Natalicio de Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 19 de enero
Santa Inés, Virgen y Mártir. 21 de enero
Día de oración por la protección legal de la criatura en el viente materno. 22 de enero
Nuestra Señora de la Paz. 24 de enero
Santa Ángela Merici, Virgen. 27 de enero
Santo Tomás de Aquino. 28 de enero
Santo Juan Bosco. 31 de enero
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Únase a lista de correos electrónicos Mande un texto: MSCATHOLIC a 84576
LÍNEA DIRECTA DE PREVENCIÓN DE FRAUDE El Departamento de Asuntos Temporales de la Diócesis de Jackson ha contratado a Lighthouse Services para proporcionar una línea directa anónima de fraude financiero, cumplimiento, ética y recursos humanos. Esta línea directa permite un método adecuado para reportar sucesos relacionados con la administración temporal dentro de parroquias, escuelas y la oficina de cancillería.
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) — El mundo no se salva con amenazas de violencia, ni juzgando, oprimiendo o eliminando a los demás, afirmó el Papa León XIV.
“Sino más bien (se salva) esforzándose incansablemente por comprender, perdonar, liberar y acoger a todos, sin cálculos y sin miedo”, dijo el Papa durante la Misa en la basílica de San Pedro con motivo de la fiesta de María, Madre de Dios, y del Día Mundial de la Paz, el 1 de enero.
Por lo tanto, al comienzo de un nuevo año con “días nuevos y únicos que nos esperan, pidamos al Señor experimentar en todo momento, a nuestro alrededor y sobre nosotros, el calor de su abrazo paterno y la luz de su mirada que bendice”, dijo en su homilía.
El papa León XIV bendice a los fieles tras celebrar la misa en la festividad de María, Madre de Dios, y el Día Mundial de la Paz en la basílica de San Pedro, en el Vaticano, el 1 de enero de 2026. (Foto CNS/Lola Gómez)
La Misa marcó la 59.ª Jornada Mundial de la Paz celebrada por la Iglesia. El mensaje del Papa para la jornada mundial, publicado en diciembre, estaba dedicado a la paz humilde, “desarmada y desarmante” de Cristo resucitado, que ama incondicionalmente.
Miles de personas asistieron a la celebración en la basílica el día de Año Nuevo, entre ellas jóvenes disfrazados de los tres reyes que visitaron a Jesús.
Una figurita del niño Jesús se encontraba ante el altar, en consonancia con la temporada navideña de celebración, y una imagen de Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza estaba al lado del altar mayor como símbolo del Jubileo de la esperanza, que finalizará el 6 de enero.
En su homilía, el Papa León reflexionó sobre el misterio de la maternidad divina de la Virgen María, que “contribuyó a dar a la Fuente de toda misericordia y benevolencia un rostro humano: el rostro de Jesús, a través de cuyos ojos de niño, luego de joven y de hombre, el amor del Padre nos alcanza y nos transforma”.
Al nacer de María en un pesebre, dijo, Dios se nos presenta “desarmado y desarmante”, tan “desnudo, indefenso como un recién nacido en la cuna”.
“Y esto para enseñarnos que el mundo no se salva afilando las espadas, juzgando, oprimiendo o eliminando a los hermanos”, afirmó. Más bien, el mundo se salva buscando comprender, perdonar, liberar y acoger a todos con amor.
María Santísima, quien lleva al niño Jesús en su vientre, representa “dos inmensas realidades ‘desarmadas’” que se unen, dijo: “la de Dios que renuncia a todo privilegio de su divinidad para nacer según la carne, y y la de la persona que con confianza abraza totalmente Su voluntad”.
“Así, al inicio del nuevo año, la Liturgia nos recuerda que cada día puede ser, para cada uno de nosotros, el comienzo de una vida nueva, gracias al amor generoso de Dios, a su misericordia y a la respuesta de nuestra libertad”, dijo el Papa León. “hermoso pensar así el año que comienza: como un camino abierto, por descubrir”.
“Y es, en el que aventurarnos, por gracia, libres y portadores de libertad, perdonados y dispensadores de perdón, confiados en la cercanía y en la bondad del Señor que siempre nos acompaña”, dijo.
