Over the three-day gathering, specialists from various fields addressed the scientific, anthropological, and ethical challenges connected with sexuality and reproduction.

Pope Leo XIV was himself set to address the first day of the Oct. 16–18 conference, titled “The Splendor of the Human Person: Preserving Fertility, Healing Infertility,” but the audience had to be canceled due to the pontiff’s hospitalization Oct. 13–17.

The congress, held at the Rome campus of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, opened with a lecture by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on “the dignity and beauty of procreation in the Church’s magisterium.”

Bishop Claudio Giuliodori, president of the Italy-based Paul VI International Scientific Institute Foundation (ISI) and general ecclesiastical assistant of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, warned that the assisted reproductive technology in vitro fertilization (IVF) “removes the generative act from the responsibility of the spouses” and places it in the hands of “doctors and laboratory technicians.”

“It raises no small number of ethical questions that, without any hesitation, we move from a procreative act rooted in the gift of mutual love, expressed in becoming one flesh in marriage, to a kind of delegation or subcontracting of the most relevant and meaningful human act, namely the begetting of a child, entrusting it to a process external to the couple and exclusively technical in nature,” the prelate said.

Giuliodori also addressed the moral issues surrounding IVF and other assisted reproductive techniques, ranging from the collection of germ cells and AI-assisted selection of gametes to the production, freezing, and possible use of embryos for scientific research.

“We must consider the numerous and complex technical and ethical questions linked to obtaining germ cells, the selection of gametes today through artificial intelligence, the methods of producing embryos according to the various techniques, the number of those who, even after implantation, are subject to reduction or elimination, the cryopreservation of embryos that are not implanted, and their possible use for scientific research,” he said.

The prelate emphasized that Italy is estimated to have between 30,000 and 100,000 frozen embryos, while noting that precise figures do not exist. “No one is able to produce exact data, and this is striking,” he said, highlighting the “health, legal, economic, and above all ethical” implications of this reality.

According to Giuliodori, the central issue “from an anthropological and ethical, but also existential and social point of view” is that IVF transfers the generation of new life outside the marital relationship.

‘Not produced in a laboratory’

On July 25, 1978, Louise Brown, the first child born through assisted reproductive technologies, came into the world. Giuliodori noted that many of these techniques were initially developed in the field of animal reproduction and argued that their application to human generation is morally unacceptable.

“[That] which may be justified in the context of livestock breeding appears wholly inappropriate and ethically unacceptable for human beings, who have the right to be conceived within the exclusive context of their parents’ act of love, not produced in a laboratory,” he said.

He also lamented that public debate focuses almost exclusively on adults’ desire to have children.

“Unfortunately, there is much discussion about the right to have a child by whatever means, but very little about the right of the child to be conceived in a truly human way within the context of conjugal love,” he said.

Leo XIV and Donum Vitae

During his remarks, Giuliodori recalled recent teachings from Pope Leo XIV on the dignity of every human life and the need to set ethical limits on technological development.

The president of the ISI Foundation also cited one of the central affirmations of the instruction Donum Vitae, published Feb. 22, 1987, by the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger: “What is technically possible is not thereby morally admissible.”

Clinical alternatives to artificial fertilization

In the second part of his speech, Giuliodori reviewed the history and mission of the ISI, which was created to offer clinical alternatives to artificial fertilization by treating the underlying causes of infertility.

He highlighted that the institute now operates within the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital Foundation, where it benefits from “all the support necessary for the most advanced research” and from an interdisciplinary approach that enables “highly precise and in-depth diagnoses.”

According to Giuliodori, this method offers “the real possibility, already widely documented, of providing concrete answers for eliminating the causes of infertility.”

He said that the experience accumulated over 25 years has made ISI an international reference point for couples seeking to address infertility without resorting to artificial fertilization techniques.

“The results achieved, including in terms of pregnancies, exceed in percentage terms those reported by medically assisted reproduction centers,” he said.

‘The infertility emergency’

Dr. Paola Pellicanò, a physician at the Center for Natural Fertility Regulation at Rome’s Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, a consecrated member of the Ordo Virginum (Order of Virgins), and president of the association Donum Vitae, stressed the need to address “the infertility emergency in which we find ourselves” with responses that go beyond the technical or reproductive solutions usually proposed.

In this regard, she noted that recent World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines have begun to recognize the importance of fertility education, the promotion of healthy lifestyles, and respect for the personal convictions of couples.

According to Pellicanò, these recommendations point toward a greater appreciation of knowledge about fertile periods in the female cycle and educational outreach to the wider population.

The specialist recalled that in 1988 the WHO itself published a guide on natural fertility regulation services, defining them as “primarily educational,” and emphasized that “the success of these programs depended on the training of qualified instructors.”

Response to a cultural and social emergency

During her presentation, Pellicanò linked the work carried out by the Center for Natural Fertility Regulation in Italy with a broader vision of the person and the family.

Its origins date back to 1976, when gynecologist and missionary Dr. Anna Cappella, trained in natural fertility regulation through her collaboration with Drs. John and Evelyn Billings, took charge of a project promoted by the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart with the support of the Holy See and the Italian Bishops’ Conference.

That work later led to the creation of a study and research center specializing in natural fertility regulation, which over the years became an international point of reference.

Pellicanò particularly highlighted the center’s clinical experience, which has accompanied more than 8,000 couples.

She insisted that fertility should not be viewed solely through the lens of achieving pregnancy: “The passion is not limited to solving the problem of having or not having a child, but embraces the whole of life.”

According to Pellicanò, “knowing and understanding fertility allows people to become protagonists of their own decisions” and helps them avoid “a merely passive attitude toward certain interventions or reproductive techniques.”

Prevention, responsibility, and generosity

Pellicanò stressed that concepts such as prevention of infertility, responsibility, and generosity are fundamental not only for addressing infertility but also broader phenomena such as the demographic crisis.

“Words such as prevention, but also responsibility and generosity, take on value here, as they are important for addressing the cultural and emotional aspects of infertility and of the decline in birth rates itself,” she explained.

She also highlighted the extensive training the network built over the decades, with more than 1,000 instructors of the Billings Ovulation Method in Italy, integrated into international organizations and connected with projects developed on different continents.

The president of Donum Vitae defended a scientific approach that does not lose sight of the human dimension of procreation and medicine.

“Preserving fertility is a scientific vision that places the human person at its center,” she said.

In this regard, she recalled that the tradition developed by the center is rooted in the conviction that knowledge of female fertility is a reality inscribed in a woman’s very nature and one that can be studied scientifically.

Pellicanò placed this vision in continuity with the teachings of the most recent pontiffs, from St. Paul VI and St. John Paul II to Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV, who in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas presents openness to life as an expression of human beauty and dignity.

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

The conference “The Church of the Sheaves: An International Gathering in Rome on Mission as an Exchange of Gifts” began at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome on Oct. 22 and will continue through Oct. 24. It was organized by the Dicastery for Evangelization.

Gathering clergy, scholars, and synodal teams, the conference is also part of a new project from the dicastery to foster a sense of belonging among missionaries in countries where Christianity once flourished.

Migration cannot be stopped

Migration was a recurring theme at the conference, as both missionary activity and migration are increasing worldwide. Tensions surrounding migration, particularly in Europe, prompted participants to discuss the challenges modern missionaries face in their host countries, including discrimination.

Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, a secretary at the Dicastery for Evangelization, described migration as a phenomenon that “cannot stop” and highlighted the Church’s experience in addressing it.

“Migration is something we cannot stop,” Nwachukwu told EWTN News. Migration will always be there as long as we have human beings and their need to survive. If we try to stop it by force, the migrants themselves will force the gates. So the best way to go about migration is to manage it.”

“The Church has been at the forefront of the art, practice, and experience of managing migration. [The missionaries] have shown us that not every migrant should be discriminated against. Every human being, made in the image and likeness of God, has something to offer,” Nwachukwu added.

Others noted that the Gospel has necessarily crossed borders in its spread and that relations between missionaries and their host countries must be reciprocal to overcome hostilities, citing the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman.

“The encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman suggests that mission can transform those relationships through vulnerability, dialogue, reciprocity, and witness,” Rocío Cortés Rodríguez, assistant professor of theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, said during her presentation.

Reimagining missionary work as an exchange of gifts

The Church of the Sheaves is a new initiative from the Dicastery for Evangelization that will begin as an online course for clergy, religious, and pastoral workers, providing cultural training for missionaries and the communities that receive them.

Father Stan Chu Ilo, co-director of the Church of the Sheaves project, explained that the project aims to reimagine missionary work as an exchange of gifts.

“It is not a reactionary mission,” Ilo told EWTN News. “In the past, we had Fidei Donum, where Pope Pius XII, as the world came out of the Second World War, defined the path towards mission as the gift of one part — in this case, it was Europeans who were going to Africa. Now we have a changing world population; the Catholic Church is growing.”

“It is a project then to … retrain pastoral agents, missionary practitioners everywhere to embrace this new dynamism and these new opportunities of movement of Godʼs people from one part of the world to another,” Ilo added.

The decision follows medical advice as the pope continues to recover from thoracic surgery performed last week.

“To facilitate his recovery following the thoracic surgery performed on Tuesday of last week, and following the advice of his doctors, Pope Leo XIV will not be able to attend the ‘Unarmed and Disarming Peace’ gathering in Assisi on Oct. 27, as previously planned, on the 40th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace convened by St. John Paul II,” the Holy See Press Office said in a statement.

The Vatican added that the pope will send a message expressing his closeness to the organizers, leaders, and representatives of Christian denominations and other religions, as well as the guests attending the event.

The statement emphasized the popeʼs conviction that the “spirit of Assisi,” dialogue, and the search for words and gestures of peace are valuable resources in an era marked by conflict.

Earlier Friday, the Holy See Press Office released a medical bulletin signed by Dr. Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora.

“As scheduled, the Holy Father underwent a follow-up chest X-ray. The examination confirmed that his postoperative recovery is progressing exceptionally well,” the doctors said.

“However, given the short time that has elapsed since the operation, the attending physicians considered it advisable, as a precautionary measure, to recommend against the planned helicopter trip on Oct. 27.”

The decision does not indicate any abnormality in the popeʼs recovery but reflects medical caution ahead of his planned trip to Latin America in November.

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.

“Jesus did not choose the Twelve because they were already courageous; he called them and, through his trust, made them capable. To our young people we must be able to repeat the words the disciples addressed to the blind Bartimaeus: ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you,’” the pontiff said in a message addressed to participants in the International Congress on School and University Pastoral Ministry, which concludes Friday, Oct. 23, in the Paul VI Audience Hall.

The gathering, organized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, brings together 1,200 participants from 60 countries and is inspired by the apostolic letter “Charting New Maps of Hope,” the first apostolic letter of Pope Leo XIV. In it, he proposes a new phase of education built on three pillars: cultivating interiority, promoting a humane and rational use of digital technologies, and educating for peace.

“Help the young people you encounter become protagonists of a new way of inhabiting the world, builders of fraternity and of a more just society. Courage is born from a covenant of trust: from the experience of someone believing in you before you believe in yourself,” the Holy Father said.

Digital loneliness and feelings of inadequacy

Leo XIV warned that many students today face situations of suffering marked by “wounded families, digital loneliness, feelings of inadequacy, or fear of a future that seems uncertain.”

“We live in a culture of performance that constantly compares and ranks, sometimes mercilessly. A misunderstood meritocracy ends up failing to respect the dignity of persons,” he warned.

For this reason, he stressed the importance of educational institutions being, above all, “a home, a familiar place where one is expected.”

The pope also emphasized that the proper mission of education is the shared search for truth and encouraged educators to value young people’s questions and foster an encounter between faith and reason: “May your passion be to help young people experience the beauty of an encounter with Christ, as well as the fruitfulness of the synergy between faith and reason.”

Leo XIV also invited participants to focus their efforts on the integral formation of young people, especially in educating their emotional life and interior life.

“School and university pastoral ministry will be all the more fruitful the more it is centered on the education of the heart,” he said. In this regard, he encouraged the promotion of compassion, gratitude, sensitivity to the suffering of others, and openness to God, recalling that “charity and prayer are inseparable.”

In closing, the pope compared the educational mission to Jesus’ accompaniment of the disciples on the road to Emmaus and urged teachers, chaplains, and pastoral workers to walk alongside young people and help them discover the gifts God has placed within them.

“You have chosen to do something much greater: to walk with them along the way until they discover the gifts God has already placed within them,” he concluded.

‘Revival driven by Leo XIV’

Among those taking part in the Vatican gathering is Carina Rossa, a member of the coordinating committee of the Global Compact on Education.

According to Rossa, who is from Argentina, one of the most significant aspects of the congress is the renewed attention the Holy See is giving to educational pastoral ministry, an area that, she explained, until now did not have a dedicated structure within the Dicastery for Culture and Education.

“Educational pastoral ministry is experiencing a revival driven by Leo XIV,” she said. “It is an area that is the heart of the university and the heart of the school.”

She recalled that the Global Compact on Education was launched by Pope Francis in 2020 and highlighted the importance of Leo XIV’s decision to take it up again and relaunch it during the Jubilee of the World of Education in 2025.

“The fact that Pope Leo relaunched the Global Compact on Education has been very important in revitalizing this proposal,” she said. According to Rossa, universities and educational institutions in different parts of the world have shown renewed interest ever since. “There is a need for, and a new enthusiasm about, this project.”

3 priorities for Catholic education

Rossa noted that the congress is centered on three major goals identified by Leo XIV: cultivating interior life, promoting a humane use of digital technologies, and educating for peace.

In particular, she emphasized the importance of recovering the spiritual dimension of education in a context marked by a crisis of meaning and mental health challenges among young people.

“What is emerging strongly is a great desire for meaning, interiority, spirituality, and silence,” she said. “We appreciate that Pope Leo speaks about this from his Augustinian charism, but above all because he does so in light of listening to young people,” the Global Compact on Education representative said.

She explained that in recent years the initiative has gathered testimonies and concerns from young people in different countries.

While she sees among them a strong social commitment and a desire for an integral education, she believes there is an even deeper need.

“St. Augustine reflects today’s young person very well, searching everywhere until discovering that God was within him all along,” she said.

A pastoral ministry that transforms academic life

For Rossa, educational pastoral ministry should not be understood as a parallel activity or one limited to religious celebrations but as a dimension capable of transforming the entire life of an academic institution.

“It is not something isolated, nor is it only about celebrations,” she explained. “It can revitalize the way we teach, the way we relate to students, the way the university connects with its local community, or how it approaches questions such as care for creation, the search for truth, beauty, and culture.”

After only the first day of the congress, the Argentine highlighted the high quality of the presentations and the atmosphere among participants.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm,” she said. “The 1,200 people gathered here are not only listening but are creating a true community among pastoral workers from different parts of the world.”

Unexpected encounter with the pope

One of the most moving moments of the congress was the encounter with Leo XIV, which had been on the schedule for weeks but had been thrown into doubt because of his recent lung cancer surgery, from which he is gradually recovering.

“It was very moving because we were not expecting it,” Rossa recounted. “Given his health situation, it seemed to me a very generous gesture on his part.”

After his address, Leo XIV personally greeted several of the speakers and participants.

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

The text, approved by Pope Leo XIV on Aug. 21, consists of eight chapters and 144 paragraphs, and bears the signature of Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

It is presented as a set of “considerations,” drawing on the input and contributions of several national bishops’ conferences, rather than as a “doctrinal note.”

The document says that today, difficulties to sharing the faith abound, including the spread of secularization and individualism.

“It must be acknowledged that what is in crisis is not only the transmission of the faith, but also a certain vision of the human person and of his or her foundational values — a vision that had found its fulfillment precisely in the Gospel,” it says.

“The crisis of modernity, which is the hallmark of this epochal change, has thus contributed to the emergence of a new culture that has come into competition with the traditional structures through which the faith has been transmitted.”

