Speaking in the university’s Aula Magna after a brief moment of prayer in the “Divina Sapienza” chapel, the pope referred to the “spiritual malaise” affecting many university students and recalled that “we are not the sum of what we have, nor matter randomly assembled in a mute cosmos.”

“We are a desire, not an algorithm!” he stressed.

Leo XIV strongly criticized “the pervasive lie of a distorted system that reduces people to numbers, heightens competitiveness, and abandons us to spirals of anxiety.”

“For everyone there are difficult seasons,” he added. “Yet some may have the impression that they never end. Today this depends increasingly on the blackmail of expectations and the pressure to perform.”

The pope was welcomed upon his arrival by the university’s rector, Professor Antonella Polimeni, who accompanied him through the campus and during his visit to the exhibition “La Sapienza and the Papacy,” which explores the historical and cultural ties between the University of Rome and the Holy See.

That bond has not been without tension. In 2008, the university’s then-rector invited Pope Benedict XVI to inaugurate the academic year, but a heated controversy, driven by a small group of professors and students, ultimately derailed the visit. The German pope decided not to attend. The address he had prepared, published days later, argued that “the Christian message should always be an encouragement toward truth and thus a force against the pressure of power and interests.” The following Sunday, some 200,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square in a show of support.

The atmosphere Thursday was radically different. Students waited for Leo XIV outside the building, greeting him with enthusiasm and joy while chanting “Long live the pope.” Because of the large turnout, many had to remain outside and follow his speech on screens set up for the occasion.

Leo XIV did not mention the 2008 episode. In his address, he described a world “distorted by wars and by words of war,” warning against “a contamination of reason that, from the geopolitical level, invades every social relationship.”

Correcting the simplification that creates enemies

“It is a contamination of reason that, from the geopolitical level, invades every social relationship. The simplification that creates enemies must be corrected, especially in the university, through care for complexity and the wise exercise of memory,” he said.

“The cry of ‘never again war!’ of my predecessors, so in tune with the rejection of war enshrined in the Italian Constitution, urges us toward a spiritual alliance with the sense of justice that dwells in the hearts of young people, with their vocation not to close themselves off within ideologies or national borders,” he added.

In that context, the pope criticized the rise in military spending, particularly in Europe.

“Let us not call defense a rearmament that increases tensions and insecurity, impoverishes investments in education and health care, contradicts trust in diplomacy, and enriches elites that care nothing for the common good,” he said.

According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, global military spending rose for the 11th consecutive year in 2025, reaching a record $2.887 trillion. Europe accounted for a large share of that increase, with a 14% rise in arms investment, reaching $864 billion.

The Holy Father also warned about the risks of the use of artificial intelligence, both in military and civilian contexts, and urged vigilance so that its development does not “relieve human decisions of responsibility or worsen the tragedy of conflicts.”

“What is happening in Ukraine, in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, in Lebanon, in Iran describes the inhuman evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies in a spiral of annihilation,” he warned.

Faced with this scenario, the pope issued a direct appeal to young people: “Be a radical ‘yes’ to life! Yes to innocent life, yes to young life, yes to the life of peoples crying out for peace and justice.”

History does not fall hopelessly into the hands of death

Leo XIV also devoted part of his address to ecology, citing Laudato Si’, the 2015 encyclical of his predecessor Pope Francis.

“Beyond good intentions and some efforts in that direction, the situation does not seem to have improved,” he lamented, encouraging young people to “transform restlessness into prophecy” and not to give in to discouragement.

“Especially those who believe know that history does not fall hopelessly into the hands of death, but is always guarded, no matter what happens, by a God who creates life from nothing, who gives without taking, who shares without consuming,” he said.

The pope also criticized the “implosion of a possessive and consumerist paradigm” and encouraged university students to seek a “horizon of meaning” beyond immediacy.

“So little considered by a society with ever fewer children, you show that humanity is capable of a future when it builds that future with wisdom,” he told them.

He also emphasized the value of teaching, defining it as a form of charity “as much as helping a migrant at sea, a poor person in the street, or a despairing conscience.”

“It means always and in every case loving human life, valuing its possibilities, so that one can speak to the hearts of young people, not only to their knowledge,” he added.

For Benedetta Marchiori, a student at La Sapienza, the pope’s visit was a moment of encouragement.

“It gave so much joy, so much happiness, so much hope,” Marchiori told EWTN News. “It is truly beautiful to hear someone speak who really sees so many different situations every day and brings them back to us — reminding us that we truly have an active role in our own growth, through our study and through being truly centered. It is really beautiful.”

Chiara Clementoni, a medical student, said the pope’s address was “really encouraging.”

“The idea that we are not the sum of what has happened to us, but that through knowledge and study we can also build ourselves as people and open ourselves more to the mysteries that God has placed in nature, that God has placed in everything we can make the object of our study,” Clementoni said.

At the end of the meeting, the university gave the pope a reproduction of a stone from the Holy Sepulcher, where a team of La Sapienza archaeologists has been conducting excavations in the basilica in Jerusalem since March 2022.

The project, carried out in collaboration with the various communities that guard the site — the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land, the Latin Patriarchate, and the Greek and Armenian churches — will make it possible for the first time to reconstruct the full stratigraphic history of the building, erected in the fourth century during the time of Emperor Constantine and his mother, St. Helena.

Ishmael Adibuah contributed reporting to this article.

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

The pope also accepted the resignation of Bishop Frank J. Dewane, 76, who has reached the usual age of retirement after leading the diocese since 2007, after having first served for nine months as its coadjutor bishop.

Agüero, who was born in Fairfax, Virginia, on Dec. 15, 1964, entered the Order of the Friars Minor Capuchin in 1987. He was ordained a priest on May 21, 1994.

With his consecration and installation, the bishop-designate will become the only active Capuchin Franciscan bishop currently heading a U.S. diocese. Bishop Matt Elshoff, OFM Cap, serves as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Agüero begins his new role in Florida after having served as a missionary for more than two decades. He served as a missionary in Papua New Guinea from 1994–2006 and in Cuba from 2007–2019.

According to a press release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Agüero speaks Spanish and Tok Pisin (a Creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea) in addition to English.

The bishop-designate also holds several academic degrees, including a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Borromeo College earned in 1987; masterʼs degrees in theology and divinity from Oblate College earned in 1992; and a licentiate in sacred theology from the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C., earned in 2007.

His most recent assignment has been pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington, D.C. He belongs to the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Augustine in Pittsburgh.

Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., said in a statement: “St. Francis burns in the heart of Father Emilio.”

He is “one of the finest pastors in the Archdiocese of Washington,” a man whose “piercing” proclamation of the Gospel draws people to Christ and inspires genuine conversion, McElroy said. The bishop-designate “has been unswerving in reaching out to the poor and the marginalized, and the undocumented. He is also a bridge-builder who reaches across the boundaries of polarization to forge real solidarity in the family of God,” McElroy said.

This story was updated at 1:25 p.m. ET on May 13, 2026, to include the statement from Cardinal Robert McElroy.

Leo got out of the vehicle and remained in silence to pray before the white marble plaque marking the place where the Polish pope was struck by four gunshots fired by the Turkish gunman Ali Agca on May 13, 1981. Leo then knelt and touched the plaque before continuing his ride around the square.

The attack on John Paul II coincided with the anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady to three shepherd children in Fátima, Portugal.

Days after the attempt on his life, while still recovering, John Paul II read the third part of the secret of Fátima, until then known only to the popes and later made public. Written by one of the seers, Sister Lucia, it describes the vision of the Holy Father “afflicted with pain and sorrow,” praying “for the souls of the corpses he met on his way.”

Pope John Paul II never ceased to express his gratitude to the Virgin Mary for saving his life. “One hand fired; another guided the bullet,” he said in an interview with the French writer André Frossard. After being discharged from the hospital and resuming general audiences in St. Peter’s Square following five months of hospitalization, he also said he had experienced “the extraordinary maternal protection which proved stronger than the deadly projectile.”

In 1982, St. John Paul II celebrated Mass in Fátima and consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On May 13, 2000, he beatified the shepherd children Francisco and Jacinta at the Portuguese shrine.

‘Mary, model of the Church’

Today, Leo XIV wanted to underscore that the attempt on John Paul II’s life was not fatal “thanks to the protection of Our Lady, as he himself confirmed in many ways.”

For this reason, he explained, he dedicated his May 13 catechesis to “the Virgin Mary, model of the Church” and to his predecessor, whose motto was “Totus Tuus.”

The pope thus continued his cycle of catechesis on the Second Vatican Council, pausing on the final chapter of the dogmatic constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Leo said Mary “is hailed as a preeminent and singular member of the Church, and as its type and excellent example in faith and charity.”

“Mary is the perfect model of what the whole Church is called to be: a creature of the Word of the Lord and mother of the children of God, begotten in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit,“ the Holy Father said. ”Furthermore, as she is the believer par excellence, in whom we are offered the perfect form of unconditional openness to the divine mystery within the communion of God’s holy people, Mary is an excellent member of the ecclesial community.”

He also explained that the Virgin Mary is the “woman who is the icon of the Mystery,” who was granted the grace to live “the extraordinary experience of becoming the mother of the Messiah.”

“In her, both God’s gratuitous election and her free consent of faith in him shine forth. Mary is therefore the woman who is the icon of the Mystery, that is, of the divine plan of salvation, once hidden and now revealed in its fullness in Jesus Christ,” he said.

In the Virgin Mary, he continued, there is also reflected “the mystery of the Church: in her, the people of God find the representation of their origin, their model, and their homeland.”

Model of maternal charity

In the mother of the Lord, the Church contemplates its own mystery, “not only because she finds in her the model of virginal faith, maternal charity, and the spousal covenant to which she is called but also and above all because in her she recognizes her own archetype, the ideal figure of what she is called to be,” Leo said.

The reflections contained in Lumen Gentium, he concluded, teach us to love the Church and to serve within her the fulfillment of the kingdom of God, which is coming and which will be fully realized in glory.

He invited the faithful to allow themselves to be challenged by the example of Mary, virgin and mother, with concrete questions: “Do I live my participation of the Church with humble and active faith? Do I recognize in her the community of the covenant that God has given me to respond to his infinite love? Do I feel that I am a living part of the Church, in obedience to the pastors given by God? Do I look to Mary as a model, an outstanding member and mother of the Church, and ask her to help me be a faithful disciple of her son?”

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 act will constitute ‘a schismatic act,’ and ‘formal adherence to schism constitutes a grave offense against God and entails the excommunication established by the law of the Church,’” said Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The cardinal’s brief statement quoted from St. John Paul II’s letter Ecclesia Dei, which the late pope wrote shortly after the society’s unlawful ordination of four bishops conferred by SSPX founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in June 1988.

Fernández went on to say that the Holy Father "continues in his prayers to ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten the leaders of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X so that they may reconsider the very grave decision they have made.”

Under canon law, a bishop who consecrates another bishop without a papal mandate and the person who receives that consecration incur automatic excommunication.

The SSPX has declared it intends to proceed with illicit episcopal consecrations at its international seminary in Écône, Switzerland, on July 1, in defiance of the Vatican’s warnings of schism.

The decision to proceed with the consecrations without papal approval was confirmed in a Feb. 18 letter penned by SSPX superior general Father Davide Pagliarani a week after his Feb. 12 meeting with Fernández, during which the Vatican proposed a structured theological dialogue in order to avoid ecclesial rupture.

The SSPX, which exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass, maintains doctrinal differences with certain teachings and reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly with regard to religious freedom and the Church’s approach to other faiths.

Cardinals Gerhard Müller and Robert Sarah, prominent supporters of the Traditional Latin Mass, have spoken out against the SSPX’s decision to defy the Vatican. Cardinal Joseph Zen, the retired archbishop of Hong Kong, has also urged the traditionalist group to avoid schism “at all costs.”

The proposed July 1 date for the episcopal consecrations coincides with the anniversary of the 1988 excommunication of SSPX founder Lefebvre for consecrating four bishops without the permission of Rome.

The Society of St. Pius X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from EWTN News.

The appeal is contained in the message “Buddhists and Christians for an ‘Unarmed and Disarming’ Peace,” signed by Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, and Monsignor Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage, secretary of the dicastery, for the Buddhist feast of Vesak.

In the message, addressed to the Buddhist community and published Monday, May 11, the Vatican said religious leaders “are called to be authentic partners in dialogue and true agents of reconciliation.”

The text stressed that a passive attitude is not enough. Together with all believers, it said, “we are invited to become artisans of peace — not passive observers but courageous witnesses capable of fostering encounter, healing wounds, and rebuilding trust.”

“As citizens and believers, we share a responsibility to promote peace, challenge injustice, and urge those in positions of authority not to inflame division but to pursue dialogue over confrontation,” the message said. “We must also guard against becoming complicit through silence or fear.”

A peace born in the heart

The message, issued for Vesak — which commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and passing of the Buddha — reflected on the meaning of peace, defining it not merely as the absence of war but as “a gift that seeks to dwell within the human heart” and “a quiet yet powerful presence that enlightens and transforms.”

The message cited Pope Leo XIV’s words for the 2026 World Day of Peace: “Peace exists; it wants to dwell within us. It has the gentle power to enlighten and expand our understanding; it resists and overcomes violence. Peace is a breath of the eternal: While to evil we cry out ‘Enough,’ to peace we whisper ‘Forever.’”

Even when peace appears fragile, the Vatican message said, it “must be protected and nurtured.” It described this peace as “an unarmed and disarming peace that does not rely on force but flows from truth, compassion, and mutual trust.”

Facing the world’s shadows

The Vatican did not ignore the gravity of the current international context, marked by conflicts and growing tensions.

“We cannot ignore the shadows weighing upon the world,” the message said. “Wars, violence, rising ethno-religious nationalism, and the manipulation of religion continue to wound our common humanity.”

In response, the Vatican emphasized the irreplaceable role of religious traditions, which it said “can offer a vital contribution.”

“Goodness is truly disarming,” the message said. “It breaks the cycle of suspicion and opens paths where none seemed possible.”

Buddhism and Christianity converge

The message highlighted the deep harmony between Buddhist and Christian teachings on peace.

It recalled the Buddha’s teaching: “Hatred is never appeased by hatred; by non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is an eternal law.” It also cited Jesus’ command to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” and his proclamation “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

Both traditions, the document said, point toward “a peace that is lived — one that disarms hearts before it disarms hands.”

A concrete, daily commitment

The message concluded with a call to translate these principles into concrete action, noting that peace is “lived daily — in gestures of kindness, in patience, in the refusal of hatred and vengeance, and in the courage to hope.”

Far from being a utopia, the Vatican said, “peace is not an illusion or a distant ideal; it is a real possibility already placed within our reach, waiting to be welcomed and shared.”

With that spirit, the Vatican expressed hope that Buddhists and Christians may “increasingly become witnesses of this disarming peace — one that heals wounds, restores relationships, and opens new horizons for humanity.”

“May your celebration of Vesak be filled with serenity and joy, and may it inspire all of us to walk together on this path,” the message concluded. “We wish you a blessed and fruitful celebration of Vesak!”

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.

Tscherrig was ordained a priest on April 11, 1974. He later earned a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1978, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See.

He served in Uganda, South Korea, Mongolia, and Bangladesh.

On May 4, 1996, Pope John Paul II appointed him titular archbishop of Voli and apostolic nuncio to Burundi. He was consecrated the following June 27 by then-Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

On July 8, 2000, he was named nuncio to Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Bahamas, and later also to Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname, and St. Kitts and Nevis.

On June 22, 2004, he became apostolic nuncio to South Korea and Mongolia.

On Jan. 26, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him apostolic nuncio to Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway.

On Jan. 5, 2012, he was transferred to lead the apostolic nunciature in Argentina.

On Sept. 12, 2017, Pope Francis appointed him apostolic nuncio to Italy and San Marino. He was the first non-Italian to hold the post.

Pope Francis created him a cardinal of the Holy Roman Church at the consistory of Sept. 30, 2023, assigning him the deaconry of San Giuseppe in Via Trionfale.

On March 11, 2024, Tscherrig stepped down as apostolic nuncio to Italy and San Marino after reaching the age limit. He was succeeded by Archbishop Petar Rajič.

In May 2025, he took part in the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.

At the time of his death, Tscherrig was a member of the cardinalatial commission of the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican bank.

Pope Leo XIV expressed his “deep condolences” upon learning of Tscherrig’s death, Vatican News reported. In a telegram, the pope conveyed his thoughts to the cardinal’s family and to the diocesan community of Sion, where Tscherrig was incardinated, and recalled with gratitude his “faithful service as a papal representative in various countries and later as a member of several dicasteries of the Holy See.”

The pope said the late cardinal “acted generously” and “bore witness to love for the Church and for the successor of Peter.” He entrusted the soul “of this minister of the Gospel” to God, praying that he may “welcome him into the light that knows no sunset,” and invoked the intercession of the Virgin Mary while sending his apostolic blessing to all those affected “by this sudden loss.”

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 institution, founded by Pope Pius XII in 1942 and staffed by just over 100 employees, thus consolidated a trend of sustained growth.

