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Franciscan Jubilee Year commemorated 800th anniversary of Transitus

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๐‰๐ฎ๐›๐ข๐ฅ๐ž๐ž ๐˜๐ž๐š๐ซ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐’๐š๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐…๐ซ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ข๐ฌ In 2026, the Catholic Church is celebrating an extraordinary Franciscan Jubilee Year to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the death (the Transitus * ) of Saint Francis of Assisi, who passed away on October 3, 1226. Saint Francis of Assisi, (b. 1181- d. 1216 AD) The Jubilee Year officially runs from January 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027. It was established by decree of the Vatican's Apostolic Penitentiary at the request of Pope Leo XIV, following the conclusion of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025. The year focuses on spiritual renewal, peace, and evangelical poverty, inviting the faithful to follow Francis' example of living the Gospel "without evasion". For the first time in history, the mortal remains of Saint Francis will be publicly displayed for veneration from February 22 to March 26, 2026, at the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. A special plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful during this Jubilee Y...

French Martyrs beatified at Notre Dame in Paris born in Alberta, Canada- Blessed Father Louis Doumain

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https://www.stalbertgazette.com/local-news/former-sturgeon-county-man-on-road-to-sainthood-11619809 Published in the St. Albert Gazette (by Kevin Ma) and in Columbia Magazine Blessed Father LOUIS DOUMAIN 1920–1944 — Louis Doumain, shown here, was born in Cardiff, Alberta, and baptised in Morinville. He was beatified Dec. 13, 2025, as a martyr after dying in a Nazi disciplinary camp for his faith. PHOTO COURTESY TRINI PINCA Former Sturgeon County man on road to sainthood Rev. Louis Doumain died in Nazi camp for his faith. Father Louis Doumain was featured as the Catholic Man of the Month in the December 2025, issue of Columbia Magazine (the Knights of Columbus publication) because he was recently beatified as a martyr, recognized for dying for his faith under the Nazis during WWII, despite being born in Canada and living most of his life in France.  His story highlights radical love and holiness, with Columbia celebrating his journey to sainthood, especially following his December ...

Pope Leo XIV addresses the beloved Venezuelan people during the Angelus

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Vatican: Pope Leo XIV at the Angelus on January 4, 2026: “With great concern, I am following the developments in Venezuela.  The well-being of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration and lead to overcoming violence and embarking on paths of justice and peace, guaranteeing the sovereignty of the Country, ensuring the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution, respecting the human and civil rights of each and every one. And working to build together a serene future of collaboration, stability, and harmony, with special attention to the poorest who suffer because of the difficult economic situation.”

Bringing Roman Catholicism to remote Protestnt northern Norway

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  Challenges and blessings at the globe’s most northern parish. A Polis h pri est shares the beauty of ministering in Norway, a country where Catholics are a small but diverse fraction of the population and the weather can be a trial. "For me, the synonym for prayer is presence." Published in Aleteia by  Katarzyna Matusz-Braniecka -   published on 12/27/25 Father Rafaล‚ Ochojski MSF, a Polish missionary of the Holy Family, has been working in Norway for six years. He’s currently the parish priest of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Hammerfest, the northernmost Catholic parish in the world. Previously, as he emphasizes, he was a satisfied youth minister, and before that, an equally happy vicar of the Parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Zล‚otรณw, Poland . “You’re alone and far away, it’s dark and cold, there are few people… Why did you choose Norway?,” his friends ask him. He replies: “Twenty years ago, I came to Norway as a deacon. Fr. Wojciech (the ...

Bienvenue! Saint John the Baptist Church in All Saints Parish: Joyeux Noรซl ร  tous !

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 https://julianalheureux.substack.com/p/bienvenue-visit-saint-john-the-baptist Bienvenue! Visit Saint John the Baptist Church in Brunswick A beautiful setting to enjoy meditating on the Christmas religious celebrations. Bienvenue! Visit Saint John the Baptist Church in Brunswick A beautiful setting to enjoy meditating on the Chrismas religious celebrations. Juliana L'Heureux Dec 24, 2025 In Brunswick, one of the most beautiful sanctuaries in Maine’s many churches. Christmas decorations at St. John the Baptist Church, fondly known as “St. John’s” on Pleasant Street in Brunswick, contribute to a perfect setting for the religious celebrations held on Christmas Eve and on Christmas day. St. John’s is one in the cluster of the All Saints Parish churches in the Brunswick, Bath, Boothbay, Richmond, Harpswell and Newcastle communities. (L’Heureux photographs included.) Check the parish website at allsaintsmaine.com. Saint John the Baptist "creche" nativity  An essay published in ...

A celebration of crรจches: Lucรฉram is the French village with hundreds of Christmas nativity scenes.

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The hilltop community near Nice has the most festive crรจches in France. Lucรฉram: the French village with hundreds of Christmas nativity scenes. Published in The Connection- French News In English since 2002 by Annaliza Davis In Alpes-Maritimes, 27km north of Nice, the picturesque village of Lucรฉram appears as a cluster of terracotta-topped houses overlooking the surrounding valley. It is a village perchรฉ , a ‘perched’ village, constructed on a high point in a strategic defensive position, similar to several other villages in the Alps. In other aspects, however, it is far from ordinary. Circuit of Christmas scenes:  Despite being home to fewer than 1,300 residents, Lucรฉram is famous for having more crรจches than any other village in the country, and this does not mean children’s nurseries, but Christmas nativity scenes. Christmas nativity scene in Lucรฉram depicting the birth of Jesus Across France, you will see model replicas of the nativity arranged in churches, schools and public ...

"On television, in front of everybody, he [Rabbi Feldman] said:' Let us love each other. Let us care about each other'.'”

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ST MARY'S CATHEDRAL in Sydney, Australia, published in the Australian Jewish News  by Shane Desiatnik Menorah image beamed onto cathedral in solidarity Saint Mary's Cathedral's opening night of Christmas event pivoted into an interfaith vigil for the terror victims. A menorah image projected onto St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney on December 17. Thousands of Sydneysiders of all faiths and walks of life gathered in the St Mary’s Cathedral forecourt on Tuesday evening for the iconic cathedral’s annual ‘Opening Night of Christmas’ event, which fittingly on this occasion, was rededicated to bringing people together in unity, shared grief, and solemn tribute, for the victims of the previous Sunday’s deadly Bondi Beach Chanukah terror attack. After the moving event, the cathedral’s facade was illuminated with an image of a menorah and the message “May their memory be a blessing” – a poignant symbol of solidarity with Sydney’s Jewish community, still reeling from the terror attack...