Contemplando la plaza de San Pedro después de la Misa, el Papa León instó a los cristianos a ayudar a inaugurar “una época de paz y amistad entre todos los pueblos”.
“El Jubileo, que está por concluir, nos ha enseñado cómo cultivar la esperanza de un mundo nuevo: convirtiendo el corazón a Dios, para poder transformar los agravios en perdón, el dolor en consolación y los propósitos de virtud en obras buenas”, dijo.
El Hijo de Dios también ilumina “las conciencias de buena voluntad, para que podamos construir el futuro como casa acogedora para todo hombre y toda mujer que nace”, dijo.
“El corazón de Jesús late por todo hombre y toda mujer. Por el que está dispuesto a acogerlo, como los pastores, y por el que no lo quiere, como Herodes”, dijo.
“Su corazón no es indiferente ante quien no tiene corazón para el prójimo: palpita por los justos, para que perseveren en su entrega; y por los injustos, para que cambien de vida y encuentren paz”, dijo el Papa León.
Cada niño no nacido revela “la imagen divina impresa en nuestro cuerpo”, dijo, y pidió oraciones por la paz: “sobre todo entre las naciones ensangrentadas por conflictos y miseria, pero también en nuestras casas, en las familias heridas por la violencia y el dolor”.
“Con la certeza de que Cristo, nuestra esperanza, es el sol de justicia que nunca declina, supliquemos confiados la intercesión de María, Madre de Dios y Madre de la Iglesia”, concluyó antes del rezo del Ángelus.
(OSV News) — As deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro made his first appearance Jan. 5 in a New York courtroom on narco-terrorism charges after the Trump administration carried out what President Donald Trump called on social media “a large scale strike against Venezuela,” uncertainty about immigration status lingered for some Venezuelan migrants in the U.S.
Astrid Liden, communications officer for the Hope Border Institute, a group that works to apply the perspective of Catholic social teaching in policy and practice to the U.S.-Mexico border region, and a Venezuelan-American, told OSV News, “In recent years, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have sought protection in the United States, many passing through the US-Mexico border. Millions of Venezuelans live abroad due to the situation in Venezuela, and we share their hope in the end of the reign of Maduro, whose rule led to the displacement of so many.”
A person reacts holding Venezuelan and U.S. flags as Venezuelan immigrants celebrate in the New York City borough of Brooklyn Jan. 3, 2026, after the United States struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and they were brought to the Metropolitan Detention Center. (OSV News photo/Eduardo Munoz, Reuters)
However, she added, “The recent end of TPS for Venezuelans by the Trump administration sets a very dangerous precedent and puts hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans at risk.”
Maduro was arraigned in a Manhattan federal court by Judge Alvin Hellerstein. Cameras are prohibited in most federal court proceedings, but according to reporters, Hellerstein said, “It’s my job to assure this is a fair trial.”
At the brief hearing, Maduro said through an interpreter that he was “innocent” and “still president of my country.”
Maduro’s regime was seen as illegitimate by many countries around the world, including the European Union. Venezuela’s opposition demonstrated through collecting digitized voter tallies that their candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the 2024 presidential election with 67% of the vote; but Maduro refused to cede power. The Biden administration, which recognized González as Venezuela’s rightful president-elect, in January 2025 said Maduro “clearly lost the 2024 presidential election and has no right to claim the presidency.”
However, world leaders also expressed concern that the U.S. military action to remove Maduro flouted international law.
At an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council just prior to Maduro’s hearing, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned that rules of international law have not been respected,” while U.S. ambassador Mike Waltz called the action a “surgical law enforcement operation.”
The previous day, Pope Leo XIV expressed “deep concern” following Maduro’s capture.
“This must guarantee the country’s sovereignty, ensure the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution, respect the human and civil rights of all, and work to build together a serene future of collaboration, stability, and harmony, with special attention to the poorest who suffer due to the difficult economic situation,” he said after reciting the Angelus prayer with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square Jan. 4.
At a Jan. 3 press conference, Trump said the U.S. will “run the country” of Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” but questions remained about that process.
