Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish

Shafiqur Rahman, leader of the largest Islamist politicial party in Bangladesh. | Credit: Delwar Hossain/Wikimedia (CC0)

Jan 22, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

As Bangladesh heads toward a crucial general election on Feb. 12, the country’s largest Islamist party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, has offered an unusual assurance to religious minorities, pledging that it would not impose Islamic Sharia law if it comes to power.

Shafiqur Rahman, the leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, made the promise during a meeting on Jan. 14 with Christian leaders in Dhaka, according to participants in the discussion. The statement has sparked debate across the country, where Jamaat’s Islamist ideology and past positions appear to stand in tension with the pledge.

“He promised that they will not run the country under Sharia law,” said Martha Das, general secretary of the National Christian Fellowship of Bangladesh, who was part of a 20-member Christian delegation that met Rahman.

She told EWTN News that Christian leaders also raised concerns about the possible introduction of blasphemy laws and the safety and social security of religious minorities.

Rahman assured them that existing laws would remain in place and that no additional legislation targeting religious minorities would be introduced.

Christian leaders described the meeting as an effort to seek clarity and accountability ahead of the election. “We recorded the assurances,” Das said, adding that the community intends to hold Jamaat publicly responsible if it reverses its position in the future.

At the same time, Christian leaders stressed that their community does not support Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. “We never support the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party,” said one Christian leader who did not want to be named. “But before the election, it is a better opportunity to talk with candidates about safeguards for our future.”

Mixed reactions

The statement has generated widespread discussion in Bangladesh, where Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has long been associated with calls for governance based on Islamic principles. Some analysts see the pledge as a tactical move aimed at broadening the party’s appeal among minority voters and the international community, while others argue that Jamaat has shown signs of gradual ideological adjustment in recent years.

A senior Catholic priest in Dhaka, who requested anonymity, cautiously welcomed the statement. “If Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami keeps its word, it is very good,” he told EWTN News. “But it remains to be seen whether this is a genuine commitment or a political strategy.”

The priest suggested that Jamaat may be attempting to present itself as more moderate to Western countries ahead of the elections. “Developed countries generally view Islamic Sharia negatively,” he said. “So Jamaat may be making such statements to gain international acceptance.”

Critics, however, point to apparent contradictions between Jamaat’s pledge and its broader political record. The party has not nominated any female candidates for the upcoming election, and previous remarks by its leaders about limiting women’s working hours have drawn criticism from civil society groups.

Election promises under scrutiny

Political analysts also caution against taking election-time promises at face value. “Sitting with people of different religions and communities before elections is definitely an election move,” said Professor Sayeed Ferdous, associate vice chancellor of Bangladesh Open University. “When leaders say we will do this or we will not do that — whether it is Sharia law or minority security — these must be considered election promises.”

Ferdous noted that Bangladesh’s political history is filled with unfulfilled preelection commitments. “Many parties have made similar promises in the past to attract votes but did not keep them later,” he said.

Another analyst, Mahbub Ullah, echoed that view, suggesting Jamaat is trying to soften its image. “They are talking a lot of soft talk ahead of the elections to appear acceptable to everyone,” he said. “It is not unusual to adopt such a strategy to change public perception of the party.”

Rift within Islamist coalition

The controversy has also exposed divisions within Islamist politics. Earlier this month, the Islamic Movement Bangladesh announced its withdrawal from the 11-party electoral alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami and declared it would contest 268 seats independently.

At a press briefing in Dhaka on Jan. 16, Islamic Movement spokesperson Gazi Ataur Rahman accused Jamaat of abandoning its ideological roots. “Jamaat has deviated from the Sharia law of Allah for power,” he said. “They consider power to be the only important thing.”

Rahman added that Jamaat’s traditional slogan — “We want the law of Allah, we want the rule of honest people” — has been forgotten, disappointing many grassroots supporters. “We believe it is not possible to establish peace under the existing law of the country,” he said. “We want Sharia law.”

