Vatican News

Vatican City, Sep 17, 2025 / 17:19 pm (CNA).

Norma Pérez, a widow for five years, and Olga Pallares, a widow for two, have experienced the piercing visceral pain of losing a loved one.

Friends for over 30 years, they have managed to cast a light on something as dark as the death of their husbands. “I know he is with God, without suffering, in a joy that is not of this world,” said Pérez, whose grief did not completely break her; on the contrary, she said it strengthened her faith.

Together, the two friends participated in this week’s Jubilee of Consolation in Rome to bear witness that death does not have the last word. “A part of him has remained with us. We are not completely empty. We widows are filled with the other half of the other person who has passed away,” Pérez told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, just before participating in a vigil with Pope Leo XIV.

Pérez and Pallares met at Maranatha (“the Lord is coming” in Aramaic), a group that accompanies young couples in marriage preparation courses. “We gave retreats to strengthen marriages,” Pérez explained.

Through these activities, they taught others how to live the word of God as a couple, how to pray the rosary, and how to prepare to build a solid marriage based on faith.

But eventually, they became widows. Now, they dedicate themselves to “helping others until God calls me, too,” Pérez said.

These two friends have had very different experiences in their lives of faith, as different as their marriage experiences.

Pallares met her husband as a teenager, but they came from different worlds. “They were well off, I wasn’t,” she recalled. Her husband’s family always looked down on her, she said, but the couple managed to build a strong love despite the difficulties: “We fought every day for our love.”

One of the most painful experiences they experienced was his parents’ rejection of their daughters: “They never loved my daughters and even ended up disinheriting my husband. That was terrible.”

Despite family difficulties, Pallares and her husband shared a journey of faith and service. He even served as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist at the Avellaneda Cathedral in Argentina: “Rubén taught me that painful experiences are best navigated hand in hand with Jesus.”

In the final years of their marriage, illness entered their lives. Her husband was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, which took him in just a few years: “Those were very hard times. I had to do everything: lift him, wash him, insert the IV, remove the IV… But God gave me incredible strength. I managed to lift him as if he weighed little, and he was twice my size.”

Despite the pain, faith sustained them until the end. Pallares recalled how her husband maintained a constant closeness to the Eucharist: “He was in front of Jesus 24/7 praying. He always told me: ‘We are you, Jesus, and me.’”

Pérez, on the other hand, wasn’t baptized when she met Juan. She grew up in a nonbelieving family. In fact, they were first married in a civil ceremony in 1999. But in 2008, everything changed.

Her husband, Juan, was diagnosed with prostate cancer after a biopsy and, fearful of undergoing surgery, opted for alternative and natural treatments.

“We were a couple who had been trying to have children for eight years, and the treatments weren’t successful. Then the disease hit,” she recalled.

Then, through suffering, she discovered God’s caress. “My faith truly began from zero. It was a total conversion, brought on by my husband’s illness,” she said in a calm voice.

It was then that they both began to draw closer to God and the Catholic community founded by Father Elías Cavero Domínguez in Argentina. “That’s when I began to understand what faith was and I was baptized. Everything changed for us: We were married in the Church in 2010. It was a profound transformation in our lives,” she said.

For the next 10 years, Juan experienced moments of relative stability. However, in 2018, the cancer had spread throughout his body, and the pain became unbearable. Despite this, they experienced what she describes as “a year of grace.”

From mid-2019 to 2020, Juan was pain free and able to spend time peacefully with his wife.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic further complicated the situation. In June 2020, they were both hospitalized, and despite health restrictions, she was able to be with him until the end. Juan passed away on Aug. 22, 2020.

“I went through everything with him and through prayer. I was even able to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet at the exact moment of his departure. It was an immense consolation; I felt the Virgin Mary was coming to get him,” she recounted with emotion.

Their participation in the Jubilee of Consolation was another step in the spiritual healing process for these two Argentinians. In Rome, surrounded by people who had also experienced loss, they were able to experience Christian consolation.

Vatican City, Sep 17, 2025 / 10:18 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday condemned the “unacceptable conditions” faced by civilians in Gaza and called for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and renewed efforts toward a negotiated diplomatic solution.

“I express my profound closeness to the Palestinian people in Gaza, who continue to live in fear and to survive in unacceptable conditions, forcibly displaced — once again — from their own lands,” the pope said at his weekly general audience. “Before God almighty, who commanded ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ and in the sight of all of human history, every person always has an inviolable dignity, to be respected and upheld.”

“I renew my appeal for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and a negotiated diplomatic solution, fully respecting international humanitarian law. I invite you all to join in my heartfelt prayer that a dawn of peace and justice may soon arise,” he added.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening before returning to the Vatican from the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo, Leo XIV said he had been in contact with Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of Holy Family Parish in Gaza.

“Many have nowhere to go, and that is a great concern,” the pope said. “For now they want to stay, they are still resisting, but a real solution must be found.”

The pope also dismissed claims from Moscow that NATO had begun a war against Russia, noting Poland’s concerns about violations of its airspace. “The concern is great,” he said.

In his catechesis at the audience on Wednesday, part of his series on “Jesus Christ our Hope” for the Jubilee 2025, the pope reflected on the mystery of Holy Saturday, when Christ lay in the tomb.

“The Son of God lies in the tomb. But this ‘absence’ of his is not emptiness: It is expectation, a restrained fullness, a promise kept in the dark. It is the day of the great silence, in which the sky seems mute and the earth immobile, but it is precisely there that the deepest mystery of the Christian faith is fulfilled. It is a silence laden with meaning, like the womb of a mother who carries her unborn but already living child,” he said.

Recalling that Jesus was laid in a garden tomb, the pope said the scene recalls the lost Eden and signals a new creation: “That tomb, never used, speaks of something that has still to happen: It is a threshold, not an end.”

He explained that Holy Saturday is also a day of rest: “The Son too, after completing his work of salvation, rests. Not because he is tired, but because he loved up to the very end. There is nothing left to add. This rest is the seal on the completed task; it is the confirmation that what should have been done has truly been accomplished. It is a repose filled with the hidden presence of the Lord.”

The pope contrasted this with the demands of modern life. “We struggle to stop and rest. We live as if life were never enough. We rush to produce, to prove ourselves, to keep up. But the Gospel teaches us that knowing how to stop is an act of trust that we must learn to perform.”

“In the tomb, Jesus, the living Word of the Father, is silent. But it is precisely in that silence that the new life begins to ferment. Like a seed in the ground, like the darkness before dawn. God is not afraid of the passing time, because he is also the God of waiting. Thus, even our ‘useless’ time, that of pauses, emptiness, barren moments, can become the womb of resurrection,” he said.

The pope described Jesus in the tomb as “the meek face of a God who does not occupy all space. He is the God who lets things be done, who waits, who withdraws to leave us freedom. He is the God who trusts, even when everything seems to be over.”

“At times we seek quick answers, immediate solutions. But God works in depth, in the slow time of trust,” he added. “The Sabbath of the burial thus becomes the womb from which the strength of an invincible light, that of Easter, can spring forth.”

“Christian hope is not born in noise but in the silence of an expectation filled with love. It is not the offspring of euphoria but of trustful abandonment. The Virgin Mary teaches us this: She embodies this expectation, this trust, this hope,” he said. “When it seems to us that everything is at a standstill, that life is a blocked road, let us remember Holy Saturday. Even in the tomb, God was preparing the greatest surprise of all.”

The pope concluded that “true joy is born of indwelt expectation, of patient faith, of the hope that what has been lived in love will surely rise to eternal life.”

As is customary, Leo greeted pilgrims from his popemobile in St. Peter’s Square, where many families gathered for his blessing. The day coincided with the feast of St. Robert Bellarmine, patron saint of Leo XIV, which is a holiday in the Vatican.

CNA Staff, Sep 17, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Every gift from the Holy Spirit is meant for the edification of the community of believers, Pope Benedict XVI said in a general audience back in 2010 when he focused his catechesis on the life of St. Hildegard of Bingen, whose feast is celebrated Sept. 17 in the universal Church.

Benedict praised her as a model for modern women religious and noted that she benefited the faithful by her willingness to submit her supernatural visions to the interpretation of the Church.

Referring first to St. John Paul II’s apostolic letter on the role of women in the life of the Church, Benedict XVI noted that the letter “gives thanks for all the manifestations of the feminine ‘genius’ which have appeared in the course of history.” He then highlighted the figure of St. Hildegard of Bingen as one of the saintly women who stood out nearly a millennium ago.

Born into a noble German family in the year 1098, Hildegard began her studies in human and Christian formation at a Benedictine convent in the town of Bingen, took her vows to cloistered life and, 30 years after she began her formation, became a mother superior.

Carrying out this role competently, she was able to found an additional convent nearby where she spent a great part of her life. The way she exercised authority there continues to be an example for religious communities today, Benedict said, explaining that she was able to create an atmosphere of “holy emulation in the practice of the good, so much so that ... the mother and daughters competed in respecting and serving each other.”

Benedict XVI also recalled her mystical visions, which she first shared with people in confidence, including her spiritual director, a fellow sister, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux. “As always happens in the lives of the true mystics,” the pope said, “Hildegard also wished to submit herself to the authority of wise people to discern the origin of her visions.”

St. Bernard, whom Benedict said held “maximum esteem” in the Church at the time, “calmed and encouraged” the sister about the visions, and eventually Pope Eugene III gave her the authorization to write and speak about the visions publicly.

“This,” the former pope taught, “is the seal of an authentic experience of the Holy Spirit, source of every charism: the person (who is the) repository of supernatural gifts never boasts, does not flaunt them and, especially, shows total obedience to the ecclesiastical authorities.”

He added: “Every gift distributed by the Holy Spirit, in fact, is destined for the edification of the Church, and the Church, through its pastors, recognizes their authenticity.”

In 2012, Hildegard was canonized and named a doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI. 

Vatican City, Sep 16, 2025 / 15:50 pm (CNA).

Silvia Toma has a scar on her soul: Four years ago she buried her 34-year-old only son, who had two little daughters. “It was sudden leukemia. He was admitted on May 25, 2021, and died on June 3,” she said, still choked up by the pain.

At that time, the COVID-19 pandemic regulations allowed no visitors. Safety measures prevented her from caressing his hand in his slow agony.

“They never let us visit him. He was hospitalized in the coronary care unit completely alone,” she recalled. They could only communicate minimally through WhatsApp messages.

The day before he died, they let her in to see him. “His wife spent 15 minutes with him and I for another 15. I took the opportunity to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet with him.” The doctors then asked them to leave the room and a few hours later asked them to return to the clinic.

“When we arrived, they told us he had suffered three cardiac arrests. He had survived two, and he hadn’t survived the third,” Toma explained, her eyes welling with tears but with a big, maternal smile that communicated she would be all right. 

Holding on to faith is the only thing that kept her going in the most difficult moments. “We are not prepared to lose a son, but I am extremely grateful for the faith,” said Toma, who, the day after her son was hospitalized, knelt before the tabernacle in her parish church, St. John the Baptist, in the Diocese of Avellaneda Lanús, Buenos Aires province.

Once before the Blessed Sacrament, “I told him that he already knew what was in my heart, but that his will be done. And his will was for my son to be with him.”

Toma still doesn’t understand God’s reasons, but she’s not seeking answers either. On Sept. 15, she participated in the Jubilee of Consolation in Rome and testified that death doesn’t have the last word.

“I often break down and cry, but, thank God, never once did I utter a word of reproach. I believe he must know why, and one day I will understand,” she added.

She said that going through this soul-searing pain, for which there isn’t even a word to define it in the dictionary, “has been like sharing a little bit in what the Virgin Mary felt at the foot of the cross.”

“I ask her to always hold him close and kiss him for me,” she said.

Toma is divorced but maintains a good relationship with her ex-husband, who is a Jehovah’s Witness. Her son had received all the sacraments — baptism, Communion, confirmation — but in his adolescence, “he turned to Jehovah’s Witnesses,” she said.

“He even signed the document expressing his refusal to receive a blood transfusion, as required by that religious denomination,” she explained.

In 2019, she was able to share the suffering her son’s actions caused her with Pope Francis, whom she greeted after a general audience. “When he finished listening to me, he told me he would pray for Gabriel’s return to the Catholic Church,” she related.

And little by little, this began to take shape. For Toma, there is no doubt that it was a small gift the Argentine pontiff gave her.

“I believe God worked in him,” she said. “Before he died, he spoke with the priest from our parish, something he hadn’t done in a long time. They texted each other on WhatsApp, they chatted. I believe his heart was opening again,” she added.

The situation became critical when he was admitted. “On the last day, the doctor told us that if they didn’t give him the transfusion, he would die. He was conscious. His wife, a Jehovah’s Witness, said, ‘I can’t sign.’ Then they asked me. I entered the room, looked him in the eyes, and asked him if he really wanted the transfusion, because I couldn’t override his personal decision either. He said yes.”

At that moment, mother and son signed the consent form together: “As I was signing, he touched his head and said to the doctor, ‘The thing is, my mother is a catechist.’”

For this mother, that decision, although it didn’t save her son's life, signified an inner reconciliation. “I believe God gave him the opportunity to return to him at the most important moment,” Toma said. For her, this final gesture was also a true consolation.

Vatican City, Sep 16, 2025 / 13:06 pm (CNA).

The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church during a meeting Tuesday at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo invited Pope Leo XIV to visit Armenia.

Catholicos Karekin II, the patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, met Pope Leo for the first time at Villa Barberini, the papal summer residence overlooking Lake Albano. Leo has recently begun spending Tuesdays, the pope’s traditional day off, in Castel Gandolfo while the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City undergoes renovations.

The two discussed the need for a peace based on justice, according to Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, the Armenian Church’s representative to the Holy See, in comments to the Armenian-language edition of Vatican Media.

The invitation would mark a continuation of ecumenical dialogue and papal outreach to Armenia, the first state to adopt Christianity as its state religion in A.D. 301. Karekin II has previously traveled to the Vatican for meetings with John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.

John Paul II became the first pope to set foot on Armenian soil in 2001, visiting for celebrations of the 1,700th anniversary of the country’s Christian heritage. Pope Francis followed with a three-day trip to Armenia in 2016.

The Armenian Apostolic Church, sometimes known as the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, is the national church of Armenia and part of the family of Oriental Orthodox Churches.

It is distinct from the much smaller Armenian Catholic Church, which is in full communion with Rome. The Armenian Church formally broke with Rome after the Council of Chalcedon in 451, though relations have deepened in recent decades. In 1996, John Paul II and then-Patriarch Karekin I signed a declaration affirming their shared Christian origins.

In addition to his audience with the pope, Karekin II met in Rome with Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education. He also prayed at the Basilica of St. Mary Major before the tomb of Pope Francis and the Marian icon of Salus Populi Romani.

Karekin II’s first visit to Rome dates back to November 2000, when, newly elected, he was received by John Paul II during celebrations for the jubilee of 2000. On that occasion, John Paul presented him with relics of St. Gregory the Illuminator, the patron saint credited with converting Armenia’s king to Christianity in the fourth century.

Armenians worldwide maintain strong ties to their church, shaped in part by the 1915 genocide, known in Armenia as the Medz Yeghern (“Great Evil Crime”). Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, according to the Associated Press. Pope Francis in 2015 called it the “first genocide of the 20th century,” drawing a strong protest from Turkey.

The Vatican has yet to announce any international trips for the new pope, although many expect his first journey abroad will be ecumenical in nature, a trip to Turkey to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 15, 2025 / 15:06 pm (CNA).

With a call to trust that Jesus is the one who dries the tears of those who suffer, Pope Leo XIV celebrated the prayer vigil for the Jubilee of Consolation in St. Peter’s Basilica on Monday, Sept. 15.