But the action also highlighted uncertainty for some Venezuelans in the U.S.
In 2025, the Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status for about 600,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S., stripping their legal status to remain in the U.S. TPS status is sometimes granted to countries where natural disasters or civil unrest have fueled displacement.
Asked during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” Jan. 4 whether Venezuelans in the U.S. who were previously under TPS can apply for asylum, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested they can do so, but did not directly address whether deportations to that country would continue.
“Every individual that was under TPS has the opportunity to apply for refugee status and that evaluation will go forward,” Noem said, without elaborating on how those evaluations would be made.
In a comment on the subject at his press conference, Trump said, “Frankly, some wanna stay and some probably wanna go back.”
Catholic immigration advocates previously urged the Trump administration to leave TPS status in place for countries including Venezuela in part because of its political instability.
“The dismantling of a corrupt autocratic regime does not occur simply through the removal of its head — we know this well,” Linden said. “This protection in the United States must be maintained until voluntary and safe return truly becomes a viable option. As Pope Leo XIV has said, we must ensure that ‘the good of the beloved Venezuelan people’ — both those in the country and those abroad — remains enshrined. We must see Venezuelans, including the leaders elected in 2024, involved in a process of democratic transition for there to be a country where Venezuelans can one day return to.”
J. Kevin Appleby, senior fellow for policy at the Center for Migration Studies in New York and the former director of migration policy for the USCCB, told OSV News, “TPS should be renewed at least until a democratically-elected government is in power, so that people feel they will not face persecution upon return.”
He added, “Moreover, the remittances that would flow to the country from half a million Venezuelans with TPS would help steady the country economically.”
In comments to reporters on Maduro’s hearing, Notre Dame Law School professor and organized crime expert Jimmy Gurulé, a former federal prosecutor and former assistant U.S. attorney general, said the hearing is likely the first part of what will be a lengthy legal process.
“While justice will ultimately be served in the Maduro case, it won’t be anytime soon,” he said.
A jury trial in the Maduro case, Gurulé said, “is unlikely to commence until sometime in 2027” in part because “the list of pretrial issues goes on and on.”
“Initially, defense attorneys will challenge the legality of the court’s jurisdiction over Maduro,” he said. “Defense counsel will argue that the U.S. military invasion of Venezuela and subsequent apprehension of Maduro not merely violated principles of international law, but constituted the crime of aggression.”
“Maduro’s defense attorneys will seek broad criminal discovery, which could include a request for the disclosure of classified evidence,” he added. He said that could involve lengthy litigation under the Classified Information Procedures Act, which “balances the government’s needs to protect secrets with a defendant’s rights to a fair trial.”
(Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.)
By Galen Holley NEW ALBANY – Seven-year-old Luis looked the part, right down to his drawn-on mustache and loose-fitting tilma, and watching him alongside his parents, one could imagine Juan Diego woofing down a cookie prior to the Mass, just as Luis did. The glory and pageantry of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe was resplendent on a cold night in New Albany.
“We feel our hearts burning with gratitude to Our Lady,” said Alma Solis, who, on Dec. 12, buzzed around the sanctuary organizing the celebration. Solis, a tireless volunteer, directed altar servers, gave dancers their cues, and translated on-the-fly from English to Spanish.
Marta Miranda sings in the choir during the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New Albany on Dec. 12. (Photos by Galen Holley)
“The celebration is important for Catholics and especially for Mexicans,” said Solis, whose father-in-law, Pablo Garcia, despite a language barrier, is in formation to become a deacon.
Parents in the Hispanic community had dressed their little boys as the sainted peasant, Juan Diego, the simple indigenous man to whom, in 1531, Mary, the Mother of God appeared. Our Lady visited Juan Diego on the Tepeyac Hill in what today is Mexico City. She admonished the people to turn from pagan practices and offered miraculous signs as proof of Jesus’s love. Mary, through the power of God, caused roses to bloom in winter on the Tepeyac Hill, and Catholicism thenceforth bloomed in Latin America.
Catholics built a church on the site of the apparition in the 16th century, and today it’s among the most visited destinations in all the Christian world. Still, as St. Francis’s pastor, Father Xavier Jesuraj said in his homily on Dec. 12, the basilica represents something deeper.
