Pope Francis arrives for a consistory at St. Peter's Basilica with visible bruising on his face, Vatican City, Dec. 7, 2024. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni explained that the Pope suffered a contusion after hitting his chin on a bedside table the previous morning. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Dec 7, 2024 / 15:39 pm (CNA).

As the iconic Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris reopened its doors five years after a devastating fire, Pope Francis on Saturday called the church’s restoration a “prophetic sign” of the Church’s renewal in France.

In a message read by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the apostolic nuncio to France, during Saturday’s reopening ceremony, Pope Francis expressed his joy at joining “in spirit and prayer” with the faithful gathered for the historic occasion.

The pope recalled the “terrible fire” that severely damaged the cathedral in April 2019, saying: “Our hearts were heavy at the risk of seeing a masterpiece of Christian faith and architecture disappear, a millennial witness to your national history.”

“Today, sadness and mourning give way to joy, celebration, and praise,” the Holy Father wrote in his message, addressed to Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris.

The pope particularly praised the firefighters “who worked so courageously to save this historic monument from collapse” and acknowledged the “determined commitment of public authorities” along with the “great wave of international generosity” that made the restoration possible.

This outpouring of support, Francis noted, demonstrates not only an attachment to art and history but also “the symbolic and sacred value of such an edifice is still widely perceived, from the smallest to the greatest.”

Looking to the future, the pope emphasized the cathedral’s role as a beacon of faith: “Dear faithful of Paris and France, this house, which our Heavenly Father inhabits, is yours; you are its living stones.”

The pontiff expressed hope that Notre Dame would continue to welcome visitors from all backgrounds, noting it would soon “be visited and admired again by immense crowds of people of all conditions, origins, religions, languages and cultures, many of them in search of the absolute and meaning in their lives.”

The message concluded with Pope Francis imparting his apostolic blessing and invoking “the protection of Notre Dame de Paris over the Church in France and the entire French nation.”

The reopening marked the culmination of an intensive five-year restoration project following the April 2019 blaze that threatened to destroy the historic Gothic cathedral, which has stood as a symbol of French Catholicism for over 850 years.

Ahead of the event, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris told CNA that the reopening of Notre Dame is “a renaissance, a rediscovery for the priests and faithful of Paris who have been waiting for this moment for five years.” On Saturday night, Ulrich commenced the reopening ceremony by striking the doors with his crozier three times.

The cathedral welcomed over 2,500 faithful and dignitaries on Saturday, including U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, Britain's Prince William, Tesla founder Elon Musk, and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Outside, the word “Merci” — thank you — was projected onto Notre Dame's facade, honoring those who saved and restored the cathedral.

Sharing the image on X, President Macron expressed his gratitude to “our firefighters and all the forces that saved Notre-Dame, to all the craftsmen and companions who have made it even more beautiful, to the patrons and generous donors from around the world, to all those who helped keep the promise.”

The inaugural Mass at Notre Dame will be celebrated on Dec. 8 at 10:30 a.m. local time. The new high altar designed by Guillaume Badet will be consecrated.

The Mass will be full of symbols: Holy water will be sprinkled on the people, then on the altar and the pulpit as a sign of purification of these elements intended for sacred use. 

Nearly 170 bishops from France and around the world will participate in the Mass, as will a priest from each of the 106 parishes of the Diocese of Paris and a priest from each of the seven Eastern-rite Catholic Churches. 

This story was last updated on Dec. 7, 2024, with further details of the event.

Pope Francis places the red biretta on Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, archbishop of Naples, during the consistory for the creation of 21 new cardinals in St. Peter's Basilica, Dec. 7, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Dec 7, 2024 / 12:09 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis created 21 new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, urging them to resist the “seduction of power” and instead follow “the path of Jesus.”

“In spiritual life as in pastoral life, we risk focusing on what is incidental and forgetting what is essential,” the pope cautioned. “Too often, secondary things replace what is necessary, external appearances overshadow what truly counts.”

Pope Francis, who was sporting visible bruising on his face after hitting his chin on a bedside table the previous morning according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, reminded the cardinals to stay rooted in Christ.

“We should constantly be returning to the center, to what is basic, and divest ourselves of all that is superfluous, in order to clothe ourselves in Christ.” 

The pope highlighted that the term “cardinal” symbolizes a “hinge,” emphasizing their vital role as in holding the Church together.