“Redemption is mercy and can make our future better, while we still await the Lord’s return. Only he will wipe away every tear and open the book of history, allowing us to read the pages that today we cannot justify or understand,” the Holy Father told the faithful gathered in the Vatican basilica.

The pope delivered his homily after hearing two testimonies: that of Lucia Di Mauro, an Italian woman whose husband was murdered by a group of young men but who, with God’s grace, was able to forgive and help one of them recover; and that of Diane Foley, the mother of journalist James Foley, beheaded by Islamic State terrorists in 2014.

The Holy Father said that both stories convey the certainty that “where pain is deep, even stronger must be the hope born of communion” — a hope that “never disappoints.”

In this sense, he added, “that pain should not generate violence,” because this is not the final word, but rather “it is overcome by the love that knows how to forgive.”

“What greater liberation can we hope to achieve than that which comes from forgiveness, which, through grace, can open the heart despite having suffered all kinds of brutality? The violence suffered cannot be erased, but the forgiveness granted to those who caused it is a foretaste of the kingdom of God on earth; it is the fruit of his action that puts an end to evil and establishes justice,” he affirmed.

In his homily, the pope also invited everyone to “share God’s consolation with so many brothers and sisters who live in situations of weakness, sadness, and pain,” for the Lord does not leave those who suffer alone. “On the contrary, precisely in these circumstances we are called more than ever to hope in the closeness of the Savior who never abandons.”

Leo XIV indicated that it is true that sometimes words “are useless and become almost superfluous” in the ability to console, and “perhaps in such moments only the tears of weeping remain,” for these express the deepest feelings of a wounded heart.

“Tears are a silent cry that implores compassion and consolation. But even before that, they are liberation and purification of the eyes, of feelings, of thoughts. We should not be ashamed of crying; it is a way of expressing our sadness and the need for a new world; it is a language that speaks of our humanity, weak and tested, yet called to joy,” he affirmed.

The pope recalled that, in his “Confessions,” St. Augustine also wondered about the origin of evil and found the answers in Scripture.

“There are questions that draw us back in on ourselves, divide us internally, and separate us from reality. There are thoughts from which nothing can be born. If they isolate us and drive us to despair, they also humiliate our intelligence. It is better, as in the Psalms, for the question to be a protest, a lament, an invocation of that justice and peace that God has promised us.”

He explained that in this way, “we build a bridge to heaven, even when it seems mute. In the Church, we seek the open heaven, which is Jesus, God’s bridge to us. There is a consolation that reaches us when that faith, which seems to us to be “formless and wavering,” like a boat in a storm, “takes root in the heart.”

Before concluding his homily, Pope Leo XIV encouraged people to also seek consolation in the Virgin Mary, who keeps repeating: “I am your mother.” He also recalled that, as St. Paul suggests, “when one receives consolation from God, one is then capable of offering consolation to others.”

“Those we love and who have been taken from us by sister death are not lost nor have they disappeared into nothingness. Their life belongs to the Lord, who, as the good shepherd, embraces them and holds them close to himself and will return them to us one day so that we may enjoy eternal and shared happiness,” he affirmed.

As part of the program, Pope Leo XIV blessed wax medals depicting the paschal lamb, the “agnus Dei,” a symbol “to remember that the mystery of Jesus, of his death and resurrection, is the victory of good over evil.”

“He is the lamb who gives the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who never leaves us, comforts us in need, and strengthens us with his grace,” the pope told them.

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 15, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday received the participants of the general chapter of the Order of St. Augustine, with whom he said he felt “at home.” In his address, he reflected in particular on the theme of love, which the order’s founder, St. Augustine, “placed at the center of his spiritual quest.”

At the beginning of his Sept. 15 address, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude to Father Alejandro Moral, OSA, for his years of service and extended a warm welcome to the newly-elected prior general, Father Joseph Farrell, OSA.

Referring to the general chapter as an opportunity to reflect on the gift received, the challenges, and the current situation of the order, he reminded the Augustinians of the importance of “interiority in the journey of faith.”

He emphasized that this interiority is not “an escape from our responsibilities” but rather “a return to ourselves and then emerge with greater motivation and enthusiasm for the mission.”

“Returning to ourselves,” he added, “renews our spiritual and pastoral drive: We return to the source of religious life and consecration so that we may offer light to those the Lord places on our path.”

He then reflected on what he considers “a fundamental theme”: vocations and initial formation. Pope Leo XIV advised “not to fall into the error of imagining religious formation as a set of rules to observe, things to do, or even as a ready-made habit to be worn passively.”

On the contrary, he clarified that love is at the heart of everything and that “the Christian vocation, and in particular the religious vocation, is born only when one perceives the attraction of something great, of a love that can nourish and satisfy the heart.”

Therefore, he reiterated that it is essential to help young people in particular “to glimpse the beauty of the call and to love what, by embracing the vocation, they can become.” He added: “Vocation and formation are not predetermined realities: They are a spiritual adventure that involves a person’s entire history, and it is above all an adventure of love with God.”

Thus, he emphasized that love, which St. Augustine “placed at the center of his spiritual quest,” is also a fundamental criterion for the dimension of theological study and intellectual formation.

“In the knowledge of God, it is never possible to reach him only with our reason or with a set of theoretical information; it is, above all, a matter of allowing ourselves to be surprised by his greatness, of questioning ourselves and the meaning of events to discover in them the traces of the Creator, and above all, of loving him and making him loved,” he noted.

He also exhorted his Augustinian brothers to be generous and humble, two qualities that are born precisely from love, to have as their reference the “ineffable gift of divine charity,” and to be “faithful to evangelical poverty.”

Finally, he asked them not to forget “our missionary vocation,” recalling that since 1533 the Augustinians have proclaimed the Gospel throughout the world.

“This missionary spirit must not be extinguished, because it is sorely needed today as well. I urge you to revive it, remembering that the evangelizing mission demands the witness of humble and simple joy, availability to service, and participation in the life of the people to whom we are sent,” he emphasized.

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 14, 2025 / 12:38 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV led an ecumenical commemoration of the martyrs and witnesses of faith of the 21st century at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on Sunday, stressing that “even though they have been killed in body, no one can silence their voice or erase the love they have shown.”

The Sept. 14 liturgy brought together Orthodox, Eastern, and Protestant leaders along with ecumenical organizations and Vatican officials.

“Through his cross, Jesus revealed to us the true face of God, his infinite compassion for humanity,” the pope said. “He took upon himself the hatred and violence of the world to share the lot of all those who are humiliated and oppressed.”

Pope Leo, speaking on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, said that many believers still share in Christ’s cross.

“Like him, they are persecuted, condemned, and killed,” the pope said, pointing to women and men — religious, laypeople, and priests — who have died for their fidelity to the Gospel, their fight for religious freedom, and their solidarity with the poor.

The pope described their witness as “a hope filled with immortality” because it continues to spread the Gospel, cannot be silenced, and stands as a prophecy of the victory of good over evil.

He recalled Sister Dorothy Stang, murdered in Brazil after telling her killers “This is my only weapon” as she held up her Bible. He also remembered Father Ragheed Ganni, a Chaldean priest shot in Mosul, and Brother Francis Tofi, an Anglican religious killed in the Solomon Islands.

“Unfortunately, despite the end of the great dictatorships of the 20th century, to this day the persecution of Christians has not ended,” the pope said.

“We cannot and do not want to forget,” he said. “Just as in the first centuries, so too in the third millennium, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of new Christians.”

Pope Leo reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to keep alive the memory of martyrs from every Christian tradition, noting the collaboration of the Vatican’s Commission of New Martyrs with the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

Recalling the “ecumenism of blood” discussed at the Vatican’s recent Synod on Synodality, he said that the witness of Christian martyrs is “more eloquent than any word: Unity comes from the cross of the Lord.”

The pope ended by citing the words of Abish Masih, a Pakistani boy killed in an attack on a Catholic church who had written in his notebook: “Making the world a better place.” That dream, Pope Leo said, should inspire Christians today “to bear courageous witness to our faith, so that together we may be leaven for a more peaceful and fraternal humanity.”

The service also included prayers from representatives of different Churches for persecuted Christians, the conversion of persecutors, and a united Christian stand for justice, peace, and solidarity with the poor.

Vatican City, Sep 14, 2025 / 10:45 am (CNA).

St. Peter’s Square became the stage for an unprecedented spectacle on Saturday night as tens of thousands gathered for “Grace for the World,” a massive concert closing the third World Meeting on Human Fraternity.

The event opened with breathtaking symbolism: More than 3,000 drones illuminated the night sky above the basilica, tracing the image of Pope Francis, framing Michelangelo’s dome and Bernini’s colonnade in light. The display, a first for the Vatican, drew reverent silence before the crowd erupted in applause.

The moment was accompanied by a stirring duet of “Amazing Grace” performed by world-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli and American singer Teddy Swims. Their voices rose over the hushed square, blending with the faint hum of the drones in an atmosphere of solemnity and awe.

After that, the Roman sky became a vast canvas. The drones depicted the hands from Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam,” followed by a monumental dove of peace and finally a striking image of the “Pietà,” Michelangelo’s famous marble sculpture housed in St. Peter’s Basilica. The projections, clear against the night, prompted ovations and a forest of cellphones lifted high to capture the scene.

Also projected was the icon of “Salus Populi Romani,” venerated in the Basilica of St. Mary Major and cherished by Pope Francis.

The innovative display set the tone for the evening: a call to universal fraternity, dialogue among cultures, and hope in times of global crisis. For the first time in history, St. Peter’s Square was transformed into an open-air arena for a concert of this scale.

The event marked the conclusion of the two-day World Meeting on Human Fraternity, which brought together 500 participants, including Nobel laureates, academics, cultural leaders, and experts in technology and the environment. Fifteen dialogue panels explored themes such as peace, care for the planet, technology’s impact, and the future of humanity.

In his greeting to the audience, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica and president of the Fratelli Tutti Foundation, proclaimed: “In the midst of shadows, we see the possibility of a rebirth: the capacity to resist, to innovate, to build bridges.”

Bocelli, a practicing Catholic and one of the world’s most acclaimed tenors, was among the evening’s central performers. He opened with Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” transforming the square into a place of silence and emotion.

Colombian singer Karol G drew some of the loudest ovations of the night. She performed “Mientras me curo el cora” in a gospel-inspired style and closed with a moving duet with Bocelli of “Vivo per lei.” Dressed in an elegant, understated outfit, she was greeted with flags, shirts, and chants from fans who had crowded the front rows.

Alongside the music came urgent appeals for peace and justice. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi, Mozambican activist Graça Machel, and Iraqi Nobel laureate Nadia Murad all called for an end to war and violence, urging greater commitment to human dignity and fraternity.

Pope Leo XIV was not present at the concert, but organizers thanked him for his support and noted that he celebrates his 70th birthday Sunday.

Vatican City, Sep 14, 2025 / 09:55 am (CNA).

On Sunday, his 70th birthday, Pope Leo XIV presided at the recitation of the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square. From the early morning hours, the square had filled up with the faithful carrying banners, flags, and congratulatory signs to celebrate the pope’s milestone.

Leo was visibly moved when musical groups in the square played “Happy Birthday,” a gesture greeted with applause, cheers, and the waving of signs bearing messages of gratitude and blessing.

“Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, commemorating the discovery of the cross by St. Helen in Jerusalem in the fourth century and the return of the precious relic to the Holy City by the Emperor Heraclius,” the pope said at the start of his reflection.

He explained that the day’s Gospel (Jn 3:13–17) presents Nicodemus as “one of the leaders of the Jews, a righteous and open-minded person … He needs light and guidance: He seeks God and asks the Teacher of Nazareth for help because he recognizes him as a prophet, a man who performs extraordinary signs.”

“The Lord welcomes him, listens to him, and eventually reveals to him that the Son of Man must be lifted up, ‘so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life’ … adding: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life,’” the pope said.

“God saves us by showing himself to us, offering himself as our companion, teacher, doctor, friend, to the point of becoming bread broken for us in the Eucharist. In order to accomplish this task, he used one of the cruelest instruments that human beings have ever invented: the cross,” Leo said.

“That is why today we celebrate the ‘exaltation’: for the immense love with which God has transformed the means to death into an instrument of life, embracing it for our salvation, teaching us that nothing can separate us from him and that his love is greater than our own sin,” he added.

After leading the Angelus, the pope noted the 60th anniversary of St. Paul VI’s institution of the Synod of Bishops, expressing hope that “this anniversary will inspire a renewed commitment to the unity and mission of the Church.” He also extended greetings to pilgrims from around the world.

At the close, he turned to a more personal meaning of the day: “Dear friends, it seems that you know that today I turn 70 years old. I give thanks to the Lord and to my parents; and I thank all those who have remembered me in their prayers. Many thanks to everyone! Thank you! Have a good Sunday!”

National Catholic Register, Sep 14, 2025 / 07:09 am (CNA).

Sept. 14 marks Pope Leo XIV’s 70th birthday. To celebrate, “EWTN News In Depth” invited viewers to send in video messages to share their own personal greeting to the Holy Father on such a momentous occasion.

The responses ranged from young Catholic school children singing “Happy Birthday” to seminarians and priests sharing their own sentiments and religious sisters gathered to say happy birthday in unison. Some celebrated by blowing out candles while holding their own Pope Leo prayer card, while many just thanked the Holy Father for all the love and joy he shares daily.

Although many American voices shared birthday blessings and prayers of gratitude, several messages came from the Philippines, many in Spanish, and one even from Norway and the Netherlands.

There was a heartfelt greeting from a group in Hong Kong and another from an African girl in her Catholic school uniform.

Voices also came in from France, Indonesia, and Poland. A man named Derrick shared a message from Moscow in Russia. And there were countless voices from his own hometown, Chicago!  

Pope Leo even received a special message from his alma mater, Villanova University: “May God continue to bless you,” a current student said. Good wishes also came from the Augustinian-run Villanova College in Brisbane, Australia, where the celebration featured a birthday cake and a cutout of the pope.  

Young Catholic school pupils in Cincinnati offered a creative rendition of “Happy Birthday,” while another beautiful compilation came in all the way from Nigeria at St. Augustine’s Catholic School in Oghara. Students also shared a message from Galilee in the Holy Land from Christian Outreach Center, all excited to celebrate with the pope. 

One boy from St. Joseph’s Catholic School in South Bend, Indiana, was so excited to share not only that he shares the same name, Leo, but also the same birthday, adding that he’s turning 14 this weekend. 

Many viewers shared their excitement about having their first American-born pope, some just taking the time to send in their own greeting from the comforts of their own home. “We are so grateful to have you as a Church,” a young woman wrote. “We as young people especially would like to let you know that we are listening to you, that we are behind you, and we are living out the Gospel message because of you.” Another man shared a message from Pendleton, Oregon, assuring Pope Leo of his daily prayers for him.

A few greetings came in from fellow polyglots, sharing birthday greetings in multiple languages, something the pope of many tongues will enjoy. And one woman was really creative, making an acrostic poem using the letters of the pope’s name.

One greeting came in from the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe at Marytown in Libertyville, Illinois, from a group sitting on the floor holding a Chicago White Sox flag, all with matching Pope Leo shirts, including Bubba the hassett hound who is “our beloved mascot,  who is usually a Cubs fan but this weekend, he said he’ll root for the Sox just for you!”

Many of the messages came with promises of prayer with hearts full of gratitude. To watch all the videos that came in, please enjoy the video below:

Happy birthday Pope Leo!  

Vatican City, Sep 13, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday urged Catholic theologians to embrace a “theology of wisdom” capable of addressing urgent global challenges, from environmental crises to the ethical questions posed by artificial intelligence (AI).

In his address to participants of an international seminar organized by the Pontifical Academy of Theology, the pope said that “environmental sustainability and the care of creation are essential commitments to ensure the survival of the human race” and have a direct impact on peaceful human coexistence.