“The building of the church was not the most important thing for the Blessed Mother,” said Father Raj. “The Virgin was present not only as an outward sign but as a promise that she is with us in our joys and sorrows, in all moments and aspects of our lives. She encourages us to offer our daily lives as a devotion and continuation of the celebration in which we participate tonight.”
One-year-old Ulysses Sanchez, dressed as St. Juan Diego, catches a nap prior to the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New Albany on Dec. 12.
The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has become the most popular symbol of faith among Mexican Catholics. The enculturated apparition of Mary, with mocha skin and dark hair, is a stark contrast to European images of the Blessed Mother, and suggests her universal character as Mother of the Church. As Father Raj put it, “She came as a sign not only for Latin America but for Europe and all the world proclaiming the love of her son, Jesus.”
The mustaches drawn onto the lips of babies at St. Francis was an adorable sign of just how much the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe means to Hispanic Catholics. The sight of the beatified Lilliputians tottering into the sanctuary, draped in their peasant’s garb, straw hats in-hand, was enough to inspire religious delight. St. Francis Parish recently celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary, and, as on every Dec. 12, the church was packed. Little Kaitlyn Melany lovingly yet shyly placed a bouquet of flowers before the statue of Our Lady. One-year-old Ulysses Sanchez slept angelically in the arms of his mother, all gussied up in his costume of Juan Diego with red and green. Katherine and her little sister, Melanie, were both dressed as Our Lady, and they seemed to enjoy the pageantry and the energy of the congregation.
Outside, members of the dance troupe from St. Matthew Catholic Church in Ripley, including Emily Juarez, Sandy Ruiz Martinze, and Giovanni Martinez, moved in time with the thumping of the drum. The faithful sang hymns to Our Lady, giving thanks for her intercession and prayers, then they enjoyed a sumptuous meal as children scurried about with smiles and squeals of joy.
(Galen Holley is a member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New Albany. Contact him at galenholley@gmail.com and watch his “Saint Michael Podcast” on YouTube.)
MERIDIAN – Students at St. Patrick School participated in a Eucharistic procession Dec. 11, followed by adoration in St. Patrick Church. Led by Father Carlisle Beggerly, the procession began at the church and moved through the school halls, where students knelt in reverence. (Photo by Helen Reynolds)VICKSBURG – (Right)Bishop Joseph Kopacz blesses the door at St. Paul Parish on Dec. 7, assisted by Father Rusty Vincent and two altar servers. (Photo by Connie Hosemann)PEARL – Students took part in St. Jude Parish’s second Advent Mass, led by youth. Altar server Gabe Sullivan and reader Kinzie Hall served during the liturgy. (Photo by Tereza Ma)JACKSON – Sixth graders at St. Richard School organized their annual Christmas Store, the “Manhattan Mall,” giving residents of Manhattan Nursing Home a festive shopping experience. Families donated gifts so residents could shop for loved ones and leave with wrapped presents for the holidays. (Photo by Celeste Saucier)SOUTHAVEN – Sacred Heart School student Jack B. places a holly leaf on the Advent wreath as the Pre-K 4 class learns about the meaning of the Advent season on Dec. 2, 2025. (Photo by Sister Margaret Sue Broker)JACKSON – Students at St. Richard Early Learning Center listen as Joni House, executive director of Catholic education for the Diocese of Jackson, reads to them during the National Catholic Educational Association’s “Bright Lights in Catholic Education” tour on Tuesday, Dec. 9. (Photo by Tereza Ma)JACKSON – Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School students Eliel Cattenhead (PreK3) and Micaela Martinez Contreras (PreK4) share what they are learning with teacher Barbara Davis during the National Catholic Educational Association’s “Bright Lights in Catholic Education” tour, led by NCEA President Dr. Steve Cheeseman and principal Chris Payne, on Dec. 9. (Photo by Tereza Ma)MERIDIAN – Students in grades five through eight at St. Patrick School perform “The Kings of Swing” as part of their Christmas production, The Christmas Chronicles. (Photo by Helen Reynolds)PEARL – St. Jude Parish Sunday school teacher Christina Overton leads her Atrium III class in a lesson about the Mass. (Photo by Tereza Ma)
By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The “confrontational” tone dominating both global and national politics is “deepening instability and unpredictability day by day,” Pope Leo XIV wrote in his message for World Peace Day.