According to the annual accounts report published Monday, May 11, at the Vatican, the result was mainly due to improved operating performance amid favorable market conditions and active, disciplined portfolio management.

Net banking income rose to 66.3 million euros, compared with 51.5 million euros in 2024, while net interest income grew to 32.3 million euros. Net commission income remained stable at about 26 million euros.

The stronger results made it possible to approve a dividend of 24.3 million euros for the Holy Father, 76.1% more than the previous year, in keeping with the institute’s mission to support religious and charitable works.

Capital strength and asset growth

One of the most notable figures was the Tier 1 capital ratio, a key financial indicator that measures a bank’s financial strength and its ability to absorb losses while continuing to operate.

The report underscored the Vatican bank’s robust position, with a Tier 1 capital ratio of 71.9%, reflecting an extraordinary level of solvency.

The figure means the bank covers 71.9% of its risk-weighted assets — loans and investments — with the highest-quality core capital, such as ordinary shares, reserves, and retained earnings. This places the institution among the strongest in the world in terms of capitalization and liquidity.

According to the results for the past fiscal year, the total volume of client assets managed by the IOR — including deposits, current accounts, managed assets, and securities held in custody — rose to 5.9 billion euros at year-end, 200 million euros more than the previous year.

The institute’s net assets also grew to 815.3 million euros, an increase of 83.4 million euros, while comprehensive income reached 97.2 million euros, up 25% year over year.

Investments aligned with Catholic social teaching

The IOR emphasized that all of its financial activity is carried out in full coherence with the principles of Catholic social teaching. All of its portfolio management strategies recorded positive returns in 2025, within an investment approach that promotes only options compatible with the Catholic faith.

In this context, the institute strengthened its offerings by combining its own capabilities with the collaboration of more than 11 international asset managers. In February, together with Morningstar, it also launched two new equity indexes designed as benchmarks for Catholic investments worldwide.

Clean audit opinion and change in presidency

The IOR’s financial statements — for an institution whose accounts are limited to Catholic institutions, clergy, Vatican employees, and embassies and ambassadors accredited to the Holy See — received a “clean” opinion from Deloitte & Touche and were approved April 28 by the Board of Superintendence and the Commission of Cardinals.

The fiscal year also coincided with a change in the institute’s presidency: Jean-Baptiste de Franssu ended his mandate after the approval of the financial statements and was succeeded by François Pauly.

With 115 employees and about 12,000 clients in more than 110 countries — all linked to the Church — the IOR reaffirmed its role as a financial instrument at the service of the Church’s mission under a model that combines prudent growth, security, and client focus.

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 stamp, issued by the Vatican City Postal and Philatelic Service, features a portrait of the Holy Father set against an image of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, whose feast the Church celebrates on May 8. In the portrait, the Blessed Virgin looks down toward Pope Leo “as a sign of maternal protection,” Raúl Berzosa, the artist, explained.

In a statement to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Berzosa reflected on this work and also delved into the creative implications of artificial intelligence.

This new philatelic series marks another collaboration between Berzosa, who is from Málaga, Spain, and the Vatican, notable among which are his painting created for the commemorative stamp marking Pope Francis' 80th birthday in 2016 and the stamp dedicated to the golden jubilee of the pontiffʼs priestly ordination, produced in 2019.

Berzosa’s work includes the stamps for Easter released by the Vatican Philatelic Office in 2020, 2022, and 2024. In addition is the recent stamp dedicated to the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, issued during the pontificate of Leo XIV.

The latest stamp will be priced at 1.35 euros ($1.59) and will have a limited print run of 45,000 copies. The stamps were printed by Bpost (Belgium) using four-color offset lithography.

AI ‘doesn’t live what it depicts’

“I believe that sacred art is not merely the final result we see; it‘s the product of reflection. The time and effort invested are what give it the artist’s personal imprint,” Berzosa noted when asked about the value and appropriateness of AI-generated Catholic imagery.

“I’ve seen AI-generated images that are very beautiful or striking, yet they convey the sensation of being images seen before. AI, of course, does not feel or experience what it depicts. The artist, by contrast, leaves something of himself in every work,” he pointed out.

The Spanish painter noted that we are witnessing “a flood” of AI-generated images and videos, some in fact created using the works of human artists. “I have seen my own paintings ‘come to life and move,’ and seeing them gave me a bittersweet feeling,” Berzosa shared.

“From what I’ve seen, AI typically generates whatever grabs the most attention: perfect faces, highly dramatic lighting, or visually stunning scenes, yet they all tend to look alike,” he commented.

The artist also noted that throughout centuries of Christian art history, “an infinite number of distinct artworks and styles” have emerged, something that today “stands in contrast to images created with AI.”

‘Human discernment remains fundamental’

Berzosa explained that religious images “are not merely decorative” but also serve as “a tool for evangelization.” This has been the historical function of images within Catholicism: to help the faithful draw closer to God and to the message of the Gospel.

“With AI, there is a risk of creating images that are overly artificial or hollow, where the sacred is transformed almost into fantastical imagery. I believe that, here and now, human discernment remains fundamental,” he noted.

“Technology can help, but human sensibility is needed to know which image is appropriate,” he added.

However, Berzosa clarified that AI can serve as a complementary tool for artists. “I don’t believe that technology is the enemy of art,” he said. “I think that artists have always used new tools,” he remarked.

“Often, viewing images — works of art as well as images created by AI — can be beneficial when seeking ideas; they can help in studying lighting or preparing compositions before beginning a work,” he noted.

The greatest obstacle, he continued, arises when technology completely supplants human skill and talent, the artist’s unique vision: “AI can create viable images, but ones that require subsequent interpretation by the artist. When used well, AI can be an important complement, a tool of its time,” he noted.

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.

“Today, however, science and religion face a different, and perhaps more insidious, threat: those who deny the very existence of objective truth,” the pontiff said.

During his address, he recalled that his predecessor Pope Leo XIII refounded the Vatican Observatory in 1891 in a context where science was beginning to emerge as a rival source of truth to religion. Because of this, he said, the Church felt the “urgent need to counter the growing perception that faith and science were enemies.” 

Exploitation of natural resources

“Too many in our world refuse to acknowledge what both science and the Church clearly teach: that we bear a solemn responsibility for the care of our planet and for the well-being of those who inhabit it, especially the most vulnerable, whose lives are threatened by the irresponsible exploitation of both people and the natural world,” Leo said.

He underscored that the Church’s commitment to “rigorous and honest science remains not only valuable but essential.”

The pope also highlighted the unique role of astronomy within this context. “It occupies a particular place in this mission,” he affirmed while emphasizing its capacity to evoke wonder and a sense of proportion in human beings: “It awakens in us both admiration and a healthy sense of proportion.”

“Contemplating the heavens invites us to view our fears and failures in the light of God’s immensity,” he noted.

However, he lamented, “this gift is today threatened” by light pollution.

“To paraphrase Pope Benedict [XVI], we have filled our skies with artificial light that blinds us to the lights God has placed in them — an eloquent image,” he suggested, “of sin itself,” citing a 2012 homily by the German pontiff.

Gratitude for scientific work

The pope expressed his gratitude to the scientists and benefactors associated with the foundation, whose work sustains the activities of the Vatican Observatory.

“Your generosity makes it possible for the Vatican Observatory to share the wonder of astronomy with students around the world and to offer workshops and summer courses to those working in Catholic schools and parishes," he said.

"Ultimately, it is your dedication that keeps the observatory’s telescopes and laboratories faithful to their original purpose: to be places where the glory of God’s creation is encountered with reverence, depth, and joy,” he added.

Finally, the pontiff exhorted them to “never lose sight of the theological vision that animates all of this."

“It’s not surprising that people of deep faith feel called to explore the origins and workings of the universe," he said. "The desire to better understand creation is but a reflection of that restless yearning for God that dwells in the heart of every human being."

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 brief conversation with EWTN News, Parolin revealed that “we also talked about concrete initiatives regarding peace” with the prime minister, such as a conference on peace in Haiti, but “there is nothing in particular at the moment.” The secretary of state acknowledged that the local Church “is certainly active, helps, and contributes” on the ground.

“During the cordial talks,” the Holy See Press Office said in a release, both sides appreciated “good relations,” stressing the “valuable contribution that the Church offers to the country at this particular time.”

They touched upon “the socio-political situation and problems in the humanitarian field, migration, and security fields” while mentioning “the necessary contribution of the international community to face current difficulties,” the communiqué concluded.

Haiti is experiencing a multidimensional crisis. The country was struck by a devastating earthquake in 2010 and a subsequent cholera outbreak. In 2021, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, and the security and political situation deteriorated. Armed gangs control large parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and there have not been general elections for a decade. The next general elections are scheduled for Aug. 30.

“We want to organize elections, ensure security, and move from receiving humanitarian aid to entering the commerce and market,” the prime minister said after the Mass for peace in Haiti, presided over by Parolin in the Basilica of St. Mary Major following the audience at the Vatican.

Fils-Aimé added that the audience with Pope Leo “was very emotional.” He appreciated “the exceptional relation with the Holy See,” highlighting that “the morale of the Catholic Church” is a “positive” factor in Haitian society.

“Looking at the current international situation,” Parolin said in his homily, “we can all recognize how much our world needs Godʼs presence and, therefore, the gift of peace.”

The Vaticanʼs secretary of state said that “peace is the first gift of the Resurrected” and so “we are called to bring Christʼs peace to the world.” Quoting St. Augustine, the prelate underscored that “peace is not a mere absence of war, as it has a profound significance and challenges all of us.”

He ended his homily with the hope that “peace may reign in Haiti forever.”

New embassy inaugurated near the Vatican walls

On Sunday, May 10, the prime minister and Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs Minister Raina Forbin inaugurated the new seat of the embassy of Haiti to the Holy See, located just off the Vatican walls.

“It is not just a simple change of address,” said the embassyʼs chargé dʼaffaires, Marie Guerline Janvier, adding that it shows “a political will to strengthen traditional and privileged relations with the Holy See.”

In this way, Haiti hopes to increase its visibility at the Holy See and to facilitate dialogue and collaboration.

There are three personal ordinariates erected for former Anglicans who convert to Catholicism: the Chair of Saint Peter for the United States and Canada, Our Lady of Walsingham for the United Kingdom, and Our Lady of the Southern Cross for Australia.

The Vatican also announced on May 11 that Archbishop Anthony Randazzo — who was named prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts in March — has concluded his role as apostolic administrator of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, which began on July 1, 2023.

Each of the three ordinariates is a personal (non-territorial) jurisdiction, similar to a diocese but defined by people (those with an Anglican background who have entered full communion with the Catholic Church) rather than by strict geographical boundaries. Any Catholic may belong to or attend an ordinariate parish.

“As I conclude my time as apostolic administrator, I give thanks for the grace-filled growth of the Ordinariate [of Our Lady of the Southern Cross] and the faithful witness of its clergy and people,” Randazzo wrote on his Facebook page on May 11.

“It has been a privilege to serve the Ordinariate during this period of renewal and hope,” he said. “I am encouraged by the strong foundations laid and the emerging signs of vitality, and I remain confident that its mission will bear fruit well into the future.”

Randazzo was also the bishop of Broken Bay, Australia, from 2019 to 2026.

Lopes, who was ordained a bishop for the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter in 2016, wrote to members in an email on May 11 that he has been privileged to come to know the Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross over the years and to now “be its custodian for a while.”

Lopes has been appointed apostolic administrator “sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis,” which means “the see being vacant and at the disposition of the Holy See.”

Lopes, who is originally from California, has a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Ordained a priest in 2001, he served as an official at the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2005 until his appointment as bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, of which the mother church and cathedral is in Houston.

The Vatican reaffirmed its support for the personal ordinariates in a document issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in March.

In “Characteristics of the Anglican Heritage as Lived in the Ordinariates Established Under the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus,” the Vatican highlighted key characteristics of the Anglican patrimony as lived in the ordinariates, including a distinctive “ecclesial ethos” in which both the laity and the clergy participate actively in Church governance, and a focus on evangelization through beauty in worship, music, and art.

The pope made the appeal during an audience with participants in the eighth colloquium between the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, held under the theme “Human Compassion and Empathy in Modern Times.”

In his address in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father said compassion and empathy are essential for “what it means to live a truly human life.”

The pope noted that the Muslim tradition associates compassion with mercy, “as a gift bestowed by God in the hearts of believers,” and that compassion “always has its origin in God himself.”

Likewise, he said, the Christian tradition’s sacred Scripture “reveals a God who does not remain indifferent to suffering.”

“In Jesus Christ, this divine compassion becomes visible and tangible,” he said. “God goes beyond seeing and hearing by taking on our human nature in order to become the living embodiment of compassion.”

Following Jesus’ example, Leo said, Christian compassion “becomes a sharing in or ‘suffering with’ others, particularly the most disadvantaged.”

“For our traditions, human compassion and empathy are not something additional or optional but are a call from God to reflect his goodness in our daily lives,” the pope said.

Addressing Jordan’s Prince Hasan bin Talal, who was present at the audience, the Holy Father expressed appreciation “for the generous efforts of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in welcoming refugees and assisting those in need in difficult circumstances.”

Leo lamented that “compassion and empathy are sadly in danger of disappearing today” in a society marked by technological advances that, in his view, “have made us more connected than ever before, but they can also lead to indifference.”

“The constant flow of images and videos of the hardships of others can dull our hearts rather than stir them,” he warned.

In the face of this reality, Leo said Christians and Muslims are called to a common mission: “to revive humanity where it has grown cold, to give voice to those who suffer and to transform indifference into solidarity.”

“Compassion and empathy can be our instruments as they have the power to restore the dignity of the other,” the pope added.

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

Speaking after the Marian prayer May 10, the pope said he had learned “with deep concern of the reports regarding the growing violence in the Sahel region, particularly in Chad and Mali,” which have recently suffered terrorist attacks.

“I offer the assurance of my heartfelt prayers for the victims and my spiritual closeness to all those who are suffering as a result of the tragic events,” he said. “I fervently hope that every form of violence may cease, and I encourage all efforts aimed at fostering peace and development in that beloved land.”

The pope also marked the annual “Day of Coptic-Catholic Friendship,” extending “fraternal greetings” to Pope Tawadros II and assuring “the entire beloved Coptic Church” of his “remembrance in prayer.”

“It is my hope that our journey of friendship will lead us to perfect unity in Christ, who has called us ‘friends,’” he said.

In Spanish, Pope Leo XIV thanked the people of the Canary Islands who, “with the hospitality characteristic of them,” welcomed the Hondius cruise ship and the passengers infected with hantavirus.

“I look forward to seeing all of you next month during my visit to the Islands,” he said.

The pope also offered a Mother’s Day greeting, asking Mary, “the mother of Jesus and our own mother,” to intercede for all mothers.

“Let us pray with love and gratitude for every mother, particularly those living in very difficult circumstances,” he said. “Thank you! May God bless you!”

Before the Regina Coeli, Pope Leo reflected on the Gospel for the Sixth Sunday of Easter in which Jesus tells his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

The pope said the words of Jesus free Christians from the misconception “that we are loved because we keep the commandments, as if our righteousness were a prerequisite for God’s love.”

“On the contrary, God’s love is the basis for our righteousness,” he said.

Jesus’ words, he said, are “an invitation to enter into a relationship, not a blackmail or a suspicious ultimatum.”

The Lord commands his followers to love one another as he has loved them, Pope Leo said, because “it is Jesus’ love that begets love within us.”

Christ, he said, is “the standard, the measure of true love: the love that is faithful forever, pure and unconditional,” the love that knows no “buts” or “maybes.”

“Because God loved us first, we too can love, and when we truly love God, we truly love one another,” he said.

The pope said the Lord’s commandments are “a way of life that heal us from false loves” and “a spiritual lifestyle that is a path towards salvation.”

Because God loves his people, the pope continued, he “does not leave us alone in life’s trials” but promises the Paraclete, the Advocate, the “Spirit of truth.”

The Holy Spirit, he said, is a gift that “the world cannot receive” as long as it persists in evil, “oppressing the poor, excluding the weak and killing the innocent.” But those who respond to Jesus’ love for all “will find in the Holy Spirit an ally who will never fail.”

Pope Leo said Christians can always bear witness to “God, who is love,” adding that love is “not an idea of the human mind but the reality of divine life, through which all things were created out of nothing and redeemed from death.”

Jesus, he said, shares with believers his identity as the beloved Son: “I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”

This “all-encompassing communion of life,” the pope said, refutes the accuser, the adversary of the Paraclete, who seeks to set humanity against God and people against one another. Jesus does the opposite, he said, “saving us from evil and uniting us as a people of brothers and sisters in the Church.”

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.

His words were delivered during an audience with members of the association, which took place Saturday, May 9, at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

The Holy Father stated that the work of AISLA “unites people experiencing an illness — along with their family members and caregivers — in a therapeutic alliance of great closeness and proximity that faithfully reflects the manner in which Jesus himself approached those who suffer.”

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, affects nerve cells in the brain, brainstem, and spinal cord that control the movement of voluntary muscles. The disease causes motor nerve cells to deteriorate or die, rendering them unable to send messages to the muscles.

