U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a press conference after the capture of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro, Washington, D.C., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. Credit: JIM WATSON / Getty Images

Jan 3, 2026 / 12:56 pm (CNA).

U.S. President Donald Trump on Jan. 3 said the United States would "run" Venezuela until a replacement for President Nicolás Maduro can be found, with the U.S. leader vowing a "safe, proper, and judicious transition" after American forces arrested Maduro and brought him to New York State for indictment.

The U.S. launched strikes in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Jan. 3 before capturing Maduro and transporting him to the U.S., where he was indicted on drug and weapons charges in a New York district court.

In a press conference on Jan. 3, Trump revealed that the U.S. would "run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition."

"We don't want to be involved with having somebody else get in and [then] we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years," Trump said, emphasizing: "We are going to run the country."

The president alleged that the Maduro regime in Venezuela "emptied out their prisons [and] sent their worst and most violent monsters into the United States."

He referenced the June 2024 killing of Jocelyn Nungaray, who was raped and strangled in Texas allegedly by two Venezuelan immigrants in the country illegally.

Asked how long the U.S. would be in charge of Venezuela, Trump said: "I'd like to do it quickly." He said such operations take "a lot of time."

He described the country’s infrastructure as in poor shape. “We’re going to take a lot of money out so that we can take care of the country,” he said

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the press conference praised the soldiers who carried out the Venezuelan operation early on Jan. 3, describing them as the "elite of America."

"Our adversaries remain on notice," Hesgeth said. "America can project our will anywhere, anytime."

National leaders in Latin America expressed condemnation of the U.S. operations in Venezuela on Jan. 3, with executives in Colombia, Brazil and elsewhere warning of U.S. aggression and regional instability after the strikes.

The bishops of Venezuela, meanwhile, said they are in prayer and communicating with each other amid the ongoing incident.

Xavier Polisetty, a seminarian for the Diocese of Fort Worth from Grapevine, Texas, attends SEEK 2026 on Jan. 2, 2026. | Credit: Amira Abuzeid/CNA

Jan 3, 2026 / 12:26 pm (CNA).

Xavier Polisetty, 25, a seminarian from Texas, encouraged men considering the priesthood to trust that God will give the grace to continue.

“I always felt the call at the back of my heart. It never went away,” he said with a smile.

Hundreds of seminarians are attending the SEEK 2026 conference being held in Grapevine, Texas, this week with thousands of other young Catholics from around the country.

As a child, “I played Mass like a lot of other Catholic boys,” said Polisetty, who grew up in Grapevine. He also noticed that his parents, whose faith he described as devout, admired the priests they knew, and he felt from the beginning that he wanted to be one of them.

While studying computer science at Texas A&M University, he participated in several ministries through St. Mary’s Catholic Center, including a weekend retreat called Aggie Awakening, which he said emphasized the importance of having a relationship with Christ. He said he also made several good friendships where a relationship with Christ was at the core.

After graduating in 2022, he entered seminary at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and is halfway through his seven years of seminary training.

Polisetty said he was inspired by Father David Michael Moses’ words on the first night of the conference: “Being a priest means that you are so close to Jesus Christ, when you say, at Mass, ‘This is my body,’ Jesus makes it become his body,” Moses said. “When a person walks into confession, when you say ‘I absolve you,’ you are so close to Jesus you speak for him.”

Polisetty said he is sure he is called to the priesthood but does experience doubts “almost on a weekly basis. When I watch movies, or look at stories of people doing great things in business or in family life, it’s easy to be tempted.”

He said he dated a young woman in college with whom “there were miscommunications. It was hard.”

But, he continued: “That’s where the gift of God’s grace comes in.”

“God has used those desires to bring fruit to my ministry even now, and hopefully one day when I am ordained. The experience and empathy my journey has given me; though it’s been difficult at times, but God’s grace, every time; he’s given me the grace to continue.”

He encouraged young men to consider the priesthood even if they struggle with accepting the celibacy aspect. “Everyone has those desires,” he acknowledged. “I have those desires, all my brother seminarians have them. We’re open about them and talk about them.”

“It’s a greater gift to give God,” he continued, “to offer up those desires for the sake of a greater good.”

“When parents see their newborns, they often say they love more than they ever could have imagined they could. It’s the same thing in the priesthood. Being in environments like this SEEK conference, you see all these Catholics, and it gives me this great love,” he said.

“I want to be ordained so I can minister to them. They’re seeking. By being a priest, I can love them in that way. There’s sacrifices involved, but every lifestyle has that,” he said.

