A large audience gathered Sept. 16 at the Basilica of St. Mary Queen of Apostles in Rome for the conference, titled “Father Gabriele Amorth: The Living Legacy for the Church and Our Time.”

Amorth died in Rome on Sept. 16, 2016. The Italian Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana, the Society of St. Paul, and the International Association of Exorcists organized the event in his memory.

Speakers included Father Francesco Bamonte, vice president of the International Association of Exorcists; Father Marcello Lanza, an exorcist in the Diocese of Acerra and a scholar of Amorth’s life; Father Aldo Buonaiuto, an exorcist and coordinator of the anti-cult service of the Pope John XXIII Community; and Father Stefano Stimamiglio, director of Famiglia Cristiana. Annachiara Valle, Famiglia Cristiana’s Vatican correspondent, moderated the discussion.

The speakers portrayed Amorth as a priest who dedicated his life to the ministry of exorcism but whose thought and example also shed light on broader dimensions of spirituality and faith. The conference explored not only his ministry but also his profound humanity and a spirituality that approached mysticism.

Bamonte reviewed the principal stages of Amorth’s life and ministry. Cardinal Ugo Poletti appointed the Pauline priest an exorcist of the Diocese of Rome in 1985. Amorth trained under Venerable Father Candido Amantini, a Passionist priest and renowned exorcist at Rome’s Scala Santa.

Amorth’s dedication to the ministry led him to establish the International Association of Exorcists in 1994. He served as its president until 2000.

Formation was particularly important to Amorth. He sought to provide firm theological criteria and prevent people’s suffering and vulnerability from being exploited through occult practices. Bamonte also emphasized Amorth’s attentiveness to those who suffered and his understanding of exorcism as an “act of charity.”

Lanza examined the relationship among theology, mysticism, and spiritual discernment in Amorth’s life and ministry.

Buonaiuto drew a parallel between Amorth and Father Oreste Benzi, founder of the Pope John XXIII Community. He described them as two priests who “certainly did not know diplomacy” and who addressed directly the issue closest to their hearts: the suffering of others.

Stimamiglio focused on Amorth’s ability to communicate simply and without technical language. Amorth did not reject journalism but believed it should be as clear as possible and remain close to the truth — an approach inspired by Blessed James Alberione, founder of the Society of St. Paul — and ultimately point toward the truth of the Gospel and of Christ.

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.

During a Sept. 18 audience with approximately 50 members of the Leo XIV International Study Center, the pope described Christian humanism as “a vision open to the Creator” that fosters fraternal relationships. He said Catholic social teaching emerged from that same humanist tradition.

“The Church’s social doctrine also emerged from this matrix,” Leo said in the Vatican’s Consistory Hall. “Its analysis of Christian revelation in the context of modern social, labor, economic, and cultural issues would not have been possible without the contribution of the laity, men and women alike, who grappled with the great issues of their time.”

“At their side were those men and women religious who embodied a Church forging ahead in new directions,” he said, quoting his apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te.

The research, educational, and cultural institution was founded within the Order of St. Augustine in October 2025 and is dedicated to studying the life and magisterium of Pope Leo XIV.

“The epochal change we are now undergoing makes even more necessary a constant interaction between the faithful and the Church’s magisterium, between ordinary citizens and experts, between individuals and institutions,” the pope said.

During the audience, Leo encouraged the center’s members to promote formation directed toward public engagement and service to society.

“At the cost of swimming against the tide, your mission of hope consists of promoting, in Italy and throughout the world, formation for public and political life conceived as a service to the common good, responsibility towards the community, and the building of relationships based on solidarity, justice, and peace,” he said.

Established as an organization in Italy’s “third sector” in December 2025, the center seeks to promote reflection on Catholic social teaching and its application to contemporary challenges.

A civilization of love

Leo expressed his appreciation for the Augustinian initiative, stressing “the importance of reflection and critical thinking in building a civilization of love, to which the social doctrine of the Church has much to offer.”

The pope also praised the center’s commitment to dialogue with universities, academic institutions, public bodies, civil society organizations, ecclesial institutions, and networks of associations in an effort to foster cooperation and exchange at both the national and international levels.

In that context, he highlighted its collaboration with the Theological Faculty of Central Italy and the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum.

“The key lies in walking together, always, without closing the door to encounter even with those who are different and seem to think, speak, or act differently,” he said.

A humanism open to peace

Leo also emphasized the symbolic significance of Florence as the home of the new study center.

The choice of the city, he explained, is “an invitation to draw inspiration from the values of humanism, a vision open to the Creator and, for that very reason, one that builds fraternal relationships.”

“It is not wars, but the weaving of peace and just balances that produces civilization, with the active participation of all the social and cultural components of an open society,” he said.

Political formation as an answer to resignation

Leo expressed his hope that the center would foster dialogue and prepare new generations to participate in public life.

“May your study center promote this exercise, which requires pioneers and facilitators, especially when forms of mistrust and resignation threaten to prevail,” he said.

The pope called the center’s work “the opposite of resignation” and urged it to promote public and political service grounded in responsibility for the community and the common good.

St. Augustine and love as a force for renewal

In the final part of his address, Leo underscored the relevance of Augustinian thought to the challenges facing the contemporary world.

Augustinian reflection, he said, has “much to offer in this regard within today’s international context, for an understanding of love as the principle of renewal in personal, economic, and political life.”

“Love binds in order to liberate, unites in order to generate, and commits in order to build,” he said.

The pope also cited his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas: “We view history in the light of the crucified and risen Lord … We do not consider the present as a predetermined fate, but an opportunity for personal and collective conversion.”

Finally, he encouraged the center’s members to become witnesses to God’s quiet action in history.

“Yes, be experts in God’s newness: not that which dazzles with speed and efficiency, but that which he works silently, freeing the old world from its dead ends and opening up paths along which we may journey together, toward his city,” he said.

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.

The Fabbrica di San Pietro — the Vatican institution responsible for maintaining St. Peter’s — announced the project’s completion on Sept. 17. The announcement described the project as necessary to conserve “one of the most significant decorative achievements of early seventeenth-century Rome.” The Italian Mannerist painter Cristofano Roncalli (also known as “Il Pomarancio”) created the mosaics between 1601 and 1604.

The Clementine Chapel, distinct from another of the same name in the Vatican Grottoes, contains the Altar of St. Gregory the Great (where he is buried), the monument to Pope Pius VII, the Altar of the Lie, and the Altar of the Transfiguration.

The restoration included preliminary inspections of the mosaics, cleaning and dust removal, removal of incompatible materials, and efflorescence treatment.

The Clementine Chapel was commissioned by Pope Clement VIII, who reigned from 1592–1605. It was begun and designed by the renowned Italian artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, who also designed the main dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. The Italian architect Giacomo della Porta completed the chapel’s dome in 1580, 20 years before the jubilee year of 1600.

The mosaics were restored as St. Peter’s Basilica marked the 400th anniversary of its consecration. In February, the Vatican announced that it will open new parts of the basilica — including the full terrace — and roll out a “SmartPass” digital entry system.

The basilica, which replaced an earlier Constantinian basilica, was consecrated by Pope Urban VIII on Nov. 18, 1626.

Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia El-Kassis, the new permanent observer of the Holy See to the U.N., made these remarks on Sept. 17, delivering his first address since being appointed by Pope Leo XIV in July. He delivered the address in New York at the Global Conference on Promoting Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and Tolerance in Countering Hate Speech.

In his address, El-Kassis reaffirmed the Holy See’s position that all human beings possess inviolable human dignity that cannot be diminished. He also warned against threats to this dignity, including hate speech.

“Hate speech — whether directed against individuals or communities on the basis of their religion, ethnicity, nationality, or any other characteristic — contradicts the commandment to love one’s neighbor, poisons public discourse, inflames division, and too often prepares the ground for violence and persecution,” El-Kassis stated in his remarks.

El-Kassis also affirmed the Holy See’s recognition of the right to freedom of expression, provided that one be mindful of the responsibilities that accompany this freedom.

The archbishop also cited Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, reminding those present that the “first contribution we can make toward a more humane civilization is to be mindful of our words.”

“Pope Leo XIV insists, ‘… Disarmed and disarming communication allows us to share a different view of the world and to act in a manner consistent with our human dignity,’” El-Kassis concluded.

Parolin expressed his concerns about AI on the sidelines of the conference “Faith and Reason in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” held Sept. 16 in Rome at the Palazzo Montecitorio, the seat of the Italian Parliament.

As originally reported by Vatican News, Parolin also delivered a keynote address at the conference, focusing on both the potential and the threats of AI. In his address, he thanked Italian President Sergio Mattarella for his recent appeal for greater collaboration among states on AI governance and said he hoped nations would respond.

“My concern is that there are countries which, in fact, want to go it alone,” Parolin said in his address. “Let us stop and genuinely reflect on what the consequences of artificial intelligence and its use might be.”

‘I try to put a little heart into my homilies’

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines, Parolin stated that he did not use AI to draft his homilies, preferring to “put a little heart” into them.

“Artificial intelligence is all head and no heart. I try to put a little heart into my homilies,” Parolin said to the journalists.

“Today artificial intelligence is imposing itself, because when you open your computer and read something, it already gives you a summary.”

His discouragement of using AI to draft homilies echoes that of Pope Leo XIV. During a Q&A session with priests of the Diocese of Rome in February, he warned priests against this practice.

Holy See diplomacy in Russia-Ukraine conflict

Parolin also responded to journalists’ questions about the Holy See’s advocacy of Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia. He expressed hope that it would reach a peaceful resolution.

“The diplomacy of the Holy See, the diplomacy of sowing, does not produce a harvest. So we hope that, by continuing to sow, one day, when God wills it, we may also reap,” Parolin said.

His comments follow recent interventions by the Holy See in pursuing a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, traveled to Russia from Aug. 25–27 to meet with its leaders to discuss potential resolutions to the war.

Cahill’s appointment, announced by the Vatican on Sept. 17, makes him the successor to then-bishop Ronald Hicks, who led the diocese from 2020 to 2026. The pontiff appointed Hicks as archbishop of New York in December 2025.

According to the Vatican announcement, Cahill was born in Coral Gables, Florida, on Nov. 28, 1963. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas on May 19, 1990.

Before his ordination, Cahill earned degrees in psychology, African American studies, and dogmatic theology. He studied at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Xavier University in Louisiana, and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

After his ordination, Cahill served as a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston for four years before returning to St. Mary’s Seminary as a faculty member. He was promoted to rector of the seminary in 2001.

After a period of service in the archdiocesan curia, Pope Francis appointed Cahill as the third bishop of Victoria. He received episcopal consecration on June 29, 2015, from the then-archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo.

In 2025, Cahill was appointed chair of the Committee on Migration for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

“Today, in the face of those who foment divisions and stir up conflicts, believers of different traditions — and above all their leaders — while remaining aware of their irreducible differences, are called to seek, with clarity and hope, the conditions necessary for peaceful coexistence,” states a new joint note from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.

The document, titled “A Journey of Hope: Sixty Years of Interreligious Dialogue and Fraternity in the Light of the Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate,” was published Sept. 16. Pope Leo XIV approved the note at an audience with the prefects and secretaries of the three dicasteries on June 22 and ordered its publication.

The text reviews the teaching of successive popes on interreligious relations, looks back at the path traveled since Nostra Aetate was promulgated in 1965, and turns to the challenges facing dialogue today.

“In stark contrast to those rigid attitudes that seek to resolve conflicts by force, it is time to promote a new ethic of dialogue: a culture of complexity, flexibility, and friendship,” the document states. “It is no longer a matter of fearing or keeping one’s distance from the ‘other believer’ — another civilization, another way of thinking — but of daring the encounter.”

One of the document’s proposals is to give greater recognition to concrete initiatives undertaken by local Churches.

“At the same time, greater appreciation must be given to the concrete initiatives undertaken by the local Churches, which are on the front lines,” the note states. “It is they who, at the local level, develop the most creative and courageous forms of encounter: dialogue commissions, joint projects, educational or humanitarian initiatives, and shared celebrations.”

By gathering and sharing those experiences, the document says, “the universal Church can enrich her life while also identifying and guiding new pastoral paths.”

At the same time, the Vatican note stresses that dialogue does not mean abandoning claims to religious truth.

“It is not, therefore, a matter of renouncing the truth but of proclaiming it in a manner befitting the Gospel: with esteem, listening, and charity,” the document states.

The note says achieving genuine dialogue requires “a genuine shift in mindset,” defined as “abandoning the logic of defensiveness, hostility, or conquest in order to adopt an attitude that is open, benevolent, and courageous.”

It also calls for a renewed pedagogy of dialogue, beginning with formation in seminaries, theological institutes, and pastoral programs.

“It is no longer sufficient to proclaim the importance of dialogue; it must now be lived, providing the faithful with the tools to participate in it in an informed, critical, and serene manner,” the document states.

The note points to knowledge of religions, the history of interreligious relations, guidelines for dialogue, religious literacy, and an understanding of contemporary cultural and geopolitical issues as important elements of such formation.

In its conclusion, the document underscores the importance it assigns to interreligious fraternity amid contemporary conflicts and social challenges.

“Fraternity among believers of different religious traditions is not merely an ideal, but a moral, spiritual, and social imperative,” it states.

“Faced with contemporary challenges — religious extremism, global migration, secularization, and ecological and social crises — religions are called to transform the world and society so that they may become fraternal expressions of God’s will.”

“This commitment necessarily involves a renewed education in dialogue, especially among younger generations, to overcome fears and prejudices and to foster a genuine culture of encounter,” the note concludes.

A version of 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.

Their argument is not that technological innovation should be resisted but that decisions affecting jobs, wages, and working conditions should not be left solely to corporate executives or automated systems. Instead, they point to collective bargaining, social dialogue, and human oversight as safeguards for workers’ dignity and rights.

Liz Shuler, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), said protecting workers requires confronting a model in which executives make far-reaching technological decisions without worker input.

“Right now, we have CEOs who want to play God to make decisions that affect hundreds of millions of working people without our input and consent,” Shuler said.

Shuler made the remarks at a Sept. 11 Vatican press conference held in connection with the Fourth Fratelli Tutti Synodal Meeting, a Sept. 10–12 gathering in Rome focused on dialogue between the Global North and South on social and environmental issues. The press conference brought together labor and Church leaders to discuss, among other questions, the impact of artificial intelligence on workers and the need for social dialogue. Other speakers included Bishop Daniel Flores, vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Cardinal Jaime Spengler; and labor leader Gerardo Martínez.

For Shuler, social dialogue is essential to ensuring that AI is developed and deployed with human dignity in mind. She compared the current technological transition to the introduction of electricity during the second industrial revolution.

“Electricity was a new technology that was raw and revolutionary and dangerous, and companies were racing to make profits and people were suffering,” she said.

Shuler linked that history to Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, which addressed the relationship between labor and capital. It was “workers organizing together in a union who stood up to demand safety from the government, from power companies, and negotiated to make sure electricity was installed and used responsibly to benefit everyone,” she said.

She also pointed to the partnership between the AFL-CIO and Microsoft as an example of how organized labor can seek a formal role in the development and introduction of AI.

Shuler said the agreement “guarantees workers a voice in the development of AI” and “puts into writing our workers’ right to form a union.”

Martínez similarly argued that worker protections need not come at the expense of technological innovation. He summarized the labor movement’s approach in three principles: “Not resisting innovation, not accepting exclusion, and negotiating transition.”

Under that approach, unions do not reject technological advances but insist that automated systems should not independently determine fundamental working conditions.

“We cannot accept that an algorithm decides by itself about employment, salary, and rights that correspond to a worker,” Martínez said.

He said the objective should be integration rather than a confrontation between workers and technology: “The challenge is not technology against work. The challenge is technology with worthy work, productivity, distribution, and development with social justice.”