Over time, this leads to muscle weakness, spasms, and an inability to move the arms, legs, and body. The condition continues to worsen, and when the muscles in the chest area cease to function, breathing becomes difficult or impossible.

The pope expressed that patients — with commitment, faith, and courage — “bear witness that the goodness and value of life are greater than illness” and that the challenges it presents “can be faced together, transforming them into special and privileged opportunities to give and receive love.”

“Thank you for this! As prophets, you teach everyone the true value of life — and our world desperately needs this message!” Pope Leo said.

He strongly emphasized the closeness of the association’s members to the sick — something he said he considers “very important,” as healthcare requires presence “for the well-being of the person in their various dimensions: biological, psychological, and spiritual.”

“The Church deeply senses the value of this ‘closeness’: standing alongside people — wherever they are, in their homes — to offer support, not only in terms of care but also in terms of spirituality, paying special attention to the questions regarding the meaning of suffering — questions that cannot be left unanswered,” he underscored.

“In the various situations of life — especially the difficult ones — no one should be left alone; and volunteering, which unites people through generosity, powerfully embodies this value by fostering solidarity and respect, and by responding with gestures of care to the culture of waste and death,” he added.

Finally, he invited them to reflect upon the passion of Jesus, who chose to experience it “as a time of trial, of physical pain and spiritual suffering,” standing in solidarity with humanity to the very end and demonstrating to them “that pain and suffering cannot halt love nor nullify the power of God.”

Augustiner Brewery delivers beer

On May 9, Pope Leo also received pilgrims from the Edith Haberland-Wagner Foundation and the Augustiner Brewery, who presented him with beer as a gift. This gesture allowed the pontiff to offer two points for reflection.

First, he highlighted the pilgrims' connection to the Augustinian order, to which he himself belongs. In this regard, he recalled the impact of St. Augustine on his own life — a figure who “reminds us that we all possess gifts and talents bestowed upon us by God and that our purpose, fulfillment, and joy derive from offering them in loving service to God and to our neighbor.”

The Augustiner Brewery is the oldest brewery in Munich and the last to remain privately owned. Its history dates back to 1328.

“I hope, therefore, that your pilgrimage not only strengthens you in faith but also inspires you to continue serving your brothers and sisters, especially those most in need,” he affirmed.

Then, recalling Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, the Holy Father stated that man is called not only to care for creation but also to “ensure that its resources are always used with wisdom and with a view to justice — an indispensable prerequisite for peace.”

“Therefore, upon returning home, I encourage you to continue contributing to the promotion of a just and effective approach to the care of creation, both in the professional and personal spheres, for the common good,” he concluded, imparting his blessing upon all present.

Following the meeting, the Holy See Press Office reported that the discussions between the two men focused on “the good relations between the Holy See and Haiti” and “the valuable contribution that the Church offers to the country at this particular time.”

The meeting’s readout indicated that various current issues facing Haiti were also addressed during the meeting, including “the socio-political situation and challenges in the humanitarian matters, migration, and security” as well as “the necessary contribution of the international community in addressing the present difficulties.”

Following his meeting with the Holy Father, the prime minister was received by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.

Haiti’s ongoing turmoil

Haiti continues to experience a complex situation of violence and insecurity, particularly in the country’s capital of Port-au-Prince, where armed gangs operate freely, controlling a large portion of the region.

In the midst of this backdrop, which also affects the Catholic Church, general elections are scheduled to be held on Aug. 30 to elect the new president and members of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies as well as mayors.

The last elections in Haiti took place in 2016 and were marked by controversy. Following that process, Jovenel Moïse assumed the presidency. Moïse was assassinated in 2021 and since then Haiti has spiraled into further political chaos and violence.

Given the situation, in February of this year Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau-Miragoâne, the current vice president of the country’s bishops’ conference, anticipated that this year’s elections will neither be “transparent” nor “democratic.”

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 statement, Monsignor Robert D. Murphy, interim chargé dʼaffaires of the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the U.N., explained that the Holy See’s approach “is rooted in the Gospel and developed in Catholic social teaching, with the God-given dignity of every human person at its core."

He articulated several priorities, among them the protection of the lives of migrants, family unity, and the impact of technology on migration processes.

The statement was part of the policy debate regarding the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM), highlighting key current and emerging challenges.

The obligation to protect lives

Regarding the protection of life, Murphy expressed his concern about the vulnerability of migrants on dangerous routes, pointing out that “protecting migrants’ lives is an obligation under international law, based on the fundamental right to life.”

He also emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation in search and rescue operations and of ensuring that the right to life “is never subordinated to any other interests.”

With regard to family reunification, Murphy noted that regular pathways for this purpose remain limited and called for greater efforts to promote family unity, including its integration into labor mobility schemes and ensuring access to education and healthcare, with particular attention to minors.

The Vatican representative also addressed the role of technological innovation, recognizing its potential to improve migration systems and make them “more predictable, accessible, and efficient,” as seen with advancements made in telemedicine, digital recruitment tools, and online consular services.

However, he warned of the risks associated with the use of surveillance technologies at borders, which, he said, “has raised concerns” within the Holy See “regarding potential human rights violations.”

In this context, he drew attention to the need to establish “adequate safeguards, robust oversight, and full respect for migrants’ right to privacy.”

Online recruitment systems

The priest also denounced the phenomenon of so-called “cyber-slavery,” a growing threat driven by criminal networks that exploit globalization and technology, which he characterized as “particularly disturbing,” noting that in these cases, victims are coerced into participating in criminal activities such as online fraud or drug trafficking.

These forms of violence, he noted, “are not isolated incidents, but symptoms of a culture that has forgotten how to love as Christ loves.”

In his conclusion, Murphy quoted Pope Leo XIV to underscore the human dimension of migration: “Every migrant is a person and, as such, has inalienable rights that must be respected in every situation. Not all migrants move by choice, but many are forced to flee because of violence, persecution, conflict, and even the effects of climate change.”

Based on this situation, the Holy See warned that the debate on migration governance must not be reduced to a technical exercise.

“Behind each objective of the GCM and policy effort stands the God-given dignity of migrants, demanding not only better governance but also solidarity, collective responsibility, and sustained efforts to ensure their protection and inclusion,” he pointed out.

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 Holy Father visited the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei and met with the public before concelebrating the Eucharist in the Piazza Bartolo Longo.

Later, in Naples, he met with clergy and visited the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary.

Here is a look in photos of Pope Leo XIVʼs activities in Pompei and Naples as he marked one year as pope:

Leo celebrated Mass for an estimated 20,000 people outside the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompei, whose feast day is May 8, during the day trip to Pompei and Naples.

“Exactly one year ago,” the pope said in his homily, amid thunderous applause from the assembled faithful, “when the ministry of successor of Peter was entrusted to me, it was precisely the day of the Supplication to the Virgin, this beautiful day of the Supplication to the Virgin of the Holy Rosary of Pompei! I therefore had to come here, to place my service under the protection of the Holy Virgin.”

“Having then chosen the name Leo places me in the footsteps of Leo XIII, who, among his many merits, also developed a rich magisterium on the holy rosary. Added to all of this is the recent canonization of St. Bartolo Longo, apostle of the rosary,” Leo added.

Before Mass, the pope — who flew about 150 miles from Rome to Pompei by helicopter early on May 8 — visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompei. Despite forecasts of rain, thousands of people filled Bartolo Longo Square from the first light of dawn.

At the shrine, the Holy Father met the “Temple of Charity,” an organization that welcomes and assists people coming from situations of hardship.

“Good morning, Pompei! Our Mother Mary — our mom — is always with us,” the pope said, informally greeting the faithful who were waiting for Mass. Before the Eucharistic celebration, Leo also greeted the sick and people with disabilities inside the shrine.

The pope’s homily at the outdoor Mass focused on the power of the rosary.

“The Hail Mary repeated in the holy rosary is an act of love,” he said. “Generations of believers have been shaped and safeguarded by this prayer — simple and popular, yet at the same time capable of mystical heights and a treasure chest of the most essential Christian theology.”

He also called the Hail Mary prayer “an invitation to joy.”

“It tells Mary, and in her all of us, that upon the ruins of our humanity, tried by sin and therefore always inclined to abuses, oppression, and war, the caress of God has come — the caress of mercy, which in Jesus takes on a human face. Mary thus becomes the mother of mercy.”

“When St. John Paul II proclaimed the Year of the Rosary [2002–2003], he wished to place it in a special way under the gaze of the Virgin of Pompei,” Leo XIV continued. “Times have not improved since then. The wars still being fought in so many regions of the world call for renewed commitment, not only economic and political, but also spiritual and religious.”

“Peace is born within the heart,” he added. “We cannot resign ourselves to the images of death that the news presents to us every day. St. Bartolo Longo, reflecting on Mary’s faith, called her ‘omnipotent by grace.’ Through her intercession, may an abundant outpouring of mercy come from the God of peace — touching hearts, calming resentments and fratricidal hatred, and enlightening those who bear special responsibilities of governance. No earthly power will save the world, but only the divine power of love.”

At the conclusion of Mass, Pope Leo prayed together with the faithful the traditional Supplication to Our Lady of Pompei.

The Supplication to the Queen of the Holy Rosary of Pompei was written in 1883 by St. Bartolo Longo. It is solemnly recited twice a year, at noon on May 8 and on the first Sunday of October. The supplication was composed in response to the invitation that Pope Leo XIII addressed to Catholics in his first encyclical on the rosary, Supremi Apostolatus Officio, calling for a spiritual commitment to confront the evils of society.

Visit to Naples

After lunch in private, Pope Leo took a helicopter about 16 miles northwest to Naples, the capital city of the Campania region of Italy, where he met with priests and religious brothers and sisters in the Naples cathedral.

During his visit to the cathedral, Leo stopped in the Chapel of the Treasure of St. Januarius, where the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius had taken place on May 3. The pope kissed the relic and with it blessed those in the packed cathedral.

After some time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the pope addressed the Catholic community: “What I therefore ask of you is this: Listen to one another, walk together, create a symphony of charisms and ministries, and in this way find ways to move from a pastoral ministry of maintenance to a missionary pastoral ministry, capable of engaging with the concrete lives of people.”

“In a city marked by inequality, youth unemployment, school dropout rates, and fragile family situations, the proclamation of the Gospel cannot be separated from a concrete and supportive presence that involves everyone — priests, religious, and laypeople alike,” he added.

Pope Leo XIV then arrived in the popemobile to Piazza del Plebiscito, the main square of Naples, where authorities estimate about 50,000 people were present.

The pope’s address focused on peace and justice: a peace that “begins in the human heart, passes through relationships, takes root in neighborhoods and on the outskirts, and expands to embrace the entire city and the world.” A peace that needs justice “to be authentic” and that “can never be separated from charity.”

Leo also spoke about the “Neapolitan paradox:” on the one hand, the significant increase in tourism, which however struggles to correspond to “economic dynamism capable of truly involving the entire social community.” He described a city “marked by a social divide that no longer separates the center from the outskirts but is even evident within every area, with existential peripheries nested even in the heart of the historic center.” Faced with these disparities, Pope Leo XIV recalled the presence of the state as “more necessary than ever, to provide security and confidence to citizens and to take space away from organized crime.”

He then encouraged moving forward with the projects of hope taking shape in the city: “Gather your strength, work together, walk united — institutions, Church, and civil society — to connect the city, protect your children from the snares of hardship and evil, and restore to Naples its vocation to be a capital of humanity and hope.”

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

One year later, Pope Leo has captured the hearts of the faithful through his papal trips, events like canonizations and special liturgies, as well as through his spoken and printed words, including an apostolic letter, and much more.

Here are 10 of the most significant events and moments of Leo XIV’s first year as pope:

The new pontiffʼs inaugural Mass

On May 18, 2025, Pope Leo XIV inaugurated his pontificate with a Mass in St. Peter’s Square calling for a united Church. Addressing approximately 150,000 attendees, he emphasized fraternal communion, servant leadership, and reconciliation, marking the official start of his ministry as the 266th successor of St. Peter.

At the Mass, concelebrated with the members of the College of Cardinals, Leo expressed his intention to “come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family.”

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Visit to Pope Francis’ tomb

Less than 48 hours after his election, Pope Leo made his first visit outside of the Vatican visiting the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, located about an hour east of Rome and run by the religious of the Order of St. Augustine.

On his way back to the Vatican, the new pontiff stopped at the Basilica of St. Mary Major where he prayed before the tomb of Pope Francis and the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary there, “Salus Populi Romani.”

Pope Leo left a white rose, which is said to have been Pope Francis’ favorite flower.

Impactful addresses to youth

Throughout his first year as pope, the Holy Father has had powerful experiences with young people. Two in particular that stand out are his addresses to roughly 1 million young adults during the Jubilee of Youth and his live talk with young people gathered at the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC).

During the Jubilee of Youth, which took place July 28–Aug. 3 and was part of the yearlong Jubilee of Hope, young adults from around the world filled the streets of Rome. Each day was filled with different opportunities and events for the young people to experience the richness of the Catholic faith.

On Aug. 2, Pope Leo was greeted by the largest crowd he had addressed during his pontificate so far for the evening vigil at Tor Vergata, an outdoor venue 10 miles east of Rome. An estimated 1 million people were in attendance. The Holy Father arrived by helicopter and then drove through the grounds on the popemobile, waving to the cheering young people before the prayer service began.

The Jubilee of Youth concluded on Aug. 3 with a Mass celebrated by Pope Leo on the 237-acre grounds of Tor Vergata, where more than a million young pilgrims had spent the night following a prayer vigil and Eucharistic adoration.

In his homily, Pope Leo invited the pilgrims to open their hearts to God and venture with him “towards eternity.”

NCYC took place in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium from Nov. 20–22. On Nov. 21, Pope Leo held a historic digital encounter with American teenagers.

During this live conversation, five teenagers asked the pope questions regarding using technology, recovering from mistakes, giving worries to Jesus, avoiding distractions, and preparing for the future of the Church. The pope gave guidance to the young crowd with words applicable to both teenagers and the universal Church.

Canonizations of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis

On Sept. 7, 2025, Pope Leo canonized Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis in his first canonization ceremony before an estimated 70,000 people in St. Peter’s Square.

“Today we look to St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis: a young man from the early 20th century and a teenager from our own day, both in love with Jesus and ready to give everything for him,” he said during his homily.

He added: “Dear friends, Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces.”

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Release of his first apostolic letter

Pope Leo XIV released his first apostolic letter, Dilexi Te, on Oct. 9, 2025. The document emphasizes the idea that the poor are not simply objects of charity but also evangelists who can prompt us to conversion through their example of weakness and reliance on God.

“The poor can act as silent teachers for us, making us conscious of our presumption and instilling within us a rightful spirit of humility,” Leo writes in Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You”). “The elderly, for example, by their physical frailty, remind us of our own fragility, even as we attempt to conceal it behind our apparent prosperity and outward appearance. The poor ... remind us how uncertain and empty our seemingly safe and secure lives may be.”

The pontiff quotes his predecessor throughout the document, which was first drafted during Pope Francis' pontificate and draws heavily on the late popeʼs first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, on the joy of the Gospel.

First major international trip: Turkey and Lebanon

Pope Leo made his first international papal trip to Turkey and Lebanon Nov. 27–Dec. 2, 2025. The wide-ranging international visit included historic ecumenical encounters, deeply symbolic gestures of prayer, and pastoral visits to Christian communities under pressure. Pope Leo highlighted the importance of unity, peace, and fraternity, and brought encouragement to a region marked by ancient faith and present suffering.

One highlight from his time in Turkey included the commemoration of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea alongside Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople in the Turkish city of Iznik, the site of the Council of Nicaea, historically known as the birthplace of the Nicene Creed.

In Lebanon, Pope Leo became the first pope in history to visit the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf when he arrived at the Monastery of St. Maron in Annaya.

An extraordinary consistory

In his opening address at an extraordinary consistory — which convened from Jan. 7–8 — Pope Leo assured the cardinals from around the world gathered at the Vatican that “I am here to listen.”

This extraordinary consistory — different from the ordinary ones, which are more limited and frequent — was scheduled to take place immediately after the Jubilee of Hope to “offer support and advice to the Holy Father in the exercise of his high and arduous responsibility of governing the Church,” according to a statement from the Holy See.

The consistory was a closed-door meeting to which no media were admitted, and cardinals were asked to keep the proceedings confidential. However, the cardinals were expected to offer the new pontiff their views on two specific topics: the Synod and synodality, and the mission of evangelization and the missionary character of the Church.

First Holy Week and Easter celebrations as pope

During Holy Week and Easter 2026, Pope Leo presided over the Church’s most solemn liturgies in Rome, beginning with Palm Sunday and continuing through the chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the Good Friday Passion celebration, the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum, the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica, and finally Easter Sunday Mass with the “urbi et orbi” blessing from St. Peter’s Square.

This was the first time in several years that a pope participated in all the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter. Due to Pope Francis’ declining health toward the end of his papacy, he had to scale back his participation in many of these events.