“Christ on the cross shows that sacrifice is our path to salvation,” Polisetty said. “It’s a great blessing. There are so many reasons to say no, but God will give you the grace to say yes. There will be so many gifts.”

A highway sits empty in Caracas after U.S. strikes in the area and the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. | Credit: FEDERICO PARRA/Getty Images

Jan 3, 2026 / 11:56 am (CNA).

The Vatican’s daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano opened its Saturday edition with news of U.S. airstrikes against Venezuela, reporting attacks in the capital, Caracas, as well as on several military bases around the country.

The main image on the paper’s front page showed a dense column of smoke rising over an urban area, reflecting what the paper described as the impact of the military offensive and the sudden escalation of the regional crisis.

The newspaper said air raids hit Caracas overnight and several military installations, and it referred to a claim by U.S. President Donald Trump that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been captured and removed from the country.

The paper said the situation remains “highly volatile,” with growing uncertainty about the political, social, and humanitarian consequences of the attack.

Founded on July 1, 1861, L’Osservatore Romano — defined on its masthead as a “political-religious daily” — aims to report on and reflect the life of the Church and serves as a vehicle for disseminating the pope’s voice, rather than functioning as a direct public outlet for the Vatican.

The L’Osservatore Romano article, written in Italian, also reported the response of the Caracas government, which called the events a “most serious aggression” and denounced what it said was a direct violation of national sovereignty.

So far, there has been no official comment from the Vatican or from Pope Leo XIV regarding the incident, though the Holy Father could address the situation in Venezuela after praying the Angelus on Sunday.

On Dec. 2, 2025, returning from his first international trip — to Turkey and Lebanon — the pope voiced concern about the risk of a U.S. invasion of Venezuela.

The pontiff said at the time that he was closely following the situation, both through the Venezuelan bishops and through the apostolic nuncio in the country, Archbishop Alberto Ortega Martín.

“Regarding Venezuela, at the level of the episcopal conference, with the nuncio, we are looking for ways to calm the situation, above all seeking the good of the people, because so many times the ones who suffer in those situations are the people, not the authorities,” the pope told reporters on the return flight.

He added: “It is better to look for ways of dialogue — even pressure, economic pressure — but seeking another way to bring about change, if that is what they decide to do in the United States.”

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who served as apostolic nuncio in Venezuela from 2009 to 2013 and is well acquainted with the country’s situation, also denounced the existence of “unjust prisons” and “oppressed” people in Venezuela on Oct. 21, 2025.

In a homily during a Mass of thanksgiving for the canonization of Venezuela’s first two saints — St. José Gregorio Hernández and St. Carmen Rendiles — Parolin urged the faithful to imitate them and said: “Only in this way, dear Venezuela, will you pass from death to life!”

“Only in this way, dear Venezuela, will your light shine in the darkness, your darkness will become noon — if you listen to the Word of the Lord who calls you to open unjust prisons, to break the bars of the stocks, to set the oppressed free, to break every yoke,” Parolin said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Caracas is seen after U.S. strikes on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. Credit: JUAN BARRETO / Getty Images

Jan 3, 2026 / 11:05 am (CNA).

A U.S. indictment brought against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accuses the politician of running a corrupt government facilitating drug trafficking and conspiracy, among other crimes.

Maduro was captured by American forces on Jan. 3 after U.S. strikes in the nation’s capital of Caracas.

In a Jan. 3 unsealed indictment, the U.S. government alleged that Maduro — who has held power in Venezuela for over a decade — has “tarnished every public office he has held” with corruption and drug-running.

Maduro “allows cocaine-fueled corruption to flourish for his own benefit, for the benefit of members of his ruling regime, and for the benefit of his family members,” the indictment says.

The document alleges that Maduro has used a “corrupt, illegitimate government” to facilitate the drug trafficking, with the purported drug empire helping “violent narco-terrorists” run narcotics both in Venezuela and into the United States.

The indictment accuses Maduro and others of multiple violations of U.S. drug law, including “narco-terrorism conspiracy” and “cocaine importation,” as well as weapons charges.

The document was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Earlier in the day U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X that Maduro would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

Though the air strikes in Caracas are reported to have caused destruction there, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly said on Jan. 3 that there would be “no further action” after the arrest of Maduro.

SEEK 2026 attendance set records. | Credit: Photo courtesy of FOCUS

Jan 3, 2026 / 10:05 am (CNA).