Flores connected the issue of worker participation to Catholic social teaching, particularly the principle of subsidiarity and the importance of allowing communities affected by technological change to express their concerns.

“From the Catholic point of view, history is not always a matter of what the powerful decide, that there are other things that move history,” Flores said. “One of them is social friendship, and a sense of justice, and a sense of what is right.”

Those themes also figure prominently in Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which addresses the protection of human dignity amid the development of artificial intelligence.

Spengler cited the encyclical’s call to each generation to shape technological and social change in accordance with human dignity: “Each generation inherits the task of shaping its own era, of guiding history to become a place where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted, and fraternity is made possible.”

Taken together, the speakers presented worker participation as a central question in the development of AI. Their proposed safeguards include collective bargaining, negotiated technological transitions, human oversight, and cooperation among unions, employers, international organizations, and faith communities — with the aim of ensuring that innovation serves workers rather than leaving consequential employment decisions to algorithms alone.

The pontiff held a private audience at the Vatican on Sept. 16 with participants in the conference “The 21st Century: A New Time of Martyrs?” held at the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome from Sept. 15–16.

The conference, organized by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, discussed the ecumenical initiative “Commission for New Martyrs — Witnesses of the Faith” established by Pope Francis in 2023 to document the deaths of Christians of all denominations who have been killed for their faith since 2000.

Among the cases discussed was that of Sister Dorothy Stang, an American nun who was killed in Brazil in 2005 while serving the local population in the Amazon.

Christian witnesses propose a faith lived out daily, not an ideology

In his address, Pope Leo praised the dicastery’s work cataloging the lives of Christians killed for their faith and explained that their example can teach believers today to present the faith not as an ideology but as a way of life.

“The evangelizing strength of the new witnesses to the faith represents one of the Church’s greatest resources for proclaiming the Gospel in today’s world,” Leo said. “The witnesses to the faith do not propose an ideology but show a faith lived out in everyday life.”

He also explained the significance of those Christians to Catholics, saying they “are brothers and sisters who, in different geographical, historical, and political contexts, have given their life for the Gospel.”

The pope also said that daily holiness — the holiness next door — can help Christians explain and defend their faith in arguments.

“In indifferent cultural contexts, “holiness next door” and quiet heroism become powerful arguments, capable of speaking to everyone, even the most skeptical.”

Muslims in West Bank are tired of violence against Christians

Speakers at the conference included Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem.

Pizzaballa, who delivered a speech on the suffering of Christians amid ongoing wars in the Holy Land, recounted his experience of explaining that suffering to Muslim students in Palestine.

“I agreed to meet with young people from the local university [in Palestine] who insisted I come,” Pizzaballa recounted. “I had never experienced that before and was afraid. About 600 students were there, all Muslims. During the discussion, I expected political questions about the war. Instead, all the questions were about life, faith, and Christianity.”

“When I said that Christianity rejects violence …, they stood up and applauded, saying they, too, are tired of living in a system of violence.”

The blood of the martyrs comes before theological disagreements among Christians

Semeraro, in his address, discussed the progress of the “Commission for New Martyrs — Witnesses of the Faith” initiative and emphasized the need to prioritize the sacrifice of Christians for the faith over theological debates.

“The blood of the martyrs comes before our theological dialogues,” Semeraro said. “Where our Christian confessions still have wounds that need to be healed, the martyrs tell us that what is essential is already shared: the confession of Christ, even unto the gift of oneʼs life. This is called the ‘ecumenism of blood.’"

Sister Dorothy Stang and the impact of 9/11 on Christian persecution

Among the Christians mentioned at the conference was Sister Dorothy Stang, an American nun who was murdered in Brazil in 2005 for defending the land rights of the Indigenous peoples. In 2025, she became the first U.S. woman to be included in a permanent memorial in Rome for modern Christian martyrs.

Sister Nicoletta Spezzati, a consultor for the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, described Stang as a “woman of contemplative prayer” who understood that “the predatory devastation of the planet is not simply a moral offense but humanityʼs rebellion against the Creator.”

Marcia Goodman, a niece of Stang, added that her life was rooted in the belief in a sustainable environment for all people.

“It’s especially powerful that Dorothy, a woman, is being recognized as a modern martyr,” Goodman told EWTN News. “She led her life in the belief that all people matter and therefore deserve a place to call home.”

Besides Stang, the impact of the U.S. terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, on Christian persecution in Europe was also noted. Father Roberto Regoli, president of the Joseph Ratzinger Foundation, described those attacks as a precursor to a new scale of Christian persecution internationally.

“Twenty-five years ago, on Sept. 11, we remember the attacks on the Twin Towers. We remember the airplane that struck the Pentagon in Washington. From those years onward, there was an escalation of conflicts at the international level,” Regoli said.

“In the face of secularism, social difficulties, psychological difficulties, and religious tensions, there are men and women — religious and laypeople — who remain where they are. And perhaps this is itself a form of testimony: to remain in oneʼs place,” Regoli added.

Elias Turk contributed to this report.

“Conflict, which at times degenerates into violence, is the result of the power of sin and the way it conditions mindsets and actions at every level, causing destruction and death,” he said during the general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

He underscored the need to “be ever more open to the logic of reciprocity, sharing, and care, as is also the case amongst the various members of the human body.”

The pontiff thus continued his catechetical series dedicated to Gaudium et Spes, the pastoral constitution on the Church and its role in the modern world, approved by the Second Vatican Council on Dec. 7, 1965.

According to Pope Leo, the message of the document, which considers “the growing interdependence of men” as “one of the salient features of the modern world,” is especially urgent today.

Risk of delegating important decisions to algorithms

Although the development of communications technology, social media, and artificial intelligence is opening up new possibilities and helping to break down “barriers and distances,” the pope observed that human relationships “are tending to become less and less personal, more virtual.”

From this perspective, he also warned of the risk of “becoming accustomed to delegating to algorithms decisions that are the sole preserve of the human conscience.”

“Ensuring that social relationships have real substance and personal depth is, in this regard, the contribution that the Christian community seeks to offer,” he told the hundreds of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to hear his teaching.

The pope also recalled that the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes offers a concise definition of the common good, understood as “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment.”

At the same time, he noted that the document recognizes the interdependence of peoples and states that “every social group must take account of the needs and legitimate aspirations of other groups, and even of the general welfare of the entire human family.”

Respect for human dignity

Building on this approach, the council fathers identified several “practical and particularly urgent consequences,” including respect for the human person.

The pope recalled that Gaudium et Spes states: “Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed.”

Likewise, the pope said that the second consequence of this message is “respect and love for adversaries or for those who think and act in ways different from our own.”

Third, Pope Leo emphasized that the fundamental equality of all human beings gives rise to the demand for social justice. In this regard, he urged people to “overcome the individualistic mindset” and adopt “an attitude of responsibility and participation.”

“The future of humanity depends on each person’s commitment to collaborate with God and with their brothers and sisters in building a more humane world,” the pope concluded.

At the end of the general audience, Leo XIV offered a special greeting to various groups of pilgrims and expressed his “deep appreciation” for the apostolate carried out by prison chaplains.

“May you always be a living presence of the Gospel and of Christian hope,” the Holy Father said, also thanking them for the assistance they provide both to him and to the Secretariat of State in the spiritual care of prisoners who write to the pope each day to share their personal struggles and wounds.

Among those present, Leo XIV also greeted participants in a pharmaceutical care course, encouraging them to combine scientific expertise with human closeness and an integral vision of the person.

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.

The Vatican announced his appointment on Sept. 15, ending a nearly one-year wait for a new bishop of the diocese. The diocese was previously led by then-Bishop James Checchio from 2016 to 2025, after he served as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Checchio became the archbishop of New Orleans in 2026 after a brief period as its coadjutor archbishop.

The pope has also accepted the resignation of Bishop Francis Malone of Shreveport, Louisiana. Malone, 76, has led the diocese since 2019. Bishops are required to submit their resignations to the pope at the age of 75.

According to the Vatican announcement, Saporito was born in Newark on May 3, 1962. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark on May 30, 1992.

He also earned an accounting degree from Rutgers University and studied at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology in South Orange, New Jersey, for several years before his ordination.

After his ordination, Saporito served as a parish priest at several parish churches throughout the archdiocese: St. Peter the Apostle in River Edge (1994–1999), Our Lady of Visitation in Paramus (1999–2001), St. Elizabeth in Wyckoff (2001–2004), St. Joseph in Maplewood (2004–2011), and St. Helen in Westfield (2011–2020).

In February 2020, Pope Francis appointed Saporito as an auxiliary bishop of Newark. He received his episcopal consecration on June 30 of the same year from Cardinal Joseph Tobin, CSsR, who has served as archbishop of Newark since 2016.

Their stories are part of a global catalog of martyrs promoted by the Vatican that already exceeds 1,700 documented cases.

“Many were murdered for reasons related to drug trafficking, deforestation, or for opposing the exploitation of natural resources,” explained Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

The cardinal noted that while many were missionaries, the group also included lay faithful who gave their lives defending the Gospel and denouncing drug traffickers, protecting Indigenous territories from deforestation, or fighting the illegal exploitation of natural resources.

As he explained, the common thread in these cases is that these individuals became “inconvenient” to those controlling illicit activities. Their Gospel witness clashed directly with economic interests and criminal structures.

A conference to reflect on the new martyrs

Semeraro offered these reflections while presenting the international conference “The 21st Century: A New Era of Martyrs?” at the Vatican, a day of study and reflection dedicated to exploring the witness of Christians who have lost their lives for the sake of the Gospel in various parts of the world.

The gathering, organized by the Commission for New Martyrs — Witnesses to the Faith, was scheduled to take place Sept. 15 at the Pontifical Augustinianum Institute in Rome.

The international congress will bring together some of the most prominent voices from the Church, academia, and journalism in Rome to reflect on Christian witness in the contemporary world.

Participants include Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo; Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem; and Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio. Experts will also speak, such as Archbishop Fabio Fabene, president of the Commission for New Martyrs; journalist Lucia Capuzzi; historian Father Roberto Regoli; and South Sudanese religious sister Alice Jurugo Drajea, who will share about Christian life amid the war ravaging her country.

The initiative comes a year after the commemoration of the martyrs and witnesses of the faith of the 21st century, presided over on Sept. 14, 2025, by Pope Leo XIV together with representatives of other Christian churches and communities at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The commission continues to gather testimonies and information regarding Christians killed for their faith, aiming to preserve their memory and document the various forms of persecution and Christian witness in contemporary times.

According to data released by the organization last year, 1,624 martyrs worldwide had been documented between 2000 and 2025. Of these, 304 were from the Americas, a figure that reflects the specific nature of martyrdom in this region today.

The commission also noted that the record now exceeds 1,700 documented cases and that between 100 and 150 new testimonies were added in the last year alone, confirming that the phenomenon remains very much ongoing.

Holiness goes beyond canonization

In his remarks, Semeraro emphasized that holiness in the Church is not limited to those officially canonized.

“The grace of holiness in the Church is represented by canonization, but it is not exhausted by them. Obviously, this does not rule out the possibility that, provided the necessary conditions are met, the corresponding processes of beatification and canonization could be initiated for some of those listed in the catalogue,” he noted.

This is the case, for example, of Floribert Bwana Chui, a young Congolese man from the Community of Sant’Egidio who was murdered in 2007 for refusing to accept bribes and who was beatified in 2025.

However, he noted that the primary goal is to highlight the “high standard of ordinary Christian living” spoken of by St. John Paul II in Novo Millennio Ineunte, which Pope Francis later referred to as that of “the saints next door.”

The anthropological value of holiness

The cardinal also highlighted the deeply human dimension of Christian holiness.

“We need witnesses, martyrs, who have given themselves completely to demonstrate this to us day after day. We need them so that, even in the small choices of daily life, we may choose the good over comfort, knowing that this is precisely how we truly live life,” he explained, citing Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Spe Salvi.

Semeraro also highlighted the ecumenical value of this project, a characteristic that he noted St. John Paul II had sought to instill in the commission from its very inception.

Martyrdom continues to grow in the 21st century

During the presentation of the conference, historian Riccardi, vice chair of the commission, maintained that the Church is truly experiencing a “new era of martyrdom.”

He recalled that St. John Paul II promoted the gathering of testimonies from 20th-century martyrs for the jubilee of the year 2000, an initiative deeply shaped by his personal experience under the Nazi and communist regimes. In Riccardi’s view, that insight has proven even more relevant today.

For this reason, he explained, Pope Francis decided to reactivate and consolidate the Commission for New Martyrs, convinced that “the time of martyrdom continues.”

The Churchʼs response has been extensive. Dioceses, religious congregations, lay movements, episcopal conferences, and apostolic nunciatures have sent hundreds of testimonies to the Vatican.

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.

Father Peter Donohue, OSA, president of Villanova University, made the announcement at a Vatican press conference on Sept. 14.

The medal, established by Villanova University and named after Pope Leo XIV, recognizes individuals who have worked toward ecological sustainability. The pontiff will personally present the award at a ceremony on Oct. 13 in the Borgo Laudato Si’ garden, part of the Pontifical Gardens in Castel Gandolfo.

Father Joseph Farrell, OSA, prior general of the Augustinians, was also present at Monday’s press conference.

Villanova University is a Catholic liberal arts university in Pennsylvania. Leo XIV, formerly Robert Prevost, earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1977 and an honorary doctorate in 2014 from Villanova University.

‘Sustainability is about accompanying those who suffer’

In announcing the recipient of the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal, Donohue praised Czerny’s “extraordinary passion for justice, human dignity, and the care of creation,” noting that his witness is an apt reminder of what authentic sustainability is.

“His witness reminds us that authentic sustainability is never solely about environmental stewardship. It is also about accompanying those who suffer, defending the dignity of the human person, and building a future that leaves no one behind,” Donohue said.

In his speech accepting the honor, Czerny cited Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, saying the pope highlighted the need for shared responsibility in achieving sustainability.

“[The pope] has made responsibility even more explicit. We are responsible for the world, not just to take care of it, even though it would be part of sustainability, but in fact we are building it,” the cardinal said.

The morality of data centers

As artificial intelligence (AI) drives a rapid expansion of data centers worldwide, concern has grown about their environmental impact, particularly water consumption and human displacement.

Speaking to EWTN News after the conference, Czerny noted that many AI companies building data centers often do not consult residents before building on their land.

“The decision to build data centers is like all the big developmental decisions that we make,” Czerny told EWTN News. “It is not an unusual question, and itʼs one that needs to be answered with the participation of the significant stakeholders.”

“You have to ask about whether the people living there are going to pay the price, carry the burden, and suffer the consequences. Were they consulted? Otherwise, it is an imposition and an injustice,” he added.

The pontiff inaugurated the exhibit, “AQVA,” part of the theme “Catastrophe and Wonder,” which will be on display at the Vatican Library through May 14, 2027. The exhibit includes artwork highlighting a “reflection on water as both a threat and a resource” and reflects a recent focus on promoting contemporary art at the Vatican.

‘The pope’s library is a heart’

The occasion also marked Leo’s first visit to the library since his election to the papacy in 2025. In his remarks, he described the Vatican Library — the pope’s library — as a beating heart and a symbol of life.

“How should we describe the pope’s library? I will use a metaphor: The Apostolic Library is a heart,” Leo said. “A beating heart is a symbol of life, and it results from two opposing movements, systole and diastole: a contraction and a relaxation, a movement towards the center and another towards the periphery.”

The pope then explained that the heart’s movements of contraction and relaxation are mirrored in both the quiet atmosphere of the Vatican Library and its engagement with human history.

Archbishop Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, the Holy See’s librarian and archivist, reflected on the library’s and the Church’s role in promoting dialogue, as shown by the new exhibit.