Pope Leo was also the first pope since John Paul II in 1994 to carry the wooden cross to all 14 stations during the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum on Good Friday.

Historic 11-day trip to Africa

Pope Leo spent 11 days in Africa — from April 13–23 — and visited four countries: Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. During this trip, he traveled more than 11,000 miles on 18 separate flights. With stops in 11 cities across those countries, the Holy Father met with the youth, political leaders, prisoners, families, and many more to share the Gospel message.

Throughout his journey, he emphasized themes of peace, reconciliation, and economic justice, meeting with local leaders, clergy, and lay faithful. Large crowds gathered for outdoor Masses, reflecting the vibrancy and rapid growth of Catholicism in many African communities.

One of the highlights of the trip was Pope Leo’s visit to Annaba — ancient Hippo — in what for the Augustinian pontiff amounted to a return to the roots of his faith and vocation. Despite pouring rain, the pope walked through the ruins and, at the end of the route, laid a wreath of flowers and stopped for a moment of prayer, visibly moved.

The pope also paid a visit to the Bata penitentiary in Equatorial Guinea and told inmates that “no one is excluded from God’s love” and urged them to see that even behind bars, there remains the possibility of change, reconciliation, and hope. This prison is one of the country’s harshest, known for its difficult conditions.

Strong messaging on war and peace

The Holy Father has made peace a defining theme of his pontificate from the very beginning, opening his first public remarks with the words “Peace be with you.” That simple greeting set the tone for a broader vision — one rooted in the Gospel but directed squarely at a world marked by conflict and division.

In homilies and international addresses, he has consistently framed peace not as the absence of war but as an active, daily commitment grounded in justice, reconciliation, and respect for human dignity.

The pope has urged world leaders to reject cycles of violence and instead foster what he has called a “culture of peace.” Speaking in the context of ongoing global tensions, he has warned against the normalization of war as a tool of policy, insisting that lasting solutions can only come through dialogue and mutual understanding.

The pope has also addressed the dangers of modern warfare, including the threat of nuclear escalation. He has called for renewed international efforts toward disarmament and de-escalation, emphasizing that the destructive power of nuclear weapons demands a moral as well as political response.

Reiterating the Church’s long-standing teaching, Pope Leo has encouraged nations to pursue diplomacy over aggression, presenting dialogue not as weakness but as the strongest and most enduring path to peace.

The pope made the remarks May 7 during an audience at the Vatican with employees of the Vatican Publishing House, or Libreria Editrice Vaticana, which was founded in 1926 and is celebrating its centenary this year.

The Holy Father said the book “is an opportunity to think,” defending the physicality of printed books in an increasingly digital culture because, he said, they remind readers of the importance of “thought, reflection, and study.”

“Reading nourishes the mind; it helps to foster a conscious and well-formed critical sense, guarding us against fundamentalism and ideological shortcuts,” Pope Leo said.

“For this reason, I urge everyone to read books, as an antidote to closed-mindedness, which is reflected in rigid attitudes and reductive views of reality,” he added.

The pope also emphasized that books offer an opportunity for encounter.

“When we hold a book in our hands, we ideally encounter its author,” he said. “But at the same time, we meet those who have read it before us, or who are reading it now or will read it in the future.”

Pope Leo noted that Pope Francis had taught Catholics “to practice the culture of encounter,” adding that “a book is a bridge to others, a source of dialogue that enriches us, a stimulus to expand our own perspective.”

For Christians in particular, the pope said, books can be “an opportunity to proclaim Christ.”

“We know well how reading a saint’s biography or a well-written spiritual reflection can touch the heart,” he said.

He also pointed to the Virgin Mary, who is often depicted in the Annunciation “intent on reading the holy Scriptures,” and to St. Anthony of Padua, who is commonly shown holding “the open Book of the Gospels, upon which the Infant Jesus stands.”

“We often see St. Augustine seated at a desk before a large book and, at times, holding a heart in his hand: truth and charity,” the pope said.

“At the school of Mary and the saints, let us nourish ourselves with the word of God, so that it may shape our way of thinking and acting,” Pope Leo added.

The pope concluded by recalling the words of St. Paul VI, who in 1976 met with employees of the Vatican Publishing House for its 50th anniversary and urged them to “look ahead, to refine ideas and plans for the future.”

“I thank you for your work, which I hope you will carry out with dedication and passion,” Pope Leo said. “And I cordially bless each of you and your loved ones.”

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 ceremony took place May 6 in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican in the presence of the pontiff, members of the Holy See Diplomatic Corps, and the family and friends of the 28 recruits.

At the high point of the ceremony, in a gesture laden with tradition, each recruit held the banner of the Pontifical Swiss Guard with his left hand, raised three fingers with his right, and recited the oath swearing to protect the pope, even at the cost of his life.

This gesture, more than just an oath of allegiance, also commemorates the 147 Swiss Guards who died defending Pope Clement VII during the Sack of Rome on May 6, 1527.

In his address after the ceremony, Leo thanked the recruits, describing their future service as a “commitment of fidelity, inspired by youthful enthusiasm and grounded in faith in God and love for the Church.”

On Thursday, the pope held a private audience with the new Swiss Guards and their families. Leo took this occasion to remind them of the beauty of their calling and described them as servants of Christ, called not only to serve the Holy See but also those most in need.

“More than soldiers, you are servants who, in the image of Christ, go out to meet those who need your help: not only members of the Curia or officials visiting the Vatican but also pilgrims and tourists,” the pope said. “Always remember these words of Jesus: ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these, my brothers, you did for me’ (Mt 25:40).”

Trump has expressed his disapproval of Leoʼs public statements denouncing the U.S.-led war on Iran. The Holy Father has repeatedly called for peace amid the ongoing conflict.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Department of State, the pontiff and Rubio discussed “the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere.”

It also stated that their meeting “underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity.”

The Holy See published its own statement of the meeting, which, according to Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni, lasted for 45 minutes.

Instagram post

The statement described the meeting as an encounter where “cordial discussions” took place regarding the “fostering of strong bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America.”

This week Trump expressed his desire that Rubio tell the pope that "Iran cannot have nuclear weapons.” The president has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that Leo wants the Middle Eastern country to develop nuclear armaments.

Leo has rejected those allegations. On May 5 at Castel Gandolfo he stated that the Church "has spoken for years against all nuclear weapons." On Wednesday, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin stated that the Holy See "has always worked, and will continue to work, on nuclear disarmament."

Parolin, who also met Rubio on May 7, also described Trumpʼs recent verbal attacks against the pope as "strange."

Parolin, however, did not rule out an intervention by the Holy See but expressed hope that it would be avoided.

“It is premature now to speak of sanctions. Let us hope we never have to get to sanctions, and that problems can be resolved peacefully, as they should be in the Church,” Parolin told reporters on the sidelines at a book launch at the Patristic Institute in Rome on Wednesday.

Several members of the German Bishops' Conference, citing the Vatican declaration Fiducia Supplicans, have formalized blessings for same-sex couples in their dioceses in Germany. Recently, a 2024 letter was circulated from the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith prohibiting this practice.

Pope Leo XIV has also weighed in on the issue, recently stating that the Holy See does not agree with the German bishops with the “formalized blessing of couples" beyond the allowances of Fiducia Supplicans.

Rubio to meet with Pope Leo

Parolin also weighed in on the May 7 meeting scheduled between Leo and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. President Donald Trumpʼs recent criticisms of the pope. Parolin said the United States remains an interlocutor with the Holy See and described the latest verbal attacks against Leo as “strange.”

“We will listen to [Rubio]. We will listen to him. The initiative came from [the Trump administration]. I imagine we will talk about everything that has happened in recent days; we cannot avoid touching on these issues,” Parolin said.

Leo recently spoke to journalists at Castel Gandolfo and rejected Trumpʼs claim that the Church supports nuclear weapons. Parolin echoed those sentiments on Thursday, stating that the “Holy See has always worked, and continues to work, precisely on nuclear disarmament.”

It is the first time a Vatican text has given voice to this group in such detail. One testimony is from a man in Portugal who said he suffered a deep wound when a spiritual director suggested he could have been married to a woman to “find peace” and “use my gifts,” minimizing the affective dimension of marriage.

The man said the suggestion was painful because “it was a suggestion to harm a woman by robbing her of the chance to be completely loved and desired, all to fulfill a social expectation.” From that point, he said, he began excluding his relationship and affective life from his prayer.

The Synod also published the testimony of a U.S. Catholic man in a civil marriage with another man, an immigrant, and active in parish life. “My sexuality isn’t a perversion, disorder, or cross; it’s a gift from God,” he wrote. “I have a happy, healthy marriage and am flourishing as an openly gay Catholic.”

Both testimonies are written in English and are published on the Synod website as annexes to the final report of Study Group 9, titled “Theological Criteria and Synodal Methodologies for Shared Discernment of Emerging Doctrinal, Pastoral, and Ethical Issues.”

One of the testimonies recalls the author’s experience with Courage, a Catholic apostolate that supports people with same-sex attraction who seek to live chastely according to Church teaching. Pope Leo XIV received members of Courage at the Vatican on Feb. 6.

The man wrote that he went to the group at the suggestion of a therapist he had met to deal with his “condition.” He added: “I tried in vain to date a Catholic woman, but our relationship failed when my family faced a crisis. The time had come to be honest with myself, God, and others.”

What the Catholic Church teaches about homosexuality

Catholic teaching on homosexuality is summarized in three articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Nos. 2357, 2358, and 2359.

In these articles, the Church teaches that homosexual persons "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”

Homosexuality as a tendency is “intrinsically disordered” and “constitutes for most of them [homosexuals] a trial.”

Grounded in Scripture, tradition has always taught that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and “do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity” and therefore “under no circumstances can they be approved.”

“Homosexual persons are called to chastity,” and through “the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”

Presented to Pope Leo for study

The 32-page report, published first in Italian and presented in English as a working translation, is not a definitive doctrinal proposal. Rather, it outlines a methodological shift and will now be presented to Pope Leo XIV for study.

Drawing from the testimonies, the Synod study group says the first account describes “the devastating effects of reparative therapies aimed at recovering heterosexuality” and “contradictory advice” such as suggestions to marry a woman in order to “find peace.”

The report proposes a new approach based on listening and dialogue for addressing “emerging doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues,” including the experience of “people of faith with same-sex attractions.”

The text is rooted in what it calls the “principle of pastorality,” which stresses that Christian proclamation must take into account concrete persons and their lived experience. It proposes a change in approach to some of the most delicate questions in the life of the Church.

The report does not seek to offer total solutions but to open a path of discernment. Instead of speaking of “controversial” issues, as the subject of the report was originally announced, it proposes calling them “emerging” issues, understood as experiences that prompt the Church to rethink how to live and transmit the Gospel in diverse contexts.

The document explicitly recognizes the difficulty of harmonizing doctrine and pastoral practice. It says testimonies received by the study group show “how arduous it is for individuals and Christian communities to reconcile ‘doctrinal firmness’ with ‘pastoral welcome.’” It adds that polarized positions often result in “profound suffering, personal lacerations, and experiences of marginalization or ‘double lives’” for believers with same-sex attraction.

In this context, the report proposes a method based on three steps within what it calls “conversation in the Spirit”: listening to ourselves, paying attention to reality, and summoning various forms of expertise.

The text says this dynamic of listening seeks to foster a synodal Church in which the people of God actively participate in discernment.

The report also stresses the importance of paying attention to those living on existential, social, and cultural “peripheries.” It cites other examples of “emerging issues,” including the rise of adult catechumens in some local Churches, which it says calls for rethinking pastoral structures.

In addition to the testimonies of two homosexual persons, Study Group 9 includes an experience of active nonviolence, as witnessed by a Serbian youth movement that helped bring about the peaceful fall of President Slobodan Milošević on Oct. 5, 2000, drawing inspiration in part from the first Christians.

The Synod also published the final report of another study group, Study Group 7, on criteria for selecting candidates for bishop.

That report says bishops should be evaluated not only for moral integrity, doctrinal orthodoxy, pastoral sensitivity, leadership ability, and capacity to administer Church goods but also for “synodal competencies.” It quotes Pope Leo XIV as saying that a bishop’s duty is “to build communion among its members and with the universal Church by fostering the variety of gifts and ministries given for its own growth and for the spread of the Gospel.”

The report also asks the dicasteries of the Roman Curia to review their procedures in a more synodal spirit and proposes regular independent evaluation of the processes for selecting bishops.

This story was updated at 5:56 p.m. ET on May 6, 2026, to include the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding homosexuality and homosexual tendencies.

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 pontiff accepted the resignation of Bishop Clarence R. Silva, 76, who has led the diocese since 2005.

According to a press release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Castori was born on Oct. 21, 1960, in Sacramento, California. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 13, 1998.

Castori has earned several academic degrees, including a bachelor’s degree in classics from Harvard University in 1982, a master of divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley in 1998, and a doctorate in Near Eastern religions from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2008.

He also received a licentiate in sacred theology from Fordham University in 2009.

He has held several teaching roles, including as an assistant professor at Santa Clara University and the Ateneo de Manila in the Philippines.

His pastoral experience includes service as chaplain to the Tongan Catholic communities in northern California and to San Quentin State Prison.

Before being appointed to Honolulu, he served as the rector of the Arrupe Jesuit Residence in Seattle.

Speaking May 6 in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said that “the Church, in fact, journeys through this earthly history always looking towards her final destination, which is the heavenly homeland.”

“This is an essential dimension which, however, we often overlook or downplay, because we are too focused on what is immediately visible and on the more concrete dynamics of the life of the Christian community,” he said.

The pope explained that “the Church lives in history in the service of the coming of the kingdom of God in the world.”

“She proclaims the words of this promise to all and always; she receives a pledge of it in the celebration of the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist; she puts its logic into practice and experiences it in relationships of love and service,” he said.

Leo said Lumen Gentium makes an important affirmation about the nature and mission of the Church.

“The Church is the ‘universal sacrament of salvation’ (LG, 48); that is, the sign and instrument of that fullness of life and peace promoted by God,” he said.

“This means that she does not identify perfectly with the kingdom of God but is its seed and beginning, for its fulfillment will be granted to humanity and the cosmos only at the end,” the pope continued.

Because of this, he said, Christians journey through history “without being either deluded or despairing,” guided by the promise of the One who will “make all things new.”

The Church, Leo said, carries out her mission between the “already” of the kingdom’s beginning in Jesus and the “not yet” of its promised fulfillment.

“As the guardian of a hope that enlightens the path, she is also invested with the mission of speaking clearly to reject everything that mortifies life and prevents its development, and to take a position in favor of the poor, the exploited, the victims of violence and war, and all those who suffer in body and in spirit,” he said.

The pope emphasized that the Church must always point beyond herself to Christ.

“As the sign and sacrament of the kingdom, the Church is the pilgrim people of God on earth who, drawing precisely on the final promise, reads and interprets the dynamics of history through the Gospel, denouncing evil in all its forms and proclaiming, in word and deed, the salvation that Christ wishes to bring about for all humanity and his kingdom of justice, love, and peace,” he said.

“The Church, therefore, does not proclaim herself; on the contrary, everything within her must point to salvation in Christ,” he added.

From this perspective, Leo said, the Church must recognize “humbly the human fragility and transience of her own institutions,” which, while at the service of God’s kingdom, “bear the fleeting image of this world.”

“No ecclesial institution can be treated as absolute; indeed, since they exist within history and time, they are called to continual conversion, to the renewal of forms and the reform of structures, to the continual regeneration of relationships, so that they may truly fulfill their mission,” the pope said.

Leo also reflected on the communion between Christians still carrying out their earthly mission and those who have already completed their earthly lives and are in purification or beatitude.

He said Lumen Gentium affirms that all Christians form “a single Church” and that there is “communion and sharing of spiritual goods” founded on believers’ union with Christ.

By praying for the dead and following the example of those who lived as disciples of Jesus, the pope said, Christians are strengthened on their own journey.

“Marked by the one Spirit and united in the one liturgy, together with those who have gone before us in faith, we praise and give glory to the Most Holy Trinity,” he said.

The pope concluded: “Let us be grateful to the Council Fathers for reminding us of this most important and beautiful aspect of being Christian, and may we strive to cultivate it in our lives.”

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 American president has repeatedly said he doesn’t want a pope who thinks Iran should have a nuclear weapon, even though the pope has never endorsed that view and has consistently spoken against nuclear arms.

Pope Leo XIV said May 5: “I have already spoken from the very first moment of being elected, and now we are close to the anniversary. I said, ‘Peace be with you,’ and the Church’s mission is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully.”

“The Church has spoken for years against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there. And so I simply hope to be listened to for the value of God’s words,” Leo said to the press outside the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo before returning to Rome after a daylong stay there, two days before a scheduled meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Trump said May 4 on the "The Hugh Hewitt Show": “The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think that’s very good. I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people, but I guess if it’s up to the pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

“I donʼt want a pope who thinks itʼs OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on April 12.

Leo has never said that Iran should have nuclear weapons, and he has spoken specifically against nuclear weapons:

• “May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity," he said in a March 5 video message.
• In June 2025, he called for a world free from nuclear threat in appealing for peace between Iran and Israel.