Encounter with the Lord Jesus

The text says that “the heart of the Christian experience” is “an encounter with the Lord Jesus that brings us into contact with the true light of divine love, keeps us from losing our way in darkness, and leads us to life. It is precisely in this sense that we can speak of the ‘light of faith.’”

“The transmission of the faith,” the document says, “has its ultimate foundation in God’s initiative, who, in Christ, revealed his face and entrusted the Apostles the task of proclaiming the Gospel to all nations. This mission, however, did not end with the apostolic preaching but continues throughout history through the Church.”

The document also recalls the words of Pope Benedict XVI, who, in a 2007 homily, reaffirmed that “the most authentic force of the evangelizing mission of the community of the Lord’s disciples remains the power of attraction.”

Role of the family, Church community

Central to this transmission is the role of the family, “the first and most essential place for the transmission of the faith.” In the family, there exists “the primary setting in which faith [was] passed from one generation to the next,” the document says.

From the family, one then moves to the Church community: “What a person has received from their parents — namely, the witness of faith in Jesus, who fully revealed the face of God’s infinite love, freeing human beings from darkness and opening them to the true light of life — finds in the Church the means and the opportunities to become the guiding principle of how that person sees the world,” it says.

The document adds: “Through catechesis, the celebration of the sacraments, the various spaces that foster active participation in community life (as proposed by the current synodal journey), commitment to the most disadvantaged, and gathering in the house of the Lord on Sundays, one reaches that maturity of faith which ultimately consists in seeing everything ‘through the eyes of Jesus.’”

In our age there are still people who convert or return to the practice of the Catholic faith; nevertheless, “there is also a parallel difficulty concerning the perseverance of neophytes [new Catholics], who often, shortly after receiving baptism, return to a state of practical indifference,” the document says. It therefore becomes necessary, the dicastery warns, to rediscover “the importance of the community in welcoming and accompanying new members of the faithful.”

New technologies and ideology

Addressing new digital technologies and artificial intelligence, the document says “the invitation to faith risks becoming disembodied, detached from concrete life, or tied to ideologies promoted by vocal minorities. This can lead to distortions of the faith itself or of conscience, or it can lead people to construct a so-called ‘do-it-yourself’ faith, shaped by their own tastes and preferences rather than by the teaching of the Church.”

At the same time, this situation opens up new frontiers for evangelization and, the dicastery states, the essential need “to transmit the faith, beginning with the ‘kerygma.’”

“It seems entirely natural that believers should embark on a renewed period of proclaiming the Gospel,” it continues. For this reason, “Christian communities are strongly called to promote — in season and out of season — a renewal of the proclamation of the ‘kerygma.’”

Liturgy

In the document, the liturgy is given particular importance for the transmission of the faith: “If the heart of the Christian proclamation is the encounter with God’s saving love in Christ, the liturgy constitutes the privileged place in which this mystery is celebrated and communicated sacramentally. For this reason, it plays a central role in handing on the faith, serving as the beating heart of ecclesial life, where the community is nourished by the Word of God and the Bread of eternal life.”

“In this regard, we must move beyond a reductive view that regards the liturgy as merely a ritual framework for ecclesial life. The liturgy, in fact, is first and foremost an experience of faith, even before it is a teaching, in that it allows the faithful to participate in gestures, words, silences, and symbols, thereby experiencing the mystery of Christ in a living way,” it continues.

The document further emphasizes that special care must be taken to enable, in every diocese, both the faithful and those approaching or returning to the believing community to encounter the various liturgical sensibilities present within the tradition of the Catholic Church.

While respecting the liturgical norms currently in force, pastors are called to value the richness of the Catholic liturgical heritage in such a way as to reach the diverse sensibilities of their flock. “The Christian community grows and is built up through ritual practices, and in this regard, the Church’s rich spiritual heritage represents a precious and inexhaustible resource,” the document says.

Inculturation

Finally, the document includes a passage on inculturation. It is important to recall, it states, “that the inculturation of the faith constitutes a necessary step in its transmission, since the Gospel message must be made understandable to people who share values and categories that do not perfectly coincide with the Hellenistic-Semitic ones in which the biblical text was originally formulated.”

“Where the faith touches the cultural roots and expressions of a people, its transmission truly becomes easier and more fruitful,” it says.

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.

“This is not merely an invitation to see a new city; it is a call to set out on a pilgrimage of faith, friendship, and hope,” Leo said in a video message.

The Vatican released the pontiff’s message on Thursday, coinciding with the liturgical feast of St. John Paul II, who established WYD in 1985. In his message, Leo referred to his predecessor, who invited the young to “open wide the doors for Christ.”

“Providentially, today we celebrate the liturgical memory of St. John Paul II, who continuously proclaimed to all peoples, 'Do not be afraid, open wide the doors for Christ.’ These words also apply to each one of you," Leo said.

The pope, who is expected to attend, also reminded young Catholics what to look forward to as they register for WYD 2027: unity in diversity.

“In Seoul, you will meet young people from all across the world, representing a beautiful and rich variety of languages and cultures,” the pope said.

“Yet, despite these differences, and indeed because of your God-given diversity, you will experience an even greater sense of unity, for we are all members of the one body of Christ.”

WYD 2027 registration

The next World Youth Day will take place in Seoul from Aug. 3–8, 2027.

In a press release accompanying the pope’s message, the WYD 2027 organizers urged those registering to do so as groups. As explained in the press release, registration takes place in two phases: first, the group leader creates a group account, and second, the group leader adds each member’s information. Registration is complete once payment is made.

Pilgrims are offered 11 packages to choose from, ranging from $70 to $340, depending on the type of stay, and including public transportation and a pilgrim kit.

Registrations can be made on the WYD 2027 website.

Theme song, patron saints, and Korean hospitality

The theme of WYD 2027 is taken from the Gospel of John 16:33: “Take Courage! I Have Overcome the World.”

On Aug. 3, the WYD 2027 countdown began with the premiere of its official theme song, “Confidite, Ego Vici Mundum” (“Take Courage, I Have Overcome the World,” in Latin), on YouTube. The song was composed by Korean composer Francis Jiyoon Kim.

St. John Paul II and four other saints are patrons of WYD 2027: St. Andrew Kim Taegon and his companion martyrs, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, St. Josephine Bakhita, and St. Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint to be canonized.

In a July press release ahead of the countdown, Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung of Seoul, president of the local organizing committee, expressed hope that the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims expected in Seoul will experience the hospitality of the South Korean people.

“Over the past three years, we have concentrated on laying the foundations for the event. The year ahead will be the time to complete our preparations and welcome young people from every part of the world,” Chung said.

The pontiff held a private audience on Thursday with a delegation from the American Jewish Committee, one of several meetings he has held with Jewish leaders since his election as pope in 2025.

During the audience, coinciding with the liturgical feast day of St. John Paul II, Leo praised the Polish pope’s efforts to advance Catholic-Jewish dialogue, recalling his address to their delegation in 1995.

“Addressing the board of governors of your committee in 1995, he observed that ‘dialogue between Christians and Jews must find eloquent expression in the life of both our communities,’” Leo said in his address.

“These words remain relevant today, as reflected in your organization’s long-standing commitment to dialogue and cooperation with the Catholic Church.”

As he did in June during a meeting with the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York, Leo reflected on the progress of Catholic-Jewish dialogue since the 1965 publication of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Councilʼs declaration condemning all forms of antisemitism.

“Rooted in our shared spiritual heritage, this friendship also calls us to defend human dignity, serve the poor, protect religious freedom, and promote justice and peace. Essential to this commitment is the rejection of all forms of religious and ethnic hatred and discrimination,” Leo said.

Reiterating the Church’s stance against antisemitism, he added that differences of opinion between Catholics and Jews “must never give rise to prejudice and hostility” and that fraternity between them will “certainly contribute to building a more peaceful world.”

But did you know that he also changed the Catholic Church forever during those 27 years? Here are five ways he did that:

1. He helped bring about the 1989 fall of communism in Eastern Europe.

The pope’s official biographer, George Weigel, who for decades chronicled the pope’s engagement with civic leaders, noted that the way Pope John Paul II influenced the political landscape was enormous. His political influence is seen best in the way his engagement with world leaders assisted the downfall of the U.S.S.R.

Just days before President Ronald Reagan called on Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the Berlin Wall, he met with the pope. According to historian and author Paul Kengor, Reagan went so far as to call Pope John Paul II his “best friend,” opining that no one knew his soul better than the Polish pontiff who had also suffered an assassination attempt and carried the burden of world leadership.

In the course of 38 official visits and 738 audiences and meetings held with heads of state, John Paul II influenced civic leaders around the world in this epic battle with a regime that would ultimately be responsible for the deaths of more than 30 million people.

“He thought of himself as the universal pastor of the Catholic Church, dealing with sovereign political actors who were as subject to the universal moral law as anybody else,” Weigel said.

“He was willing to be a risk-taker, but he also appreciated that prudence is the greatest of political virtues. And I think he was quite respected by world political leaders because of his transparent integrity. His essential attitude toward these men and women was: How can I help you? What can I do to help?”

More than anything, John Paul II understood his role primarily as a spiritual leader.

According to Weigel, the pope’s primary impact on the world of affairs was his central role in creating the revolution of conscience that began in Poland and swept across Eastern Europe. This revolution of conscience inspired the nonviolent revolution of 1989 and the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, an astounding political achievement.

2. He beatified and canonized more saints than any predecessor, making holiness more accessible to ordinary people.

One of John Paul II’s most enduring legacies is the huge number of saints he recognized. He celebrated 147 beatification ceremonies, during which he proclaimed 1,338 blesseds, and celebrated 51 canonizations for a total of 482 saints. That is more than the combined tally of his predecessors over the five centuries before.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta is perhaps the best-known contemporary of John Paul II who is now officially a saint, but the first saint of the new millennium and one especially dear to John Paul II was St. Faustina Kowalska, the fellow Polish native who received the message of divine mercy.

“Sister Faustina’s canonization has a particular eloquence: By this act I intend today to pass this message on to the new millennium,” he said in the homily of her canonization. “I pass it on to all people, so that they will learn to know ever better the true face of God and the true face of their brethren.”

St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, whom Pope John Paul II beatified in 1990 and nicknamed the “Man of the Beatitudes,” is another popular saint elevated by the Polish pope who loved to recognize the holiness of simple persons living the call to holiness with extraordinary fidelity. At the time of his death, the 24-year-old Italian was simply a student with no extraordinary accomplishments. But his love for Christ in the Eucharist and in the poor was elevated by John Paul II as heroic and worthy of imitation. Frassati was canonized Sept. 7, 2025, by Pope Leo XIV.

It bears noting that Pope Francis would later surpass John Paul II when he proclaimed 800 Italian martyrs as saints in a single day.

3. He transformed the papal travel schedule.

John Paul II visited some 129 countries during his pontificate — more countries than any other pope had visited up to that point.

He also created World Youth Days in 1985 and presided over 19 of them as pope.

Weigel said John Paul II understood that the pope must be present to the people of the Church, wherever they are.

“He chose to do it by these extensive travels, which he insisted were not travels, they were pilgrimages,” Weigel said.

“This was the successor of Peter, on pilgrimage to various parts of the world, of the Church. And that’s why these pilgrimages were always built around liturgical events, prayer, adoration of the holy Eucharist, ecumenical and interreligious gatherings — all of this was part of a pilgrimage experience.”

In the latter half of the 20th century — a time of enormous social change and upheaval — John Paul II’s extensive travels and proclamation of the Gospel to the ends of the earth were just what the world needed, Weigel said.

4. He made extraordinary contributions to Church teaching.

John Paul II was a scholar who promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992, reformed the Eastern and Western Codes of Canon Law during his pontificate, and authored 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions, and 45 apostolic letters.

This is why Weigel said the Church has only begun to unpack what he calls the “magisterium” of John Paul II, in the form of his writings and his intellectual influence.

For example, John Paul’s theology of the body remains enormously influential in the United States and throughout the world, though Weigel said even this has yet to be unpacked.

5. He gave new life to the Catholic Church in Africa.

John Paul II’s legendary evangelical fervor took fire in Africa.

He had a particular friendship with Beninese Cardinal Bernardin Gantin and visited Africa many times. His visits would inspire a generation of JPII Catholics in Africa as well as other parts of the globe.

“John Paul II was fascinated by Africa; he saw African Christianity as living, a kind of New Testament experience of the freshness of the Gospel, and he was very eager to support that, and lift it up,” Gantin said.

“It was very interesting that during the two synods on marriage and the family in 2014 and 2015, some of the strongest defenses of the Church’s classic understanding of marriage and family came from African bishops. Some of whom are first-, second-generation Christians, deeply formed in the image of John Paul II, whom they regard as a model bishop,” Gantin said.

“I think wherever you look around the world Church, the living parts of the Church are those that have accepted the magisterium ... as the authentic interpretation of Vatican II. And the dying parts of the Church, the moribund parts of the Church are those parts that have ignored that magisterium.”

John Paul II’s influence in Africa and around the globe transformed the world. It also forever transformed the Church.

This story was first published on Oct. 22, 2021, and was updated Oct. 22, 2024, and again on Oct. 22, 2026.

The brief statement provided a significant update on the popeʼs postoperative condition.

“Dr. Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora report the following regarding the popeʼs postoperative recovery: Today, the final histological examinations and molecular biology tests on the tissue removed during the Holy Fatherʼs surgery were completed. The results confirmed that it was pulmonary adenocarcinoma and that the disease was localized. A subsequent oncological assessment confirmed that no further treatment is necessary,” the statement said.

The news that Pope Leo XIV will not require additional treatment following his surgery is an announcement that the world had been awaiting.

Pope Leo XIV was discharged from Romeʼs Gemelli Hospital on Oct. 17 and returned to the Vatican.

On Oct. 21, he held his first general audience since the operation. Appearing to be in excellent spirits, the pope was undeterred by the rain in Rome.

He wanted to be close to the faithful and thank them for their prayers for his health.

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.

Celebrated according to the Chaldean rite, the Mass filled St. Peter’s Basilica with prayers and chants in Aramaic, bringing the traditions of the ancient Chaldean Church to the heart of Catholicism. The occasion expressed the unity of the Catholic Church across its different rites and traditions.

The celebration followed a Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 14, during which Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, acting on behalf of Pope Leo XIV, publicly affirmed the ecclesiastical communion the pope granted to Nona following his election as patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans in April.

For a community scattered across continents, the gathering was also an opportunity for Chaldean Catholics to come together in prayer, celebrate a shared heritage, and reflect on the challenges facing Chaldeans both in their homeland and abroad.

“This was a beautiful, spiritual, and historic day for all of us — one that we are going to cherish for the rest of our lives,” Father Fawaz Kako, a Chaldean priest serving in the United States, told EWTN News. “It is such a blessing to come together in one place, under one holy Catholic Church.”

For Kako, the faith of earlier generations, particularly those who suffered martyrdom, continues to sustain Chaldeans wherever they live. “Our connection to our Church is about more than just language. It is deeply rooted in Christ and in all the martyrs who gave themselves to him and whom we look to,” he said.

“Those who came before us shed their blood for Jesus. Today, we see that as a source of strength, something we can cling to as we continue to follow Christ.”

Preserving that identity far from the homeland presents its own difficulties.

Father Christopher Somo, another Chaldean priest serving in the United States, described the pressure that smaller communities face within the societies where they have settled.

“When you go to another culture, there’s a temptation to let your culture become diluted in the midst of a larger and more powerful culture,” he said.

At the same time, Somo stressed that the Church faces the challenge of preserving its presence and heritage in Iraq after many years of persecution.

Father Albert Hisham, a Chaldean priest based in Iraq, described how successive waves of violence, particularly since 2003, had driven Christians to leave. He recalled church bombings, the kidnapping and killing of clergy and other Christians, and the Islamic State group’s expulsion of Christians from Mosul and villages in the Nineveh Plain. 

“This has led our people, our Chaldean faithful, to almost lose confidence in the possibility of remaining in Iraq, which deeply saddens us,” Hisham said. He also estimated that more than 1 million Christians had emigrated over the past two or three decades. Yet leaving Iraq has not necessarily brought an end to their longing for home.