SEEK 2026 has drawn more than 26,000 attendees across three U.S. cities this year, setting an attendance record and marking a 24% increase over last year, organizers said.

Attendees have gathered through Jan. 5 in Columbus, Ohio; Denver; and Fort Worth, Texas, for the SEEK 2026 conference organized by  FOCUS. As of early Friday, Columbus drew the largest crowd with over 16,100 registered, compared with 5,907 in Fort Worth and 4,503 in Denver.

Organizers reported growth across nearly every category of attendance. A total of 11,744 students from FOCUS-affiliated campuses registered this year, a 9% increase over last year when the conference was held simultaneously in Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C. An additional 2,752 students attended from non-FOCUS campuses — a 64% jump from 2025. 

The conference also is seeing record participation among Church leadership. Fifty-eight Catholic bishops are attending SEEK this year, the most in the event’s history, and up from 46 bishops last year. Attendance among seminarians has also grown by 43%.

‘Like a mini-World Youth Day’

Bishop Earl Fernandes of the Diocese of Columbus, who played a key role in bringing SEEK to Ohio, said the conference offers a visible sign of vitality in the Church — particularly among young adults in his diocese and beyond.

“I’m hoping this will be something like a mini-World Youth Day for our diocese,” Fernandes said. “Here we have seminarians, bishops, college and university students, and disciple-makers. Many people are very interested in becoming missionary disciples.”

Fernandes said the strong turnout at this year’s conference challenges claims that the Church is outdated or unable to engage younger generations.

“Sometimes the narrative is that the Church is old and that pews are empty,” he said. “In our diocese, the Catholic population has doubled in the past three and a half years, and it’s getting younger. We have many young adults who are on fire with the faith, and there’s a lot happening.”

The growth seen at SEEK, he added, reflects a deeper hunger among young people for meaning, community, and encounter with Christ.

“My hope is that, both here and around the country, young people are strengthened by seeing others who are enthusiastic about their faith, who have had a personal encounter with the Lord, and who are beginning to think about their vocation,” Fernandes said.

Creating space for young people

Fernandes highlighted the crucial role of Church leadership in making young people feel welcomed and empowered to serve.

“When younger generations say there is no room for them in the Church, part of the issue is the leadership,” Fernandes said. “Sometimes the same people serve in roles in their churches for decades without making space for young people. Our job is to create space for young people to say ‘yes.’”

Columbus’ central location in the eastern region of the U.S. situates it “within reach of a huge portion of the country,” only hours away from other major cities such as Cincinnati, Lexington, and Indianapolis. According to Fernandes, “that accessibility matters,” as organizers announced Jan. 2 that next year’s SEEK conference will return to Columbus and expand to a new location in San Antonio, Texas.

‘What do they have that I don’t?’

The conference theme “To the Heights!” draws inspiration from St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young Catholic known for his joyful witness and service to others who was canonized this past September alongside St. Carlo Acutis. Fernandes said their example speaks directly to challenges facing young adults today, including loneliness and mental health struggles. 

“With those problems in mind, the question for those at this conference is how this fraternity built up spills over when they return home,” he said. 

He pointed to peer-to-peer evangelization as a key factor in sustained growth, citing the Ohio State University Newman Center in his diocese, where there has been an increase of students entering the Church each year. 

“When someone has a life-changing encounter with Christ, others notice,” Fernandes said. “They ask, ‘Why are they joyful? What do they have that I don’t?’”

Desiring for participants to maintain that Christ-like joy, Fernandes expressed his hope that SEEK will be “a catalyst.” 

“When these young people return to their campuses and communities,” he said, “they go back on fire with the faith.”

Left to right: Curtis Martin, founder of FOCUS, and his son, Brock Martin, vice president of parish outreach at FOCUS, sit down for an interview with CNA on Dec. 10, 2025. | Credit: Francesca Fenton/EWTN News

Jan 3, 2026 / 08:00 am (CNA).

For nearly 30 years, FOCUS has been known for its missionary work on college campuses. Earlier this year, the ministry began to expand its reach with a new branch — FOCUS Parish.

FOCUS Parish brings FOCUS missionaries into Catholic parishes to help revitalize the parish itself and the parishioners, and to form missionary disciples — laypeople who effectively spread the Gospel message in the local community and diocese.

Founder of FOCUS Curtis Martin and his son, Brock Martin, vice president of parish outreach at FOCUS, both agree that FOCUS Parish is a response to the need of sending missionaries to “where the people are.”

