The Department of Homeland Security said Jan. 14 it issued an interim final rule reducing wait times for religious worker visas. Catholic advocates were among those who pushed the Trump administration to address the backlog in their visa category.

Each year, the annual Marian procession of the “Divina Pastora” (“Divine Shepherdess”) draws millions of pilgrims and devotees in Venezuela.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Jan. 14 that the first in a series of direct humanitarian shipments to Cuba “in close partnership with the Catholic Church” would take place the same day — as well as another Jan. 16 — as the island recovers from Hurricane Melissa.

The Vatican has completed the official mosaic portrait of Pope Leo XIV, continuing a centuries-old tradition that marks the election of each new pontiff. The circular mosaic, known as a tondo, was created by the Vatican Mosaic Studio of the Fabric of St. Peter’s and will be installed in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., a longtime champion of religious liberty, particularly in Tibet, proudly wears a bracelet of brown prayer beads, called mala, given to him by the Dalai Lama during a visit to India in 2024.