January 11, 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 - Pope Francis next month will preside over the canonization Mass of the woman set to become Argentina’s first female saint, the Vatican said this week. The pope will preside over the Mass for Blessed María Antonia of Saint Joseph on February 11 in Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican revealed in its release of the pope’s liturgical schedule for January and February. María Antonia was proclaimed “Venerable” by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 and was later beatified by Pope Francis in 2016. In October, Pope Francis met with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, to give his authorization for the the promulgation of a miracle attributed to the Argentinian religious sister, paving her way to become the country’s first female saint. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256494/pope-francis-to-preside-over-canonization-mass-of-argentina-s-first-female-saint Throughout 2023, more than 130 Catholic priests and religious were either arrested, kidnapped, or murdered, according to a new report on Catholic persecution published by Aid to the Church in Need. The report published by the Catholic charity found at least 132 instances of arrests, kidnappings, and/or murders, which is slightly higher than the report from the previous year, which found 124. The uptick was mostly driven by arrests from authoritarian governments, which went up from 55 in 2022 to 86 in 2023. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256498/report-over-130-catholic-priests-and-religious-arrested-kidnapped-or-murdered-in-2023 Located in Pittsburgh’s suburban neighborhood of Beechview sits a unique Catholic spiritual center that is the only one of its kind in the world, according to the bishop who opened it last month. The Saint Sharbel Spiritual Life Center is “the only one of its kind in the world,” Mansour said, explaining that the institution offers retreats, courses on spirituality, daily sacraments, Eucharistic adoration, Scripture studies, prayer, reading, and several other opportunities for growth. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256501/one-of-a-kind-saint-charbel-spiritual-center-opens-in-pittsburgh Today, the Church celebrates Saint Theodosius Abbot. Born to a pious family in 423 AD, Theodosius began his studies at an early age, and became a lector while still an adolescent. The example of Abraham led him to leave home in order to properly follow God. Dreading the vanity that comes from the esteem of men and unable to live in solitude with the multitude of admirers, he retired to a cave in the desert of Judah where he led a hermit's life. catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-theodosius-abbot-113