“The assailants robbed Father Ilunga of his motorcycle, personal bag, mobile phone, and money before tying him up and abandoning him,” ACI Africa reported.

Pope Leo XIV received the officers of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) on January 26.

Msgr. Crispino Valenziano, an influential Italian liturgist, died on January 24 at the age of 93.

“Ultimately, the forces driving historical change are the same ones that transform the human heart,” the report concluded. “This conviction, which unites ethics, spirituality and political action, must guide our response to the challenge of AI and orient its development toward a genuine project of integral human development.”

“May the face of Jesus, always shine upon Hong Kong, and may Hong Kong rejoice in the face of Jesus,” he said.

Cardinal Tagle made his remarks at a January 18 concert marking the 80th anniversary of the Diocese of Hong Kong.

Others in attendance included Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, of Hong Kong; current and former governors of Hong Kong; the cardinal archbishop of Tokyo; bishops from Macau and Taipei; Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, Germany; and Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Jose, California.

Praising Pope Leo’s “moral and spiritual leadership,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees thanked Pope Leo XIV for his “steadfast support” for refugees.

The Custody of the Holy Land is the Franciscan province there. In the 14th century, the Holy See entrusted the care of the holy sites in the Holy Land to the Franciscan order.

The Church of the Nativity was constructed over the site of the grotto in the early fourth century. The present structure dates to 565.

The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity has announced its three 2026 honorees: the Azerbaijan-Armenia Peace Agreement, brokered by President Donald Trump; Zarqa Yaftali, an Afghan girls’ education advocate; and Taawon, a Palestinian development association. Each of the honorees will receive a $1-million prize on February 4, the anniversary of the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity.

The Olympic and Paralympic Cross was made in 2012. During the Jubilee of Sport last year, the president of the International Olympic Committee joined the prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education in carrying it through the holy door of St. Peter’s Basilica.