“It is no coincidence that repeated calls to increase military spending, and the choices that follow, are presented by many government leaders as a justified response to external threats,” he wrote in the message for the Jan. 1 observance.
But peace must be protected and cultivated, Pope Leo said. “Even when it is endangered within us and around us, like a small flame threatened by a storm, we must protect it.”
Throughout the coming year, Pope Leo will give visiting heads of state signed copies of his message, which was released by the Vatican Dec. 18, and Vatican ambassadors will distribute it to government leaders in the countries where they serve.
Pope Leo XIV joins religious leaders at the International Meeting of Dialogue and Prayer for Peace near the Colosseum in Rome Oct. 28, 2025. In his message for World Peace Day, the pope said religious leaders must refute “forms of blasphemy that profane the holy name of God” by using religion to defend war. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, presented the message at a Vatican news conference.
“In some ways we have been beaten into accepting the logic of war, the logic of armaments, the logic of enemies,” the cardinal said. Pope Leo’s message recognizes that “the first triumph of the logic of war is that we give up our hope for peace.”
“I am not a soldier, I have never been a soldier,” the cardinal said, but “even a soldier can be comforted” by Pope Leo’s appeal to cultivate “peace in his heart and in his relationships and in his prayer and in his aspirations.”
While the message “does not diminish in any way the horrors that we are surrounded with,” he said, “it puts an enormous part of the responsibility on ourselves.”
The theme of the pope’s message, “Peace be with you all: Towards an ‘unarmed and disarming’ peace,” begins with the first words he said to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square May 8, the night of his election.
Pope Leo wrote in the message that he and all religious leaders have an obligation to teach and preach against “the growing temptation to weaponize even thoughts and words” and to condemn the use of religion to justify violence and exaggerated forms of nationalism.
“Unfortunately, it has become increasingly common to drag the language of faith into political battles, to bless nationalism, and to justify violence and armed struggle in the name of religion,” the pope wrote.
“Believers must actively refute, above all by the witness of their lives, these forms of blasphemy that profane the holy name of God,” Pope Leo said.
What is needed instead, he said, is prayer, spirituality and ecumenical and interreligious dialogue “as paths of peace and as languages of encounter within traditions and cultures.”
The message echoed what Pope Leo had told reporters Dec. 2 after meeting Christian, Muslim and Druze leaders in Turkey and Lebanon during his first foreign trip: “The more we can promote authentic unity and understanding, respect and human relationships of friendship and dialogue in the world, the greater possibility there is that we will put aside the arms of war, that we will leave aside the distrust, the hatred, the animosity that has so often been built up and that we will find ways to come together and be able to promote authentic peace and justice throughout the world.”
The first step in sowing peace, the pope wrote, is to believe that peace is possible and that all people desire it.
“When we treat peace as a distant ideal,” he wrote, “we cease to be scandalized when it is denied, or even when war is waged in its name.”
“When peace is not a reality that is lived, cultivated and protected, then aggression spreads into domestic and public life,” he said. When that happens, “it could even be considered a fault not to be sufficiently prepared for war, not to react to attacks, and not to return violence for violence.”
Statistics show that is already happening, the pope said.
Global military expenditures “increased by 9.4% in 2024 compared to the previous year, confirming the trend of the last ten years and reaching a total of $2718 billion – or 2.5% of global GDP,” he wrote, citing studies by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Pope Leo also decried a shift in education and in the media that instead of focusing on achievements in peacemaking and diplomacy since World War II and on remembering with horror just how many people died in that war, “we now see communication campaigns and educational programs – at schools, universities and in the media – that spread a perception of threats and promote only an armed notion of defense and security.”
That shift becomes especially frightening given advancements in weapons technology, particularly the development of drones, robots and other automated lethal weapons systems that can be controlled by artificial intelligence.
