February 15, 2024

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - The unveiling process for the newly rebuilt spire of Paris’ legendary Notre Dame Cathedral began this week, with the process expected to be completed in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics in July. The cathedral has been closed ever since a devastating fire April 15, 2019, saw the spire crash through the centuries-old timber roof. Deconstruction of the scaffolding surrounding the spire — which reaches 330 feet in height — will take several months. The spire’s new cross was mounted on December 6, 2023, and on December 16 a golden rooster — a symbol of France — was blessed and added, replacing one that was destroyed in the fire. The spire was not original to the 800-year-old structure, having been added during a 19th-century renovation. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256836/notre-dame-cathedral-spire-to-be-unveiled-nearly-five-years-after-devastating-fire Nearly three dozen Christians have lost their lives in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last October, a Christian aid group in the region said this week. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256828/nearly-3-dozen-christians-have-died-in-gaza-strip-amid-israel-hamas-war-aid-group-says Pope Francis will become the first pope to visit the prestigious Venice Biennale art exhibition when he travels to the “city of canals” this spring. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256826/pope-francis-to-visit-prestigious-venice-biennale-art-exhibition A local police investigation into the vandalization of a Blessed Virgin Mary statue outside a Catholic charitable group’s headquarters in Nebraska is currently listed as “inactive” after police were unable to identify the perpetrator, even though one of the building’s security cameras caught the vandal on video. Katie Patrick, executive director of Catholic Social Services, told CNA that this was the first time an incident such as this had occurred on their campus. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256834/police-drop-investigation-into-vandalization-of-nebraska-blessed-mother-statue Today, the Church celebrates Saint Claude de la Colombière, the 17th century French Jesuit who authenticated and wrote about Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque's visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-claude-de-la-colombiere-148