Day: December 20, 2025
Dec. 19 December 19, O Root of Jesse (O Radix Jesse); Ember Friday, Weekday
Today is the Third of the O Antiphons, O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse). Christ the King, the Lord! Divine Wisdom, Adonai, the powerful God, is at the same time man with flesh and blood of the house of Jesse, the father of King David. Truly, the right of kingship has now passed from … Read more
Pope Leo XIV writes preface to book that shaped his spiritual life
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for the Jubilee of Prisoners in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 14, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media Vatican City, Dec 19, 2025 / 11:05 am (CNA). Pope Leo XIV has written the preface to a new Vatican edition of the book “The Practice of the Presence of God,” a spiritual … Read more
Blessed Pope Urban V
Blessed Pope Urban V Feast date: Dec 19 Blessed Pope Urban V was born Guillaume de Grimoard at Grisac in Languedoc, 1310. He studied canon law and theology in Avignon and became a Benedictine monk. He was named abbot of his monastery in 1352, and served as a papal diplomat and was eventually sent as … Read more
Pope Leo XIV warns against destructive spiral of autonomous weapons and escalation
Pope Leo XIV speaks to patients and caregivers at the De La Croix Hospital in Jal el Dib, Lebanon, on Dec. 2, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media Vatican City, Dec 18, 2025 / 18:28 pm (CNA). Pope Leo XIV warned against the destructive spiral fueled by the arms race and the development of autonomous weapons, … Read more