After Pope Francis and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met privately for nearly an hour at the Vatican, Pence told the pope that his Roman Catholic mother will be pleased with the visit.

Pope Francis “has our backs” in the pro-life cause, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, said to applause in his Jan. 23 homily at the opening Mass of the National Vigil for Life.

A Dutch Catholic newspaper warned churches will continue to close in the Netherlands, where half of all Catholic parishes have already been dissolved amid plummeting church participation.

If you’re looking for a way to celebrate the Year of the Rat, here are a few simple things you can do.

As the Lamb of God, he gives himself to us in the Eucharist to empower us to conquer our own sins – and allow him to increase more and more within us and in our lives.