“If we’re trying to bring the Gospel to every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth, the vast majority of people don’t currently live on U.S. college campuses,” Brock told CNA in an interview. “The Catholic Church has amazingly already done this work — every inch of the globe is already mapped out into a parish structure. So, FOCUS’ move into parishes is really a response to the fact that we want to take this mission seriously. We need to send missionaries to where the people are.”

Curtis added: “Everybody lives in a parish, as Brock said, and evangelization takes root when there’s real transformation. It’s going to take place in families and in parishes. That’s where Catholics live. And so we want to be with them to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them in the midst, as Brock said, in the midst of friendship.”

Parishes who take part in FOCUS’ new ministry will receive two full-time missionaries who become part of the parish’s leadership team, help advise and lead parish ministries, and work to create small communities where the Gospel message is shared and spread to all parishioners.

“These missionaries are imbedding into the parish culture,” Brock said.

FOCUS Parish is currently in 25 parishes and plans to expand to an additional 25 parishes in 2026.

When speaking to the fact that FOCUS Parish has become the fastest-growing part of the apostolate, Brock credited the current “landscape of the parish in the United States.”

“Right now there’s about 16,000 parishes [in the U.S.],” Brock said. “I think the number of parishes who are waking up, the number of pastors who recognize that business as usual is not working, we have to, with new ardor and new methodologies, try to figure out how to live the new evangelization. I just think there’s a unique moment where as pastors and finance councils become aware of the opportunity, we’re seeing more and more people start to raise their hand at a faster rate.”

Curtis highlighted the retention rate of FOCUS Parish missionaries leading to the success of the ministry.

“We’re seeing greater longevity with our missionaries because they’re not walking with 18- to 22-year-olds, they’re walking with people who are of their same age, maybe older, maybe younger,” he explained. “The retention rate for FOCUS missionaries in Parish last year was 100%. Nobody left. By way of comparison, probably 25% of the missionaries left on campus; that’s part of our cycle. And so to be able to recognize, we can grow because of the longevity.”

With the growth to 25 more parishes in the new year, FOCUS is looking to hire an additional 50 to 55 missionaries — considering both moving campus missionaries to parishes and hiring individuals who have never been FOCUS missionaries.

As for his hopes for the future, Brock said: “My deepest hope in FOCUS Parish is that this would be a simple and repeatable gift that we can offer to the Church.”

Curtis said: “My hope for FOCUS in the parish is actually hope. I think a lot of leaders in the Church are good people but they’re discouraged and they’re kind of managing a slow decline. And that’s not the way Christianity works. Christianity has grown in every generation since the time of Christ. We’re living in a very abnormal time, at least in the West. It’s shrinking. That’s not the way it should be.”

He added: “There’s a resurgence of faith — articles are being written about this all over the world — FOCUS is just participating in a little way. Millions of people awakening to Christ. We need to welcome them and to be able to recognize the Church ought to be growing. This can work. And when you have hope you start to make decisions based upon that and all of a sudden you see the Church should be a place of growth.”

Pope Leo XIV speaks from a window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square during the Sunday Angelus on Aug. 24, 2025. | Credit: Vatican Media

Jan 3, 2026 / 07:05 am (CNA).

After U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Saturday, Pope Leo expressed deep concern over the situation. Global reactions to the developments are split.

• Pope speaks: Pope Leo XIV urged prayer and respect for human rights in Venezuela at Sunday Angelus, saying "the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration."

• Global reactions split: European leaders stressed international law while China expressed "deep shock" and Russia condemns "aggression." Venezuelan bishops called for prayer as Maduro awaits Monday arraignment in New York.

• U.N. convenes Monday: Security Council will meet at 10 a.m. after Colombia requested emergency session, backed by Russia and China. U.N. chief calls U.S. operation "a dangerous precedent."

Colin and Eithne Bell with Micheál Martin, Irish Taoiseach. The Bells founded the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust (KBRT) in 2013 after the death of their son. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust

Jan 3, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Christmas season in Ireland is marked by the return of family members living abroad and by the strong tradition of visiting family graves.

Those themes of returning home and respect for the deceased lie at the heart of the work of one of Ireland’s most remarkable and humane charities, the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust (KBRT). Since it was founded in 2013, the trust has brought home the bodies of more than 2,000 Irish people who have died abroad in sudden and tragic circumstances. The trust typically has three or four repatriations underway at any given time.