“This exhibition, among other things, precisely by putting together a centuries-old library and contemporary artists, says exactly this: Generations are intertwined. Let us not pretend to be men and women alone, because we are already in the company of all generations, and to them we are indebted,” Pagazzi told EWTN News at the inauguration.

The exhibit features contemporary art, including an enormous art installation inspired by Gustave Doré’s iconic 1866 wood engraving of the Great Flood, a collection of short culinary stories by Italian chef Fulvio Pierangelini, and marine artwork by American typographer Bill Moran as well as pieces from the Vatican’s permanent collections, such as historic cookbooks from around the world centered on seafood.

The pope also encouraged all present, particularly the Vatican Library employees, to “keep finding new pathways towards reconciliation.”

JR, a French artist who created the exhibit’s installation of an ocean wave on the outside of the library, reflected on his role as a bridge-builder.

“Well, you know, as an artist, my role is to create bridges, and so I feel in my place, like where I need to be working, even if it’s pretty intimidating to work in a place like the Vatican,” JR told EWTN News.

More room at the Vatican Library

In a document issued the same day, Leo decreed that a new building be constructed in Vatican City to house the Vatican Library’s growing manuscript collection. He noted that current storage was insufficient, citing Pope Francis’ 2024 move of parts of the library to the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary building near the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

“Unprecedented opportunities have arisen to create new facilities within the territory of the Vatican City State, which are undoubtedly preferable, for a variety of reasons, to the solution that had previously been identified,” the pope wrote. The new building will be located in an area currently reserved for the parking of service vehicles.

Tweet

Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi contributed to this report.

Pope Francis restricted the use of the 1962 Roman Missal with the 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes. Under subsequent Vatican regulations, diocesan bishops must obtain permission from the Holy See to authorize celebrations according to that missal in parish churches.

The 2025 figure was also close to the 35 dioceses and other ecclesiastical jurisdictions that received permission in 2022, the first full year after Traditionis Custodes took effect. The number rose to 55 in 2023 before returning to 34 in each of the following two years.

The figures appear in the Summarium Decretorum for 2025, the annual summary of decrees issued by the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

The document shows that permission was granted during 2025 for celebrations according to the 1962 Roman Missal in parishes located in 34 dioceses around the world.

Seven of the decrees were issued during the pontificate of Francis, who died April 21, 2025, at the age of 88. The other 27 were issued after the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 8, indicating continuity in the Vatican’s case-by-case handling of requests during the change of pontificates.

The vast majority — 29 of the 34 published decrees — renewed existing permissions for an additional two years for communities already celebrating the liturgy according to the 1962 missal promulgated by St. John XXIII. In several cases, a single authorization covered more than one parish in the same diocese.

United States received most permissions

The U.S. decrees included permissions for Traditional Latin Mass celebrations in the dioceses of Sacramento, California; Nashville, Tennessee; Lincoln, Nebraska; Davenport, Iowa; and Cleveland, as well as the Archdiocese of Seattle.

According to the Summarium Decretorum for 2022, the Holy See that year granted permissions to 35 dioceses and ecclesiastical jurisdictions, 20 of them in the United States, making the country the leading recipient of such concessions.

The Traditional Latin Mass, also called the Tridentine Mass, traces its form to the liturgy codified by St. Pius V following the Council of Trent. The reform was set out in the Roman Missal of 1570 in response to the council’s call to unify the various liturgical uses then in existence.

The missal currently used for these celebrations is based on that promulgated by St. Pius V but was revised by St. John XXIII in 1962.

One of the form’s most distinctive characteristics is that the priest generally celebrates “ad orientem” — facing liturgical east rather than the congregation — as he leads the faithful in common prayer.

The permissions granted across the two pontificates in 2025 show that the Holy See continued to consider requests individually under the restrictions established during Francis’ pontificate.

The annual Summarium Decretorum is one of the few official sources indicating how the provisions of Traditionis Custodes are applied in practice.

The decree indexes published from 2022 through 2025 also document the Holy See’s broader work regulating the liturgy. The records include approvals of translations of liturgical books, confirmations of calendars particular to dioceses and religious congregations, grants of the title of minor basilica, canonical coronations of Marian images, and recognitions of new heavenly patrons.

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.

In a decree published by the Vatican on Sept. 14, the pontiff canceled the cost-cutting measures Francis had established in 2021 to address the Vatican’s financial deficit that year, projected at $60 million.

A Vatican cardinal’s monthly stipend is about $5,768 (5,000 euros). Under those measures, the Vatican cut cardinals’ stipends by 10%.

Francis had previously described these cuts in a March 2021 decree as necessary for an “economically sustainable future” at the Vatican.

Those measures, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, also reduced the pay of other senior officials and employees of the Holy See and Vatican City State by 8%. Clergy and religious employed by the Vatican saw their salaries reduced by 3%.

Leo stated in his motu proprio that those salary cuts “may now be set aside, in the certainty that the Institutions of the Holy See and of the Vatican City State will continue, through different means, their commitment to ensuring economic sustainability.”

Speaking in English after praying the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 13, the pope recalled the 25th anniversary of the attacks, which was observed two days earlier.

“Two days ago marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States of America. I renew my prayers for those who lost their lives and for those who continue to bear the wounds of that tragic day. At a time when conflict and violence afflict so many of our brothers and sisters, I invite everyone to pray that the Lord will bestow his gift of peace upon the world,” he said.

Continuing in Italian, Leo said the memory of the tragedy should prompt a renewed commitment to peace, above all through prayer entrusted to the intercession of the Virgin Mary.

The pope then greeted the Romans and pilgrims gathered in the square, including groups from Brazil and other countries, pilgrims who had traveled from Assisi along the Way of St. Francis, and motorcyclists gathered in support of peace and life.

Earlier, in his reflection before the Angelus, Leo focused on the Sunday Gospel and the Christian meaning of forgiveness, recalling that Christ taught forgiveness and bore witness to it even on the cross, when he prayed to the Father for his persecutors.

Reflecting on Peter’s question to Jesus about how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him, the pope noted that Peter’s suggestion of seven times already indicated abundance, since the number seven symbolizes fullness in Scripture. Jesus, however, went further, telling him to forgive “70 times seven” — without limit or measure.

Leo then recalled the parable of the servant whose enormous debt was forgiven by his master but who refused to show the same mercy to a fellow servant who owed him far less.

“All things are given to us by God out of pure love, and none of us can claim to be perfect in responding to such goodness. For this reason, gratuitousness — which is the source of our existence — is also the best rule for our life together,” the pope said.

“We experience this every day. Forgiveness is indispensable, and without it, we cannot live in peace.”

Without forgiveness, Leo warned, conflicts, accusations, grudges, and acts of vengeance eventually arise, destroying relationships, dividing families, and unleashing wars.

“Only forgiveness sets us free and restores the light, even where human material and moral poverty has darkened the horizon and made the path uncertain. Forgiveness, like a gentle breeze, sweeps away even the thickest clouds until the sun shines once more,” he said.

The pope also pointed to St. Peter’s own experience of forgiveness after denying and abandoning Jesus during the Passion. When Peter encountered the risen Christ on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus asked him only whether he loved him and once again called him to follow.

Leo said that forgiving and healing love confirmed Peter in his mission as the first of the apostles.

Concluding his reflection, the pope asked the Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, to help Christians forgive even when taking the first step is difficult, and to spread the healing light of a love that overcomes hatred and disarms resentment.

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

The private garden covers almost a tenth of an acre of cultivable land inside the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery property, where Pope Benedict XVI lived during his retirement and now reside cloistered Benedictine nuns from the Abbey of St. Scholastica in Victoria, Argentina.

Sometimes known as “the pope’s garden,” the vegetable plot “has always been a defining feature of the Vatican Gardens because, in fact, the Vatican Gardens were originally created primarily for that purpose — to provide sustenance for the [Apostolic] Palace,” Stefano Giampaolo, a forestry expert and head of the Gardens and Environment Service of the Vatican, told EWTN News.

Giampaolo explained that now the plot is more accurately understood as the vegetable garden of the Vatican Gardens — an area that covers roughly half of Vatican City at 57 acres.

The Benedictine nuns at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, who pray for the pope, eat the fruit and vegetables grown in the garden and use them to make jams and other food preserves. The excess produce is given to a Vatican soup kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity.

The move to biological farming techniques has been underway for several years, partly in response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, Giampaolo said.

The challenges of organic

According to Gilberto Bianchi, the gardener responsible for the orchard and vegetable patch since 2008, the Vatican has a “desire to respect nature” in how it cares for the plants and trees on its land.

But it’s far from easy.

“Clearly, running a completely organic vegetable garden presents challenges, partly because insects are aggressive, and we use natural predators in the soil to control them,” Bianchi said. “No chemical fertilizers or insecticides are used.”

He added that soil drainage and water conservation are also challenges.

“This type of soil drains very well, so to conserve water, we add coconut fiber to retain moisture. And it’s watered with a drip irrigation system specifically to target the plants and avoid wasting water,” he said.

Part of an organic agriculture also means respecting the seasons, he said. “Right now, the winter crops are being planted, while the summer crops are being harvested.”

The end-of-summer harvest includes tomatoes, eggplants, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers, while the fall and winter crop has broccoli, spinach, lettuce, and pumpkins.

According to Vatican Media, the garden also includes garlic, basil, and a Peruvian variety of chili peppers known for its intensity. Kiwi plants were also added recently at the request of the Argentinian nuns.

Next to the garden is a small orchard of around 15 citrus trees, some of which are 150 years old.

“At this time, we’re planting savoy cabbage,” Bianchi said. “In short, whatever is in season. … So whatever is planted is because nature dictates it at that moment. The plants are grown from seed. We don’t use lab-grown plants.”

A historic collection of gardens

Bianchi, who has worked for more than three decades in the Vatican Gardens, “is the one with the most expertise in this field, and he is now passing that knowledge on to a new gardener,” Giampaolo said.

The expert gardener is part of a team of around 35 gardeners and administrators who oversee the Vatican’s green spaces and provide the flower arrangements for papal ceremonies.

“People expect to see a single garden, but in reality, as the name suggests, they are the Vatican Gardens — a collection of gardens,” Giampaolo said.

The Gardens date to the mid-13th century, when Pope Nicolas III moved the papal residence from the Lateran Palace to the Vatican, had the city state’s walls built, and ordered the creation of a lawn, orchard, and “viridarium” — a Roman-style garden with flowerbeds and a fountain.

Today, Giampaolo said, “there are countless different species, both trees and flowers. This is because, over time, the gardens have been enriched by donations and the search for specific botanical material, to the point of becoming a true botanical garden.”

“Visitors are often struck by the diversity of the spaces — so many different gardens contained within this small area.”

Ultimately, he said, the gardeners hope to one day eliminate all synthetic fertilizers and pesticides from their care of the entire Vatican territory.

“It’s a process — the transformation of all the Gardens into organic ones,” he said.

“I wish to extend to you and to the entire beloved Jewish community of Rome my most heartfelt good wishes on the occasion of the solemn feasts you are preparing to celebrate. I hope that these celebrations will be an occasion of abundant blessings from the Most High and a source of joy,” the pontiff wrote.

Rosh Hashanah begins the evening of Sept. 11, followed by Yom Kippur on Sept. 20 and Sukkot on Sept. 25.

“May the arrival of Rosh Hashanah bring with it the promise of serene renewal and the sweetness of an auspicious beginning; may the sacred silence of Yom Kippur be an occasion of peace and inner light; may the feast of Sukkot be filled with joy, gratitude and fellowship,” the pontiff added.

“Renewing my esteem and that of the entire Church, I ask the Eternal One to grant that we may grow in mutual friendship, in our city of Rome and throughout the world. Shalom aleichem!” Leo XIV concluded.

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.

In response to the 2021–2024 synodal process, however, Study Group 7 of the Synod of Bishops has proposed a significant structural and spiritual renewal of the visits from what it describes as a “missionary synodal perspective.”

The study group is examining “Some Aspects of the Person and Ministry of the Bishop,” including criteria for selecting candidates for the episcopate, the judicial function of bishops, and the nature and course of ad limina visits.

A call for missionary synodality

Rooted in Pope Francis’ apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium and the final document of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the study group argues that the ad limina visit should go beyond routine administrative reporting.

As the synod’s final document states: “The visits ad limina Apostolorum are the apex of the relation between the Bishops of local Churches and the Bishop of Rome and his closest collaborators in the Roman Curia. Many Bishops desire that the way these visits are conducted will be reviewed to make them more and more an opportunity for open exchange and mutual listening” (No. 135).

Study Group 7 says the central purpose of revising the process is to ensure that “the ad limina visit should not concern itself primarily with matters relating to the internal administration of the particular Church, matters that can be addressed just as effectively through the ordinary contacts with the Curia.”

Instead, the group says, the visits should, “in keeping with the biblical witness, support the mission that the Christian community is called to carry out in the world in which it lives, becoming an instrument at the service of the missionary conversion of ordinary pastoral ministry.”

Theological grounding: The Church as the people of God and a communion of Churches

To explain the proposed renewal, Study Group 7 grounds its framework in the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council, particularly Lumen Gentium and Ad Gentes.

The ad limina visit historically developed within a theological understanding of the Church as a “communion of Churches,” as described in Lumen Gentium 23. The relationship is based on reciprocal exchange between the particular Churches and the See of Rome.

The visit provides an opportunity for local pastors to give an account of the Church’s mission and to share how the Gospel is proclaimed in different cultural contexts, while ensuring that these local expressions find their proper place within “Catholic unity,” as described in Lumen Gentium and Ad Gentes.

At the same time, the visit serves the Petrine ministry by giving the bishop of Rome an opportunity to encourage his brother bishops while exercising Peter’s unique primatial service.

As Vatican II teaches, the Chair of Peter “presides over the whole assembly of charity” and “protects legitimate differences, while at the same time assuring that such differences do not hinder unity but rather contribute toward it” (Lumen Gentium, 13).

Scripturally, the study group compares this dynamic to St. Paul’s journeys to Jerusalem to meet Peter and the apostles, as recounted in Acts and Galatians, where the central concern was maintaining unity in faith while fostering missionary expansion among the nations.

Praedicate Evangelium, meanwhile, says structures such as episcopal conferences express a “Communio Episcoporum ... in service to the Communio Ecclesiae grounded in the Communio Fidelium.”

Preparation in the particular Church: Convoking the people of God

One of the most significant elements of Study Group 7’s proposal is the re-centering of the ad limina process within the entire people of God.

Rather than being an exercise restricted to the bishop and a small number of diocesan officials, preparation for the visit would begin in the local Church through a process of shared ecclesial discernment.

Study Group 7 states that before bishops travel to Rome, “it will be necessary for the Bishop to convoke the People of God so that they may engage co-responsibly in the preparation of the Preliminary Report through a process of ecclesial discernment, nourished by prayer and participation, in a manner corresponding to the various charisms, missions, and ministries.”

That communal preparation would make use of existing participatory structures and involve “Priests, Deacons, Consecrated Men and Women, and Lay faithful, particularly within the various diocesan bodies, beginning with the Presbyteral Council and the Diocesan Pastoral Council.”

By grounding the “Relatio Praevia,” or Preliminary Report, in periodic local processes of evaluation and accountability, the group says moments such as the ad limina visit “must be understood and lived as events that involve, insofar as possible, all the members of the People of God.”

The goal, it adds, is that “the People of God living within each local Church will come to perceive the ad limina visit as an event that directly concerns them.”

Roman dialogue and returning home

In Rome, the focus would shift toward spiritual revitalization and collegial dialogue.

Rather than concentrating on formal briefings, Study Group 7 envisions an “exchange of gifts.”

“The dialogue, understood as an ‘exchange of gifts’ and conducted in a collegial style, should be frank, cordial, and reciprocal rather than one-directional,” the group states. “It should be capable of bringing to light both the strengths and the needs of the local Churches, while fostering the sharing of good practices.”

