Faith – Winnipeg Free Press

This photo provided by the Noquisi Initiative shows the Noquisiyi Mound on Oct. 16, 2020, in Franklin, N.C. (Elaine Eisenbraun/Noquisi Initiative via AP)

A town in North Carolina is returning land to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Graham Lee Brewer, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:23 PM CST

An important cultural site is close to being returned to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians after a city council in North Carolina voted unanimously Monday to return the land.

The Noquisiyi Mound in Franklin, North Carolina, was part of a Cherokee mother town hundreds of years before the founding of the United States, and it is a place of deep spiritual significance to the Cherokee people. But for about 200 years it was either in the hands of private owners or the town.

“When you think about the importance of not just our history but those cultural and traditional areas where we practice all the things we believe in, they should be in the hands of the tribe they belong to," said Michell Hicks, principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “It’s a decision that we’re very thankful to the town of Franklin for understanding.”

Noquisiyi is the largest unexcavated mound in the Southeast, said Elaine Eisenbraun, executive director of Noquisiyi Intitative, the nonprofit that has managed the site since 2019. Eisenbraun, who worked alongside the town’s mayor for several years on the return, said the next step is for the tribal council to agree to take control, which will initiate the legal process of transferring the title.

Advertise With Us

Weather

Jan. 7, 12 PM: -5°c Sunny Jan. 7, 6 PM: -7°c Cloudy

Winnipeg MB

-6°C, Cloudy

Full Forecast

Pope Leo XIV signals reforms ahead with the Holy Year over

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Pope Leo XIV signals reforms ahead with the Holy Year over

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 6:37 AM CST

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A day after closing out the 2025 Holy Year, Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday opened a new phase of his pontificate by gathering the world’s cardinals to Rome and indicating some reform-minded priorities going forward.

For starters, Leo signalled an emphasis on more fully implementing the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the 1960s meetings that modernized and revolutionized the Catholic Church. He called the Vatican II teachings the “guiding star” of the church.

Leo told his weekly general audience that for the foreseeable future, he would devote his weekly catechism lessons to a rereading of key Vatican II documents, noting that the generation of bishops and theologians who had attended the meetings and crafted the reforms are dead.

“Therefore, while we hear the call not to let its prophecy fade, and to continue to seek ways and means to implement its insights, it will be important to get to know it again closely, and to do so not through hearsay or interpretations that have been given, but by rereading its documents and reflecting on their content,” he said. “Indeed, it is the magisterium that still constitutes the guiding star of the church’s journey today.”

Read

Updated: 6:37 AM CST

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

US Christian leaders minister to an anxious diaspora with Venezuela’s future in flux

Luis Andres Henao And Giovanna Dell'orto, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

US Christian leaders minister to an anxious diaspora with Venezuela’s future in flux

Luis Andres Henao And Giovanna Dell'orto, The Associated Press 6 minute read 6:02 AM CST

Faith leaders who minister to Christians in Venezuela and the Venezuelan diaspora in the United States are urging prayers for peace as they attend to congregations roiled by uncertainty and high emotions following the U.S. capture of deposed leader Nicolás Maduro.

In Venezuela, initial statements from the Catholic bishops' conference and the Evangelical Council of Venezuela were cautious, appealing for calm and patience, while many pastors in the diaspora welcomed Maduro's ouster. The Catholic archbishop of Miami, who ministers to the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S., said there is an anxiousness about what is next, but he believes the church has a key role to play in helping the Catholic-majority country move forward.

About 8 million people have  fled Venezuela  since 2014, settling first in neighboring countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. After the COVID-19 pandemic, they increasingly set their sights on the United States, walking through the jungle in Colombia and Panama or flying to the U.S. on humanitarian parole with a financial sponsor.

Many have settled in South Florida, where they make up the country's biggest Venezuelan community. Community members took to the streets waving flags in celebration after Maduro and his wife were captured in a U.S. military operation on Saturday.

Read

6:02 AM CST

FILE - Archbishop of Miami Thomas Wenski poses in front of a traveling bronze sculpture titled

Florida’s Greek community gathers for 120th Epiphany celebration and annual dive to retrieve cross

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Florida’s Greek community gathers for 120th Epiphany celebration and annual dive to retrieve cross

The Associated Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 2:13 PM CST

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — Florida's largest Greek Orthodox community gathered Tuesday for its 120th Epiphany celebration, where dozens of teens dove into chilly water to retrieve a cross in front of thousands of spectators.

