Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Ambassador Georgios Poulides, the ambassador of Cyprus to the Holy See, recalled the jubilee year, the death of Pope Francis, the election of Pope Leo, and the papal visit to Turkey and Lebanon.

Highlighting Pope Leo’s commitment to peace, brotherhood, human dignity, and human development, Ambassador Poulides described the Pope’s appeals for peace as “the path that every man and woman is called to follow.”

“In them resonates the calm and powerful inevitability of a reconciled world,” the diplomat said. “This is where the profound meaning of the diplomatic mission lies: resolving conflicts with the strength of reason and the constant determination towards the common good.”

Sudan is the site of “one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises—where more than 33.7 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, effectively two in three people, and where famine has been declared twice in less than a year,” Caritas said in its statement. “At this time, Caritas Internationalis joins other leading aid agencies in urging the international community to act now to prevent further catastrophe in Sudan.”

Pope Leo XIV has named Bishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka of Umtata, South Africa, as the new archbishop of Cape Town, the nation’s legislative capital.

Representatives of the Melkite Greek, Maronite, Chaldean, Syriac, and Armenian Catholic Churches were present at the Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Iyad Twal of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Diplomats from ten nations were also present.

“We extend a sincere invitation to pilgrims from all over the world,” Bishop Twal said. “Come to the Holy Land, come to the Jordan River, come to this holy place, visit this church, and be blessed by the waters of the Jordan.”

The Vatican newspaper reported on a series of recent attacks on Christians in Pakistan.

After the flurry of activities for the jubilee year and the extraordinary consistory of cardinals, Pope Leo will celebrate Vespers on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle (January 25), celebrate Mass on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (February 2), and celebrate Mass on Ash Wednesday (February 18), according to yesterday’s announcement.

During the First Week of Lent, from February 22-27, he and the members of the Roman Curia will take part in a retreat in the Apostolic Palace.

“A shepherd must be with his flock in difficult times,” he said. “We as Christians have set up three places to accommodate the displaced. Nearly 3,500 people have already been taken in, while others have found shelter in some private homes.”

A police officer recently lost his life as he thwarted an attempted suicide-bomb attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Aleppo, Vatican News reported.

The staff “stands in continuity with those used by his predecessors, uniting the mission of proclaiming the mystery of love expressed by Christ on the Cross with its glorious manifestation in the Resurrection,” according to the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.

The new staff “presents Christ no longer bound by the nails of the Passion, but with His glorified body in the act of ascending to the Father,” the Office stated. “As in the appearances of the Risen Lord, He shows His wounds to His own as luminous signs of victory, which, while not erasing human suffering, transfigure it into the dawn of divine life.”

Pope Leo XIV has established three new dioceses in the past three weeks.

The announcement describes ecumenism as “a grammar of peace, a gift for public space, care for spirituality and wisdom of differences.” The two-day symposium will begin in Bari on January 23.

“Our time, marked by strong conflict and violence, asks Christians for a renewed commitment to promote a culture of peace,” said Bishop Derio Olivero of Pinerolo, president of the Italian bishops’ Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue. “This is a responsibility that we cannot shirk ... Differences are not an obstacle, but a heritage to be valued for the good of the Churches and of a society that is more than ever in need of communion and reconciliation.”