Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, concluded his trip to Kuwait with a Mass marking the elevation of the nation’s first church to the status of a minor basilica.

“Always impeccably dressed, with a sober elegance that never sought attention, Angelo Gugel preserved the discretion required by his delicate role even after retirement,” Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, reported.

Gugel assisted St. John Paul with Italian pronunciation prior to his October 1978 inaugural homily and was at the Pontiff’s side during the 1981 assassination attempt.

The Holy See Press Office announced that Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, will brief the media on January 20 about the 34th World Day of the Sick.

Pope Leo XIV has proclaimed a Year of Saint Francis to mark the 800th anniversary of the death of the beloved saint.

Pope Leo XIV received the officers of the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference, who invited the Pontiff to Slovenia and spoke with him about their commitment to unity and their desire to become a more missionary Church.