Pope Leo answered an EWTN reporter’s question about whether his statement that “God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war” applies to all who take up arms, even in self-defense, or only to unjust aggressors.

“Self-defense has traditionally always been allowed by the Church,” Pope Leo XIV said.

“To talk about just war today, itʼs a very complex problem. You have to analyze it on many levels, but ever since the entrance into the nuclear age, the whole concept of war has to be reevaluated with terms today,” Leo said.

“I always believe that itʼs much better to enter into dialogue than to look for arms and to support the arms industry, which gains billions and billions of dollars each year, instead of sitting down at the table solving our problems and using money to solve humanitarian issues, hunger in the world, et cetera,” he said.

For a war to be justified, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it must be waged to fight against a grave evil, the damage caused by waging the war cannot be graver than the evil it is meant to eliminate, there must be a serious prospect of success, and all alternatives to war must have already been tried. The decision to go to war must be made by a lawful authority responsible for the common good. All criteria must be met to qualify as a just war.

Meeting with Rubio

The pope’s meeting with Rubio this week follows a period of tension between the Holy See and the Trump administration. In April, Trump attacked the pontiff on social media, calling him “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy” in response to the pontiffʼs appeals for peace amid the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. The pope told reporters he “perhaps” may comment on the meeting with Rubio afterward.

Brian Burch, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, was asked May 5 about the state of the U.S.-Vatican relationship.

“I donʼt accept the idea that somehow thereʼs some deep rift,” Burch said. “I think nations have disagreements and I think one of the ways that you work through those is, as the Holy See says, is through fraternity and authentic dialogue. I think the secretary is coming here in that spirit, to have a frank conversation about U.S. policy, to engage in dialogue, to better understand each other and to work through — if there are differences — certainly to talk through that.”

The meeting will focus on “Middle East policy and our efforts there to bring about a more peaceful world,” Burch said, areas of “deep cooperation, shared interests, and in many ways, I think, shared goals.”

Burch said Rubioʼs visit “speaks to our deep desire to engage in exactly what the Holy See has called for: fraternity and authentic dialogue.”

The Church’s stance toward war is that it must be avoided. The Church has long held concerns about war to be a moral subject, with St. Augustine writing extensively about it in the early fifth century and popes and theologians both commenting on just war doctrine generally and speaking out about specific wars for centuries.

Popes seldom issue blanket rulings but Pope Benedict XV made clear World War I lacked moral legitimacy given its scale, civilian toll, and lack of proportionate ends. Pope John Paul II warned the Gulf War did not meet just war criteria. And the Vatican formally stated in 2003 that the invasion of Iraq failed just‑war standards.

In his Easter Sunday urbi et orbi message, Leo asked people of goodwill to search always for peace and not violence. He again asked people April 7 “to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and is not resolving anything,” the pope said. “We have a worldwide economic crisis, energy crisis, situation in the Middle East of great instability, which is only provoking more hatred throughout the world.”

Pope Leo XIV in his Easter homily called for peace throughout the world, urging Christians to carry the hope of the Resurrection into a world wounded by war, violence, and injustice.

Tyler Arnold and Brian Schumacher contributed to this story.

They were pioneers in publishing the cases of their abusive priests — an unprecedented step in consecrated life — and in submitting 80 years of a dark history to public scrutiny. Today, they are an ecclesial reference point for transparency. Now, Father Carlos Gutiérrez López, 51, the new general director elected in February, speaks with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, about the road that still lies ahead.

It is a path of expiation that began in 2006 but reached a turning point in 2019 with the publication of the “1941–2019 Report,” the first of its kind to include all cases from the congregation’s founding to the present day and throughout the world. Since then, it has been updated each year through the “Truth, Justice, and Healing” reports.

“Since we began facing this reality, although it was very painful, it also opened our eyes: There was a lot of work to do,” Gutiérrez López said. “In recent years we have been working hard to meet standards, following the documents issued by the Church, collaborating with canonical and civil authorities. We have been putting a certain order in place so we can attend to and respond to the needs of victims and provide comprehensive care in different areas.”

His priestly vocation, marked by the wound left by Maciel

His own vocational story was marked by the scandal that shook the congregation because of its founder, Mexican priest Marcial Maciel, who was responsible for extremely serious sexual abuse. Gutiérrez López was ordained a priest in 2009, just as the magnitude of Maciel’s crimes was coming to light: Maciel had sexually abused dozens of minors over several decades and had lived, as the Vatican confirmed in 2010, “a life devoid of scruples and genuine religious sentiment.”

“It was definitely something very strong, something that left all of us very perplexed, frightened, and also disillusioned,” he said in an interview with ACI Prensa. “And that meant for me a very deep process of reflection in which I had to ask why I was giving my life to God and also the question: Why remain here?”

Maciel died in 2008 without acknowledging his crimes or asking for forgiveness, even though a Vatican investigative commission had already revealed his criminal activity beyond any doubt.

After the scandal, Gutiérrez López explained, the figure of the founder ceased to be a reference point: “Definitely, the founder is no longer a spiritual reference point, a moral reference point for us. And for me, that reference point, I saw, had always been Our Lord Jesus Christ, whom we seek to imitate and with whom we also seek to have that personal relationship.”

Benedict XVI saw the light that was in them

Despite all the evil committed by the founder, Benedict XVI never failed to recognize in the Legionaries of Christ “a healthy community” made up of “young people who want to serve the faith with enthusiasm,” as the pontiff himself emphasized in the book-length interview with Peter Seewald “Light of the World.”

From the beginning, the Vatican established that the congregation’s review should be built around three fundamental axes: the redefinition of its charism or spirituality; the review of the exercise of authority — whose abusive control of consciences allowed Maciel to live a double life for years — and the guarantee of adequate formation for seminarians and priests. In addition, to complete the long process of purification, a constant dialogue was opened with victims inside and outside the Legion.

“The Church accompanied us throughout a whole process of renewal. We reviewed constitutions, we reviewed many of the norms we had been living in the congregation, the style of apostolate we carried out — in short, it was an entire review that lasted many years,” Gutiérrez López said.

For many Legionary seminarians and priests, the support of the Church was decisive; like a “mother,” the Church “showed the way,” he emphasized.

“Seeing how the Legion was responding, I said: Well, I also want to help the Church with my priesthood to move this congregation forward, because the congregation can also contribute and give much to the Church in evangelization. In the end, we are here to serve God Our Lord, in the Church, and in this call that he made to me. As I have gone step by step, I have felt very happy, and that has also been my experience,” he said.

First meeting with Pope Leo XIV

During the audience the Legionaries had with Pope Leo XIV in February, the pontiff returned to several key points of the deep renewal they have carried out in fidelity to the Church. For example, he emphasized to them that authority in the Church must be lived as fraternal and spiritual service, not as a form of domination.

For the Mexican priest, this is a demanding but profoundly evangelical ideal.

“Yes, I really liked that part of the audience,” Gutiérrez López said.

He especially highlighted the moment when the pope invited the Legionaries to approach people “with a respectful and compassionate gaze,” aware that every encounter means entering “a sacred space.”

Drawing on his own experience as a superior and as territorial director in northern Mexico and Colombia, Gutiérrez López said he has always been clear that authority is above all a service: “For my brothers, I am offering them a service. … What they share with me is something sacred, and I have to respect that sacredness,” he said.

Gutiérrez López is not naive. He knows well that many people may wonder how it is possible to separate the deplorable actions of the founder, who was responsible for so many crimes, from the charism that the Legionaries of Christ embody today.

“It is a valid question,” he said.

In this regard, he noted that it was the Church herself that “from the beginning,” when she asked the Legionaries to “review our constitutions,” placed the fundamental question before them: “What is your charism? What is the charism and the contribution that the Legion makes?”

“The charism, I believe, is something we have been discovering, and it is nothing other than forming apostles to transmit the love of Christ, to form apostles and also send them to evangelize the world and help the Church in this evangelization,” he said.

According to the congregation’s statistics, updated as of Dec. 31, 2025, the Legionaries of Christ have 1,327 members worldwide, including 52 religious with perpetual vows and 151 with temporary vows.

Despite the wounds of the past, they continue to attract vocations: Currently, 250 minor seminarians are being formed in vocational centers, reflecting the continued weight of initial formation within the congregation.

The Legionaries of Christ belong to Regnum Christi, which also includes the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, with 479 consecrated women in 53 communities around the world; the Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, with 47 lay consecrated men in eight communities; and lay members: 21,712 lay young people and adults older than 16 and 14,353 lay members younger than 16.

In Regnum Christi’s educational work — 139 schools and 14 universities — 153,219 students are being educated.

The new general director explained that one of the keys to eradicating abuse from within the congregation has been swiftly applying standards for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults in the 23 countries where it is present.

“In recent years we have been very strict in applying these standards and in perfecting them so they can be lived well. In each of the countries where we are working, we have sought to have the necessary teams that can respond, made up of professionals. These are things that we priests cannot do alone. We need specialists — psychologists, lawyers, and so on — to help us truly be very serious in complying with these standards,” he said.

An engineer-priest with broad international experience

Affable and approachable, Gutiérrez López is used to moving in international settings. He studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum as well as industrial and systems engineering at the Monterrey Institute of Technology. He also holds a master’s degree in psychology from Divine Mercy University in the United States.

He has carried out his ministry in Chile, Italy, Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico.

“It has been a great richness to have that experience, to be in contact with different cultures, to know the needs of each country, to learn to listen, to adapt to what a society and a culture are like, to understand them in order to offer and bring them the message that leads to the Church, which is knowing Christ and living one’s faith,” he said.

“I believe that has also been personally enriching, now that my Legionary brothers have elected me to this role, so that I can respond and accompany the different territories,” he added.

Until his election as general director, he served as territorial director of northern Mexico, a region deeply wounded by violence, poverty, organized crime, and migration flows toward the United States. The Legionaries also try to be a balm for migrants — many of them deportees — amid their suffering.

“The whole situation of migrants and organized crime truly causes suffering for many families affected by this reality. What we seek, above all, is to form young people and families, to instill values in them, precisely so they can begin to change their social environment,” he said.

In this context, he explained that alongside the private schools the congregation operates in cities in northern Mexico, there are also the Mano Amiga schools, intended for families with limited resources and supported through subsidies and scholarships.

The goal is to offer these children an education that will allow them to enter a profession and pursue university studies — “a way to change the destiny of their lives, open horizons for them, and, above all, form them in values so they can transform their environment.”

With his election at the most recent general chapter, the Legionaries of Christ have entrusted Gutiérrez López with the task of continuing the congregation’s process of renewal and strengthening its evangelizing service, with special attention to the existential peripheries.

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 letter is signed by the prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and addressed to Stephan Ackermann, bishop of Trier, and through him to the entire German episcopate.

In the letter, dated Nov. 18, 2024, Rome issued a categorical rejection of a text proposing the implementation of blessings with a prescribed ritual form.

The DDF in the letter responds to a “vademecum” (an authoritative handbook or reference guide) drafted by the German episcopate in October 2024 as a guide for priests. Written in German and Italian, it was intended to serve as a practical aid for “Blessings for Couples Who Love Each Other” and was presented as an application of the declaration Fiducia Supplicans to the “pastoral reality” in Germany.

The background: Fiducia Supplicans

In 2023, the DDF published the document Fiducia Supplicans, which opened the possibility of blessing couples “in irregular situations” or of the same sex, without equating them to marriage. The text specified that such blessings could not be performed with a precise ritual nor with signs characteristic of a wedding.

The Church in Africa subsequently expressed its unanimous rejection of the document and requested clarifications from Pope Francis. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said the document did not apply to the Eastern Catholic Churches.

In the November 2024 letter, which it has published on its website, the DDF recalled that Fiducia Supplicans clearly establishes that the “Church does not have the power to confer its liturgical blessing when this, in any way, might offer a form of moral legitimation to a union that purports to be a marriage or to an extramarital sexual practice,” nor to those who claim “the legitimation of their own status.”

In light of this, Fernández’s letter notes that the German “vademecum” “speaks of a union and of an ‘official regulation’ on the part of pastors of couples who love one another outside of marriage” and even of an “acclamation,” a “gesture normally prescribed in the marriage rite.” In this regard, the Vatican states that such an act legitimizes “the status of such couples, in a manner contrary to what was affirmed by Fiducia Supplicans.”

Why the Vatican is publishing it now

The November 2024 letter began circulating widely on the internet this week, causing confusion as it was presented as if it were a recent pronouncement.

“The Holy Father stated on the return flight from Africa that the Holy See had already sent a response regarding this matter to the German bishops, and many were asking where that response was or what it said. For that reason, we decided to make it public,” Fernández explained in a statement to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

The Holy See ‘does not agree’

During his return flight to Rome following an 11-day tour of Africa, Pope Leo XIV stated to journalists on April 23 that the Holy See “does not agree with the formal blessing of homosexual couples.”

The pontiff was responding to a question from a journalist regarding a directive issued by German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising, who had urged priests and pastoral workers to offer blessings in a uniform manner to same-sex couples or to divorced and remarried individuals within his archdiocese.

Before responding directly, Leo XIV emphasized that “the unity or division of the Church should not revolve around sexual matters” and lamented the tendency to reduce Christian morality solely to that area. “In reality, I believe there are much greater and more important issues, such as justice, the equality, freedom of men and women, freedom of religion, that would all take priority before that particular issue,” he stated.

Nevertheless, the pope noted that “the Holy See has already addressed the German bishops and has made it clear that it does not agree with the formal blessing of same-sex couples.”

“When a priest gives the blessing at the end of Mass, or when the pope gives a blessing at the end of a great celebration, like the one we had today, there are blessings for all people,” he noted, recalling the famous expression of his predecessor, Francis: “Tutti, tutti, tutti” ("everyone, everyone, everyone”).

Going beyond this, Leo XIV warned, “can cause more disunity than unity.” “Everyone is invited to follow Jesus, and everyone is invited to seek conversion in their own lives,” he explained.

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 Order of St. Augustine and the Vatican Publishing House have published a book by Pope Leo XIV titled “Free Under Grace: Writings and Meditations 2001–2013,” a collection of texts written during his years as prior general of the Augustinian order.

The volume includes for the first time speeches, homilies, letters, messages, and meditations written during the more than 10 years in which Robert Francis Prevost led the Order of St. Augustine. According to a statement, the book offers readers a “closer look at his spirituality,” deeply marked by the Augustinian tradition.

The first copy of the Italian edition, which arrived in bookstores Monday — four days before the first anniversary of Leo XIV’s pontificate — was presented to Pope Leo XIV by Father Joseph Lawrence Farrell, OSA, the current prior general of the Order of St. Augustine and promoter of the publication.

Also taking part in the presentation were Father Rocco Ronzani, OSA, prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archive and one of the book’s editors, and Lorenzo Fazzini, editorial director of the Vatican Publishing House.

In addition to Ronzani, the book was edited by Augustinian Fathers Miguel Ángel Martín Juárez and Michael Di Gregorio. The official presentation of the volume took place last October during the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, though its commercial distribution in Italy began Monday.

The Vatican Publishing House confirmed to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that the text will be published in the coming months in several languages, including Spanish and English, and is currently being translated in nearly 30 countries.

“The book, which compiles many of the communications of then-Prior General Robert Francis Prevost, OSA, offers an overview of some of the important themes developed during his years at the head of the Order of St. Augustine,” Farrell said.

The pages include spiritual reflections, meditations, and homilies that anticipate central aspects of the thought and spirituality of the man who is now Pope Leo XIV.

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 meeting follows a period of tension between the Holy See and U.S. President Donald Trump. In April, Trump publicly attacked the pontiff on social media, calling him “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy” in response to the pontiffʼs appeals for peace amid the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

Rubio “will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere,” State Department spokesman Thomas “Tommy” Pigott said in a May 4 statement. Rubioʼs meetings with Italian counterparts May 6–8 will be focused on security interests and strategic alignment, the statement said.

Leo XIV has called repeatedly for a peaceful resolution to the armed conflict in the Middle East. In April, he described Trumpʼs threats against Iranian civilization as "not acceptable."

Trump criticized Leo, stating that he did not “want a pope who thinks itʼs OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” Leo responded that he had “no fear of the Trump administration” but a few days later said he had no interest in debating the president.

As originally reported by Vatican News, Rubio will meet the pope at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 7. It will be their second meeting, following their previous meeting after the popeʼs Mass of installation on May 18, 2025. U.S. Vice President JD Vance was also in attendance at that meeting.

Also on the morning of May 7, Leo will meet with the prime minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, at 9 a.m.

This story was updated at 2:25 p.m. ET on May 4, 2026, to include a statement from the U.S. State Department.

In his address to the board of directors during a private audience, the pontiff expressed gratitude for their work with the less fortunate in the United States and noted the current funding difficulties the organization and similar organizations face from the United States government.

“As was the case with the apostles and with the early Church, the proclamation of the Gospel through caring for the poor and for those most in need will always present certain difficulties on both the personal and the institutional levels,” Leo said. “I am fully aware that the Catholic Charities agencies in the United States of America are by no means immune from these challenges that continue to manifest themselves in our own day. Yet it is precisely when we are confronted with such obstacles that we must learn to hear Jesus’ voice saying to us once again, ‘I am with you always!’”

