On Christmas Day almost half the Catholics in the country will cram themselves into a pew, a new survey finds.

Mass attendance in Canada more than doubles on Christmas Day, survey finds

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Going to Church is a big part of a Catholic Christmas — even if it’s not a big part of the rest of the year for the majority of Canadian Catholics.

Pope Francis leads the Angelus from the window of his apartment overlooking St. Peter's Square Dec. 18 at the Vatican.

Pope Francis: Take a break from busy holidays to prepare for real Christmas

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VATICAN CITY – Make time to get ready for what Christmas really is about – the child born in Bethlehem signalling that "God is with us," Pope Francis said.

Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, Under-secretary for relations with the States, says Western Nations face a push to eliminate religion from public life.

Vatican official: Religion in public has never been more at risk

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VATICAN CITY – While violent persecution against Christians assails swaths of territory the Middle East and Africa, one Vatican official says that Western nations face a different type of oppression, marked by the push to eliminate religion from public life.

South Sudan's Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala says his country, ravaged by war and famine, especially needed the Year of Mercy this year.

Year of Mercy was especially needed in South Sudan, bishop notes

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YAMBIO, South Sudan – The Jubilee Year of Mercy was observed throughout the world but one bishop in South Sudan, suffering from war and famine, said it was especially needed in his country.

Syro-Malankara Bishop Jacob Barnabas Aerath and Msgr. John E. Kozar, head of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, pose with village children during a visit to northeast India in late November.

Indian missionaries teach faith by living among poor in remote areas

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WASHINGTON – In remote northeastern India, where Christianity is largely unknown, members of two Eastern Catholic churches are taking people on a journey of faith simply by living with them.

Cuban President Raul Castro, right, smiles as he meets Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican on May 10, 2015.

Catholic Church could play larger role in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba

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The relationship between Fidel Castro and the Cuban Catholic Church has been a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs, though it has noticeably improved in recent years.

Orthodox patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople wrote in the Vatican newspaper 'L'Osservatore Romano' that Pope Francis' 'Amoris Laetitia' is about "mercy and compassion."

Patriarch Bartholomew says 'Amoris Laetitia' is about God's mercy

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VATICAN CITY – Knowing the debate surrounding Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on the family, Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople said the document "first and foremost recalls the mercy and compassion of God and not just moral norms and canonical rules."

Sharing God's mercy is permanent, says Pope Francis, therefore, initiatives undertaken during the special Year of Mercy must continue.

Pope extends special Year of Mercy provisions, including mandate on abortion

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VATICAN CITY – Initiatives undertaken during the special Year of Mercy must continue, including granting absolution to those who confess to having an abortion, Pope Francis said.

Reviewing the Holy Year in a 40-minute interview aired Nov. 20 on a television station owned by the Italian bishops' conference, Pope Francis reflects back on the Year of Mercy

Year of Mercy affirmed dignity, sacredness of life, Pope says

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VATICAN CITY – Visiting young women rescued from forced prostitution and meeting with a mother inconsolable over the loss of one of her newborn triplets are images from the Year of Mercy that Pope Francis said remain impressed on his heart.

In an interview with 'Avvenire,' the official newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference, Pope Francis defends his teachings from critics.

Pope Francis dismisses critics of his teachings

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VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis is defending his efforts to make the Catholic Church more open and pastoral in its ministry, telling an interviewer that his opponents have a legalistic mindset about Christianity that only sees the faith in “black or white.”

Pope Francis leads his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Oct. 19.

Pope tells bishops to have compassion on those with failed marriages

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VATICAN CITY - On Friday Pope Francis stopped by a formation course for bishops on the new marriage nullity process, telling attendees that as bishops, and now as local judges in annulment cases, they must pursue the truth, but never exclude those whose marriages have failed.

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