Leo emphasized that theology is at the heart of the Church’s missionary work but must be “incarnate, imbued with the human pains, joys, expectations and hopes of the women and men of our time.” Citing the examples of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, he said the great masters of the past modeled a synthesis of faith and reason that can guide theology today.

Turning to contemporary matters, Pope Leo warned that the Church must not limit itself to moral reflections when considering AI.

“An exclusively ethical approach to the complex world of artificial intelligence is not enough,” he said, stressing the need for an anthropological vision rooted in human dignity. “What is a human being? What is his or her inherent dignity, which is irreconcilable with a digital android?”

Leo recalled 2023 legislation by his predecessor Pope Francis that reformed the academy, highlighting its three “faces”: academic rigor, contemplative wisdom, and solidarity expressed in acts of charity. Theology, Leo said, should remain rooted in an encounter with Christ while engaging philosophy, science, economics, law, literature, and the arts. Dialogue within the Church must also lead to dialogue with other cultures and religions, so that theology may serve both the Church and the wider world, the pope said.

Vatican City, Sep 13, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has approved new measures to promote the hiring of people with disabilities in the Vatican, saying their condition does not prevent them from serving in Church institutions.

The updated regulations require Vatican offices to welcome and support employees with disabilities, including by providing accommodations where needed, “since the condition of disability does not preclude suitability for work,” the new provision states.

Health requirements for job candidates have also been revised. Instead of demanding perfect health, the focus will be on whether a person is fit for the specific duties of the job, with certification provided by Vatican health services.

The changes apply both to the Holy See and to Vatican City and take effect immediately. They follow another papal decision in August expanding family benefits for employees, including paternity leave and extra support for parents caring for children with disabilities.

Vatican City, Sep 13, 2025 / 11:03 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday morning received Brian Burch, the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace for the formal presentation of his letters of credence.

According to a U.S. embassy statement, the two men discussed the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza as well as “protecting religious freedom, the Vatican’s relationship with China, and the AI revolution.”

Regarding this week’s assassination of conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk, “Pope Leo underscored that our political differences can never be resolved with violence and told Ambassador Burch that he was praying for the widow of Mr. Kirk and his children,” the embassy said.

The ambassador also presented the pope, who turns 70 on Sunday, with a personalized birthday cake.

Burch, 50, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Aug. 2 in a 49-44 vote. He was nominated by President Donald Trump in December 2024 and succeeds former ambassador Joe Donnelly, who served under the Biden administration.

In a statement following his confirmation, Burch said he was “profoundly grateful” to the president and Senate for the opportunity to serve and asked for the prayers of Catholics across the United States, “that I may serve honorably and faithfully in the noble adventure ahead.”

A native of Phoenix, Burch is married and the father of nine children. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Dallas in 1997 and began his career in business before moving into Catholic nonprofit leadership. From 2005 until his confirmation this year, he was president of CatholicVote Civic Action and the CatholicVote Education Fund, organizations dedicated to promoting Catholic engagement in public life.

During his time with CatholicVote, Burch became a nationally recognized figure in Catholic political advocacy, encouraging American Catholics to participate in the democratic process and to defend religious liberty and the sanctity of life. CatholicVote’s new president, Kelsey Reinhardt, said in August that the group “joyfully celebrates” his confirmation, praising his 17 years of leadership.

On the occasion of his confirmation, Burch noted a point of personal significance for him in his new role. “In a remarkable coincidence, or what I prefer to attribute to providence, Pope Leo XIV is from Chicago, which is also my hometown,” he said.

After meeting the pope on Saturday, the embassy said, “Ambassador Burch described the meeting as extraordinarily friendly, like talking to a friend back home in Chicago.”

Vatican City, Sep 13, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Religious leaders from China, Russia, the Middle East, and the Vatican are converging in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 17–18 for the VIII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.

The gathering brings together some of the world’s most diverse spiritual voices at a moment of heightened global tensions. This year’s congress will focus on the theme “Dialogue of Religions: Synergy for the Future.”

The congress is convened by the government of Kazakhstan under the patronage of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who will formally open the gathering. Organizers also expect Pope Leo XIV to send a special message, following the tradition of papal support for the congress.

For the Vatican, it marks the first major interfaith event under Pope Leo XIV and the debut of an entirely new papal delegation. Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, newly-appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, will deliver a keynote at the plenary session and read the final declaration at the closing ceremony.

He is joined by Father Laurent Basanese, SJ, secretary for Religious Relations with Muslims. The French Jesuit, known for his expertise in Christian-Muslim dialogue, will contribute to a working group, attend the secretariat meeting, and address the Forum of Young Religious Leaders.

“Since its founding, it has become a privileged space for promoting peace and mutual understanding among religions and cultures,” Basanese told CNA.

The Vatican delegation also includes Father Vincenzo Marinelli, deputy apostolic nuncio to Kazakhstan, and Professor Tiziano Onesti, president of the Vatican’s pediatric hospital Bambino Gesù, who will lead medical cooperation talks with Kazakh institutions.

One notable first this year is the participation of the Sovereign Order of Malta. Representing the order will be Pasquale Ferrara, diplomatic adviser to the order’s advisory council, who will take part in the congress on Sept. 18.

One of the most anticipated figures in Astana is Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, whose participation has been officially confirmed. He last attended the congress in 2012. His presence raises the prospect of the highest-level Vatican-Moscow encounter since the war in Ukraine.

Earlier this summer, Pope Leo received Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk in Rome, and Metropolitan Anthony will return to the Eternal City on Sept. 14 for an ecumenical commemoration of the new martyrs at St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.

Four days later, Patriarch Kirill will preside over a prayer service in Astana’s Assumption Cathedral for the new martyrs and confessors of Kazakhstan. The twin commemorations — one in Rome, the other in Astana — underscore how the memory of Christian martyrdom is providing common ground for dialogue.

Another high-profile participant is Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar. In 2019, he co-signed with Pope Francis the historic Document on Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi, which inspired the United Nations to establish Feb. 4 as the International Day of Human Fraternity just days before the congress.

Rome hosted the World Meeting on Human Fraternity on Sept. 12–13, where Pope Leo XIV greeted participants on Friday.

Basanese told CNA that for him the gathering in Astana is more than symbolic: “Interreligious dialogue, which often requires inexhaustible patience, cannot be reduced to superficial consensus or a sterile ‘diplomacy of smiles.’ In reality it is central to the Church’s mission. In 2025 we mark the 60th anniversary of , which affirmed that the Church ‘rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions.’ Dialogue does not mean giving up the truth but bearing witness with respect, listening, and charity.”

The congress was first convened in 2003 on the initiative of Kazakhstan’s first President Nursultan Nazarbayev, inspired by the interreligious meeting at Assisi in 1986 and strengthened by Pope John Paul II’s visit to Kazakhstan in 2001. Since then, it has been held every three years in Astana, bringing together leaders of major religions to foster peace and mutual understanding. The Holy See has participated since the beginning, and Pope Francis himself attended the previous congress in 2022.

Vatican City, Sep 12, 2025 / 11:51 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV spoke out on Friday against what he called the business of wars, while condemning attitudes of rejection and indifference toward migrants and the poor, as he received some of the participants in the third edition of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity at the Vatican.

Among those present were several Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including Iraqi activist Nadia Murad, American Jody Williams, Liberian Leymah Gbowee, Yemeni Tawakkol Karman, Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, Ukrainian lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk, Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, and Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege.

In his remarks, the pontiff reflected on the need for fraternity and reconciliation in a world where wars “shatter the lives of young people forced to take up arms; target defenseless civilians, children, women, and elderly people; devastate cities, the countryside, and entire ecosystems, leaving only rubble and pain in their wake.”

The pope decried the plight of many “migrants who are despised, imprisoned, and rejected, among those who seek salvation and hope but find walls and indifference.” He also lamented that, on many occasions, the poor are “blamed for their poverty, forgotten and discarded, in a world that values profit more than people.”

Faced with all these injustices, Leo XIV insisted that “the answer cannot be silence.”

“You are the answer, with your presence, your commitment, and your courage. The answer is choosing a different direction of life, growth, and development,” he said.

The pope also called for the establishment of a broad “covenant of humanity, founded not on power but on care; not on profit but on gift; not on suspicion but on trust.”

“Care, gift, and trust are not virtues to be practiced only in one’s spare time: They are pillars of an economy that does not kill but deepens and broadens participation in life,” he said.

Thus, the Holy Father invited everyone to recognize the other as a brother or sister, which in practice means “freeing ourselves from the pretense of believing that we are isolated individuals or from the logic of forming relationships only out of self-interest.”

The pope said the planet is marked by conflicts and divisions, and emphasized that the participants of this new edition of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity are “united by a strong and courageous ‘no’ to war and a ‘yes’ to peace and fraternity.”

Leo XIV cited an encyclical of his predecessor Pope Francis, , to reiterate that social friendship and universal fraternity necessarily require the “acknowledgement of the worth of every human person, always and everywhere.”

He also emphasized that Pope Francis taught that “war is not the right way to resolve a conflict” and praised the “willingness to face conflict head on, to resolve it and to make it a link in the chain of a new process,” which he called “the wisest path, the path of the strong.”

The pope connected his reflections with the biblical account of Abel’s murder at the hands of his brother Cain and reflected on how this fraternal relationship immediately became conflictual.

However, he stressed that this first homicide “should not lead us to conclude that ‘it has always been this way.’ No matter how ancient or widespread, Cain’s violence cannot be tolerated as ‘normal.’”

“The norm is revealed in God’s question to the guilty party: ‘Where is your brother?’ It is in this question that we find our vocation, the rule and measure of justice,” he stated.

For the pope, that same question continues to echo in history and “today more than ever, we must make this question our own as a principle of reconciliation. Once internalized, it will resonate in this way: ‘Brother, sister, where are you?’”

Leo emphasized that the great spiritual traditions and the maturing of critical thought allow us to go “beyond blood or ethnic ties, beyond those kinships that recognize only those who are similar and reject those who are different.”

For the Holy Father, it is also significant that in the Bible, as scientific exegesis has shown, it is the more recent and mature texts that narrate a “fraternity that transcends the ethnic boundaries of God’s people and is founded on a common humanity.”

“The stories of creation and the genealogies bear witness that all peoples, even enemies, have the same origin, and the Earth, with its goods, is for everyone, not just for some,” he said.

He also stressed that fraternity is “the most authentic name for closeness. It means rediscovering the face of the other. For those who believe, they recognize the mystery: the very image of God in the face of the poor, the refugee, and even the adversary.”

The pope called on his listeners to identify paths, both local and international, that develop “new forms of social charity, alliances between different areas of knowledge and solidarity between generations.”

On the other hand, he called for “community-based approaches that also include the poor, not as recipients of aid, but as subjects of discernment and discourse.”

The Holy Father encouraged them to continue this work of “silent sowing. This can give rise to a participatory process focused on humanity and fraternity, which is not limited to listing rights, but also includes concrete actions and motivations that make us different in our everyday lives.”

The organizers of the third edition of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity structured this international event, promoted by St. Peter’s Basilica on Sept. 12 and 13, around 15 thematic tables.

These are spaces of dialogue that will function as laboratories for the exchange of ideas on various themes, such as the world of information, the environment and sustainability, the economy and finance, and artificial intelligence.

In this context, St. Peter’s Square will host a free concert open to the public this Saturday, one that promises to mark a turning point in the relationship between culture, faith, and entertainment.

Under the name “Grace for the World,” the Vatican square will become an open-air stage bringing together international artists such as Karol G, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, and other singers like Pharrell Williams, John Legend, Teddy Swims, Jelly Roll, BamBam, and Angélique Kidjo.

This evening will be broadcast live on Disney+, Hulu, and ABC News Live, allowing millions of viewers to follow the event in real time.

The concert will also bring together the voices of an international choir of 250 people, including members of the Choir of the Diocese of Rome. The entire event will be orchestrated by world-renowned music producer Adam Blackstone.

But the show will go beyond music. The company Nova Sky Stories will present a visual creation that will light up the sky of Rome with a choreography of more than 3,000 drones, inspired by the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel.

This innovative staging will turn the night into a true living fresco of sounds and lights, an unprecedented sensory experience in the heart of Christendom, according to the Vatican.

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 11, 2025 / 16:57 pm (CNA).

Every September, the new bishops of the Catholic Church gather in Rome to participate in a formation course, an initiative that, since its inception in 1994, has become a genuine tradition.

During these sessions, the prelates receive from the Dicastery for Evangelization and the Dicastery for Bishops guidance and tools to carry out with greater clarity and responsibility the mission entrusted to them by the Church, through conferences, discussions, and various working groups.

A total of 192 bishops from around the world gathered on Sept. 4 to participate in these sessions, which concluded Sept. 11, when the prelates were received by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.

Dominican Xabier Gómez García, bishop of San Feliú de Llobregat in Spain , is one of the prelates participating in this year’s course. Having been a bishop for only 10 months, from Rome he explained to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that during this time he has become aware “of what this service means.”

He noted that the new bishops were appointed in the context of the jubilee year and at the end of the synodal process, so their service “is marked by a time of hope and missionary conversion, in a Church that journeys alongside its people.”

He explained that this year’s course offers tools to “become witnesses and heralds of hope founded in Christ” and sees it as an opportunity to “deepen our understanding of catholicity, live together, pray, celebrate together, share a meal, and learn firsthand about the experiences of the Church spread throughout the world and in so many and diverse dioceses.”

Gómez, who was also prior of St. Thomas Aquinas–El Olivar Convent in Madrid, expressed his gratitude for having been able to share time with bishops representing the five continents, who have come from places such as Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Russia, Poland, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, France, Poland, Portugal, and the United States.

Among the presentations given during the course, what most caught the Spanish prelate’s attention was the “‘Decalogue of Hope for a Bishop in the Jubilee Year,’ which was the first introduction to the course.”

He explained that in general, all the presentations were in some way “tied together by the unifying theme of hope and have also helped us deepen this sense of communion and what communion means in the service of the people of God.”

The presentations also noted the importance of being “a Church that goes forth as a servant of the Gospel in the midst of the world.” Ultimately, the bishop explained, “we learn to listen with a heart that resembles Christ’s.”

“We must nurture our relationship with God and with our fellow bishops, with our collaborators the priests, and with the people of God in general. We are called to be instruments of communion and also signs of hope,” he added.

During the formation sessions, they also tackled the issue of abuse prevention within the Church.

“It must be recognized that mistakes may have been made in caring for victims and also in the lack of prevention. We also reflected on the support provided to individuals and the great efforts the Church has made to put the abused person at the center were emphasized.” 

A bishop you must “make that pain your top concern, empathize with it, and always seek truth, justice, and comprehensive reparation for the good of these people who have been hurt, and for the community, and to do so with a certain sense of the call to conversion, so that this itself may become a sign of light and hope,” he added.

Gómez, who before assuming his position as bishop was director of the migration department at the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, explained that another topic addressed was migration and its challenges “in order to work on the reception, protection, advancement, and integration of migrants” and to be able to make a faithful reading of this reality.

“We also,” the bishop continued, “asked ourselves what young people need from the Church and what God wants to tell us through them.”

According to the Spanish prelate, a bishop must “be close to the people, have a passion for God and also a missionary spirit. I believe it is also important to cultivate, as a spiritual attitude, humility, simplicity, allowing oneself to be accompanied, and also great trust in providence and in the Spirit, who guides his people.”

After expressing his “excitement” for finally meeting with the Holy Father, he also emphasized the need to share “humbly and simply” what they experienced in Rome and to continue to deepen [our understanding] “when we return to our dioceses, with our people, in the service of our people.”

