the Gospel, not just priests or catechists. By living according to the Gospel we preach, we can inspire others and transform lives," Musa said.

Reflecting on Christmas, the bishop called for hope informed by "Emmanuel — God is with us."

"This Christmas, we are reminded that Jesus is the reason for the season, and his presence is a beacon of hope amid despair," Musa said, adding: "Despite everything, we see God's hand in sustaining us. If not for his intervention, the situation would be far worse."

Citing Amos 5, he challenged Nigeria's leaders to foster justice. "Let justice roll on like a river and righteousness like a never-failing stream," Musa said.

"If our leaders act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God," he added, citing Micah 6, "our nation can overcome its challenges."

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 26, 2024 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Continuing St. John Paul II's mission from the 2000 Jubilee, a U.S.-based jubilee network is partnering with international aid organizations to provide debt relief for the world's poorest countries during the 2025 Jubilee Year. 

Representatives from Caritas Internationalis and Jubilee USA Network, a league of faith-based development and debt-relief organizations, announced the five-year campaign, "Turn Debt into Hope," during a Vatican press conference on Dec. 23, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network Eric LeCompte said during the conference that his organization is launching the effort "to finish the unfinished business of Jubilee 2000, when John Paul II called on the international community to provide debt relief for poor countries," according to Catholic News Service, the news agency of the U.S. bishops.

Pope Francis also issued a similar appeal during his proclamation of the 2025 Jubilee Year, calling on the world's wealthiest nations to "acknowledge the gravity of so many of their past decisions and determine to forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them." 

During the conference, LeCompte emphasised the positive effects of John Paul II's leadership and efforts to help poor countries, revealing that in the past 25 years, "we have won more than $130 billion in debt relief for the world's poorest countries." 

"In Africa alone," he said, "that has meant that 54 million children who would never have had the chance to go to school were able to do so." 

Caritas Internationalis Director of Integral Human Development Victor Genina Cervantes explained to the press that the multiyear program would function by rallying public support for its debt-relief advocacy, which seeks to "reform the global financial architecture to prioritize people and the planet."

Also present at the conference was Cardinal Silvano Tomasi, a retired Vatican diplomat who was involved in early work on debt relief agreements facilitated by the Church. 

Tomasi explained that when poor nations continue to accrue national debt, it is individuals and their families who "pay the consequences of unfair conditions placed on the financing." 

Tomasi and LeCompte underscored that their program will not only attempt to advocate debt cancellation but will also seek to establish a universal, transparent, and binding international bankruptcy process geared toward returning poor nations to financial solvency. 

Beyond the negative impact that national debt has on the people of poor counties, Cervantes pointed out that "foreign debt is also climate debt."

"The global community cannot reach its goals for stemming climate change without resolving the debt issue," he said, "helping poorer countries invest in climate-change mitigation and reduce their burdens when they must rely on international financing to recover from natural disasters caused by climate change."

Caritas Internationalis has a page dedicated to the "Turn Debt into Hope" campaign, which includes a petition that "calls on public, private, and multilateral creditors, as well as political leaders, to act with courage and compassion."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 26, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

President Joe Biden this week signed a nearly $900 billion defense spending bill despite Democratic reservations about a provision that prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from covering transgender drug prescriptions for minors.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025 provides $895 billion in defense and military spending. The annual legislation, which often receives strong bipartisan support, passed the Senate 85-14 and the House 281-140.

"This bill provides vital benefits for military personnel and their families and includes critical authorities to support our country's national defense, foreign affairs, and homeland security," Biden said in a statement.

"While I am pleased to support the critical objectives of the act, I note that certain provisions of the act raise concerns," the president added.

The law prohibits the DOD's health care system TRICARE from covering puberty-blocking drugs or hormone therapies for children when prescribed to facilitate a gender transition.

Puberty blockers delay a child's natural developments during puberty and hormone therapies give excess estrogen to boys in an effort to feminize them and excess testosterone to girls in an effort to masculinize them.