The new cardinals include Archbishop Frank Leo of Toronto, Archbishop Dominique Joseph Mathieu of Tehran-Isfahan, and Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo, reflecting Pope Francis’ emphasis on the Church’s global mission.

Ten of the new cardinals belong to religious orders, including Dominicans, Franciscans, and the Society of the Divine Word—a notable proportion from consecrated life.

Cardinals assigned titular churches in Rome

As tradition dictates, each new cardinal received a titular church in Rome, symbolizing their connection to the Diocese of Rome and the pope’s pastoral ministry. 

Archbishop Rolandas Makrickas was assigned the deaconry of Sant’Eustachio, a historically significant minor basilica near the Pantheon in Rome’s historic center, while Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe was given the deaconry of SS. Nomi di Gesù e Maria in via Lata, located on the Via del Corso, part of one of Rome’s most fashionable districts.

With these appointments, the College of Cardinals now includes 140 members eligible to vote in a future conclave. Of these, 110 — or 79% — were appointed by Pope Francis. 

Synodality and fraternity 

Cardinal Angelo Acerbi, speaking on behalf of the new cardinals, reflected on the Synod on Synodality and Pope Francis’ new encyclical, Dilexit nos.

“We are united today by profound gratitude toward the Supreme Pontiff and by a sincere desire to serve in ecclesial unity,” he said. 

The 99-year-old cardinal described the pope’s recent encyclical — which explores the human and divine love of the Sacred Heart of Christ — as an inspiration for the pastoral missions entrusted to the new cardinals.

On Sunday, the new cardinals will concelebrate Mass with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, marking their first liturgical act as members of the College of Cardinals. 

The liturgy will emphasize Mary’s purity and dedication, reflecting the themes of humility and service woven throughout the consistory.

This story was last updated on Dec. 7, 2024, with further details of the event.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Becoming a cardinal is an insistent call to put Jesus at the center of one's life, to love the poor as he did and to strengthen the bonds of unity within the Catholic Church, Pope Francis said as he created 21 new cardinals from 17 nations.

"To walk in the path of Jesus means, in the end, to be builders of communion and unity," the pope told the new cardinals during an afternoon consistory Dec. 7 in St. Peter's Basilica.

Cardinal Angelo Acerbi, a 99-year-old former Vatican diplomat, was the first to receive his red hat from Pope Francis. And Cardinal Domenico Battaglia of Naples, whom Pope Francis added to the list of new cardinals in November -- a month after announcing the others -- was the last.

Cardinal Francis Leo of Toronto was the only North American among the new cardinals. 

Pope Francis presided over the prayer service with a large bruise on the lower part of his right cheek and chin. He had fallen early Dec. 6, and photos from his audiences that morning showed him wearing a small bandage on his chin.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, said the pope had hit his chin on his bedside table.

The creation of cardinals took place within a prayer service, which included reading the Gospel of St. Mark's account of the Apostles James and John asking Jesus to "grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." 

The disciples' concern about earthly glory also can infect followers of Jesus today, the pope said. "Our hearts can go astray, allowing us to be dazzled by the allure of prestige, the seduction of power, by an overly human zeal for the Lord. That is why we need to look within, to stand before God in humility and before ourselves in sincerity, and ask: Where is my heart going? Where is it directed?"

"Among the disciples, the worm of competition was destroying unity, while the path that Jesus walked was leading him to Calvary" and the ultimate sacrifice, Pope Francis told the new cardinals and thousands of people -- including current members of the College of Cardinals -- who gathered to celebrate with them.

On the cross Jesus fulfilled his saving mission, the pope said, and he tore down "the dividing wall of hostility" so that "all might see themselves as children of the same Father and as brothers and sisters of one another."

"For this reason, the Lord is looking to you, who come from different backgrounds and cultures, and represent the catholicity of the church," the pope told them. "He is calling you to be witnesses of fraternity, artisans of communion and builders of unity." 

In one reflection of the church's diversity and universality, four of the new cardinals were not wearing a red cassock with a white surplice, topped by a red cape. Instead, the two cardinals from Eastern Catholic churches -- Cardinals Mykola Bychok, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic, and George Jacob Koovakad, a Syro-Malabar Catholic -- wore vestments from their church traditions. And the two Dominicans -- Cardinals Timothy Radcliffe, a theologian, and Jean-Paul Vesco, archbishop of Algiers -- wore their white habits.