During this period of formation, there were two courses available for the new bishops: “Opening a Door to Hope: Calls to the Episcopate in a Jubilee Context,” given by the Dicastery for Evangelization, which took place at the Pontifical College of St. Peter, and a course by the Dicastery for Bishops, given at the Pontifical College of St. Paul. On Sept. 8–9, the participants of both courses met at the Pontifical Urbaniana University and shared a time of fellowship.

Among the speakers were Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle — that bishops are “stewards” and not “lords” of God’s flock — and Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, who emphasized the importance of the bishop being close to seminarians and priests, who “must feel that the bishop appreciates, esteems, and loves them.”

Vatican City, Sep 11, 2025 / 12:11 pm (CNA).

In response to the Sept. 10 fatal shooting of Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the Vatican’s secretary of state condemned the use of violence against those with whom one disagrees.

“The Vatican stand is that we are against all types of violence. And we think that we have to be very, very tolerant, very respectful of everybody, even though we don’t share the same view,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin told journalists at the sidelines of a conference at the Vatican on Sept. 11.

“If we are not tolerant and respectful, and we are violent, this will produce a really big problem inside the international community and the national community,” he added.

Parolin’s comments were made one day after the 31-year-old Kirk during the first stop of his American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University on the afternoon of Sept. 10.

Kirk, who often debated students on campus, strongly defended free speech at colleges and was an outspoken critic of discrimination against Christians and of gender ideology. He founded Turning Point USA in 2012 to promote free speech and conservative values on college campuses.

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 10, 2025 / 13:18 pm (CNA).

On the evening of Sept. 9, when leaving Castel Gandolfo, where he had spent the day, Pope Leo XIV described Israel’s attack earlier Tuesday against leaders of the Hamas terrorist group in Doha, Qatar, as “very serious.”

Referring to the growing tension in the Middle East conflict, the pontiff stated: “We must pray a lot and keep working, searching, insisting on peace.” 

On Wednesday, at the end of the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, the Holy Father encouraged the faithful to remember “in their prayers and in their humanitarian projects also the children of Ukraine, Gaza, and other regions of the world affected by war.”

At Castel Gandolfo, the pontiff specifically expressed his concern about the situation in Gaza, after Israel ordered the immediate evacuation of residents in anticipation of an imminent intensification of military operations.

Pope Leo XIV explained that he had unsuccessfully attempted to contact Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in Gaza.

“I tried to call the parish priest just now; I have no news,” he said. “They were certainly OK before, but after this new [Israeli army evacuation] order, I’m not sure.” 

Hours later, Romanelli reported on X that he had finally managed to speak with the Holy Father. “He asked us how we’ve been and what the situation was like. He sent us his blessing and is praying for us and for peace,” the priest wrote.

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 10, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

In his general audience on Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV explained that cries of pain, like those of Jesus in his final moments on the cross, instead of a sign of weakness, can express desire, surrender, and prayer.

A rainy morning in Rome prevented the Holy Father from spending much time greeting the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. Aboard the popemobile, he toured the square amid applause and cheers, stopping to give his blessing, especially to children.

The pope dedicated his catechesis at the weekly audience, which began just over five minutes late, to reflecting on the value of crying.

“At times, what we are unable to say in words, we express with the voice,” Leo said. “When the heart is full, it cries. And this is not always a sign of weakness; it can be a profound act of humanity.”

Although we are accustomed to thinking of crying as something disorderly to be repressed, the Gospel gives our cry a value, reminding us it can be “an invocation, a protest, a desire, a surrender,” the pope said.

“It can even be the extreme form of prayer, when there are no words left,” he continued.

“One cries not out of desperation, but out of desire. Jesus did not cry out against the Father, but to him. Even in silence, he was convinced that the Father was there,” the pontiff said. “And, in this way, he showed us that our hope can cry out, even when all seems lost.”

Addressing pilgrims huddled under umbrellas in protection against sporadic rain showers, Pope Leo meditated on the “culmination of Jesus’ life in this world: his death on the cross.”

Specifically, he highlighted an important detail worthy of faithful contemplation: That “on the cross, Jesus does not die in silence.”

The pontiff explained that after fulfilling his mission on earth, from the cross, “Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.” For the Holy Father, “that cry contains everything: pain, abandonment, faith, offering. It is not only the voice of a body giving way, but the final sign of a life being surrendered.” 

He also recalled that the cry was preceded by a question, “one of the most heartrending that could be uttered: ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’”

Pope Leo XIV emphasized that, in that final moment, Jesus experiences silence, absence, and the abyss. However, according to the pontiff, “it is not a crisis of faith but the final stage of a love that is given up to the very end.”

“Jesus’ cry is not desperation, but sincerity, truth taken to the limit, trust that endures even when all is silent,” he emphasized.

He added that “it is there, in that broken man, that the greatest love manifests itself. It is there that we can recognize a God who does not remain distant but who traverses our pain to the very end.”

The pope also explained that to cry can be a “spiritual gesture,” since it is often one’s first act after birth and a way to stay alive.

“One cries when one suffers, but also when one loves, one calls, one invokes. To cry out is saying who we are, that we do not want to fade away in silence, that we still have something to offer,” he added.

Leo invited those listening not to hold back their tears, because keeping everything inside “can slowly consume us.”

The pontiff insisted that “Jesus teaches us not to be afraid to cry out, as long as it is sincere, humble, addressed to the Father. A cry is never pointless if it is born of love.”

At the end of his message, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the faithful to learn from the Lord to give a “cry of hope when the hour of extreme trial comes.”

“Not to hurt, but to entrust ourselves. Not to shout at someone, but to open our hearts. If our cry is genuine, it can be the threshold of a new light, of a new birth,” he said.

Vatican City, Sep 9, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Cardinal Raymond Burke will celebrate a special Traditional Latin Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 25 in a return to a prior custom, suspended since 2022, of an annual pilgrimage of Catholics devoted to the Latin Mass.

Burke will celebrate the Solemn Pontifical Mass, a high Latin Mass said by a bishop, at the Altar of the Chair on the second day of the Oct. 24–26 Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage, . The cardinal also celebrated a Latin Mass at the Altar of the Chair for the pilgrimage in 2014.

In 2023 and 2024, the pilgrimage was not able to receive authorization to celebrate the Latin Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica from the basilica’s liturgy office, according to organizer Christian Marquant.

The Office of Liturgical Ceremonies of St. Peter’s Basilica and the director of the Holy See Press Office did not immediately respond to CNA’s request for comment on this assertion.

The Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage, in its 14th year, brings people “ad Petri Sedem” (“to the See of Peter”) to give “testimony of the attachment that binds numerous faithful throughout the whole world to the traditional liturgy,” according to the pilgrimage website.

Burke, a champion of the Traditional Latin Mass and one of the most prominent critics in the hierarchy of the late Pope Francis, under whom he fell conspicuously out of favor, met Pope Leo in a private audience on Aug. 22.

Leo of congratulations for Burke’s 50th anniversary of priestly ministry in July.

Rorate Caeli, a prominent website for devotees of the Traditional Latin Mass, called the celebration of a Solemn Pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica again of increased tolerance for the traditional liturgy. and with subsequent legislation.

The Mass on Oct. 25 will be preceded by a half-mile procession from the Basilica of Sts. Celso and Giuliano to St. Peter’s Basilica.

Vatican City, Sep 9, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV is at his Castel Gandolfo residence for the day on Tuesday as he brings back regular use of the papal retreat after the estate spent 12 years in the shadows.

The Vatican said the pontiff “will continue his activities” from Villa Barberini — his residence in Castel Gandolfo, 18 miles south of Rome — from the evening of Sept. 8 to the afternoon of Sept. 9.

Tuesday is usually the one day a week the pope does not hold formal audiences, allowing him the freedom to spend time at the hilltop property sometimes known as the “second Vatican City.”

During his pontificate, Pope Francis eschewed the papal summer residence, preferring to remain in Vatican City.

Under Leo, the Castel Gandolfo property is enjoying a renaissance — most recently with the a project inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical

The pontiff toured the revamped 35-acre estate in a golf cart on Sept. 5 before celebrating a Liturgy of the Word in a greenhouse complex.

Now open to visitors, the ecological compound, divided between gardens and agricultural and farming land, includes state-of-the-art insulation, photovoltaic, and circular water management systems as well as spaces for educational activities for students.

But Borgo Laudato Si’ is just a portion of the full 135-acre pontifical property, where Pope Leo also stayed in July and August.

Continuing a centuries-old papal tradition of summer rest, the pope spent the holiday weekend of the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary from Aug. 15–17 at Castel Gandolfo.

He also stayed there for what he told journalists was a “working holiday” and a chance for “a change of scenery.”

After the 12 years of Francis’ pontificate, in which the Castel Gandolfo property went unused, the Vatican renovated Villa Barberini, the palace now being occupied by Leo, and refreshed the swimming pool used by St. Pope John Paul II during his vacations.

A tennis court was also installed near the Villa Barberini residence for the tennis-loving Leo.

Vatican City, Sep 9, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church will commemorate the liturgical memorial of St. Carlo Acutis on Oct. 12 and of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati on July 4. The two young men were canonized Sept. 7 by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

In the case of St. Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenager who died in 2006 and was beatified in Assisi in October 2020, his feast day was set for Oct. 12, coinciding with the anniversary of his death from fulminant leukemia at the age of 15.

The decree of the then-Congregation — now Dicastery — for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, promulgated after the beatification, set the date for the calendars of the dioceses of Assisi and Milan in addition to authorizing its celebration in other communities that requested it.

, a young man from Turin who died in 1925 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1990, will be commemorated every year on July 4, also coinciding with the day of his death. His memorial Mass is celebrated especially in Italy and in youth communities that consider him a patron and spiritual role model.

Both saints, commemorated on the date they passed into eternal life, have become role models of faith and commitment for young people. Acutis is known for his witness of faith in the digital world and his love for the Eucharist, and Frassati was by St. John Paul II as a “man of the Beatitudes.” Their intense spiritual life and commitment to charitable works continue to inspire new generations of Catholics around the world.

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 8, 2025 / 14:43 pm (CNA).

Following the , Italian singer Andrea Bocelli highlighted “the honor of singing before the Holy Father” and said he felt at that moment “the power of divine providence and a renewed serenity in celebrating the universal Church” under the guidance of its “new and steadfast pastor,” Leo XIV.

Borgo Laudato Si’ is an environmental project located in Castel Gandolfo and inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “.”

The ecological complex includes state-of-the-art insulation, photovoltaic, and circular water management systems as well as areas for educational activities for students.

This is “one of the Church’s initiatives aimed at fulfilling this ‘vocation to be stewards of God’s work,’” Pope Leo XIV said during the liturgical celebration of the inauguration.

In this context, the famous Italian lyric tenor Andrea Bocelli, along with his son Matteo, offered the Holy Father a musical interpretation of “Dolce è Sentire” (“It’s Sweet to Feel”) based on St. Francis’ “Canticle of the Sun.” 

The singer referred to that moment on , commenting: “It was deeply moving to witness firsthand the tangible expression of what Pope Francis so powerfully advocated in his encyclical the urgent need for an ecological conversion for our common earthly home.”

A decade later, the project bearing the same name on the grounds of Castel Gandolfo stands as an example of this vision — a true miracle of goodwill, where the splendor of nature and human endeavor meet: “a creature among creatures,” as Pope Leo XIV underlined, entrusted with the sacred duty of care (for nature “cannot but speak to us of God”), the singer reflected.

Bocelli also shared that “the joy of witnessing the inauguration of Laudato Si’ Village — a virtuous center of advanced education, inclusion, hospitality, and sustainability — was further enhanced by the honor of singing before the Holy Father, a man of God and a figure of the highest spiritual and intellectual stature.”

Finally, he was moved to acknowledge: “When, together with my son Matteo, we intoned ‘Dolce Sentire’ — a prayer that evokes the sacredness and harmony of creation — I felt, as I had not in a long time, the strength of divine providence and a renewed serenity in celebrating the universal Church, which in Pope Leo XIV has found a new and steadfast shepherd, a beacon to guide us through these complex times.”

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 8, 2025 / 14:13 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 6 participated in the Vatican’s Festival of Families, where he highlighted the importance of the witness of families in today’s world.

The event took place in the plaza of the Governorate of Vatican City, a beautiful esplanade located behind St. Peter’s Basilica.

Although originally scheduled for May, the festival had to be postponed due to the death of Pope Francis.

In a brief impromptu address, reported by , the Holy Father asked for applause for all the families and their children, expressing his joy at being able to gather with them in a festive atmosphere.

He also invited those present to live “this beautiful moment” with an open heart, to celebrate “the joy of being a family, the joy of being all united, of becoming friends with one another, of celebrating the gifts, especially the gift of life, the gift of family that the Lord has given us.”

“This witness of families is so important in our world today!” the Holy Father then emphasized.

Finally, he thanked the Vatican employees for their witness, their presence, and “for all they do, sometimes at great sacrifice, to live united as a family, transmitting this message, thus sharing in the spirit that Jesus Christ left us.”

He then prayed a Hail Mary and imparted his blessing to those present. The event was also attended by Sister Rafaella Petrini, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State.

Also present were the two secretaries-general, Archbishop Emilio Nappa and Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, along with the two emeritus presidents, Cardinal Fernando Vergéz Alzaga and Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello.

Pope Leo XIV had the opportunity to personally greet all the families and spend some time with them. The Italian pizzeria O’ Zi Aniello even presented him with a pizza bearing his name.

The festival continued into the evening, with an outdoor dinner for Vatican employees, who were also able to enjoy various entertainment.

Vatican City, Sep 8, 2025 / 09:15 am (CNA).

Vatican experts said on Monday that the two children killed in last month’s shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church could one day be included on a list they are compiling of “new martyrs and witnesses of the faith.”

Harper Moyski, 10, and Fletcher Merkel, 8, were killed while attending a parochial school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church on Aug. 27 — whether they could be considered martyrs killed “in hatred of the faith.”

“If the diocese or other local ecclesial entities present these figures to us as witnesses of the faith, we will examine them and see if we can include them in the list,” said Archbishop Fabio Fabene, president of the Vatican Commission of New Martyrs — Witnesses of the Faith.

The commission, under the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, is compiling an archive of the lives of Christian martyrs, both Catholic and non-Catholic, who have been killed in the new millennium.

As Fabene and other experts explained on Sept. 8, the commission’s selection criteria are not the same used by the Church to formally recognize a martyr through beatification and canonization. “They are two totally distinct things,” the archbishop said.

Andrea Riccardi, commission vice president and founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio, said the work of the commission is “to preserve stories and names in the heart of the Church, so that their memory is not lost.” Inclusion on the commission’s list of “new martyrs” does not qualify as a beatification, he said.

Riccardi and experts spoke about the Minneapolis shooting victims, in response to a reporter’s question, during a news conference to present an ecumenical prayer service to be led by Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 14.

The service, commemorating martyrs and witnesses of the faith of the 21st century, will be held at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross — which also happens to be Leo’s 70th birthday.

Sept. 14 was chosen for the liturgy “because it is the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross,” Fabene said. “We are very happy about this [coincidence of the pope’s birthday] also to wish him a happy birthday.”

Delegates from 24 Christian churches and traditions will attend the ecumenical service, including Metropolitan Anthony Sevryuk, the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations for the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Sept. 14 event recalls a similar ecumenical liturgy held in the Colosseum during the 2000 Jubilee Year.

When Francis established the new martyrs commission in 2023, he wrote that “the martyrs ‘are more numerous in our time than in the early centuries’: They are bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, laypeople and families, who in the different countries of the world, with the gift of their lives, have offered the supreme proof of charity.”

Looking ahead to the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, Pope Francis asked the commission to compile an updated list of Christian men and women who were killed for their faith in the first quarter of the 21st century.

Experts said on Monday that their catalog, which they hope eventually to publish, consists so far of 1,640 Christians killed in different circumstances of persecution and hatred around the world.

