On Friday, 9 January, Catholics from across Jordan made their annual pilgrimage to Bethany Beyond the Jordan (Al-Maghtas) to celebrate Holy Mass for the Baptism of the Lord.

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In this week’s news from the Eastern Churches, produced in collaboration with L’Œuvre d’Orient, we go to Syria, where violence struck Aleppo on the night of 6–7 January.

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Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka as the new Archbishop of Cape Town, marking a significant moment for the Catholic Church in Southern Africa. The appointment was announced in a communiqué issued by the Vatican Press Office on Friday, 9 January 2026.

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The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff has released Pope Leo’s calendar for January and February, with the Pope scheduled to preside at liturgies for the Conversion of St Paul, the Presentation of the Lord, and Ash Wednesday.

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Bishop Hanna Jallouf, Vicar Apostolic of Aleppo, laments escalating clashes between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces in Kurdish-majority areas.

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Meeting members of the Diplomatic Corps, Pope Leo XIV warns that human rights and freedoms are under strain as diplomacy gives way to the logic of power and war.

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Beginning on 6 January, Pope Leo XIV has made use of a new pastoral staff which, as explained by the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, “stands in continuity” with those used by his predecessors, uniting the mission of proclaiming the mystery of Christ on the Cross with the glorious manifestation of the Resurrection.

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At the end of the second day of the Extraordinary Consistory, Pope Leo XIV expressed his desire to continue along this path, “in continuity” with what was requested in the pre-Conclave general congregations, and confirmed the Ecclesial Assembly of October 2028. Cardinal Brislin of South Africa, Cardinal David of the Philippines, and Cardinal Rueda Aparicio of Colombia describe the morning and afternoon proceedings, noting there was a sense of unity, even if not uniformity.

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WASHINGTON - On the weekend of January 24-25 many Catholic dioceses in the United States will take the annual Collection for the Church in Latin America, which supports ministries among the poor in Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

“This annual collection exemplifies the spiritual journey of Pope Leo XIV, who was born in Chicago but spent most of his ministry serving the poor in Peru,” said Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, SDV, of the Diocese of Fall River, and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America, which oversees this annual collection and the grants it funds.

During the decade that then-Bishop Robert Prevost was Bishop of Chiclayo, his diocese received several grants from the Collection for the Church in Latin America. With this support, the diocese improved youth ministry in impoverished parishes, promoted care for the environment and educated thousands of parents, teachers and catechists in the prevention of child abuse.

“The Second Vatican Council, which ended a dozen years before Robert Prevost entered the Augustinian order, encouraged Catholics to reach out in love across all national borders, especially those between the wealthy global north and the developing global south,” said Bishop da Cunha, a Brazilian whose diocese includes Portuguese and Spanish-speaking Catholics. “Pope Leo XIV’s faith journey embodies the spirit of why the bishops of the United States created the Church in Latin America program six decades ago to make an impact in Latin America.”

The online giving platform iGiveCatholic also accepts funds to support this work.

In 2024, gifts to the Collection for the Church in Latin America provided more than $8 million for 344 projects. Some sample projects are:

• Evangelization, faith formation and pastoral care of teenagers in the Archdiocese of Caracas, Venezuela, whose parents have migrated to work in other countries.
• Prison ministry in the notorious Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with 10,000 severely overcrowded inmates and frequent lethal violence.
• Forming hundreds of Haitian lay leaders in marriage ministry so they can promote strong families in a society that is disintegrating from poverty and gang violence.
• A conference for 1,500 Colombians to seek peace in a six-decade civil war through evangelization that emphasizes Jesus’s command to love our enemies.
• Preparing lay leaders in the Archdiocese of Havana, Cuba, to become evangelists in their communities, despite communist repression of the Catholic faith.
• An international gathering of 130 faith leaders in Mexico City to explore the continuing importance of the Vatican II document on Scripture, Dei Verbum.

“All of these projects represent the types of initiatives that inspired Father Prevost to go to Peru as a missionary,” Bishop da Cunha said. “In supporting the Collection for the Church in Latin America, we are able to honor Pope Leo XIV and, above all, serve the Lord who calls us to love our neighbors.”

More information is at www.usccb.org/latin-america.

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Father Francesco Ielpo, Custos of the Holy Land, invites the faithful to resume pilgrimages to the Holy Land, as they are a source of economic support and of hope to the local communities.

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