As Bangladesh approaches election day, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s assurances to minorities have raised expectations — and skepticism — about whether political pragmatism or ideological transformation is driving the party’s message.

Pope Leo XIV waves to crowds in St. Peter’s Square after praying the Angelus on Jan. 18, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

Jan 22, 2026 / 04:45 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV urged Catholic journalists to double down on truth, human connection, and the voices of the vulnerable as artificial intelligence reshapes the communications landscape.

In a message signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on the pope’s behalf, Leo addressed the Fédération des Médias Catholiques ahead of its Saint François de Sales gathering in Lourdes, scheduled for Jan. 21–23.

“To face this era marked — including in the world of communications — by the rise of artificial intelligence, we urgently need to return to what matters most: matters of the heart, the centrality of good relationships, and the ability to connect with others without excluding anyone,” the pope’s message said. That call, he added, is answered by “the service to truth that Catholic media can offer everyone, including those who do not believe.”

The pope specifically encouraged Catholic communications professionals to be “sowers of good words” and to amplify voices “that courageously seek reconciliation,” helping to “disarm hearts filled with hatred and fanaticism” in a world he described as “fragmented and polarized.”

He also urged journalists to tune in to those most likely to be overlooked.

The message called on Catholic media to act like antennas, picking up and passing along “the experiences of the vulnerable, the marginalized, those who are alone — and those who need to discover the joy of feeling loved.”

Leo’s message also pointed to Father Jacques Hamel, the French priest murdered at the altar while celebrating Mass in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray on July 26, 2016. He was killed by two attackers who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group; both were later shot dead by police.

Noting that the federation has created an award in Hamel’s honor for journalists committed to peace and interreligious dialogue, the pope wrote that Hamel “was a witness to the faith, even to the point of death,” and believed deeply in dialogue and “patient, mutual listening.” He was convinced, the message said, that it is urgent “to know how to be close to others, without exception.”

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Rev. Daniel Bagama was among four people abducted from Ungwan Danladi village in Kajuru LGA by assailants who spoke the Fulani language and who are demanding ransoms of 20 million Naira ($14,000), according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). | Credit: Photo courtesy of Kaduna Political Affairs

Jan 21, 2026 / 16:26 pm (CNA).

Christin Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a U.K.-based human rights organization, has called on Nigerian authorities to “secure the release” of 167 worshippers reportedly abducted during coordinated attacks on three churches in Kurmin Wali community, Kajuru local government area (LGA) of Kaduna state.

In a Tuesday, Jan. 20, report shared with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, CSW leadership condemned the mass abduction that reportedly took place on Jan. 18 while worshippers were attending Sunday church services.

According to the report, attempts by CSW Nigeria staff to access the community to verify the incident were blocked by the military, which reportedly cited standing orders barring entry into the area.

“CSW is highly concerned by the official efforts to obscure the abductions that took place in Kurmin Wali and to prevent residents from speaking to the press,” CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said in the report.

Thomas urged Nigerian authorities to “do everything in their power to secure the release of those abducted from Kurmin Wali on 18 January, as well as all other abductees currently held in terrorist captivity in Nigeria’s central and northern states.”

“The government of Nigeria at both state and federal levels must be transparent about the scale and severity of the security crisis the country is experiencing, and specifically about the asymmetry with which Christian communities are being targeted, in order to ensure an effective response to the terrorism that has blighted the lives of vulnerable citizens across central Nigeria for far too long,” Thomas said.

According to the CSW report, armed assailants believed to be Fulani militia stormed Kurmin Wali at around 9 a.m., arriving on foot and on motorcycles.

The attackers reportedly split into three groups, targeting the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Albarka Cherubim and Seraphim 1, and Haske Cherubim and Seraphim 2 churches.

Local sources told CSW that worshippers were rounded up and forced into nearby bushland. Elderly women and young children were later released, while 11 individuals managed to escape.

As of Jan. 20, CSW said 167 people remained in captivity.