“The heart of this work is memory,” Riccardi said. “As St. John Paul II said, the names of those who died for their faith should not be lost.”

Vatican City, Sep 7, 2025 / 06:49 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV proclaimed the Italians Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis as saints of the Church on Sunday.

Vatican City, Sep 7, 2025 / 06:37 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV proclaimed Italians Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis as saints of the Church on Sunday, decreeing their veneration among the Catholic faithful.

The canonizations of the two men, promulgated before an estimated 70,000 people in St. Peter’s Square, were the first of Leo’s pontificate.

The congregation, which included the family of Acutis, applauded after Pope Leo pronounced the rite of canonization and declared the two patrons of young people as the Church’s newest saints.

In , the Holy Father reflected on a passage from the Book of Wisdom, which was read by Acutis’ younger brother Michele, during the Mass celebration.

“[Lord], who has learned your counsel, unless you have given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?” Leo said, quoting the Old Testament passage. “This question comes after two young blesseds, Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, were proclaimed saints.”

“This is providential because in the Book of Wisdom, this question is attributed to a young man like them: King Solomon. Upon the death of his father David, he realized that he had many things: power, wealth, health, youth, beauty, and the entire kingdom,” he continued.

Leo spoke extensively about the two new saints in his homily, departing from his predecessor’s practice. Pope Francis normally said little on such occasions about the people he had just canonized.

Like Solomon, Leo said, the new saints Carlo and Pier Giorgio understood that friendship with Jesus and faithfully following “God’s plans” is greater than any other worldly pursuits.

God “calls us to abandon ourselves without hesitation to the adventure that he offers us with the intelligence and strength that comes from his Spirit,” Leo said Sunday.

“We can receive to the extent that we empty ourselves of the things and ideas to which we are attached, in order to listen to his word,” he continued.

The Holy Father also spoke of other young saints throughout history, including St. Francis of Assisi, who saw it was wise to prefer the love of God and others over riches.

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

“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,” he added.

Describing their “winning formula” for holiness, the Holy Father spoke about the ordinary circumstances through which they dedicated their lives to God.

“Pier Giorgio encountered the Lord through school and church groups — Catholic Action, the Conferences of St. Vincent, the FUCI [Italian Catholic University Federation], the Dominican Third Order — and he bore witness to God with his joy of living and of being a Christian in prayer, friendship, and charity,” he said.

“Carlo, for his part, encountered Jesus in his family, thanks to his parents, Andrea and Antonia — who are here today with his two siblings, Francesca and Michele — and then at school, and above all in the sacraments celebrated in the parish community,” he added.

According to the pope, the two Italian saints cultivated their love for God and for their brothers and sisters through “simple acts” of “daily Mass, prayer, and especially Eucharistic adoration,” which are available to every Catholic.

At the end of the Mass, which he concelebrated with approximately 2,000 other priests, Pope Leo invoked the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for peace, “especially in the Holy Land and in Ukraine and in every other land that is facing blood.”

“I invite all the authorities to listen and to put down the weapons that lead to destruction and death … they never bring peace and security,” he said.

“God does not want war. God wants peace. God sustains those who fight for peace and who follow the path of dialogue,” he added, before leading the congregation in praying the Angelus.

Leo closed out the event by making a circuit of the square in his popemobile, waving at the crowd and stopping frequently to bless babies handed to him by his bodyguards.

One pilgrim present in the square, Australian Caroline Khouri, told CNA the celebration was one she would “remember forever.”

“The joy in the atmosphere here is incredible,” she said.

Vatican City, Sep 6, 2025 / 13:30 pm (CNA).

Bishop Francesco Savino, vice president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, celebrated Mass at the Church of the Gesù on Saturday for LGBT pilgrims in Rome for the Jubilee of Hope.

An Italian lay association organized the international pilgrimage, which included a morning Mass celebration inside the mother church of the Society of Jesus in Rome and a St. Peter’s Basilica Holy Door pilgrimage in the afternoon.

More than 1,000 pilgrims from around the world attended the Mass concelebrated by approximately 30 priests, including American Father James Martin, SJ, who had met with Pope Leo XIV in a at the Vatican.

Several people, including religious brothers and sisters, waved rainbow-colored fans to keep cool inside the packed church and some wore shirts with a phrase from 1 John 4:18, “nell’amore non c’e timore” (“there is no fear in love”), during the Mass.

In his homily, Savino underscored the inherent dignity of every person and the need to “restore dignity to those who had been denied it.” 

“We are all a pilgrim people of hope and we want to leave this celebration more joyful and hopeful than ever,” Savino said during his homily. “We have to go forward, convinced that God loves us [with] a unique and unrepeatable love … unconditional love.”

“In that awareness there is the foundation of all hope,” he said.

Reflecting on the selected Mass readings and Gospel for the day, Savino said St. Paul’s writings in the New Testament teach us that “a small step” in the midst of great human limitations may be “more pleasing to God than the outwardly correct life” of those who do not experience trials in life.

“We all have to convert, that is, we turn, we look in the opposite direction than before. The Acts of the Apostles documents this experience as defining and definitive,” he said. 

“Truly I am realizing that each of us, you here present, your family members, your brothers and sisters, we pastors and disciples of the Lord — each of us has had in our lives to accept or to reject a living truth,” he added.

Asking the Lord to “deliver us freely from any polemical or ideological temptation, from any preconceived temptation based on prejudice,” the Italian bishop spoke of the need for “Peter and the Apostolic College to put living truth before dead truth,” a reference to the pope and bishops today.

The Sept. 6 Mass concluded with rounds of loud applause and great emotion. Family members and friends sang the recessional hymn and hugged each other as the bishop and concelebrating priests processed out of the main part of the basilica, led by a pilgrim holding a rainbow-colored cross.    

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, people with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies … must be treated with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” 

The catechism also states that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” and “under no circumstances can they be approved.”

Vatican City, Sep 6, 2025 / 10:45 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday resumed special jubilee audiences, begun by Pope Francis after the opening of the Church’s Year of Hope, telling Christians that the cross of Christ is a great treasure and source of hope.

Before delivering his morning catechesis on Chapter 4 of St. Mark’s Gospel, the Holy Father greeted hundreds of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square from his popemobile, blessing several babies and accepting various gifts from people from different countries.

In his Gospel reflection, the pope said hope and happiness is rekindled when people “break through the crust of reality” and “go beneath the surface,” like the man in the parable who sold all his possessions to buy the field with a hidden treasure.

Leo described the holy cross of Jesus as the “greatest discovery of life” and expressed his high esteem for Helena, the mother of the first Christian Roman Emperor Constantine, who found the treasure of the wooden cross in Jerusalem and brought it to Rome.

“Helena always remained a woman searching,” he said in his Sept. 6 catechesis. “She had decided to become a Christian. She always practiced charity, never forgetting the humble people from whom she herself had come.”

“Such dignity and faithfulness to conscience, dear brothers and sisters, still change the world today,” he continued. “They bring us closer to the treasure.”

Encouraging Christians to cultivate their own heart through humility, Leo said one is able to draw closer to the Lord “who stripped himself to become like us.”

“His cross lies beneath the crust of our earth. We can walk proudly, heedlessly, trampling upon the treasure that is beneath our feet,” he said.

“But, instead, if we become like children, we will come to know another kingdom, another strength,” he continued. 

“God is always beneath us in order to raise us up on high,” he said at the end of the catechesis.

Rome Newsroom, Sep 5, 2025 / 16:06 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Friday afternoon officially inaugurated the Laudato Si’ Village in Castel Gandolfo with a liturgical celebration highlighting the “vocation” of every person to care for creation. 

Before celebrating a special Liturgy of the Word in a greenhouse complex, the Holy Father toured the estate in a golf buggy and stopped to greet staff and students collaborating on the environmental project inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical .

In his reflection on St. Matthew’s Gospel, the Holy Father said each human person has the great responsibility and privilege of respecting the “Creator’s plan.”

“Jesus emphasizes the special place reserved, in the creative act, for the human being: the most beautiful creature, made in the image and likeness of God,” Leo said in his short homily. 

“The care of creation, therefore, represents a true vocation for every human being, a commitment to be carried out within creation itself, without ever forgetting that we are creatures among creatures, not creators,” he added.

Speaking about his predecessor Pope Francis — who initiated the project and the liturgy for the Mass for the Care of Creation — Leo said the village is a “seed of hope” for those committed to fostering humanity’s “ecological conversion” through education and catechesis.

“It is important, as my predecessor wrote, to ‘recover a serene harmony with creation, to reflect on our lifestyle and our ideals, to contemplate the Creator, who lives among us and in all that surrounds us,’” Leo said, quoting Francis’ 2015 encyclical letter.

“The Laudato Si’ Village, which we inaugurate today, is one of the Church’s initiatives aimed at realizing this ‘vocation to be custodians of God’s handiwork,’” he said.

The ecological complex includes state-of-the-art insulation, photovoltaic, and circular water management systems as well as spaces for educational activities for students.

At the end of the liturgy, Pope Leo blessed the village with holy water and all those present at the liturgy.

Italian singer Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo, who were among the guests invited to the celebration, offered the Holy Father a song to mark the occasion.

CNA Staff, Sep 5, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

A new animated movie depicting the life of Carlo Acutis will be released on Sept. 7 — the same day the young boy, beloved by Catholics around the world, will be declared a saint by the Catholic Church.

“” brings to life the story of the Church’s first millennial saint who used his passion for technology and the internet to spread his love for the Eucharist and the Catholic faith to people around the world.

The animated film offers children and their families a way to learn about the life of Acutis, depicting his perseverance in faith and the importance of placing one’s talents in the service of God and others.

The film was made by CCC of America in association with the Augustine Institute and will be available for streaming on , a digital platform run by the Augustine Institute that provides faith-informed content for Catholics.

The movie will join several other films on Acutis including documentaries such as EWTN’s “Blessed Carlo Acutis — From London to the World” and “I Am With You — A Documentary on Carlo Acutis,” which can be streamed on , as well as a book by CNA Vatican Reporter Courtney Mares called “.”

Juan Carlos Carredano, the executive producer of the film, told CNA in an interview that CCC of America has been creating films based on the lives of the saints since 1983 and they “continually receive requests from people to share more stories.”

“That is why we decided to bring Carlo Acutis’ amazing story to the new generations,” he said. 

“Today, it is more important than ever to share real stories about people who made a difference — true saints and heroes who changed the world [and] recent stories that teenagers can relate to,” he added. “And who better than Carlo to show us that sainthood is for everyone?”

“Carlo is transforming thousands of hearts through his life and testimony, which revealed the true presence of God. I believe that is what makes him a real influencer,” he said. 

“His witness is an urgent call for each of us to share the good news, to reflect the beauty of the Gospel and of creation, to serve the truth, and to ‘live as originals, not photocopies,’as Carlo said.”

Carredano said he hopes viewers “will receive the key messages that [Carlos’ mother] Mrs. Antonia Acutis recommended for this film: a true belief that Christ is present in the Eucharist, a deep love and closeness to Our Lady, the importance of living in a state of grace, and the call to love everyone — especially those in need.”

Vatican City, Sep 5, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Real peace, often used as a slogan, begins in our own hearts and communities, Pope Leo XIV told a group of young adults from the Mediterranean region at the Vatican on Friday.

In a speech in both Italian and English on Sept. 5, the pope called young people the “generation that envisions a better future and chooses to build it. You are the sign of a world that does not give in to indifference and complacency,” he added, “but rolls up its sleeves and works to transform evil into good.”

Leo met with around 50 members of the Mediterranean Youth Council, which was founded in 2022 and includes young adults from European and Middle Eastern countries bordered by the Mediterranean Sea.

“Peace is on the agenda of international leaders, it is the subject of global discussions, but sadly, it often gets reduced to a mere slogan,” the pontiff said. “What we need is to cultivate peace in our own hearts and in our relationships, to let it blossom in our daily actions, to work for reconciliation in our homes, our communities, our schools and workplaces, in the Church, and among the Churches.”

Being a peacemaker is not easy, Leo said, and he denounced the use of religious traditions to justify violence instead of bringing peace, fraternity, care for creation, and openness to others. 

“We need to reject these forms of blasphemy that dishonor God’s holy name, and to do so by the way we live our lives,” he underlined. “We are called to cultivate prayer and spirituality, together with action, as sources of peace and points of encounter between traditions and cultures.”

“For believers, the future is not one of walls and barbed wire but one of mutual acceptance,” he added.

The pope encouraged the young people to not give up, even if someone does not understand them or what they are working for: “St. Charles de Foucauld said that God also uses headwinds to bring us to port.”

“Do not be afraid: Be seeds of peace where the seeds of hate and resentment grow; be weavers of unity where polarization and enmity prevail; be the voice of those who have no voice to ask for justice and dignity; be light and salt where the flame of faith and the taste for life are dying out,” he said.

Vatican City, Sep 5, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Sept. 7 canonizations of Blesseds Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati will be a crucial step in a decades-long effort to attract people to the Catholic faith through young, holy patrons.

“Their canonization confirms that holiness is not an abstract ideal but can manifest itself in contemporary ways, close to the sensibilities of young people, in the present and now … through friendship, study, family, the challenges of today, and even through illness faced with Christian hope,” said Leticia Arráez, a communications researcher at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.

According to Arráez, the last 40 years have seen youth become “major protagonists” in shaping the Church’s identity and spearheading its evangelical mission throughout the world.

During the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, young people were given priority and a privileged place of recognition within the Church, especially after the pope publicly entrusted the to young people on Easter Sunday in 1984.

Before the close of the 1983-1984 jubilee, John Paul II expressed confidence in young people as credible leaders. During the gathering in Rome, he said they had a “right and duty” to respond to the challenges they see in the world.

“You have a sort of prophetic role: You can denounce today’s ills by speaking out, first and foremost, against that widespread ‘culture of death,’” John Paul told the gathering.

“​​It is up to you, with your innate sensitivity to the values ​​proclaimed by Christ, and your aversion to compromise, to work, together with your elders who have not resigned themselves to such compromises, to overcome persistent injustices and all their multifaceted manifestations, which, like the evils mentioned above, have their roots in the human heart,” he added.

Throughout the 1980s, youth issues gained international attention within the Church and across other international platforms. During the 1985 U.N. Year of Youth, Pope John Paul II addressed young people in Rome to mark the occasion and to announce the creation of World Youth Day (WYD).

According to Arráez, the pope’s decision to create an annual global gathering dedicated to youth changed the perception that young people are primarily “recipients” of the Catholic faith, emphasizing instead their role as “privileged interlocutors” capable of building up the universal Church.

Acutis and Frassati were selected as patrons of WYD and, through these annual gatherings, devotion to these two blesseds have spread far and wide, beyond Italy, to every continent among people inspired by their examples of holy living.

Devotion to Acutis, who died Oct. 12 on the feast day of Brazil’s patroness, Our Lady of Aparecida, reached international level during the 2013 WYD in Rio de Janeiro as young Catholics began to hear more about his story and the miraculous healing, attributed to his intercession, of a 4-year-old Brazilian boy, Matheus Vianna, who had a rare pancreatic condition.

Beatified in 1990 by Pope John Paul II, Frassati became known as the “Man of the Beatitudes” and was made an official WYD patron by the pope ahead of the 2002 WYD in Toronto. He has since remained a WYD patron and his remains have traveled twice outside of Italy for the 2008 WYD in Sydney and the 2016 WYD in Krakow, Poland.

During a time when religious belief and practice have been under pressure from rapid secularization as well as scandals of abuse and corruption in the Church, the Church has chosen two young holy patrons who, through their lives, have shown the attractiveness of being real and authentic in their love of God and other people.