For those abroad, Hisham said, the desire to return remains, but the difficulties of resettling prevent many from acting on it.

“There are many Christians who find it very difficult to return to Iraq after settling in countries abroad,” he stressed.

Kako also acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding a permanent return, even among those who maintain close ties with their homeland. “We always travel back home and visit. But we are also very well established in the diaspora,” he said. “It all depends on how peaceful that region will be.”

Hisham said Patriarch Nona has emphasized that encouraging Christians to return must be accompanied by practical measures to help them rebuild their lives. These include housing, employment, and opportunities for investment.

“There must be job opportunities for Christians to return; otherwise, the invitation alone is not enough,” he said.

While the question of return remains unresolved, communities abroad continue to support those in Iraq. Father Mahir Murad, a Chaldean priest serving in Australia, described efforts that range from raising funds to advocating for their protection.

“In Australia, we’re doing a lot of lobbying with members of Parliament about how we can keep our people safe, what we can do to protect them, and how we can help them leave the country if we can,” he said.

Parish communities also collect donations and send financial assistance to people back home, he added. Murad acknowledged the difficult choices involved in supporting both those who wish to remain and those who feel they must leave. He expressed a desire to preserve the community’s presence in its homeland while respecting the needs of people who fear for their safety.

“We are the indigenous people of Iraq. We want our people to stay, but to feel protected also,” he said. “For those who want to leave because they feel persecuted, we want to help them leave the country.”

Nevertheless, Murad said he hopes peace will allow more Chaldeans to return.

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

“The history of the world without saints would be immeasurably poorer; that is, less human,” Leo said in his address.

The pontiff met on Wednesday with participants of the “Holiness in History” conference, held at the Patristic Institute Augustinianum center in Rome from Oct. 19–21. Organized by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the conference explored the role of historical research in determining whether to declare someone a saint.

Rigor in canonization causes

In his remarks, Leo referenced Pope Pius XI, who established the dicastery’s historical section in 1930, and emphasized that recent causes for canonization must continue to be carefully evaluated against historical evidence of one’s holiness.

“The treatment of ‘recent causes’ likewise cannot dispense with a serious and rigorous examination of all the material collected,” Pope Leo said. “Causes of saints make use of the tools proper to the study of history, even though their aim is not to produce historiography, but rather to bring to light the exemplary nature, spirituality, and reputation for holiness of those proposed for the altars.”

Saints must be understood in context

Leo also explained the importance of placing canonized saints in the context in which they lived, eliminating stereotypes and misunderstandings.

“As the ages pass, even the profile of saints may undergo development: not to follow the stereotypes of the moment, but to interpret a particular experience through the categories of the Gospel lived out,” Leo said.

“For this reason, placing the witness of a saint within the context in which he or she lived is very important. The people of God seek models for living in the present, intercessors who help members of the Church face today’s challenges and recognize their opportunities.”

“The mutual self-giving of man and woman, such that ‘they are no longer two but one flesh,’ underlies the requirement for ‘total fidelity’ and the ‘unbreakable oneness’ of the spouses, finding vivid expression in the procreation and upbringing of children,” he said during his catechesis on Oct. 21.

The pontiff presided over the general audience just days after being discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he underwent surgery for lung cancer on Oct. 13. It was the Holy Father’s first ride in the popemobile since the operation and a chance to greet the faithful who had braved the morning’s rainy weather.

The pope was welcomed with a lengthy applause when he arrived at the platform in St. Peter’s Square. Not only pilgrims but also cardinals and bishops working in the Roman Curia gave a standing ovation upon his arrival. For many, it was the first opportunity to shake his hand again following his hospitalization.

Leo XIV appeared energetic after the surgical procedure, which took place just eight days ago. Before beginning the catechesis, he thanked the many people who had shown him support during his hospitalization: “The first thing I would like to say is thank you! Thank you for the support of your prayers. Thanks be to God for his generosity.”

Protecting families is ‘more urgent than ever before’

During his address, the Holy Father continued his series of messages dedicated to the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes.

He focused his reflection on marriage and the family, convinced that “the well-being of the individual and of human and Christian society is intimately linked with the healthy condition of that community produced by marriage and family.”

He stressed that the commitment to protecting families is “more urgent than ever before” and reminded “all those with social responsibilities, especially in the political and cultural spheres,” of their duty to “work efficiently for the welfare of marriage and the family.”

“The Church is well aware of this, as shown by the pastoral concern of the popes who have succeeded one another since the last council, right up to the two synodal assemblies convened by Pope Francis, which were addressed again in recent days by the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the presidents of the episcopal conferences,” he said.

Leo XIV was referring to a recent meeting on the family he convened to mark the 10th anniversary of the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, attended by the presidents of bishops’ conferences from around the world.

A synthesis document compiling the principal interventions, without doctrinal authority, had been scheduled for publication, but the pontiff requested that its release be postponed so that he could study it carefully.

The pope emphasized that Gaudium et Spes does not merely reiterate the values and purposes of marriage but offers a renewed understanding of it as an “intimate partnership of married life and love.” He explained that this vision incorporates the juridical dimension of marriage as a contract, while grounding the union in the “conjugal covenant,” understood as the “human act whereby spouses mutually bestow and accept each another.”

In his view, this reality finds a particularly vivid expression in the procreation and upbringing of children. “Conjugal love is not limited to erotic attraction, which it nonetheless encompasses, but involves the entire will of the spouses, enlivening the affections of their hearts and expressing itself through sentiments and gestures of tenderness,” he explained.

‘Integral love from person to person’

He also noted that this love “embraces the good of the whole person of both man and woman, who are equal in dignity.” It “pervades the entire life of the spouses, finding expression in acts proper exclusively to marriage.”

“Whilst signifying integral love from person to person, the unique intimacy between the spouses fosters their mutual self-giving and enriches their shared joy,” he added, before highlighting that the fruitfulness of conjugal love is also expressed through the procreation of children, “the supreme gift of marriage.”

“By transmitting and educating human life, which must never be rejected, spouses become ‘cooperators with the love of God the Creator, and are, so to speak, the interpreters of that love,’” Leo XIV said.

The pope added that spouses, called to this human and Christian responsibility, “are bound to allow themselves to be guided by a sound judgment regarding their own good and that of their children, whether already born or yet to be born.”

“Such a judgment, which, in the final analysis, the spouses themselves must form before God, requires that their conscience conform to divine law, as interpreted by the magisterium of the Church in the light of the Gospel,” he stated.

Rejection of abortion and infanticide

Drawing on these principles, the pontiff reiterated the Church’s defense of human life from conception. From this, he said, it follows that “from the moment of its conception, life must be guarded with the greatest care,” while rejecting “abortion and infanticide.”

He also affirmed that “the acts themselves which are proper to conjugal love and which are exercised in accord with genuine human dignity must be honored with great reverence.”

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

The new group consists of 16 priests, one religious sister, and seven laypeople. The commissionʼs other six members will serve a second term. Among the new appointees are Argentine priests Fabricio Leonel Forcat and Jorge Alejandro Scampini, both professors at the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.

Sources at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith told EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that the commission will be divided into two thematic subcommissions.

The first will study Church tradition, a central question in Catholic theology and in understanding how the faith has been handed down through the centuries.

According to the sources, this subcommission will seek to “clarify what Tradition with a capital T is, where it is found, how it is determined that something belongs to Tradition, and so forth.”

To accomplish this, it will draw on biblical, patristic, historical, philosophical, and even scientific contributions.

It will also examine the development of magisterial reflection on the subject.

"It will seek to thoughtfully assimilate what the various pontiffs, from Paul VI to Magnifica Humanitas, have clarified on the matter," the sources added.

Faith and culture

A second subcommission will focus on the cultural forms through which the faith is transmitted — that is, how the Churchʼs living tradition is expressed and passed on through different cultures.

“It will study that living Tradition that runs through the manifestations of faith of the People of God in their various cultural forms,” the dicastery sources said.

This work will include an in-depth examination of issues such as inculturation, popular piety, and the various forms of language through which the Christian faith is expressed and communicated in different cultural contexts.

“The topics chosen emerge from dialogue between the president of the commission [Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith] and the pope,” the sources explained.

Established by St. Paul VI in 1969 and affiliated with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the International Theological Commission is tasked with assisting the Holy See in studying doctrinal questions of particular importance.

Its members, internationally recognized theologians from around the world, are appointed by the pope at the recommendation of the dicasteryʼs prefect.

What is Church tradition?

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 78), tradition is the living transmission of the Gospel accomplished in the Holy Spirit. It is distinct from sacred Scripture, although closely connected to it.

Through tradition, “the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes” (Dei Verbum, 8).

This tradition receives the word of God entrusted by Christ and the Holy Spirit to the apostles and hands it on in its entirety to their successors, so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, explain, and spread it through their preaching (Catechism, No. 81).

Specifically, this refers to apostolic tradition, which transmits what the apostles received from Jesus' teachings and example and what they learned through the Holy Spirit. It is distinct from particular ecclesial traditions, which can vary according to place and historical period (Catechism, No. 83).

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

“I went there as an evangelizer, but I in turn was evangelized,” Barron told EWTN News in Rome on Oct. 19, speaking of her time in Africa.

“I learned so much from the people in Tanzania about how they see God, how they relate to God. And I, in turn, was able to share [my perspective],” she said.

Barron, the latest woman to be named a superior of a Vatican office, also spoke about women’s role in Church leadership and the possibility of their ordination as priests.

The Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) is a worldwide network of four missionary bodies — the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Society of the Holy Childhood, the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, and the Missionary Union.

An official instrument of the Holy See, PMS supports the Church’s missionary activity around the world. An annual offering taken up in Catholic churches on World Mission Sunday, observed on the third Sunday of October, supports its work. In 2026, World Mission Sunday was observed on Oct. 18.

Barron said when she was a missionary in Tanzania, she cherished the spiritual support of her parish in rural County Donegal, which would pray for her every Sunday as a missionary abroad.

“World Mission Sunday is a day when every parish, every diocese in the world thinks of all those missionaries and prays,” she explained. “Of course, there’s the material support also. But first and foremost, [what’s important is] that spiritual connection, that universality of our Church, where we’re actually connecting with each other around the world.”

As she takes up her new roles in the Vatican on Jan. 4, 2027, Barron said that same spiritual connection of the Church with missionaries remains important to her.

“The priority for me … is very much about the missionary spirit,” Barron said, underlining the Second Vatican Council’s emphasis on the missionary vocation of members of the Church.

“Everyone is called to mission by virtue of their baptism … and weʼre slowly growing into that realization,” she said.

Women’s leadership in the Church

Barron is the first woman to be president of the Pontifical Mission Societies, but she said she sees her appointment to such a position to be less about raising the profile of women, as being “for the Church … for all of us.”

Leadership roles in the institutional Church used to be limited to ordained men, members of the “hierarchical Church,” she said. “And now gradually thereʼs an awareness that, yes, there are other dimensions of the Church that also are gifted … And I think itʼs for all of us. … For me, it’s never been a man-woman thing. Itʼs [that] weʼre all in this together as witnesses to God who created us all in Godʼs own image.”

Barron said she appreciates the willingness of Pope Francis and now Pope Leo to consider a person’s overall capability for a role — outside of whether or not he is a cleric.

“Itʼs beginning to use the giftedness of all the baptized for the good of Godʼs mission,” she said.

Views on women’s ordination

Barron has served since 2018 as congregational leader of her order, the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles. She was also president of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), which represents approximately 600,000 religious sisters in 80 countries, from 2023 to 2025.

In that role, she participated in the two monthlong assemblies of the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican in October 2023 and 2024.

In 2024, during a press conference following synod discussions, Barron addressed the question of women who experience “a call to priesthood.”

“I think we have to look at the question very much from … the Spirit. ‘Is the Spirit calling women?’ Because some women do sense a call to priesthood or diaconate,” she said on Oct. 7, 2024.

St. John Paul II, in the 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, stated that all Catholics must “definitively” follow the Church’s teaching on a male-only priesthood.

Pope Francis also repeated John Paul II’s declarations on the issue during his pontificate, saying in 2013 that on the ordination of women “the Church has spoken and says, ‘No.’ … That is closed, that door.”

Speaking to EWTN News this week, Barron expressed the same views she espoused in 2024 — underlining the importance of being open to where the Holy Spirit guides the Church on the issue.

“Who am I to say whether the door is open or closed [to women priests]?” Barron said.

“Women today may hear the call to priesthood. Some of the great women saints heard that call also,” she said. “So for me, itʼs how do we within Church facilitate that discernment?”

The sister said she thinks the Church could do more to accompany women who feel called to the priesthood.

“What do we do as a Church to accompany that discernment to see if, yes, this is what the Spirit is calling the entire Church to or not at this point?” she said. Then, “in the discernment, thereʼs always a choice at the end. Itʼs either yes or no.”

Barron cited a line from the final document of the Synod on Synodality, published in October 2024, which says: “What comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped.”

“So I think even though … there have been moments where we’ve been told we canʼt talk about this at all, itʼs over … it comes back and it comes back,” she said. “So I think the Spirit will guide us even if we say we canʼt talk about it now. I think at another moment itʼll probably come up again.”

“And I think the Spirit will guide us to when and if the time is right,” to consider allowing women’s ordination, she said.

Francis X. Rocca contributed to this report.

Every Tuesday, the youth group of the Rome chapter of the order and other volunteers gather near St. Peterʼs Square to provide food to the homeless. The young professionals and students ranging from 20 to 30 years old dedicate one evening a week of their busy lives to help those less fortunate.

The youth organization is simple: a group of around 10-15 young people meet at 8:30 p.m. in Piazza della Città Leonina, say a short prayer, and walk around the corner to St. Peter’s Square and Via della Conciliazione, the main thoroughfare leading to St. Peter’s Basilica, to offer “brodo” (broth), coffee, a piece of fruit, and snacks — accompanied by a smile — to those in need. The food is provided by the volunteers and distributed in and around the square, where recipients can choose what they want to receive.

The head of the youth group, Luigi Salvaggi, told EWTN News that “faith and prayer lead us to put ourselves in the background.”

It is “a moral but deeply concrete duty [to serve the poor], which is fundamental both for our lives as believers and for the good of society,” he said.

‘Faith and prayer lead us to put ourselves in the background’

The youth who take part by donating their time highlight their love for the poor —  a love that demands action.

Salvaggi said “the goal of the youth group is … to communicate the spirit of the Order [of Malta], helping people understand the profound reasons that drive our work.”

The Sovereign Order of Malta is one of the oldest institutions of Western and Christian civilization. Founded as a religious order of the Catholic Church in 1113, its origins trace back to the hospitals during the Crusades in the Holy Land. Since its foundation, it has been dedicated to serving people in need from diverse faiths: Muslim, Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and others.

According to its website, the Order of Malta is active in 130 countries, caring for people in need through medical, social, and humanitarian work. Across the world, the Order of Malta is dedicated to the preservation of human dignity and the care of all those in need, regardless of their origin or religion.

Influenced by his parents, Salvaggi learned from a young age that “our charitable work has a profound religious vocation.” He said the reason he decided “to actively commit myself to charitable work is precisely this strong bond between prayer and action.”

As Pope Leo XIV pointed out in Dilexi Te: “This is not a matter of mere human kindness but a revelation: contact with those who are lowly and powerless is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord of history. In the poor, he continues to speak to us.”

A sentiment shared by all the volunteers is the practice not only of service and duty but also of encounter with those in need. “In our own small way,” Salvaggi added, “it is enough for us to be sincere and act because we believe in what we do.”

During Thursday’s call with Putin, Leo XIV requested a humanitarian ceasefire in Oleshky, a city in Ukraine’s Kherson region that has been facing a prolonged humanitarian crisis. Moscow, however, has blamed Kyiv for the situation, according to a Kremlin statement issued after the conversation.

The humanitarian ceasefire was also discussed during Monday’s call with Zelenskyy.