The CSW report further indicated that the “Adara people of Kajuru LGA have been under sustained attack since their traditional ruler, the Agom Adara III, HRH Dr Maiwada Raphael Galadima, was abducted and murdered by Fulani assailants in 2018, despite payment of a ransom.”

“Kurmin Wali and surrounding communities have endured repeated attacks and abductions. For example, on Jan. 11, 2026, 21 people were abducted from the community and were only freed after paying around 7 million Naira (US$4,932) in ransom,” the report further indicated.

The report recounted that earlier, on Jan. 2, ECWA church leader Rev. Philip Adamu “was among four people abducted from Ungwan Danladi village in Kajuru LGA by assailants who spoke Fulfude, the Fulani language, and who called the community the following day, demanding ransoms of 20 million Naira [about $14,000] for Rev. Adamu, and 10 million Naira [about $7,000] for the other hostages.”

CSW described the repeated attacks as a failure of government responsibility, warning that rural communities are being driven deeper into poverty by ransom payments and forced displacement.

“While applauding the military successes recorded in the past few months, CSW condemns the repeated attacks on the vulnerable people in Kurmin Wali and surrounding communities,” said Rev. Yunusa Sabo Nmadu, the chief executive officer of CSW.

He urged the security agencies to “ensure the prompt release of those abducted and to enhance security for all other vulnerable areas.”

“We also call on the government to strengthen the local capacity of these villagers to serve as the first line of defense against terrorists who are increasingly emboldened by each unchallenged abduction,” Nmadu said.

The recent attacks come despite the Nigerian government’s designation of the Fulani militia and other armed groups as terrorist organizations in December 2025 under a new counterterrorism doctrine. CSW said the continued abductions raise serious concerns about the enforcement and protection of civilians.

Meanwhile, CSW reported that in neighboring Kogi state, 24 of 30 worshippers abducted in December 2025 have been released following the payment of a ransom, though six people remain in captivity and several others died while being held.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa. It has been adapted by EWTN News English.

An unborn baby at 20 weeks. | Credit: Steve via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Jan 21, 2026 / 15:49 pm (CNA).

A federal health spending bill would impose a long-enforced ban on using taxpayer funds for elective abortion, known as the Hyde Amendment.

The U.S. House is set to consider the bill this week, which would fund the departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services. Lawmakers would need to pass spending bills in both chambers and send them to the White House by Jan. 30 or the government could face another partial shutdown.

Republican President Donald Trump had asked his party to be “flexible” in its approach to the provision in a separate funding bill. According to a Jan. 19 news release from the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee, the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill includes the provision “protecting the lives of unborn children” known as the Hyde Amendment.

The Hyde Amendment, which is not permanent law, was first included as a rider in federal spending bills in 1976. It was included consistently since then although some recent legislation and budget proposals have sometimes excluded it. The provision would ban federal funds for abortion except when the unborn child is conceived through rape or incest or if the life of the mother is at risk.

Katie Glenn Daniel, director of legal affairs and policy counsel for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said the amendment is “a long-standing federal policy that’s been included for the last five decades and is popular with the American people.”

“Americans don’t want to pay for abortion on demand,” she said.

Many Democratic lawmakers have sought to eliminate the rider in recent years, saying it disproportionately limits abortion access for low-income women. Former President Joe Biden reversed his longtime support of the Hyde Amendment in the lead-up to the 2020 election and refused to include it in his spending proposals, saying: “If I believe health care is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone’s zip code.” But Republicans successfully negotiated the rider’s inclusion into spending bills.

In January 2025, Trump issued an executive order directing the government to enforce the Hyde Amendment. A year later, Trump urged Republicans to be “a little flexible on Hyde” when lawmakers were negotiating the extension of health care subsidies related to the Affordable Care Act. A White House spokesperson also said the president would work with Congress to ensure the strongest possible pro-life protections.

