The Christmas Address to the Curia is often used by popes to express important opinions on the Church. This is the new pope’s first.
Your Eminences,
Venerable brothers in the Episcopate and the priesthood,
Dear brothers and sisters,
The light of Christmas comes to meet us, inviting us to rediscover the newness that, from the humble grotto of Bethlehem, runs throughout human history.
The Papa Stronsay Calendar 2026 is now available on the website of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer.
It really is beautiful, and filled with spiritual prayers and advices.
From his episcopal letter, "on the reception of holy communion":
The episcopal conference norms logically do not envision the use of altar rails, kneelers, or prie-dieus for the reception of communion. Doing so is a visible contradiction to the normative posture of Holy Communion established by our episcopal conference.
Leo XIV, Cherubini's Mass, and Charles X
by Roberto de Mattei
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| The Coronation of Charles X at Rheims (1825) |
On December 12, in the Vatican, in the presence of Leo XIV, Maestro Riccardo Muti conducted Luigi Cherubini's Mass for the Coronation of Charles X, performed by the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra and the Guido Chigi Saracini Choir of Siena Cathedral.
[Main excerpts:]
In these last days of 2025, the anticipation in the Vatican will not end with the conclusion of Advent. A more “secular” anticipation, in fact, is that for the extraordinary consistory on January 7 and 8, called for by Leo XIV.
Towards a "normalization" of the Tridentine Mass?
Those Catholics who pray in both Latin and French
La CroixMatthieu Lasserre & Eve GuyotDecember 14, 2025
While Gregorian chants still resonate inside Saint George's, in Old Lyon, several fathers are already on the church square, letting their children get some fresh air. Among them is Grégoire, 31 years old. This Lyon native began attending the parish five years ago to follow his wife, a devotee of the Latin Mass. Full of preconceived notions about "this world of traditional Catholics," he now alternates between the ordinary rite without any problem: "First, there's the place of silence, which fosters my contemplation, and, more strangely, the power of Latin."
This Advent and Christmas, the Friends of Campos invite you to join them in supporting the sisters of the Religious Institute of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Campos, Brazil.
Our History
The Filiæ Laboris Mariæ was founded on the Feast of Our Lady, Mother of Divine Grace (June 9th) in 2017, at Saint Mary’s Parish in Independence, Missouri, in the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph. Our community is a semi-contemplative Marian community of women Religious, whose members live a rich liturgical and interior life and share those riches through some external apostolate, especially in the context of the parish.
Do you long for silence? Do you long for time alone with God where you can work on the most important relationship in your life? Invest in your soul and enter into one of the Edelweiss House retreats. We offer traditional silent retreats all year round. Our mission is to sanctify families by standing as a roadblock against the destruction of the family. The goal of each retreat isn’t fulfilled at the end, rather, it is for the retreatants to carry this grace into their lives, practicing mental prayer daily so that they may grow in the love of God and sanctify the world.
God has in time spoken through events and people. He has spoken in the history of Israel, in the life of Jesus and in the journey of the Church. Indeed, Revelation is always history. If this is so, then understanding Revelation requires an adequate knowledge of the historical, cultural and material contexts in which it took place. Christian archaeology contributes to this knowledge. It illuminates the texts with material evidence. It examines, completes and scrutinizes written sources. In some cases, it confirms the authenticity of traditions. Other times, it places them in their proper context, or even raises new questions. All of this is theologically relevant. If theology is to be faithful to Revelation, it must remain open to the complexity of history.
After Charlotte, the war on Altar Rails moves north.
This past June, Rorate reported on a Pennsylvania parish reeling from a persecution of traditional pastors.
Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the former private secretary of Pope Benedict XVI and current nuncio to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, recently gave an interview to Athinea Andryszczak, broadcast in two parts (1, 2) on the German Catholic television station K-TV.
Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?
Canticles (Song of Solomon), vi, 9
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Because the Doctors of the Church by common consent profess that, if the Most Blessed Virgin did not apparently have any participation in the public life of Jesus Christ, and then suddenly reappeared on the path to Calvary and under the Cross, she could not have been present without Divine design.
In a remarkable gesture of pastoral solicitude, Pope Leo XIV has extended an Apostolic Blessing to the Society of St. Pius X's chapel in the Charlotte Diocese of North Carolina:
Seven years later, we can see through Paul VI's own eyes the devastation that followed the assembly: in his famous homily on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29), 1972, Paul VI was not so optimistic anymore -- main excerpt:
By James Baresel
A priest of my diocese, who occasionally offers the Tridentine Mass on an as needed basis, has developed a habit of preaching on obedience every single time he does so—basing himself, sometimes explicitly, on Saint Alphonsus Liguori’s principle that it is never sinful to obey a superior’s command to do something which is not itself sinful. No attempt to explain just how the saint’s highly qualified statement might be relevant to the priest’s obvious implication has not, to my knowledge, ever been made.