TRICARE provides health care coverage for members of the military and their families. Prior to this law, the program provided these drugs to at least several hundred children.

According to one study published by the American Public Health Association in 2023, at least 900 minors received transgender drugs in 2017 and at least 25,000 children sought treatment for gender dysphoria through TRICARE.

Adults can still receive coverage for transgender drugs through TRICARE under the law. The system already does not provide coverage for transgender surgeries.

In his statement, Biden said his administration "strongly opposes" the provision, claiming it "targets a group based on that group's gender identity and interferes with parents' roles to determine the best care for their children."

"This section undermines our all-volunteer military's ability to recruit and retain the finest fighting force the world has ever known by denying health care coverage to thousands of our service members' children," Biden claimed. 

"No service member should have to decide between their family's health care access and their call to serve our nation," the president said.

The transgender provision was the result of a compromise bill developed through negotiations among Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the House and the Senate.

When the compromise bill was introduced, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson said it "[restores] our focus on military lethality and [ends] the radical woke ideology being imposed on our military by permanently banning transgender medical treatment for minors."

Some Democrats had threatened to block the passage of the NDAA, which is essential to fund the military in the upcoming fiscal year. However, enough Democrats backed the legislation to comfortably pass the negotiated language.

Most senators voted for the final bill, with only 10 Democrats and four Republicans opposing the final language. One senator, Vice President-elect JD Vance, did not cast a vote. The majority of House Democrats opposed the final bill, but 81 members of the caucus voted in favor of the bill with the 200 Republicans who supported it.

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson criticized Biden for signing the bill, calling it the "first anti-LGBTQ+ federal law in almost 30 years" and claiming it "disgraces those who have sacrificed so much."

Many Republican lawmakers also sought to include a provision that would have ended a DOD policy that provides paid leave for military members to obtain abortions and reimburses military members and their families for the costs associated with traveling to obtain an abortion. The proposed language to end this policy was ultimately not included in the compromise bill.

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Bethlehem, Dec 26, 2024 / 10:50 am (CNA).

The atmosphere in Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born, was more relaxed this Christmas. 

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who was the object of a protest in the town at last year's celebration, spoke to the people from Manger Square, where a stage was set up.

"Our commitment this Christmas is to rebuild our trust and renew our hope for life here in Bethlehem and throughout Palestine," the patriarch said. 

"We believe that the light has come to us, and the light is Jesus Christ. We belong to the light, not to darkness. We may not have lights, but we are the light," he declared.

"Take courage, don't be afraid; we will not allow the war to erase our lives," Pizzaballa added. The war in Gaza still casts its shadow over Bethlehem, which has suffered a severe economic crisis, with shop shutters down and several hotels closed. 

Along the streets, there were some families who brought their children and asked the Patriarch for a blessing. And he did not fail to offer his greeting, a kiss, and a blessing for the young and old alike.

For its part, the municipality once again did not promote Christmas events, even though many of the local Christians would have liked a sign of celebration.

"It's our tradition. To show our faith doesn't mean forgetting those who suffer. We could have done something in a different way," George, who was born and raised in Bethlehem, told CNA.

At the nearby Basilica of the Nativity, the Franciscan sacristan, Brother Anania Jacek, prepared the Christmas Eve Mass arrangements in the Grotto of the Nativity. It was there, at the end of the Christmas Eve Mass, that the patriarch placed the statue of the baby Jesus.

As the day was coming to an end, the Church of St. Catherine — the Latin part of the Basilica of the Nativity — was filled with the faithful.

At the singing of the Gloria and the ringing of the Christmas bells, the statue of the baby Jesus in front of the altar was unveiled and incensed. At the end of the Mass, the statue was incensed on the altar and then carried in procession to the Grotto of the Nativity. It was first placed on the silver star marking the spot of Jesus' birth and then in the location traditionally identified as the manger.