Kerry Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, described the audience with Leo as encouraging for their work in helping disadvantaged people. In a press briefing after the audience, she discussed her organizationʼs recent funding cuts from the U.S. government, citing policy differences on migration and donor skepticism following cases of abuse in the U.S. Catholic Church.

“Agencies that have had decades-long relationships with the USCCB to resettle refugees continue to care for the people in their charge, even in light of across-the-board federal cuts,” Robinson told EWTN News. “Catholic Charities USA at the national level is almost entirely privately funded, so we did not see direct cuts. For 20 years, we have been working to usher in a culture of contemporary best practices, accountability, and financial transparency to restore trust in the Church. Because of the hard work of the last two decades, we do not see that crisis negatively affecting Catholic Charities' fundraising today.”

During the audience, Robinson gave the pope a book detailing the “People of Hope: Faith-Filled Stories of Neighbors Helping Neighbors” initiative in which a museum of hope, outfitted in a car, will embark on a three-year nationwide tour, encouraging visitors to the car museum to look for ways to help the less fortunate.

Robinson described the initiative as not merely making a difference in oneʼs life but as a cause to “actually end generational cycles of violence and poverty.”

Speaking after the May 3 Regina Coeli in St. Peter’s Square, the pope noted that the day marked World Press Freedom Day, promoted by UNESCO.

“Unfortunately, this right is often violated — sometimes blatantly, sometimes in more subtle ways,” Pope Leo said. “Let us remember the many journalists and reporters who have fallen victim to wars and violence.”

The pope’s appeal came as press freedom faces growing pressure worldwide. According to the 2026 World Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders, global press freedom has deteriorated to its lowest point in at least 25 years, with more than half of the world’s countries now classified as being in a “difficult” or “very serious” situation for journalism.

The organization has warned that journalists face mounting economic pressure, direct violence, legal threats, and other restrictions that compromise the independence of the media.

The pope also marked the beginning of May, a month traditionally dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, inviting Catholics to pray the rosary.

“The month of May has begun: Throughout the Church, the joy of gathering in the name of Mary, our mother, is renewed, especially by praying the rosary together,” he said.

Leo entrusted his intentions to Mary, “particularly for communion within the Church and for peace in the world.”

Earlier, in his catechesis before the Marian prayer, the pope reflected on Sunday’s Gospel from the Last Supper, in which Jesus tells his disciples: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.”

Leo said this promise “involves us from this moment onwards in the mystery of his Resurrection” and reveals that “God has a place for everyone.”

“Even now, faced with death, Jesus speaks of a home, but this time a very large one,” he said. “It is the house of his Father and our Father, where there is room for all.”

The pope contrasted the world’s attraction to exclusive places and privileges with the new world opened by the risen Christ.

“In the new world into which the risen One leads us, however, what is most valuable is within everyone’s reach,” he said. “Gratitude takes the place of competition; welcome overcomes exclusion; and abundance no longer entails inequality.”

Leo said faith frees the heart “from the anxiety of possessing and acquiring” and from the illusion that human worth depends on prestige.

“Each person already has infinite worth in the mystery of God, which is the true reality,” he said.

By living Christ’s new commandment of love, the pope said, Christians already “anticipate heaven on earth.”

“By loving one another as Jesus has loved us, we impart this awareness to one another,” he said. “This is the new commandment; in this way, we anticipate heaven on earth and reveal to all that fraternity and peace are our calling.”

The pope concluded by asking Catholics to pray to Mary Most Holy, Mother of the Church, “that every Christian community may be a home open to all and attentive to each person.”

After the Regina Coeli, Leo greeted pilgrims from Rome and many countries, including Spain, the United States, Malaysia, and Peru. He also thanked the Meter Association, which for 30 years has worked to defend minors from abuse, support victims, and promote prevention.

“Thank you for your service!” the pope said.

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

Last year marked the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which was convened during the pontificate of Pope Sylvester I in 325.

St. Athanasius was born to Christian parents living in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 296. His parents took great care to have their son educated, and his talents came to the attention of a local priest who was later canonized — St. Alexander of Alexandria. The priest and future saint tutored Athanasius in theology and eventually appointed him as an assistant.

Around the age of 19, Athanasius spent a formative period in the Egyptian desert as a disciple of St. Anthony in his monastic community. Returning to Alexandria, he was ordained a deacon in 319 and resumed his assistance to Alexander, who had become a bishop. The Catholic Church, newly recognized by the Roman Empire, was already encountering a new series of dangers from within.

The most serious threat to the fourth-century Church came from a priest named Arius, who taught that Jesus could not have existed eternally as God prior to his historical incarnation as a man. According to Arius, Jesus was the highest of created beings and could be considered “divine” only by analogy. Arians professed a belief in Jesus’ “divinity” but meant only that he was Godʼs greatest creature.

Opponents of Arianism brought forth numerous Scriptures that taught Christ’s eternal preexistence and his identity as God. Nonetheless, many Greek-speaking Christians found it intellectually easier to believe in Jesus as a created demigod than to accept the mystery of a Father-Son relationship within the Godhead. By 325, the controversy was dividing the Church and unsettling the Roman Empire.

Nicaea

In that year, Athanasius attended the First Ecumenical Council, held at Nicaea to examine and judge Arius’ doctrine in light of apostolic tradition. It reaffirmed the Church’s perennial teaching on Christ’s full deity and established the Nicene Creed as an authoritative statement of faith. The remainder of Athanasius’ life was a constant struggle to uphold the council’s teaching about Christ.

Near the end of St. Alexander’s life, he insisted that Athanasius succeed him as the bishop of Alexandria. Athanasius took on the position just as Emperor Constantine, despite having convoked the Council of Nicaea, decided to relax its condemnation of Arius and his supporters. Athanasius continually refused to admit Arius to Communion, however, despite the urgings of the emperor.

A number of Arians spent the next several decades attempting to manipulate bishops, emperors, and popes to move against Athanasius — particularly through the use of false accusations. Athanasius was accused of theft, murder, assault, and even of causing a famine by interfering with food shipments.

Arius became ill and died in 336, but his heresy continued to live. Under the rule of the three emperors that followed Constantine, and particularly under the rule of the strongly Arian Constantius, Athanasius was driven into exile at least five times for insisting on the Nicene Creed as the Church’s authoritative rule of faith.

Athanasius received the support of several popes and spent a portion of his exile in Rome. However, the Emperor Constantius did succeed in coercing one pope, Liberius, into condemning Athanasius by having him kidnapped, threatened with death, and sent away from Rome for two years. The pope eventually managed to return to Rome, where he again proclaimed Athanasius’ orthodoxy.

Constantius went so far as to send troops to attack his clergy and congregations. Neither these measures nor direct attempts to assassinate the bishop succeeded in silencing him. However, they frequently made it difficult for him to remain in his diocese. He enjoyed some respite after Constantius’ death in 361 but was later persecuted by Emperor Julian the Apostate, who sought to revive paganism.

In 369, Athanasius managed to convene an assembly of 90 bishops in Alexandria for the sake of warning the Church in Africa against the continuing threat of Arianism. He died in 373 and was vindicated by a more comprehensive rejection of Arianism at the Second Ecumenical Council, held in 381 at Constantinople.

St. Gregory Nazianzen, who presided over part of that council, described St. Athanasius as “the true pillar of the Church” whose “life and conduct were the rule of bishops and his doctrine the rule of the orthodox faith.”

This story was last published on May 2, 2025, and has been updated.

Of these reports, 73 were linked to accounts held at the Institute for the Works of Religion — known as the Vatican Bank — four originated from various entities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State, while one pertained to another unspecified organization.

The annual report, presented April 30, underscores, according to the Vatican, “the robustness” of its own oversight system regarding “the prevention of and fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.”

According to the report, there has also been “a strengthening” of relations with counterpart agencies and key international bodies, as part of its commitment to international standards in the field of financial oversight.

In 2024, the Vatican’s financial watchdog received 79 reports of suspicious activity, representing a 36% decrease compared with 2023, when 123 cases were identified.

Compared with the previous year, the report notes a lower incidence of communications related to the use of cash, a phenomenon that, according to the official statement, would be linked to a reduction in financial flows passing through Vatican City State. In 2024, these flows totaled 27,866,033 euros ($32.6 million), whereas last year the figure was 18,770,783 euros ($22 million).

This trend is also reflected in the statistics regarding declarations of cross-border cash transport.

The report also indicates that a financial transaction valued at approximately 522,000 euros ($611,883) was suspended as a preventive measure in light of potential illegality, although the report does not specify the date or the intended purpose of said amount.

Despite this, the qualitative level of the communications received by the ASIF remains stable, as evidenced by both the volume of exchanges with other authorities and the preventive measures adopted. Financial intelligence continues to be a key element in the conduct of subsequent investigative activities.

Throughout 2025, the ASIF sent 16 reports to the Office of the Promoter of Justice, the body that exercises prosecutorial functions, a figure slightly higher than that of the previous year, when 11 cases were referred.

Internally, the report specifically highlights the strengthening of collaboration between the authorities of the Holy See and those of Vatican City State.

The flow of communications with key domestic counterparts saw a notable increase compared with the previous year, with a 65% rise in incoming communications and a 31% rise in outgoing ones — a figure that, according to the document, reflects an increasingly integrated and cohesive system.

Likewise, international cooperation activities have been strengthened, with the participation of the Holy See in Moneyval, the Council of Europe body tasked with assessing systems for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, among other forums.

The report concludes by highlighting the close and constant cooperation with the Vatican Gendarmerie Corps, which has established itself as a central interlocutor in the work carried out by ASIF.

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 video released on X, the Holy Father asked the faithful: “What do you feel about 318 million people experiencing acute hunger every day?”

“We need to act, but without prayer we will remain powerless,” he said. “This May, I invite you to join me in prayer that we may seriously commit to avoiding food waste and to ensuring that everyone has access to quality food every day.”

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.

Here is the pope’s full prayer:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lord of creation,

You gave us the fertile earth and, with it, our daily bread,

as a sign of your love and providence.

Today we recognize with sorrow

that millions of brothers and sisters continue to suffer from hunger,

while so many goods are wasted at our tables.

Awaken in us a new awareness:

that we learn to thank for every food,

to consume simply,

to share with joy,

and to care for the fruits of the earth as a gift from you,

destined for all, not just a few.

Good Father,

make us capable of transforming the logic of selfish consumption

into a culture of solidarity.

May our communities promote concrete gestures:

awareness campaigns, food banks,

and a sober and responsible lifestyle.

You who sent us your beloved Son Jesus,

broken bread for the life of the world,

give us a new heart, hungry for justice and thirsty for fraternity.

May no one be excluded from the common table,

and may your Spirit teach us to see bread

not as an object of consumption,

but as a sign of communion and care.

Amen.

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

In the plan of salvation, the Blessed Virgin Mary holds a special place. By virtue of her role to be the mother of the Son of God by divine election, she was conceived immaculately — i.e., without the stain of original sin — and by fidelity to her son has been crowned queen of heaven and earth.

Everything Mary said and did leads to Christ. Who knows a child better than a mother? And what good and loving child does not know his or her mother and love her with all of his or her heart?

Mary knew and loved Jesus like no one else on earth — and she loves each of her children, human beings, with similar affection and tenderness.

The Church, in its wisdom, asks its children to be especially devoted to Mother Mary during the month of May and to be particularly grateful for all of her care.

A model for every Christian

Mary, the most humble of all women, is a model for everyone, today, in the here and now. She is a model in a particular way for every woman, as expressed by Pope Francis.

“There is only one model for you, Mary: the woman of fidelity, the one who did not understand what was happening to her but obeyed. The one who, as soon as she knew what her cousin needed took off [to help her], the Virgin of Promptness. The one who escaped as a refugee in a foreign country to save the life of her son,” Pope Francis said during an April 2014 message to 20,000 young people gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a regional youth day.

The first disciple

Years later, during an Aug. 24, 2021, catechesis, Pope Francis called Mary “the first disciple of Jesus” and reminded us that “Mary is there, praying for us, praying for those who do not pray. Why? Because she is our mother.”

The Virgin, through Jesus, has brought heaven closer to us and her life is the best proof that it is possible to reach it. Pope Francis said it best: “She shows us that heaven is within reach, if we too do not give in to sin, we praise God with humility, and we serve others with generosity” (Pope Francis, Angelus address on the solemnity of the Assumption, Aug. 15, 2022).

A version of 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.

While the saint’s March feast dates back to the 10th century, his May feast wasn’t instituted until 1955. What was behind it?

May Day

Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1, 1955, so that it would coincide with International Workers Day, also known as May Day — a secular celebration of labor and workers’ rights.

During this time, the Soviet Union proclaimed itself as “the defender of workers” and utilized May Day as an opportunity to exalt communism and parade its military prowess. Pope Pius XII chose the date specifically to ensure that workers did not lose the Christian understanding of work.

In his address to the Catholic Association of Italian Workers on that day in 1955, Pius XII said: “There could not be a better protector to help you penetrate the spirit of the Gospel into your life … From the heart of the Man-God, savior of the world, this spirit flows into you and into all men; but it is certain that no worker has ever been as perfectly and deeply penetrated by it as the putative father of Jesus, who lived with him in the closest intimacy and commonality of family and work.”

He added: “So, if you want to be close to Christ, we also today repeat to you ‘Ite ad Ioseph’ — Go to Joseph!”

The Catholic Church has long placed an importance on the dignity of human work. By working, we fulfill the commands found in the Book of Genesis to care for the earth and be productive in our labors.

In his encyclical Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II wrote that “the Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated, and to help to guide [social] changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man and society.”

St. Joseph is considered a role model of this as he worked tirelessly to protect and provide for his family as he strove to listen to and obey God.

Even before the institution of this feast, many popes were beginning to spread a devotion to St. Joseph the Worker. One of these was Pope Leo XIII, who wrote on the subject in his encyclical Quamquam Pluries in 1889.

He wrote: “Joseph became the guardian, the administrator, and the legal defender of the divine house whose chief he was. And during the whole course of his life he fulfilled those charges and those duties. He set himself to protect with a mighty love and a daily solicitude his spouse and the Divine Infant; regularly by his work he earned what was necessary for the one and the other for nourishment and clothing; he guarded from death the Child threatened by a monarch’s jealousy, and found for him a refuge; in the miseries of the journey and in the bitternesses of exile he was ever the companion, the assistance, and the upholder of the Virgin and of Jesus.”

In addition to being the patron of the universal Church and workers in general, St. Joseph is also the patron saint of several professions including craftsmen, carpenters, accountants, attorneys, bursars, cabinetmakers, cemetery workers, civil engineers, confectioners, educators, furniture makers, wheelwrights, and lawyers.

This story was first published on May 1, 2024, and has been updated.

He said as much last October, on the 10th anniversary of the canonization of Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Now, the pope has set in motion a process to address both marital crises and the growing fear among young people of getting married and forming a family.

Leo XIV has called the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences to Rome this October to seek a response to an issue he considers crucial not only for the Church but also for society.

In preparation for the high-level meeting, the Vatican organized a study day Tuesday titled “The Sacrament of Marriage, Faith, and Munus Docendi” at the Casina Pio IV.

The initiative, hosted by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, brought together about 75 participants by invitation, including representatives of various dicasteries of the Roman Curia as well as rectors, lecturers, and others involved in the formation of future pastors.

According to the dicastery, the study day was devoted to the formation of priests in accompanying “young people, engaged couples, and married couples in faith.”

How can the Church form pastors capable of accompanying young people, engaged couples, and spouses so that they live Christian marriage as an authentic experience of faith in a cultural context marked by secularization? Several speakers addressed that question, including Father Andrea Bozzolo, rector of the Pontifical Salesian University.

Speaking with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, the Italian priest — who has taught theology of marriage at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family — emphasized the urgent need to form priests who are prepared to accompany young people and help them live Christian marriage as a true event of faith rather than as a mere “formality or social rite.”

According to Bozzolo, in large sectors of contemporary society, marriage is no longer perceived as a decisive moment in the formation of a family.

“For many couples, marriage today seems to be a less decisive step in the emergence of the family covenant,” he said.

In that context, he added, cohabitation before marriage has become widespread as a kind of trial stage. For many young people, the strength of that relationship, tested in daily life, “has become the condition for eventually considering access to marriage,” he said.

Bozzolo explained that this mentality fuels the now widespread phenomenon of couples living together before going to the altar.

Unlike in past decades, when de facto unions were presented as an ideological alternative to marriage, today “they are often understood as a preparatory path,” he said.

In what he described as a “liquid society,” cohabitation frequently functions as a first family experience, open to being consolidated over time into a more stable relationship.

“Cohabitation in most cases does not seek to exclude the marriage covenant but rather to verify its viability,” he said, noting that the increase in separations also reflects this way of understanding the bond.

Not blaming, but not trivializing

In response to this reality, Bozzolo said the Church should “not blame” young people who ask to marry after living together, but it also should not “trivialize” premarital cohabitation, because “it is not the correct way” to arrive at the altar.

