After Pope Francis opened a Jubilee Year dedicated to hope in December of 2024, Merci McCoy began her “pilgrimage of hope” in Corpus Christi, Texas. And it continued north through several churches in the U.S., crossed an ocean to St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican and other European churches, and landed in late December at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis, a jubilee site in the archdiocese where people could receive a plenary indulgence during the Jubilee Year of Hope.

The annual Indiana March for Life and associated events will take place on Jan. 22 in Indianapolis. Youths and pro-life advocates from all five of Indiana’s dioceses will participate in the event, which solemnly commemorates the date in 1973 when the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion across the country.

SELLERSBURG—Two members of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth religious order began their life and ministry at St. John Paul II Parish in Sellersburg at the start of the new year. The community, founded in 2011 in the Archdiocese of Boston, came to the Church in central and southern Indiana with the approval of Archbishop Charles C. Thompson through the mysterious workings of God’s providence during the past three years. (Related story: Mysterious work of providence brings women religious to Sellersburg parish)

SELLERSBURG—Two members of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth religious order began their life and ministry at St. John Paul II Parish in Sellersburg at the start of the new year. The community, founded in 2011 in the Archdiocese of Boston, came to the Church in central and southern Indiana with the approval of Archbishop Charles C. Thompson through the mysterious workings of God’s providence during the past three years. (Related story: Mysterious work of providence brings women religious to Sellersburg parish)

The powerful and violent cannot control, suppress or commodify God's grace, friendship and will to usher in a new dawn, Pope Leo XIV said.

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen will soon be beatified, now that the Vatican has given the green light, the Diocese of Peoria, Ill., announced on Feb. 9. At press time, no date or location for the beatification was given.

An estimated 33 million visitors and pilgrims came to the Vatican to celebrate the Jubilee Year, exceeding early forecasts, officials said at a news conference at the Vatican Jan. 5.

The path to conversion, the door to God's mercy and the call to live in Christian hope all continue beyond the Jubilee Year, said the three cardinals who closed the Holy Doors at three major basilicas in Rome.

Cuando José se despertó, hizo lo que el ángel del Señor le había mandado y recibió a María por esposa. (Mt 1:24)

When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. (Mt 1:24)

As president of the advisory board to the archdiocese’s Catholic Community Foundation (CCF), I have had the benefit of seeing firsthand the enormous generosity, service and leadership among our faithful community.

As we approach the end of this jubilee year in our Church throughout the world, with a theme of “Pilgrims of Hope,” let’s pause to thank God for the special blessings of this past year as well as asking for his ongoing gift of hope for 2026 and beyond. From Dec. 21, 2024, to Jan. 6, 2026, it’s been quite a journey!

The birth of our Savior at Christmas is a profound mystery that is ultimately impossible for our minds to take in. How is that God, who is infinite and all-powerful, who is being itself pervading and undergirding all time and space, the source of all that was, is and ever will be, could be born as a tiny baby in a stable in a small backwater town of the Roman Empire?

You may know my office for programs like the Indiana March for Life, Project Rachel retreats or healing Masses. My role also allows me to accompany, form and pray with parish leaders—both staff and volunteers—across the archdiocese.

As we approach the Christmas season, we do so with so many Christians throughout the world. What we celebrate during Christmas is a reminder of our unity in Christ. And yet, we are not united in communion—that oneness which Jesus mandated for us in John 17:20-21.

I look forward each year to retrieving our Christmas decorations from their hiding places and setting them out for all to see: our large gilded Nativity scene adorned with white lights displayed in our front dining room window, the needlepoint stockings with each family member’s name hung on the mantle, token items that have been part of our family tradition since our adult children were very young, to name just a few. These visible signs have meaning and capture the essence of the season in our home.

Durante la santa temporada del Adviento, la Iglesia destaca a la Santísima Virgen María y su papel indispensable en la historia de la salvación. La solemnidad de la Inmaculada Concepción, celebrada el 8 de diciembre, y la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, celebrada el 12 de diciembre, son dos ejemplos claros de la importancia que se le da a María en esta época del año, pero hay muchos otros, como, por supuesto, la Natividad del Señor (Navidad), celebrada el 25 de diciembre, y la fiesta de la Sagrada Familia, celebrada el 28 de diciembre, y la Solemnidad de María, Madre de Dios, el 1 de enero.