"The angels' song of glory, joy, and peace seems to be out of tune after a tiring year full of tears, bloodshed, suffering, in addition to shattered hopes and crushed plans for peace and justice," the patriarch began in his homily.

Yet, "we are called by tonight's angels to live in faith and hope," he added.

"The Child of Bethlehem takes us by the hand tonight and leads us with him into history," he continued. "He accompanies us so that we make history our own to the very end and so that we walk through it with the peace of trust and hope in him." 

And then, he said, the task for the Christians of the Holy Land is to "walk on the alternative ways that the Lord shows you. We must find adequate spaces where new styles of reconciliation and brotherhood may be born and grown. We must make our families and our communities cradles of justice and peace."

That's why, Pizzaballa concluded, "it is in this year, it is here that it makes even more sense to hear the song of the angels who announce the joy of Christ's birth! That song's voice resounds with strength through the tears of those who suffer, it encourages us to make vengeance powerless through forgiveness."

In Bethlehem, the darkness of the night was once again pierced by the singing of the Gloria and the sound of bells announcing the coming of the Savior.

"Take courage!" the patriarch urged. "We must not lose hope. Let us renew our trust in God. He never leaves us alone. And here in Bethlehem, we celebrate the God-with-us and the place where he made himself known."

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CNA Staff, Dec 26, 2024 / 11:35 am (CNA).

A bankruptcy court filing this month alleges that the Diocese of Oakland, California, poured tens of millions of dollars into a diocesan fund in order to avoid a payout to survivors of clergy sexual abuse. 

A Dec. 11 filing by attorneys on behalf of a committee of abuse survivors, lodged in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, claims the diocese "perpetrated a fraudulent scheme to funnel substantial assets away from what would soon become its bankruptcy estate" into the coffers of a "non-debtor alter ego," the Oakland Parochial Fund (OPF).

In the months leading up to its bankruptcy filings, the claim alleges, the diocese "entered into a series of synthetic management and services agreements" with the fund, after which it "transferred approximately $106 million in assets" to the fund before borrowing $35 million back from it. 

Prior to those transactions, the fund "held no cash or investments and conducted no business of any kind," the filing says. 

The filing, which is heavily redacted at times, claims the money poured into the parochial fund "included approximately $92 million in cash and investments and $14 million in net loans receivable."

The transfers were "fraudulent under California state law," the filing alleges, claiming it is "beyond dispute that all corporate property of OPF is operated, supervised, or controlled by the diocese."

It further alleges that the diocese itself "is attempting to use its bankruptcy filing to obtain a litigation advantage over survivors of sexual abuse and to place the assets it owns and controls beyond the reach of those claimants." 

The document requests that the bankruptcy court either disallow the loan arrangement between the diocese and the fund or else subject the funds to the terms of the bankruptcy proceedings. 

The Oakland Diocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday regarding the filing. 

The diocese said last month that it would pay up to $200 million to settle hundreds of abuse claims filed against it. 

A proposal filed by the diocese in bankruptcy court would create a survivors' trust "to provide compensation of between approximately $160 million and $198 million or more for approximately 345 claims."

Just over $100 million of those funds were projected to come from the diocese directly, the announcement said, while up to $81 million would come from property in the diocesan real estate portfolio.

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Vatican City, Dec 25, 2024 / 12:54 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Christmas Day delivered the traditional Urbi et Orbi address and blessing in Vatican City, inviting all individuals and nations to "silence the sound of arms and overcome divisions."

Delivering his Christmas Day message overlooking crowds of thousands of international pilgrims in St. Peter's Square from the Central Loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, the pope insisted that a "just and lasting peace" can only be achieved in our world if people first turn to the "Father of Mercies." 

"Let us be reconciled with God," he said. "Then we will be reconciled with ourselves and able to be reconciled with one another, even our enemies."

"God's mercy can do all things. It unties every knot. It tears down every wall of division."

