SUNDAY, Dec. 30, 10pm

A Hand of Peace: Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust

EWTN In this documentary from 2008, Holocaust historians Sir Martin Gilbert, David Novak, Ron Rychlak, Sister Margherita Marchione, Jesuit Father Peter Gumpel and others refute lies and prove that Pope Pius XII (1876-1958), whose papacy began in 1939, protested the Nazis’ persecution of Europe’s Jews and guided the Church in saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews. Re-airing at 5am Jan. 3.

MONDAY, Dec. 31, 8pm, live

Urbi et Orbi: Message and Blessing

EWTN Above St. Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict XVI will deliver his New Year’s 2013 message and blessing "to the city of Rome and to the world."

TUESDAY, Jan. 1, live

New Year’s Day

EWTN At midnight, the very start of 2013, in a Solemn Mass of Reparation from EWTN, the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word will say Mass in atonement for our sins. Re-airing at 8am and midnight. At 4am, Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate the Solemn Mass of Mary, Mother of God in St. Peter’s Basilica. Re-airing at noon.

TUESDAY, Jan. 1, 2pm

Saint Barbara

EWTN This film showcases the life of St. Barbara, the daughter of a Roman governor, who, after her slave is condemned to death for being a Christian, also converts to Christianity. Her faith gave her the strength to face her difficult trials and forgive her executioners. Re-airings at 9am Jan. 4 and 8pm Jan. 5.

TUESDAY, Jan. 1, 2:30 and 8pm

Great Performances: From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2013

PBS In this 90-minute show from Vienna’s Musikverein, the Vienna Philharmonic will play Strauss family waltzes and contemporary works, and the Vienna State Ballet will perform in the Schloss Hof palace. Host Julie Andrews will interview conductor Franz Welser-Möst and tour Vienna landmarks.

SUNDAY, Jan. 6, 3:30am, live

Solemnity of the Epiphany

EWTN Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass at St. Peter’s. Re-airing at 11am.

MONDAY, Jan. 7, 5:30pm

BCS Championship Game

ESPN The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame (12-0) take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1) in college football’s Bowl Championship Series national title game. A victory for the Irish would give them their first national championship since 1988.

TUESDAYS, Jan. 8, 15, 22, 9pm

American Experience: The Abolitionists

PBS In three 60-minute segments, this new special dramatizes the roles that Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Angelina Grimké, Harriet Beecher Stowe and John Brown played in the anti-slavery movement. Part 1 covers the 1820s-1838; Part 2, 1838-1854; and Part 3, "Emancipation and Victory." Re-airings at 10pm Sundays, Jan. 13, 20 and 27.

Dan Engler writes from
Santa Barbara, California.