To give greater expression to the participation of the people of God, the study group also says “it is desirable that a diocesan delegation accompany the Bishop during the ad limina visit, in whatever manner may seem most appropriate, giving preference to those who collaborated in its local preparation.”

After returning home, the bishop and other delegates would report back to the local Church through public meetings, allowing diocesan participatory bodies to discern concrete pastoral steps flowing from the visit.

From canonical requirement to missionary instrument

By grounding ad limina visits more firmly in the image of the Church as the people of God, Study Group 7 seeks to turn what can be perceived primarily as an authoritative or bureaucratic requirement into an instrument of missionary synodality.

Under the proposal, the local Church would discern its mission together, send its pastor — potentially accompanied by representatives of the faithful — to meet the successor of St. Peter, and then receive the fruits of that encounter as a renewed impetus for evangelization.

In this vision, the ad limina visit becomes a more visible expression of co-responsibility, Catholic unity, and missionary conversion.

“To speak about him, we need to be with him; to lead his people, we must allow ourselves, every day, to be led by him. Among the many things you will be called to do as bishops, this is the most important,” he explained.

On Thursday, Sept. 10, the Holy Father received at the Vatican 147 bishops from five continents who participated in formation courses in Rome aimed at strengthening ecclesial communion and providing tools for the exercise of their ministry.

Participants in this yearʼs program came from numerous countries in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America, including Algeria, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Ghana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Central African Republic, Senegal, Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand.

“Together you have listened, prayed, celebrated the Eucharist, and shared the hopes and dreams that you carry in your hearts for the Churches that the Lord has just entrusted to your pastoral care. All of this will help you remember something very simple and very precious: No bishop walks alone,” the pope said.

During his address, Leo XIV shared several reflections on the theme of the meeting, “Bishops, Servants of Communion in the Church and in Today’s World.”

A heart of the Good Shepherd

The pope highlighted as a second fundamental aspect the need for bishops to have the “heart of Jesus the Good Shepherd, a heart completely turned toward the Father and, precisely because of this, wholly given to his brothers and sisters.

“The bishop is a man who learns each day to love his people more deeply: to know the joys and sorrows of his people, to share in their dreams, and to rejoice at the growth of their communities,” he explained.

In this regard, he entrusted them with the task of learning the names of the people who live in their dioceses.

“Learn their names, listen to their stories, enter their homes whenever possible, and pray with them. Especially in young Churches, the presence of the bishop often speaks volumes even before his words do.”

According to the pope, “a visit, a blessing, time given to a priest, listening to a family, dialogue with a young person: These are small gestures, yet they can remain in a person’s heart for a lifetime.”

Another characteristic of the bishop is what tradition calls “sollicitudo pastoralis” — that is, pastoral solicitude or concern.

“This is proper to episcopal fatherhood: having a heart large enough to make room for everyone, carrying your children within you and presenting them each day to the Lord in prayer,” he stressed.

Special care for priests

The pope also invited the prelates to take special care of their priests: “In this regard, dear brothers, I urge you to love your priests. Let each one find in you a father and a brother. Listen to them, encourage them, pray for them, rejoice in the good they accomplish, and accompany them with trust in their ministry. Give particular attention to those who are elderly and ill. Let them feel that they are precious, that the Church is grateful to them, and that the bishop does not forget them. Sometimes a telephone call, a visit, or an affectionate word from you is enough.”

Ministry as a service of love

The Holy Father also recalled another essential dimension of episcopal ministry, described by St. Augustine with a beautiful expression: “amoris officium” — that is, a service of love.

“Our preaching is an act of love, just as listening, prayer, discernment, time given to others, and our presence are acts of love. It is pastoral charity, through which Christ the Shepherd reaches the people he loves through our poor humanity,” he said.

Leo XIV noted that humanity is living through an age marked by rapid change.

“Developments in communication technologies and artificial intelligence have opened possibilities that, until only a few years ago, we could hardly have imagined. Yet they certainly cannot free humanity from sin and its consequences; the crises through which our world is passing tragically demonstrate this,” he said.

In this context, he recalled that the Church celebrated the Jubilee of Hope last year.

“Within a complex and in some respects troubling landscape such as the present one, the Church celebrated last year the Jubilee of Hope. Was this because she lives apart from the world? On the contrary, it is because, through Christ crucified and risen, she is sent to proclaim the Gospel of salvation to everyone. And we bishops are the first recipients of this mandate,” he said.

The pope also referred to his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which he said was intended to offer “a vision and a method for addressing the great challenge of safeguarding what is human in the age of artificial intelligence.”

A Church open to everyone

Finally, Leo XIV underscored the missionary dimension of the episcopate and said that bishops must have hearts open to everyone: “not only to those who attend our parishes but also to Christians of other denominations, believers of other religions, people who profess no faith, and all men and women of goodwill.”

“He listens to and respects everyone; he draws close to everyone and knows how to recognize the good that is present in every human heart,” he said.

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.

The document, originally written in Italian and also available in an English translation and a Spanish summary, states: “A clear mechanism for implementing gender equality in the workplace must be developed.”

It also proposes publishing new criteria for approving the establishment of institutes of consecrated life and appointing a delegate for consecrated life in every diocese.

The nonbinding report, which will now be reviewed by Pope Leo XIV, is part of the work undertaken by the 10 study groups created by Pope Francis in 2024 in connection with the Synod on Synodality. The groups are dissolved once their respective final reports have been published.

The working group was coordinated by Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey. Its members included Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Section for the First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization; and Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Sister Simona Brambilla, prefect of that dicastery, also participated.

One of the report’s main conclusions is that the Church should move toward broader participation by consecrated men and women in discernment and decision-making processes.

It therefore calls on Church leaders to “strengthen the relationship between the conferences of major superiors and the episcopal conferences to include consecrated persons in decision-making processes.”

The experts consider the distinctive charisms of religious life an indispensable contribution to the Church’s evangelizing mission and argue that consecrated people should have a greater presence in bodies where pastoral decisions are made.

The document adds that such participation should not be limited to national bodies but should also extend to the diocesan level.

Clear protocols between dioceses and religious congregations

Another issue addressed in the report is the need for clearer procedures governing institutional relations between dioceses and religious congregations.

“There is a need to develop a standard memorandum of understanding model and accompanying guidelines, taking into account current challenges,” the report states.

According to the experts, these agreements should help prevent disputes and guarantee transparent cooperation between both parties.

The group recommends that such protocols clearly define issues including pastoral responsibilities, the administration of assets, the use of property, and financial matters.

“Issues related to property and remuneration should also be clearly and fairly agreed upon in the memoranda of understanding,” the document states, with the aim of avoiding disputes and adequately protecting the rights of everyone involved.

It also says: “The timely resolution of issues, while respecting privacy and confidentiality, should be prioritized and subject to specific deadlines.”

The study group argues that every Church institution should have mandatory dispute-resolution procedures. It therefore recommends that “the establishment of procedures for resolving conflicts should be made mandatory, through the creation of conciliation committees, particularly for matters relating to property.”

These committees should include representatives of both bishops and consecrated men and women, ensuring the participation of both sides in seeking solutions.

Oversight and accountability

The report also addresses the need to establish effective oversight and accountability systems.

“Relevant statutory measures, with specific deadlines, are necessary to ensure oversight and accountability in relations between bishops and consecrated men and women,” the experts state.

They also emphasize the importance of ensuring that future priests are better acquainted with the realities of consecrated life. The report therefore calls on episcopal conferences to “ensure that the formation of the clergy includes knowledge of consecrated life, both in centers of study and in joint missions involving clergy, consecrated persons, and laity.”

Among the report’s most notable proposals is the possibility of expanding the participation of women religious in certain Church selection processes.

The document proposes allowing “women religious to participate in the process of electing bishops responsible for consecrated life at the national and diocesan levels, and in the election of chaplains for the works of communities of consecrated life.”

Although the report does not specify the mechanisms through which this participation would be implemented, the proposal is one of the most significant initiatives to emerge from Study Group 6, pointing toward a greater presence of women religious in areas traditionally reserved to the clergy.

Seven of the Synod’s 10 original study groups have now published their final reports. Reports are still pending from Study Group 1, on relations between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church; Study Group 8, on the role of papal representatives; and Study Group 10, on ecumenism.

Final reports are also pending from two additional groups: one on “the liturgy in a synodal perspective” and another on “the status of episcopal conferences, ecclesial assemblies, and particular councils.” Both were created at the initiative of Leo XIV.

The study groups are also accompanied by three commissions: the Canonical Commission, the Eastern Canonical Commission, and the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar Commission on Polygamy, which published its final report in March. The reports of the other two commissions remain pending.

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.

This version of the catechism, aimed at young people preparing for the vocation of marriage, is scheduled for release in November. The first edition of this catechism was published one week after the passing of Pope Francis in May 2025.

“Your heart longs for love, a deep, passionate, and enduring love,” notes Leo XIV, emphasizing that this desire is no accident but rather “a sign that you were created for love.”

Reflecting on this teaching, Pope Leo emphasizes that "God himself can make his presence felt within human love and transform it," such that “he endows us with the capacity to love as he loves: by serving through a generous gift of one’s self, and if necessary, by forgiving."

Regarding love between a man and a woman, the pope says it “may pierce the heart like an arrow, swiftly and impetuously,” yet it does not stop there, for “it is not an ephemeral or fleeting sentiment.”

“It is much more,” the pope adds. “It is a profound ‘yes’ to the other, a decision, a journey, and a lifelong covenant,” when it reflects Godʼs love.

He further explains that “solid, deep relationships are built together on mutual trust, on that ‘forever’ that beats at the heart of every vocation,” with a love that “asks first: ‘How can I love as Christ has loved?’ and puts the question ‘What will I receive?’ in the background.”

Loving to the point of death: ‘The DNA of Christianity’

The Holy Father also takes the opportunity to explain to young people that something of the divine mystery is revealed in marriage: “When a man and a woman give themselves completely to one another in love, God comes alive in their midst. Their fidelity, their forgiveness, and their daily striving for the good are a reflection of Christʼs love for his Church.”

He also encourages young people not to fear the depth of the “great love” to which they are called, because “it is strong enough to overcome difficulties and great enough to sustain you throughout your entire life.”

This love “is not perfect, but grows in the light of faith”; it is “a gift from God, and we cannot produce it on our own.” Unlike human love, often clouded by selfish desires, it “is selfless, patient, and kind, possessing all those wonderful qualities St. Paul lists in the Letter to the Corinthians.”

The pontiff writes that “we behold the most beautiful image of true love when we look at the cross of Jesus Christ,” which confirms that “he loves us so much that he was willing to die for us. This is the DNA of Christianity, the commandment of Christ.”

Finally, Pope Leo expresses his appreciation for the new edition, which features numerous testimonies from young people in over 30 countries, testifying “that the ideal to which Christ calls us is a fascinating treasure” and constitutes an invitation to open oneʼs heart “to a plan greater than any human dream.”

It serves as preparation for a “yes” that is good not just for a day, but for a lifetime; a “yes” that, like Godʼs love, is tireless and faithful, the pope explains, saying he prays that young people respond “with confidence and courage to the most beautiful of all vocations: the vocation to love.”

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.

Speaking to bishops from various countries who are friends of the Focolare Movement, the pontiff warned of the effects of individualism in the West, “where the once-stable networks of family, friendship, and community are giving way to greater fragmentation.”

In this context, he said, freedom “is increasingly presented as absolute autonomy — the ability to pursue happiness without any moral, natural, or even human limits,” as he noted in his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.

“And yet we observe a paradox,” he continued. “For all the emphasis on individual freedom, people today frequently feel less free to be their genuine selves or follow their highest ideals out of a hidden fear of being judged or of not fitting in.”

Unity as an answer to polarization

During his address, the pope called for a renewed commitment to unity as a response to the divisions afflicting the contemporary world.

Highlighting the contribution of the movement founded by Chiara Lubich, he said that “in an age sadly marked by increasing polarization, Our Lord enabled her to give witness to both the sense and service of unity, thus becoming a sign for her own and for future generations.”

“If that was Chiara’s task 40 years ago, it is ours even more urgently today,” he said. “I think of the difficult social situations, the circumstances, the divisions which some of you, my brothers, endure in your countries, situations such as prejudice, racism, religious intolerance, even violence.”

Leo said the loss of openness to others “exacerbates a sense of disunity” and ultimately deprives people “of the happiness for which we were created, since we are made in the image of the Triune God, who is himself a communion of persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

Addressing the participants as heirs to Lubich’s spiritual legacy and ministers of the Church in a fragmented world, the pope urged them to bear witness to the unity of the human family.

“The answer to the sad divisions that plague our world lies not in forming more committees or launching more projects but in going back to the source of our unity in the Holy Trinity,” he said.

‘We must become contemplatives’

“Indeed, we must become contemplatives!” the pope told the bishops, encouraging them to strengthen their interior lives.

He urged them to do so “with generous and sustained prayer before Our Lord in the tabernacle, with a calm and attentive celebration of the Office and holy Mass, and finally by frequent contemplation of the indwelling of the Persons of the Trinity in the depth of our being.”

“In this way, you will be witnesses to each other and to those you serve of that unity which builds lasting peace,” he said.

Reform of the Focolare Movement

This was not the first time Leo had received members of the Focolare Movement, also known as the Work of Mary, which Lubich founded in 1943. In March, he met with representatives of the ecclesial movement following the conclusion of its general assembly.

Present in 182 countries, the movement has about 110,000 active members and approximately 2 million supporters and adherents, according to figures published on its official website.

The Holy See approved the Work of Mary in 1962. Its General Statutes were subsequently approved in 1990 by the then-Pontifical Council for the Laity, whose functions are now part of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.

In recent years, the movement has also faced allegations of abuse. Revelations that a former consecrated member in France had sexually abused minors prompted the organization’s leaders to commission an official investigation by an independent body, the British firm GCPS Consulting.

A report published in March 2022 as a result of that investigation detailed confirmed cases of sexual abuse as well as instances of spiritual and power abuse identified through testimony gathered during the inquiry.

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.

“This dignity is entrusted to the responsibility of each person: at the same time, it also demands solidarity and mutual care, overcoming the many falsifications and manipulations that still disfigure our perception of it and hinder its realization,” the pontiff said on Sept. 9.

Addressing pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, the pope continued his catechetical cycle dedicated to the Second Vatican Council’s constitution Gaudium et Spes, whose first chapter addresses the dignity of the human person.

In particular, the Church’s magisterial document underscores that human dignity is the foundation and condition for “those values which are most highly prized today,” while warning that these must not lose sight of their “divine source,” in order to avoid possible distortions arising from the “taint in man’s human heart.”

The pontiff noted that “the path ahead is not yet complete and must address the contradictions, both old and new, which prevent its full realization.”

He also recalled that the Church offers a clear contribution in this area by reaffirming that human dignity arises from the very being of the person, citing in this context his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.

He explained that the infinite dignity of the human being is rooted in his identity as a creature made “‘to God’s image’ … capable of knowing and loving his Creator” and noted that “the person always implies relationship, communion, and participation in relation to God and to others.”

Struggle between good and evil

He also emphasized that the dignity of the person “excludes self-centered isolation. To be a person means to perceive oneself as a gift to be shared, growing and maturing through acceptance, reciprocity, and service.”

The Holy Father presented decisions contrary to human dignity throughout history as one of the causes of humanity’s “inner division.”

“All of human life, whether individual or collective, shows itself to be a dramatic struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness,” he said, quoting Gaudium et Spes.

He also called for overcoming “dualistic views” that separate the body from the soul, recalling that “human dignity concerns the whole person.”