Athos Karistinos, 18, found the cross before 73 other boys after it was thrown into a bayou in Tarpon Springs, a town on the Gulf Coast 30 miles north of Tampa and known for its large Greek community. The retriever of the cross is believed to receive a year of blessings. It is one of the largest Epiphany celebrations in the country.

The Epiphany commemorates the manifestation of Jesus to the world and comes from the Greek word “epiphaneia,” which means “appearance.” It is marked by Christians around the world with celebrations ranging from parades and gift-giving for children to the blessing of water. The holiday is also called the Feast of Epiphany, Three Kings Day and Theophany. In some traditions, it celebrates the baptism of Jesus and in others the visit of the Three Magi to the Baby Jesus.

The boys were led to the water from St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral by clergy and Sylvia Marakas, who carried a white dove representing the Holy Spirit. She released the bird over the water before the dive.

Read

Yesterday at 2:13 PM CST

Fr. Michael Kouremetis transports the Epiphany Cross into the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral while participating in the 120th Epiphany celebration on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2026, in Tarpon Springs, Fla. (Jefferee Woo /Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Greece’s Epiphany events marking Christ’s baptism highlight concerns about water scarcity

Derek Gatopoulos And Thanassis Stavrakis, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Greece’s Epiphany events marking Christ’s baptism highlight concerns about water scarcity

Derek Gatopoulos And Thanassis Stavrakis, The Associated Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 9:19 AM CST

MARATHON, Greece (AP) — As Orthodox Christians around the world attended Epiphany ceremonies on Tuesday to commemorate the baptism of Christ, worried officials in Greece used the moment to highlight growing water scarcity.

A priest cast a wooden cross into the visibly depleted waters of Lake Marathon, an artificial reservoir north of Athens. Water stored there and in the other three reservoirs supplying Athens has dropped from more than 1 billion cubic meters in 2022 to about 390 million cubic meters.

The dramatic decline prompted authorities in November to declare a water emergency in the capital.

“This is the third consecutive year of a significant drop in reservoir levels. This means that the problem is right in front of us,” George Stergiou, chairman of the greater Athens water utility, EYDAP, told The Associated Press after attending the Marathon ceremony.

Read

Yesterday at 9:19 AM CST

People attend the Epiphany ceremony as a Greek Orthodox priest, center, throws a cross blessing the waters at Lake Marathon, near Athens, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, where receding water levels reflect successive years of low rainfall across Greece. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Curfew imposed in southern Nepal city after mosque vandalism sparks protests

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Curfew imposed in southern Nepal city after mosque vandalism sparks protests

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: 12:24 AM CST

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A curfew was imposed on a key border city in southern Nepal after Hindu and Muslim groups began protesting against each other following the vandalism of a mosque over the weekend, officials said Tuesday.

The curfew orders issued by the Parsa District Administration said that no one will be allowed in the streets and all gatherings and demonstrations are banned.

The notice also warned that violators could be shot by security forces.

Armed soldiers and police officers were patrolling the streets of Birgunj, located 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of the capital Kathmandu, which is the key border point for importing much of the oil, goods and supplies from neighboring India to Nepal.

Read

Updated: 12:24 AM CST

Protesters shout slogans and burn tires as they block main Street in Birgunj, 130 kilometers (81miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jiyalal Sah)

Pope Leo XIV closes 2025 Holy Year with critique of consumerism and xenophobia

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Pope Leo XIV closes 2025 Holy Year with critique of consumerism and xenophobia

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:49 AM CST

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday closed out the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year by denouncing today's consumerist and anti-foreigner sentiment, capping a Jubilee that saw some 33 million pilgrims flock to Rome and a historic transition from one American pontiff to another.

With cardinals and diplomats looking on, Leo kneeled down in prayer on the stone floor at the threshold of the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica. He then stood up and pulled the two doors shut, symbolically concluding the rarest of Jubilees: one that was opened by a feeble Pope Francis in December 2024, continued during his funeral and the conclave, and then was closed by Francis' successor a year later.

Only once before, in 1700, has a Holy Year been opened by one pope and closed by another.

Tuesday's ceremony, at the start of Mass celebrating the feast of Epiphany, capped a dizzying year of special audiences, Masses and meetings that dominated Leo’s first months as pontiff and in many ways put his own agenda on hold.