According to a statement from the Holy See Press Office, “In the course of the conversation, the Holy Father recalled the grave situation in the city of Oleshky, in the Kherson region, and made reference to the request for a humanitarian ceasefire that he had presented to the President of the Russian Federation.”

The statement continued: “His Holiness expressed the hope that cooperation between both parties will allow for the delivery of food and medical aid, and for the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population.”

“Finally, the Holy Father reaffirmed the commitment of the Holy See to promoting dialogue and peace,” the statement said.

The telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president marks another step in a diplomatic effort involving Kyiv, Moscow, and the Holy See that began with visits by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the pope’s special envoy, first to Kyiv and then to Moscow.

During Zuppi’s visit to Ukraine in June, the cardinal was asked whether the pope would be willing to advocate for humanitarian assistance for residents of Kherson and Oleshky.

Leo XIV agreed, and Zuppi conveyed the pope’s willingness to intervene on the humanitarian issue during his Sept. 28–30 visit to Moscow.

While Vatican News issued a report following Zuppi’s visit to Ukraine, no similar communication was released after the cardinal’s trip to Russia.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said the telephone conversation with Putin resulted from the pope’s desire for dialogue. “It was the Holy Father who took the initiative to plead the cause of this besieged city,” Parolin told reporters on Friday.

Russian sources, however, have noted that Putin was particularly interested in holding a second conversation with the pope following their first exchange in June 2025.

Monday’s call marked the third telephone conversation between Leo XIV and Zelenskyy since the beginning of the pontificate. The two leaders have also met three times in person.

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.

These appointments, announced by the Vatican on Monday, are members of an advisory body to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. They will not be required to relocate to Rome but periodically assist the dicastery in examining major theological questions and may publish study documents.

Members of the commission, who can number no more than 30, serve a five-year term that the pope may choose to renew.

2 theologians, both formed by Notre Dame and Boston College

Both Anatolios and Coolman are affiliated with Boston College and Notre Dame through their doctoral work or teaching careers.

Anatolios is a married Melkite Catholic priest who has served as the John A. O’Brien professor of theology at Notre Dame since 2015. He received his doctorate from Boston College in 1996 and taught theology at the college before leaving for Notre Dame.

Also an ecumenist, he has taught and published on several early Christian theologians, including Sts. Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa, and Athanasius, focusing on how patristic theology engages contemporary theology.

Anatolios, in a statement to EWTN News, thanked the pope for the appointment and praised him for his Christocentric focus.

“I am honored and humbled by this appointment,” Anatolios said. “Pope Leo has already set forth, in various explicit and implicit ways, a Christocentric agenda and vision for engaging the urgent challenges and sufferings of our current world.”

“I look forward to working with the other esteemed theologians of the commission in fulfilling this agenda and entering more deeply into this vision,” he added.

Coolman, who received his doctorate in Church history from Notre Dame in 2001, has taught theology at Boston College since 2005.

“This is truly a surprising and humbling appointment, but I look forward to serving the Church in this capacity to the best of my ability in the days ahead,” Coolman said in a statement to EWTN News.

Latest Notre Dame appointments to the Vatican

The appointments of Anatolios and Coolman reflect a broader trend of Vatican appointments affiliated with Notre Dame this year.

In March, Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Daniel Gerard Groody, CSC, vice president and associate provost for undergraduate education at the University of Notre Dame, to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Integral Human Development.

In August, the pope appointed two more Notre Dame professors to that same dicastery: Father Emmanuel Katongole, a professor of theology and peace studies, and Clemens Sedmak, a professor of social ethics and director of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies. Leo also appointed Kathryn Koch, a Notre Dame graduate and member of its board of trustees.

In September, John Cavadini, a professor of patristic theology at Notre Dame, was named the winner of the 2026 Ratzinger Prize. He served on the International Theological Commission from 2009 to 2014.

“Pétros Ení — Discovering the Origins” was produced by AF Films in collaboration with Vatican Media and the Fabric of St. Peter to mark the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St. Peter’s Basilica, which took place on Nov. 18, 1626.

Taking viewers into areas rarely seen by the general public, the film journeys back in time all the way to the Roman necropolis, which has been preserved beneath St. Peter’s Basilica.

The documentary brings together documents from the Archives of the Fabric of St. Peter, contributions from Pietro Zander (one of the leading experts on the Vatican Necropolis), images and audio recordings of the popes, and archival footage from renowned epigrapher Margherita Guarducci.

Pope Leo appears in the final scenes to talk more about the figure of St. Peter and the significance of his tomb’s presence beneath the famous basilica.

Pratt, who is best known for his roles in “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Jurassic World,” speaks publicly of his Christian faith and is married to a practicing Catholic. According to Vatican News, he said the experience of making this film deeply moved him and helped him “define my faith.”

“What I would like audiences to understand about Peter after watching this documentary is that he was an imperfect man,” Pratt said. “He was a weak man. He was a human being. And I believe we are all broken, imperfect, and weak. But his strength lies in the grace of Jesus and his faith in God. With that strength, through grace and faith, you can be incredibly strong.”

He added: “It was an incredible honor to collaborate with Pope Leo and the Vatican on this project. The story of St. Peter is foundational to the Christian faith, and I am deeply grateful for the trust and access I was given to bring his legacy to the screen.”

“Pétros Ení” — which refers to a Greek inscription that means “Peter is here” and is found near the apostle’s burial grounds — is scheduled to start its theatrical debut in February 2027, during the first few weeks of Lent.

Hallow Studios will be in charge of U.S. and Canada distribution, Bosco Films will handle the distribution in Spain, and Cinépolis +Que Cine will oversee its theatrical release in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia.

“When I first saw this film it changed my life. I think it is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. It is an honor to get to partner together on it,” Alex Jones, Hallow CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. “And the fact that it is led by one of our core Hallow partners in Chris and features such a powerful reflection from Pope Leo is just truly extraordinary.”

Watch the first trailer for “Pétros Ení — Discovering the Origins,” released Oct. 16, below.

The pontiff returned to the Vatican on Saturday, four days after surgery to remove a cancerous lung nodule. The same day, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, who operated on Pope Leo on Oct. 13 at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, cleared the pope to proceed with his apostolic journey to South America in November.

The next day, Oct. 18, Leo resumed praying the Sunday Angelus from the window of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

“Having overcome this delicate phase, as you know, I will now gradually resume my activities, always with Godʼs help and your prayers,” the pope said in his Angelus address.

Brother surprised that pope’s South America trip will proceed

Louis Prevost, one of Pope Leo XIV’s brothers, expressed surprise in a Sunday interview with Fox News that Margaritora had cleared the pope’s trip.

“I thought maybe theyʼd postpone that,” Prevost said.

Prevost, who is receiving treatment for multiple myeloma, a form of cancer, also expressed surprise that Leo had been diagnosed with lung cancer, which had never occurred in the family.

“He was the first with the lung cancer, which came out of the blue. Nobody else had that in our family that Iʼm aware of,” Prevost said.

Prevost also shared that he and the pope had talked every day during his hospitalization.

“Every time I talked to him or texted him [during his hospitalization], he was answering,” Prevost said. “So, I know other than during the operation and in his brief, quick recovery, he was incommunicado. But since then, almost anytime I reach out to him, he is right there.”

“When we get on the phone or talk, we give each other crap, you know?” Prevost said. “We tell jokes; some are off color.”

Asked how he could give the pope crap, he replied: “You tell him he’s being stupid.”

The pontiff thanked “all those who have prayed for me in recent days” and expressed “particular gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and all the staff of the Gemelli University Hospital,” where he was treated.

“This experience has made me feel a special closeness to all those who are going through illness and experiencing poor health,” Leo said.

“Having overcome this delicate phase, as you know, I will now gradually resume my activities, always with Godʼs help and your prayers.”

The pope did not mention his planned trip to three countries in South America, scheduled for next month. The Vatican has announced no changes in that plan. The Vatican said last week that Leo had canceled all private audiences through Tuesday, Oct. 20.

Sunday was the first time the Holy Father had spoken publicly since the operation. The appearance was eagerly awaited by Catholics around the world, who had anxiously followed each new official Vatican bulletin on his medical condition in recent days.

According to the official Vatican News outlet, 15,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square despite a morning of cloudy skies and intermittent rain in Rome. They were eager to see the pope recovering from surgery and to express their affection for him the day after his release from the hospital.

At 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the pontiff left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital following his first hospitalization since the beginning of his pontificate, during which surgeons removed a malignant tumor from his right lung. Leo XIV appeared to be in good condition and walked with a steady gait, greeting several patients without showing signs of fatigue.

Smiling, the pope stopped to shake hands and speak with patients in the hospital corridors. About 15 minutes after leaving the hospital, the car carrying him entered Vatican City through the Perugino Gate.

For now, the pontiff will remain in Rome rather than travel to Castel Gandolfo, where he usually spends periods of rest.

A response that exposes hypocrisy

During his reflection before the Angelus prayer, the pontiff discussed one of Jesus’ best-known teachings: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Leo explained the context in which Jesus originally spoke the words, amid what the evangelist Matthew describes as “a situation of hostility towards Jesus.”

“The Pharisees gather together to see how they might catch him in his words,” the pope said, quoting the Gospel account. “They decide to send some people to question him on a controversial matter: ‘Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’”

According to Leo XIV, “The Teacher’s response is astute, for it allows him to avoid the trap and exposes the hypocrisy of those who seek to put him to the test.”

The Gospel recounts how Jesus asks to see the coin used to pay the tax, a denarius. After receiving it, he delivers the familiar teaching: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

“In Jesus, we contemplate a God who is not afraid of history but comes instead to dwell within it. His kingdom does not abolish human roles and responsibilities,” the pontiff explained.

He emphasized, however, that Godʼs kingdom “does, however, call us to live without compromise, free from selfish ambitions and unjust motives, seeking above all the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”

Being truthful and free to do good

In this context, Leo XIV drew attention to the fact that Jesus’ questioners praised him despite their hostile intentions.

“In this regard, it is striking that those same people praise Jesus, even though their intentions are far from good,” he observed.

The pope recalled the words with which they addressed Jesus: “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.”

Drawing on this passage, Leo XIV invited the faithful to reflect on what it means to live an authentic Christian life.

“Dear friends, this is precisely what it means to ‘give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s’: to be truthful, free from servile fear or hypocrisy, free to do good,” he said.

“Let us pray to the Lord to help us live in this way. And let us entrust ourselves to the intercession of the Virgin Mary.”

This story was updated at 6:20 a.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, to include the pope’s remarks following the Angelus.

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

The rosary was held on the grounds of the Pontifical Urban University on Oct. 17, the eve of this year’s World Mission Sunday on Oct. 18.

Led by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, dean of the College of Cardinals and grand chancellor of the university, the rosary was recited in 13 languages across five mysteries representing Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania.

The occasion also marked the 75th anniversary of the rosary event’s establishment by Blessed Fulton J. Sheen, who was U.S. national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies from 1950 to 1966.

Sister Mary Teresa Barron, recently appointed president of the Pontifical Mission Societies, was not present during the rosary.

Several participants in the rosary explained how the faithful can support the Church’s missionaries beyond financial contributions.

Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, who serves as a secretary at the Dicastery for Evangelization, urged a focus on the word of God.

“I am always a bit wary about monetizing mission,” Nwachukwu said to EWTN News. “So, I do not want to begin with money; I want to begin with the word, because mission is all about bringing the word of the Lord to the ends of the earth.”

At the same time, Nwachukwu indicated that supporting missionaries also means providing “the means to bring the Gospel to various places.” That support, he said, involves money.

“[Today] is also an occasion to tell people: Please, be generous to missionaries,” Nwachukwu said.

Monsignor Thomas George Schluep, who also serves at the Dicastery for Evangelization, cited Pope Leo XIV’s message for World Mission Sunday as a reminder that unity in Christ precedes material support.

“Pope Leo, in his message for this 100th anniversary of World Mission Sunday, reminds us that we first must be one in Christ,” Schluep told EWTN News. “Our baptism calls us to be missionaries: to share that love with our families, our friends, our co-workers.”

Memories of missionaries, Pope Leo’s return from the hospital

Participants also shared personal anecdotes about missionaries and their impact on their faith journey.

Schluep shared his memory of Father Gerard Hammond, an American Maryknoll missionary priest known for his decades of humanitarian work in North and South Korea.

“I met him in Korea, where he had been serving since 1960 when he was ordained and sent on mission. He was celebrated by thousands of people in South Korea for bringing the faith to them over the course of 65 years,” Schluep said.

“In North Korea he could not speak of Christ, but his “apostolate of presence” and love for those suffering from tuberculosis was itself evangelization. He taught me a lot about the importance of being present to people, exactly where they are at in their lives, no matter the personal cost.”

Around the time the rosary was taking place, Pope Leo XIV returned to the Vatican after being hospitalized for surgery Oct. 13 at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. Nwachukwu expressed happiness at the pope’s return and said he hoped that “the Lord will keep him quite long among us.”

“We are all praying for him. We love the pope, and we love what he is doing.”

The contributions of Americans

Schluep, an American from Pittsburgh, also noted the significant contributions of Americans, such Sheen, to missionary work through the Pontifical Mission Societies.

“The American contribution to the missions historically has been enormous,” Schluep noted.

“It was a great joy to see Fulton Sheen beatified, who did so much to evangelize the United States, but also who traveled personally to so many missions around the world and did so much to raise funds for those missions.”

Schluep said he hoped the example of Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope, would encourage renewed American support.

“The fact that the Holy Father understands American culture and missionary life in Peru can help him in his particular guidance for us, but now he is the pope of the entire world, and he calls us to think also of the entire world and not just our country, our families, and especially ourselves,” Schluep said.

In an interview with Vatican News following the Holy Father’s Oct. 17 discharge from the Gemelli Hospital, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, who operated on Pope Leo on Oct. 13, said he expects Leo will be fully recovered and in shape to travel within the next “10 days or so.”

Calling him “an ideal patient,” Margaritora said that upon his discharge from the hospital Leo “was in entirely satisfactory clinical condition” with completely normal blood test results and heart function.

“The lung’s re-expansion after surgery is proceeding according to the usual timetable,” and “overall, his condition is good,” Margaritora added.

The surgeon indicated that the Holy Father’s lung adenocarcinoma was discovered during routine abdominal examinations, which underscores the importance of regular preventive checkups.

“In the Holy Father’s case, he had no respiratory symptoms and felt perfectly well,” the doctor noted.

The pope has “put his heart and soul” into his recovery, Margaritora said. “His determination to recover quickly has been effective in every respect” and “truly commendable,” he pointed out.

Illustrating the point, the doctor noted that on the second day after the operation, the medical staff found him arranging the chairs in the chapel himself. “Holy Father, we can do that,” Margaritora recounted. But Leo replied: “It doesn’t matter. I can do it, so I will.”

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The 71-year-old pope had been admitted last Tuesday and underwent surgery just hours later to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. The procedure, which lasted about an hour and a half, was performed using a video-assisted technique, while an intraoperative histological examination confirmed a diagnosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

His discharge from the hospital was announced by the pontiff’s attending physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and the surgeon who performed the operation, Professor Stefano Margaritora.

As he left, the pope greeted the faithful gathered along the barriers. Daniele Franco, chairman of the board of the Gemelli University Hospital Foundation, was also there to welcome the pontiff upon his exit.

Before getting into the car, Leo greeted several members of the faithful who presented him with gifts. The pope did not stay in the papal suite on the hospitalʼs 10th floor, as it was undergoing renovation, but rather in adjacent rooms on the same floor.

Yesterday, the first postoperative images of the pope were released, showing Leo XIV presiding over Mass in a room at the Policlinico hospital that had been specially set up for the celebration. Beside the pope was his personal secretary, Monsignor Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga.

Around noon on Saturday, Oct. 17, the pope also celebrated Mass before leaving the Roman hospital, the Holy See Press Office reported.

In the days following the surgery, Leo XIV has resumed his work, meeting at the hospital on various occasions with Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, dean of the College of Cardinals; and Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome.