Pope Francis gave each of the new cardinals from the Latin-rite church a red zucchetto, a red biretta and a ring. Cardinals Bychok and Koovakad received special headdresses.

And echoing the practice centuries ago when the clergy of Rome elected the pope, the bishop of Rome, each of the new cardinals was assigned a title or "titular" church in the city, making them members of the diocese's clergy.

Pope Francis asked the cardinals to wear the cardinals' red as a reminder of their call to "be fearless witnesses to Christ and his Gospel in the city of Rome and in faraway regions.

During the consistory, the new cardinals made a profession of faith by reciting the Creed in Latin and made an oath of fidelity to Pope Francis and his "canonically elected" successors.

With the consistory, the College of Cardinals reached 253 members, 140 of whom were under the age of 80 and eligible to enter a conclave to elect a new pope. 

Speaking on behalf of the group, Cardinal Acerbi thanked Pope Francis and emphasized how the new cardinals were committed to strengthening the unity of the church and promoting peace at a time when, "unfortunately, the human family is disturbed and disfigured by inequalities, wars and poverty in many parts of the world."

In his homily, the pope told the new cardinals that the Lord was calling them to be "a radiant sign in the midst of a society obsessed with appearances and power" by not arguing over who is the greatest or who is right most often.

"Love one another with fraternal love and be servants to one another, servants of the Gospel," Pope Francis told them.

Pope Francis meets with the College of Cardinals on July 1, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Dec 6, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

Out of the 21 cardinals who will be created Dec. 7 in Pope Francis’ 10th consistory at the Vatican, 10 new cardinals — almost half — are members of religious congregations or institutes.

Since the pope himself belongs to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and has consistently considered the presence of men religious in the College of Cardinals during his consistories, it’s not surprising that he would choose new cardinals from among the Church’s many congregations and institutes for men religious. 

What is unusual, however, is the large number of cardinals from religious orders and institutes named in this latest consistory and the diversity of communities represented.

The 10 religious are divided as follows:

• Three are Franciscans (two are Friars Minor and one Conventual).

• Two are from the Society of the Divine Word (Verbiti).

• Two are Dominicans.

• There is one each from the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians), the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo (Scalabrinians), and the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists).

The new cardinals are:

• Archbishop Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, OFM, metropolitan archbishop of Guayaquil, Ecuador (Franciscan)

• Archbishop Jaime Spengler, OFM, metropolitan archbishop of Porto Alegre, Brazil; president of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference; and president of Latin American Episcopal Council, CELAM (Franciscan)

• Archbishop Dominique Joseph Mathieu, OFM Conv, archbishop of Tehran-Ispahan, Iran (Conventual Franciscan)

• Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi, SVD, metropolitan archbishop of Tokyo and president of Caritas Internationalis (Society of the Divine Word/Verbiti)

• Archbishop László Német, SVD, metropolitan archbishop of Belgrade, Serbia (Society of the Divine Word/Verbiti)

• Archbishop Jean-Paul Vesco, OP, metropolitan archbishop of Algiers, Algeria (Dominican)

• Archbishop Vicente Bokalic Iglic, CM, archbishop of Santiago del Estero, Argentina (Congregation of the Mission/Vincentians)

• Bishop Mykola Byčok, CSSR, eparch of St. Peter and Paul of Melbourne of the Ukrainians in Australia (Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer/Redemptorists)

• Father Timothy Radcliffe, OP, former master general of the Order of Preachers as well as current spiritual assistant of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (Dominican)

• Father Fabio Baggio, CS, undersecretary for the migrants and refugees section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo/Scalabrinians)

As noted, the new cardinals from religious communities make up almost half of the newest class and represent the largest group of men religious chosen in one consistory throughout Pope Francis’ nearly 12-year pontificate. The closest was in 2019, when eight of 13 new cardinals were men religious.

In all, out of the 163 cardinals created in the 10 consistories of his pontificate, Pope Francis has chosen 55 men religious from more than 20 religious communities. He has thus averaged between four and five men religious in each consistory.

Eight cardinals are Jesuits, including Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and two prominent figures of the pontificate: Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, who was also the relator general of the Synod on Synodality, and Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Six are Salesians, including Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, Myanmar, and Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero of Rabat, Morocco. The Capuchin Franciscans claim four members, including Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, who led the African bishops’ opposition to Fiducia Supplicans, which permitted blessings of same-sex couples; and Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the longtime preacher of the Papal Household. 