Having opened the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve to usher in the 2025 Jubilee Year, Pope Francis continued his plea on Wednesday to all people of good will to be "pilgrims of hope." 

"Let's open to him the doors of our hearts as he has opened to us the doors of his heart," he said during his Dec. 25 message.  

'Boldness' needed to negotiate peace in Ukraine and the Middle East

The Holy Father used the address to call on country leaders to "open the door" to dialogue and encounter, voicing his particular concern for vulnerable communities daily impacted by war, violence, and political unrest. 

"May the sound of weapons be silenced in Ukraine," the pope urged. "May there be the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation, and to gestures of dialogue and encounter."

The Holy Father also reiterated his call for a ceasefire in Gaza and his spiritual closeness with Christian communities spread across Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Libya. 

"May the doors of dialogue and peace be flung open throughout the region devastated by conflict!" he said.

Calls for end to 'scourge of terrorism' in Africa

The Pope also prayed for a "new season of hope" for populations in the Horn of Africa, Congo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Mozambique and Sudan.

"The humanitarian crisis that affects them is caused mainly by armed conflicts and the scourge of terrorism aggravated by the devastating effects of climate change," he said.

For Sudan, the Holy Father prayed especially that God "sustain the efforts of the international community to facilitate access to humanitarian aid for the civilian population" and for renewed negotiations towards a ceasefire between warring factions.

Respecting the rights and dignity of each person

Drawing upon the theme of "hope," Francis prayed for political authorities in Myanmar, Haiti, Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Cyprus, to bring back peace in their countries.

"May they work, especially in this jubilee year, to advance the common good and respect the dignity of each person overcoming political divisions," he said.

"May this jubilee be an opportunity to tear down walls of separation and the ideological walls that so often mark political life," he added.    

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Vatican City, Dec 24, 2024 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

Hope lives, Pope Francis said in his homily for Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican, as he reflected on the incredible fact that the infinite God became a small Child.

"God is Emmanuel, he is God-with-us," the pope said in St. Peter's Basilica on Dec. 24. "The infinitely great has become small; the divine light has shone through the darkness of the world; the glory of heaven has appeared on earth. And how? In the littleness of a Child. And if God comes, even when our hearts resemble a poor manger, then we can say: hope is not dead, hope is alive, and it envelops our lives forever."

The 88-year-old Pope Francis presided over Mass during the Night for the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord after opening the Holy Door of the basilica to officially start the 2025 Jubilee Year.

With the opening of the Holy Door, the pontiff said, "each of us can enter into the mystery of this proclamation of grace."

"This is the night when the door of hope has opened wide on the world; this is the night when God says to each one: there is hope for you too!" he said in his Christmas homily.

Francis said the Jubilee, which has the theme "pilgrims of hope," is an opportunity for all people to have hope in the Gospel, hope in love, and hope in forgiveness.

"It invites us to rediscover the joy of the encounter with the Lord, calls us to spiritual renewal, and commits us to the transformation of the world, so that this may truly become a Jubilee time," he underlined.

The world really needs hope right now, Pope Francis continued, especially amid wars, the bombing of hospitals and schools, and the machine-gunning of children.

While symptoms of a cold kept the pope indoors on the weekend before Christmas, he was well enough on Tuesday to open the Holy Door and preside over Christmas Eve Mass. It was also one of his first public appearances sporting hearing aids.

During the rite of opening of the Holy Door, Francis, seated in his wheelchair, leaned forward to knock on the gold door, which had been sealed since the last jubilee. As assistants opened the two sides of the door, the choir sang in Latin: "This is the Lord's own gate. Where the upright enter. I enter your house, O Lord."

The pope then passed through the door and into the basilica, followed by cardinals, bishops, priests, and ministers for Christmas Mass, as well as representatives of other Christian churches and Catholics from five continents wearing traditional clothing from their countries.