The trust was founded by Colin and Eithne Bell and their family in memory of their son Kevin, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in New York on June 16, 2013. To help the Bell family with the substantial expense of repatriating Kevin’s body to his family, the local community in the town of Newry rallied around the family and raised over $202,000 toward the costs.

Colin Bell told CNA: “Kevin was 26 years old, who loved life, enjoyed travel. He had been in Australia and Thailand. He had gone to New York. He enjoyed everything about New York. He went out on a Saturday evening for some drinks, took a cab home, and when he got out of the taxi, he was struck by a speeding white van, which knocked him into the road, where he was struck by another vehicle. Both vehicles drove off.” He was killed instantly.

Colin added: “I suppose mercifully, Kevin would have known nothing about it.”

“And when Kevin came home, it was obvious that Newry too had lost a son with the reaction to the news that broke,” he continued. “I can only describe it as Newry came around us like a blanket. In the space of a week, 150,000 pounds [$202,000] was raised to bring Kevin home.”

Coincidentally, at this time, the son of a Belfast family, Steven Clifford, was killed in Thailand. “We contacted the family and said, ‘Look, we have this money; we’ll pay to bring your son home.’”

The following week, a young man from Sligo died in Las Vegas. “So again, we reached out to the family. Because we had 150,000 pounds, which really wasn’t ours. We thought we would use this to help other families who had been visited with the same devastation. We thought once the 150,000 pounds was gone, that would be the end of it. But the parents of another young man killed in Perth heard that we were doing this and they had something in the region of 75,000 pounds, which they gave us to continue our work.”

“We decided then that we would make this Kevin’s legacy,” Bell said.

Gaining charitable status in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland led to Irish embassies and consulates worldwide asking for details so that when a bereaved family contacts the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin, they are given the trust’s number.

The repatriation process is complicated and expensive. To bring somebody from Australia can cost 8,000 or 9,000 pounds ($10,500 to $12,000). From mainland Europe, it is generally in the region of 5,000 to 6,000 pounds ($6,700 to $8,000). Bringing a body from the U.S. to Ireland is anything up to to 10,000 pounds or more ($13,500+) depending on what part of the country the body is repatriated from.

The Bell family understands what bereaved families are experiencing.

“Obviously if you get a cold call and you are told that you’ve lost a son or a daughter in Sydney, for example, what do you do? Who do you turn to? How do you go about getting your loved one home? I think that’s probably the biggest part of the work that we do because when a family does contact us we’re able to say, look we’ll take it from here, you don’t have to do anything. We’ll organize it and we’ll get your loved one home.”

Bell further explained: “From a faith perspective, one of the corporal works of mercy is to bury the dead, and the spiritual works of mercy ask us to comfort the sorrowful, which the trust does. It doesn’t matter if you’re at home or abroad — loss is loss and pain is pain, but particularly Irish people want their loved ones home. To want to be able to give the family a way to see their loved one is most important. I know it was very, very important to us.”

Bell said he remembers when his son’s body arrived home and his coffin was carried into the house, there was “a sense of peace that came with knowing that he was home. That was so important to us, especially his mummy [who] was able to hold his hand and speak to him.”

Bell described the work as therapeutic, especially as it keeps his son’s name alive.

As far as he knows, KBRT is the only repatriation organization in the world. The trust’s logo is an image of a bird.

“The last Christmas before Kevin went away, the last present that he got for his mother was a bird table. As Eithne says, birds come home to nest or to roost,” Bell said.

And what might Kevin have made of this work of mercy done in his name?

“Kevin was a big character who loved life and always said that he would be famous. So in a way his name is out there and it’s well known throughout the world. I’m sure he’d be very pleased with that fact.”

Mount St. Mary’s University Physician Assistant Program Director Mary Jackson, MMS, PA-C, CAQ-EM, demonstrates hands-on ultrasound techniques with students at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Mount St. Mary’s University

CNA Staff, Jan 3, 2026 / 06:00 am (CNA).

In response to Maryland’s growing health care crisis, Mount St. Mary’s University is launching a physician assistant program later this month. 

The private Catholic liberal arts university, located in Emmitsburg, Maryland, is partnering with the Daughters of Charity — the religious order founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton — to bring more students into the field of health care.

Amid a staffing shortage, Maryland has had the longest emergency room wait times in the nation for nine years, averaging more than four hours. The number of serious medical mistakes that have resulted in death or severe disability for patients has risen each year in Maryland for the past four years, according to a report published in September 2025.