Other notable cardinals on the list are: the Redemptorist Joseph William Tobin, metropolitan archbishop of Newark, New Jersey; the Discalced Carmelite Anders Arborelius, bishop of Stockholm, Sweden, and a convert to Catholicism; the late Comboni Missionary Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, one of the leading experts in interreligious dialogue, who died at the end of November; the Consolata Missionary Giorgio Marengo, apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, one of the youngest members of the College of Cardinals; and the American-born Augustinian Robert Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. 

After the latest consistory, among the living cardinals stretching back to the pontificate of St. John Paul II, there will be a total of 11 Salesians, nine Jesuits, five Capuchin Franciscans, five Friars Minor, four Dominicans, three Conventional Franciscan Friars, two Spiritans, two Claretians, two Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, two Missionaries of Africa (the White Fathers), two Redemptorists, two Society of the Divine Word (Verbites), and one from each of the following communities: Eudists, Schoenstatt Fathers, Cistercians, Augustinian Recollects, Congregation of Holy Cross, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,  Discalced Carmelites, Sulpicians, Mariamite Maronites, Scalabrinians, Legionaries of Christ, Consolata Missionaries, and the Augustinians. There are also two members of Opus Dei. 

A question that will be asked, of course, is whether cardinals who belong to religious communities are more heavily represented in the College of Cardinals under Pope Francis than his immediate predecessors. 

Among the 140 cardinal-electors after the conclusion of this latest consistory, there are now 35 cardinals who are religious, meaning they represent nearly 25% of the total body of voters. By comparison, in 2005, at the time of John Paul II’s death, there were 117 cardinal-electors who were eligible to participate in the subsequent conclave (two ultimately did not take part). Of these 20 were men religious, meaning they comprised 17% of the voters. 

In 2013, there were 115 cardinal-electors eligible to take part in the election of Pope Benedict XVI’s successor after his resignation. There were 18 men religious among the electors, comprising 15.5% of the voters. One of them, of course, was elected pope — the Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who took the name Francis. 

This story was based on a story first published by ACI Stampa, CNA's Italian-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Left to right: Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe, Archbishop Fernando Chomali, Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo, Archbishop Rolandas Makrickas, and Bishop Mykola Bychok, CSsR, will be made cardinals in a consistory on Dec. 7, 2024. / Credit: EWTN News; Marco Mancini/ACI Stampa

Vatican City, Dec 6, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

Several cardinal-designates set to receive their red hats from Pope Francis this weekend emphasized the importance of serving the Church’s universal mission while addressing contemporary challenges facing their local Churches.

“I am with my heart, and I would say with my whole body, for a synodal vision, because already in my country in 2017, the vision of the Church was one of communion, serving everyone,” Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo of Abidjan told EWTN News on Dec. 6.

The Ivorian archbishop emphasized that his elevation reflects a broader recognition of the Church in Côte d’Ivoire.

“I think so, because personally I don’t feel so intellectual to receive the purple. It is the whole country that has had good relations with the Holy See, and then John Paul II went to Côte d’Ivoire three times,” he said.

Ukrainian voice on being chosen

At 44, Bishop Mykola Bychok, CSsR, will be among the youngest members ever elevated to the College of Cardinals.

“First of all, this is not my fault. I was called, and I was appointed by the Holy Father Francis. Why I was chosen? I don’t know. Maybe in future God will open or show me what was the main reason that actually I was appointed at age 44.”

The Ukrainian bishop pledged to use his new position to continue raising awareness about the ongoing war in his homeland. “Right now, Ukraine is at war. We are fighting for our independence, for religious freedom — for three years since the official invasion of the Russian Federation,” he said.

“Every night, drones and missiles are flying to Ukraine. In the last few days, my native city Ternopil, which is 250 kilometers from the border with Poland, was under attack, especially power plants, as well as some civilian buildings. That is the reality of the war,” he added.

Vatican diplomat sees missionary focus

Archbishop Rolandas Makrickas shared insights from his years of diplomatic service across several continents, emphasizing the Church’s fundamental missionary character.

“In every country I saw that the Church is so different, but that we have same roots, and we have the same tasks to do, and the task is always to remain missionary, in one country or in another country, on one continent or on another,” the Lithuanian prelate told CNA.

