Local Church

The number of students studying theology in Germany plummets: only Cardinal Woelki’s Cologne diocese sees growth

Hartl argues that the distribution of enrollment losses may reflect more than demographic shrinkage or a generalized crisis of vocations. In his view, prospective theology students today are motivated by a desire to deepen and articulate their faith, rather than to engage in what they perceive as the deconstructive critique of tradition

Feb 14, 2026 12:02

ZENIT Staff

Cardinals and Bishops•Dicasteries

The Lefebvrians’ meeting with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, as told by themselves

We now offer the statement issued by the General House of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X on the same day

Feb 14, 2026 11:54

ZENIT Staff

Cardinals and Bishops•Local Church•Pope Leo XIV

Cuban bishops cancel special visit to the Pope: there is no gasoline in the country, not even for airplanes

When the visit is eventually rescheduled, it will likely carry an added layer of gravity. The reports the bishops bring to Rome will speak not only of parish life and vocations but also of blackouts, migration and the search for dialogue in a climate of scarcity

Feb 14, 2026 11:44

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV Suppresses Body Created by Pope Francis: The Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day

In a Chirograph, the Pope notes that he shares Pope Francis’s request «that the Church pay attention to children also by instituting a Day dedicated to them,» which implies that World Children’s Day will continue to be celebrated.

Feb 13, 2026 17:34

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV•Woman

The deputy director of the Vatican Press Office resigns. Pope Leo XIV appoints a Croatian nun as her replacement

With this appointment, Sister Krapić becomes the third woman to hold the position of deputy director of the Holy See Press Office. The first was Spanish journalist Paloma García Ovejero, followed by Murray. Both predecessors eventually stepped down from the role.

Feb 13, 2026 17:31

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV

Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion. This is what Pope Leo XIV’s first message for Lent 2026 says

Message from Pope Leo XIV for Lent 2026

Feb 13, 2026 17:22

ZENIT Staff

Pope Francis•Vatican City

Epstein’s documents, Pope Francis, and what they say about the Vatican

Taken together, the correspondence portrays the Vatican as more than a spiritual authority in the eyes of Epstein and his associates. It appears as a pressure point in global politics: influential in debates over migration, environmental stewardship, populism and relations with China

Feb 13, 2026 17:01

ZENIT Staff

Persecuted Christians

Mass Abductions, Empty Villages and a New U.S. Military Footprint in Nigeria

Nigeria’s security emergency is often described in abstract terms: insurgency, extremism, instability. In Kadarko, it is experienced as a village 98 percent deserted and a list of names that grows longer with each passing week

Feb 13, 2026 16:43

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV

The leader of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the largest church in communion with Rome, is received by the Pope

One of the most concrete moments of the audience came when the archbishop presented updated lists of prisoners of war and missing persons. These names, he explained, were gathered directly from families—an act that transforms abstract geopolitics into a ledger of human anguish

Feb 13, 2026 16:32

ZENIT Staff

Local Church•Persecuted Christians

The persecution continues: more than 50 people kidnapped in Christian districts of Nigeria

The attacks have not spared religious leaders. In Kajuru Local Government Area, gunmen stormed the residence of Father Nathaniel Asuwaye, parish priest of Holy Trinity Church in Karku, during the night between Friday and Saturday, February 6. According to the Archdiocese of Kafanchan, which confirmed the incident, the raid left three people dead and ended with the priest taken captive alongside 10 others

Feb 12, 2026 17:54

ZENIT Staff

Analysis Opinion•Ecumenism

Russia Calls Patriarch Bartholomew “Antichrist in a Cassock”

Russian Intelligence now presents itself as the ultimate arbiter of orthodoxy and theology

Feb 12, 2026 16:32

ZENIT Staff

Dicasteries•Rome

Lefebvrists at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican: This Is How the Meeting Went Towards a Canonical Statute for the Fraternity

After clarifying some points raised by the FSSPX in various letters, sent especially between 2017 and 2019, among others, the discussion focused on the question of the Divine Will regarding the plurality of religions.

Feb 12, 2026 08:37

ZENIT Staff