This spring, the Vatican will debut a simultaneous translation system assisted by artificial intelligence, allowing people to follow liturgical celebrations in St. Peter’s Basilica in real time in up to 60 languages.

For the first time, the faithful will be able to follow the liturgy in their own language via their smartphones.

Pilgrims cross the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican in 2025. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

The service will operate directly in the device’s browser, without the need to download any applications or use any accessories. In this way, Mass attendees will be able to understand the readings, chants, and prayers in their own language as the celebration unfolds.

The new system is designed to be easy to use. QR codes will be placed at the entrances and designated points within the church, allowing users to connect to a website where they can follow the liturgy with real-time translation, in both audio and text formats.

The system relies on the simultaneous interpretation capabilities of Lara, an artificial intelligence developed by Translated, a world leader in AI-based language solutions, in collaboration with Carnegie-AI LLC, a company specializing in simultaneous interpretation technologies.

Antonio Autorino, head of communications at the Fabric of St. Peter, confirmed to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that the service will be operational this spring. For now, tests have already begun with selected groups of the faithful to assess its functionality.

The initiative, spearheaded by the Fabric of St. Peter in collaboration with the Dicastery for Communication and the technology company Translated, was presented Feb. 16 by the archpriest of the basilica, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, along with a series of liturgical initiatives and cultural projects in which technology has played a crucial role.

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti is the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

“St. Peter’s Basilica has welcomed the faithful of all nations and languages ​​for centuries. By making available a tool that helps many understand the words of the liturgy, we want to serve the mission that defines the heart of the Catholic Church, universal by its very vocation,” Gambetti emphasized.

The new service is being launched four centuries after the basilica was consecrated in 1626 by Pope Urban VIII, after more than a century of construction. The first stone of the new church was laid on April 18, 1506, after Pope Julius II decided to build a new basilica due to the deterioration of the building constructed during the time of Roman emperor Constantine (d. 337).

Another example of how technology is serving the Vatican is the new digital access system that will be used to better manage the flow of tourists and pilgrims who enter St. Peter’s Basilica every day. Called SmartPass, it is integrated into the basilica’s official website along with a network of sensors that will allow for real-time monitoring of visitor presence and improved security.

In addition, the Vatican has also unveiled a revolutionary technological project with sensors installed in the foundations, facade, dome, and subsoil that will allow for real-time monitoring of the basilica’s structural condition.

The project, dubbed “Beyond the Visible” and financed by the Italian oil company Eni, combines high-precision geophysical, topographic, and structural technologies.

“We have created an integrated information process that will allow us, from today and in the future, to monitor all movements that may occur in this monumental structure and, at the same time, support the technical experts who must make decisions,” explained Claudio Granata, Eni’s head of these projects, during the official presentation of the commemorative initiatives at the Vatican.

A crew works with the system to monitor the slightest movement in St. Peter’s Basilica. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

Thanks to this system, it will be possible to detect millimeter displacements and inclinations on the order of ten-thousandths of a degree as well as obtain a complete map of the architecture and geology of the terrain beneath the basilica, with the ability to consult data in real time.

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

The Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) says it will proceed with plans to consecrate new bishops on July 1 without a pontifical mandate, despite a Vatican warning that the move would represent a “decisive rupture” of communion and bring “grave consequences” for the group.

In a letter dated Feb. 18 — Ash Wednesday — Father Davide Pagliarani, the SSPX superior general, told Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, that the traditionalist group could not accept either the Vatican’s proposed framework for renewed dialogue or a delay of the announced consecration date.

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

“I cannot accept the perspective and objectives in the name of which the dicastery offers to resume dialogue in the present situation, nor indeed the postponement of the date of 1 July,” Pagliarani wrote.

The Vatican’s doctrinal office had recently proposed what it described as a “specifically theological” path of dialogue aimed at identifying the minimum conditions for full communion with the Catholic Church but made the opening of that process contingent on suspending the planned July 1 consecrations. The Holy See warned that “the ordination of bishops without a mandate from the Holy Father” would “imply a decisive rupture of ecclesial communion (schism)” with “grave consequences” for the fraternity as a whole.

