The pontiff offers something rare: a pastor-leader urging the church to reclaim the dignity of every person — not as an abstract idea, but as the core of its public witness.

For the world's 1.4 billion Catholics and for millions of other people as well, the Catholic Church's 2025 was primarily about the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV.

Pope Leo XIV’s profile is among the most viewed pages on the digital encyclopedia Wikipedia and was one of the most searched terms on Google in 2025.

Leo on Thursday formally suppressed the fundraising commission, abrogated its statutes and fired its members. He decreed that its assets would go to the Holy See as a whole, and that the Vatican patrimony office would oversee the commission’s extinction.

As Catholics prepare to turn the page on 2025, the Catholic Herald reflects on moments joyful and sorrowful throughout the year.