On Friday, the press office also reported on a telephone conversation between the pope and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Sunday morning at noon, the pope will appear at the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace for the customary recitation of the Angelus. It was only last Sunday that Leo XIV himself, at the conclusion of the Angelus prayer, announced the news of his imminent hospitalization and the associated surgery.

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.

According to the Fides report, the total number of priests rose from 406,996 to 407,421, representing an increase of 425 compared with the previous year. The Vatican agency noted that the data comes from the Statistical Yearbook of the Church and is current as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Africa recorded the largest increase with 1,676 more priests, followed by Asia with 1,065. The Americas also reversed the previous yearʼs downward trend, adding 199 priests.

In contrast, Europe lost 2,483 priests over the course of the year, while Oceania recorded a decrease of 32.

The overall increase is attributed to the growth in the number of diocesan priests, which reached 279,238, an increase of 496 compared with the previous count. Meanwhile, the number of religious order priests fell by 71, standing at 128,183.

Despite the increase in the number of priests, the number of Catholics per priest also rose, reaching 3,491 — an increase of 38 compared with the previous year. The average number of inhabitants per priest also climbed, reaching 16,104.

At 1.4 billion, Catholics are 18% of global population

Fides statistics further indicated that the global Catholic population reached 1,422,144,000 as of June 30, 2024, an increase of 16.69 million over the previous year. Based on these figures, Catholics represent 17.8% of the worldʼs population.

Africa saw the largest growth in the number of Catholics, with an increase of 7.58 million, followed by the Americas, with a rise of nearly 7 million. Asia added 968,000, Europe 911,000, and Oceania 239,000.

Number of seminarians worldwide decreases

While the number of priests is rising, the number of seminarians is decreasing. The number of major seminarians stood at 103,604 worldwide, a decrease of 2,891 from the previous year.

Africa was the only continent to record growth, with 786 additional seminarians, whereas Asia saw a decline of 2,733, Europe 701, the Americas 227, and Oceania 16.

The number of minor seminarians also decreased, falling to 94,041, which is 980 fewer than in the previous count. Africa reversed the previous yearʼs trend, adding 132, while Oceania recorded an increase of 20. In contrast, Europe lost 872, Asia 182, and the Americas 78.

Catholic Church’s educational and charitable work

Fides also compiles figures on the Churchʼs educational work around the world. Globally, the Church administers 75,448 kindergartens with over 7.4 million pupils; 103,666 primary schools attended by more than 36.3 million students; and 51,810 secondary schools with over 20.3 million students.

Joining them are nearly 2.7 million students in higher education centers and more than 4 million in university institutions affiliated with the Catholic Church.

In its healthcare and social assistance work, the Church manages 101,110 facilities worldwide. These include 5,397 hospitals, 13,646 dispensaries, 16,263 homes for the elderly, the chronically ill, and people with disabilities, 8,138 orphanages, 10,624 marriage counseling centers, and 3,194 social education or rehabilitation centers.

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

The pope’s personal physician Dr. Luigi Carbone and surgeon Dr. Stefano Margaritora said Oct. 17 that “based on the blood tests and chest X-ray performed this morning, and after evaluating his clinical condition, the Holy Father has been deemed fit to be discharged.”

The Vatican also announced that Leo would celebrate Mass at the hospital on Saturday before being discharged and lead his Angelus at the Vatican on Sunday.

Leo announced during his Sunday Angelus on Oct. 11 that he would undergo surgery to remove a lung nodule. Doctors confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma after his surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Oct. 13.

Since his surgery and hospitalization, doctors and the Vatican have confirmed that the pontiff’s postoperative recovery is “progressing normally.” On Friday, the Vatican released photos of the pope celebrating Mass at the hospital, the first photos since his hospitalization.

According to a Holy See statement, the pope expressed concern about Oleshky in the Kherson region, a city in the Russian-occupied portion of Ukraine where a severe humanitarian crisis is underway and where, according to the United Nations, 1,700 people are trapped in what have become ghost towns because of ongoing attacks. The pope sought a truce to enable the arrival of food and medical aid and the voluntary and safe evacuation of the population, and he reaffirmed the Holy Seeʼs commitment to dialogue and peace.

The conversation with the Russian president is the pope’s first reported direct communication with a head of state since undergoing lung cancer surgery Oct. 13. The statement issued by the Holy See Press Office was brief. It said: "Today, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV spoke by telephone with His Excellency Mr Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation.”

Besides calling for a ceasefire, the statement concluded by reaffirming “the Holy See’s commitment to promoting dialogue and peace.”

A Kremlin statement was more detailed. It said that, while expressing his sincere wishes for the popeʼs health and speedy recovery following his recent surgery, Putin emphasized “the importance of Russian-Vatican cooperation in promoting shared spiritual and moral values and protecting Christians and Christian holy sites in various regions of the world.” Both sides reaffirmed their interest in continuing dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Kremlin also said that, during an exchange of views on Ukraine, “Vladimir Putin thanked the pope for his willingness to contribute to resolving the conflict and for his ongoing humanitarian efforts.”

In addition, the Kremlin stated that, in response to the popeʼs concern for civilians in the Russian-held city of Oleshky in the Kherson region, Putin provided what it described as a detailed explanation of the responsibility of the Kyiv government for the areaʼs humanitarian situation. It added that Putin supported the Vaticanʼs intention to help create the conditions necessary to ensure public safety and organize the delivery of essential supplies. According to the Kremlin, cooperation toward that goal was agreed upon.

The Kremlin described the conversation as “constructive and conducted in a spirit of mutual respect.”

Pope initiated call, Parolin says

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, told reporters it was Pope Leo who initiated the Oct. 16 phone call with Putin, according to the SIR news agency of the Italian bishops' conference. Parolin said he hopes that, in response to the popeʼs request, Putin will agree to implement the humanitarian measures. He added that Putinʼs willingness to take the call could be a positive sign.

The call followed visits in August to Russia by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher and later by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the popeʼs envoy for humanitarian affairs.

A source familiar with the organization of the Oct. 16 meeting said the conversation had been planned during Zuppiʼs trip to Russia at the end of September. This date coincided with the popeʼs hospital stay.

Leo XIV had previously spoken with Putin by telephone on June 4, 2025. According to Vatican News, that conversation focused on matters of mutual interest, with particular attention given to the war in Ukraine and prospects for peace. During the call, the pope urged Russia to make “a gesture fostering peace” and stressed “the importance of dialogue in establishing positive contacts between the parties and seeking solutions to the conflict.”

Putin visited the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican three times for meetings with Pope Francis.

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.

This story was updated at 4:10 p.m. ET on Oct. 16, 2026, to include comments from the Vatican secretary of state.

“It is a terrible offense against human dignity to prevent bread from reaching any person or to destroy the means by which it is produced,” the pontiff wrote in a message published for World Food Day.

Still recovering from surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, Leo addressed his message to Qu Dongyu, director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). World Food Day, celebrated every year on Oct. 16 to highlight world hunger, also marks the organization’s founding in 1945.

‘World hunger remains due to lack of charity’

In his message, Leo lamented the challenge of world hunger and questioned how some can speak of technological innovation while food shortages persist.

“Hunger cannot be considered a statistical anomaly, for it is caused mainly by a lack of political will and collective charity,” Leo said.

“Today, people speak of innovation with great confidence,” Leo said. “However, this term is often used only in reference to the development of devices and algorithms, or the optimization of performance merely for the sake of financial gain.”

A new global food order

According to FAO’s annual report for 2025, an estimated 645 million people worldwide experienced hunger, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. According to the same report, 35.5 million children were severely malnourished, and war remained the “primary driver of acute food insecurity and malnutrition.”

Leo also said that food shortages should never be “used as a weapon of war” and encouraged the United Nations to work toward a “new global food order” in which technology ensures food for all.

“Regular access to safe, adequate and sufficient food, in keeping with the dignity of every person, is a basic human right,” the pope wrote.

“A new global food order is essential — one in which technological innovation is unconditionally subordinated to respect for God-given human dignity and the universal common good.”

The pope’s remarks on world hunger follow his June visit to the headquarters of the World Food Programme in Rome, where he emphasized the need to focus on humanity to combat hunger worldwide.

In two photographs released by the Vatican, the first since his hospitalization, the Holy Father can be seen standing and wearing the green liturgical vestments used during this period of the liturgical year.

In one image, he appears with his hands joined in prayer; the other was taken during the consecration and shows the popeʼs secretary at his right side.

Vatican sources said that the pope distributed Communion during the Eucharistic celebration. In previous days, the Vatican had specified that the pontiff had only concelebrated Mass with his collaborators.

Members of the hospital’s medical and nursing staff, and gendarmes responsible for the pope’s security, were also present at the pope’s Mass on Friday.

“In his homily, the pope thanked all healthcare personnel — doctors, nurses and nursing assistants — for the work they carry out every day caring for the sick and for those in fragile conditions, and in particular for everything they have done and continue to do for him,” the statement released by the Holy See Press Office said.

In the medical bulletin released Friday, Oct. 16, the Vatican also confirmed that the pontiffʼs clinical condition continues to improve.

The statement published by the Holy See and prepared by the popeʼs personal physician, Luigi Carbone, and the surgeon who performed the operation, Stefano Margaritora, notes that the Holy Father “underwent blood tests and a chest X-ray, the results of which confirmed the steady improvement in his overall condition.”

Respiratory physiotherapy sessions also continued. The doctors further specified that his “favorable postoperative recovery allows him to carry out his normal daily activities with complete autonomy.”

Vatican sources also indicated that the pope will publicly lead the Angelus on Sunday, although it has not yet been determined whether it will be from the hospital or the Vatican.

All appointments on Leo XIV’s schedule through Oct. 20 have been canceled, though the Vatican has not ruled out the possibility that he could be discharged before then. For now, doctors have not changed the timeline for his release from the hospital, which is expected to be next Tuesday.

Letters from children hospitalized at Gemelli

On Friday, the pope also received several letters in his hospital room from young patients receiving treatment in the pediatric oncology department of the same hospital. In them, the children share their personal experiences and assure him of their prayers.

Among the letter writers was Angelo, a 7-year-old boy who has been hospitalized for 36 days and who found in writing a way to reach out to the pontiff.

The child, from Taurisano in the Italian province of Lecce, explained in his letter that he is also hospitalized on the 10th floor and has undergone head surgery. “My mom and I pray for you every night,” he wrote, before wishing him “a speedy recovery.” He included a drawing featuring a large yellow sun and several birds flying over a meadow.

‘Faith moves mountains’

Maria Graziela, the mother of Eleonora, also wanted to send a message of hope. Her daughter, who was treated in the hospitalʼs neurosurgery and oncology units, has now recovered.

“Faith moves mountains,” her mother wrote, expressing her conviction that “God has heard our prayers.” In her letter she added: “Pope Leo, our prayers are for you. May God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the guardian angels always protect you.”

‘It is difficult to depend on others’

The letter from Giorgia, an 18-year-old young woman, explained how illness transformed her way of understanding life. Passionate about travel and accustomed to relying on herself, she acknowledged that “it has been difficult to go from depending solely on my own strength to having to depend on others.”

However, the experience had also allowed her to discover the value of the care she has received, the love of her family and friends, and a new vocation. “If there is one thing I want to do in life, it is save other peopleʼs lives. I want to be like the doctors who are saving mine,” she said.

She concluded her letter by promising that “I pray to God that we may both be healed, and I ask you to pray with me,” and expressing her confidence that “better days will come.” The young woman ended by assuring Pope Leo that “we are united in prayer, for ourselves and for all those who are going through the same situation.”

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

Parolin, as reported by Ansa.it, spoke on the sidelines of the launch of the Iraqi Embassy to the Holy See in Rome, marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two sovereign states.

The pontiff was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday for surgery to remove a lung nodule. Since his surgery, his doctors and the Vatican have confirmed that his postoperative recovery “is progressing normally.”

Parolin, who praised the pope for his “great serenity” on Monday, told reporters on Thursday that he imagined Leo’s Latin America trip would proceed but that it now depends on his doctors.

“[The trip] will depend on how things go,” Parolin said. “Let us wait until he leaves the hospital and, based on what the doctors tell us, see whether he will be able to travel. We must wait.”

Parolin also said that while predictions for the future of Leo’s pontificate were premature, his condition upon returning may require him to adjust his papacy.

“Based on all these elements, the pope will also adjust his pontificate if it becomes necessary to do so,” Parolin said.

“We need to see when he returns, in what condition he returns, and what the doctors will say.”

The pope’s postoperative recovery is expected to last one week, allowing him to resume audiences on Oct. 20.

“As you know, I have been unable to be among you during these days,” Pope Leo wrote in the Oct. 14 message to clergy members and Catholics. “I thank you warmly for your prayers and for the work you have done together. Your sharing of experiences and attentive listening are indeed a gift to the whole Church.”

The pope’s message was read at the conclusion of the conference “10 Years After Amoris Laetitia: Proclaiming the Gospel with Families Today,” a meeting examining the legacy of the apostolic exhortation and how to strengthen family participation in the Churchʼs mission.

“Entrusting each of you to the protection of the Holy Family of Nazareth, I ask you please to pray for me, as I pray for you,” he wrote.

The pope encouraged participants to bring the meetingʼs insights back to their bishops' conferences and dioceses, continue proclaiming the Gospel with families, and ensure families remain active participants in the life and mission of local Churches.

Leo’s homily delivered

At the closing Mass for the conference, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, dean of the College of Cardinals, delivered a homily prepared by Pope Leo XIV saying: “The world has no future without strong families open to the gift of children and attentive to their education and growth.”

Families and faith communities should accompany people facing hardship with compassion rather than condemnation, the pope’s homily said.

“Those who are more vulnerable, or who are experiencing difficult circumstances and moments of crisis, will also find support and encouragement, surrounded by affection and shielded from judgment and prejudice. Let us remember that ‘as wounded as the family may be, it can always grow beginning with love,’” Tagle said, delivering the homily prepared by Pope Leo.

The Acton Institute, a faith-based think tank promoting free markets and limited government, held the “Communicating Truth in an Age of AI” convivium: a conversation among representatives of Catholic media and secular academia about the challenges AI poses to the communications industry.

Andreas Thonhauser, vice president and chief global officer at EWTN, and Jenn Lindsay, a communications professor at Rome’s John Cabot University and CEO of So Fare Films, led the discussion.

Among those present was Yurash Andrii Vasyliovych, the Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See.

Truth in the modern media era

Among the topics considered at the conference was the challenge of distinguishing truthful news from false information. In his opening remarks, Thonhauser, who joined EWTN in 2021, described the challenge as “cutting through the noise.”

“In the age of AI, communication is truth, which is not so easy when we think about it, about how much noise is already out there, and AI is a wonderful instrument to create even more of that kind of communication and to add to the noise,” Thonhauser said.

“AI might become a challenge for us, who are also the audience who are the recipients of communication,” Thonhauser added.

Lindsay said truth-telling is central to storytelling in film, even amid AI manipulation.

“Truth already has an odd status in documentary storytelling,” Lindsay said in her opening remarks. “In fact, it is the definition of documentary storytelling: the creative treatment of actuality.”

“We are already dealing with many layers of strategy and manipulation. AI intensifies the questioning of that, but it is nothing new.”

Optimism or pessimism in AI-driven future?

Another concern discussed at the conference was whether one ought to be optimistic or pessimistic in the age of AI.

Lindsay, who has taught at John Cabot since 2018, said she thought the world was “in a safer place” as individuals increasingly choose not to use AI to avoid effort, particularly students.

“I feel that we are in a safer place,” Lindsay said. “A year ago, I was super pessimistic because, as a university professor, the rate of cheating and plagiarism [with AI] was sky-high. I am happy to report that it is going down; it seems like its popularity is cooling with the younger ones.”

Thonhauser, in response, acknowledged AI’s many benefits for global development while noting that the human experience will still matter, citing Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.

“AI is remarkable, and it is helping us greatly also in our work,” Thonhauser said. “I do agree with Pope Leo that it is not neutral, but what is ever neutral? It is up to us to regulate this so that it is helpful for the human being as such and for the future.”

