JANUARY 13, 2026 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
PILGRIMS OF HOPE
Jubilee Year comes to a close in Archdiocese, across the globe ▪ SEE PAGE 6
JANUARY 13, 2026
SPIRITUALITY
Papal intentions make 12 months of prayer simple
texas catholic herald 1
BELLS RING IN FAITH
As Fulshear parish blesses new bells, learn the role they play in Church ▪ SEE PAGE 18
Proclaiming the Good News to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston since 1964
VOL. 62, NO. 14
CHRIST, THE LIGHT OF THE NATIONS
BY JAMES RAMOS Texas Catholic Herald HOUSTON — While sometimes it’s easy to pray for things that we need personally, the popes of the Church have offered international prayer intentions for the faithful to offer in prayer since the mid-1800s. A new Vatican initiative, Pray with the Pope, will help make it even easier to join in these worldwide prayers. A French Jesuit priest, Father François‑Xavier Gautrelet, founded the Apostleship of Prayer in 1844 as a way to spread the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and encourage offering daily prayers for spiritual needs for a group of Jesuit novices in France. “If each one infuses his labors with the spirit of prayer and makes of them an offering; if several jointly direct themselves in the same way, there would See INTENTIONS, page 5
MINISTRIES
Abortions not dropping despite new laws due to out-of-state procedures, pills
OSV NEWS PHOTO/SIMONE RISOLUTI, VATICAN MEDIA
Ahead of the extraordinary consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV, cardinals listen as he celebrates Mass on the feast of the Epiphany in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 6. Daniel Cardinal DiNardo attended the Jan. 7 to 8 extraordinary consistory, joined by other cardinals from around the world.
‘COMMUNION AND FRATERNITY’ Extraordinary consistory is a symbolic transition from Pope Francis to Pope Leo XIV
BY JO ANN ZUÑIGA Texas Catholic Herald HOUSTON — As Catholics approach the 53rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade this month, it is a good time to evaluate what work remains to be done in the cause of protecting human life. Many Texas Catholics mistakenly believe abortion is no longer an issue since the 2022 Dobbs decision outlawed almost all abortions in the state. Unfortunately, recent numbers suggest that Texas women and their children continue to fall victim to abortion at pre2022 rates due to the presence of clinics in neighboring states and illegal provision of chemical abortion pills across state lines. Julie Dumalet, director of the Office of Pro-Life Activities for the Archdiocese, See PRO-LIFE, page 7
VATICAN CITY (OSV News) — Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop Emeritus of Galveston-Houston, as joined by 169 other cardinals from around the world in gathering at the Vatican Jan. 7 to 8 for an extraordinary consistory called by Pope Leo XIV, an event seen as the first major step in his governance of the universal Church. Ahead of the consistory, Cardinal DiNardo greeted Pope Leo during the Jan. 7 general audience at the Pope Paul VI Audience Hall, which still featured the nativity scene and lit Christmas trees. The consistory was expected to “be marked by moments of communion and fraternity, as well as times dedicated to reflection, sharing and prayer,” according
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to a Dec. 20 statement from the Vatican. It also said that the consistory was “part of the life and mission of the Church [that aimed] to strengthen communion between the Bishop of Rome and the cardinals, who are called to collaborate in a particular way in their concern for the good of the universal Church.” It added that the meeting was aimed
VATICAN NEWS
See CONSISTORY, page 4
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CNS PHOTO/VATICAN MEDIA
Ahead of the extraordinary consistory, Cardinal DiNardo greets Pope Leo XIV during the pope’s general audience at the Pope Paul VI Audience Hall on Jan. 7. Cardinal DiNardo attended the January extraordinary consistory convened by Pope Leo at the Vatican.
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