HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz is joining promoted Hamburger SV from Bayern Munich on loan for next season.
“Daniel has continued to develop at FC Bayern over the past two years, and we are very pleased with him,” Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said Monday. “He has really good skills and an outstanding character. He’s always reliable in our goalkeeping team led by Manuel Neuer. Now he’ll gain further experience and plenty of Bundesliga minutes at Hamburger SV.”
That’s not a given, as established goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes is a club favorite at Hamburg after helping it to promotion last season. The 32-year-old Heuer Fernandes showed he's in fine form with several saves in a friendly game at Austrian team Sturm Graz on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Peretz made seven competitive appearances for Bayern since joining from Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2023, but found it hard to break through with Neuer still preferred as No. 1 and Bayern signing the 21-year-old Jonas Urbig from Cologne in January.
Peretz has also played seven games for Israel.
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FILE - Bayern's goalkeeper Daniel Peretz controls the ball during a German Cup round of 16 soccer match between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany,. Dec.3, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, file)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV baptized 20 babies in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday beneath Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling, continuing an annual tradition that marks the end of the Christmas holiday period at the Vatican.
Later, speaking to the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff offered his blessing to all infants receiving the sacrament of baptism in these days, "in particular those born in difficult conditions of health or external danger.''
In his first baptismal ceremony as pope, Leo celebrated the Lord’s gift of faith to the children, saying that it gives sense to the gift of life.
“When we know something is essential, we immediately seek it for those we love. Who among us, in fact, would leave a newborn without clothing or nourishment, waiting for them to choose when they grow up how to dress and what to eat?'' the pontiff told the families gathered in the Sistine Chapel.
“Dearest ones, if food and clothing are necessary to live, faith is more than necessary, because with God, life finds salvation,’’ he said.
The pontiff personally administered the sacrament of baptism to the infants, who are the children of Vatican employees working at the Holy See. The parents approached the baptismal font placed within a bronze base representing the Tree of Life with the babies’ godparents and any siblings. The ceremony took place without tears and minimal fussing.
The celebration marks the feast day that recalls Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan and was established in 1981 by St. John Paul II. The event is depicted on the Sistine Chapel’s north wall in a fresco by Pietro Perugino.
During the ceremony, each father was given a candle representing the Christian light that “illuminates our path.”
“I wish you to continue with joy during the year that has just begun and for all of your life, certain that the Lord will always accompany your steps.’’
Pope Leo XIV delivers the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Faithful listen to Pope Leo XIV's Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
The lit Christmas tree is backdropped by the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