Archbishop Fernando Chomali of Santiago, Chile, stressed the need for Church leadership to face contemporary challenges with spiritual strength.

“I was delighted, I sensed a very great awareness of the responsibility of being a cardinal and especially thinking about those people who need a strong voice,” Chomali said.

“I have to think above all about the poor, those who are very much in need of someone to support them. Also, I have to take care especially of the young people who don’t have much hope right now in a very cold society.”

The Chilean prelate also addressed his country’s recent challenges. “We have worked strongly to end all forms of abuse — at the level of the parishes, at the level of the schools, university level, at the level of the dioceses, at all levels,” he said.

Dominican friar reflects on fraternity

Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe connected his new role to Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti.

“I look forward really to being of service to him [the Holy Father] in whatever way I can. Right at the beginning, I really don’t know what this will involve,” the English Dominican said. 

“I think for the Holy Father, his great encyclical Fratelli Tutti, all brothers and sisters, and I am a brother, so I hope as a brother of St. Dominic, I hope maybe I have some understanding, some little understanding of what it means to live fraternity today,” he said.

The consistory for the creation of new cardinals will take place Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica. The new cardinals will concelebrate Mass with Pope Francis the following day, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament along route of Chartres pilgrimage June 9, 2019. / Credit: Benjamin Crockett/EWTN

Vatican City, Dec 6, 2024 / 09:55 am (CNA).

The Vatican Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is reportedly looking into enforcing restrictions on the Latin Mass at the annual Chartres pilgrimage, according to a French media outlet.

The three-day walking pilgrimage from Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to the Chartres over Pentecost weekend culminates in a massive Latin Mass inside the Notre-Dame de Chartres Cathedral. The pilgrimage drew a record attendance of 18,000 people earlier this year.

Citing anonymous sources in Paris and Rome, La Croix reported that Vatican officials are examining whether the Latin Mass offered in the Chartres cathedral at the conclusion of the popular pilgrimage is in accordance with the restrictions laid out in Traditionis Custodes, the motu proprio Pope Francis issued in 2021 that sharply curtailed the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass worldwide.

In February 2023, Pope Francis issued a rescript that required bishops to seek specific approval from the Dicastery for Divine Worship before designating the use of additional parish churches for the Latin Mass.

Last year, the Vatican enforced restrictions on the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage, which was denied permission to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica.

The 2025 edition of the Chartres pilgrimage organized by the Notre-Dame de Chrétienne association is scheduled to take place from June 7–9, 2025.

The reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris this weekend would make it possible for the pilgrimage to begin inside of the Paris cathedral for the first time since the Notre Dame fire in 2019.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Anyone interested in Catholic Church can now see a detailed, interactive breakdown of the body that will elect the next pope.

The Vatican launched a "dashboard" for the College of Cardinals Dec. 5, allowing users of the web page to see a comprehensive list of the church's cardinals and sort them by age, rank, country of origin, electoral status and religious order. Initially it was available only in Italian.

The dashboard, created with Microsoft Power BI -- an AI tool designed to visually organize data -- was published on the Vatican press office's public website just two days before Pope Francis was scheduled to create 21 new cardinals Dec. 7.

The page -- https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/documentation/cardinali---statistiche/dashboard-collegio-cardinalizio.html -- allows users to see a map of where current cardinals are from, as well as the percentage of cardinals from each region who are under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in conclave. As of Dec. 5, for example, 47.8% of cardinals from Europe are eligible to vote in a conclave while 100% of cardinals from Oceania are eligible electors.

Cardinals lose their right to vote in a conclave on their 80th birthday or when they lose the rights and privileges of a cardinal, as was the case with Cardinal Angelo Becciu, former prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, who was convicted by a Vatican court for financial malfeasance related to when he was substitute for the Vatican Secretariat of State.

Beyond age, rank and geographical distribution, users can also sort cardinals by precedence, which is based on the timing of their appointment as cardinals and their seniority within their rank and dictates matters such as seating arrangements and the order of liturgical processions. The College of Cardinals is divided into three ranks -- cardinal bishops, priests and deacons -- which reflect a cardinal's responsibilities or seniority within the church's hierarchy.

Previously, the Vatican website only offered separate lists of cardinals, organized alphabetically by name, by country, by age or grouped according to the pope who appointed them.

