Top 1: Pope Francis to do private Lenten retreat in 2023   

 The Vatican’s annual Lenten retreat will be on individual basis this year, as it was for the past two years. The Vatican said that Francis had invited cardinals living in Rome as well as the heads of dicasteries to participate in the spiritual exercises “in a personal way” during the first full week of Lent. The Pontiff will have no official appointments that week. 

 Top 2: Pope confers lay ministries upon 10 people in St. Peter’s Basilica 

 Pope Francis formally conferred the ministries of lector and catechist upon four men and six women from th e Philippines, Mexico, Congo, Italy, and the U.K. at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. Pope Francis conferred the lay ministries on the Sunday of the Word of God, a day that he declared in 2019 on the 1,600th anniversary of the death of St. Jerome, who famously translated the Bible. The pope changed Church law in January 2021 to allow women to be formally appointed to the lay ministries of lector and acolyte.  

 Top 3: In the Mass, prioritize awe over aesthetics 

 The Holy Father encouraged diocesan leaders to prioritize awe, evangelization, and silence before mere aesthetics in liturgical celebrations such as the Mass. “A celebration that does not evangelize is not authentic,” Pope Francis said, quoting from his 2022 apostolic letter on liturgical reform, Desiderio Desideravi. Without evangelization, he added, the liturgy “is a ‘ballet,’ a beautiful, aesthetic, nice ballet, but it is not authentic celebration.”  

 Top 4: Benedict XVI defended Christianity against claims of intolerance 

 Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has posthumously defended Christianity against claims of intolerance “in the name of tolerance.” In a new book published in Italy, the late pontiff warns of a “radical manipulation of human beings” and “the distortion of the sexes by gender ideology” in the name of tolerance.  Rejecting the argument of a German theologian who posited that monotheism was linked to intolerance, Benedict states that “the authentic counterweight to every form of intolerance” is Christ crucified. 

 Top 5: Preview: Pope Francis to visit Congo and South Sudan  

From January 31st to February 5th, Pope Francis will visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. On the Apostolic Journey, the Pope will meet with victims of violence. The Vatican calls it an "Ecumenical Pilgrimage for Peace," because the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland will travel with the Pope. Francis' trip to Africa was originally scheduled to for July, 2022, but was postponed due to the Pope's health.