The body is not an object

“Reducing the body to an ‘object’ to be disposed of arbitrarily is always a denial of the dignity of the person,” he said.

In this context, he recalled that “man is not allowed to despise his bodily life” and “is obliged to regard his body as good and honorable since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day,” while ensuring that it does not become enslaved by “the evil inclinations of his heart,” since all are wounded by sin.

According to the pope, “it is only in him that the mystery of the human person finds true light; from him we receive light on the enigma of suffering and death; and with him we journey towards the Resurrection.”

“Dear brothers and sisters, created in God’s image, through Christ and for his sake, we have received a unique and indelible dignity. Let us commit ourselves to promoting and defending it always, with the light and strength of the Gospel,” he concluded.

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.

Father Gerardo Antonio Vargas Cruz, OFM, as coadjutor will serve alongside Bishop Luis Francisco Miranda Rivera, OCarm, who has led the Fajardo-Humacao Diocese since 2020. Vargas will also automatically succeed Miranda upon his retirement.

Miranda, who is 72 — three years short of the typical retirement age for bishops — did not provide a reason for the appointment of a coadjutor to his diocese.

A press conference to introduce the new coadjutor bishop was scheduled to take place at St. James the Apostle Cathedral in Fajardo on Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. local time.

Vargas, 49, is from Mayagüez, a town on the western coast of Puerto Rico. He joined the Franciscan friars minor and was ordained a priest in 2006. He has served as the vicar for clergy in the Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico since 2022.

The bishop-designate also has experience as a theology professor and a prison chaplain. He also served in several roles in the Franciscan order in the Caribbean.

The Diocese of Fajardo-Humacao, erected in 2008, serves approximately 63,500 Catholics — about 30% of the area’s total population.

It has a cathedral in Fajardo and a co-cathedral in Humacao.

It was the fourth episcopal ordination celebrated since June 15 and the eighth during the pontificate of Leo XIV under the procedures established by the agreement between Beijing and the Holy See governing the appointment of bishops.

The most recently announced appointment had been that of Bishop Paul Liu Honggang as bishop of Datong in China’s Shanxi province on Aug. 10.

However, the Holy See announced Tuesday that Leo XIV had appointed Ding on July 28, more than 10 days before Liu’s appointment.

The Vatican generally does not announce episcopal appointments in China when they are made but instead waits until the day of the bishop’s ordination. In this case, the chronological order of the appointments differed from the order in which they were announced.

The eight episcopal ordinations held during Leo XIV’s pontificate do not mean that all eight bishops were appointed by him.

Among these cases are two prelates who had already been ordained bishops and belonged to the so-called underground Church — the Catholic community not officially recognized by Chinese authorities. Both were subsequently recognized by the communist government, regularizing their ecclesiastical and civil status.

Educated at a pontifical university in Rome

Ding was born Sept. 16, 1981, in Hechuan District, part of the Chongqing municipality. He entered the Beijing seminary in 2000 and completed his priestly formation there in 2006.

He was ordained a priest on May 24, 2007, after a year of pastoral service at St. Joseph Parish in Yuzhong, Chongqing, where he later served as parochial vicar.

From 2009 to 2011, he pursued further theological studies at the University of St. Joseph in Macao. From 2012 to 2014, he served as a formator at the National Seminary of the Catholic Church in China in Beijing.

In March 2014, he moved to Rome to continue his studies at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, returning to China the following year.

After his return, he held several pastoral assignments as a parish priest in Tongliang, Tongnan, Tongguanyi, and Jiulongpo in the Archdiocese of Chongqing. Pope Leo XIV appointed him archbishop of Chongqing in July.

Appointments under Leo XIV

The process that led to Ding’s appointment and episcopal ordination took place entirely during Leo XIV’s pontificate, signaling the pope’s intention to continue dialogue between Rome and Beijing.

Drawing on the missionary outlook he developed during years of pastoral ministry, Leo has approved several episcopal appointments in China and entrusted new responsibilities to some prelates who had already been ordained bishops.

On June 11, 2025, the Vatican announced the civil recognition and installation of Bishop Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou in Fujian province.

Lin was not ordained a bishop during Leo’s pontificate, having received episcopal ordination in 2017. Pope Leo XIV appointed him auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou on June 5, 2025, after which Chinese authorities granted him civil recognition.

The prelate welcomed the decision and expressed his willingness to assist in the diocese’s pastoral mission.

On July 8, 2025, Leo suppressed the Dioceses of Xuanhua and Xiwanzi, which Pope Pius XII had established in 1946, and created the new Diocese of Zhangjiakou as a suffragan see of Beijing.

Two months later, on Sept. 10, Father Joseph Wang Zhengui, whom the pontiff had appointed to lead the new diocese, received episcopal ordination.

China recognizes 2 underground bishops

On Sept. 12, 2025, the Chinese government recognized two underground bishops — prelates loyal to Rome who had been appointed by the pope.

Bishop Joseph Ma Yanen, 65, formerly the underground bishop of Xiwanzi, became an auxiliary bishop of the new Diocese of Zhangjiakou in Hebei province.

Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, 75, had served as the underground bishop of Xuanhua, the other diocese suppressed by Pope Leo XIV when he created the Diocese of Zhangjiakou. Because Cui is over the age of 70, the Vatican considers him bishop emeritus.

Appointments in 2026

In 2026, Father Francis Xavier Duan Yongkun was ordained coadjutor bishop of Bameng in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after Pope Leo XIV appointed him on June 15 under the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.

His was the second episcopal ordination connected with appointments approved by the pontiff on June 15. According to the Vatican, Leo also appointed Father Joseph Chang Yanfeng that day. Chang was subsequently ordained the new bishop of Chifeng, another diocese in Inner Mongolia.

On Aug. 10, Father Paul Liu Honggang was ordained bishop of Datong in Shanxi province. Ding has now joined that list.

Tensions during the papal interregnum

During the period when the Holy See was vacant following the death of Pope Francis, Chinese authorities unilaterally selected two bishops, including one for a diocese already led by a prelate recognized by the Holy See.

On Oct. 15, 2025, Father Ignatius Wu Jianlin was ordained auxiliary bishop of Shanghai after Leo officially appointed him on Aug. 11 of that year. His ordination at St. Ignatius Cathedral marked another chapter in the complex relationship between Beijing and the Vatican.

Chinese authorities had previously announced that an assembly of priests and laypeople had elected Wu on April 28, during the interregnum following Francis’ death.

The Holy See later revealed that the pope had approved the nomination on Aug. 11. Although the appointment was not immediately made public, the Vatican announcement indicated that it ultimately proceeded under the mechanisms established by the agreement between China and the Holy See.

On Dec. 5, 2025, Francis Li Jianlin was ordained bishop of the Apostolic Prefecture of Xinxiang in Henan province after Pope Leo XIV appointed him on Aug. 11, 2025.

Li was the second bishop promoted by Chinese authorities during the interregnum between the death of Pope Francis and the election of Leo XIV.

18 Chinese bishops ordained under agreement

With Ding’s appointment, 18 Chinese Catholic bishops have now been ordained under the Provisional Agreement signed by the Holy See and China during Francis’ pontificate.

The bilateral agreement, first signed in 2018, governs the selection and recognition of Catholic bishops in China.

The two states have not maintained diplomatic relations since 1951, following the communist government’s rise to power under Mao Zedong. Chinese Catholics subsequently became divided between the state-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the underground Church loyal to Rome.

The agreement’s full contents have never been made public. It was renewed every two years until 2024, when the two sides extended it through 2028.

Under the publicly known terms of the agreement, the pope retains the final say over episcopal appointments in China, including the right to reject candidates proposed by Beijing. The Holy See, meanwhile, agreed not to make episcopal appointments without the Chinese government’s prior approval.

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.

The circumstances of the Virgin Mary’s infancy and early life are not directly recorded in the Bible, but other documents, legends, and traditions describing the circumstances of her birth are cited by some of the earliest Christian writers from the first centuries of the Church.

These accounts are not included in the canon of Scripture and thus lack authority, but they do reflect some of the Church’s traditional beliefs about the birth of Mary.

One such non-Scriptural source is the early second century “Protoevangelium of James,” an infancy gospel offering pious legends about Mary that nevertheless affirms some of the earliest teachings of the Church on the Blessed Mother.

The Protoevangelium describes Mary’s father, Joachim, as a wealthy member of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Joachim was deeply grieved, along with his wife, Anne, by their childlessness. “He called to mind Abraham,” the early Christian writing says, “that in the last day God gave him a son, Isaac.”

Joachim and Anne began to devote themselves extensively and rigorously to prayer and fasting, initially wondering whether their inability to conceive a child might signify God’s displeasure with them.

As it turned out, however, the couple was to be blessed even more abundantly than Abraham and Sarah, as an angel revealed to Anne when he appeared to her and prophesied that all generations would honor their future child: “The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth; and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.”

After Mary’s birth, according to the “Protoevangelium of James,” Anne “made a sanctuary” in the infant girl’s room and “allowed nothing common or unclean” on account of the special holiness of the child. The same writing records that when she was a year old, her father “made a great feast and invited the priests, and the scribes, and the elders, and all the people of Israel.”

“And Joachim brought the child to the priests,” the account continues, “and they blessed her, saying: ‘O God of our fathers, bless this child, and give her an everlasting name to be named in all generations’ ... And he brought her to the chief priests; and they blessed her, saying: ‘O God most high, look upon this child, and bless her with the utmost blessing, which shall be for ever.’”

The protoevangelium goes on to describe how Mary’s parents, along with the Temple priests, subsequently decided that she would be offered to God as a consecrated virgin for the rest of her life and enter a chaste marriage with the carpenter Joseph.

St. Augustine described the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary as an event of cosmic and historic significance and an appropriate prelude to the birth of Jesus Christ. “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley,” he said.

The fourth-century bishop, whose theology profoundly shaped the Western Church’s understanding of sin and human nature, affirmed that “through her birth, the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.”

This story was first published on Sept. 5, 2010, and has been updated.

Not everyone could fit inside the church, and the streets of Genazzano, about 30 miles east of Rome, were packed. The pope chose to celebrate the Nativity of Mary at this shrine so dear to his heart. He brought a Golden Rose to place at Mary’s feet, and the rector thanked him, saying: “Our affection for you is true and genuine,” because “we all love you immensely.”

The maternal presence of Our Lady of Good Counsel, the pope said, had “accompanied me throughout my entire life, with her wisdom, and with the example of her love for her Son, the Son who is always at the center of my faith,” as he wrote in the shrine’s guest book on May 10, 2025.

The pope quoted the Augustinian St. Thomas of Villanova, who asked the Evangelists: “Why, I wonder, were we not told about the manner of her conception, her birth, her upbringing, her habits, the virtues that adorned her, what human relationship she had with her Son, how she related to him, how she lived with the apostles after his ascension? All these things were important, and the faithful would have read them with singular devotion, and ordinary people would have delighted in them. O Evangelists, I appeal to you! Why have you deprived us of such great joy by your silence? Why have you left out details so joyful, so eagerly awaited, so pleasing?”

From this open dialogue with Scripture, the pope reflected: “Mary’s presence creates something like a leap in the genealogy, an unexpected newness capable of changing not only expectations but also the predictable behavior of a man. What Joseph hears, what he decides and what he does, in fact, is a response to God and to Mary’s presence, to her absolute difference, which surpasses every possible discourse and narrative. In Mary, salvation finds a home: God with us!”

Faced with this mystery, the pope explained, “we feel a kind of vertigo.”

After all, “God’s way has been and remains simpler and quieter, yet no less powerful and transformative.” Those humble historical circumstances that lead to the birth of Jesus reveal “the originality of his kingdom, in which arrogance has no place and omnipotence is creation, service, and care for life.”

Continuing to draw on the teaching of the Augustinian saint, the pope spoke about prayer, because it is in contemplative prayer that “what the world does not tell us, but already exists, takes shape; what is still invisible, but already possesses a new kind of strength. This is not fantasy, but prophecy. We need it, in times of destruction and uncertainty, to see God’s work and serve it.”

May the feast of Mary’s birth, the pope concluded, increase peace within us: “Yes, dear friends, we want to imagine peace — to broaden the boundaries of our understanding and paint it in our souls — in order to recognize that it already exists, to welcome it and to serve it. It is the gift of God, the breath of the Risen One, the work of the Holy Spirit. Let us allow peace to grow within us. It will blossom in the world. And the Mother of Good Counsel will accompany us in this mission.”

The pope also expressed appreciation for the fresco depicting him at prayer, commemorating his visit to the shrine on May 10, 2025, two days after his election.

The final hymn to Our Lady of Good Counsel brought consolation to all:

“Protect our people, who hope
in your counsel and live in your love.
Receive their fervent prayer,
O daughter, O bride, O Mother of the Lord.

Holy Virgin of Genazzano,
turn your serene gaze upon us;
stretch out your hand to your children,
strengthen the just, save the sinner.”

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.

“With a sorrowful heart, I have followed the news of the latest violent attacks that have recently struck several cities and civilian infrastructures in Ukraine, causing the deaths of innocent people,” the pope told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican following the recitation of the Angelus.

Russia has intensified its missile and drone campaign against Ukraine in recent days, with attacks killing dozens in Kyiv and nearby areas and disrupting electricity for hundreds of thousands of people in the Odesa region.

Leo said he hoped that “the efforts undertaken in these days to resume negotiations will bear concrete fruit and open space for diplomacy.”

The pope spoke on the same day that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv, having met in Moscow with Vladimir Putin on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Earlier, in his catechesis before leading pilgrims in the Marian prayer, Pope Leo reflected on the day’s Gospel reading (Matthew 18:15-20), in which Jesus instructs his disciples in fraternal correction.

“This is a delicate art, too often forgotten, that calls for frankness and a gradual approach. Speaking honestly with one another — first face-to-face, then, if necessary, with two or three others, and finally, when required, with the whole community — means facing reality and transforming problems and conflicts into opportunities for growth. Complaining and speaking ill of others are easier, but they accomplish nothing and leave many situations paralyzed,” the pope said.

The pope also said that praying together, as Jesus encourages in the Gospel passage, builds unity among Christians.

“Without faith, each person might feel alone and become suspicious of others, seeing them as strangers and enemies. By grace, however, we are brothers and sisters who can live in harmony: meeting one another, forgiving one another, and listening to one another in the Lord,” Leo said.

While Scripture gives us a significant amount of information about the lives of some apostles, not many details are known about others. Despite this, the Church has continued to remember and honor these apostles through the centuries, with churches, shrines, relics, and pilgrimage sites dedicated to them around the world.

Here are seven lesser-known apostles — and places where Catholics can still encounter their lives and legacy today.

St. James the Greater

James the Greater was the son of Zebedee and the brother of St. John the Apostle. He worked as a fisherman in the Sea of Galilee alongside his brother and father.

James and John were among the first disciples Jesus called. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4, the brothers were mending their fishing nets when Jesus called them, and they immediately left their father and their fishing boat to follow him.

In Mark Chapter 3, Jesus gave the brothers the name “Boanerges,” an Aramaic nickname meaning “sons of thunder.”

James was one of the three apostles — along with Peter and John — who witnessed several particularly important moments in Jesus' ministry. He was present at the raising of Jairus' daughter, the Transfiguration, and Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, James became the first of the Twelve Apostles to be martyred. In Chapter 12 of the Acts of the Apostles, it states that King Herod Agrippa I had him put to death “with the sword,” which is understood to mean that he was beheaded.

Today, St. James the Greater is honored through the famous Camino de Santiago — or Way of St. James — which is a network of walking trails that pass through several European countries and ends in Spain at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The cathedral is a major pilgrimage site and is home to St. James’ relics.