Read

Updated: Yesterday at 6:49 AM CST

Pope Leo XIV closes St. Peter's Basilica Holy Door to end the 2025 ordinary Jubilee year, at the Vatican, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Yara Nardi/Pool photo via AP)

Learn more about Advertising solutions

Mother charged after baby allegedly abandoned at Toronto church

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Mother charged after baby allegedly abandoned at Toronto church

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Monday, Jan. 5, 2026

TORONTO - A mother has been charged after a baby was allegedly abandoned at a Toronto church last month.

Police say officers were called to the Yonge Street and Broadway Avenue area around 10:40 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21.

A person who answered the phone at St. Monica's Catholic Church said the baby was found there but referred further questions to police.

Police say the baby was taken to hospital and the mother was also located.

Read

Monday, Jan. 5, 2026

Final pilgrims cross Holy Door as Vatican claims Jubilee success with 33 million visitors

Nicole Winfield And Trisha Thomas, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Final pilgrims cross Holy Door as Vatican claims Jubilee success with 33 million visitors

Nicole Winfield And Trisha Thomas, The Associated Press 5 minute read Monday, Jan. 5, 2026

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The final pilgrims of the 2025 Holy Year passed through the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica late Monday, as the Vatican claimed success after more than 33 million people participated in this the rarest of Jubilees: opened by one pope and closed by another.

Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday will officially close out the Holy Year by shutting the basilica's Holy Door, capping a dizzying year of special audiences, Masses and meetings that dominated his first months as pope and in many ways put his own agenda on hold.

For the Vatican, a Holy Year is a centuries-old tradition of the faithful making pilgrimages to Rome every 25 years to visit the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul and receive indulgences for the forgiveness of their sins if they pass through the Holy Door.

For Rome, it’s a chance to take advantage of some 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) in public funds to carry out long-delayed projects to lift the city out of years of neglect and bring it up to modern, European standards.

Read

Monday, Jan. 5, 2026

FILE - Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica to mark the start of the Catholic Jubilee Year, at the Vatican, Dec. 24, 2024. (Alberto Pizzoli/Pool Photo via AP, file)

Liberals’ stricter crime policy is a response to public concern: justice minister

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Preview

Liberals’ stricter crime policy is a response to public concern: justice minister

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has so far put a heavy emphasis on stricter crime policies, tabling three justice bills in the fall sitting of Parliament.

They incorporate a long list of Criminal Code amendments, from making bail tougher to obtain to imposing mandatory minimum and consecutive sentencing to creating new offences relating to intimidation and obstruction, promoting hatred and coercive control of an intimate partner.

The tough-on-crime approach is a huge swing from the Trudeau government — not that Justice Minister Sean Fraser, who introduced the three bills, uses that phrase.

"I'll leave it to others to characterize what's tough or not tough, but we are increasing penalties for serious and violent criminals and making it harder for people to be released on bail if they pose a risk to public safety," Fraser said in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press.

Read

Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026

Minister of Justice Sean Fraser speaks at a news conference on the introduction of the Protecting Victims Act, a reform of the Criminal Code that aims to protect victims and survivors of sexual violence, gender-based violence, intimate partner violence and to protect children from predators, in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

New Pope tops 2025 religion stories

John Longhurst 5 minute read Preview

New Pope tops 2025 religion stories

John Longhurst 5 minute read Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026

What were the top religion stories of 2025? If you go by the amount of media attention, the number one choice is clear: The death of Pope Francis and the surprise election of Pope Leo of the U.S.

The consensus seems to be that the Roman Catholic Church, by choosing Leo, chose to follow the synodal path set by Francis — but at a slower pace. If Francis was seen to be a pope who was willing to go fast and break things, Leo is seen as someone who will continue in that direction, but more slowly and systematically.

Another top religion story was the election of Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury — the first woman to lead the worldwide Anglican Communion. Her election led to another big story that hasn’t received much media attention: The potential schism in the Anglican church.

The split is being led by a group called the Global Anglican Future Conference, or GAFCON, a conservative movement made up primarily of Anglicans in Africa. Founded in 2008, GAFCON objects to women in leadership and affirmation of same-sex relationships — things they consider unbiblical. In March, GAFCON will hold a meeting in Nigeria to decide whether to stay or go.

Read

Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026

Gregorio Borgia / The Associated Press files
Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful as he leaves the Castel Gandolfo residence to head to the Vatican on Dec. 27, 2025.

Grandmother and grandson burn to death in Gaza tent while cooking; Jolie visits Rafah crossing

Wafaa Shurafa, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Grandmother and grandson burn to death in Gaza tent while cooking; Jolie visits Rafah crossing

Wafaa Shurafa, The Associated Press 5 minute read Friday, Jan. 2, 2026

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A grandmother and her 5-year-old grandson burned to death in Gaza when their tent caught fire while cooking, as thousands of Palestinians endure colder weather in makeshift housing.

