NATION
BURLINGTON, Wash. (OSV News) – Several parishes and schools across Western Washington have shut down operations due to historic flooding in the state. Gov. Bob Ferguson announced Dec. 12 that President Donald Trump signed the state’s request for an emergency declaration, permitting federal funds to be used as aid in 16 counties and several Tribal Nations affected by the floods. The Laudato Si’ Movement-Washington State Chapter released a statement Dec. 11, saying, “We are working together with Archdiocese of Seattle, Catholic Community Services, and additional collaborative agencies to prepare for and provide emergency assistance, as needed.” St. Charles Parish in Burlington, St. Catherine Mission in Concrete, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Snoqualmie, St. Joseph School in Issaquah and Immaculate Conception School in Mount Vernon are among the closures. The Tri-Parish Food Bank at St. Charles has also been shut down. In its statement, the Laudato Si’ Movement-Washington State Chapter said it “holds all those affected in prayer” and called the devastation “heartbreaking.” Early on Dec. 15, the National Weather Service said that “a period of very active weather will dominate the week ahead as a series of strong frontal systems produce cascading impacts across Western Washington.”

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The Washington-based Black and Indian Mission Office is getting a boost from two new half-hour documentaries, “Trailblazers of Faith: The Legacy of African American Catholics” and “Walking the Sacred Path: The Story of the Black and Indian Mission Office.” Father Maurice Henry Sands, a Detroit archdiocesan priest that heads the office, hopes they’ll be an aid with fundraising. Trailers of the films can be viewed on the mission office’s website, https://blackandindianmission.org/films. “Trailblazers of Faith” tells the story of how African Americans have been able to embrace the Catholic faith without abandoning their own culture. A particular focus is on the Baltimore-based Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first Catholic order in the U.S. for Black women, as well as Venerable Mother Henriette Delille of New Orleans, Servant of God Julia Greeley, Venerable Father Augustus Tolton and Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman. They are among seven Black Catholics with active sainthood causes – dubbed the “Saintly Seven.” The Black and Indian Missions Office originated in 1874 as the Bureau of Catholic Missions, with wider goals added in subsequent years. The office is in a brick row house that once belonged to St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955), the Philadelphia heiress who devoted her life and her wealth to ministering to Native Americans and African Americans.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Nativity scene and the Christmas tree are signs of faith and hope, Pope Leo XIV said. “As we contemplate them in our homes, parishes and town squares, let us ask the Lord to renew in us the gift of peace and fraternity,” he said, calling for prayers for all those who suffer because of war and violence. “We must eliminate hatred from our hearts.” The pope was speaking Dec. 15 during a meeting with the government representatives, artisans and donors responsible for providing the Christmas decorations in the Paul VI Audience Hall and in St. Peter’s Square. Pope Leo thanked the Costa Rican artist who created the Nativity scene for the audience hall, titled “Nacimiento Gaudium.” Created by Paula Sáenz Soto, it features a pregnant Virgin Mary and 28,000 colored ribbons, each representing a life saved from abortion thanks to the prayers and support provided to many mothers in difficulty by Catholic organizations, according to a press release by the Vatican City State’s governing office. “I thank the Costa Rican artist who, together with the message of peace at Christmas, also wanted to launch an appeal for the protection of life from the moment of conception,” Pope Leo said. “The Nativity scene and the Christmas tree are signs of faith and hope,” he said to all those present. “Let the tenderness of the child Jesus illuminate our lives. Let God’s love, like the branches of an evergreen tree, remain fervent in us.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Timothy Dolan as archbishop of New York and named Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks of Joliet, Illinois, as his successor. The Vatican announced the decision Dec. 18. Cardinal Dolan, who turned 75 in February, submitted his resignation as required by canon law. Appointed archbishop of New York in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI, he was made a cardinal three years later. Cardinal Dolan previously served as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and held several national leadership roles, including chair of pro-life and religious liberty committees. Archbishop Hicks, 58, has led the Diocese of Joliet since 2020. Born in Chicago and longtime priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, he has served as vicar general, auxiliary bishop, seminary formator, and regional director of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos in Central America. He currently serves on several USCCB committees and Catholic boards.

WORLD
PARIS (OSV News) – Fifty French Catholics killed under Nazism were beatified Dec. 13, 2025, during a Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, recognizing their witness of faith during World War II. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg presided at the liturgy, as they were declared blessed, with their liturgical memorial on May 5. The martyrs – priests, seminarians and laymen – died in Germany between 1944 and 1945 while serving fellow French workers deported under Nazi forced labor policies. Many belonged to the Young Christian Workers movement, with several also active as Catholic scouts. They volunteered to accompany workers sent to German factories, offering pastoral care through a clandestine mission known as the St. Paul Mission. For French Father Bernard Ardura, former president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, and postulator of their causes in Rome since 2018, these men are “martyrs of the apostolate.” “They went to Germany voluntarily, as Christians, and it was as Christians that they were arrested and died,” he told OSV News. They died in concentration camps, death marches or executions, refusing to abandon their faith. In his homily, Cardinal Hollerich praised their courage, calling the witness given by their lives and deaths a faithful following of Christ to the very end.

SYDNEY (OSV News) – After two gunmen targeted Jewish beachgoers at an event celebrating the first day of Hanukkah in terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Pope Leo XIV highlighted God’s closeness to humanity and called for prayers for those who suffer on account of war and violence, especially the victims from the Jewish community in Australia. “Enough with these forms of antisemitic violence!” Pope Leo said Dec. 15, speaking with the groups that donated this year’s Vatican Christmas Tree and Nativity Scene. “We must eliminate hatred from our hearts,” he highlighted. In a Dec. 15 statement, Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney called for an end to an “atmosphere of antisemitism” in Australia. He also shared that he personally has Jewish heritage from his great-grandmother, and that as Christians “an attack on the Jews is an attack on all of us.” Just hours after the shooting and an initial report of 12 dead, the death toll rose to 15. The Guardian reported a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi and two Holocaust survivors were among victims. The second gunman, police confirmed, was in custody and in critical condition. According to authorities, over 40 people were wounded and taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital. The attack occurred in the early evening as hundreds were gathered at Archer Park, a grassy area in Bondi Beach.