St. James the Lesser

James the Lesser was the son of Alphaeus and appears in the lists of the Twelve Apostles in the Gospels and Acts, but Scripture provides almost no information about his life or ministry.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI did a catechesis series on some of the lesser-known apostles, including James the Lesser. In his catechesis on James the Lesser, he explained that his title, “the Lesser,” was used to distinguish him from James the son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater. It does not mean that he was less important.

The Holy Father also discussed the fact that James the son of Alphaeus has traditionally been identified by some with another prominent James in the early Church, but the identification remains disputed.

Today, the remains of James the Lesser — alongside those of the apostle Philip — are housed in the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles in Rome.

St. Philip

Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Peter and Andrew, and appears the most in the Gospel of John.

After Jesus called Philip, he went to Nathanael and told him that he had found the one about whom Moses and the prophets had written. When Nathanael questioned whether anything good could come from Nazareth, Philip gave him a simple invitation: “Come and see.”

Philip also appears in the account of the multiplication of the loaves. Jesus asked Philip where they could buy bread for the large crowd, to which Philip replied that not even 200 denarii would be enough to buy bread for all those gathered.

Later, at the Last Supper, Philip asked Jesus to show the disciples the Father. Jesus responded by teaching Philip about his relationship with the Father.

In Pope Benedict XVI’s catechesis on Philip, he said: “According to certain later accounts (Acts of Philip and others), our Apostle is said to have evangelized first Greece and then Frisia, where he is supposed to have died, in Hierapolis, by a torture described variously as crucifixion or stoning.”

Today, Philip’s remains are housed — alongside those of the apostle James the Lesser — in the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles in Rome.

St. Bartholomew

Bartholomew appears in the New Testament lists of the Twelve, but the Gospel narratives never tell a story about someone named “Bartholomew.”

Catholic tradition has long identified him with Nathanael, whom Philip brings to Jesus in the Gospel of John. Pope Benedict XVI described this as a traditional identification, while acknowledging that the New Testament itself does not explicitly make the connection.

After initially questioning whether anything good could come from Nazareth, he professed his faith in Jesus after meeting him, calling him “the Son of God” and “the King of Israel.”

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells Nathanael: "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” While we don’t know what happened under the fig tree, it can be assumed that it was a “decisive moment in Nathanael’s life,” Benedict XVI explained.

The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island in Rome is dedicated to this apostle, as well as the Basilica of St. Bartholomew the Apostle in Benevento, Italy, which houses the saint’s relics.

St. Jude Thaddeus

St. Jude is sometimes confusing because he appears under different names in the New Testament.

Matthew and Mark call him Thaddeus, while Luke identifies him as Judas, son of James. Catholic tradition identifies these names with the same apostle and distinguishes him from Judas Iscariot by calling him Jude or Jude Thaddeus.

During the Last Supper, he asks Jesus why he will reveal himself to the disciples and not to the world. Jesus responds by speaking about those who love him and keep his word.

A Letter of Jude is also included in the New Testament. It traditionally bears the name of Jude Thaddeus, although questions about its authorship have been discussed by scholars. Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that the letter calls Christians to preserve their faith while remaining rooted in Godʼs mercy.

Jude is thought to have been martyred in Beirut around 65 A.D.

Despite very little being known about him, St. Jude is an important intercessor for Catholics around the world as the patron saint of impossible causes.

An experience Jude had while in the city of Edessa is said to be the reason why he is associated with impossible situations. According to the ancient Church historian Eusebius, while Jesus was still alive, the ruler Abgar V of Edessa was afflicted with an incurable and painful disease. He heard of the miracles of Jesus and wrote him a letter requesting a visit. Jesus responded that he would send one of his disciples.

After Jesus’ ascension into heaven, Jude went to evangelize near the city of Edessa and went to visit Abgar. Jude laid his hands on the sick ruler, and he was reportedly instantly healed.

Many people choose to carry or wear the image of St. Jude on a medal for comfort and as a reminder to call on him in times of need.

A major relic of St. Jude the Apostle has also traveled beyond its usual home in Rome. In 2023, a piece of the apostleʼs forearm bone began a nine-month tour across the United States, visiting churches, schools, and other locations so Catholics could venerate the relic and ask for the apostleʼs intercession. The relic had never before left Italy for such a tour. It is typically kept at the Church of San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome.

St. Simon the Zealot

Simon is one of the least-known members of the Twelve. The Gospels identify him as “the Zealot.” Matthew and Mark use the term “Cananaean,” while Luke uses “Zealot.” Pope Benedict XVI explained that the two descriptions convey the idea of zeal or ardor.

It is sometimes assumed that Simon belonged to the political movement known as the Zealots. However, Scripture does not establish this. His title could simply indicate that he was zealous in his religious devotion.

According to tradition, Simon the Zealot — alongside St. Jude — preached in Persia or Syria and was martyred.

While no major basilica is named after him, his relics can be found in St. Peter’s Basilica beneath the Altar of St. Joseph alongside St. Jude Thaddeus.

St. Matthias

Matthias was not one of the original Twelve chosen during Jesus' earthly ministry. Instead, he was selected by the early Church after Judas Iscariotʼs death.

According to Acts 1, Peter explained that Judas' replacement needed to be someone who had accompanied Jesus and the Apostles throughout Christʼs earthly ministry and could therefore serve as a witness to the Resurrection.

Two men were proposed: Joseph Barsabbas, also called Justus, and Matthias. After the community prayed, they cast lots, and Matthias was chosen.

That is essentially all Scripture tells us about Matthias. Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that he was among Jesus' disciples from the beginning and was therefore able to serve as a witness to the Resurrection.

St. Matthias’ Abbey in Trier, Germany, holds the tomb of St. Matthias, making it the only burial place of an apostle in Germany and north of the Alps.

“Do not be afraid of your smallness. The fruitfulness of the Church is not measured in numbers, structures or resources, but in fidelity to the Gospel,” the pope said Sept. 3 during a meeting at the Vatican with members of the Conference of the Latin Bishops in the Arab Regions (CELRA).

Pope Leo said a small Christian community, when rooted in Christ, can remain a valuable presence in society, “not because it seeks power, but because it serves; not because it imposes itself, but because it bears witness; not because it responds to violence with more violence, but because it counters force with charity.”

The pope also recalled Christians who have given their lives in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and other countries scarred by violence. Their names, he said, “may not be known to the world, but they are well known to God.”

Their witness, he added, should encourage Christian communities not to give in to fear or resignation, particularly as many families face instability or are forced to emigrate.

Pope Leo called on the Church in the region to give particular attention to families and young people as well as to migrants, especially the large migrant communities living in the states on the Persian Gulf.

He urged Christian communities to become “homes where nobody feels like a stranger” and to defend the dignity of every person. At the same time, he emphasized that amid humanitarian and social challenges, the Church must not lose sight of its essential mission: proclaiming the Gospel, prayer, the sacraments, and Christian formation.

The pope also encouraged greater communion among the Church’s different traditions and rites and called for continued dialogue with Muslims and other religious communities.

“Dialogue does not mean renouncing one’s own identity, but living it out without fear of encounter,” he said.

Concluding his address, Pope Leo urged the bishops not to make success or recognition their primary goal, but instead to remain faithful to the Gospel and to the people entrusted to their care.

“Do not be afraid to sow without immediately seeing the fruits,” he said. “The sowing is yours; the growth is God’s.”

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

Founded in 1326 at the initiative of King Edward II, Oriel is considered Oxford’s oldest royal foundation.

Marking the 700th anniversary of its royal charter, the pope noted that the college “has remained firm in its Christian identity” throughout the centuries.

He said the anniversary offered “an opportunity to celebrate its Catholic origins as the ‘College of the Blessed Virgin Mary.’”

That identity, he said, has been key to Oriel’s development “not just [as] an academic institution, but a true community of faith and scholarship in its deepest meaning.”

Oriel’s connection to St. John Henry Newman

The college is also known for its role in the 19th-century Oxford Movement and its association with St. John Henry Newman, who was a fellow there before his conversion to Catholicism.

Leo praised Newman as “a shining example of a scholar who not only showed the inseparability of faith and reason in his works but even more admirably in his life.”

“There was a great concreteness to his ideas, since his religious convictions were rooted in his personal relationship with God, while his scholarship was both sublime and eminently practical,” the pope said.

Leo also said Newman’s thinking on education remains especially relevant in the face of contemporary challenges.

“In the context of today’s challenges, Newman’s own thought on education is particularly relevant, for he proposes a Christian formation that embraces the entire person and measures the value of education according to human dignity, justice and the capacity to serve the common good,” he said, citing his October 2025 apostolic letter Drawing New Maps of Hope.

Addressing members of the delegation, the pope encouraged them “to seek the truth courageously and to promote this integral anthropological vision.”

“As a result, your work can genuinely facilitate a ‘heart to heart’ encounter with your brothers and sisters, and especially with our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life,” he said.

Finally, referring to Newman’s celebrated hymn Lead, Kindly Light, Leo recalled the English saint’s trust that God would guide him amid life’s uncertainties and urged the delegation to entrust themselves and the college’s future to Christ.

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.

“It is neither easy nor a given in today’s world, and the Church knows this well,” he stated during the audience granted to delegations from the Pius XI Pontifical Apulian Regional Seminary in Molfetta and the Interdiocesan Seminary of Aversa.

Both seminaries are celebrating significant anniversaries this year. Molfetta is commemorating the centenary of its new premises — commissioned by Pope Pius XI, after whom the seminary is named — while Aversa is celebrating the tercentenary of the opening of its current facility.

Leo XIV also expressed his gratitude to the families present. “A vocation never arises without a suitable context; it often requires a home, and parents who pray and know how to let their children go. My gratitude, and that of the entire Church, goes out to you, dear families,” he noted.

The pope also highlighted God’s freedom, from which every vocation springs. “There is no competition, no ranking, nor is it written that he chose the best: He chose those he willed. In a world so intent on celebrating personal self-fulfillment, it is important to remember that none of you, nor any of us, is here because we earned it, but solely through a free choice by God the Father, a sign and guarantee of a gratuitous love that always precedes us and never disappoints,” he emphasized.

"The Lord continues to call, in every age of history and in every place.”

Pope Leo XIV

He also affirmed that the mere presence of these individuals with a priestly vocation in the seminary constitutes a sign of hope for the entire Church, a hope that, as he explained, stems not from “vague optimism,” but from the “certainty that the Lord continues to call, in every age of history and in every place.”

The pope also emphasized that the effort to live the spiritual life is sustained by “the beauty of fraternity and shared mission.”

“Jesus does not call just one man, but twelve, with personalities that are very different and by our standards, sometimes unexpected. The Lord gathers them and keeps them together so that they may learn that the Church is lived in communion: it belongs to none of us, and we are all called to love and serve it as one body,” he explained.

Addressing the formators, he asked them to be the “first teachers of that care and fraternity which are manifested in authentic, personal, and communal relationships, grounded in truth and charity.”

The pope made it clear that the mission of future priests will be to bring the Gospel to the people of their communities, that is, “to families struggling to get by; to young people who, barely twenty years old, pack their bags to look for work; to the elderly living in solitude; to the marginalized; to those who have lost a sense of purpose in life.”

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.

The program has been a fixture of the Church calendar since 2000, when it was launched by St. John Paul II. Described by Vatican media as a condensed “master’s program” for new bishops, it is designed to foster the exchange of experiences among pastors from widely differing cultural, social, and ecclesial contexts while offering practical guidance for governing local churches.

This year’s participants come from countries across Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America, including Algeria, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Ghana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Central African Republic, Senegal, the Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand.

Most of the world’s bishops fall under the jurisdiction of the Dicastery for Bishops, which oversees the creation of dioceses, episcopal appointments, and matters related to episcopal governance in the Latin Church. Bishops serving in missionary territories, however, are under the Dicastery for Evangelization, specifically its Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches.

Of the 147 participants, 98 are following the program organized by the Dicastery for Bishops under the theme, “In Christ, Guardians of the Magnifica Humanitas in Times of Transformation.” The remaining 49 are participating in a course sponsored by the Dicastery for Evangelization titled, “Servants of Communion in the Church.”

Both tracks combine lectures, liturgical celebrations, fraternal gatherings, and working sessions led by cardinals, archbishops, and senior officials of the Roman Curia.

Instagram post

Liturgy, mission, and safeguarding against abuse

The program addresses key issues facing the Church, including liturgy, evangelization, child protection, financial administration, transparency, priestly formation, synodality, interreligious dialogue, the growth of new sects, and the handling of clergy-related crises.

The course organized by the Dicastery for Bishops includes presentations by Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, who will reflect on episcopal ministry, and Archbishop Vittorio Viola, secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, who will discuss liturgical matters.

On Sept. 4, Archbishop Luis Javier Argüello García, president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, will offer reflections on the bishop’s mission within the family and society.

That afternoon, attention will turn to safeguarding minors, promoting a culture of prevention, and handling abuse cases, with a presentation by Archbishop Thibault Verny, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The day will conclude with a lecture by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, on the Holy See’s role in a globalized world and its efforts to promote peace.

On Sept. 5, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, will examine the cultural changes reshaping the contemporary world.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, as head of the Church tribunal responsible for matters of conscience, will provide a detailed explanation of the norms, theology, and limits of the Church’s absolute seal of secrecy, particularly regarding sacramental confession.

Tribalism, sects, and missionary challenges

The program for bishops from territories under the Dicastery for Evangelization is being held at the Pontifical Missionary College of St. Peter the Apostle.

Formal activities began Sept. 3 with a session focused on missionary work and the services provided by the dicastery to churches in mission territories.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is serving as host, while Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu will address issues such as tribalism, caste discrimination, racism, and exclusionary regionalism in the contemporary Church.

Topics scheduled for the opening days also include clergy discipline, consecrated life, administration of Church property, associations of the faithful, and other pastoral challenges unique to missionary churches.

The Sept. 4 session will focus on faith and inculturation. Speakers include Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, who will reflect on interreligious dialogue in the current context, and Archbishop Aurelio García Macías, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, who will discuss liturgical continuity and developments in territories of first evangelization.

Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, will close the day with a presentation on sects and new religious movements.

Episcopal governance and canon law

On Sept. 5, participants will delve into legal aspects of episcopal governance. Archbishop Anthony Randazzo, prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, will discuss diocesan structures of communion and collaboration, as well as the operation of ecclesiastical tribunals.

Archbishop John Joseph Kennedy, secretary of the disciplinary section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, will provide guidance on handling cases involving delicta graviora, the most serious crimes prosecuted within the Catholic Church.

The day will also include reflections on pastoral accompaniment and the formation of lay faithful, led by Archbishop Dario Gervasi and Dr. Gabriella Gambino, secretary and undersecretary, respectively, of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

Pilgrimage to Assisi and joint sessions

Participants will have a free day on Sunday, with the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Assisi during the Jubilee Year marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis.

Activities will resume Sept. 7 at the Pontifical Urbaniana University with joint sessions bringing together participants from both programs. For the third consecutive year, this format is intended to foster fraternity and the exchange of experiences among bishops from very different pastoral realities.

Among the topics to be discussed is Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which will be presented by Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, and Cardinal Roberto Repole, archbishop of Turin, will offer reflections on synodal ecclesiology.

On Sept. 8, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the newly appointed bishops will participate in a Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, celebrated by Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar of the Diocese of Rome.

During the final days of the course, sessions will focus on priestly formation, the relationship between local churches and the Holy See, and the Church’s responsibility to protect minors and vulnerable adults.

Experts from the Institute of Anthropology at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, including Archbishop Peter Beer and Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, one of the Church’s leading international voices on safeguarding, will participate in these discussions.

The program will conclude Sept. 10 with Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by an audience with Pope Leo XIV. The papal meeting will bring to a close several days of formation, prayer, and fraternity in the Italian capital.

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.

That is the premise of the lengthy and complex text by the International Theological Commission, “Caring for Our Common Home – A Responsible and Fraternal Response to the Triune God.”