“The Church intends to propose accessible and credible models of Christian life for our time,” Arráez said. “Frassati with his social commitment, his charity toward others, and his joyful spirituality lived in the world, [as did] Acutis with his innovative use of technology as a means of evangelization.” 

Arráez said the recent focus on young ordinary saints, who were neither martyrs nor mystics, is in keeping with Vatican II’s message on the “universal call to holiness” promulgated in Pope Paul VI’s , which teaches that “all the faithful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord, each in his own way, to that perfect holiness.”

“Through [Acutis and Frassati] the Church demonstrates that holiness, living the meaning of life in the present, is possible at a young age and does not require extraordinary conditions or waiting to grow up or for ideal circumstances … but rather an authentic lifestyle, rooted in faith and in the message of Christ that the Gospel teaches us, lived today, in 2025,” Arráez said.

Viewers can tune in to “EWTN News Nightly” and “EWTN News In Depth” for an exclusive preview of the canonizations. “EWTN News Nightly” airs at 6 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 5; and “EWTN News In Depth” airs at 8 p.m. ET the same day.

Viewers can also follow to watch the canonizations live on YouTube.

Rome Newsroom, Sep 4, 2025 / 13:57 pm (CNA).

Before he was known as a soon-to-be-saint, Carlo Acutis was simply a boy in a school uniform, lugging his backpack through the hallways of the Tommaseo Institute in Milan. His teachers remember him as joyful, a bit of a prankster, and passionate about his Catholic faith.

“He was certainly not a perfect student,” Sister Monica Ceroni, Acutis’ middle school religion teacher, recalled. He sometimes forgot his homework or showed up late. But he had a “healthy curiosity” and “and wanted to get to the bottom of things.”

“When he became passionate about something, he didn’t give up,” she told EWTN News.

Acutis spent nearly eight years at the Tommaseo Institute, a Catholic elementary and middle school run by the Marcelline Sisters in central Milan. Located just across the street from his parish church of Santa Maria Segreta, the school became the setting for his daily routine of classes, soccer games with friends in the courtyard, and visits to the chapel to pray.  

“What is striking in his report cards … is that religion was the only subject he did well in,” Ceroni said. “He was someone who liked to be involved in the classroom conversations, especially in religion,” she added. 

“He was also a real joker,” she added, recalling some of the pranks he played with his classmates. 

The Acutis family hired a tutor named Elisa to help Carlo with his homework, and Carlo would sometimes invite Elisa her to come with him to Mass afterward. Elisa, like so many others in Carlo’s life, later said that she grew in her faith because of her relationship with Carlo. 

His teachers also noticed that Carlo gravitated toward classmates who struggled or were left out.  

Sister Miranda Moltedo, who was the principal of Carlo’s elementary school when he was a student, recalled a boy in the class whose mother had abandoned him. “Carlo had taken him under his wing, protecting him,” she said. “We knew that he was a child who needed special attention, affection, and love, and Carlo cared about him.” 

Carlo also stood up to bullies. When a classmate with mental disabilities was being teased and bullied, Carlo defended him. A teacher observed that, as a result, sometimes that classmate could be overly clingy with Carlo. When she the teacher asked Carlo about it, he replied: “He is a great friend of mine, and I want to help him.” 

“I think this ability to be inclusive as an 11- or 12-year-old boy was extraordinary. … It was a natural gift of his,” Ceroni said. 

“My strongest memory of Carlo is of a cheerful, lively boy. He was a typical boy his age, with a great zest for life and many dreams,” she said. 

After graduating from the Tommaseo Institute, Carlo entered the Jesuit-run Leo XIII Institute in Milan. There, his faith stood out even more. “Carlo used to go to the chapel in the morning before entering the classroom and during breaks and would stop to pray. Nobody else did that,” said Father Roberto Gazzaniga, the school’s chaplain.

Classmates who testified in Carlo’s cause for canonization described him as respectful but unafraid to voice his convictions — on the Eucharist, baptism, pro-life issues, and the teachings of the Church. He also helped peers with homework, especially when computers were involved.

Carlo “never concealed his choice of faith,” Gazzaniga said. “Even in conversations and discussions with his classmates, he was respectful of the positions of others but without renouncing the clear vision of the principles that inspired his Christian life.”

The chaplain described Carlo as having had a “a transparent and joyous interior life that united love for God and people in a joyful and true harmony.”

“One could point to him and say: Here is a happy and authentic young man and Christian,” he said. 

Unlike many at the private Jesuit school, Carlo paid little attention to what was trendy or popular. When his mother bought him new sneakers, he asked her to return them so they could give the money to the poor instead.

Acutis also asked a cloistered religious order to join him in praying for his high school classmates who partied in clubs and used drugs and spoke to his friends about the importance of chastity.

Carlo’s high school years were cut short when he was diagnosed with leukemia at age 15. He died in October 2006, just as his second year of studies was beginning, offering up his suffering from cancer for the pope and the good of the Catholic Church.

Sister Monica remembered vividly the last time she saw him a few weeks before he died. “We met right in front of the parish church,” she said. “We were going in and he was coming out of the church … He was happy to be back at school. He said he wanted to focus on computer science. I will always remember him this way.”

She returned to the parish for Carlo’s funeral not long after. “Carlo’s funeral ceremony was extraordinary. There were a lot of people, also poor people,” Ceroni said.

Today, both Sister Monica and Sister Miranda tell Carlo’s story to inspire their young students in the same classrooms where he once studied. “Carlo is presented as a child who was a friend of Jesus and found joy, because Christianity is joy,” Moltedo said. 

Vatican City, Sep 4, 2025 / 12:14 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV discussed the conflict in Gaza, including a two-state solution, with Israel President Isaac Herzog in a private audience at the Vatican on Thursday morning. 

According to a Vatican statement after the meeting, the talks focused on the political and social situation in the Middle East and the need to guarantee “a future for the Palestinian people and peace and stability in the region, with the Holy See reiterating the two-state solution as the only way out of the ongoing war.”

The Israeli president also met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Vatican Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

The Sept. 4 Vatican audience was the first closed-door meeting between Leo and Herzog, 64, who has been Israel’s president since 2021.

In a post on X following the encounter, Herzog thanked Leo for a “warm welcome today at the Vatican” and said he looked forward to strengthening Israel’s cooperation with the Holy See “for a better future of justice and compassion.”

The Vatican communique on Leo’s meeting with Herzog — a longer and much more detailed statement than those usually issued after audiences with heads of state — repeated Pope Leo’s regular public pleas for a resumption of negotiations, a permanent ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages, respect for humanitarian law, and the safe entry of aid into Gaza.

The Vatican said the hope was also expressed that the “legitimate aspirations” of both Israeli and Palestinian people can be guaranteed.

“Reference was also made to the situation in the West Bank and the important question of the city of Jerusalem” and to issues in the relations between Israeli state authorities and the local Church, the statement added.

In addition to a two-state solution for Palestine, Vatican diplomacy has called for an international status for the city of Jerusalem, where the Latin patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, is the Catholic leader of not only Israel but also the Palestinian Territories of Gaza and the West Bank.

During a visit to the town of Taybeh in the West Bank in July, Pizzaballa and other Church leaders said they hold Israeli authorities responsible for “facilitating and enabling” attacks on Palestinian Christians by Israeli settlers.

Thursday’s conversation between Leo and Herzog also touched on the importance of ensuring the continued presence of Christian communities throughout the Middle East, the Vatican said.

After the talks, a statement from Herzog said the pope’s reception of Israel’s president reflected “the great significance of the relationship between the Holy See and the State of Israel, and of course with the Jewish people, and the importance of the very sensitive issues and challenges we experience today.”

There was some tension surrounding the meeting due to a Sept. 2 statement from Herzog’s office stating that the president’s one-day visit to the Vatican came at the invitation of Pope Leo. The Vatican contradicted that claim hours later with a statement that “it is the Holy See’s practice to agree to requests for an audience with the pope from heads of state and government; it is not its practice to extend invitations to them.”

Vatican-Israel relations were marked by tension toward the end of the last pontificate owing to Pope Francis’ criticism of Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israeli citizens and others by Hamas militants.

Pope Francis called Israel’s actions in Gaza “terrorism” and on two occasions said what was happening there might qualify as genocide.

Pope Leo has taken a more restrained approach, calling for ceasefires and the release of hostages and emphasizing the need for dignified humanitarian aid and respect for law.

Vatican City, Sep 3, 2025 / 12:30 pm (CNA).

A group of black-clad bikers rumbled into St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday to present Pope Leo XIV with a custom cruiser motorcycle destined for charity.

The pope met members of the Christian Jesus Bikers at the end of his general audience at the Vatican on Sept. 3. The motorcycle club rolled into Rome for a Jubilee of Hope pilgrimage after a three-day day ride from Schaafheim, Germany.

The pope blessed and signed the white BMW R 18 motorcycle before briefly climbing onto the seat to the bikers’ applause.

The custom-designed papal motorcycle will be auctioned off in Munich on Oct. 18, and the funds will benefit children working in mica mines in Madagascar through Missio Austria.

The director of Missio Austria, Father Karl Wallner, OCist, told EWTN News on Wednesday that the point of the pilgrimage was “not just fun and coming to see the pope but also to help the poorest of the poor” through the project for exploited children.

Wallner said Pope Leo appeared to like the motorcycle a lot. At the audience, “he told the CEO of BMW that he himself liked to drive the motorcycle. So I think we have the first motorcycling pope.”

The two-cylinder boxer engine cruiser was given a papal redesign by the Witzel company in Germany before taking to the road for the biker pilgrimage, which included daily Mass in churches along the way to Rome.

Around 30 members of the Jesus Bikers club also processed through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica before attending Mass together on Sept. 3.

One of the motorcyclists at the Sept. 3 audience, a Protestant from Berlin who goes by the name Rocky, told EWTN News he joined the Jesus Bikers after finding the club on the internet.

“The honesty and freedom attracted me,” Rocky said. “It’s not like other motorcycle clubs, where I have to prove myself for a year and perform certain rituals. I was accepted here, and a year later, I received my robe. You just have to be baptized, believe in Jesus Christ, and have a motorcycle. We want to pray, ride, and do good.”

Claus Dempewolf, who is responsible for those interested in joining the motorcycle club, expressed his satisfaction with the first leg of the ride in an interview with EWTN News earlier this week.

“The weather was perfect, the roads were good,” he said. 

When asked who ultimately decides whether or not someone can become a member of the Jesus Bikers, Dempewolf replied: “That’s decided by our president and our road captain; our president is Jesus Christ, our road captain is the Holy Spirit.”

Pope Francis was an honorary member of the Jesus Bikers, which has over 100 members worldwide. The Argentinian pope also received a white motorcycle from the group in 2019.

Pope Francis also received two Harley-Davidson motorcycles and a motorcycle jacket in 2013 from Harley owners who gathered at the Vatican during a Rome celebration of the 110th anniversary of the iconic American street bikes.

One of the Harley-Davidsons, with papal autograph, and the leather jacket brought in more than $350,000 for a Rome charity at an auction in 2014.

Vatican City, Sep 3, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday pleaded for international assistance for the North African country of Sudan, which is experiencing violence, famine, natural disasters, and disease.

“I am closer than ever to the Sudanese population, in particular families, children, and the displaced,” Leo said at the end of his general audience at the Vatican on Sept. 3.

“I pray for all the victims,” the pontiff added. “I make a heartfelt appeal to leaders and to the international community to guarantee humanitarian corridors and implement a coordinated response to stop this humanitarian catastrophe.”

The dramatic situation in Sudan, marked by months of armed clashes, mass displacement, and the threat of cholera, has prompted multiple warnings from humanitarian organizations.

In his appeal, Leo drew attention to the civilians trapped in the city of El Fasher, where they are experiencing famine and violence, and to a deadly landslide in Tarsin, which it is believed killed up to 1,000 people, with others still missing.

“And, as if that were not enough,” the pontiff added, “the spread of cholera is threatening hundreds of thousands of already stricken people.”

“It is time to initiate a serious, sincere, and inclusive dialogue between the parties to end the conflict and restore hope, dignity, and peace to the people of Sudan,” Leo urged.

After three weeks indoors, the pope’s public audience returned to St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday following a dip in Rome’s soaring August temperatures.

In his spiritual message at the audience, Leo reflected on Jesus’ final moments on the cross as narrated in the Gospel of John, where the crucified Christ utters the phrase “I thirst.”

The pope said the thirst of the Crucified One is not only the physiological need of a tortured body but above all the expression of a profound desire for love, relationship, and communion. 

His cry, Leo XIV asserted, is that of a God “who is not ashamed to beg for a sip, because in that gesture he tells us that love, in order to be true, must also learn to ask and not only to give.”

The pontiff then stated that “Jesus does not save with a dramatic twist but by asking for something that he cannot give himself.” 

This, according to the Holy Father, opens a door to true hope: “If even the Son of God chose not to be self-sufficient, then our thirst too — for love, for meaning, for justice — is a sign not of failure but of truth.”

“Jesus’ thirst on the cross is therefore ours too,” he added. “It is the cry of a wounded humanity that seeks living water. And this thirst does not lead us away from God but rather unites us with him. If we have the courage to acknowledge it, we can discover that even our fragility is a bridge towards heaven.”

Thus, the pope said, on the cross, Jesus teaches us that human beings are not realized “in power but in trustful openness to others, even when they are hostile and enemies.”

It is precisely through the acceptance of fragility that we achieve salvation, he emphasized, which “is not found in autonomy but in humbly recognizing one’s own need and in being able to express it freely.”

“None of us can be self-sufficient. No one can save themselves. Life is ‘fulfilled’ not when we are strong but when we learn how to receive,” Leo said.

“We live in a time that rewards self-sufficiency, efficiency, performance,” he said. “And yet the Gospel shows us that the measure of our humanity is not given by what we can achieve but by our ability to let ourselves be loved and, when necessary, even helped.”

Leo XIV invited the faithful to rediscover the simple joy that is born of fraternity and free gift of self. He emphasized that in everyday gestures, such as “asking without shame” and “offering without ulterior motives,” lies a profound happiness, distinct from that which the world proposes.

“It is a joy that restores us to the original truth of our being: We are creatures made to give and receive love,” the pontiff affirmed.

He encouraged those listening to not be afraid or ashamed to reach out, even when they feel undeserving. “It is right there, in that humble gesture, that salvation hides,” he concluded.

CNA Staff, Sep 3, 2025 / 07:15 am (CNA).

St. Gregory the Great, a central figure of the medieval Western Church and one of the most admired popes in history, is commemorated in the ordinary form of the Roman Catholic liturgy. He was the first of the bishops of Rome to popularize the now-traditional papal title “servant of the servants of God,” which referred to Christ’s command that those in the highest position of leadership should be “the last of all and the servant of all.”

Born near the middle of the sixth century into a noble Roman family, the future St. Gregory the Great received a classical education in liberal arts and the law. He also had strong religious formation from his devout family, particularly from his mother, Silvia, also a canonized saint.

By around age 30, Gregory had advanced to high political office in Rome during what was nevertheless a period of marked decline for the city.

Some time after becoming the prefect of the former imperial capital, Gregory chose to leave the civil administration to become a monk during the rise of the Benedictine order. In reality, however, the new monk’s great career in public life was yet to come.

After three years of strict monastic life, he was called personally by the pope to assume the office of a deacon in Rome. From Rome, he was dispatched to Constantinople to seek aid from the emperor for Rome’s civic troubles and to aid in resolving the Eastern Church’s theological controversies. He returned to Rome in 586 after six years of service as the papal representative to the Eastern Church and empire.

Rome faced a series of disasters caused by flooding in 589, followed by the death of Pope Pelagius II the next year. Gregory, then serving as abbot in a monastery, reluctantly accepted his election to replace him as the bishop of Rome.