Music has always had an important role in Christian experience. In the liturgy, in particular, singing is never a “soundtrack”, a simple backdrop, but is intended to lift the soul to lead it as close as possible to the mystery that is celebrated. Saint Augustine, referring precisely to singing in prayer, wrote in his Comment on the Psalms: “You must sing to Him, but not out of tune. He does not wish for His ears to be offended. Sing with artistry, O brethren.” How important in music are care, commitment, artistry, and, finally, the harmony that comes from them: it is truly a precious gift that God has given to all humanity. ...
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| Domenico Ghirlandaio, Dionysius the Areopagite with Thomas Aquinas, Madonna and the Child, 1486. |
Announced today -- report by Vatican News (followed by our translation of the full text of letter and report submitted to Pope Leo XIV):
Petrocchi Commission says no to female diaconate, though judgment not definitive
A report presenting the results of the Commission’s work has been released. It rules out admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders, but says that it is not currently possible “to formulate a definitive judgment, as in the case of priestly ordination.” [Vatican News]
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Summary of the Study Commission on the Female Diaconate, December 4, 2025
To His Holiness
Leo XIV
Dear Holy Father,
From his press conference in the airplane returning to Rome from Lebanon:
[Question:] The Church in Lebanon is supported also by the German Church. There are, for example, some German aid agencies very active in Lebanon. So from that point of view, it is important that the German Church has to be strong. So you probably know, that there is this Synodal Way, we call it Synodaler Weg, a process of change in the German Church going on. Do you think this process can be a way to strengthen the Church in Germany? Or is it the other way around? And why? [Anna Giordano - German ARD Radio]
[Pope Leo XIV:] The Synodal Way is not unique to Germany, the whole Church has celebrated a synod and synodality over the past several years. There are some great similarities but there are also some marked differences between how the Synodaler Weg in Germany has been carried forward and how it may well continue in the universal Church.
Another print publication goes under, unfortunately.
CFN had a great run, and we pray for the soul of John Vennari and Fr. Gruner, and we thank all those who kept it going.
[Rorate Note: This is part of an ongoing debate; if you wish to contribute or rebut, just send us your view for consideration: newcatholic@gmail.com.]
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Neoplatonism and the Antichrist
by John R. T. Lamont
Sebastian Morello's promotion of 'Christian Hermeticism' has met with severe criticism from a number of sources, as promoting occultism (cf. here). Surprisingly, Morello’ views have been defended by a certain number of Catholics. The criticisms that have been made of his ‘Christian Hermeticism’ are substantially accurate, but the accuracy of these criticisms rests upon facts about complex philosophical systems and historical developments that are little known even to the well-educated reader. It is important to fill in the historical background for the average Catholic, in order to show that Morello's views are irrational and cannot be reconciled with Catholicism.
On November 4, 2025, the doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis was published, with which the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sought to clarify the meaning and limits of certain Marian titles referring to Mary's cooperation in the work of salvation. The statement caused dismay and consternation among the faithful, but also among Mariologists, because it represents an objective diminution of the privileges traditionally reserved for Our Lady by the Tradition of the Church. One wonders now what the practical consequences will be.
On November 6th, 2025, a glorious history came to an end: the chapel of the Ursulines in the city of Quebec was deconsecrated.
The Ursulines first arrived in New France in 1639, founded by Saint Mary of the Incarnation, and their monastery became the first institution for the teaching of women in all of North America (north of New Spain).
They survived the bitter cold, famine, wars, the British conquest, the upheavals of the American Revolution, the two world wars in which Canada played so noble a part -- they survived everything, except Vatican II.
We knew many priests of "The Work" loved the Traditional Mass, that Escrivá celebrated until the end of his life. But the order from above, as far as we could discern, was that the priests of Opus should, whenever possible, refrain from the Traditional Mass, and celebrate "the mass of the pope," that is, the novus ordo promulgated by Paul VI.
Pope Leo XIV became today the first Bishop of Rome to ever visit the tomb of one of the greatest Catholic miracle-workers, Saint Charbel.
Excerpt from his words:
Saint Charbel has never ceased to intercede for us before our Heavenly Father, the source of every good and grace. Even during his earthly life, many went to him to receive comfort, forgiveness and advice from the Lord. After Saint Charbel’s death, his work multiplied and became like a river of mercy. For this reason, on the twenty-second of every month, thousands of pilgrims from different countries come here to spend a day in prayer and to renew their souls and bodies.