Released Sept. 2 during the Season of Creation, the document examines “a Trinitarian vision of the creation of the cosmos, highlighting the resulting Trinitarian imprint on creation and its repercussions.”

The book also addresses “the foundation and scope of the role of the human being in the Common Home” as well as “a series of guidelines and guiding principles for care of the Common Home and ecological conversion.”

The full text is currently available from the Vatican only in Italian, with the official Vatican News outlet providing an English-language summary.

The text is complex, but summaries at the end of each chapter offer guidance emphasizing the theological meaning of creation. “The ultimate purpose of creation is not exhausted by the usefulness it may have for the human being and for the development of human life,” one summary notes.

Humans “cannot claim the right to indiscriminately subject creation to [their] own purposes, reducing its meaning and value to the merely instrumental usefulness it can provide: This is the temptation of absolute anthropocentrism,” the document says.

The human being is a servant and steward of creation, and “this role of the human being among the other creatures and the fulfillment of God’s plan finds its deepest inspiration in the celebration of the Eucharist: The human being offers creation to God in Christ and, in return, implores God’s blessing in Christ for all things.”

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.

The pontiff made this appeal during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 2, during which he inaugurated a new series of catecheses dedicated to the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes, one of the Church’s most significant responses to the challenges and expectations of the modern world.

The document of the Second Vatican Council, approved and promulgated on Dec. 7, 1965, highlights, as Leo explained, the essentially pastoral nature of the Church, born of “a renewed fidelity to the mystery of Christ who, by becoming incarnate, chooses to share our life.”

For this reason, he recalled that the conciliar constitution Gaudium et Spes opens with the famous statement that the Church makes her own “the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted.”

This commitment, the pontiff added, calls Christians “to leave behind all passivity and indifference in the face of current events, history, and people’s lives, especially in the face of the rapid and profound changes we are experiencing today.”

He emphasized that closeness to humanity allows for a deeper understanding both of historical events and of revelation itself. From that perspective, he noted that Gaudium et Spes recalls that “the Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel.”

The Holy Father clarified that this attitude does not stem solely from a “merely moral imperative.” To explain this, he cited the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, considered the roadmap of Pope Francis’ pontificate, which reminds us that for the Church “the option for the poor is primarily a theological category rather than a cultural, sociological, political, or philosophical one.”

“Christian solidarity commits us to engaging with reality and also to unmasking the contradictions that characterize personal and social life in the contemporary world,” the pope said.

He then listed some examples of those contradictions. On the one hand, he pointed to “scientific and technological progress, which constantly offers new possibilities, but only to some”; on the other, a clearer understanding of the “laws of society,” accompanied, however, by uncertainties “about the direction to give” them.

He also highlighted the paradox of possessing “wealth, resources, and economic power” while, at the same time, “a huge proportion of the world’s citizens are still tormented by hunger and poverty.” Likewise, he lamented that there is growing awareness that the future of the planet is at stake and yet a persistent inability to renounce “selfish consumption” and “the illusion that war is an effective means of building peace.”

“In a time marked by profound changes, giving rise to worrying imbalances, the Church is called to serve the human person, listening to and welcoming the deepest questions of their heart and the longings that dwell within them,” the Holy Father said.

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.

Tweet

The Holy Father noted that this day also marks the beginning of the “Season of Creation,” a five-week period dedicated “to prayer and commitment to caring for our ‘common home’” that extends until Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, coinciding with the 800th anniversary of his death.

“On this day, therefore, and in the weeks ahead, let us set aside a few moments to pause from the frenzy of our daily lives in order to savor the profound harmony of which we ourselves are a part,” the pope encouraged during the Mass celebrated in the Madonnina Garden of the Borgo Laudato Si’ within the pontifical gardens of Castel Gandolfo.

“Let us place in ‘silent mode’ the many noises generated by human activity, so that we may hear the melodious voice of creation, through which God, the author of all things, speaks to us,” the pontiff encouraged.

Referring to his message issued for this 11th World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the pope highlighted that “this contemplative exercise” is a first step toward an “authentic ecological conversion, where the effects of our encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in our relationship with the world around us.”

In his homily, the pope also highlighted that the readings for this Mass — Psalm 18, the passage from the Book of Wisdom (Wis 13:1–9), and the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 6:24–34) — recall the grandeur of creation and the “Creator of so many wonders,” such as air and fire.

He noted that they allow us to renew the idea that “if the Lord does not fail to bestow such splendid beauty upon plants and animals and provide for all their needs, how much more attentive will he be to the needs of his beloved sons and daughters!”

The Holy Father also noted that “from contemplating creation and encountering its Creator, there arises an awareness of our particular place within God’s wondrous plan, and of the responsibility that we bear both personally and collectively for preserving the original harmony. Thus, as we become conscious of our shortcomings and failures, we can renew our commitment to restoring the relationships among all creatures according to the will of their Creator.”

“It is not yet too late, and the Season of Creation calls us to a profound conversion,” he emphasized.

After explaining that Pope Francis drew inspiration from St. Francis of Assisi in writing his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, which addresses the care of our common home, Leo XIV quoted the “Poverello of Assisi’s” praises to God for the moon, stars, wind, earth, fire, and water, among other elements.

“With St. Francis, let us renew our commitment to living and promoting that universal fraternity which is inseparably bound to the task of caring for creation,” the pope encouraged.

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.

Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other officials during an Aug. 24–28 visit to Russia.

“We went to Moscow to speak of peace, to encourage souls troubled by war, and to say ‘Have courage, embrace the path of peace, have the hope of believing in a better day,” Gallagher said in an interview with Vatican News published Sunday. “And I believe that essentially this was our message.”

Gallagher met with Lavrov during the first day of his visit, although he was not received by Russian President Vladimir Putin. After more than an hour of talks, the two appeared before reporters, with the Vatican diplomat reiterating Pope Leo XIV’s appeal for an end to the war in Ukraine.

“The Holy See does not enter into the details of the negotiations, nor does it propose technical solutions, because this is the direct responsibility of the belligerent parties,” Gallagher said in the subsequent Vatican News interview.

“The Holy See, instead, recalls this responsibility and invites them to show goodwill in order to seriously begin a dialogue,” he continued. “And it does so by addressing both the Russian Federation and Ukraine, as well as other countries, asking that no effort be spared to create spaces for dialogue.”

A ‘difficult’ dialogue

Gallagher acknowledged that discussing peace in Russia means engaging in “a difficult dialogue.”

“The longer the war continues, the more difficult it will be to restore relations: There are many victims, many open wounds,” he said. “But we know very well that, historically, all conflicts, all wars end with a negotiation, with an agreement, and then one begins to restore relations between the former belligerents.”

“In this sense, diplomacy offers and promises a possible solution,” Gallagher said. “This is also what we, as a Church, have the responsibility and the duty to proclaim.”

Gallagher and Lavrov also discussed possible humanitarian initiatives and the situation of children affected by the war. The Holy See expressed its willingness to continue offering spiritual, diplomatic, and humanitarian assistance.

“This dimension is fundamental and, in this area, the Holy See is already offering its contribution, a commitment that so far has been greatly appreciated,” Gallagher said.

“The Holy Father himself, before I left, told me: We must insist on the humanitarian dimension. And that is what we did,” he added.

“We hope that Cardinal [Matteo] Zuppi’s peace mission will continue and that he will be able to return promptly to Moscow, also in order to be a witness to what the local Church and the Catholic communities are doing.”

Zuppi traveled to Moscow in 2023 and 2024 as Pope Francis’ special envoy for peace. His mission included humanitarian efforts concerning Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.

Outreach to the Russian Orthodox Church

Gallagher also visited Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior, one of the city’s most prominent Orthodox landmarks.

There he was received by Igor Yakimchuk, deputy chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations. Gallagher also met with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, who heads the department.

The talks covered issues of common concern and were intended to keep channels of communication open between the Holy See and the Russian Orthodox Church at a particularly sensitive moment for the region.

Relations between the two churches have been severely strained since Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill publicly supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Meeting Russia’s Catholic minority

Gallagher devoted the final day of his visit to Russia’s small Catholic community.

Catholics make up a tiny minority in the country, with roughly 800,000 faithful among a population of more than 146 million — about 0.5%. The Church is organized into four dioceses centered on the Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow.

During his stay, Gallagher celebrated Mass at Moscow’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and met with priests, religious men and women, and the country’s Catholic bishops.

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.

“Imagine a hot summer day, after hard work or a long walk, you finally take a sip of cool water. Feel how relief and energy flow through your body,” the Holy Father said in a video released Sept. 1 on X.

He added: “Moments like these remind us what a blessing clean water is yet, 1 in 4 people worldwide still lack safe drinking water. Entire communities and nations need our action and our prayer for the care of water for the blessed relief.”

In the full video shared on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention:

Lord of Life,

You have given us the gift of water,

source of fruitfulness, freshness, and hope.

It quenches thirst, nourishes the earth, and heals wounds.

We thank you,

because it is also a symbol of your grace and love

that renews us through baptism.

Today we ask you to teach us to safeguard it

with gratitude, justice, and responsibility.

Forgive us for turning it into a commodity,

forgetting that it is a universal gift,

a right without borders, meant for all your children.

We see with pain so many brothers and sisters

who lack clean water,

who walk for miles to find it,

who become ill due to its scarcity.

May your Spirit make us pilgrims of the essential,

able to live with simplicity,

denouncing waste and pollution,

defending the right of every brother and sister

to drink without fear and without inequality.

May our care for water

be a sign of love for the Creator

and a commitment to the lives of the poor,

educating new generations to value

and protect the Earth’s resources.

Amen.”

“Pray with the Pope” is accessible on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and its digital platforms.

The Holy See said Pope Leo XIV appointed Liu bishop of Datong on Aug. 10 after approving his candidacy under the mechanisms established by the Vatican’s agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops.

This marks the third episcopal ordination since June 15 and the seventh episcopal consecration during the pontificate of Leo XIV, although not all episcopal appointments are linked to the current pontiff. Excluded from the seven are two bishops who had already received episcopal consecration but belonged to the underground Church — that is, the Church not recognized by China — and were ultimately validated by the authorities of the communist regime.

A life of pastoral service

Liu was born Nov. 2, 1970, in Wufuying village near Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province.

He began his priestly formation at the Fenyang seminary, where he studied from 1988 to 1992. He later attended the National Seminary in Beijing from 1992 to 1996, earning a bachelor’s degree in theology.

He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Datong on Nov. 24, 1996.

Following his ordination, Liu served as pastor of Zhangguantun from December 1996 to 1999, Xubao from 2000 to 2003, and Xihehe from 2003 to 2005.

He had served as diocesan administrator of Datong since March 15, 2005.

Appointments under Leo XIV

The process leading to Liu’s appointment and episcopal ordination took place entirely during Leo’s pontificate, providing another sign that the pope intends to continue dialogue between Rome and Beijing.

Several episcopal appointments and recognitions have taken place in China since Leo’s election.

On June 11, 2025, the Vatican announced the Chinese government’s civil recognition and installation of Bishop Giuseppe Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou in Fujian province.

Lin, however, was not ordained a bishop during Leo’s pontificate, having received episcopal ordination in 2017. Pope Leo XIV appointed him auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou on June 5, 2025, before Chinese authorities granted him civil recognition.

On July 8, 2025, Leo suppressed the Dioceses of Xuanhua and Xiwanzi, which had been established by Pope Pius XII in 1946, and erected the new Diocese of Zhangjiakou as a suffragan see of Beijing.

Two months later, on Sept. 10, Father Giuseppe Wang Zhengui, whom the pope had appointed to lead the new diocese, was ordained a bishop.

Recognition of 2 ‘underground’ bishops by China

Separately, on Sept. 12, 2025, the Chinese government recognized two “underground” bishops — that is, bishops loyal to Rome and appointed by the pope.

They are Bishop José Ma Yanen, 65, formerly the underground bishop of Xiwanzi, who is now the auxiliary bishop of the new Diocese of Zhangjiakou in Hebei province; and Bishop Agostino Cui Tai, 75, previously the bishop of Xuanhua — the other diocese suppressed by Pope Leo XIV to create the Diocese of Zhangjiakou. As he is over 70 years old, the Vatican considers Cui Tai to be a bishop emeritus.

2026 appointments

In 2026, Father Francesco Saverio Duan Yongkun was ordained coadjutor bishop of Bameng in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after Leo appointed him on June 15 under the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.

The pope also appointed Father Giuseppe Chang Yanfeng on June 15. Chang was subsequently ordained bishop of Chifeng, another diocese in Inner Mongolia.

Tensions during the sede vacante

Chinese authorities unilaterally selected two bishops during the sede vacante following Pope Francis’ death, including one for a diocese already headed by a bishop recognized by the Holy See.

Father Ignatius Wu Jianlin was ordained auxiliary bishop of Shanghai on Oct. 15, 2025, after Pope Leo XIV formally appointed him to the post on Aug. 11.

Chinese authorities had previously announced Wu’s election by an assembly of priests and laypeople on April 28, during the sede vacante.

The Holy See’s later announcement revealed that Leo had approved the nomination Aug. 11. Although the appointment was not immediately made public, the Vatican announcement indicated that the case was ultimately brought within the framework of the Holy See-China agreement.

Francis Li Jianlin was likewise ordained bishop of the Apostolic Prefecture of Xinxiang in Henan province on Dec. 5, 2025, after Leo formally appointed him Aug. 11.

Li was the second bishop whose candidacy had been advanced by Chinese authorities during the sede vacante.

17 bishops ordained under Vatican-China agreement

With Liu’s ordination, 17 Catholic bishops have now been ordained in China under the Provisional Agreement first signed between the Holy See and China during Pope Francis’ pontificate.

The bilateral agreement, first signed in 2018, regulates the process for selecting and recognizing Catholic bishops in China.

The Holy See and China have not maintained formal diplomatic relations since 1951, following the communist takeover under Mao Zedong. Chinese Catholics subsequently became divided between the state-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and an underground Catholic community that remained loyal to Rome.

The full text of the agreement has never been made public.

It was renewed every two years until 2024, when the two sides extended it for four years, through 2028.

According to publicly known elements of the agreement, the pope retains the final authority over episcopal appointments in China, including the ability to reject candidates proposed by Beijing. The Holy See, meanwhile, has agreed not to make episcopal appointments without prior consultation with the Chinese government.

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.

Speaking after the Angelus in Castel Gandolfo on Aug. 30, the pope said he had received “tragic reports” from Haiti about a massacre in Kenscoff.

“Tragic reports are emerging from Haiti of the horrific massacre carried out in Kenscoff, in which numerous people have lost their lives and others taken hostage,” Pope Leo said. “I express my spiritual closeness to the victims and their families and call for the immediate release of all hostages.”

“I make a heartfelt appeal to all those in positions of authority to take concrete steps in order to ensure the safety of the population and put an end to all forms of violence,” he added.

The pope also renewed his prayers for those affected by flooding in Nepal and Tibet.

“Let us pray for those who have lost their lives, for the injured, those missing, for the families and rescue workers,” he said. “May the concern of everyone help to alleviate the suffering and provide the necessary aid to the people affected.”

Pope Leo then broadened his appeal, urging Christians to continue praying for peace and recalling the words of St. Augustine, whose feast the Church celebrated Aug. 28.

“Let us continue to pray for peace,” he said. “St. Augustine, whose feast we celebrated a few days ago, said that peace ‘is like the miraculous bread multiplied in the hands of the disciples as they broke it and distributed it.’”

“May there be an increase in the world of those who courageously break and share the bread of peace, overcoming divisions, promoting justice, and practicing forgiveness for the good of all,” the pope said.

Leo also noted that the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation will be celebrated Tuesday, marking the beginning of the ecumenical Season of Creation, whose 2026 theme is “Living Water.”