The House eventually passed the extension without the Hyde Amendment after 17 Republicans joined Democrats to support the bill. The Senate has not yet advanced the measure, where the question of whether to include the Hyde Amendment has been a point of contention between Republicans and Democrats.

In mid-January, Trump announced a plan to change how health care subsidies are disbursed. There was no mention of the Hyde Amendment in the White House’s 827-word memo.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has consistently lobbied for the inclusion of the Hyde Amendment in spending bills. On Jan. 14, the bishops sent a letter to Congress “to stress in the strongest possible terms that Hyde is essential for health care policy that protects human dignity.”

“Authentic health care and the protection of human life go hand in hand,” the letter said. “There can be no compromise on these two combined values.”

Thousands gather in Paris on Jan. 18, 2026, for the annual March for Life in France. | Credit: Zofia Czubak

Jan 21, 2026 / 14:55 pm (CNA).

Approximately 10,000 people — mainly a young and engaged crowd — gathered at Place Vauban in Paris for the annual March for Life on Jan. 18.

Each year, the march is held around Jan. 17 because on that date in 1975 abortion was first legalized under the Veil Act, named after the health minister at the time, Simone Veil.

This year’s march was held two years after France made history in 2024 by becoming the first and only country in the world to enshrine access to abortion directly in its constitution.

Paris’ March for Life has not been solely focused on abortion, with the debate over life issues becoming intensified in recent months. In March 2025, the French National Assembly approved a bill to legalize assisted dying for adults suffering from incurable, serious, and terminal illnesses, both physical and psychological.

Demonstrators at the march on Sunday protested the French government’s plans to legalize euthanasia.

“They say you can help people die. But the intention is to give death, and that is not our job. It cannot be our job,” said geriatric doctor Geneviève Bourgeois in an interview with EWTN News. “That’s not how you soothe people. There is suffering, but if you kill the sufferer, you don’t kill the suffering, you kill the patient.”

‘Life is a gift from God’

One of the most prominent Catholic voices in France is Bishop Dominique Rey, one of the few senior Church leaders to attend a March for Life.

“We must not touch life. Life is a gift from God,” Rey told EWTN News. “In the defense of life, we need freedom and the courage not to be afraid, even when some media are very opposed to the defense of life, liberty, and freedom.”

He continued: “In France, in Europe, and in the world, we need the courage of the Church to say that this is very important for the future of humanity and for the future of the Church: to be strongly engaged in the defense of life.”

Among those present at this year’s march was Emilie Quinson, who had three abortions earlier in her life. “What was very difficult for me was that I was not informed about what an abortion was, under what circumstances it would take place, or about its consequences,” she told EWTN News.

Today, she is a leading figure in the pro-life movement. “I got married, I have five wonderful children, and my daughter is here with me today,” she said. “I went through a long process of rebuilding and forgiveness, because for a woman who has had an abortion, the hardest thing is forgiveness — first forgiving herself, and then receiving God’s forgiveness.

Cristeros with family members with the Mexican flag behind them with Our Lady of Guadalupe image substituted for the center field. | Credit: Public domain

Jan 21, 2026 / 14:03 pm (CNA).

As the centenary year of the Cristero War, also known as the Cristiada, begins, Auxiliary Bishop Pedro Mena of the Archdiocese of Yucatán in Mexico emphasized that “history is a great teacher.”

In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Mena noted that when he was in elementary and high school, the Cristero War was not mentioned in Mexican history classes.

Mena, 70, emphasized that Christians, “from the perspective of our faith, must know the entire history” and “learn from this event,” acknowledging that “it will always be controversial; it has its virtues, its flaws, its excesses, but I believe we must learn from this event.”

Father Javier Olivera Ravas will also be giving a conference on “The Cristero Resistance” on Feb. 6 at the Foro Cine Colón in Mérida, Yucatán.

Addressing the theme accompanying the announcement for the conference — “Where There Is the Cross and Sacrifice, Glory Is Born” — Mena highlighted that as the early Church theologian Tertullian said, “‘the blood of the martyrs is the seed’ of new Christians.”