Despite this initial reluctance, however, Pope Gregory began working tirelessly to reform and solidify the Roman liturgy, the disciplines of the Church, the military and economic security of Rome, and the Church’s spreading influence in Western Europe.

As pope, Gregory brought his political experience in Rome and Constantinople to bear, in the task of preventing the Catholic Church from becoming subservient to any of the various groups struggling for control of the former imperial capital. As the former abbot of a monastery, he strongly supported the Benedictine movement as a bedrock of the Western Church. He sent missionaries to England and is given much of the credit for the nation’s conversion.

Even as he undertook to consolidate papal power and shore up the crumbling Roman West, St. Gregory the Great maintained a humble sense of his mission as a servant and pastor of souls from the time of his election until his death in 604.

Birmingham, Ala., Sep 2, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

EWTN News and EWTN Studios will join forces in Rome from Sept. 3–7 to televise the canonizations of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati. In addition to the canonizations, viewers who want an in-depth look at the life and legacy of these two young saints-to-be will have the opportunity to tune in to 12 EWTN special programs, including animated children’s programs. 

Here’s what you can expect:

Viewers can tune in to “EWTN News Nightly” and “EWTN News In Depth” for an exclusive preview of the canonizations. “EWTN News Nightly” airs at 6 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET, Friday, Sept. 5; and “EWTN News In Depth” airs at 8 p.m. ET on Friday.

EWTN News correspondent Colm Flynn will host a one-hour special from the rooftop of EWTN’s Rome studio, which overlooks St. Peter’s Square. 

Father Patrick Briscoe, OP, EWTN News’ guest expert on Carlo Acutis; Acutis biographer and EWTN Vatican correspondent Courtney Mares; and EWTN Vatican correspondent Kristina Millare will provide commentary on the canonizations and share reflections on the impact of Pope Leo XIV’s first saints. This will air at 1 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 6, and 11 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 7.

In the half hour leading up to the canonization Mass and the half hour after it ends, EWTN News Vatican correspondents will conduct live interviews and candid reactions with pilgrims from around the world. This will air at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 7, as well as 30 minutes after the Mass.

On Sunday, Sept. 7, Pope Leo XIV will preside over the Mass and canonizations of the two young blesseds from St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. This will air live at 3 a.m. ET and the encore presentation will be at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 7.

For those looking to get to know these two soon-to-be saints better, EWTN will be airing a plethora of programs on the lives of Acutis and Frassati:

Join EWTN’s Colm Flynn and Father Vincent Bernhard, OP, on a pilgrimage with young men ages 18–30 who follow the footsteps of soon-to-be-saint Pier Giorgio Frassati in Turin, Italy. The group prays in the shrine of Oropa, climbs to and celebrates Mass in the iconic Monte Mucrone, and visits the personal rooms of Frassati before celebrating Mass with his remains in Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. The program premieres at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 3, with encores at 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 7, and 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9. 

The family of a comatose young adult finds the miracle they’ve been praying for after beseeching Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s heavenly intercession. The show airs at 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 4.

Christine M. Wohar and Wanda Gawronska (Pier Giorgio Frassati’s niece) explore the soon-to-be-saint’s spiritual life. The program airs at 5:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 4, and at 2:30 a.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 5. 

An EWTN documentary on the London connection to Carlo Acutis featuring his mother, Antonia, and Father Alexander Sherbrooke, whose dynamic parish in Soho mirrors Carlo’s intense devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. The documentary airs at 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 5, and at 2:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 6. 

Follow the life and witness of Carlo Acutis in this EWTN original documentary as his family, friends, and others discuss how Acutis continues to inspire people around the world. The documentary airs at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 6, and at 2 a.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 7. 

Filmed in Italy, this docudrama chronicles the life and spirituality of Pier Giorgio Frassati, an Italian activist who put his Catholic beliefs into practice to help the poor and downtrodden in his hometown of Turin, Italy. The program airs at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 6, and at 1:30 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 8.

Filmed in Italy and Poland, this powerful drama examines the exemplary life of Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young, joyful saint whose devotion and charity to the poor inspire the laity. The show airs at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 7. 

When the children pick Blessed Carlos Acutis for a school presentation, they discover a normal 21st-century boy who also helped everyone he could and promoted Eucharistic miracles. The program airs at 9:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 6.

A man named Thomas and his wife, Helen, teach their children Alex and Sarah about the heroic life of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, the patron of youth. The show airs at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 6.

Vatican City, Sep 1, 2025 / 14:38 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV celebrated the Mass for the opening of the general chapter of the Order of St. Augustine on Monday evening, invoking the Holy Spirit to guide the religious community’s Sept. 1–18 assembly.

Nearly 100 Augustinian priests from around the world, who are participating in this year’s chapter, attended the pope’s Mass held inside the Basilica of St. Augustine in Rome’s city center. 

Religious sisters belonging to Augustinian orders also attended the Mass. Though the sisters will not participate in the chapter, the Holy Father extended his invitation to them to pray for the “gift of the Holy Spirit” and the “gift of listening” for the fruits of the religious assembly.  

During the Sept. 1 homily, Pope Leo — who wore red vestments for the votive Mass dedicated to the Holy Spirit — invited his confreres to focus on “listening, humility, and unity” and respond to God’s grace during the period of prayer and discernment within the order.

“The Holy Spirit speaks, today as in the past,” he said. “He does so in the ‘penetralia cordis’ and through the brothers and the circumstances of life.” 

“This is why it is important for the atmosphere of the chapter, in harmony with the centuries-long tradition of the Church, to be an atmosphere of listening: of listening to God and to others,” he continued.

Reflecting on the teachings of St. Augustine, the Holy Father said the Church doctor highlighted the need for unity and collaboration among Christian faithful for the “common good.” 

“Each single believer was speaking in all languages; and now the unity of believers is speaking in all languages,” he said, quoting St. Augustine. “And so even now all languages are ours, since we are members of the body in which they are to be found.” 

“Live these days, therefore, in a sincere effort to communicate and to understand, and do so as a generous response to the great and unique gift of light and grace that the Father of heaven gives you by summoning you here, specifically you, for the good of all,” he added.

While encouraging his brothers to “openly share what they have” during the 18-day chapter, he emphasized the importance of doing so with humility.

“Let no one think they have all the answers,” Leo said Monday.  

“Only in this way will the Spirit be able to teach and remind us of what Jesus said, inscribing it in our hearts so that its echo may spread from them, in the uniqueness and unrepeatability of every beat,” he added. 

In his reflection on the “miracle of Pentecost,” Pope Leo said St. Augustine observed that the Holy Spirit is the “protagonist” who creates unity amid diversity. 

“Just as spiritual people … take pleasure in unity, so worldly people are ever ready to wrangle,” the Holy Father said, referring to St. Augustine’s writings. 

“The time you can be sure you have the Holy Spirit is when you consent through sincere charity firmly to attach your minds to the unity,” he continued.

Vatican City, Sep 1, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has voiced his support for the Sept. 1 celebration of the World Day of Prayer for Creation, an ecumenical initiative encouraged by Pope Francis.

“It is more important and urgent than ever,” Leo said during his Sunday Angelus message on Aug. 31. “This year’s theme is ‘Seeds of Peace and Hope.’”

Pope Francis in 2015 established the day of prayer for creation as a universal celebration in the Catholic Church. It had been commemorated by other Christian churches since 1989.

Also known as “Creation Day,” the day of prayer marks the start of a monthlong “Season of Creation,” which ends on Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. 

“In the spirit of the ‘Canticle of Brother Sun,’ composed by [St. Francis] 800 years ago, we praise God and renew our commitment not to ruin his gift but to take care of our common home,” Leo said at the Aug. 31 Angelus.

In for the World Day of Prayer for Creation 2025, released earlier this year, the pope emphasized “that the destruction of nature does not affect everyone in the same way. When justice and peace are trampled underfoot, those who are most hurt are the poor, the marginalized, and the excluded.”

the reduction of nature into a bargaining chip and commodity to be bartered for economic or political gain.

“God’s creation turns into a battleground for the control of vital resources. We see this in agricultural areas and forests peppered with landmines, ‘scorched earth’ policies, conflicts over water sources, and the unequal distribution of raw materials,” the pontiff said. 

“These various wounds are the effect of sin,” he said. “This is surely not what God had in mind when he entrusted the earth to the men and women whom he created in his image.”

In July, Pope Leo approved to support the Church’s appreciation for God’s creation. The “Mass for the Care of Creation” was inspired by Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical , which marks 10 years this year.

Bishops in some countries plan to celebrate the new Mass formulary to mark the World Day of Prayer for Creation. 

Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, president of the commission for social action of the Philippines bishops’ conference, said: “We started promoting Creation Day back in 2003, so it has become immensely popular.”

“This year, for the first time in history, we have a Mass formulary — the Missa pro custodia creationis — that allows us to celebrate Creation Day around the altar, with tailored liturgical texts for the occasion. Our bishops’ conference is animating all parishes across the Philippines to mark the day with the new Mass,” he told The Feast of Creation, an initiative coordinated by the World Council of Churches.

In a press release for Creation Day, the Feast of Creation said the day has roots in ancient Orthodox liturgical tradition from the fifth century: “It is a day to praise God as creator, commemorate the mystery of creation in Christ, and inspire Christians to care for the created world.”

Vatican City, Sep 1, 2025 / 11:05 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV expressed his condolences for the more than 800 dead left by the earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on Sunday night, with a magnitude of 6 on the Richter scale, also causing widespread destruction.

According to local authorities, more than 800 people died and 1,500 were injured, especially in the districts of Nurgal, Sawkay, Watapur, Dara Pech, and Chapi Dara.

“Deeply saddened by the significant loss of life caused by the earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV offers fervent prayers for the souls of the deceased, the wounded, and those still missing,” read the telegram sent on behalf of the pontiff.

The telegram, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, stated that the pontiff entrusts “all affected by this disaster to the providence of the Almighty.”

The pope also expressed “his heartfelt solidarity in particular with those who mourn the loss of loved ones and with the emergency personnel and civil authorities involved in rescue and recovery efforts.”

The main quake, recorded around midnight, was followed by two magnitude 5.2 aftershocks. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the epicenter was located 27 kilometers (16.7 miles) east of Nangarhar province, at a depth of eight kilometers (about five miles), which normally amplifies the destructive power.

According to the Afghan news agency Khaama Press, the earthquake destroyed several entire villages because the epicenter was close to the surface and many homes were built with stone and mud.

For now, rescue teams continue working to locate survivors among the rubble, although they say operations are being hampered by landslides that have blocked key roads.

Deputy information minister and Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on his social media account X that “local officials and residents are involved in the rescue efforts, and all available resources will be used to save lives.”

Vatican City, Sep 1, 2025 / 09:47 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday welcomed members of the Opera San Francesco per i Poveri (“St. Francis’ Work for the Poor”) to the Vatican, thanking the society for its witness of charity according to the Franciscan tradition.

“When you see a poor person,” the Holy Father said, recalling the words of St. Francis of Assisi, “you are placed before the mirror of the Lord and his poor Mother.”

“Likewise, in the sick, know how to see the infirmities with which Jesus took on himself,” he added.

Each year, the Opera San Francesco per i Poveri provides a wide variety of services to more than 30,000 people. Their charitable works include managing cafeterias and health clinics as well as providing job counseling and psychological support for those in need.

Thanking the society for nearly 70 years of service, Pope Leo highlighted the spirit of fraternity and faithfulness that continues to guide its members since its foundation.

“Your institution has been committed to ‘ensuring assistance and hospitality to people in need and ... promoting the comprehensive human development of the person in accordance with Christian tradition, especially Franciscan tradition, the doctrine of the Church, and its magisterium," Leo said, quoting the society’s statutes.

Several men and women, wearing white shirts with the society’s logo and the phrase “a helping hand to man every day,” had the opportunity to individually greet the Holy Father in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall following his short address.

Describing the Milan-based society’s founder Venerable Fra Cecilio Maria Cortinovis as a “humble doorman” with a generous heart, Pope Leo said the Lord answered his prayers by placing other generous people alongside him in order to better serve the poor.

“Thus began the beautiful adventure of which all of you are witnesses and protagonists today,” he said.

To celebrate the “story of charity” born from the faith of Cortinovis, Pope Leo told the Franciscan society to be faithful to the three “fundamental aspects of charity” outlined in their statues: to assist, to welcome, and to promote.

“Assisting means being present for the needs of others,” he said. “And in this regard, the quantity and variety of services you’ve managed to organize and offer to those who turn to you over the years is impressive.”

“This is accompanied by welcoming, that is, making room for others in our hearts and lives, offering time, listening, support, and prayer,” he added.

Emphasizing the teaching of Pope John Paul II on the dignity and creativity of each person, Pope Leo advised his listeners to help others to discover God and their own vocation in life.

“And so we come to the third point: promoting,” he said. “Here, the selflessness of giving and respect for the dignity of people come into play, so that we care for those we encounter simply for their good, so that they can grow to their full potential and proceed on their own path, without expecting anything in return and without imposing conditions.”

The Holy Father imparted his blessing at the end of the private Monday audience and assured them of his prayerful accompaniment.

“Thank you for what you do and for the witness you give by your journey together!”

Vatican City, Sep 1, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV met in a private audience with Jesuit Father James Martin at the Vatican on Monday.

Martin, who is in Rome to lead a jubilee pilgrimage for his LGBTQ ministry, Outreach, also had one-on-one audiences with Pope Francis on at least two occasions.

The Vatican does not customarily comment on papal audiences with individuals, and the Holy See Press Office did not immediately respond to a request for information about the meeting.

Responding to a request for comment from CNA, Martin wrote: “I was honored and grateful to meet with the Holy Father this morning in an audience in the Apostolic Palace and heard the same message I heard from Pope Francis on LGBTQ people, which is one of openness and welcome: ‘Todos, todos, todos.’ I found the pope serene, joyful, and encouraging.”

The Jesuit priest, an author and editor at large at America Media, is the founder of Outreach, which describes itself as an “LGBTQ Catholic resource” operating under the auspices of America Media.

, Martin said he is in Rome until Sept. 8 to lead an Outreach pilgrimage with 40 people for the 2025 Jubilee of Hope.

Martin’s ministry to people with same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria has been criticized by some Catholics, who say his approach minimizes or even conflicts with the Church’s teaching on sexual morality. He has also been criticized for promoting initiatives that some say affirm same-sex orientation as an identity.

The priest was also supportive of Pope Francis’ 2023 declaration , which allows priests to offer private, nonliturgical blessings to same-sex couples.

Despite the controversy over Martin’s ministry, Pope Francis encouraged it both in private meetings with Martin and in letters.

In 2021, Martin published he had received from Francis in which the pope thanked him for his “ability to be close to people” and also told him “to continue this way.”

Francis in 2022 also sent a written response to a letter from Martin with three questions about the Catholic Church and the LGBT community. 

Martin wrote on Twitter (now X), that he “felt encouraged, consoled, and inspired by the Holy Father today.” The Jesuit priest also met one-on-one with Pope Francis in 2022.

Pope Francis also personally nominated Martin to participate in the Synod on Synodality assemblies held at the Vatican in 2023 and 2024.

Martin is the author of “Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity” and frequently speaks on issues pertaining to and Catholicism.

Martin is one of 21 consultors for the Dicastery for Communication. He was nominated in 2017.

Rome Newsroom, Sep 1, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

As Pope Leo XIV prepares to proclaim Blessed Carlo Acutis a saint in Rome on Sept. 7, thousands of miles away at the foot of Michiru Mountain in Malawi, students at a Catholic high school bearing his name are preparing a celebration of their own.

“Our students look up to him as a model in their faith,” Grace Matumba, a leader in campus ministry at Carlo Acutis Catholic High School in Blantyre, Malawi, told CNA. “He was a young man who gave his life for Christ.”