A recent projection found that Maryland needs to increase the number of primary physicians by 23% by 2030 to cover the gap in primary care providers.

The Maryland Department of Health has cited staffing shortages — among several causes of rising medical errors — as something that Mount St. Mary’s program hopes to mitigate.

The program — part of the college’s recent move into the health care arena — will welcome its inaugural class of 43 students on Jan. 20.

The school’s new program includes resources for students to prevent burnout through its Center for Clinician Well-Being.

CNA spoke with physician assistant program director Mary Jackson about the new program.

CNA: What inspired the launch of the new physician assistant program? 

Mary Jackson: The Mount made a very intentional decision to enter the health care education arena as another way to live out our mission. As a Catholic university, Mount St. Mary’s graduates ethical leaders who are inspired by a passion for learning and who lead lives of significance in service to God and others. 

Preparing future health care clinicians is a natural extension of this mission, one that allows our students to serve individuals, families, and communities at moments of greatest vulnerability. 

We chose to launch a physician assistant program because the PA profession consistently ranks among the top careers nationally, with strong student interest and growing workforce demand. 

With a growing health care shortage in Maryland, how do you hope this program will address this crisis?  

Maryland, like much of the country, is experiencing a significant health care workforce shortage, marked by long wait times, limited access in rural and underserved areas, and an aging population with increasing medical needs.

Physician assistants play a vital role in expanding access to high-quality care. By educating future PAs who are clinically excellent, compassionate, and mission-driven, our program aims to strengthen Maryland’s health care workforce and ensure that more patients receive timely, patient-centered care.

How does your mission as a Catholic university drive the physician assistant program? 

Our Catholic identity shapes every aspect of the physician assistant program. The Mount’s commitment to service, compassion, equity, and well-being calls us to prepare clinicians who go beyond transactional medicine.

We aim to form PAs who care deeply for all patients, especially those who are underserved, while also tending to their own well-being so they can flourish long term in their calling to health care.

How did Mount St. Mary’s work with the Daughters of Charity to build this program?   

The Daughters of Charity have been extraordinary partners in bringing this vision to life. Their legacy of caring for the poor and vulnerable has inspired the program’s mission and helped us ground our work in the values of humility and loving service.

The Daughters have generously provided both tangible and in-kind support, enabling our inspiring facility, helping fund our Care for America scholarships, and working with us as thought leaders in this work.

Fires are seen in Caracas, Venezuela after the U.S. launched what President Donald Trump described as a "large scale strike" that included the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2025. Credit: STR / Getty

Jan 3, 2026 / 02:50 am (CNA).

President Donald Trump announced early Saturday that U.S. forces have “captured” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, flying them out of the country following a “large-scale strike” on the South American nation.

“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country,” Trump wrote in a post shared by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

Trump stated the operation was conducted “in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement” and announced a news conference for 11 a.m. ET at Mar-a-Lago.

Explosions and chaos

The announcement followed reports of multiple explosions rocking Caracas and other cities around 2 a.m. local time, accompanied by military aircraft flyovers.

“The explosions were so strong they made the windows of my house shake. When we looked outside, numerous plumes of smoke were rising over Caracas,” said Andrés Henríquez, a correspondent for ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. “There were many, countless. Then, videos and reports began to emerge of explosions in other cities.”

Amid the chaos and prior to the reported capture, Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto announced that the regime had declared a “State of External Commotion” — a constitutional emergency measure granting sweeping wartime powers.

Citing Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, Gil Pinto denounced the “extremely grave military aggression” and called on citizens to mobilize against an “imperialist attack.” It remains unclear who is currently commanding the regime’s forces.

Church context

The apparent fall of the socialist leader follows months of escalating tensions. The U.S. recently designated Maduro as the alleged leader of the “Cartel of the Suns” narco-terrorism ring.

The Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference (CEV) has long warned of the country’s “turbulent national reality.” In their recent Christmas message, the bishops cautioned that the “joyful experience” of the season was “overshadowed” by the country’s “generalized impoverishment.”

Tensions between the Church and the regime have spiked since the disputed July 2024 elections. The episcopate has repeatedly demanded the release of political prisoners — including minors — while Maduro recently accused Cardinal Baltazar Porras of conspiracy during the October 2025 canonization of Venezuela’s first saints.

Analysts told CNA recently that the Church would likely face “ more persecution” in 2026 as the regime becomes increasingly isolated.

This is a developing story. Updated Jan. 3, 2026, at 4:45 a.m. ET.