He also called on the Church to break with stereotypes that present love as if it were “a simple feeling.”

“Love has ontological value — and not merely psychological value — and that is why marriage is a privileged vehicle for the biblical revelation of the face of God,” he said.

Bozzolo insisted on the need for priestly formation that helps future priests rediscover the decisive value of marriage as a public and sacramental act.

“The public and religious expression of consent,” he said, is no longer usually perceived today as something that substantially affects the stability of the bond — a reality he described as “a pastoral challenge of the first order.”

Marriage is not a simple social procedure

For that reason, he said, it is essential for the Church to prepare priests who can accompany young people along a journey of faith that presents Christian marriage not as a “simple social procedure.”

The goal, Bozzolo explained, is to help priests accompany married couples so that they learn to “recognize the presence and action of God in the concrete history of their bond.”

Such accompaniment, he said, requires a “formative approach” capable of bringing together biblical wisdom, theological understanding, an awareness of contemporary cultural trends, and attentive listening to the real experiences of families.

One current problem among couples, he said, is the tendency to absolutize the relationship and place expectations on the spousal bond that the other person cannot sustain alone.

“We cannot place the entire responsibility for our happiness on our spouse, because he or she will disappoint us. For that, we have Jesus, the true messiah,” Bozzolo said.

Only from a well-grounded faith, he emphasized, is it possible to live marriage in a healthy, realistic way that is open to gratuitousness, without making the other person the ultimate source of meaning.

For that reason, and in direct relation to the formation of future priests, Bozzolo highlighted the need to create formation paths in seminaries that integrate these dimensions and prepare pastors for authentic marriage ministry, rooted in life and not reduced to theoretical frameworks.

The last time a pope called together all the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences was in February 2019, when Pope Francis gathered them to address the wound of sexual abuse in the Church. That meeting marked a shift in the global perception of the problem and made it possible to outline a long-term strategy.

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 an April 30 audience with members of the Diocesan Office for the Universal Church and Dialogue of the Archdiocese of Cologne, the pope reflected on the universality of the Church and the importance of dialogue.

The pope recalled that, “in light of Christ’s resurrection, the Church recognizes herself as being sent to all peoples — not by imposing herself but by bearing witness to the truth in charity.”

“Dialogue, in turn, strengthens communion, opens paths of understanding, and serves the cause of peace,” he said, adding that “Christ draws all things to himself and makes the Church a sign of unity and hope for the world.”

Leo addressed the delegation on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of Weltkirche & Dialog, today known as the Diocesan Office for the Universal Church and Dialogue.

Turning to the German archdiocese, the pope highlighted its long-standing openness to encounter, mutual exchange, and dialogue among peoples and cultures. In particular, he recalled that in 1954, under Cardinal Josef Frings and Vicar General Father Josef Teusch, the Archdiocese of Cologne established a partnership with the Archdiocese of Tokyo — “the first of its kind in Germany.”

The pope said the archdiocese’s commitment to a truly universal Church, “called to solidarity beyond the confines of Europe and sustained through a culture of dialogue,” remains at the heart of the office’s identity.

Leo also praised the archdiocese’s charitable work in regions affected by famine, flooding, war, and other crises as well as its relationships of support with churches in more than 100 countries, with particular attention to the Middle East and the Eastern Churches.

The pope also noted the scholarships for priestly formation and assistance to elderly priests offered by the Archdiocese of Cologne.

“I might add here that when I was bishop in Perù, in Chiclayo, the Archdiocese of Cologne was also very supportive of a number of different initiatives, including helping purchase oxygen-producing machines, which saved the lives of many people,” he said. “And the people today are still grateful for that support.”

The pope expressed gratitude for the group’s initiatives, saying that through their service “the universal dimension of the Church is made visible and concrete, fostering solidarity, strengthening bonds of unity, and bearing witness to the Gospel of peace in a world so often marked by division and distress.”

Such witness, Leo said, is “all the more necessary today,” especially as many Christians have been forced to leave their homelands because of war, violence, and poverty.

“I therefore encourage you to persevere in this mission of charity, so that they may still experience the closeness of the universal Church,” he said.

The pope asked the delegation in a particular way to continue supporting the presence of Christians in the Middle East “in order to ensure that these venerable traditions of the Eastern Churches are preserved, safeguarded, and more widely known.”

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.

On Wednesday at the Vatican, representatives of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity and Cross Catholic Outreach launched the “American Catholic Heroes: The Road Trip for Hope” initiative. According to the official Vatican News outlet, the initiative, which will run from June to July this year, will travel from New York to California to raise funds for victims of war and to promote the dicasteryʼs charitable work.

The tour will also coincide with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, handed the keys over to the president of Cross Catholic Outreach, Michele Sagarino. That same day, Sagarino also met with Pope Leo XIV after his weekly general audience.

Before the audience, she spoke with Vatican Radio about the partnership between her organization and the Holy See. She reflected on Leoʼs recent trip to Africa and the similarities between her organizationʼs work and his closeness to the vulnerable.

“It couldnʼt have been more appropriate for the work that Cross Catholic Outreach does — talking about his journey in Africa, being with those who are vulnerable, standing up for them, and also bringing the faith closer to them,” Sagarino said of Leoʼs recent catechesis. “I think thatʼs very similar to what we do at Cross Catholic Outreach as well. We have worked since our inception in 90 countries and helped with almost $5 billion worth of aid.”

San Martín at the event launching the initiative thanked Sagarino and Cross Catholic Outreach for their “long collaboration with the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, generously supporting it.”

The popemobile that will embark on the U.S. tour was entrusted to the dicastery by Pope Francis to raise funds for those in need.

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What is the Chaldean Church?

The Chaldean Church is one of more than 20 Eastern Catholic Churches under the authority of the pope in Rome and possesses autonomy in accordance with Canon 27 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

This allows it to manage its internal affairs in accordance with the laws it has established for itself. The Synod of Chaldean Bishops was the body that elected the new patriarch.

What is ecclesiastical communion?

The new patriarch, who succeeds Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako following his resignation, was elected on April 12 and received ecclesiastical communion on April 24, having requested it via a letter sent to Pope Leo, as established by Canon 76 § 2 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

“With a heart filled with joy, I grant you ecclesiastica communio as an expression and bond of full communion with the Apostolic See in the common service of unity within the Church and the building up of the body of Christ,” the Holy Father wrote to the new Chaldean patriarch.

Ecclesiastical communion is the formal recognition of full communion with the Diocese of Rome, i.e. with the pope, granted to the one requesting it; in this case, the Chaldean patriarch.

This recognition enables the new patriarch to fully exercise his ministry as the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, not only within Iraq but also among the diaspora throughout the world.

Once the patriarch, who is “primus inter pares” (“first among equals”) has received ecclesiastical communion, he may convene the synod of bishops of the Church over which he presides and also ordain bishops.

Pope Leo’s message to the new Chaldean patriarch

Pope Leo XIV offered his prayers for the new patriarch and his mission to proclaim the Gospel, “strengthening ecclesial communion within his own territory and in the territories of the diaspora, which is becoming increasingly numerous.”

The Holy Father highlighted that Mar Paul III Nona was elected “on the day when the Chaldean liturgy commemorates the encounter of the risen Christ with St. Thomas, from whom the living tradition of this Church originates.”

For this reason, he encouraged the Chaldeans to persevere as “true believers,” especially in the face of the “exceedingly arduous trials” that the faithful in Iraq and other territories often confront.

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 newly named asteroids were discovered by the telescope the Vatican operates in Arizona.

The asteroid “Gioacchinopecci” honors Pope Leo XIII, born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci, whose legacy is closely tied to the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV.

According to the observatory, Leo XIII reestablished the Vatican Observatory after the loss of the Papal States and of important astronomical facilities, particularly the observatory of Father Angelo Secchi located above the Church of St. Ignatius in Rome.

Photographs of the Vatican from the early 20th century show the domes of the observatory’s telescopes above the Vatican walls and the Tower of the Winds.

In the 1930s, because electric lighting made Rome’s night sky brighter, the telescopes were moved to the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, whose domes can still be seen today from miles away.

The later increase in light pollution from Rome led to the construction of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, or VATT, on Mount Graham in Arizona in the 1990s.

Through the 1891 motu proprio Ut Mysticam, Leo XIII established the Vatican Observatory, stating that it would help show the world that the Church’s present and historic attitude toward “true and solid science” was to “embrace it, encourage it, and promote it with the greatest possible dedication,” contrary to what its critics claimed.

In particular, he emphasized that the observatory would help promote “a most noble science that, more than any other human discipline, raises the spirit of mortals to the contemplation of heavenly events.”

Leo XIII is the third pope to have an asteroid named after him. Gregory XIII has one in recognition of his role in the reform of the calendar, as does Benedict XVI, to whom “(8661) Ratzinger” is dedicated.

In addition to Pope Leo XIII, another asteroid has been named “Lais” in honor of Giuseppe Lais, an Italian priest and astronomer who served as deputy director of the Vatican Observatory for 30 years. Asteroids were also named for Pietro Maffi, an Italian cardinal, archbishop of Pisa, and astronomer, and André Bertiau, a Belgian Jesuit priest, astronomer, and former director of the Vatican Observatory.

Asteroids receive a provisional designation at the time of discovery based on the date of observation and managed by the Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union.

When an asteroid’s orbit is determined with sufficient precision and its future path can be reliably predicted, it is assigned a permanent number. Currently, about 850,000 of the roughly 1.3 million known asteroids have received a permanent number.

Only after receiving this number, the observatory noted, can discoverers propose a definitive name to replace the provisional designation.

The proposed name is then examined by the working group and must comply with specific guidelines. Once approved, the asteroid is known by its official name, written as “(number) Name.”

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.

Since Friday, rebel groups have carried out more than two dozen attacks on civilians and military bases, just ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for May 31.

The deadliest incident took place when a bomb exploded on the Pan-American Highway in the department of Cauca as an intercity bus was passing by. The attack occurred in one of the regions that has suffered most from violence in recent weeks amid an escalation of armed assaults.

It is the bloodiest massacre of civilians recorded in the country in more than a decade, when the Colombian state and specialized nongovernmental organizations began officially identifying episodes involving the simultaneous deaths of three or more people as massacres.

Before thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff expressed his condemnation of the renewed wave of violence affecting the South American country.

“With sorrow and concern, I have learned of the tragic situation of violence afflicting the southwestern region of Colombia, which has caused grave loss of human life,” he said, addressing Spanish-speakers.

“I express my closeness in prayer to the victims and their families, and I urge everyone to reject every form of violence and to choose decisively the path of peace,” the pope said in Spanish.

Colombia is once again experiencing some of the darkest episodes of its armed conflict. Since January, 48 massacres have been recorded. At least 229 people have been killed in the incidents, making it the most violent start to a year since the signing of the 2016 Peace Agreement.

The wave of violence extends from north to south across the country in a context marked by an increasingly tense electoral climate.

Message of peace in Africa

As is customary after apostolic journeys, Pope Leo XIV devoted his main address during the general audience to a reflection on his April 13–23 trip to Africa: 11 days of pastoral pilgrimage during which he traveled to four countries — Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea — including taking 18 flights and stops in 11 cities.

“From the very beginning of my pontificate, I have thought about a journey in Africa. I thank the Lord for granting me the opportunity to undertake it, as shepherd, to meet and encourage the people of God; and also to experience it as a message of peace at a time in history marked by wars and serious and frequent violations of international law,” he said.

Alongside this call to peace, he added, he also wished to draw attention to “the grave injustices that exist in these countries, so rich in natural resources,” and he urged the international community to overcome “neo-colonial attitudes” in order to commit to an “authentic collaboration” with the African continent.

Pope Leo XIV also highlighted the value of the trip as a platform for giving voice to the African people. According to the pope, the apostolic visit allowed those communities “to make their voices heard, to express the joy of being God’s people and the hope for a better future, of dignity for each and every one,” amid complex social and political contexts.

In a personal tone, the pontiff expressed his gratitude for what he received during the pastoral journey. “I thank the Lord for what they have given me, an inestimable treasure for my heart and my ministry.”

The assessment of the trip, he explained, is not limited to the pastoral sphere but also constitutes a call to international responsibility and a reminder of the dignity of African peoples.

At the start of his catechesis, the pope explained the reasons that led him to choose Algeria as the first stage of the journey, a country that preserves sites linked to St. Augustine.

“Thus, I found myself, on the one hand, revisiting the roots of my spiritual identity and, on the other, crossing and strengthening bridges that are very important for the world and the Church today: the bridge with the very fruitful age of the Fathers of the Church; the bridge with the Islamic world; and the bridge with the African continent," he said.

After Algeria, the pontiff visited Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea — three countries that, unlike Algeria, where Islam is practiced by the vast majority of the population, have a predominantly Christian population. There, he noted, “I therefore found myself immersed in an atmosphere of celebration of the faith and warm welcome, enhanced also by the characteristic traits of the African people.”

Like his predecessors, he said he experienced something of what Jesus lived with the crowds in Galilee: “He saw them thirsting and hungry for justice,” and proclaimed to them: “Blessed are the poor, blessed are the meek, blessed are the peacemakers,” and, recognizing their faith, said: “You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.”

Among the most striking moments, he recalled the visit to the prison in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, where inmates asked him to pray “for their sins and their freedom.”

“I had never seen anything like it,” the pope said. They prayed the Our Father together in heavy rain — “a genuine sign of the kingdom of God!”

This story has been updated with the popeʼs reflection on his apostolic journey in Africa.

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.

During the 14th century, the Catholic Church was in a weakened state as it faced internal crises and the devastating impact of the Black Death. St. Catherine lived during the troubled period but ultimately played a key role in inspiring reforms that guided the Church to greater unity and stability.

“Even in the most difficult times, the Lord does not cease to bless his people, bringing forth saints who give a jolt to minds and hearts, provoking conversion and renewal,” Pope Benedict XVI said at his general audience on Nov. 24, 2010.

“Catherine is one of these and still today speaks to us and impels us to walk courageously toward holiness to be ever more fully disciples of the Lord,” he said.

Her incredible spiritual graces led her to sainthood, and her influential writings earned her the title “doctor of the Church.”

Born in 1347 in Siena, Catherine was the 25th child of a large household. Her given name was Catherine Benincasa, but those around her often called her “Joy” due to her bright and cheerful nature.

When she was just 6 years old, she had her first vision of Christ, whom she saw bless her. From then on she chose a life of prayer, consecrating her virginity to Christ and dedicating herself to penance and works of charity.

As she grew older her parents wished for her to marry, but she fought it. In return, they made her life a complete service to the family, burdening her with many household duties. She accepted the work, but not their plan.

Catherine remained steadfast in her faith and developed a great love for the Dominicans. She would seek conversation with Dominican priests and visit Dominican sites. At the age of 16, after a vision of St. Dominic, Catherine joined the Third Order Dominicans.

At first the order was reluctant to accept her due to her young age, but her conviction and deep spiritually swayed them. She lived a life as a hermit in her home, spending three years in prayer and contemplation.

Life as a mystic

The accounts of St. Catherine’s spirituality and mystical experiences detailed in her biography by Blessed Raymond of Capua are nothing short of extraordinary.

After her seclusion, Catherine underwent a mystical marriage. In a vision, Our Lady presented her to Jesus, who gave her a ring and said: “I, your Creator and Savior, espouse you in the faith, that you will keep ever pure until you celebrate your eternal nuptials with me in heaven,” Raymond of Capua wrote.

St. Catherine understood this to be a profound bond of love with Christ and a gift from him. It was more than a mystical experience; it was a chance to receive his heart. This was further shown to her in another mystical exchange.

The Lord appeared to her “holding in his holy hands a human heart, bright red and shining.” He opened her side and put the heart within her and said: “Dearest daughter, as I took your heart away from you the other day, now, you see, I am giving you mine, so that you can go on living with it forever.”

When talk of her holiness spread, she became a spiritual figure offering guidance for people from every walk of life including nobles, politicians, and religious men and women — many even calling her “mother.”

She had a profound love for the Eucharist, even choosing to live solely off the body of Christ for a long period of her life as she went through intense fasts.

She would sit in ecstasy for hours after receiving the body of Christ, which many believed was a spectacle and tried to restrict her from receiving the Eucharist. But when they did, she would receive miraculous interventions.

In one of her spiritual states, she received the stigmata. The wounds were invisible to others during her lifetime and only appeared after her death.

Her fruitful work led to opposition in the Church, even from some Dominicans. The order wanted to verify her authenticity and appointed Raymond of Capua, a canon lawyer, who became her close confidant and biographer. He discovered that her wisdom went far beyond her years and her actions were genuine.

Ending the Avignon papacy

As the respect for the papacy waned throughout the Church and had reached a critical low point, Catherine began to be known as a respected peacemaker and trusted advocate for reform.

The popes had lived in France for more than 60 years when Catherine decided to visit Pope Gregory XI in Avignon to urge him to return to the Eternal City. She shocked him by telling him about private promises he had made before God, which ultimately convinced him.

She later received reports that the French cardinals were causing him to have second thoughts. She then began incessantly sending letters to him and others to aid the cause.