According to the Vatican statistics, which include the 21 soon-to-be cardinals, there are 253 members of the College of Cardinals, 140 of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave.

St. Nicholas, by Jaroslav Čermák (1831-1878). / Credit: Galerie Art Praha via Wikimedia (public domain)

Vatican City, Dec 6, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Nicholas, whose feast day is celebrated on Dec. 6, is known to possibly be the real-life inspiration for the beloved Christmas character of Santa Claus.

Not a lot is known about the historical Nicholas, who was bishop of Myra, a Greek city in modern-day Turkey, during the fourth century A.D.

But there are many stories and legends that explain his reputation as a just and upright man, charitable gift-giver, and miracle-worker.

Here are five things to know and share about St. Nicholas:

1. There is a legend behind why St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children.

Many people know that St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children, but they may not know why he has that title.

There is a grisly legend that says that during a famine in Myra, three young boys were lured into a butcher’s shop, where they were killed and then brined in a wooden barrel with the intention of being sold as “ham.” The good bishop worked a miracle, bringing the pickled children back to life and saving them from a gruesome fate.

This story became the subject of many portrayals of Nicholas in art, especially during the Middle Ages. Some people believe depictions of Bishop Nicholas with the three boys led to his reputation as a protector of children.

The legend of the brining may explain how he also became, oddly, the patron saint of brewers and coopers (people who make wooden casks, barrels, vats, troughs, and similar containers from timber).

2. He is one of the foremost saints in the Russian Orthodox Church.

St. Nicholas is a unifying figure among Catholics and Orthodox Christians since both churches venerate him.

He is incredibly important in the Russian Orthodox Church, where he is known as St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for the many miracles attributed to him both during and after his life.

To the Orthodox, Nicholas is principally honored for his qualities as a holy bishop and a good shepherd of his people.

Also, in their weekly liturgical cycle, which dedicates different days of the week to Jesus Christ and other saints, only three are specifically named: Mary, the Mother of God, John the Forerunner (known to Catholics as St. John the Baptist), and St. Nicholas.

Nicholas did not leave behind any theological writings, but when he was made a bishop, he is credited with saying that “this dignity and this office demand different usage, in order that one should live no longer for oneself but for others.”

3. Was he really jolly ol’ St. Nicholas?

Because of his popularity among Orthodox Christians, St. Nicholas is a favorite subject in iconography.

But don’t be surprised if, among the hundreds of icons depicting him, you don’t see any merry dimples or a “round little belly.” He does have a white beard, though.

4. He is the patron saint of unmarried people, fishermen, pawnbrokers, and the falsely accused.

One of the most popular legends about Nicholas is that the saint, who is said to have come from a wealthy family, secretly helped a poor man with three daughters.

The father could not provide proper dowries for the girls to marry, and without husbands to support them, they might have been forced to turn to prostitution.

After learning about the situation, Nicholas secretly slipped a bag of gold coins through the family’s window while they were sleeping. He later left a second bag of coins, and likewise, another bag for the third daughter, at which point, the legend says, the father, who had waited up all night, “caught” Nicholas red-handed in his gift-giving. But Nicholas made him promise to keep the secret.

The story is likely the explanation for why the modern Christmas character of Santa Claus brings his gifts for children under the cover of night.

In artworks referencing this legend, the three bags of coins are often depicted as three golden balls. Images of gold balls were also used to mark the shops of pawnbrokers, which is probably how Nicholas came to be their patron saint, too.

One of many miracles attributed to St. Nicholas happened at sea as he traveled aboard a boat to the Holy Land. Nicholas is a patron saint of sailors and travelers because he calmed the stormy waters that threatened their lives.

His patronage of the falsely accused can be attributed to an early story about his rescue of three innocent men moments before their execution. It is said that St. Nicholas, then bishop of Myra, boldly pushed away the executioner’s sword, released the men from their chains, and angrily reprimanded a juror who had taken a bribe to find them guilty.

5. He has two feast days.

Most people know that Nicholas’ feast day is celebrated on Dec. 6, the day he died in the year 343, but for East Slavs, as well as the people of Bari, Italy, May 9 is also an important day to celebrate the saint.

That date is the anniversary of the day that St. Nicholas’ relics were moved from Myra, in present-day Turkey, to Bari, not long after the Great Schism of Catholics and Orthodox in 1054 A.D.

