Minnesota Archbishop Calls for Prayers after Woman Shot Dead by ICE Officer MINNEAPOLIS (OSV News) – Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis called for prayers after a woman died from a shooting involving a federal agent on Wednesday, January 7, in south Minneapolis. The woman shot by an officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been identified as Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother originally from Colorado. Archbishop Hebda appealed for all people “to lower the temperature of rhetoric, stop fear-filled speculation, and start seeing all people as created in the image and likeness of God.” He said, “That is as true for our immigrant sisters and brothers as it is for our elected officials and those who are responsible for enforcing our laws.” Pope Leo XIV to Visit Spain This Summer VATICAN CITY (OSV News) – With the jubilee year now officially ended, the pope’s travel schedule is also expected to ramp up, with one trip especially dear to the pontiff just confirmed: a June visit to Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands. Cardinal José Cobo of Madrid confirmed that the delegation of Spanish bishops had a meeting with the Vatican’s Secretariat of State on Friday, January 9, to discuss a papal trip to Spain with “a first draft” of the plan “prepared for the Holy Father to review.” “This came directly from the pope … this was his personal initiative,” Cardinal Cobo said of the idea behind the trip. “Spain has long been in need and has continually requested a papal visit. So, I think that the opening of this door now is a cause for hope and joy for everyone,” Cardinal Cobo told the media in Rome on January 9. The first apostolic trip to Turkey and Lebanon was inherited by Pope Leo from Pope Francis’ calendar. Pope Francis was invited to Spain several times but never went, leaving the traditionally Catholic country – struggling with dropping Church attendance – without a papal visit for 14 years. Venezuelan Nobel Laureate Asks Pope to Help Free Political Prisoners ROME (OSV News) – Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado has asked Pope Leo XIV to help secure the release of political prisoners and support a transition to democracy in Venezuela. The Vatican confirmed the January 12 meeting, held in the Apostolic Palace, but released no details. In a statement posted on X, Machado said she urged the pope to intercede for more than 1,000 political prisoners and for Venezuelans who are “kidnapped and missing.” She also thanked Pope Leo for closely following events in the country and emphasized the resilience and faith of the Venezuelan people. The meeting comes days after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a U.S. military operation. Pope Leo has since called for respect for the will of the Venezuelan people and for the protection of human and civil rights. “I renew my appeal to respect the will of the Venezuelan people, and to safeguard the human and civil rights of all, ensuring a future of stability and concord,” the pope said on Friday, January 9, during a meeting with members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican. Nigerian Bishop Calls for Military Action to ‘Eliminate’ Bandits KONTAGORA, Nigeria (OSV News) – A Nigerian bishop urged intensified military action to “eliminate” bandits and their hideouts in the Kainji Game Reserve amid reports of the killing of 50 people between Christmas and New Year’s and the traumatizing of children recently abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri. Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna of Kontagora recounted multiple attacks on both Christians and Muslims in his January 6 news release, saying that the armed bandits had killed at least 50, attacked a Catholic church and police station, and carried out abductions of women and children, as they roamed freely in the Niger and Kebbi states from December 28-January 3. The massacres were confirmed by the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need. “Pending the elimination of the bandits and their hideouts in Kainji Game Reserve, there is an immediate need for large and well-equipped military task force in the area” or “there will be a massive and ongoing loss of lives and permanent displacement of large numbers of people,” Bishop Yohanna said. Journalist Russell Shaw Remembered as ‘Giant of the Church’ SILVER SPRING, Maryland (OSV News) – Russell Shaw, a veteran journalist who led communications for the U.S. bishops and Knights of Columbus and authored numerous articles and books, died on Tuesday, January 6, at the age of 90. Friends and colleagues recalled the Washington, D.C. native as a man of deep intelligence, keen insight, and personal discipline whose prolific writing and communications work helped to shape the U.S. Catholic Church for more than a half-century. After decades working in Church communications beginning in the 1960s, Shaw returned to journalism in the late 1990s. He wrote on a broad range of topics from Catholic education and civic responsibility to the sacraments and suffering. He was especially known for championing the role of the laity, a sharp criticism of clericalism, and an advocate for transparency among the bishops. Friends recalled him as charitable and respectful in his opinion writing and a man of abiding faith who modeled the lay apostolate in the Church. His columns appeared in Our Sunday Visitor as well as Today’s Catholics. Trump Meets with USCCB President Archbishop Coakley at White House WASHINGTON, D.C. (OSV News) – President Donald Trump met with Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on Monday, January 12, a spokesperson for the USCCB confirmed. The private meeting, which was listed on the official White House schedule for Trump, was closed to press. The White House did not specify the topic of the meeting. In a statement provided to OSV News, a USCCB spokesperson said, “Archbishop Coakley had the opportunity for introductory meetings with President Trump, Vice President Vance, and other administration officials, in which they discussed areas of mutual concern, as well as areas for further dialogue.” The statement said Archbishop Coakley was “grateful for the engagement and looks forward to ongoing discussions. Meetings between a sitting president of the USCCB and the president of the United States are not without precedent, but do not always happen. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, who served as USCCB president prior to Archbishop Coakley, told OSV News in November that he was never able to meet with either President Joe Biden nor with Trump. Trump had a brief meeting in 2017 that included Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, who was president of the conference at the time. USCCB presidents, including then-Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, and Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, had several meetings between the two of them with then-President Barack Obama over the course of his presidency. The post News Briefs: January 18, 2026 appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less