Under canon law, a bishop who consecrates another bishop without a papal mandate and the person who receives that consecration incur automatic (“latae sententiae”) excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See, a penalty that was publicly declared in the SSPX’s 1988 rupture with Rome.

SSPX argues consecrations would not be ‘schismatic’

Alongside Pagliarani’s letter, the SSPX circulated a doctrinal statement disputing the Vatican’s characterization of unauthorized consecrations as necessarily schismatic.

“The society defends itself against any accusation of schism and, relying on all traditional theology and the Church’s constant teaching, maintains that an episcopal consecration not authorized by the Holy See does not constitute a rupture of communion — provided it is not accompanied by schismatic intent or the conferral of jurisdiction,” the SSPX statement said.

In that statement, the society argued that schism consists in assuming jurisdiction independently of the pope’s will and insisted that bishops consecrated as SSPX auxiliaries would “assume no jurisdiction against the will of the pope and will in no way be schismatic.”

‘A genuine case of conscience’

In his letter, Pagliarani said the current context — marked by public warnings about sanctions — undermines the serenity he believes is required for meaningful dialogue.

He wrote that the SSPX and the Holy See “both know in advance” they cannot reach doctrinal agreement “particularly regarding the fundamental orientations adopted since the Second Vatican Council,” describing the disagreement as “a genuine case of conscience” rooted, in the SSPX’s view, in a “rupture with the tradition of the Church.”

Pagliarani also questioned the feasibility of a process intended to determine together “the minimum requirements for full communion,” arguing that such criteria are the Church’s to define and not something to be established jointly in dialogue.

The letter, published by the society, was signed by members of its general council, including bishops Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay.

A conflict stretching back to 1988

The Vatican warning revives memories of the 1988 crisis, when Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without a pontifical mandate in defiance of Pope John Paul II. The Holy See declared the bishops excommunicated at the time; Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications of the surviving bishops in 2009 as a gesture toward reconciliation.

In subsequent years, Pope Francis granted SSPX priests faculties to hear confessions validly and to witness marriages under certain conditions, while the society’s canonical status has remained irregular and short of full recognition in the Church.

The SSPX announced Feb. 2 that it intended to consecrate new bishops on July 1, a date that coincides with the anniversary of the 1988 decree declaring Lefebvre’s excommunication.

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

Pope Leo XIV encouraged young priests on Wednesday to continue to serve the Lord with enthusiasm, even if they do not immediately see the results of their work, and to share their difficulties with other priests.

“Above all, I urge you never to close yourselves off: Don’t be afraid to talk to others, even about your fatigue and your crises, especially with brother priests whom you believe can help you,” the pope said in a Feb. 19 meeting with clergy of the Diocese of Rome.

During the meeting in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, the Holy Father exhorted Rome’s priests to pursue greater creativity in their service and not fall into passivity.

He also urged them to renew the proclamation of the Gospel, to work together in communion, and to remain close to young people.

Addressing young priests specifically, Leo noted that they “often experience firsthand the potential and struggles of their generation and of this era.”

“In a more difficult and less rewarding social and ecclesial context, there is a risk of quickly exhausting one’s energy, accumulating frustration, and falling into loneliness. I urge you to be faithful every day in your relationship with the Lord and to work with enthusiasm even if you do not see the fruits of your apostolate now,” he added.

The pope’s advice to all of the clergy was to “rekindle the fire” of their ministry, especially when they experience fatigue, discouragement, or spiritual and moral decline.

“Pressed by sudden cultural changes and the scenarios in which our mission takes place, sometimes assailed by fatigue and the weight of routine, or discouraged by the growing disaffection with faith and religious practice, we feel the need for this fire to be fed and rekindled,” he said.