The prelate recalled that when Pope John Paul II visited San Juan de los Lagos in 1990, in the region known as the Altos de Jalisco — where the Cristeros had a very strong presence — “one thing that really struck me was that they placed in the square in front of the cathedral [the title] ‘Land of Martyrs.’”

According to Mena, the large number of vocations found in that region, and in other areas with a strong Cristero history, is explained by the fact that parents often take their children “to different places and say: ‘This is where such and such a martyr lived, this is where so-and-so martyr was the parish priest, this is where this layperson lived.’ In other words, from a young age, they were thinking about those who had given their lives for Christ.”

Church-state relations in Mexico

In the decades following the Cristero War — which officially took place from 1926 to 1929 — the government did not repeal the oppressive laws restricting religious freedom that had triggered the rebellion but rather simply ceased to enforce them.

Mena noted how, during Pope John Paul II’s first trip to Mexico in 1979, “there were those who protested because he was wearing his cassock, which was prohibited by the laws that were still in effect at the time.”

In 1992, the 1917 Constitution — the origin of many of the restrictions that would later trigger the Cristero War — was reformed, and the so-called “Calles Law” was replaced with the current “Law on Religious Associations and Public Worship.” In this way, relations between church and state were reestablished.

Nevertheless, the prelate acknowledged that the relationship between the Catholic Church and state can occasionally be “a little tense,” although “there are open channels through which we can dialogue” with the authorities.

Lessons from the Cristero War for today

For the auxiliary bishop of Yucatán, an important lesson that the Cristero uprising in Mexico taught, a century after it occurred, “is that we must always sit down and discern how we, as a Church, are responding.”

“The important thing right now is to understand this great event in depth, as much as possible, to sit down and discern it from the perspective of God’s word and our mission as a Church,” he said, pointing to an important concern: “Is the evangelization we are carrying out in the Church today creating mature Christians?”

Regarding the apostolate to young people today, who are immersed in social media, the prelate emphasized the importance of “making them think,” “engaging them in a dynamic where they feel challenged,” and “encouraging them to ask questions.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Nuns with the Sisterhood of Saint Mary. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

Jan 21, 2026 / 13:33 pm (CNA).

A coalition of religious groups that includes an order of Protestant nuns and two Catholic dioceses scored a major victory after the state of New York backed off trying to force the groups to cover abortion in their health insurance plans.

The state government in a Jan. 16 agreement agreed to drop its efforts to force abortion coverage onto the dioceses of Ogdensburg and Albany, along with two Catholic Charities groups and numerous other religious plaintiffs.

The concession came months after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the state court of appeals to review the long-running case in light of a major religious liberty victory at the high court in June 2025.

That victory, Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review, saw the Supreme Court unanimously affirm that the U.S. Constitution “ mandates government neutrality between religions” and that states may not impose unlawful “denominational preferences” between religious organizations.

In the Wisconsin case, the state had attempted to argue that a Catholic charity’s undertakings were not “primarily” religious and that the group thus did not qualify for a tax exemption. The New York government had adopted a similar argument, exempting religious groups from the abortion mandate only if they primarily employ members of their own faith.

In a press release celebrating the New York victory, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty — which represented the religious groups in their fight against the mandate — described the state’s effort as a “disgraceful campaign.”

“This victory confirms that the government cannot punish religious ministries for living out their faith by serving everyone,” attorney Lori Windham said.

In addition to the Protestant nuns and the Catholic groups, the plaintiffs included a Lutheran church, a Baptist church, and a Teresian nursing home.

The nuns, a contemplative order called the Sisters of St. Mary, are known for raising Cashmere goats at their cloister in Greenwich, New York.

Their sponsorship of a 4-H club and their leasing of the goats to local youth led the state to deny them the exemption to the abortion mandate, according to Becket. The religious exemption, Becket had argued, was “so narrow” that “Jesus himself would not qualify for it.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state. | Credit: Vatican Media

Jan 21, 2026 / 13:03 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has received an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to participate in a proposed “Board of Peace” focused on Gaza and is currently evaluating how to respond, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Wednesday.