“I invite everyone to join in prayer and action, that we may become channels of the living water of God’s peace, refreshing our wounded world,” he said.

Understanding and accepting God’s ways

Before the Angelus, Pope Leo reflected on the Gospel account in which Jesus tells his disciples of his coming passion, prompting Peter to reject what he hears.

The pope noted that Peter had only shortly before recognized Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” but was shocked when Christ explained that he would go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and rise on the third day.

Peter’s reaction, Leo said, was “an outburst of zeal, certainly motivated by sincere love, and yet it gives us something to consider.”

“For us, too, in fact, it is not always easy to understand and accept God’s ways, especially when they are very far from our own,” the pope said. “Then the temptation arises — against all the reasoning of faith — to think that the Lord is the one who is wrong, or worse still, that he is not listening to us or is not concerned about us.”

Peter, despite his impulsiveness, offers Christians two lessons in such moments, Leo said.

“The first is, even in such moments, never to cease our dialogue with the Lord,” he said. “Instead, we are confidently to tell him our difficulty in understanding what he is asking of us.”

“The second is never to judge God’s work but rather humbly and prayerfully to listen to what he is revealing to us through his actions, even when they do not meet our expectations.”

“The greatness of the first of the apostles is also evident in this,” the pope said.

Jesus responded to Peter with the words, “Get behind me, Satan!” before teaching the disciples that following him means denying themselves, taking up their crosses, and following him.

Peter would eventually accept that challenge, Leo noted, remaining faithful to Christ “for the rest of his life, even unto martyrdom.”

The pope concluded his reflection by asking the Lord to give Christians Peter’s sincerity in prayer as well as his willingness to accept God’s will.

“Let us therefore ask the Lord that we, too, in our life of faith and in our prayer, may have the same sincerity as Peter, humbly telling Jesus what we truly feel, even when our hearts are confused,” he said. “At the same time, may we cultivate Peter’s own docility in accepting what Jesus asks of us beyond our expectations.”

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.

The town of Castel Gandolfo has been home to the papal summer residence since the early 17th century. The papal palace there overlooks Lake Albano, a roughly 2-square-mile lake in a volcanic crater.

The pope traveled by boat across the lake after Mass at the Church of Maria Santissima del Lago. The papal procession was accompanied by a statue of Our Lady of the Lake.

The pope made the declaration in an apostolic letter issued motu proprio titled Mutua Concordia. The letter modified canons 106 and 126 of the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium.

The pope in the letter said the “mutual concord” between the head of an Eastern Church and the church’s bishops “is the soul of communion of the Eastern ecclesiastical hierarchy.”

If the “sacred bond” between the two “were to be irreparably compromised, this would constitute a grave wound requiring a remedy,” the pope said. In such situations, the bishops in question “must be able to exercise canonical authority” to remedy the crisis.

Synods will thus have the power to “[remove] their own Patriarch from office for a grave cause,” the pope said. Such a procedure would still guarantee the patriarch in question “a full defense before the synod,” the pope noted.

The pope, however, will retain “the sole concession of consent to the synodal decision,” Leo wrote. That provision will ensure “that the full freedom of the Fathers in expressing their choice is guaranteed, sheltered from any possible internal or external undue pressure.”

The order comes into effect “immediately,” Leo wrote in the letter.

In June Leo emphasized the “great gift” the Eastern Catholic Churches offer to the universal Church, which he said is “often unaware of the diverse ecclesial traditions within its ranks.”

“The Christian East can only be preserved if it is understood: to lose that understanding is to impoverish the Church,” the pope told the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches at the time.

“One of the serious problems today is the fact that decisions concerning human life are being entrusted to machines,” Pope Leo XIV said Aug. 28 during an audience with members of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences.

“The speed at which innovations in AI, in artificial intelligence, are developing prompts us to ask whether, in the future, we will be able to control these machines and whether humanity runs the risk of becoming victim of its own inventions,” he said.

The International Institute of Administrative Sciences, of which the Holy See is a member, was founded in 1930 in the aftermath of the Great Depression. It works to help public authorities adapt governance to the changing needs of society.

Pius XII addressed the institute in 1950, highlighting the responsibility of public administration to serve society in accordance with the Creatorʼs wisdom.

Pope Leo XIV said the theme of the instituteʼs conference represented “a powerful appeal to our world in the digital age” to maintain a proper balance in the use of digital technologies.

He said the appeal echoed his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, on safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence.

The pope said the rapid development of digital technology is a reality that directly affects peopleʼs way of life and “permeates every level of social life.”

Against that backdrop, he praised the instituteʼs effort to reaffirm “the irreplaceable nature of human intelligence in the face of these technological tools” and to help public authorities make decisions “for the good of humanity.”

Pope Leo XIV also called for an ethical framework to guide the use of artificial intelligence and other digital tools, noting that such technologies are increasingly concentrated in the hands of major economic and technological actors while governments struggle to exercise effective oversight.

“We must ensure that the good of the human family is not sacrificed to private interests,” he said.

The pope encouraged the instituteʼs members to continue studying ways public administration can help keep technology centered on the human person.

“I encourage you to continue your research in order to find the ways and means of contributing to public administration in the humanization of digital technologies, so that they may serve life and peace,” he said.

Pope Leo XIV also recalled Pope Francis' 2024 World Day of Peace message, in which Francis called for scientific and technological research to be directed toward peace and the common good and placed at the service of the integral development of individuals and communities.

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.

The flooding disaster was driven by what the U.S. Geological Survey said was a glacial collapse near the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, one that displaced huge volumes of water and generated catastrophic flooding downstream.

Videos circulating on social media from closed-circuit camera footage showed massive waves of water rushing across the landscape and overtaking entire structures as local residents ran for their lives.

Tweet

In an Aug. 27 telegram sent on behalf of the Holy Father, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the pope was “saddened to learn of the loss of life and devastation” caused by the floods.

“Commending the souls of the deceased to the clemency of the Almighty, His Holiness sends heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved, together with the assurance of his spiritual closeness to those affected by this tragedy,” the telegram said.

“Likewise offering prayers for the emergency personnel engaged in the ongoing rescue efforts, [the pope] invokes upon all divine assistance and protection,” the message continued.

The tragedy has resulted in a global outpouring of support, with governments and humanitarian organizations mobilizing to respond to the catastrophe with resources and assistance.

The U.S. Department of State said it was deploying a “disaster response advisor” to the region to help manage rescue and cleanup efforts. The government said it would also distribute $500,000 in assistance via Catholic Relief Services.

The United Nations, meanwhile, said it had released $2 million from its Global Emergency Fund to provide emergency medical care, water, and shelter to those affected by the flooding.

Workers with the U.N. World Food Programme and the U.N. Children’s Fund were also being deployed to the region with supply trucks.

The convocation for “Nurturing Unity Through Communication” will be hosted by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome from Feb. 2–4, 2027. Typically held every two years, it will be the 15th edition of the Professional Seminar for Church Communications Offices.

The event is being organized in collaboration with the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication and is expected to draw over 500 participants, including Catholic communications professionals from dioceses, religious orders, and episcopal conferences.

Conference sponsors also include EWTN News, Rome Reports, and the Pontifical Mission Societies.

According to the event website, the gathering will invite participants to reflect “on the role of institutional communication as a path toward fostering unity and concord both within and beyond the Church.”

The seminar is also inspired by Pope Leo XIV’s call for Catholic media professionals to strive for peace in their work.

“Addressing communicators in his first public audience as pope, Leo XIV reminded them: ‘Peace begins with each one of us: with the way we look at others, listen to others, speak about others; and, in this sense, the way we communicate is of fundamental importance: We must say ‘no’ to the war of words and images; we must reject the paradigm of war.’”

The conference will include plenary and parallel sessions covering topics ranging from social media to encouraging diversity rather than promoting division in the Church through media.

EWTN Chairman and CEO Michael Warsaw will speak on the topic “Leading Through Digital Disruption: Building Community in a Changing Media Landscape.” EWTN Vice President and Chief Global Officer Andreas Thonhauser, meanwhile, will moderate a discussion of “AI and Magnifica Humanitas: Reflections One Year On.”

Registration for the conference is open until Dec. 1 and can be made through the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross by clicking here.

The pontiff made these remarks during a private audience on Aug. 27 with participants in a conference on drug abuse, promoted by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (CAL). According to Vatican News, the conference is being held from Aug. 25–27 and focuses on preventing drug addiction and the criminal recruitment of young people in Central and South America.

Leo will make his first apostolic journey to South America from Nov. 6–17, visiting 10 cities across Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru. He previously served as a missionary and bishop in Peru.

Families can help those suffering from drug addiction

In his address, Leo discussed the challenge of drug addiction in young people and its consequences for the family.

“Today, we bear witness to the pain of many broken families, whether due to drug use, violence, the criminal recruitment of a child, poverty, or the lack of opportunities that push people to the margins of society,” Leo explained.

To solve this, the pope said, would require reemphasizing the family as the “domestic church.”

“St. John Paul II asked us to make the Church ‘the home and school of communion.’”

“The family, which the Second Vatican Council rightly called the ‘domestic church,‘ is the place where life is nurtured, cared for, and planned. There is no better defense against drugs than a good family,” Leo said.

Inspiration by Pope Francis

According to Vatican News, the conference drew inspiration from the actions of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who would later become Pope Francis. As the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, he supported the project “Familia Grande del Hogar de Cristo,” a network of community centers that supports people battling drug addiction and social vulnerability.

Shortly after being elected pope in 2013, Francis traveled to Brazil for that year’s World Youth Day. During a visit to a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, he sharply criticized drug traffickers as “dealers of death.”

“How many ‘dealers of death’ there are that follow the logic of power and money at any cost,” Francis lamented in his address. He would echo those sentiments again in a general audience in June 2024, calling drug traffickers “murderers.”

Leo cited Francis in his address, reminding those present that Jesus wants the Church “to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others.”

In an interview with EWTN News reporter Valentina Di Donato, two Augustinian priests living in Rome explained why the woman they refer to as their “grandmother” continues to be a source of hope and inspiration, especially for Catholic wives and mothers.

Augustinian Father Angelo Di Berardino, who has worked and lived at the Augustinian International College of Santa Monica in Rome for 50 years, said St. Monica had a great interior strength that influenced all members of her family.

“Respecting her husband, she was able to convert him,” Di Berardino told EWTN News. “Then, she was a strong woman to educate her three children, especially Augustine.”

“I think she was so strong in her life, in her prayer, that she had a great influence on the great theologian Augustine,” he added.

According to Augustinian Father Edward Daleng Daniang, vice regent of the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household and former general counsellor and procurator general of the Order of St. Augustine, St. Monica is the saint to turn to for spouses who feel alone in their desire to create a Christian family home.

“St. Monica did not have it easy with her husband Patrick,” he said. “She tried to win him with her love, with her patience and endurance and tolerance and, above all, bringing her husband to God through prayer.”

Describing the ancient saint as a “living example” of a mother who does not give up on her children, Daniang said those struggling with their children can have hope that their prayers, and tears, are never wasted.

“St. Monica was struggling with her son St. Augustine who wandered away from home,” he said. “He left Monica, his mother, to come to Italy in those days and Monica did not give up.”

“He left the faith which she tried to transmit to him but she did not give up,” he emphasized.

Following her son to Italy, Daniang said her main intention of leaving Africa was not to bring her son back home but to lead her son to Jesus Christ for the salvation of his soul.

“St. Monica stands as someone who led her husband to God, to Christ, and also brought her son St. Augustine to Christ,” he said.

“That’s bringing the unity of family together,” he added.

This story was first published on Aug. 27, 2025, and has been updated.

In December 2025, the pope was named one of Vogue magazine’s 55 best dressed people of 2025.

Style correspondent José Criales Unzueta told The New York Post: “The reality is that everyone has a personal style, and this list celebrates people whose style we find most compelling, inspiring, idiosyncratic or a combination of those traits.”

“In the case of Pope Leo, we are drawn to his innate Americanness — the way he will pair a baseball cap or a pair of Nikes with his vestments, which speaks to the great tradition of American sportswear,” he said.

When Leo first appeared on the balcony of St. Peterʼs Basilica to the thousands of faithful gathered in the square after his election, many noticed the return of several papal vestments that were not used during Pope Francis’ pontificate.

So what are some of the papal garments Pope Leo has been wearing and what do they symbolize?

The papal mozzetta

One of the most obvious vestments that Pope Leo has brought back into use is the red papal mozzetta, reviving a long-established tradition.

The mozzetta is a nonliturgical garment worn by the pope, cardinals, bishops, abbots, and certain priests, including canons of a cathedral chapter. It is normally worn over the cassock.

The history of this garment dates back to at least the 14th century, shortly after the papacy returned to Rome from Avignon, France. Initially, it was worn by the popes in Avignon to adapt to the colder French climate. Eventually, it became part of the popeʼs ceremonial dress around 1400, initially reserved for the pope but later extended to all cardinals and bishops.

The mozzetta, in the case of a prelate, symbolizes his spiritual authority and rank within the Church hierarchy. For a pope, it is normally worn with the papal stole as a sign of his universal jurisdiction over all Catholics.

The mozzetta a pope wears is different from those worn by cardinals and other clerics. While the mozzetta for cardinals is red and for bishops purple, the pope has five versions of the mozzetta. The most commonly worn by the pontiffs is the red satin mozzetta, usually with an embroidered stole.

The white cassock

The white cassock is probably one of the most recognizable pieces of papal attire. It’s a long-sleeved, ankle-length garment and is tailor-made from 100% wool or a wool blend. White has a long Christian association with purity, innocence, holiness, and the glory of Christ.

Cassocks, which have historical links to the Roman robe known as the “caracalla,” are traditionally made with 33 buttons to represent the 33 years of Jesus’ life before his resurrection and ascension into heaven.

The white cassock became part of the papal vestments during the pontificate of Pope Pius V (1566-1572), who was a Dominican friar and continued wearing the white habit of his religious order after becoming pope.

A white sash

The white sash around the popeʼs waist, another traditional piece of papal attire, is called the fascia. It is essentially a wide, ceremonial band worn with the cassock and is made of linen or silk. It represents the pope’s devotion, dedication, and submission to Jesus Christ’s call to serve and look after his Church. The fascia is a symbol of readiness to minister to the people of God.

A red stole

The stole is a liturgical vestment worn by priests and bishops as a sign of their ordained ministry. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal explains that a priest wears the stole around his neck, while a deacon wears it over his left shoulder and across the chest.

Pope Leo has made consistent use of the stole since his election in 2025. He typically wears a deep burgundy or scarlet silk stole with ornate gold embroidery during public and formal duties. However, he has also been seen wearing other stoles including a white one with gold embroidery.

Some instances in which the Holy Father has worn a stole include during his apostolic journeys, diplomatic audiences, state visits, major liturgical feasts, and ecumenical meetings, among others.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) explains that the stole symbolizes the authority and responsibility to serve in imitation of Christ, connecting it with Jesus' words: “For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

The tradition of red leather shoes

Red leather shoes have been used by several popes over the centuries and have their origins in the early Church and the ancient Roman Empire.

In the Catholic faith, red symbolizes martyrdom and the passion of Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI’s red shoes became a bit of a trademark during his pontificate, with ABC News calling him a “fashionista” and Esquire naming him “accessorizer of the year.”

At another point, his loafers sparked controversy after false rumors claimed they were crafted by the high-end Italian fashion house Prada.

Benedict’s choice of shoes stands out because his predecessor and successor — St. John Paul II and Pope Francis — opted for alternatives. But popes have walked in red for centuries.

While Pope Leo has not yet been seen in red shoes, the Holy Father has made headlines for photoshares of him sporting a pair of white Nike sneakers around the Vatican grounds before he became pope.

Instagram post