“I really see that it will be important that the human element remains in communication and helps to guide us through what is relevant, what is meaningful, and ultimately also what is true.”

The bulletin, prepared by the pontiff’s personal physician, Luigi Carbone, and the surgeon who performed the operation, Stefano Margaritora, highlights that Leo XIV’s postoperative progress on the second day after surgery has been positive.

“The chest X-ray showed a good recovery of the operated lung,” the statement said.

The Vatican also reported that the Holy Father underwent routine follow-up examinations, including blood tests and a chest X-ray, “the results of which were normal.”

“He independently carried out his daily activities. The physical therapy session included full motor activity,” the medical note added.

Overall, “the postoperative course continues to progress regularly,” the physicians explained.

Earlier Thursday, the Vatican had already reported that Leo XIV spent a “good” second night at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he remains hospitalized after undergoing surgery Tuesday to remove a pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

Also on Thursday, like the previous evening, the pontiff was able to spend a few minutes in the temporary chapel set up at the hospital to concelebrate Mass with one of his collaborators, according to Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, speaking to journalists.

Bruni also said that the pope has continued working during his recovery. In fact, he received Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, deputy for general affairs of the Secretariat of State, this afternoon, according to Vatican sources.

As a sign that the Vatican’s ordinary activity continues despite the pontiff’s recovery, the Holy See on Thursday announced two new bishop appointments, signed by Leo XIV from the hospital.

They include the appointment of Italian priest Father Paolo Andreolli as bishop of Ponta de Pedras, Brazil, and Father Ignazio Ding Zuyao, “whom the Holy Father appointed bishop of Haimen (Jiangsu Province, China) on Aug. 24, 2026, after approving his candidacy within the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.”

The Vatican is expected to soon announce whether the pope will preside over the public Angelus prayer from Gemelli Hospital on Sunday, as some of his predecessors did during periods of hospitalization.

Regarding the international trip the pontiff is scheduled to make to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru from Nov. 6–17, Bruni referred to comments Leo XIV made during last Sunday’s Angelus address, when he announced that he would undergo surgery for a lung nodule.

The pope made explicit reference to his upcoming trip to Peru while greeting members of the Brotherhood of the Lord of Miracles present in St. Peter’s Square.

“Thank you for your prayers for the pastoral visit that I will make to Peru,” he said.

At that time, it was not yet publicly known that the pontiff was suffering from pulmonary adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis was confirmed following surgery, during which the lower right lobe of his lung was removed.

Prayers for the pope

Following the call to pray for the pope’s recovery, the Vicariate of Rome has confirmed that this Sunday a special intention for the Holy Father will be offered in all the parishes of the Diocese of Rome during Mass. The initiative reflects the communion of the Church of Rome with its bishop and the spiritual support being offered to Leo XIV during this period of convalescence.

This atmosphere of prayer will be accompanied by another gesture of closeness later tonight. At 8 p.m. Rome time, Cardinal Angelo Comastri will lead a rosary invoking Mary Undoer of Knots at the Pontifical Parish of St. Anne in the Vatican.

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

Zuyao is the ninth Chinese bishop consecrated under Pope Leo XIV following procedures established by the provisional agreement between China and the Holy See governing bishop appointments. The pontiff appointed Zuyao bishop of Haimen on Aug. 24, having approved his candidacy under the agreement.

Zuyao’s consecration, announced by the Vatican on Thursday, also highlights a pattern in which the Vatican does not announce episcopal consecrations in China until the day they occur. He is also the 19th bishop to be selected under the Vatican-China deal.

However, some of the Chinese bishops Leo appointed were not immediately recognized by the Chinese government. Two of the bishops had already been consecrated and were part of the so-called underground Church — the Catholic community not officially recognized by Chinese authorities. The communist government later recognized both, thereby regularizing their ecclesiastical and civil status.

A decade of pastoral work

Zuyao was born in August 1986 in Qidong, Jiangsu Province, and was ordained to the priesthood on Oct. 27, 2011.

From 2001-2004, he studied at the Jiangsu Section of the Sheshan Seminary in Shanghai. He later attended Beijing Theological Seminary to study theology and philosophy and earned a bachelor’s degree.

After Zuyao’s ordination in 2011, he served as pastor in Haimenzhen, Linjiang, and Caojiazhen, all in the Diocese of Haimen. From 2023, he served as pastor of Qingnian Donglu Parish in Nantong until his appointment as a bishop.

The meeting marked the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia and discussion focused on the legacy of that controversial document.

As organizers announced on Monday, since Leo XIV could not “listen” to the assembly of bishops and lay experts as he had originally planned, he said he would review the documentation and conclusions of the meeting following his convalescence. What happens next will then be up to him.

“I will read the fruits of your work and discussions, and offer my reflections in due course,” the pope said in a brief message to participants read on Oct. 14.

The Oct. 7–14 meeting — whose participants were mainly the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences — was organized in the same style as recent Synod on Synodality assemblies. Bishops and experts introduced the themes with speeches on the topic at hand, and small-group discussions alternated with plenary sessions.

While the themes for each session and keynotes have been made available online, plenary sessions and open interventions were held behind closed doors, and participants — abiding by Pope Leo’s call for “discretion and confidentiality” in his opening address — have declined to elaborate on the opinions expressed on various issues, especially the most controversial: the reception of holy Communion by divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

The dominant discussion about Amoris Laetitia in the immediate aftermath of its publication and in the decade that followed was about the document’s “chapter 8,” about “irregular” relationships, and a footnote interpreted by some as giving access to Communion to divorced and civilly remarried people after a process of pastoral accompaniment and discernment.

Debate over Amoris Laetitia intensified after the bishops of the Buenos Aires Pastoral Region interpreted the document as allowing, following a process of accompanied pastoral discernment, access to the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist for some Catholics who are divorced and civilly remarried.

Chapter 8 and ‘irregular situations‘

This topic was among those discussed at the meeting on Oct. 12, which focused on accompanying families in the difficulties of life.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, whose Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life co-organized the gathering with the synod office, opened discussions on Oct. 12 urging participants to truthfully share their lived experience “avoiding any spirit of controversy.”

Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa, a consulter of the synod office and a meeting organizer, did not go into detail about what was said during a briefing for journalists Oct. 14 but described discussing “sensitive issues on which there are still differing perspectives and assessments.”

The environment, he added, was “constructive” and people clearly desired to listen before judging: “The approach is not one of opposition,” Costa said. “Of course, there are also different emphases and sensibilities.”

He said participants shared stories about how people were able to reexamine their lives in the light of the Gospel and take steps toward conversion.

This led, the priest continued, “to an emphasis on the importance of formation — of forming consciences — and of … continuing to deepen this relationship between pastoral experience and theological reflection.”

Julie Hanlon Rubio, a professor of Christian Social Ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California, made one of the most explicit references to the controversial passages of Amoris Laetitia in her speech the same day.

“Though the document is best remembered for the controversial Chapter 8,” she said, “it also offered a positive vision of marriage designed to correct the abstraction and negativity that many still associate with Church teaching and a praxis of accompaniment that has yet to be fully realized.”

Quoting from the exhortation, paragraphs 296 and 297, she said: “Francis told us, ‘No one can be condemned forever! It is not the logic of the Gospel!’ and this logic should be extended to ‘everyone.’”

In a footnote to this part, she wrote: “Today this surely includes divorced persons, single parent families, blended families, cohabiting couples, and persons identifying as LGBTQ.”

Continuity in Church teaching

But Pope Leo himself appeared to have had a different agenda for discussions — choosing to move beyond the idea of listening and welcoming to focus more on how the Church can concretely help young people in today’s society enter into the sacrament in the first place.

He also pointed out continuity in the Church’s teaching on marriage and the family from St. Paul VI to Pope Francis.

The first day of the meeting both the Holy Father and Dominican Sister Helen Alford, who was entrusted with the assembly’s opening meditation, argued that Amoris Laetitia was consistent with the Church teaching and practice that came before it.

Like an earlier document on the family by St. John Paul II, Amoris Laetitia was an innovative response to the challenge of following the moral law “when social situations are turbulent and changing quickly,” Alford said.

Pope Leo’s opening remarks also underlined the reality of marriage today and that “a growing distance has emerged between the ways in which sex and intimacy are lived and the Christian vision of marriage.”

“Young people continue to long for love, fidelity, and belonging, yet many find it difficult to embrace how such a vision of love can take shape in their own lives or to believe that a lifelong commitment is the condition for reaching what they desire,” the pontiff continued.

Though he could not celebrate the meeting’s closing Mass on Oct. 14 as planned, Pope Leo’s prepared homily was read by substitute celebrant Cardinal Luis Tagle.

The pope’s homily recalled the love of the Lord, saying that “is the love that Amoris Laetitia invites us to make the foundation of our families” and inviting Catholics to teach young people preparing for marriage about the importance of the virtues, especially chastity.

“Marriage preparation programs conscientiously developed for this purpose in parishes and pastoral areas are commendable. Yet such courses alone are insufficient, for they must be preceded and supported by an education in love that accompanies a person’s growth from childhood,” he said.

“The values of openness to life and respect for life, from conception to natural death, are also rooted in this charity, which is fundamental to our existence and to our life together as human beings,” the pontiff added, recalling that “Pope Francis stressed that ‘no union that is temporary or closed to the transmission of life can ensure the future of society’ (Amoris Laetitia, 52).”

“The world has no future without strong families open to the gift of children and attentive to their education and growth.”

The medical report released by the Vatican was signed by his personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and Dr. Stefano Margaritora, the surgeon who led the operation.

The bulletin said the Holy Father underwent scheduled “blood tests and a chest X-ray” Wednesday morning.

“The results confirm a normal postoperative course: The values are within the expected range for the type of surgery performed,” the doctors said.

The bulletin also highlighted progress in his physical recovery.

“The Holy Father underwent respiratory physiotherapy and began walking around his room,” the doctors reported, referring to an activity considered essential to recovery after lung surgery.

The physicians also said the pontiff had resumed his normal diet.

“Recovery is proceeding as expected,” they said in the bulletin released by the Holy See, easing concerns that arose late Tuesday when the Vatican confirmed the cancer diagnosis.

A histological examination confirmed that the pope had pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

The first encouraging news came early Wednesday morning, following an anxious night. In a brief statement, the Vatican confirmed that the pope had spent a “peaceful night” and was continuing to recover from anesthesia in his room on the 10th floor of Romeʼs Gemelli Hospital.

A few hours later came confirmation that, despite his hospitalization, Leo remains able to carry out his responsibilities governing the Church.

At noon, the Holy See announced that the pontiff had accepted the resignation of Archbishop Bernard Bober from the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Košice, Slovakia, and appointed Auxiliary Bishop Marek Forgáč of the same archdiocese as his successor.

He also appointed Bishop Wellington de Queiroz Vieira as the new metropolitan archbishop of Cuiabá, Brazil, transferring him from the Diocese of Cristalândia.

The popeʼs clinical progress will determine the course of his treatment over the coming weeks. Doctors continue to monitor his postoperative recovery closely before making decisions about the next stages of treatment and his schedule in the coming days.

For now, all his scheduled engagements remain canceled through next Tuesday.

Among the upcoming events awaiting confirmation is the Angelus on Sunday, Oct. 18. If his medical condition permits, the pope could lead the prayer from the hospital, a gesture that would be seen as an encouraging sign of his recovery.

Members of the popeʼs closest entourage, known in Vatican terminology as the papal household, remain at his side. They include his two personal secretaries, Peruvian Father Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga and Italian Father Marco Billeri.

A blessing from heaven

Meanwhile, Gemelli Hospital continues to receive expressions of affection and solidarity from faithful who have come from around the world.

Among them is Gina, a native of Lima, Peru, who was praying before the imposing statue of St. John Paul II in the courtyard of the Rome hospital.

For the past two years, she has cared for her husband, who has Parkinsonʼs disease. He is currently hospitalized at Gemelli after developing an infection.

For Gina, being in the same hospital as the pope is more than a coincidence. She considers it a “blessing from heaven” that helps her endure her suffering.

“It gives me strength to think that my husband is suffering as a patient just a few yards from the Holy Father. I know his suffering is not in vain because we offer it to God,” she told EWTN News.

For Gina, the circumstances have strengthened her faith and hope.

“That has given me more strength and more hope. Knowing that the pope is here helps me keep going,” she said.

She happened to return from Peru, where she had traveled to visit family, on Oct. 11, after leaving Rome on Aug. 28. Her return coincided with the news of the pontiffʼs impending surgery.

“My mother called me the next day and asked how my husband was doing. When I told her that the pope was in the same hospital, she burst into tears: ‘Blessed be God, blessed be God,’” Gina recalled.

She also described the excitement building in Peru ahead of Leoʼs planned visit.

“Choirs, folk groups, and many local residents are organizing to celebrate his arrival. Heʼs going to see the children he baptized, the children who have grown up and are now adults. People adore him,” she said.

Gina said she cannot imagine the pontiff having to cancel his planned trip to Latin America.

For now, however, the messages coming from the Vatican have been encouraging.

Holy See Press Office director Matteo Bruni emphasized that the tumor was “at an early stage” and that the nodule removed was “circumscribed and localized.”

The statement released after the operation used the term “radicality” to indicate that doctors believe the lesion was completely removed.

Specialists also believe that the loss of a lung lobe should not have significant consequences for the daily life of a patient in Leoʼs physical condition.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Oct. 14, Bruni referred to the popeʼs “desire” to proceed with his trip scheduled for early November.

“We have heard the popeʼs words about the trip, and therefore his intention, his desire, and also the fact that ... he wants to go,” the Vatican spokesman said.

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

From punch to penance

According to an account by Father Lawrence G. Lovasik, SVD, published in EWTN’s library, Peregrine was born in 1260 in Forlì, Italy. He was the only son of a wealthy family, and as a young man he sided with the city’s anti-papal faction.

When St. Philip Benizi of the Servants of Mary (the Servites) came to Forlì to preach peace on behalf of Pope Martin IV, he was met with insults, rocks, and clubs. Peregrine struck him in the face. Philip answered by offering the other cheek and praying for the young man.

Moved, Peregrine ran after the departing friar. He begged forgiveness on his knees and promised to change his life. According to the traditional account, the Virgin Mary later appeared to him in Forlì’s cathedral and told him: “Go to Siena. There you will find the devout men who call themselves my servants. Join them.”

Peregrine received the Servite habit in 1292. It was said that for 30 years he never sat down. In 1322, his superiors sent him to found a Servite house in his hometown of Forlì, where he became known as a preacher and a readily available confessor.

The night before the amputation

Later in life, Peregrine developed a painful cancerous wound on his foot. Lovasik writes that its “gangrenous stench” was so foul that others kept away. Surgeons decided to amputate.

Peregrine spent the night before the operation in prayer before an image of the crucified Christ and fell asleep there. In a dream, Christ seemed to reach down from the cross and touch his diseased foot. When he awoke, he was healed. The account says the doctors could no longer find any trace of the disease.

Peregrine died in 1345 at about 80 years of age. He was beatified in 1609, and Pope Benedict XIII canonized him in 1726. His feast is celebrated May 1. His body rests in the Basilica of San Pellegrino Laziosi in Forlì. Devotion to him has spread far beyond Italy, including to the National Shrine of St. Peregrine at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica in Chicago, the city where Leo was born.

Lovasik’s booklet includes several prayers, and EWTN offers a novena to St. Peregrine.

“The Holy Father underwent thoracic surgery as scheduled. To ensure the radical removal of the tumor, the lower lobe of the right lung was removed using a video-assisted technique. An intraoperative histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, as suspected from preoperative tests,” the Holy See Press Office said in a statement concerning the operation performed Tuesday afternoon at Romeʼs Agostino Gemelli University Hospital.

“The Holy Father was in the operating room for approximately three hours, while the procedure itself lasted about 90 minutes,” the statement continued. “The operation was successful, and there were no complications. After surgery, the pope regained consciousness normally and, following a brief period of observation, returned to his room on the 10th floor.”

