Holy Land•Persecuted Christians

Muslims set fire to Catholic Christmas tree in the West Bank

The message from the Christian community was unequivocal. Even if the tree were burned a hundred times, they said, it would be rebuilt a thousand times more

Dec 24, 2025 19:49

ZENIT Staff

Gender Ideology•Young People

Trump administration bans “gender reassignment” surgeries on minors

At the center of the initiative is a shift in how federal health programs will define acceptable standards of care. HHS intends to make participation in Medicare and Medicaid contingent on hospitals refraining from providing sex-change-related treatments to minors. In practical terms, this condition would affect the vast majority of U.S. hospitals, given their dependence on public funding streams

Dec 24, 2025 19:37

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV

To find the Savior, one must not gaze upward, but look below: the Pope’s homily at Christmas Eve Mass

Homily of the Holy Father at the Holy Mass on Christmas Eve and the Nativity of the Lord

Dec 24, 2025 19:31

ZENIT Staff

Good News•Local Church

The world’s oldest church has been found: where is it, what is it like, and how can you visit it?

Discovered in 1998 by a team led by American archaeologist Thomas Parker, the church was constructed between approximately 293 and 303, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. Unlike earlier Christian meeting places—often adapted private homes known as domus ecclesiae—the Aqaba structure was built from the ground up as a church

Dec 23, 2025 15:32

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV•Vatican City

A simple, concrete, and timely meditation on work based on the nativity scene created by Leo XIV

Congratulations to the employees of the Roman Curia, the Governorate of Vatican City State, and the Vicariate of Rome, together with their families.

Dec 22, 2025 15:44

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV

2 two fundamental aspects of the life of the Church: mission and communion explained by Leo XIV to the curia in a great speech

Address of the Pope to the Roman Curia on two fundamental aspects of the life of the Church: mission and communion, on the occasion of the annual Christmas greetings

Dec 22, 2025 15:41

ZENIT Staff

Local Church

Cardinal Damasceno confers ministries on 69 Heralds of the Gospel and hints at upcoming ordinations (end of Vatican intervention?)

It was at the conclusion of his reflection that the cardinal offered a cautious yet decisive sign of progress: “I hope that in the near future we will be able to confer the Holy Orders to those who are duly prepared.”

Dec 22, 2025 15:34

ZENIT Staff

Holy Land

Christmas in Gaza: the visit of the Cardinal Patriarch of Jerusalem to local Catholics

The cardinal is visiting Christian communities in Gaza, ravaged by more than two years of war

Dec 22, 2025 15:26

ZENIT Staff

Pope Francis•Pope Leo XIV•Young People

PHOTO GALLERY: Pope Leo XIV revives childhood tradition: mass blessing of “baby Jesus” figures at the Vatican

The initiative, organized by the Centro Oratori Romani and dating back to 1969 under Paul VI, has long been a fixture of Advent in Rome

Dec 22, 2025 15:20

ZENIT Staff

Angelus•Pope Leo XIV

To enter into Christmas: Pope Leo XIV’s beautiful, short, timely, and appropriate meditation on Saint Joseph

Address on the occasion of the Angelus prayer on Sunday, December 21, 2025

Dec 21, 2025 17:54

ZENIT Staff

Liturgy and Divine Worship

Questions about liturgy: Applause Within Mass

Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and sacramental theology at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum university.

Dec 21, 2025 16:51

ZENIT Staff

General Audience•Jubilee 2025•Pope Leo XIV

What is the birth that creation awaits? Pope Leo XIV explains it in a catechesis

Extraordinary Saturday General Audience on the occasion of the Jubilee, December 20, 2025, the last of the Jubilee Year

Dec 20, 2025 17:46

ZENIT Staff