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National Catholic Register

Pope Leo XIV Baptizes 20 Infants in Sistine Chapel, Tells Parents Faith Is ‘More Than Necessary’

Pope Leo XIV baptizes a child in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Jan. 11, 2026.

In his homily, the Pope urged parents to see faith as essential for their children’s lives: ‘The children you now hold in your arms are transformed into new creatures. Just as from you, their parents, they have received life, so now they receive the meaning for living it: faith.’

Pope Leo XIV Condemns Violence in Iran, Syria, and Ukraine

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the recitation of the Angelus on Jan. 11, 2026.

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday lamented escalating violence in Iran and Syria and renewed his appeal for peace in Ukraine, while also offering a special blessing for children receiving baptism and praying for those born into ‘difficult circumstances.’

Theophany Night at the Museum: A Church Comes to Life

Father Peter Galadza blesses the waters during the Great Blessing of Waters on Jan. 6 along the Ottawa River, following the Divine Liturgy for Theophany at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.

COMMENTARY: A Ukrainian Catholic church, dismantled in rural Alberta and rebuilt inside the Canadian Museum of History hundreds of miles away, serves as the setting for the annual Theophany liturgy.

From Baptism to Mission in Christ and in Us

‘Baptism makes us members of the Body of Christ’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1267).

COMMENTARY: Baptism makes us missionary disciples in communion with God and each other. As children of God, we are sent out to give witness to God the Father’s love, God the Son’s saving work, and God the Holy Spirit’s gifts and works.

Proclaim That Life Is Precious

Pope Leo XIV blesses a baby during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Basilica on Aug. 13, 2025, at the Vatican.

TV PICKS 01.11.26

How Our Lady (and Mother Teresa) Helped Break Communist Grip on Albania

Ruslan Harutyunov
A statue of St. Teresa of Calcutta stands in the center of Shkodër, Albania.

COMMENTARY: As Albania’s atheist system faltered, Mother Teresa’s providential mission of mercy helped loosen communism’s hold by easing fear’s grip on the nation.

At Consistory, Cardinal Zen Slams Synodality as ‘Ironclad Manipulation’ and ‘Insult’ to Bishops

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun speaks at the Asianews Conference at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, Nov. 18, 2014.

The cardinal, 93, made his remarks during one of two free discussion periods during the Jan. 7-8 consistory that drew together 170 of the 245 members of the College of Cardinals in Pope Leo XIV’s first major meeting with the sacred college since his election.

History Erased? Bangladesh Catholics Struggle to Recover First Church Land

Milon Munda
A garden now occupies the site of Bangladesh’s first Catholic church at Iswaripur in Satkhira district. Portuguese Jesuits dedicated the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus here on Jan. 1, 1600.

The church no longer exists, and a Muslim family has since settled on the land. However, the district’s official website still preserves its history online.