Feast date: Dec 02

The earliest mention in authentic historical authority of St. Bibiana, a Roman female martyr, occurs in the "Liber Pontificalis" where in the biography of Pope Simplicius (468-483) it is stated that this pope "consecrated a basilica of the holy martyr Bibiana, which contained her body". This basilica still exists today. In the fifth century, therefore, the bodily remains of St. Bibiana rested within the city walls. We have no further historical particulars concerning the martyr or the circumstances of her death, neither do we know why she was buried in the city itself. In later times a legend sprang up concerning her, connected with the Acts of the martyrdom of Saints John and Paul, and has no historical claim to belief.

According to this legend, Bibiana was the daughter of a former prefect, Flavianus, who was banished by Julian the Apostate. Dafrosa, the wife of Flavianus, and his two daughters, Demetria and Bibiana, were also persecuted by Julian. Dafrosa and Demetria died a natural death and were buried by Bibiana in their own house, but Bibiana was tortured and died as a result of her sufferings. Two days after her death a priest named John buried Bibiana near her mother and sister in her home, and the house was later turned into a church. It is evident that the legend seeks to explain in this way the origin of the church and the presence in it of the bodies of the above mentioned confessors. The account contained in the martyrologies of the ninth century is drawn from the legend.

An alternate account says that in the year 363, Emperor Julian made Apronianus Governor of Rome. Bibiana suffered in the persecution started by him. She was the daughter of Christians, Flavian, a Roman knight, and Dafrosa, his wife. Bibiana's father was tortured and sent into exile, where he died of his wounds. Her mother was beheaded, and their two daughters, Bibiana and Demetria, were stripped of their possessions and left to suffer poverty. However, they remained in their house, spending their time in fasting and prayer. Governer Apronianus, seeing that hunger and want had no effect upon them, summoned them. Demetria, after confessing her faith, fell dead at the feet of the tyrant. Bibiana was reserved for greater sufferings. She was placed in the hands of a wicked woman called Rufina, who in vain endeavored defile her virginity. She used blows as well as persuasion, but the Christian virgin remained faithful. Enraged at the constancy of this saintly virgin, Apronianus ordered her to be tied to a pillar and beaten with scourges, laden with lead plummets, until she died. The saint endured the torments with joy, and died under the blows inflicted by the hands of the executioner. Her body was then put in the open air to be torn apart by wild animals, yet none would touch it. After two days she was buried according to this legend.

In an unsigned statement for a meeting of the UN Trade and Development organization (UNCTAD), the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva expressed concern about aid cuts to the world’s 44 least developed countries (LDCs), where 1.3 billion people live.

“Official development assistance (ODA) has decreased by $6 billion in just five years,” the Holy See Mission stated. “It is concerning that estimates suggest a further 20 percent decline in ODA.”

“Setting the LDCs on a sustained path towards development will require continued support from the international community based on the LDCs’ actual needs and requests, as well as strengthened domestic efforts to mobilize revenues and improve public financial management,” the statement added.

The Section for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Secretariat of State organized a one-day Jubilee for Christians in International Forums, during which participants were reminded of their responsibility for the common good and peace.

Participants in the November 28 event took part in a conference whose speakers included Linda Ghisoni, ndersecretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life. The day culminated in a jubilee Mass at the Lateran Basilica, celebrated by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the dicastery’s prefect.

The Catholic residents of Munabam, a fishing village in southwestern India, called off a 414-day relay hunger strike after a court temporarily recognized their property rights.

Despite the villagers’ deeds, a state board had declared their property to be Muslim religious land, and the state had stopped accepting property tax from Catholic and Hindu residents. The Hindu residents are continuing their protest until their full property rights are restored.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has published the Catholic Campaign for Human Development’s grant awards for 2026.

The bishops’ Subcommittee for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, together with local bishops, approved 89 grants, totaling $3,498,000, for 2026. The 87 grants for 2025 totaled $2,165,000.

In a statement for the December 28 general election, the bishops of the Central African Republic said that “it is our sacred duty not to leave future generations a burden of endless crises, unrest, and chaos, but a true paradise of peace and prosperity.”

The bishops described the nation as a “work in progress” because of “challenges in the areas of health, education, security, promoting civic engagement, respecting human dignity and a culture of human rights, as well as combating exclusive ethnocentrism, nepotism, corruption, mismanagement, and the misappropriation of public funds.”

The nation of 5.7 million (map) is 76% Christian (44% Catholic), 14% Muslim, and 10% ethnic religionist. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2015.

Gunmen attacked a Protestant church in a Nigerian village on November 30 and kidnapped 12 people, including the pastor and his wife.

The Cherubim and Seraphim Church is located in Ejiba, a village in Nigeria’s Kogi State.

Accompanied by civil officials, the custos (Franciscan provincial) of the Holy Land made his traditional solemn procession into Bethlehem for the beginning of Advent.

“The return of the solemn entrance is not only the recovery of a tradition but the announcement of a possible new beginning,” the Custody of the Holy Land said in a statement. At a time when the wounds of war are still open, the celebration becomes a declaration of resilience, a choice of light against the temptation of discouragement.”

In the 14th century, the Holy See entrusted the care of the holy sites in the Holy Land, including the sites in Bethlehem, to the care of the Franciscan order.

Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, reflected on Pope Leo’s call, issued during his apostolic journey to Turkey, for an ecumenical gathering in Jerusalem in 2033 to commemorate the 2000th anniversary of the Redemption.

“The Successor of Peter addressed this humble and courageous invitation to all, inviting Christians to go beyond Nicaea and return to the origins of the faith, to the place where everything began,” Tornielli wrote in an editorial. “The invitation to Jerusalem in 2033 is thus an invitation to meet again humbly, as brothers united in service to one another, so as to repeat together the words of the Fisherman of Galilee: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!’”

Pope Leo XIV called upon participants in the 2025 Australian Catholic Youth Festival to “listen to what God is calling you to be and do,” rather than imitate others.

“As you know, the only way to hear our Heavenly Father’s voice is to grow closer to him, especially through prayer and the sacraments,” Pope Leo said in his video message, which the Vatican released yesterday. In his message, the Pontiff cited Pope Benedict XVI, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Carlo Acutis.