The Church of St. Luke

Pope Leo XIV with the Spanish flag in the foreground on Dec. 8, 2025. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

, Jan 9, 2026 / 17:06 pm (CNA).

Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and the Canary Islands are likely destinations in 2026 for Pope Leo XIV to visit.

Archbishop Luis Argüello, president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference; Félix Bolaños, minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Parliament; and Father Jesús Díaz Sariego, OP, president of CONFER. | Credit: Ministry of the Presidency

, Jan 9, 2026 / 16:28 pm (CNA).

The Church and the Spanish government have signed an agreement to provide a channel for compensating victims of sexual abuse.

Archbishop Jesús González de Zárate, president of the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference | Credit: Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference

, Jan 9, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Following the U.S. attack Jan. 3 on Venezuela and the capture of its president and his wife, the country is experiencing a “tense calm,” Archbishop Jesús González de Zárate said.

Artist’s sketch of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores at the New York courthouse where they appeared Jan. 5, 2025. Photos and videos are prohibited, hence this illustration, but journalists are allowed to be present. | Credit: CNN

, Jan 8, 2026 / 18:10 pm (CNA).

With Maduro’s capture, people of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua have reason to hope for change, according to the former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS).

Participants gather for worship at the MEHR conference in Augsburg, Germany, Jan. 3–6, 2026. | Credit: Andreas Thonhauser/EWTN

, Jan 8, 2026 / 15:06 pm (CNA).

The four-day MEHR conference drew participants from across the European continent to hear from international speakers, including American presenters.

Vienna Skyline with St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Austria. | Credit: mrgb/shutterstock

, Jan 8, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church in Austria has launched a new program for late vocations that allows the priest to also maintain his current career.

An architectural rendering shows the planned Church of the Holy Trinity in Neratovice, Czech Republic. The Noah’s Ark-inspired design by architect Zdeněk Fránek features a green roof and may become the world’s largest 3D-printed church. | Credit: The Neratovice Community Center Foundation

, Jan 8, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The church tower will be constructed using 3D printing technology, but whether the entire church will be printed is to be decided soon.

St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland. | Credit: Gastao at English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

, Jan 7, 2026 / 13:40 pm (CNA).

Scottish bishops have denounced a law establishing so-called “buffer zones” around abortion facilities.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop emeritus of New York. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

, Jan 7, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Cardinal Timothy Dolan introduced a series of brief mediations on the “things worth recovering” in the essentials of the Catholic faith and began with explaining the sign of the cross.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. | Credit: U.S. Department of State Flickr, public domain; Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

, Jan 6, 2026 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

The U.S. State Department indicated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Vatican counterpart, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, discussed efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in Venezuela.