U.S.
U.S. bishops urge Catholics to be ‘faithful stewards of memory’
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. bishops Feb. 3 urged Catholics to be “faithful stewards of memory” and “courageous witnesses to truth” during Black History Month, observed in February. Bishop Daniel E. Garcia of Austin, Texas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation, and Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr. of Washington, chairman of the USCCB’s Subcommittee on African American Affairs, issued a joint statement to commemorate the month. Negro History Week was established in February 1926. It was expanded and became Black History Month, officially recognized by President Gerald R. Ford in February 1976, and later codified by Congress in 1986. “During this year’s observance of Black History Month, we encourage the faithful to consider the lessons of history, honoring our heroes of the past and learning from the mistakes of the past,” Bishop Garcia and Bishop Campbell said. (OSV News)
Sister Thea Bowman’s sainthood cause moves forward to Vatican
JACKSON, Miss. — Servant of God Thea Bowman’s canonization cause is moving ahead, with a Mass and ceremony marking the closure of the cause’s diocesan phase to be held Feb. 9 at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson, Mississippi. Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz of Jackson will celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving at noon followed by an official closing session of the diocesan phase of the canonization process, where the cause’s leaders will seal the boxes containing the diocesan phase’s documents and findings, which will be sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican, which will further investigate the cause. Before she died of cancer in 1990 at age 52, she was a widely known speaker, evangelizer, singer and trailblazer for Black Catholics. (OSV News)
Report shares insights into consecrated religious
WASHINGTON — Consecrated men and women “reveal God’s invitation to love Him with one’s whole life” on earth, in hope of doing so eternally in heaven, said Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. The archbishop shared his thoughts in a Jan. 27 statement ahead of the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life, established by St. John Paul II in 1997 and observed by the Catholic Church on Feb. 2. Accompanying the archbishop’s statement was an annual survey commissioned by the USCCB on men and women religious who professed their perpetual vows in 2025. The report — conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, with an overall response rate of 72% (520 of 723 major superiors) — showed that 82% said their communities had no perpetual professions in 2025. Still, of those who professed permanent vows, most were raised Catholic, highly educated and regular practitioners of prayer, reflection and eucharistic adoration. (OSV News)
WORLD
Pope calls for ‘healthy competition’ to unite people at Winter Games
MILAN — Pope Leo XIV is encouraging the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to become a sign of unity, solidarity and peace among peoples and cultures. In a message to the Archdiocese of Milan, read at a Jan. 29 Mass, the pope said he hopes the Games will foster friendship, fraternity, and a deeper understanding of sport as serving the full development of the human person. The message was delivered during the launch of Milan’s Olympic pastoral initiative, “For Each Other,” and the arrival of the “Cross of Athletes.” Signed on the pope’s behalf by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the message assured prayers that the Games would help build bridges and promote hospitality and peace. The initiative will run alongside the February Winter Olympics and March Paralympics, centered at the Basilica di San Babila, dedicated to St. Babylas of Antioch, which has been designated the “Church of Athletes.” Archbishop Mario Delpini said the Games can be a spiritual school, teaching humility in victory, resilience in defeat and hope rooted in Christ. (OSV News)
Pope adds feast day of St. John Henry Newman to universal calendar
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV has added the feast day of St. John Henry Newman, who is “a radiant light for the Church on pilgrimage through history,” to the General Roman Calendar so that “his Optional Memorial be celebrated by all on 9 October.” Cardinal Arthur Roche and Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, respectively prefect and secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, announced the pope’s decision in a decree published by the Vatican Feb. 3. Cardinal Roche said the inclusion of St. Newman in the General Roman Calendar “is intended to present his figure as an outstanding example of the constant search for the truth that enlightens and saves” and to help the faithful contemplate him “as a man led by the ‘kindly light’ of God’s grace to find peace within the Catholic Church.” Bishops’ conferences around the world will need to translate from Latin the prayers issued by the dicastery for Mass on his feast day as well as those used in the Liturgy of the Hours and in the Roman Martyrology. (CNS)
