St. Mary's Church

El Santuario Santa Francisca Rubatto, de la ciudad de Montevideo (Uruguay) fue blanco de delincuentes que se llevaron imágenes de santos, placas conmemorativas y canillas de bronce. 

Este miércoles se presentó al Papa León XIV un mosaico de su retrato oficial como pontífice, que será colocado en la Basílica de San Pablo Extramuros, una antigua tradición que se realiza con la elección de cada Papa.

La Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos (USCCB) invitó a los católicos de todo el país a unirse a la Vigilia Nacional de Oración por la Vida, que se celebrará del jueves 22 al viernes 23 de enero, con el objetivo de orar por el fin del aborto y promover un mayor respeto por toda vida humana.

El Papa León XIV nombró Nuncio Apostólico en Albania a Mons. Miroslaw Adamzcyk, quien hasta ahora desempeñaba ese cargo en Argentina.  

Se estrena en España la película animada “La bicicleta de Bartali”, basada en el ciclista católico que colaboró en salvar a 800 judíos y que alienta la paz en Tierra Santa. 

Jan 14, 2026 / 10:25 am (CNA).

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it is addressing a religious worker visa backlog with rules that will reduce wait times and disruptions in ministry for faith-based communities.

“Under the leadership of Secretary [Kristi] Noem, DHS is committed to protecting and preserving freedom and expression of religion. We are taking the necessary steps to ensure religious organizations can continue delivering the services that Americans depend on,” a DHS spokesperson said in a press release Wednesday. “Pastors, priests, nuns, and rabbis are essential to the social and moral fabric of this country. We remain committed to finding ways to support and empower these organizations in their critical work.”

Under the rule expected to be issued Jan. 16, religious workers in the country on R-1 visas would no longer be required to reside outside of the U.S. for a full year if they reach their statutory five-year maximum period of stay before completing their green card applications.

“While R-1 religious workers are still required to depart the U.S., the rule establishes that there is no longer a minimum period of time they must reside and be physically present outside the U.S. before they seek readmission in R-1 status,” DHS said.

The rule is set to be published Jan. 16 in the Federal Register, which posted an unpublished version of the interim rule.

DHS acknowledged the significant demand for visas within the EB-4 category “has exceeded the supply for many years,” citing 2023 changes implemented by President Joe Biden’s State Department. “By eliminating the one-year foreign residency requirement, USCIS [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] is reducing the time religious organizations are left without their trusted clergy and non-ministerial religious workers,” according to a DHS statement.

The interim rule is effective immediately upon publication Jan. 16, DHS said. 

“We are tremendously grateful for the administration’s work to address certain challenges facing foreign-born religious workers, their employers, and the American communities they serve. The value of the Religious Worker Visa Program and our appreciation for the efforts undertaken to support it cannot be overstated,” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) President Archbishop Paul Coakley and Bishop Brendan Cahill, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, said in a statement.

“This targeted change is a truly significant step that will help facilitate essential religious services for Catholics and other people of faith throughout the United States by minimizing disruptions to cherished ministries,” the bishops said, adding that they are still continuing to urge Congress to enact the Religious Workforce Protection Act “in order to provide the full extent of the relief needed.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a press conference in December 2025 that the government would reveal its plan “early next month” for religious worker visas that would avoid giving preference to one denomination over another. Rubio noted that the plan would not favor one religion over another and that there would be “country-specific requirements depending on the country they’re coming from.” 

“I think we’re going to get to a good place,” Rubio said at the time. “We don’t have it ready yet. All this takes time to put together, but we’re moving quickly. I think we’ll have something positive about that at some point next month, hopefully in the early part of next month.”

Visas for religious workers allow foreign nationals to work for a U.S. religious organization, through the temporary R-1 visa or a Green Card EB-4 visa, which requires at least two years of membership in the same denomination and a job offer from a qualifying nonprofit religious group.

Rubio had also said in August the administration was working to create a “standalone process” for religious workers, separate from other competing applicants to the employment-based fourth preference (EB-4) category of visas that became severely backlogged after an unprecedented influx in unaccompanied minor applicants — most of which the USCIS has since alleged were fraudulent — who were added to the already-tight category under the Biden administration.

In November 2025, a Catholic diocese in New Jersey dropped a lawsuit filed against the Biden administration’s State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and USCIS, citing knowledge of a solution with national implications.

Since the issue of the backlogged visas started, multiple U.S. dioceses have called for a solution. Priests in the Archdiocese of Boston who are in the U.S. on visas were urged to avoid international travel amid the Trump administration’s immigration policies and deportations.

Priests and other Church leaders have expressed fear of having to leave their ministries and return to their home countries, then endure lengthy wait times before coming back. Church officials have warned that a continuing backlog could lead to significant priest shortages in the United States.

“We are grateful for the administration’s attention to this important issue for the Church and value the opportunity for ongoing dialogue to address these challenges so the faithful can have access to the sacraments and other essential ministries,” a spokesperson for the USCCB told CNA.

This story was updated at 2:20 p.m. ET on Jan. 14, 2026, with a statement from the USCCB.

Este viernes, 16 de enero, el Secretario de Estado del Vaticano, el Cardenal Pietro Parolin proclamará la iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Arabia, ubicada en Ahmadi (Kuwait), basílica menor y se convertirá en la primera de la Península Arábiga.

Se ha viralizado un mensaje de fe de Andrea Ortuño, madre de la familia española, de la cual cuatro miembros se ahogaron en Indonesia la pasada Navidad. 

Construir una Iglesia joven y comprometida con transformar Colombia desde la fe, fue el llamado que recibieron los 1.500 participantes del Congreso Nacional de Jóvenes Carismáticos (CONALJO 2026) realizado en la Arquidiócesis de Cali.

Son 373 más que en el mismo periodo del año anterior, según la Lista Mundial de la Persecución 2026 (LMP), un informe anual que la organización Puertas Abiertas presentó este miércoles y que clasifica los países donde los cristianos sufren la persecución y la discriminación más extrema.