President Joe Biden said Jan. 4 he plans to visit the U.S.-Mexico border, which would be the first visit to the border of his presidency, when he travels to Mexico next week.

In what looks like a continuation of pontifical legacy, Pope Benedict XVI was buried in the crypt where his Polish predecessor, St. John Paul II, was first buried.

Among the more than 50,000 people in St. Peter’s Square Jan. 5 for the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, who said the subdued nature of the liturgy was at the request of the retired pontiff, the first to resign the papacy in more than 600 years.

The mood in St. Peter’s Square in the hours leading up to the historic funeral for Pope Benedict XVI was much more festive than somber.

Through his prolific writing, public addresses and humble demeanor, Pope Benedict made a lasting impression on many Catholics both before, during and after his papacy.