The statement was prepared by Dr. Luigi Carbone, the popeʼs personal physician, and Professor Stefano Margaritora, who performed the operation.

In addition to Margaritora, the surgical team included Professor Elisa Meacci and Drs. Maria Teresa Congedo and Leonardo Petracca Ciaravella. The anesthesiology team consisted of Professor Massimo Antonelli and Drs. Giovanni Punzo and Giuseppe Bello.

Further postoperative tests, including a histological examination, are expected in the coming days. Doctors have not discussed chemotherapy or similar treatments at this stage.

Leo XIV is being accompanied at the hospital by his two secretaries, the religious sisters who assist him, and his personal physician.

Further updates on the pontiffʼs health could be released Wednesday.

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.

An extended hospital stay for one of the most important leaders in the world may raise the question: Who exactly runs the Vatican wh

en a pope is hospitalized or unable to perform his normal duties?

Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director of EWTN News and the author of numerous books on Catholicism including “Encyclopedia of Catholic History,” told EWTN News in 2025 after then-Pope Francis was hospitalized that in such cases, “the machinery of state tends to keep functioning.”

Andreas Widmer, an associate professor of practice in entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business and former Swiss Guard at the Vatican, likewise said much of the Vatican’s administration continues even when the pope is sick.

“Things keep going. He is kept apprised by [Vatican officials],” said Widmer, who served as a Swiss Guard under Pope John Paul II in the 1980s and who regularly returns to the Vatican to work with the guard.

Pope Leo is expected to be hospitalized for just a week. But in some cases, popes have addressed the possible need for resignations in the event of serious health crises.

Pope Paul VI in 1965 wrote a letter to the dean of the College of Cardinals stating that, in the event of his incapacitation while in office, he should be considered resigned. (Pope Paul ultimately lived another 13 years and died while in office.)

In 2022, Pope Francis revealed that in the first year of his pontificate he had signed his resignation and given it to then-Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, to be invoked if he was medically incapacitated and unable to carry out his duties. (“I don’t know who Cardinal Bertone gave it to, but I gave it to him when he was secretary of state,” the late pope joked at the time.)

In his biography published in 2024, Francis said he considered the Petrine ministry to be “for life” and saw no conditions for resignation, barring serious physical impairment.

Widmer argued that popes are not given to leaving such matters unresolved one way or the other. “A pope is not going to leave this to chance. They take their responsibility very seriously,” he said.

The Vatican said on Oct. 13 that the pope’s surgery was completed successfully. Yet in the event of a pope’s death, Bunson said, much of the immediate administration of the Vatican falls to the camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church — one of the few officials of the Vatican who does not immediately lose his job upon a pope’s death.

The camerlengo’s roles include certifying the pope’s death and overseeing the functions of the interregnum.

“It’s his job to certify the death of the reigning pope and to make sure the wishes of the pope are respected,” Bunson explained. “Then the cardinals are summoned to Rome,” after which a new pope is eventually elected.

Also retaining his title in the event of a pope’s death is the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the dicastery for which the chief role is the forgiveness of sins.

That official “always keeps his job,” Bunson said, “because there must always be the opportunity for God’s loving mercy.”

A second key official is the almoner of his holiness, the cardinal in charge of papal charity and care for the poor. It was Pope Francis who decreed that the almoner should keep his post, a reflection of Francis’ concern for the forgotten and most vulnerable.

This story was first published on Feb. 26, 2025, and was updated on Oct. 13, 2026.

St. Bernardine of Siena, known as “the Apostle of Italy” for his efforts to revive the countryʼs Catholic faith in the 1400s, was known to have overcome a weak voice and severe respiratory/throat issues early in his life, while also caring for plague victims and the hospitalized.

Born to upper-class parents in the Italian republic of Siena during 1380, Bernardine Albizeschi soon suffered misfortune when he lost his mother at the age of 3 and his father four years later. His aunt Diana cared for him afterward, teaching him to seek consolation and security by trusting in God.

Even at a young age, Bernardine demonstrated a remarkable concern for the poor as an outgrowth of his love for God. Having become accustomed to fasting, he preferred at times to go without any food in order to help someone in greater need. From the ages of 11 to 17 he focused on his studies, developing the eloquence and dedication that would serve his future work as an evangelist.

Before becoming a preacher, however, Bernardine spent several years ministering to the sick and dying. He enrolled in a religious association that served at a hospital in the town of Scala and applied himself to this work from 1397 to 1400.

During that time, a severe plague broke out in Siena, causing a crisis that would eventually lead to the young man taking charge of the entire hospital. Inside its walls, up to 20 people were dying each day from an illness that also killed many of the hospital workers. The staff was decimated and new victims were coming in constantly.

Bernardine persuaded 12 young men to help him continue the work of the hospital, which he took over for a period of four months. Although the plague did not infect him, the exhausting work left him weak and he contracted a different sickness that kept him in bed for four months.

After recovering, he spent over a year caring for his aunt Bartholomaea before her death. Then the 22-year-old Bernardine moved to a small house outside the city, where he began to discern Godʼs will for his future through prayer and fasting.

He eventually chose to join the Franciscans of the Strict Observance in 1403, embracing an austere life focused on poverty and humility. During this time, while praying before a crucifix, Bernardine heard Christ say to him: “My son, behold me hanging upon a cross. If you love me, or desire to imitate me, be also fastened naked to your cross and follow me. Thus you will assuredly find me.”

After Bernardine was ordained a priest, his superiors commissioned him to preach as a missionary to the Italians who were falling away from their Catholic faith. The Dominican evangelist St. Vincent Ferrer, just before leaving Italy, preached a sermon in which he predicted that one of his listeners would continue his work among the Italians — a prophecy Bernardine heard in person and went on to fulfill.

Bernardineʼs personal devotion to God, which amazed even the strict Franciscans, made his preaching extremely effective. He moved his hearers to abandon their vices, turn back to God, and make peace with one another. He promoted devotion to the name of Jesus as a simple and effective means of recalling Godʼs love at all times.

When other priests consulted him for advice, Bernardine gave them a simple rule: “In all your actions, seek in the first place the kingdom of God and his glory. Direct all you do purely to his honor. Persevere in brotherly charity, and practice first all that you desire to teach others.”

“By this means,” he said, “the Holy Spirit will be your master and will give you such wisdom and such a tongue that no adversary will be able to stand against you.”

Bernardineʼs own life attested to this source of strength in the face of trials. He patiently suffered an accusation of heresy — which Pope Martin V judged to be false — and refused to abandon his bold preaching when a nobleman threatened him with death.

But Bernardine was also widely admired throughout Italy, and he was offered the office of a bishop on three occasions. Each time, however, he turned down the position, choosing to fulfill the prediction of St. Vincent Ferrer through his missionary work. Bernardine preached throughout most of Italy several times over, and even managed to reconcile members of its warring political factions.

Later in his life, Bernardine served for five years as the vicar general for his Franciscan order and revived the practice of its strict rule of life. Then in 1444, 40 years after he first entered religious life, Bernardine became sick while traveling. He continued to preach, but soon lost his strength and his voice.

He died on May 20, 1444, and only six years later, in 1450, Pope Nicholas V canonized him a saint.

This story was first published on May 15, 2011, and was updated Oct. 13, 2026.

Carbone was among the doctors who welcomed Leo XIV when he arrived at the hospital in an armored Ford sedan.

Carbone has professional ties to the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital, one of Italy’s leading medical centers and the hospital traditionally used to treat popes. His career has been particularly associated with emergency medicine and emergency services, fields in which rapid diagnosis and the ability to intervene immediately are essential.

He currently serves as director of the Vatican City State’s Directorate of Health and Hygiene, the agency responsible for providing medical care not only to the pope but also to employees and residents of the tiny state.

The directorate operates medical facilities and diagnostic equipment that allow for regular checkups, specialized examinations, and the coordination of medical care when necessary.

A role rooted in centuries of tradition

Carbone’s position recalls the historic role of the “archiatra pontificio,” or personal physician to the pope. Although the traditional title is no longer formally used, the Italian doctor performs similar functions as one of the principal officials responsible for the pontiff’s health, coordinating the work of the physicians, nurses, and specialists who care for him.

His duties include ensuring continuity of treatment, arranging medical procedures when necessary, and coordinating healthcare resources according to the pope’s needs.

It is a particularly delicate responsibility because it requires balancing clinical care with the demands of the Petrine ministry.

Accompanying the pope on apostolic journeys

The papal physician’s responsibilities extend beyond the Vatican. Carbone regularly accompanies Leo XIV on international apostolic journeys, working with nursing staff to oversee medical preparations for each trip.

Before each journey, factors such as travel time, the intensity of the schedule, and the availability of medical facilities in the countries being visited are assessed.

The papal aircraft also carries medical equipment that allows health checks to be performed and provides for a response to possible emergencies until the pontiff can be transferred to a specialized hospital.

Such planning requires constant coordination with local healthcare systems, as well as considerable discretion, to ensure that any medical emergency can be addressed without disrupting the pope’s pastoral and institutional commitments.

The connection to Gemelli Hospital

Carbone’s presence takes on particular significance at Gemelli Hospital, which has served for decades as the principal medical center for popes.

The relationship between the Rome hospital and the papacy was strengthened especially during the pontificate of St. John Paul II, who was hospitalized there on several occasions.

When a pope is hospitalized, his regular medical team works alongside Gemelli specialists to ensure continuity of care and facilitate the exchange of clinical information.

This arrangement reflects the evolution of papal healthcare, which has shifted from relying primarily on physicians attached to the Apostolic Palace to drawing on the resources of major, highly specialized hospitals.

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

The surprise announcement Sunday, Oct. 11, stunned hundreds of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus prayer.

By speaking directly about his health, the pontiff departed from a long-standing Vatican practice of limiting information about papal illnesses and medical treatment.

Traditionally, the health of popes has been shrouded in considerable secrecy. For decades, illnesses and hospitalizations were disclosed only in limited terms and sometimes incompletely.

In 1992, for example, St. John Paul II announced that he would enter the hospital for medical tests but did not explain why. Only three days later did the Vatican disclose that he had undergone surgery to remove a benign tumor from his colon.

Under Pope Francis, a greater degree of openness began to emerge. During his various hospitalizations, the Holy See issued medical bulletins about his condition and, in some cases, arranged briefings by the doctors treating him.

Even troubling details of the Argentine pontiff’s hospitalizations were disclosed, including respiratory crises during his final illness before his death in 2025.

Nevertheless, the information continued to come primarily through official Vatican channels rather than directly from the pope himself.

In earlier decades, secrecy surrounding papal health had contributed to controversies such as the death of John Paul I in 1978. The limited information released after his death, just 33 days after his election, fueled years of questions and speculation about the circumstances.

Against that historical background, Leo XIV’s decision to announce his own upcoming surgery represents a significant departure from tradition.

Senior cardinals interviewed by EWTN News described the disclosure as a shift in how the Vatican communicates about the health of the pope.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, linked the decision to the spirit of fraternity promoted in Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti.

“In the spirit of Fratelli Tutti, it is a sign of fraternity to share your illness with those who care for you,” Czerny said.

“And to say that the whole world cares for Pope Leo is not an exaggeration; it’s a fact. So I see his openness or transparency as an expression of both humility and truth.”

Czerny emphasized that the concern and prayers prompted by the announcement reflected the communion of the Church and the wider human family with the successor of Peter.

“Now, every feeling of concern, every hopeful prayer of whatever kind, is the human family expressing communion with an esteemed leader and father who we know loves us,” he said.

“May God bless Pope Leo and bring him back to us, healthy as ever!”

Czerny is scheduled to receive the first Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal on Tuesday afternoon at Borgo Laudato Si’, located on the grounds of the papal villas at Castel Gandolfo. The pope had been expected to attend the ceremony, but his participation was canceled.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said hearing the news directly from the pope had provoked a mixture of painful surprise, fear, and fraternal affection, along with a sense of closeness and honesty.

“Hearing the news directly from the pope caused me painful surprise, fear, fraternal affection, but at the same time a sense of intimacy, closeness, openness without masks, of great honesty toward us,” Fernández said.

“It is impossible not to feel personally involved when you hear the pope tell his truth in that way, acknowledge the frailty of his flesh and at the same time his serene confidence,” he added.

Fernández said that, paradoxically, the troubling news had deepened the sense of communion within the Church.

“Mysteriously, bad news thus becomes a deeply felt expression of ecclesial communion and affection for that father who unites us,” he said. “I experienced a powerful sense of how valuable it is for the Church to have that father.”

Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, archbishop of Tokyo and president of Caritas Internationalis, offered a firsthand account of the pope’s condition after meeting with him Monday, Oct. 12.

The audience, Kikuchi explained, had been arranged long in advance as part of the annual meeting in which the president and secretary-general of Caritas Internationalis report on the organization’s activities to the pope.

“Holy Father was as usual and calm with no sign of sickness,” Kikuchi told EWTN News.

“He assured me that this is a minor operation and he feels nothing wrong with his body, and he said he had decided to go for the operation as soon as possible not to change his plan of [the] Latin America pastoral visit.”

The pope is scheduled to travel to South America Nov. 6–17.

Kikuchi said he also joked with Leo XIV about the wisdom of publicly announcing the surgery.

“I told him jokingly that his decision to make it public was prudent to prevent speculation of [the] public who would be next pope. For this he smiled,” the cardinal recalled.

“But I really believe so that he made really a prudent decision to avoid any speculation or gossiping,” Kikuchi added.

The cardinal’s account suggests that Leo XIV’s decision to disclose his medical condition was intended not only to inform the faithful but also to forestall rumors about the future of the papacy.

For the cardinals who spoke to EWTN News, the announcement marks a notable change in Vatican communications, with the pope choosing to speak openly about his vulnerability while expressing confidence about his treatment and his plans to continue his ministry.

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

The film “Lead Kindly Light: The Story of Saint John Henry Newman” premiered at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome on Oct. 9, marking the first celebration of his feast day since Pope Leo XIV declared him the 38th doctor of the Church in 2025.

The movie, produced by Lumine Studios in Brazil, features places significant to Newman’s life, including his childhood home in London, the University of Oxford, and Rome, where he studied for the Catholic priesthood after converting from Anglicanism.

The movie is available in English on the Catholic media website Formed.

‘A story of conversion and great personal sacrifice’

Father Hermann Geissler, FSO, director of the International Centre of Newman Friends in Rome, described the movie as a demonstration of faith and the significant personal sacrifices that would mark Newman’s life.

“It is a documentary film where we visit all of the places where Newman lived, doing interviews,” Geissler told EWTN News, “and where we are telling the story of Newman and reading parts of Newmanʼs letters. It is a wonderful film that shows the great faith of Newman, the sacrifice that his conversion cost, and the coherence of his life and thought.”

A doctor and patron for Catholic education

Pope Francis canonized Newman along with four others in 2019, after Pope Benedict XVI beatified him in Birmingham, England, in 2010.

In 2025, Pope Leo XIV declared Newman a doctor of the Church and a co-patron of Catholic education alongside St. Thomas Aquinas. In his homily, the pontiff cited Newman’s famous hymn “Lead, Kindly Light” to highlight the need for education to inspire hope.

“The task of education is precisely to offer this Kindly Light to those who might otherwise remain imprisoned by the particularly insidious shadows of pessimism and fear,” Leo said. “For this reason, I would like to say to you: Let us disarm the false reasons for resignation and powerlessness, and let us share the great reasons for hope in today’s world.”

In February, the Vatican established Newman’s feast day as Oct. 9 in the General Roman Calendar.

Acutis’ journey to sainthood has unfolded alongside the lives of the last four popes, each of whom has marked a different chapter in the teenager’s short life and legacy.

Carlo went on pilgrimage to see John Paul II, offered up his suffering from cancer for Benedict XVI, and was later beatified during the pontificate of Pope Francis. Finally, Pope Leo XIV canonized him, along with Pier Giorgio Frassati, on Sept. 7, 2025, making him the first millennial to ever be made a saint.

