The Vatican has not officially announced the visits.

Angola, a nation of 37 million (map) is 92% Christian (52% Catholic) and 6% ethnic religionist. Equatorial Guinea, a nation of 1.9 million (map), is 88% Christian (80% Catholic) and 4% Muslim.

The National Catholic Register reported that “growth this year has been particularly strong among catechumens, meaning those who have never been baptized.” A record number of students are also preparing to enter the Church at Harvard University.

“The first task is to restore order and peace to our streets, and insist on calm and restraint in our public discourse,” Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles wrote in an archdiocesan media column. “I hope all sides in this conflict—federal authorities, city and state officials, and those protesting the enforcement actions—will take a step back in the interests of the common good.”

Archbishop Gomez added:

There is no question that the federal government has the duty to enforce immigration laws. But there must be a better way than this ... It serves no national interest to deport undocumented men and women who are contributing to the good of our society, it only leaves children without their parents.

Our rights do not depend on the decisions of government officials or law enforcement officers; we do not lose our rights based on the color of our skin, or the language we speak, or for not having the proper documents. Right now our government seems to be treating undocumented immigrants—men, women, and children—as if they have no rights.

“How will you say ‘no’ to violence?” he said yesterday during an online interfaith prayer service. “How will you say ‘no’ this week when an appropriations bill is going to be considered in Congress?”

Cardinal Tobin added:

Will you contact your congressional representatives, the senators and representatives from your district? Will you ask them, for the love of God and the love of human beings, which can’t be separated, to vote against renewing funding for such a lawless organization?

“The assailants robbed Father Ilunga of his motorcycle, personal bag, mobile phone, and money before tying him up and abandoning him,” ACI Africa reported.

Pope Leo XIV received the officers of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) on January 26.

Msgr. Crispino Valenziano, an influential Italian liturgist, died on January 24 at the age of 93.

“Ultimately, the forces driving historical change are the same ones that transform the human heart,” the report concluded. “This conviction, which unites ethics, spirituality and political action, must guide our response to the challenge of AI and orient its development toward a genuine project of integral human development.”

Praising Pope Leo’s “moral and spiritual leadership,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees thanked Pope Leo XIV for his “steadfast support” for refugees.

“May the face of Jesus, always shine upon Hong Kong, and may Hong Kong rejoice in the face of Jesus,” he said.

Cardinal Tagle made his remarks at a January 18 concert marking the 80th anniversary of the Diocese of Hong Kong.

Others in attendance included Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, of Hong Kong; current and former governors of Hong Kong; the cardinal archbishop of Tokyo; bishops from Macau and Taipei; Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, Germany; and Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Jose, California.