In the lead up to the 20th anniversary of the death of Sister Stang, who is considered by many as a “Martyr of the Amazon,” a relic containing blood-soaked soil from the site of her murder was enshrined at the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island in Rome on Jan. 10.

A new report calls for the Russian Federation to be designated a state sponsor of terrorism, finding that Russia is weaponizing Orthodox Christianity as part of a genocidal attack on Ukraine — persecuting Catholics, other Christians and other faith communities in the besieged nation.

The Baltimore-based Maryland Center for History and Culture received a $2.5 million grant in January to explore the state’s role in religious diversity with the goal of producing an exhibit on the topic by the fall of 2026.

Reflexionando sobre los numerosos países en guerra, como Ucrania, Palestina, Israel, Myanmar, Kivu del Norte en el Congo y Sudán del Sur, el Papa dijo: “Oremos por la paz. Hagamos todo lo posible por la paz. No se olviden de que la guerra es una derrota”.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Robert G. Casey of Chicago as his successor.