The high school, which opened in 2022 with just 90 students, has since grown to accommodate 300, with boarding facilities for girls and a dedicated computer lab. It forms part of a Catholic education complex that includes a nursery, primary, and college — each under the patronage of modern Catholic figures such as Mother Teresa, John Paul II, and now Acutis, who will soon be the Church’s first millennial saint.

From African cities to American suburbs and from Australia to Wales, schools named after the Italian teenager known for his Eucharistic devotion and computer savvy are multiplying rapidly. More than a dozen schools already bear his name, many of which will soon be undergoing a name change from “Blessed” to “St. Carlo Acutis.”

In the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, Blessed Carlo Acutis Academy is a virtual Catholic school that serves students in grades 5–12 across 11 largely rural counties, where Catholic high schools are scarce. 

Assistant Superintendent Therese Milbrath said the online structure has been a blessing for diverse families. “We have home-school families who reach out and say … ‘Math has gotten to the point where I can’t teach it to my child anymore,’” she said. Others include students with autism who find it easier to focus outside a classroom, military families on the move, and even an ambitious young hockey player looking for more ice time.

“It’s interesting because we’re just seeing a lot of different needs pop up,” Milbrath said. “The bulk of our students are in the Diocese of Madison, but we do take students from outside of the diocese.” 

While virtual, the school named for the Church’s first computer-coding saint remains distinctly Catholic: Live sessions begin with prayer, religion is required every semester for full-time students, and Catholicism is infused throughout the curriculum. 

The Archdiocese of Miami has gone a step further with the Carlo Acutis Virtual Academy, or CAVA, the country’s first archdiocese-sanctioned online Catholic school that is Cognia-accredited, meaning it meets rigorous, internationally-recognized standards of education. Offering K–12 education, CAVA was inspired by the life and legacy of Acutis and his use of technology in “recognizing its potential to spread the message of faith to the digital generation.” 

“We bring students closer to one another and closer to Jesus,” the virtual academy states in its mission. 

On the other side of the globe, Carlo Acutis Catholic Primary School in Melbourne, Australia, opened in 2025 — just months before Acutis’ canonization. Founding Principal Damian Howard traveled 10,000 miles to Italy to meet Acutis’ mother in Assisi while planning the school.

“That took me on a journey of a lot of discovery in terms of finding out about Carlo, coming up with the colors of the school … navy and red, which were his favorite colors, and also just happens to be the colors of the town flag of Assisi,” Howard said.

The school’s design echoes the brickwork of the Assisi church where Acutis is buried, St. Mary Major. Howard said the school’s values — faith, service, generosity, and courage — were chosen to mirror the life of the young Italian who once stood up to bullies and cared for the homeless.

“We’re indelibly entwined with Assisi and with Carlo’s story, our little school all the way out here in Australia,” Howard said.

The new school already has 110 students, with an 80-person waiting list, and plans to expand to 550 students in coming years. Acutis’ family even gave the school a first-class relic of their son for the school chapel.

In the United States, the Chesterton Academy of Blessed Carlo Acutis in Grand Junction, Colorado, is scheduled to open this fall as part of the Chesterton Schools Network. Inspired by Acutis’ joy-filled embrace of faith and technology, local Catholic families said they had long dreamed of a high school but only found the way forward after the pandemic.

In Alberta, Canada, Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic High School in Camrose opens its doors Sept. 2. The Elk Island Catholic Schools district says the name will soon change to “St. Carlo Acutis” once the canonization is official.

Acutis has also become a unifying figure as Catholic schools consolidate under his patronage. Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, Illinois, announced that three Catholic schools will merge this fall as the Academy of Carlo Acutis, following a process that allowed students themselves to propose and vote on potential names.

In Santiago, Chile, four schools serving 4,500 students are uniting under the new Carlo Acutis Educational Network, while in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, a Catholic school created from the merger of several campuses has already made a pilgrimage from the United Kingdom to Rome in the hope of attending his canonization in April before it was rescheduled due to the death of Pope Francis.  

Elsewhere, Catholic schools in Argentina, Mexico, Italy, and even a joint Catholic-Anglican academy in England have adopted his name. In Cheshire, England, the Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy became the first joint-faith school to take on his patronage. In the Philippines, St. Peter the Apostle School has recently launched the Blessed Carlo Acutis Artificial Intelligence Immersive Learning Center.

Looking ahead, Edmonton Catholic Schools in Edmonton, Canada, is building a $51 million Carlo Acutis Catholic High School for 1,300 students, due to open in fall 2026.

Catholics in Houston’s Bay Area are fundraising $50 million for a new Catholic high school projected to welcome its first freshman class in 2027 with a mission to be “unapologetically Catholic” and “academically excellent.”

“Our auxiliary bishop, Bishop Italo Del’Oro, introduced us to Blessed Carlo after he read our mission statement where we emphasize being a school ‘centered on the Eucharist,’” Maria Jose Valladares, the vice president of the Houston school’s board of directors, told CNA.

As the canonization approaches, schools across the globe are preparing for a simple but significant update — changing their names. Uniforms, letterheads, and signage will all soon bear witness to the Church’s first computer-coding saint.

“There’s a lot of changes that will have to be made, but how exciting that we can call it St. Carlo Acutis Catholic Primary School,” Howard said.

At Carlo Acutis Catholic High School in Malawi, celebrations of Acutis’ canonization will kick off with a special Mass and culminate in the performance of a school play about the life of their patron saint. “Carlo Acutis is an inspiration to many people, especially the youth,” Matumba said.

“We are extremely excited for the upcoming canonization,” Valladares in Houston said. “We consider ourselves privileged to have a patron that our students will be able to directly relate to and emulate — from his love for his friends to his temperance with video games to his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.”

Vatican City, Aug 31, 2025 / 07:10 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday prayed for the victims of a shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis and deplored a worldwide “pandemic of arms” that has left many children dead or injured.

“Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota,” the pontiff said in English on Aug. 31 after leading the weekly Angelus prayer from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

“We include in our prayers,” he added, “the countless children killed and injured every day around the world. Let us plead to God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world.”

An Aug. 27 shooting at a school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis left two children dead and 17 others wounded.

Leo turned to Mary, the Queen of Peace, to ask for her intercession “to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.’”

In his other appeals after the Angelus, delivered in Italian, Pope Leo repeated his calls for an immediate ceasefire and “a serious commitment to dialogue” in the Middle East, and for prayer and concrete gestures for the victims of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“The voice of arms must be silenced, while the voice of brotherhood and justice must be raised,” he said.

The pope said his heart is also wounded for those who have died or are missing after a boat carrying migrants from Africa to the Canary Islands capsized off the coast of Mauritania. According to the BBC, at least 69 people have died and many others are missing.

“This mortal tragedy repeats every day everywhere in the world,” Leo said. “Let us pray that the Lord teaches us, as individuals and as a society, to put fully into practice his word: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me.’”

“We entrust all our missing, injured, and dead everywhere to our Savior’s loving embrace,” the pontiff said both in English and in Italian.

In his spiritual message before the Angelus prayer, Pope Leo spoke about encounter, which requires openness of heart and humility.

“Humility is really freedom from ourselves,” he emphasized. “It is born when the kingdom of God and its righteousness become our real concern and we allow ourselves to lift up our eyes and look ahead: not down at our feet, but at what lies ahead!”

Leo said people who put themselves before others tend to think they are more interesting than anything else, “yet deep down, they are quite insecure.”

“Whereas,” he continued, “those who know that they are precious in God’s eyes, who know they are God’s children, have greater things to be worried about; they possess a sublime dignity all their own.”

The pope reflected on Jesus’ example of how to be a good guest, as described in the day’s Gospel reading; Jesus “acts with respect and sincerity, avoiding merely polite formalities that preclude authentic encounter,” Leo explained.

To extend an invitation to another person also shows “a sign of openness of heart,” he added.

The pontiff encouraged everyone to invite Jesus to be their guest at Mass so that he can tell them how it is he sees them.

“It is very important that we see ourselves through his eyes: to see how frequently we reduce life to a competition, how anxious we become to obtain some sort of recognition, and how pointlessly we compare ourselves to others,” he said.

We experience the freedom Jesus wants for us, he added, when we stop to reflect and let ourselves “be taken aback by a word that challenges our hearts’ priorities.”

Vatican City, Aug 29, 2025 / 14:06 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Friday appointed Father Andres Ligot as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of San Jose, California.

The bishop-elect is currently parish priest of St. Elizabeth of Portugal and vicar general of the San Jose Diocese.

Prior to his 2021 appointment to St. Elizabeth of Portugal, Ligot, 59, served as judicial vicar of the diocese from 2008 to 2021. 

Bishop Oscar Cantú expressed his gratitude for Ligot’s elevation to bishop in an Aug. 29 statement published on the diocesan website.

“His priestly heart, pastoral experience, and steady leadership will bless our parishes, schools, and ministries,” Cantú said. “I invite the faithful to keep him in prayer as he prepares for episcopal ordination.”

Ligot said he was “humbled” by the trust and support he has received from Pope Leo and Cantú and asked people to pray that he will continue to be a “faithful servant” within the diocese. 

“I renew my promise to serve Christ and his people with joy — especially those most in need,” he said in a statement published by his diocese. 

Ordained a priest in 1992 by Pope John Paul II in the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome for the Diocese of Laoag City, Philippines, Ligot was incardinated into the Diocese of San Jose on March 30, 2004.

Before his incardination to the California diocese, Ligot served as parish vicar for St. John Vianney Parish, San Jose, from 2003 to 2005. He was also a chaplain at the Veterans Medical Center in San Francisco and a visiting priest at the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park.

From 2005 to 2009, the bishop-elect was parish priest of St. Lawrence the Martyr Catholic Parish in Santa Clara.

Ligot attended San Pablo College Seminary in Baguio City, Philippines, and later continued his priestly studies at the Bidasoa International Seminary in Navarra, Spain, where he obtained a master’s degree in theology. He later obtained a doctorate in canon law from the University of Navarra in Spain.

Ligot, who is fluent in English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Ilocano, will become the second auxiliary bishop appointed to the Diocese of San Jose and the sixth U.S. prelate from the Philippines.

Vatican City, Aug 29, 2025 / 11:51 am (CNA).

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and American songwriter Pharrell Williams will direct a concert featuring musicians John Legend, Teddy Swims, Jelly Roll, Karol G, BamBam, and Angélique Kidjo in St. Peter’s Square next month.

The Sept. 13 concert, which is free and open to the public, will also include a drone light show and talks on themes including peace, justice, food, freedom, and humanity.

Called “Grace for the World,” the show will close the third edition of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity, organized by the Fratelli Tutti Foundation and St. Peter’s Basilica, and will be preceded by roundtables on social issues in Rome and Vatican City on Sept. 12–13.

Pope Francis established the at the end of 2021. It is named after his on fraternity and social friendship, which expanded on themes in the “” signed with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi in 2019.

The final event of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity 2025 is intended “to communicate to the whole world, with a symbolic embrace, the joy of fraternal love,” Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, president of the Fratelli Tutti Foundation and archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, said at an Aug. 29 press conference at the Vatican.

Gambetti said organizers tried to “broaden our international scope” with the choice of music artists.

In the press conference, the cardinal said Karol G — a Grammy-winning Colombian reggaeton and urban pop artist — was asked to take part because she is Latin American and “because she is involved in important social work” with women and children. “It seemed relevant to the theme we are trying to address,” Gambetti said.

Prominent U.S. artists will also take the stage in front of the Vatican basilica: rapper Jelly Roll and singer-songwriters John Legend, Teddy Swims, and Pharrell Williams.

Thai rapper BamBam, who is also a member of the South Korean boy band Got7, will perform, as well as Angélique Kidjo, a Beninese-French singer, actress, and activist. The concert will also feature the choir of the Diocese of Rome and the Voices of Fire Gospel choir.

Andrea Bocelli, who has performed in St. Peter’s Square on previous occasions, shared in a video message Aug. 29 that his participation in the concert is “a great honor.”

“I sincerely hope that it will truly succeed in spreading, in everyone’s hearts, a sense of brotherhood and great humanity, which is so badly needed,” the world-famous singer added.

The World Meeting on Human Fraternity 2025 will start with a meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 12. The program will then focus on roundtables on topics including artificial intelligence, education, economics, literature, children, health, and the environment. 

Sept. 13 will include an assembly on the topic of “What It Means to Be a Human Today” and a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Holy Door of the Jubilee of Hope.

“While the world suffers from wars, loneliness, even new poverty, we have decided to stop and ask ourselves what it means to be human today,” Father Francesco Occhetta, SJ, Fratelli Tutti Foundation secretary-general, said Aug. 29.

“It is not an easy question, it even seems a little naive, but it is the only one that can save us if we ask it together,” he added.

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 29, 2025 / 05:10 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV expressed his gratitude to receive the Medal of St. Augustine, awarded by the United States Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, and affirmed that the spirituality of the doctor of the Church has marked his life and ministry.

“To be recognized as an Augustinian, it’s an honor held dearly. So much of who I am I owe to the spirit and the teachings of St. Augustine,” he said in a video message shared on St. Augustine’s feast day, Aug. 28.

The Augustinian Province said on Facebook that the Medal of St. Augustine is the highest honor the province can bestow, “given to those who embody the spirit and teachings of St. Augustine, living with deep commitment to truth, unity, and charity.”

The province added: “From his early years in formation to his decades of service in Peru, leadership as prior general, and now as the first Augustinian pope, Pope Leo XIV has witnessed to a life of generosity, faith, and service. In him, we see a true son of Augustine — dedicated to building unity in the Church, teaching with wisdom, and shepherding with a heart rooted in love. We are honored to bestow upon him this award.”

In his video message, recorded from Castel Gandolfo, where he spent a few days of prayer and rest in mid-August, the pope recalled that the life of St. Augustine still inspires the faithful today.

“His life was full of much trial and error, like our own lives. But through God’s grace, through the prayers of his mother, Monica, and the community of good people around him, Augustine was able to find the way to peace for his restless heart,” he said.

Leo emphasized that the example of St. Augustine invites us to put our talents at the service of others: “The life of St. Augustine and his call to servant leadership reminds us that we all have God-given gifts and talents, and our purpose, fulfillment, and joy comes from offering them back in loving service to God and to our neighbor.”

He assured the members of the Augustinian province that they are called to continue the legacy of the first Augustinians in the United States — such as Father Matthew Carr and Father John Rosseter — whose missionary spirit led them to proclaim the Gospel to immigrants in Philadelphia: “Jesus reminds us in the Gospel to love our neighbor, and this challenges us now more than ever to remember to see our neighbors today with the eyes of Christ: that all of us are created in the image and likeness of God through friendship, relationship, dialogue, and respect for one another.”

He also encouraged the U.S. Augustinians to become instruments of reconciliation. “As a community of believers and inspired by the charism of the Augustinians, we are called to go forth to be peacemakers in our families and neighborhoods and truly recognize God’s presence in one another.”

The pope emphasized the importance of listening, following the advice of St. Augustine: “It is within our hearts where God speaks to us.” He added: “The world is full of noise, and our heads and hearts can be flooded with many different kinds of messages. These messages can fuel our restlessness and steal our joy. As a community of faith … may we strive to filter the noise, the divisive voices in our heads and hearts, and open ourselves up to the daily invitations to get to know God and God’s love better.”

The pontiff expressed his confidence that, like Augustine, every believer can find in God the strength to overcome anxiety, darkness, and doubt, and “through God’s grace, we can discover that God’s love is truly healing. Let us strive to build a community where that love is made visible.”

Leo XIV concluded his message by asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Good Counsel, and by offering a prayer for the Church: “May God bless you all and bring peace to your restless hearts, and help you continue to build a community of love, one in mind and heart, intent upon on God.”