"On this night it is for you that the 'holy door' of God's heart opens," the pontiff said in his homily. "Jesus, God-with-us, is born for you, for me, for us, for every man and woman. And, you know, with him joy flourishes, with him life changes, with him hope does not disappoint."

He said the task of Christians during the Jubilee Year is to bring hope into different situations of life, because Christian hope "is not the happy ending of a movie" to be passively awaited. "It is the Lord's promise to be welcomed here, now, in this suffering and groaning earth."

"Let us learn from the example of the shepherds: the hope born on this night does not tolerate the indolence of the sedentary and the laziness of those who have settled into their comforts — and so many of us, we are in danger of settling into our comforts," Pope Francis warned.

"Hope," he continued, "does not admit the false prudence of those who do not get off the hook for fear of compromising themselves and the calculation of those who think only of themselves; hope is incompatible with the quiet life of those who do not raise their voices against evil and against the injustices consummated on the skin of the poorest."

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Vatican City, Dec 24, 2024 / 14:10 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica before Mass on Christmas Eve, officially launching the Jubilee Year 2025.

"O Christ, bright star of the morning, incarnation of infinite love, long awaited salvation, sole hope of the world, illumine our hearts with your radiant splendor," the pope prayed on Dec. 24, during the rite of opening of the Holy Door, which was preceded by readings from the Old and New Testaments, the singing of the O Antiphons, and the proclamation of Christmas.

"In this season of grace and reconciliation grant that we may put our trust in your mercy alone and discover once more the way that leads to the Father," Francis continued. "Open our souls to the working of the Holy Spirit, that he may soften the hardness of our hearts, that enemies may speak to each other again, adversaries may join hands, and peoples seek to meet together."

The rite to open the Holy Door — sealed since the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2016 — included the proclamation of a passage from the Gospel of John, in which Jesus says: "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

Seated in his wheelchair, the 88-year-old Pope Francis leaned forward to knock on the gold Holy Door. As assistants opened the two sides of the door, the choir sang in Latin: "This is the Lord's own gate. Where the upright enter. I enter your house, O Lord."

After breaking open the special door, Francis stopped at the threshold to pray briefly in silence as the bells of St. Peter's Basilica pealed out into the cool Rome night.

The pope passed through the Holy Door into the basilica followed by cardinals, bishops, priests, and ministers for Christmas Mass, as well as representatives of other Christian churches and Catholics from five continents wearing traditional clothing from their countries. The choir sang the Jubilee hymn, "Pilgrims of Hope."

While symptoms of a cold kept the pope indoors on the weekend before Christmas, he was well enough on Tuesday to open the Holy Door and preside over Mass during the Night for the Nativity of the Lord. It was also one of Francis' first public appearances sporting hearing aids.

The first ordinary jubilee since the Great Jubilee of 2000 is on the theme of hope, a virtue that "does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God's love," Pope Francis said in Spes Non Confundit, the "bull of indiction" formally announcing the Holy Year.

"For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the 'door' of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as 'our hope,'" he wrote.

The Jubilee, a year filled with special spiritual, artistic, and cultural events in Rome, will conclude during the Christmas season 2025. An important part of the Jubilee is the opportunity to receive a plenary indulgence — a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin.

Some of the biggest events of the Jubilee of Hope will be the canonizations of Blessed Carlo Acutis, during the Jubilee of Teenagers on April 27, and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, during the Jubilee of Young People on August 3, and the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly, on the weekend of May 30-June 1.

Pope Francis will also open a Holy Door in Rome's Rebibbia Prison on the feast of St. Stephen on Dec. 26.

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Vatican City, Dec 24, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

On Christmas Eve in 1517, a saint experienced a mystical vision in which the Blessed Virgin Mary placed the Christ Child in his arms as he offered his first Mass in Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major.

The little-known but profound experience of the newborn Jesus occurred within the storied walls of the Marian basilica's Chapel of the Nativity, where St. Cajetan of Thiene prayed before the relics of Christ's manger.