A childhood inspired by John Paul II

Born in 1991 during the pontificate of John Paul II, Carlo Acutis grew up at a time when the Polish pontiff was inspiring millions with his travels and teaching. It was Carlo’s Polish nanny, herself devoted to the pope, who helped cultivate Carlo’s early faith.

In October 2000, the Acutis family traveled to Rome to attend a landmark moment of the Great Jubilee: Pope John Paul II’s act of entrusting the new millennium to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Standing in St. Peter’s Square, the then-9-year-old Carlo witnessed a crowd united in prayer, gathered beneath Bernini’s colonnade and in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fátima.

“The Church today, through the voice of the successor of Peter, in union with so many pastors assembled here from every corner of the world, seeks refuge in your motherly protection and trustingly begs your intercession as she faces the challenges which lie hidden in the future,” John Paul II prayed to Our Lady.

Offering his suffering for Benedict XVI

When white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel in April 2005, 13-year-old Carlo Acutis watched closely as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI. According to his mother, Carlo was “fascinated” by Benedict XVI.

The following year, Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia. Before he died of cancer in October 2006, he offered up his suffering for Benedict XVI, saying: “I offer all the suffering I will have to endure to the Lord for the pope and for the Church, in order not to go through purgatory and to go straight to heaven.”

Beatification under Pope Francis

Pope Francis declared Carlo Acutis’ heroic virtue in 2018 and recognized the two miracles attributed to Carlo’s intercession that made possible his beatification and canonization.

Francis frequently cited Carlo as a model for youth in the digital age. In Christus Vivit, his apostolic exhortation to young people, Francis wrote that Carlo’s life stood as a witness against the temptation of “self-absorption, isolation, and empty pleasure” in the digital world.

“His witness indicates to today’s young people that true happiness is found by putting God in first place and serving him in our brothers and sisters, especially the least,” Pope Francis said the day after Carlo’s beatification in 2020.

Pope Francis had been scheduled to preside over Carlo’s canonization on April 27, 2025, during a jubilee event expected to draw 80,000 teenagers to Rome. Instead, with Francis’ death on April 21, 2025, Carlo’s canonization awaited a new date until a new pope was elected.

Carlo Acutis and Pope Leo XIV: A witness to young people

Carlo Acutis’ canonization on Sept. 7, 2025, was one of the first major acts of Leo XIV following his election to the papacy in May 2025. In his homily at the canonization, the pontiff hailed Acutis and Frassati as models for youth seeking holiness.

“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,” Leo said.

Their example, the pope explained, is the “type of witness we are called to follow, in order to enjoy life to the full and meet the Lord in the feast of heaven.”

Ishmael Adibuah contributed to this report.

This story was first published on April 27, 2025. It was updated on Oct. 12, 2026.

The conference, “A Healing Presence: The Church’s Call to Mental Health Ministry,” held in Rome from Oct. 9–10, responded to Pope Leo XIV’s October prayer intention for mental health. Organized by the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers, the conference also coincided with World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10.

The conference was also under the patronage of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Among those present were Bishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix, and Deacon Ed Shoener, a founding member of the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers.

‘The Church is a safe space, not a replacement for psychologists’

Among the themes discussed at the conference was the Church as a place where individuals can seek spiritual remedies for their mental health challenges.

Shoener clarified that the Church and those dedicated to mental health ministry complement medical professionals rather than replace them.

“Our goal is that someday, when someone faces a mental health challenge, the first place they think to turn is the Catholic Church as a safe space, Shoener told EWTN News. “We are not psychologists or psychiatrists providing medical care; rather, we provide the spiritual and social support that is so often missing due to stigma, discrimination, and fear.”

“We work closely with professionals because faith and science must go together,” he added.

Shoener also shared the personal tragedy of his daughter’s 2016 suicide, which prompted him to help establish the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers in hopes that others with similar challenges would be heard.

“Katie had bipolar disorder, lived with it for 10 years, went to college, had friends, and did not fit the stereotypes people often have about mental illness. Sadly, she died by suicide in 2016,” Shoener said.

“Her obituary went viral because we clearly stated that she had a mental illness, was not defined by it, and was a beautiful child of God.”

Speaking about the stigmatization of mental health in the wider culture and the Church, he also cited several reasons for it.

“In the U.S., we often avoid talking about it because we fear it makes us look weak or inadequate, potentially jeopardizing our success or employment. What brought me into this ministry was that overwhelming response from people longing for the Church to comfort them rather than push them aside,” Shoener said.

An epidemic hidden by happiness in Sweden

One participant, Samuelle Falk, discussed opportunities for the Church to minister to those with mental health challenges, particularly in her native Sweden, which is noted for its high Happiness Index.

“To the outside world, Sweden often appears as a model of security and comfort; we even rank fourth in the 2025 World Happiness Report,” Falk said. “Yet, beneath this surface of prosperity, we are facing a profound crisis of youth mental health, driven by a silent epidemic of loneliness.”

“Yet, I believe God has been using this inner suffering to lead a generation back to himself. The Catholic Church in Sweden is experiencing a clear influx of new members. The Church does not stand on the sidelines of the youth mental health crisis; she stands right in the middle of it,” Falk added.

Falk, a psychiatrist in training, began working in mental health ministry with the Diocese of Stockholm. Reflecting on her experience, she spoke of the unique offering the Church can give young people seeking help.

“The Church offers what medicine cannot: a home for the soul, a framework of meaning, and a sense of true belonging,” Falk told EWTN News. “Where youth are increasingly isolated behind digital screens, the Church offers a physical and present community. We proclaim the one truth the secular world cannot offer: Your worth does not lie in your achievements but in being unconditionally loved by God. We remind them that they are never walking alone.”

The appointment also includes the positions of vicar general for Vatican City and president of the Fabric of St. Peter, the body responsible for the conservation of the basilica.

Viola thus leaves the Secretariat of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a position he had held since 2021. To succeed him, the pope appointed Bishop Aurelio García Macías, until now undersecretary of the same organization.

Born on Oct. 4, 1965, in Biella, in northern Italy, Viola belongs to the Order of Friars Minor. He was ordained a priest in 1993 and holds a doctorate in Sacred Liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of Sant’Anselmo in Rome.

Before arriving at the Roman Curia, he carried out much of his ministry in Assisi. Between 1999 and 2005 he was custodian of the convent and the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels at the Porziuncola. He also headed Caritas of Assisi between 2008 and 2014.

Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Tortona in 2014. Seven years later, in May 2021, he called him to Rome to join the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments as secretary.

New secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship

The second appointment falls to García, a Spanish priest who has worked in the dicastery since 2015 and who until now served as undersecretary.

Born on March 28, 1965, in Pollos, in the Spanish province of Valladolid, he was ordained a priest in 1992 for that archdiocese. He studied philosophy at the University of Salamanca and obtained a doctorate in liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of Sant’Anselmo in Rome.

Before joining the Vatican, he was diocesan delegate for liturgy and rector of the seminary of Valladolid.

In the Roman Curia he began as an official of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. In 2016 he became head of office and, in May 2021, Pope Francis appointed him undersecretary. He received episcopal ordination on July 11 of that year.

As secretary, García will work alongside the prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Arthur Roche, on matters related to the liturgy and the discipline of the sacraments. Among the responsibilities of the body are the promotion and regulation of the liturgy of the Latin Church and the application of the norms governing liturgical celebrations.

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 See Press Office made the announcement on Monday, one day after the pontiff said, during his Sunday Angelus, that he would undergo surgery to remove a nodule from one of his lungs.

The nodule, he explained in his Angelus address, was found during a routine medical checkup and prompted his doctors to advise him to have it surgically removed.

“The doctors believe it is advisable to operate. I have decided to undergo surgery to remove it, following their advice,” Leo said in his address.

According to Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, who spoke to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, the pontiff is expected to remain hospitalized for about one week at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he will continue his recovery after the operation.

Due to the pope’s upcoming hospitalization and recovery, he will no longer celebrate the closing Mass of the meeting “10 Years After Amoris Laetitia: Proclaiming the Gospel with Families Today.” Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will replace him as the celebrant for the closing Mass.

Additionally, according to one of the organizers, Father Giacomo Costa, SJ, the conference’s concluding summary will no longer be published on Wednesday night. Costa told journalists Oct. 12 that the pope would like to have time following his hospitalization to read the document and possibly add his own response before making it public.

A press briefing on the night of Oct. 14 marking the conclusion of the conference will still take place at the Holy See Press Office as scheduled.

In his post, the pontiff stated: “The death penalty is inadmissible because it attacks the inviolability and dignity of the person.”

He emphasized that the protection of society and the application of justice can be guaranteed without resorting to capital punishment. In this regard, he said that “the common good can be protected and the requirements of justice can be safeguarded without resorting to capital punishment: effective penitentiary systems have already been developed that protect citizens and, at the same time, do not entirely deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.”

The message concluded with the hashtag #NoDeathPenalty, used in international campaigns promoting the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.

The Holy Father made this statement one day after the secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, criticized the planned public execution in the United States of Nidal Hasan, according to Vatican News.

Parolin stated on Oct. 9 that plans to broadcast the execution live are unacceptable. “It is truly incomprehensible that anyone would want to resort to this method in this day and age,” he noted.

“I do not know for what purpose. It is certainly unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle. However guilty the person may be, there are other ways.”

He emphasized that the death penalty “does not serve as a deterrent.”

That same day, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Paul Coakley, expressed his “shock and great sorrow” and urged that the decision be reconsidered.

Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding another 32 at Fort Hood in November 2009, and a military court sentenced him to death in 2013. The Pentagon announced on Thursday that his execution by firing squad is scheduled for Dec. 3, although new legal proceedings could delay it.

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 the United States, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, said the prelates would join “the faithful and all people of good will in praying for his good health.” He also prayed for those who will perform the operation: “May the hand of Pope Leo’s surgeons be guided by the divine physician, Jesus Christ.”

Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York joined the prayers as he finished a weeklong pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. “I join with the bishops, priests, faithful, and all people of good will of the Archdiocese of New York in praying for our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as he prepares for his surgery later this week,” he wrote. He also asked Jesus, “the divine physician,” to care for the pope and guide “the hands of his surgeons, nurses, and other health professionals.”

Prayers from Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru

Cardinal Daniel Sturla, archbishop of Montevideo, Uruguay, also wrote about the news. Uruguay is one of the countries expecting Pope Leo XIV on his upcoming visit to Latin America. “Let us pray for his speedy recovery and continue with greater spirit the preparation for his visit to our land,” he wrote.

In Peru, which also expects the pope later this year, the Archdiocese of Lima entrusted his health to the Lord of Miracles, a devotion that draws millions of Peruvians each year. “We ask the Lord of Miracles for his speedy recovery,” the archdiocese said on social media.

The Peruvian bishops’ conference issued a message titled “United in Prayer for the Health of the Holy Father Leo XIV.” It noted the “serenity and humility” with which the pope shared the news and asked that his health be entrusted to the Lord of Miracles.

“Lifting to God, Lord of life and source of all health, our supplications that he strengthen him and grant him the health that the fulfillment of his mission requires,” the Peruvian bishops said. They also urged communities, families, and the faithful to place the Holy Father under the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that in the fullness of his strength he may continue his mission in service of the Church and all humanity, as a messenger of peace and hope and a witness of unity, fraternity, and encounter among all peoples.

The Argentinian bishops said in a statement: “We ask the Lord to grant him strength and peace at this time, that the operation may go well, and that he may make a swift and full recovery.”

Prayers from Spain

The Spanish bishops’ conference also invited prayer for the pope. Its president, Archbishop Luis Argüello, asked “the whole Spanish Church — dioceses, institutes of consecrated life, communities and lay associations, all members of the People of God, and our fellow citizens — to pray for the health of our beloved Pope Leo XIV.”

The conference’s secretary-general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”

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Prayers from Poland, Great Britain, Malta

Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, the president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, issued an appeal to the Polish people, asking them to “pray for the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, asking God for a successful operation and a speedy recovery.”

Bishop John Keenan on behalf of the Scottish bishops’ conference said: “We invite Catholics across Scotland, and all people of goodwill, to join us in praying for Pope Leo, for the medical team caring for him, and for a successful operation and a full and speedy recovery.”

Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster and the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales assured Leo of the prayers of the faithful.

“We pray that following the procedure and a period of recovery, he will soon be restored to health,” Moth wrote.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna, archbishop of Malta and adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote on X: “The Church in Malta is united in prayer for the Holy Father, wishing him well for the surgery he will be undergoing.”

Leo XIV asks for prayer

The pope announced the operation after Sunday’s Angelus. Doctors found a nodule on one of his lungs and recommended removing it. In sharing the news, Leo asked the faithful to accompany him spiritually in the coming days: “I entrust myself to your prayer.”

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.

He confirmed at the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday that the lesion was caught early and is well localized. “The doctors consider it advisable to intervene. I have decided to have the operation to remove it, following their advice,” he said.

Many are asking how nodules are found, how they are evaluated, and what leads doctors to recommend removing them.

The condition, commonly called a “spot on the lung,” shows up on imaging as a white opacity against normal lung tissue and is generally up to 30 millimeters in diameter.

Dr. Bruno Vincenzi, head of the oncology service at the Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital in Rome, told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that a nodule can be found because a patient has symptoms that lead to tests.

“A persistent cough that has just appeared, expectoration — that is, producing phlegm with traces of blood — or chest pain can be reasons the patient undergoes studies,” he said.

He added that these findings are now increasingly accidental. Patients may be scanned before an operation or a hospital stay, or as part of a screening program, especially if they are older or have been smokers.

Asked why a doctor would recommend surgery, as in the pope’s case, Vincenzi said certain features on the images can raise concern. Spiculated margins — irregular or jagged — can suggest a more worrying lesion and make removal advisable. Well-defined margins, perhaps with calcifications inside, more often suggest a benign nodule.

Dr. Elmer Huerta, a Peruvian oncologist based in the United States and the first Latin American president of the American Cancer Society, said the operation the pope is expected to have is usually done with minimally invasive techniques. “The old thoracotomies, which meant opening the chest, are no longer done. What is done now is minimally invasive robotic surgery, in which a half-centimeter opening is made between the ribs, the robot is introduced, and the operation is done with that,” he said.

Huerta said it is not yet possible to say how long the pope will need to recover fully, because the specific features of the nodule, and therefore the exact extent of the surgery, are not public. Depending on what is found, doctors may remove a wedge of lung that includes the nodule, a segment, or a whole lobe. That will determine the recovery.

On how soon the pope can resume his usual commitments, Huerta said it depends on the extent of the operation. A wedge removal is simpler, and he could fly in two or three weeks and make his planned trip to Latin America. Removing a lobe would be more complicated. The key is the nature of the nodule, which has not been made public.

Huerta also stressed that most lung nodules are not cancerous. A 2022 study found that 95% are benign and only 5% are cancer. Cancerous nodules have certain features on X-rays, CT scans, and PET exams.

Vincenzi said a histological analysis is needed to determine what a nodule is. When a nodule is removed because its features suggest a suspicious lesion, the pathologist’s final examination of the cells can give a clear indication of whether it is benign or malignant.

Both experts declined to speculate on the pope’s case without precise clinical details. Vincenzi said it is better to stop at the diagnostic stage, because saying more risks creating needless reassurance or needless worry. Huerta said the same thing he tells his patients: go step by step.

The hospitalization planned for this week will force the pope to cancel all commitments on those days, Vatican press office director Matteo Bruni told ACI Prensa. Among them is the closing Mass of an international meeting on the family, held for the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, which Leo XIV was to preside over on Wednesday with the presidents of episcopal conferences gathered at the Vatican.

In principle, the surgery would not affect the trip to South America planned for Nov. 6–17, judging by the pope’s own words at the Angelus. Greeting members of the Brotherhood of the Lord of Miracles in St. Peter’s Square, he said: “Thank you for your prayer for the pastoral visit I will make to Peru.”

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.