With the advent of Christmas and the celebrations marking the onset of the new year 2026, people send messages of love with good wishes usually starting with the term, "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year".

At one time in history, the tiny Christin community in Gaza Strip stood at over 2,000 people. Nowadays its members may number 600 people or even fewer.

Over the past two years, pilgrimage to the Holy Land has diminished to a very low point with fewer than ever groups visiting the holy sites in the land that marks the birth of Lord Jesus Christ, His death, and  resurrection from the dead.

After several days of being away from Italy, Pope Leo XIV returned to Rome following days he spent in Turkey and Lebanon. In Turkey, he commemorated the 1,700th anniversary of the convening of the Council of Nicaea, the first gathering that brought together bishops from around the world, at the time which obviated a doctrinal schism in the Church.

The Catholic Church has persistently strived to extend a helping hand to the poor and the needy in various fields foremost of which is providing free medical care.

Vatican media has reported that His Holiness Pope Leo XIV had earlier inaugurated San Martino the Apostolic Almoner’s new facility under the Colonnade of St. Peter's Basilica which expands healthcare services for the poor, including a radiology unit to quickly diagnose the most common illnesses affecting people living on the streets.

I write from Beirut awaiting the arrival of Pope Leon XIV in the blessed Land of Cedars, Lebanon. As Jordanians, we undoubtedly share the joy of our Lebanese brethren by welcoming His Holiness, the new Pope, arriving for the first time in an Arab country in the East that still years for peace.

With a feeling of pride and joy, we follow up from Jordan the preparations under way in our fraternal country, Lebanon, to welcome His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on his first Apostolic Journey since assuming the Petrine succession on May 8. He chose both Turkey and Lebanon as his two legs of this historic visit, in a clear indication of the deep Christian roots in these two territories and the spiritual importance they continue to hold for the universal Church.

On his first visit outside Italy, Pope Leo XIV's plane lands today, Thursday, at Ankara Airport so that Turkey would be the first leg on his apostolic tour, to be followed by a second leg to fraternal Lebanon. Through this visit, the Pope seeks to fulfill a "double dream" that his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, was unable to realize due to his passing away.

The Kairos 2025 document, “A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide,” marks a decisive turning point in Palestinian Christian discourse.