FEBRUARY 10, 2026 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
BROTHERLY LOVE IN CHRIST
Catholic faith, saintly devotions help Italybound Olympians ▪ SEE PAGES 13 - 15
Two other saints have feast days on Feb. 14 ▪ SEE PAGE 3
FEBRUARY 10, 2026
SPIRITUALITY
Historic black parish serves African immigrant families, longtime communities
texas catholic herald 1
OLYMPICS 2026
Proclaiming the Good News to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston since 1964
VOL. 62, NO. 16
THE VICAR OF CHRIST
BY JO ANN ZUÑIGA Herald Correspondent HOUSTON — St. Nicholas Catholic Church, more than 100 years old near downtown Houston, is surrounded by newly built townhomes and lofts as parishioners, led by St. Nicholas pastor Father Eliseus Ogbonna Ibeh, MSP, strive to raise funds to renovate their aging campus. The repairs of the 1924 brick church started in September, so the historic building at 2508 Clay St. in the Third Ward is boarded up now. But every Sunday, Masses remain spirit-filled in its church hall. Mass starts at 9 a.m. in English for its longtime African American community, while an 11 a.m. Mass also in English has its Cameroon community, adding music and dancing from Central Africa. Then at 1:15 p.m., a Swahili Mass is celebrated, welcoming the East African See NICHOLAS, page 5
MINISTRY TEXAS CATHOLIC PRO-LIFE DAY In the face of a winter storm, hundreds of local Catholics trek to Austin for the Texas Rally for Life at the Texas State Capitol ▪ SEE PAGE 4
OSV NEWS PHOTO/SIMONE RISOLUTI, VATICAN MEDIA
Above, Pope Leo XIV looks at a round mosaic featuring his portrait at the Vatican Jan. 14. The mosaic is now visible where it is hung next to a mosaic of Pope Francis within Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, seen below. The circular mosaic, known as a tondo, was created by the Vatican Mosaic Studio of the Fabric of St. Peter’s.
Pope Leo’s official mosaic portrait revealed VATICAN CITY (OSV News) — The Vatican has completed the official mosaic portrait of Pope Leo XIV, continuing a centuries-old tradition that marks the election of each new pontiff. The circular mosaic, known as a tondo, was created by the Vatican Mosaic Studio of the Fabric of St. Peter’s and was installed in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The pontiff blessed artists Jan. 14, smiling at the sight of his own image. The tiles for the mosaic tondo were created using the ancient cut mosaic technique and fixed with traditional Vatican oil stucco at the request of James Cardinal VATICAN Harvey, the archpriest of the basilica. NEWS The mosaic tondo, about 54 inches in diameter, was created with vitreous enamels and gold on a metal structure at the Vatican Mosaic Studio of the Fabric of St. Peter’s. According to the studio’s website, “the history of the Vatican Mosaic Studio dates from the beginning of the 16th century, when Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni decided to entrust the painter Girolamo Muziano with the mosaic decoration of the dome of the Gregorian Chapel of the Vatican Basilica (1578-1580).” “Following its success, it was decided to extend this type of decoration also to Michelangelo’s large dome (1603-1612) and to all the domes of the basilica.”
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Today, the studio performs a dual function: the conservation of the basilica’s mosaics, with restoration work, and the production of mosaic works for sale to the public. The mosaic tondo was executed based on a pictorial sketch by Rodolfo Papa, the Vatican said, calling it “an oil on canvas of the same dimensions as the mosaic tondo, specifically conceived for transposition into a mosaic.” The work will then be installed in the space next to the portrait of Pope Francis, in the right nave of the basilica, at a height of approximately 42 feet. The pictorial sketch will be preserved, along with the entire series of portraits of the pontiffs, at the Fabbrica di San Pietro in the Vatican. †
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