"In the hour of his most holy birth, I found myself in the true and material most holy Nativity," St. Cajetan wrote to Sister Laura Mignani, an Augustinian nun and spiritual confidant. 

"From the hands of the timid Virgin, I took that tender child, the Eternal Word made flesh."

St. Cajetan also recounted that St. Jerome, whose relics are said to rest in the basilica, appeared in the vision and encouraged him to embrace the child. 

"To encourage me was the most blessed Jerome, my father, a great lover of the Nativity, whose remains rest at the entrance of the same crib," he wrote.

The vision, which St. Cajetan said occurred again on Jan. 1 and Jan. 6 during the feast days of the Circumcision and Epiphany, has remained a central spiritual moment for Congregation of Clerics Regular, or Theatines, the order of priests he co-founded.

In an interview with CNA in Rome, Father Juan Roberto Orqueida, the Theatine order's chief archivist, revealed a copy of St. Cajetan's letter, the original of which is housed in Naples.

Orqueida noted that St. Cajetan was ordained on Sept. 30, the feast of St. Jerome, and deliberately waited for three months in order to celebrate his first Mass on Christmas Eve in the Chapel of the Nativity.

The choice was deeply symbolic. The Basilica of St. Mary Major has long been a cornerstone of devotion to the Nativity of Christ. Known as "the Bethlehem of the West," it houses a relic believed to be fragments of the manger in which Jesus was laid, which can now be venerated in the crypt beneath the basilica's main altar.

Orqueida underlined that devotion to the Nativity of Christ remains a central part of the spirituality of the Theatine order today, "especially to see in the child Jesus, God who becomes part of our humanity, becomes man."

St. Cajetan was one of the great reformers of the Church during the period of the Reformation. He is remembered as the "saint of divine providence," a title reflecting his unwavering trust in God. He co-founded the Theatine order in 1524 to counter the corruption of his time, combining monastic poverty with active ministry caring for the poor and marginalized.

Father Enrico Danese described St. Cajetan's humility and austerity: "He was blameless, chaste, meek, merciful, and full of all pity toward the sick. With his own hands he fed them and served them. As for his room, it was poor. There was a poor straw sack where he rested … His dress was of coarse cloth."

St. Cajetan, canonized in 1671, is often depicted in art holding the infant Jesus, as is St. Anthony of Padua, who also had a mystical experience involving the Christ Child.

Near Rome's Piazza Navona, the Basilica of Sant'Andrea della Valle, the Theatine order's basilica in the Eternal City, a grand altarpiece painting and a statue depict St. Cajetan holding the infant Jesus.

At Christmastime, the Sant'Andrea basilica hosts an elaborate display of dozens of Nativity scenes, a tradition that echoes St. Cajetan's devotion to the Christ Child.

Hidden in the crypt of the Chapel of the Nativity, to the right of the main altar in St. Mary Major, a marble sculpture of St. Cajetan holding the infant Jesus identifies the sacred spot where the vision occurred. (St. Ignatius of Loyola also chose to offer his first Mass in the same chapel in 1538.)

As pilgrims gaze upon the marble statue of Cajetan holding the Christ Child, they are invited to enter the mystery of the Nativity and, like the saint himself, embrace the tender and eternal Word made flesh.

The Theatine Order has offered this prayer to St. Cajetan to be prayed in front of any image of the baby Jesus during the Christmas season:

"Gentle baby Jesus, you, in an admirable vision, wanted to come from the embrace of your mother to those of your priest St. Cajetan, who was pleasing to you because of the holiness of his life and the great faith he always had in your providence. Through his intercession, turn to us your glance, which is part of the delight of the blessed in heaven, and listen to the prayer we send to you from the bottom of our hearts. We present to you the filial abandon which St. Cajetan had in you, confident that, through his intercession, everything we ask in front of your venerated image will be granted to us. Amen."

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