“We too have received the invitation to the Board of Peace for Gaza. The pope has received it and we are seeing what to do; we are looking into it in depth,” Parolin told reporters on Jan. 21, according to the official Vatican News outlet. “I think it is an issue that requires a bit of time to give an answer.”

The cardinal said Trump is “requesting the participation of various countries” and noted that, based on what he had read in the press, “Italy is also reflecting on whether to join or not.”

According to the report, the initiative aims to establish a Board of Peace to address global conflicts, with particular attention to the war in Gaza, as an entity independent of the United Nations. Participating countries would be asked to make a financial contribution that would grant them a permanent seat.

Several states have publicly announced their participation, including Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Egypt, and Israel, the report said.

Parolin ruled out a Vatican financial contribution and said the Holy See would be in a different position than other states.

“We are not even in a position to do that,” he said. “However, evidently we find ourselves in a different situation with respect to other countries, so it will be a different consideration, but I think the request will not be to participate financially.”

Asked about tensions between the United States and Europe, Parolin said “tensions are not healthy” and “create a climate that worsens the international situation, which is already serious.”

“I think what is important would be to eliminate tensions, discuss the points that are controversial, but without entering into polemics or generating tensions,” he said.

Parolin also underscored the importance of “respecting international law” when asked about remarks made by Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the U.S. president expressed a strong desire to acquire Greenland, according to the report.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Participants gather in Płock, Poland, on Jan. 15, 2026, to mark the 29th Day of Judaism in the Catholic Church in Poland. | Credit: Karol Darmoros/Heschel Center KUL

Jan 21, 2026 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

A prominent Polish cardinal and the country’s chief rabbi warned against silence in the face of hatred and called for peace at the central celebration of the 29th Day of Judaism in the Catholic Church in Poland on Jan. 15.

“Too much pain, too much tragedy, too much death. We pray for peace,” Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich said during the event in Płock, a city in central Poland where most of its prewar Jewish population of 9,000 was murdered or deported during the Nazi occupation.

Schudrich recalled the words of Holocaust survivor Marian Turski that “Auschwitz did not fall from the sky,” noting that the Shoah would not have happened without the silence of good people. He underlined the need to combat antisemitism and all forms of racism and hatred.

Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, the archbishop of Kraków and chairman of the Polish Bishops’ Conference’s Council for Religious Dialogue, called for Catholics and Jews to “listen to each other, because the other perspective is important for each side.”

“It is not the case” that the loss of Płock’s Jewish community “changes nothing in the community of citizens who lived together,” Ryś said, noting that the Day of Judaism — observed this year under the theme “Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16) — serves to remember them.

The cardinal added that “all Church documents since the Second Vatican Council” have demonstrated the connections between Christianity and “living Judaism.”

“The whole history of salvation boils down to this: God gathers people, and the evil one scatters them,” Ryś observed. “You will never be happy if you want to be happy alone.”

Israel’s ambassador to Poland, Yaakov Finkelstein; local Bishop Szymon Stułkowski; and Płock Mayor Andrzej Nowakowski also attended the Jan. 15 celebrations.

Events took place at multiple locations, including the Płock Cathedral, the Benedictine Abbey, and the Museum of Mazovian Jews, which is housed in a former synagogue. The day included joint prayers, a commemorative walk through sites linked to Płock’s Jewish history, and exhibitions including one titled “Some Were Neighbors: Choice, Human Behavior, and the Holocaust,” produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Sister Katarzyna Kowalska, co-chair of the Polish Council of Christians and Jews and vice president of the International Council of Christians and Jews, said the Church today calls the faithful to “sit down at one table” and explore important issues.

“We discussed memory, hope, and the promises made to the chosen people, in which we are also included and which we share in,” Kowalska said.