“There is even a growing tendency among political and military leaders to shirk responsibility, as decisions about life and death are increasingly ‘delegated’ to machines,” he wrote.
Pope Leo called on Christians and all people of goodwill to join forces “to contribute to a disarming peace, a peace born of openness and evangelical humility.”
“Goodness is disarming,” he wrote. “Perhaps this is why God became a child.”
Pope Leo prayed that as the Jubilee Year draws to a close, its legacy would be a “disarmament of heart, mind and life.”
(Read the entirety of Pope Leo XIV’s message for World Day of Peace at https://bit.ly/49piqTt)
CASTEL GANDOLFO (CNS) – At the end of his one day off each week, Pope Leo XIV went to the local school in Castel Gandolfo and joined hundreds of excited parents in watching the children’s Christmas concert.
After 45 minutes of songs in Italian, Latin, English and Spanish, Pope Leo thanked the children and their teachers for “the invitation that mysteriously arrived at my house, but maybe even more mysterious was the response when you learned I had decided to come.”
Shortly after the pope arrived Dec. 16 and school staff convinced the parents to sit down, more than 200 students, from the oldest to the youngest, filed on to risers on the stage in the gym wearing white sweatshirts and dark trousers.
Pope Leo XIV shakes hands with students at the Pontifical Paul VI School in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, after he attended their Christmas concert in the school gym Dec. 16, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
The children all begin studying English in primary school, and the first piece they sang in English was a rousing “Joy to the World.” They also sang “The Little Drummer Boy” with drumming hand motions.
At the end of the concert, before leading the children in the Lord’s Prayer – which one class did in Italian sign language as well – Pope Leo spoke about the first song, a modern Italian carol, that recounted the angels singing the news of Jesus’ birth.
“The most beautiful words were about ‘angels who bring love,’ and you are the ones who brought love to all of us this evening,” the pope told the children.
St. Augustine once said, “One who loves, sings,” he told them.
“This is Christmas – God who wanted to draw near to us, especially to the smallest,” the pope said, expressing his hope that “we can feel and live this love” all year long.
Pope Leo also thanked the children for singing in several languages, showing that Christmas fills the hearts of believers everywhere with joy and peace.
He also quoted a well-known Italian song that says, “At Christmas you can do more.”
“It’s an invitation to all of us,” the pope said. “Let’s do more to proclaim peace, love and unity in the world.”
By Katarzyna Szalajko OBERNDORF, Austria (OSV News) – As Christmas nears and “Silent Night” echoes through churches worldwide, its origins point to hardship rather than holiday calm.
The world’s most famous Christmas carol – “Stille Nacht” in German – was not born in a peaceful, picture-book setting. There was no postcard village, no soft snowfall, no glowing atmosphere.
The beloved carol was first sung on Christmas Eve 1818 in Oberndorf, Austria – a town battered by war, famine and political upheaval after the Napoleonic Wars and a global climate crisis triggered by a volcanic eruption.
Silent Night Chapel, where the famed “Stille Nacht” Christmas carol was born is seen on an 2024 photograph in Oberndorf, Austria. The beloved carol was first sung there on Christmas Eve 1818. Oberndorf was not a fairy-tale place back then – it was battered by war, famine and political upheaval after the Napoleonic Wars and a global climate crisis triggered by a volcanic eruption. (OSV News photo/courtesy Stille Nacht Museum)
Museum officials say the song emerged from poverty and uncertainty. Its creators, Father Joseph Mohr and schoolteacher Franz Xaver Gruber, both rose from humble beginnings thanks to mentors who recognized their musical gifts.
Mohr’s lyrics speak of God entering a troubled world in quiet humility, while Gruber’s simple melody conveys warmth and hope. “The melody is simple but creates a feeling of warmth and safety,” Martina Knall, a representative of the Stille-Nacht-Museum, said.
“The text speaks of rescue from distress, hope and love – themes that speak to everyone.”
For Father Thomas Kunnappallil, pastor of Oberndorf’s parish since September, said that for him as a priest, “Silent Night” is more than a Christmas song, leading back “to the deep mystery that God does not appear in the splendor and noise of this world, but in the silence of a child who gives peace and hope.”