Most of her life she dictated letters, since she did not know how to read or write. She dictated them to scribes and secretaries who would send them to popes, kings, and even pirates, encouraging them to help strengthen the Church.

Eventually through prayer, she learned how to read and write herself. She sent thousands of letters, a little more than 300 of which remain today.

Soon Pope Gregory XI defied his court and went back to Rome.

‘The Dialogue’

Catherine then took to writing “The Dialogue of Divine Providence” in Tuscany and Siena between approximately 1377 and 1378. The 400 pages of writing are a conversation between her and Christ.

She often manifested her teachings in the work through images, including one known as the “Christ bridge.” She said the Father helped her understand that he has provided a bridge between heaven and man when he came to humanity through the Son.

Later, Catherine’s help was needed again in Rome. Following the return of the papacy from Avignon, the election of Pope Urban VI in 1378 was challenged by French cardinals who elected a rival pope.

The situation led to the start of the Great Western Schism, dividing the Church for the next 40 years. Catherine staunchly supported Pope Urban VI and understood that despite failings of the pope he was still “Christ on earth,” as she wrote.

Her work began to take immense tolls, leading her to suffer a fatal stroke at age 33 in 1380.

Becoming a doctor of the Church

Catherine was canonized a saint in 1461 by Pope Pius II. For her travels to help the reform of the Church, Pope John Paul II declared her co-patroness of Europe.

She was later declared the second female doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI on Oct. 4, 1970 — just days after declaring St. Teresa of Ávila as the first. There are now four female doctors of the Church (the other two are St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Hildegard of Bingen).

The title “doctor of the Church” recognizes canonized men and women who possessed profound knowledge, were superb teachers, and contributed significantly to the Church’s theology.

Traditionally, the title has been granted on the basis that he or she is a saint who left behind a body of teachings that made significant contributions to the life of the Church, and there is formal declaration by the Church — usually by a pope.

In his homily declaring her a doctor, Pope Paul VI said that St. Catherine addressed “cardinals and many bishops and priests, she … did not spare strong reproaches, but always in all humility and respect for their dignity as ministers of the blood of Christ.”

He then posed the question: “How then can we not remember the intense work carried out by the saint for the reform of the Church?”

According to Vatican media reports, the cardinal presented the pontiff with a cross and a relic of the Albanian martyrs “who gave their lives out of fidelity and love for Jesus, and for the salvation of the people of Albania, so that all men may contemplate the smile of heaven,” the cardinal told the pope.

The meeting on April 26, also attended by about 40 of the cardinal’s relatives, took place in “an atmosphere of joy and hope, gazing upon the face of the Holy Father, who represents the face of Jesus, to proclaim to all mankind the good news from heaven, of peace, of fraternity, and of love for all the peoples of the world,” Simoni told Vatican media following the meeting.

Simoni under the communist dictator Enver Hoxha

Ordained a priest in 1956, 12 years after the regime of communist dictator Enver Hoxha came to power, Simoni endured the brutal repression of the Catholic Church in the worldʼs first officially atheist state, where all religious practice was prohibited.

The priest was arrested on Christmas Day 1963 and sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to forced labor. He spent 18 years in prison and was released in 1981. However, still considered “an enemy of the people,” he was afterward forced to work cleaning out the sewers in the city of Shkodër. He carried out priestly ministry clandestinely until the fall of the regime in 1990.

Despite the absolute ban on worship, during his imprisonment he celebrated Mass daily, resorting to ingenious subterfuges to go undetected. Since he celebrated Mass in Latin, his jailers thought he had gone mad and was merely babbling incomprehensible words.

Pope Francis' visit to Albania in 2014

In 2014, when Pope Francis visited Albania, the testimony of this now-elderly priest moved him to tears. In 2016, the pope created him a cardinal, publicly thanking him for a life of dedication that “does good to the Church.”

On April 7 this year, the cardinal celebrated the 70th anniversary of his priestly ordination. Two days earlier, on Easter Sunday, he accompanied Leo XIV during the “urbi et orbi” (“to the city and the world”) message and blessing from the central loggia of St. Peterʼs Basilica.

Simoni described the audience with the pontiff as “a special grace by the Holy Spirit and also by the Holy Father: to proclaim together, to all the peoples of the world, the peace that comes from heaven, that most sweet peace, spiritual joy, and the joy of the Resurrection.”

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 pope made the remarks April 27 during a visit to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the Holy See’s school for training diplomats, on the occasion of the 325th anniversary of its founding.

Leo recalled that a few years earlier, while serving as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, he had visited the academy and reflected on “the essential mission carried out by the alma mater of the pontifical diplomats.”

“Today, almost a year after the start of my Petrine ministry, accompanied by the diligent commitment of the Secretariat of State and the pontifical representations,” he said, “I therefore look with deep gratitude upon the history of dedication and service that this joyful anniversary celebrates.”

That history, the pope said, rooted in the very Catholicity of the Church, has included an unbroken chain of priests from various parts of the world who have contributed “with their humble efforts to the building of that unity in Christ which, amid the diversity of origins, makes communion a fundamental characteristic of the diplomatic service of the Holy See.”

Referring to reforms made to the academy by Pope Francis in March 2025, Leo said the most important reform required of those entering the community is “a constant exercise in conversion, aimed at cultivating ‘closeness, attentive listening, witness, a fraternal approach, and dialogue … combined with humility and meekness.’”

The pope said the gathering was an opportunity to outline some characteristics of the pontifical diplomatic priest, who participates in the ministry of the successor of Peter and serves peace, truth, and justice.

The Vatican diplomat, he said, “must be, first of all, a messenger of the paschal proclamation ‘Peace be with you!’”

“Even when the hopes for dialogue and reconciliation seem to vanish and peace ‘as the world gives it’ is trampled upon and put to the test,” Leo said, “you are called to continue to bring the word of the risen Christ to all. ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.’”

Before trying to build peace “with our own meager strength,” the pope said, the mission of pontifical diplomats calls them to be bridges and channels for it, “so that the grace that comes from heaven may find its way through the vicissitudes of history.”

Leo also said the papal diplomat, working in different cultural settings and international organizations, “is specifically assigned to bear witness to the truth that is Christ.”

Such a diplomat, he said, must bring Christ’s message to the forum of nations and become “a sign of his love for that portion of humanity entrusted to his mission as a shepherd, even before that of a diplomat.”

The pope also stressed the importance of clear language in diplomacy, citing his January address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See in which he said it is urgently necessary that “words once again … express distinct and clear realities unequivocally,” because “only in this way can authentic dialogue resume without misunderstandings.”

“For this reason, too,” he told the students, “it is important that you bring to the world the Word of Life, who revealed himself not through the affirmation of abstract principles and ideas but by becoming flesh.”

Leo reminded the academy’s students that they are preparing for a ministry “which is not limited to safeguarding the good of the Catholic community but extends to the entire human family living in a particular nation or participating in the work of various international organizations.”

This, he said, requires them “to be promoters of all forms of justice that help to recognize, rebuild, and protect the image of God imprinted in every person.”

“In the defense of human rights — among which the rights to religious freedom and to life are prominent — I therefore urge you to continue to show the way, not toward confrontation and demands but toward the protection of human dignity, the development of peoples and communities, and the promotion of international cooperation,” he said. “These are the only means that allow us to embark on authentic paths of peace.”

The pope acknowledged that in a world marked by tensions, where conflict can appear to be the only way to address needs and demands, efforts at dialogue, listening, and reconciliation may seem insufficient, at times even futile.

“This must not discourage us!” he said. “Let us continue to invoke with confidence the gift of Christ’s peace, without fear.”

He assured the superiors and students that their ministry, at any time and in any place, will be “an instrument for promoting and safeguarding the dignity of every man and woman, created in the image and likeness of God, and for advancing the common good.”

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, issued April 27, notes that there is currently “a tendency to perceive population growth as the primary threat to humanity” and deplores the policies of certain governments that “spread abortion“ and promote ”the adoption of sterilization practices in poor countries, thereby imposing ‘strong birth control measures.’”

The volume draws upon the magisterium of the last four pontiffs. The earliest document to which it refers is Gaudium et Spes from the Second Vatican Council, promulgated by St. Paul VI on Dec. 7, 1965. It incorporates contributions from St. John Paul II, who laid decisive foundations in the areas of the family and the Church’s social doctrine — particularly in Familiaris Consortio (1981) and Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987)  — and the 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate by Pope Benedict XVI.

It also incorporates the teachings of Francis, who, in Evangelii Gaudium (2013), calls for a Church that “goes out” centered on proclaiming the Gospel and close to the human peripheries. This pastoral approach is applied to family life in Amoris Laetitia (2016), wherein the importance of discernment and accompaniment is underscored.

Attempts to erase sexual differences

The document refers to “a countless number of children never being born, children who were denied the right to the primary gift of creation, the gift of life itself,” the Vatican laments. It adds that this phenomenon also occurs “when society is disrupted by attempts to erase sexual differences, because it no longer knows how to deal” with them.

In light of this reality, the document calls for focusing attention on other factors it deems truly harmful such as extreme consumerism, pollution, the throwaway culture, and the desire to exercise absolute power over the human body through its manipulation, facilitated by recent technological advances.

These dangerous trends emerge when “the right to life and to a natural death are not respected; when human conception, gestation, and birth are done artificially; or when human embryos are sacrificed for research” as well as when governments “promote abortion, at times encouraging the adoption of sterilization practices in impoverished nations,” and impose “strict birth control measures.”

The importance of sex education

The text further underscores that the comprehensive education of children by their parents must also include formation in love and sexuality. “This subject is currently the object of much debate, which often creates conflicts between schools and families when determining what should be taught.”

The Vatican insists that people “must not forget that learning to accept one’s own body, to care for it and to respect its meanings, is essential for a true human ecology,” since “the acceptance of one’s own body as a gift from God is necessary to welcome and accept the entire world as a gift from the Father and our common home.”

In practical terms, the document encourages families to assume the responsibility of educating their members, engaging in age-appropriate conversations “regarding the need to protect human life in the face of abortion, surrogacy, and euthanasia; the need to care for family members facing difficulties; and the beauty, dignity, and meaning of human sexuality.”

It also suggests becoming involved with local schools, promoting ecological improvements both in facilities and in educational content as well as initiatives such as school gardens and the study of botany.

Integral ecology in family life

The document was jointly prepared by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life. As its authors explain, it is the fruit of a collaborative effort involving theologians, consultants, and married couples.

It offers insights and practical advice for confronting current environmental challenges and fostering the integral development of every individual.

The second part, the core of the document, is structured around seven themes inspired by Laudato Si’: listening to the cry of the earth, listening to the cry of the poor and the vulnerable, adopting and promoting an ecological economy, fostering sustainable lifestyles, advancing integral ecology in education, strengthening ecological spirituality within the family, and promoting the participation of families in community life.

Each chapter is structured into four sections: an explanation of the topic, concrete implications, questions for reflection and discussion, and proposed actions. Among these, it poses questions such as: “Has our family experienced situations in which natural resources have been used ... in a way that creates or exacerbates social tensions or inequality?” or “Have we attempted to measure, in any way, the level of our consumption within our family and our home?”

Avoid waste and use public transportation

The text also includes concrete recommendations, such as teaching children to “respect and care for animals,” “avoid wasting food or electricity,” use “public transport more frequently,” explore “low-cost options for insulating their home against cold and heat,” and the proper sorting of household waste.

Finally, the document invites participation in projects committed “to assistance and solidarity, paying special attention to vulnerable population groups, such as members of Indigenous communities, refugees, migrants, at-risk children, families experiencing difficulties or bereavement, and illiterate individuals.”

It also raises questions regarding the educational role of parents and the tensions they face when imparting values ​​of moderation in a culture marked by consumerism and social pressure.

“Parents who attempt to instill values ​​such as moderation and a modest lifestyle may be perceived as authoritarian figures — or as individuals who are oblivious to marketing and peer pressure. How can such parents be supported in navigating these challenges?” the text asks.

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 Dicastery for the Service of Charity serves as the conduit for the pope’s aid. In recent days, we dispatched a trailer to Ukraine containing medicines, food products, hygiene supplies, and clothing. We also sent 15,000 essential medicines to Lebanon,” the Spanish archbishop stated in a message posted on X.

As reported by Vatican News, the shipment to Ukraine took place on April 25, the same day of the papal almoner’s visit, and departed from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic basilica of Santa Sofia in Rome.

That shipment “marks the 150th truck to depart from our basilica,” explained the church’s rector, Father Marco Semehen, who highlighted the collaboration of the Governorate of Vatican City State and the Pharmaceutical Bank Foundation.

The shipments include several pallets of medicines, primarily antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, intended both for hospitals and for distribution among the local population through Ukrainian volunteer networks.

Semehen emphasized that the aid was gathered with particular consideration for the most vulnerable. “We have collected everything that could be useful, taking into account in particular the needs of the most fragile — the sick and the children,” he explained, noting that “for them, donations consisted primarily of medicines, family care packages, hygiene supplies, thermal blankets, food, and a great deal of clothing of excellent quality.”

The rector also highlighted the continuity of the pope’s assistance to the Ukrainian people over time.

“For Ukraine, this continuity of aid arriving from the Vatican means a great deal,” he affirmed, while noting that “with the prolongation of the war, we have observed a decline in attention toward the needs of the population.”

‘The Church is not merely theory or doctrine’

“The Church is not merely theory or doctrine; it is also practice: It is the Gospel lived out, a testimony of charity,” he stated, adding that witnessing such generous participation “is a source of great joy.” In this regard, he underscored that “charity is the fitting response of Christians in the face of the spread of hatred in the world.”

The papal almoner also issued an appeal for peace: “The cry ‘Peace, peace, peace!’ must enter the minds and hearts of all. We still have a long way to go, and we need a true conversion.”

The pope’s assistance also extended to Lebanon. As reported by Vatican media this week, the Office of Papal Charities organized the humanitarian aid shipment to the country, sending 15,000 essential medicines, which will be distributed through the apostolic nunciature in Beirut.

The medications include antibiotics, diabetes and blood pressure medications, anti-inflammatories, multivitamin supplements, and other drugs for the most common acute and chronic conditions.

Marín highlighted the importance of cooperation in responding effectively to humanitarian emergencies. “Our dicastery is engaged in charitable work at the international level as well, operating through nunciatures and local churches,” he explained, underscoring the need to build networks and raise awareness to shed light on “the terrible reality of war, the needs it creates, and how we can collaborate in concrete ways to help those who are suffering.”

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.

According to a statement from organizers, the five patron saints of WYD Seoul 2027 are St. John Paul II, founder of World Youth Day; St. Andrew Kim Taegon and his companion martyrs; St. Frances Xavier Cabrini; St. Josephine Bakhita; and St. Carlo Acutis.

St. John Paul II (1920–2005) is remembered for centering much of his pastoral teaching on young people, the family, and the defense of the dignity of human life. St. Andrew Kim Taegon (1821–1846), the first Korean Catholic priest, together with his companion martyrs, represents a powerful witness of faith and courage, sealed by martyrdom at a young age.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850–1917) was a tireless missionary, known especially for her work on behalf of migrants and the poor. St. Josephine Bakhita (1869–1947), a former slave who became a religious sister, is a witness of hope, freedom, and faith transformed through suffering. St. Carlo Acutis (1991–2006), meanwhile, embodies the witness of holiness in the digital age and remains a model of evangelization for young people today.

As is customary for each World Youth Day, the patron saints are presented as models and guides of faith for young people through the witness of their lives and spirituality. For WYD Seoul 2027, the choices were made in light of the event’s major spiritual themes: truth, love, and peace.

The selection process began at the end of 2024 and included a nationwide survey of young people, youth ministry leaders, and formators. Following that consultation, the Local Organizing Committee reviewed the candidates and made the final selection.

After the announcement, a group of young volunteers spent two months studying the lives and spirituality of the five patron saints. Through prayer, dialogue, and shared reflection, they prepared a special prayer and a representative symbol for each saint to express the particular witness they offer to new generations.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, emphasized the importance of the selection, saying the patron saints “play a fundamental role in the preparation of each World Youth Day.” He said these models of holiness invite young people to reflect on God’s call and encourage them to respond with generosity and courage in following Christ.

“May the witness of these patron saints inspire young people throughout the world, especially in contexts marked by difficulty and persecution,” Farrell said.

Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung of Seoul, president of the Local Organizing Committee, noted that the chosen saints represent different continents and generations.

“Each one of them offers a concrete path for living the faith amid the realities that young people face today,” Chung said, expressing his hope that participants will form a deep spiritual bond with the saints during the journey of preparation for WYD.

The Local Organizing Committee will continue presenting the lives and spirituality of the patron saints through the official WYD Seoul 2027 website and social media channels, while also developing new content and formation programs.

Along with the announcement, the committee also launched an interactive section titled “Meet Your Patron Saint!” Inspired by personality tests and digital quizzes, the feature asks young people a series of questions to help them discover which of the five saints most closely resembles their own personality. The goal is to help young people encounter the saints not only as historical figures but also as companions who can illuminate the questions and hopes of today.

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.