Accounts differ over whether the transmission of the relics was theft or an attempt by Christian sailors to preserve the saint’s remains from destruction by the Turks. But whatever the real reason, the relics can still be venerated today in the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari.

Pope Francis has visited Bari, in Italy’s southern region of Puglia, two times during his papacy. During both the 2018 and 2020 visits, he stopped in the basilica’s crypt to venerate St. Nicholas’ relics.

The pontifical basilica is an important place of ecumenism, since the Catholic Church welcomes many Eastern Catholics and Orthodox Christians to the pilgrimage site. In the crypt, where St. Nicholas is buried, there is also an altar for the celebration of Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgies.

For Christians who follow the Julian calendar, as the Eastern Orthodox do, St. Nicholas’ principal feast day falls on Dec. 19. An Orthodox Divine Liturgy is usually celebrated at the Basilica of St. Nicholas that morning.

On Dec. 6, Catholics in Bari celebrate the beloved saint with Mass, concerts, and a procession of the saint’s statue through the city’s streets.

This story was first published on Dec. 6, 2022, and has been updated.

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on Dec. 4, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Dec 5, 2024 / 14:10 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis this week encouraged participants of the second International Congress of Confraternities and Brotherhoods to bring Christ “out into the streets so that he may enter into all hearts.”

In a message to nearly 2,000 people participating in this year’s conference on popular piety in Seville, Spain, from Dec. 4–8, the pope emphasized the significance of “beauty” in attracting others to faith in Jesus Christ and his Church. 

“Above all, it is the beauty of Christ that summons us, calls us to be brothers and sisters and urges us to take Christ out into the streets, to bring him to the people, so that everyone can contemplate his beauty,” the pope wrote in a Dec. 4 message to congress participants.

“Be crazy with love,” the pope added. “Crazy with love for God, so much so to touch the hearts of their people, to bring them to God.” 

Using the expression of Spanish saint Manuel Gonzalez, known for his devotion to the Eucharist and who describes life as a “round trip” that begins and ends in Christ, the Holy Father reminded the congress’ European and Latin American participants that the Church is a “people walking toward God” in the pilgrimage of life. 

“‘The people ... are hungry for truth, for affection, for well-being, for justice, for heaven, and, perhaps, without realizing it, for God and ‘the tears of his heart,’” the pope said, sharing the words of St. Manuel.

Besides elaborate acts of piety, such as processions and public liturgies, the pope highlighted the need for people to go “to the tabernacle where the Lord awaits us” to present one’s own and others’ prayers and petitions.   

“This living Bread is the only one that can satisfy the hunger of our society, a Bread that was born to be given, to be consumed, and that from the altar calls us to dialogue with him, to be our consolation and our rest,” the Holy Father wrote. 

This year’s International Congress of Confraternities and Brotherhoods includes separate presentations by the Vatican’s prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Archbishop Salvatore Rino Fisichella; prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life Cardinal Kevin Farrell; and Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.

Pope gifts golden rose to Our Lady of Hope of Macarena 

On Dec. 3, the evening before the five-day congress, Pope Francis gifted a golden rose to the image of Our Lady of Hope of Macarena.

Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute for general affairs of the Vatican Secretariat of State, was in charge of granting the golden rose to Our Lady in the Basilica of the Macarena in Seville.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Archbishop José Ángel Saiz Meneses of Seville said the pope’s gesture “reinforces the Christian and Marian identity of the city and constitutes a call to spiritual renewal and commitment to the values ​​of the Gospel” and expresses a “deep recognition” of the popular piety found in southern Spain.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The celebration of a Holy Year every 25 years is an acknowledgment that "the Christian life is a journey calling for moments of greater intensity to encourage and sustain hope as the constant companion that guides our steps toward the goal of our encounter with the Lord Jesus," Pope Francis wrote.

Opening the Holy Door to St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve, the pope will formally inaugurate the Jubilee Year 2025 with its individual, parish and diocesan pilgrimages and with special celebrations focused on specific groups from migrants to marching bands, catechists to communicators and priests to prisoners.

Inside the Vatican basilica, the door had been bricked up since Nov. 20, 2016, when Pope Francis closed the extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy. 

Dismantling the brick wall began Dec. 2 with a ritual of prayer and the removal of a box containing the key to the door and Vatican medals. The Holy Doors at the basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls were to be freed of their brickwork in the week that followed.

