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Feast date: Nov 24

During his papacy, Pope John Paul II canonized a group of 117 martyrs who died for the Roman Catholic Faith in Vietnam during the nineteenth century. The group was made up of ninety-six Vietnamese, eleven Spaniards, and ten French. Eight of the group were bishops, fifty were priests and fifty-nine were lay Catholics including a 9-year-old child. Some of the priests were Dominicans, others were diocesan priests who belonged to the Paris Mission Society.

This feast day, and the witnesses of the lives of the martyrs, give testament to the sufferings inflicted on the Vietnamese Church, which are among the most terrible in the long history of Christian martyrdom.

Eleven centuries after her death, she miraculously appeared to and advised Saint Joan of Arc, angels supernaturally buried her body, and she personally converted hundreds of souls.

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Pope Leo XIV has appointed Msgr. Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo, until now undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, as assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State.

The Nigerian priest thus becomes the chief assistant to Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, who, as the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, coordinates the internal affairs of the Roman Curia. Msgr. Ekpo succeeds Msgr. Roberto Campisi, now Permanent Observer to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Pope Leo also appointed Msgr. Mihăiţă Blaj, a Romanian priest who works in the Secretariat of State, as undersecretary of the Section for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Secretariat of State. He thus becomes one of two undersecretaries who assist Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations (or Vatican “foreign minister”), in his work.

Msgr. Blaj succeeds Msgr. (now Archbishop) Mirosław Wachowski, who was recently appointed apostolic nuncio to Iraq.

The Governorate of the Vatican City State and the Labor Office of the Apostolic See organized a seminar on abuse prevention on November 20.

The seminar’s purpose, according to Vatican News, was to encourage “the entire Holy See working community to remain vigilant,” not only externally, but also within the walls of the Vatican.

Archbishop Emilio Nappa, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Msgr. Marco Sprizzi, president of the Labor Office of the Apostolic See; and Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, were among the speakers at the event.

Pope Leo XIV traveled by helicopter to the Umbrian town of Montefalco, where he celebrated Mass at a monastery of Augustinian nuns.

The November 20 papal visit followed the Pope’s prayer at the tomb of St. Francis in Assisi, 35 miles away, and his address in Assisi to the Italian bishops.

Gunmen attacked Christ Apostolic Church, a Protestant church in Eruku in Nigeria’s Kwara State, killing three and kidnapping 38.

All 38 subsequently regained their freedom.

The Vatican Apostolic Library announced the signing of an agreement with the Bibliothèque nationale de France [National Library of France]. The agreement, according to the announcement, “encourages professional exchange, digital cooperation, and the implementation of joint cultural and scientific initiatives between the two libraries.”

“Aware of the complementarity of some of their collections, particularly in the field of medieval manuscripts, the Vatican Library and the Bibliothèque nationale de France have chosen to strengthen their synergies, consolidating shared perspectives on scientific, technical, and documentary dialogue,” the announcement added.

A leading Vatican diplomat said that it is “imperative” for the International Labour Organization to return to its founding principles.

“The multilateral system is currently experiencing turbulent times,” Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, said at a meeting of governing body of the UN agency. “Amidst this turmoil, it is imperative to return to the principles on which this Organization was founded.”

Archbishop Balestrero explained:

The conviction that ‘all human beings […] have the right to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity’ and the ideal of ‘universal and lasting peace, based on social justice’ must be strongly reaffirmed.