The nylon tent in Yarmouk caught fire Thursday night while a meal was being prepared, a neighbor said. A hospital official said that two Palestinian men were killed by Israeli gunfire on Friday in Gaza.

The shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group has largely ended large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza. But Palestinians are still being killed by Israeli forces, especially along the so-called Yellow Line that delineates areas under Israeli control.

On Friday, American actor and film producer Angelina Jolie visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

Read

Friday, Jan. 2, 2026

Magdi Abu Al-Khair bids farewell to his mother, Amal Abu Al-Khair, after she and her grandchild, Saud, were killed when their tent caught fire overnight at the Yarmouk displacement camp, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Zohran Mamdani officially sworn in on a Quran full of symbolism

Safiyah Riddle, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Zohran Mamdani officially sworn in on a Quran full of symbolism

Safiyah Riddle, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani took his midnight oath of office on a centuries-old Quran, marking the first time a mayor of New York City uses Islam’s holy text to be sworn in and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city.

The 34-year-old Democrat became mayor in a long-closed subway station beneath City Hall, the first Muslim, first South Asian and first African-born person to hold that position.

These milestones — as well as the historical Quran — reflect the longstanding and vibrant Muslim residents of the nation's most populous city, according to a scholar who helped Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, select one of the books.

Most of Mamdani's predecessors were sworn in on a Bible, although the oath to uphold the federal, state and city constitutions does not require the use of any religious text.

Read

Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026

Attorney General Letitia James, center, arrives for Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's swearing-in ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in New York. (Amir Hamja/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Pope opens 2026 with plea for peace in countries bloodied by war, families wounded by violence

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Pope opens 2026 with plea for peace in countries bloodied by war, families wounded by violence

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press 2 minute read Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV opened 2026 on Thursday with a plea for peace, singling out in particular countries “bloodied by conflict” and families wounded by violence.

Leo celebrated a New Year’s Day Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and then delivered a special noontime prayer from his studio overlooking the piazza, which was full of pilgrims and tourists on the bright, chilly day.

Leo noted that Jan. 1 marks the church’s World Day of Peace and used the occasion to issue a prayer.

“Let us all pray together for peace: first, among nations bloodied by conflict and suffering, but also within our homes, in families wounded by violence or pain,” he said.

Read

Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026

Zohran Mamdani chose a Quran full of symbolism for his mayoral oath

Safiyah Riddle, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Zohran Mamdani chose a Quran full of symbolism for his mayoral oath

Safiyah Riddle, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani will take his midnight oath of office on a centuries-old Quran, marking the first time a mayor of New York City uses Islam’s holy text to be sworn in and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city.

When the 34-year-old Democrat becomes mayor in a long-closed subway station beneath City Hall, he'll be the first Muslim, first South Asian and first African-born person to hold that position.

These milestones — as well as the historical Quran he will use for the ceremony — reflect the longstanding and vibrant Muslim residents of the nation's most populous city, according to a scholar who helped Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, select one of the books.

Most of Mamdani's predecessors were sworn in on a Bible, although the oath to uphold the federal, state and city constitutions does not require the use of any religious text.

Read

Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026

This photo provided by The New York Public Library shows the Schomburg Quran on Dec. 16, 2025 in New York. (Jonathan Blanc/The New York Public Library via AP)

Pope asks that Rome welcome foreigners as he closes out 2025

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Pope asks that Rome welcome foreigners as he closes out 2025

The Associated Press 2 minute read Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV closed out 2025 on Wednesday with a prayer that the city of Rome might be a welcoming place for foreigners and fragile people, young and old.

Leo presided over a New Year’s Eve vespers service in St. Peter’s Basilica, giving thanks for the 2025 Holy Year that brought millions of pilgrims to Rome in the once-every-quarter-century celebration of Christianity.

Leo will officially close out the Jubilee on Jan. 6. But in his homily, he thanked the city of Rome and the volunteers who helped keep crowds moving as they visited St. Peter’s and passed through its Holy Door.

He recalled that Pope Francis, who inaugurated the Holy Year on Dec. 24, 2024, had asked that Rome be a more welcoming place. “I would like it to be so again, and I would say even more so after this time of grace,” Leo said.

Read

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025

January 7, 2026

Notification Settings

Breaking News

Recommended Reads