In January 2021, as the world struggled to return to some kind of normalcy after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis announced that he had chosen "Pilgrims of Hope" as the theme for the Holy Year.

"We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and farsighted vision," the pope wrote in a letter entrusting the organization of the Jubilee to Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the then-Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.

The pope prayed that the Holy Year would be marked by "deep faith, lively hope and active charity."

A holy year or jubilee is a time of pilgrimage, prayer, repentance and acts of mercy, based on the Old Testament tradition of a jubilee year of rest, forgiveness and renewal. Holy years also are a time when Catholics make pilgrimages to designated churches and shrines, recite special prayers, go to confession and receive Communion to receive a plenary indulgence, which is a remission of the temporal punishment due for one's sins. 

Crossing the threshold of the Holy Door does not give a person automatic access to the indulgence or to grace, as St. John Paul II said in his document proclaiming the Holy Year 2000. But walking through the doorway is a sign of the passage from sin to grace which every Christian is called to accomplish.

"To pass through that door means to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; it is to strengthen faith in him in order to live the new life which he has given us. It is a decision which presumes freedom to choose and also the courage to leave something behind, in the knowledge that what is gained is divine life," St. John Paul wrote.

Pope Boniface VIII proclaimed the first Holy Year in 1300 and decreed that jubilees would be celebrated every 100 years. But just 50 years later, a more biblical cadence, Pope Clement VI proclaimed another holy year.

Pope Paul II decided in 1470 that holy years should be held every 25 years, which has been the practice ever since -- but with the addition of special jubilees, like the Holy Year of Mercy in 2015-16, marking special occasions or needs.

The Jubilee of Mercy had a special focus on encouraging Catholics to return to confession, but the sacrament is a key part of every Holy Year.

Pope Francis, in his bull of indiction for the 2025 Holy Year, said churches are places "where we can drink from the wellsprings of hope, above all by approaching the sacrament of reconciliation, the essential starting point of any true journey of conversion."

The pope also asked Catholics to use the Jubilee Year to nourish or exercise their hope by actively looking for signs of God's grace and goodness around them.

"We need to recognize the immense goodness present in our world, lest we be tempted to think ourselves overwhelmed by evil and violence," he wrote. "The signs of the times, which include the yearning of human hearts in need of God's saving presence, ought to become signs of hope."

Even in a troubled world, one can notice how many people are praying for and demonstrating their desire for peace, for safeguarding creation and for defending human life at every stage, he said. Those are signs of hope that cannot be discounted. 

As part of the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis has announced the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis April 27 during the special Jubilee for Adolescents and the proclamation of the sainthood of Blessed Pier Giorgi Frassati Aug. 3 during the Jubilee for Young Adults.

The lives of the two men, active Catholics who died young, are emblematic of Pope Francis' conviction that hope, "founded on faith and nurtured by charity," is what enables people "to press forward in life" despite setbacks and trials.

Both young Italians knew that the hope they drew from faith had to be shared with others through their words, their way of acting and their charity.

Pope Francis, in the bull of indiction, told Catholics that "during the Holy Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind."

In addition to individual acts of charity, love and kindness like feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger or visiting the sick and the imprisoned, Pope Francis has continued his predecessors' practice of observing the jubilee by calling on governments to reduce the foreign debt of the poorest countries, grant amnesty to certain prisoners and strengthen programs to help migrants and refugees settle in their new homes. 

Italy and the city of Rome are keeping one of the messier and tension-producing traditions of a Holy Year: Roadworks and the restoration or cleaning of monuments, fountains and important buildings. With the opening of the Holy Door just three weeks away, none of the major projects had been completed, but Mayor Roberto Gualtieri promised in late November that most of the roads would open and most of the scaffolding would come down by Jan. 1.

Archbishop Fisichella, the chief Vatican organizer of the Jubilee Year, said in late November that the Vatican had commissioned a university to forecast the Holy Year pilgrim and tourist influx. They came up with a prediction of 32 million visitors to Rome.

The multilingual jubilee website -- www.iubilaeum2025.va -- has been up and running for months and includes the possibility of reserving a time to pass through the Holy Door at St. Peter's and the other major basilicas of Rome.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also has a special section on its website -- www.usccb.org/committees/jubilee-2025 -- with information about traveling to Rome for the Holy Year and for celebrating the special jubilees in one's own diocese or parish.