The Day of Judaism is traditionally observed on Jan. 17 in Poland’s liturgical calendar, coinciding with the eve of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Similar days of Jewish-Catholic remembrance and dialogue are celebrated by the Catholic Church in a number of European countries.

Bishop Sebastian Tudu of Dinajpur celebrates Mass at the Shrine of Mary the Protector on Jan. 16, 2026. | Credit: Stephan Uttom Rozario

Jan 21, 2026 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

Thousands of pilgrims gathered at a Marian shrine in northern Bangladesh on Jan. 16 to express gratitude to Mary for protecting villagers during the country’s 1971 War of Independence.

The annual pilgrimage at Nabai Battala village in the Rajshahi Diocese concluded a nine-day novena with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Sebastian Tudu of Dinajpur. The pilgrimage commemorates an incident during Bangladesh’s war for independence from Pakistan when Pakistani soldiers surrounded the village church but left without harming anyone inside.

“It is not like this that Mother Mary does not listen to anyone’s prayers,” Tudu said in his homily. “The people of Nabai Battala have already received the grace of Mother Mary. During the War of Independence in 1971, they trusted Mother Mary to save their lives. And Mother Mary has indeed protected the devotees in the arms of her love.”

Prayer amid danger

During the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971, Pakistani troops, aided by local Razakars — Bangladeshis who opposed independence — came to Nabai Battala village to capture freedom fighters. Villagers had agreed that if such an attack occurred, they would gather in the church when the bell rang and pray to Mary.

When more than 100 Pakistani soldiers arrived, villagers — both Christians and Hindus — took refuge in the church. The troops surrounded them and ordered some to pray, but the Hindus could not comply with the order. The soldiers then aimed their guns at the villagers.

No one fled. They continued praying, and for reasons unknown, the Pakistani troops departed without firing a shot. Since then, villagers have expressed their gratitude to Mary through annual prayers at the site.

Many of the Hindu villagers later converted to Christianity.

Official recognition

On Jan. 16, 2004, the then-bishop of Rajshahi, Paulinus Costa, declared Nabai Battala — an Indigenous-dominated area about 186 miles north of Dhaka — a pilgrimage site. The location has been celebrated annually with increasing solemnity since.

In 2019, new meditation scenes and statues were installed at 14 stations along the Way of the Cross and at the grotto of Mary, and a new pilgrimage altar was constructed.

Bishop Gervas Rozario formally designated Nabai Battala as a pilgrimage center of the Rajshahi Diocese in 2023.

Living faith

“Pilgrimage is essentially an expression of a Christian’s living faith — where the deep devotion, hope, and desire of the heart combine to create a yearning for the closeness and intimacy of God,” Tudu said. “From this yearning comes the celebration of communion, joy, and gratitude.”

He added that “the pilgrimage site of the protector Mother Mary of Nabai Battala is also a place of unique blessing. In this holy land, God continues to shower mercy on his devotees through the intercession of the protector Mother Mary.”

Costantina Hansda, a community leader and social activist from Nabai Battala, said the annual pilgrimage has been celebrated since 1971. “On that day, all our villagers were saved from the hands of the Pakistani army by praying to her intercession. Therefore, we perform this pilgrimage every year to thank and express our gratitude to Mother Mary.”

Answered prayers

A couple who traveled about 124 miles to the shrine told EWTN News they came to thank Mary for answering their prayers. Their 3-year-old son had cried inexplicably at night for an extended period, and doctors were unable to help.

“Last year we prayed to Mother Mary, and since then our son has not cried at night like previous years. He is fine now. That is why we came to thank Mother Mary,” the couple said.

They added: “Mother Mary is truly a mother who listens to her children and fulfills their prayers.”

On the night of Jan. 15, pilgrims from surrounding villages carried candles in procession to the shrine, participated in Eucharistic adoration, and went to confession in preparation for the feast day.

On the morning of Jan. 16, pilgrims gathered at the Way of the Cross before the Mass, which was attended by thousands of Marian devotees, priests, religious brothers, and sisters.