On the 10th day of Christmas, OSV News gave to thee…a daily news podcast!
Actually, we’ve been quietly publishing the OSV Newscast since before Christmas. If you haven’t yet had time to read the Catholic news of the day, you can now listen to our top headlines each weekday evening on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms. Subscribe today, and tell your friends!
As we provide every week, below is a list of some OSV News stories from this week — and, as always, you can find even more at osvnews.com and on our social media @OSVNews.
Megan Marley
Digital Editor
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Family credits ‘Little Cajun Saint’ for healthy ‘miracle child’ born after dire diagnosis
A Catholic family in New York state is crediting the apparently miraculous healing of their newborn to the intercession of Charlene Marie Richard, a young girl from Louisiana on the path to sainthood known as the “Little Cajun Saint.”
CALIFORNIA: Olivia Hussey, known for roles as Mary and Mother Teresa, dies at 73
MARYLAND: National Seton Shrine kicks off 50th anniversary canonization of ‘One of Us’
MINNESOTA: Mother-daughter duo’s gingerbread replica of long-awaited new Catholic school ‘a labor of love’
Catholic high schools mourn alums among New Orleans victims
Several Catholic high schools are mourning former students among the victims of a Jan. 1 terrorist attack in New Orleans. Fourteen people were killed and dozens wounded after a rented pickup truck driven by suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar plowed into New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street.
BISHOP: NOLA archbishop: ‘God always gives us hope, even in the midst of tragic situations’
VATICAN: Pope prays for victims of New Orleans attack
Masses launching Holy Year in dioceses emphasize ‘hope that does not disappoint’
Bishops worldwide inaugurated the 2025 Holy Year, themed “Pilgrims of Hope,” Dec. 29 with special Masses in cathedrals around the world. The Masses included the Rite of the Opening of the Jubilee Year with prayers, readings and processions with a designated jubilee cross.
FAITH IN ACTION: In the Jubilee Year, feed the hungry, says Catholic charity
HOLY LAND: Change of heart key to Holy Year indulgence, Latin patriarch says in Nazareth
MEDIA MINDFULNESS: Being ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ in the digital landscape
Breathing life back into the world
Scott Richert reflects on mortality, the meaning of words, and the Word who gives meaning and life.
Report: Homelessness reaches new record high amid affordable housing crunch
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released Dec. 27 its 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time Estimates, an annual report of the number of individuals in settings including shelters, temporary housing, and those who are unsheltered. The report found more than 771,000 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024, marking an 18% increase from the previous year. It is the highest number observed since the annual report began in 2007.
ARIZONA: Arizona bishops, faith leaders denounce spectre of immigration raids on churches
GEORGIA: Jimmy Carter, first president to host a pope at the White House, dies at 100
ILLINOIS: Jail ministry, little noticed but in demand, ‘helps people hear the voice of Christ’
Pope Francis, bishops pray for families of those who perished in South Korean plane crash
A passenger plane arriving from Bangkok exploded after skidding off the runway at the airport in Muan on Dec. 29, crashing into a concrete fence and killing most of the 181 people on board. The suspected cause was a failure of the front landing gear to deploy. The crash, one of South Korea’s worst aviation disasters, occurred around 9:03 a.m. local time. Pope Francis expressed his condolences, praying for the victims and their families during his Angelus prayer on the Feast of the Holy Family.
SPAIN: Spanish public television mocks the Sacred Heart of Jesus on New Year’s Eve
Religious freedom ‘getting worse’ in Russia, Belarus and central Asia, says expert
INTERVIEW: Researcher Felix Corley of Forum 18 — a news service that partners with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee in defending freedom of religion, thought and conscience — reflected, in an interview with OSV News, on religious freedom in Russia, Belarus, occupied Ukraine and other nations in the region. Overall, said Corley, “the message seems to be that the situation is getting worse in many or most of the countries” his organization monitors.
BANGLADESH: Indigenous Christian village in Bangladesh burned to the ground on Christmas
BELARUS: Catholic priest in Belarus convicted of treason, sentenced to 11 years in penal colony
NIGERIA: Gunmen shoot Catholic priest dead in Nigeria on Boxing Day
Custos: Wish of Holy Land Christians is to start again and live in peace in land of ancestors
Amid the turmoil of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Father Francesco Patton, the custos of the Holy Land, has a unique perspective on the plight of Christians in the region. As head of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land — which has been entrusted with safeguarding the holy sites of Christianity for over 800 years — Father Patton has been a steadfast advocate for peace and mutual respect among different religious and ethnic communities. In the days following Christmas, OSV News sat down with the custos in the Franciscan Curia to discuss the complexities of life in the Holy Land during the war, and the devastating drama of Christians living in the Gaza Strip.
Being human: The challenging task of 2025
Elizabeth Scalia muses on current trends, virtue and simply being human in 2025.