Putting evangelization back at the center

To achieve this rekindling of their priestly vocations, Leo first emphasized the urgency of “proclaiming the Gospel anew” and the need to change direction in the ordinary pastoral life of parishes, particularly in the relationship between Christian initiation and evangelization.

He explained that it is not enough merely to ensure the administration of the sacraments — as proposed by the classic model of ordinary pastoral care — but that it is essential to place proclamation back at the center, “seeking ways and means to help people reconnect with the promise of Jesus.”

The pope stressed that Christian initiation must be reexamined and affirmed that “we need to experiment with other ways of transmitting the faith, even outside the traditional paths, in order to try to engage children, young people, and families in new ways.”

The Holy Father also advised the priests of his diocese to work together, avoiding solitary action and the temptation of self-referentiality, and to foster greater coordination among neighboring parishes.

Welcoming young people

The pontiff turned his attention to the challenges facing young people, inviting the clergy of Rome to try “understanding and interpreting the profound existential unease that inhabits them, their confusion, their many difficulties, as well as the phenomena that involve them in the virtual world and the symptoms of a worrying aggressiveness, which sometimes leads to violence.”

He also asked them to remain attentive to young people, to be present, to welcome them, “to share a little of their lives,” and to engage in dialogue with local institutions.

At the end of his address, Leo spoke especially to the youngest priests. Aware of the reality they face, marked by a social and ecclesial context that is “more difficult and less rewarding,” he warned that there is a risk of “quickly exhausting one’s energies, accumulating frustration, and falling into loneliness.”

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

Pope Leo XIV will travel July 4 to the southern Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, a major migrant landing point that has become a symbol of Europe’s migration emergency as tens of thousands of migrants can arrive there in a single year after perilous sea crossings.

The Vatican on Thursday published a calendar of the pope’s Italian pastoral visits through Aug. 22, including stops in Pompei, Naples, Acerra, Pavia, Assisi, and Rimini.

Lampedusa — a small Italian island south of Sicily — gained worldwide attention as a flashpoint of Mediterranean migration and as a place of mourning for those who died trying to reach Europe. Pope Francis chose Lampedusa as the destination of his first official visit outside Rome on July 8, 2013, when he prayed for victims lost at sea and decried indifference toward migrants.

Leo’s planned visit also comes after he has spoken publicly about the U.S. migration debate, supporting a letter by the U.S. Catholic bishops last year opposing the mass deportation policy of the Trump administration and calling for humane treatment of migrants.

The pope’s Italy visits through Aug. 22

According to the schedule released Feb. 19, Leo’s upcoming pastoral visits include:

— May 8: Pompei, marking the anniversary of his election, with Mass and a traditional act of supplication to Our Lady; later that day, Naples, meeting clergy and religious in the cathedral and addressing the public in Piazza del Plebiscito

— May 23: Acerra, meeting with faithful in the “Terra dei Fuochi” area

— June 20: Pavia, home to the shrine housing the remains of St. Augustine

— July 4: Lampedusa (morning)

— Aug. 6: Assisi (Santa Maria degli Angeli), meeting young people gathered for a centenary observance connected to St. Francis’ “Transitus,” and celebrating Mass

— Aug. 22: Rimini, meeting participants in the annual Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples and celebrating Mass with the local faithful

Local Church leaders welcomed the announced visits, with Naples Archbishop Domenico Battaglia, Pompei Archbishop Tommaso Caputo, and Acerra Bishop Antonio Di Donna describing the Campania stops as a sign of pastoral concern for a region marked by both hope and hardship — including environmental degradation tied to illegal dumping and burning in the “Terra dei Fuochi.”

Rimini Meeting Foundation President Bernhard Scholz also expressed anticipation for Leo’s Aug. 22 visit, saying the pope’s call to build places of love, peace, and reconciliation resonates with the meeting’s mission.

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

Pope Leo XIV led the traditional Ash Wednesday penitential procession on Rome’s Aventine Hill on Feb. 18, walking with clergy and faithful to the Basilica of Santa Sabina, where he celebrated Mass marking the start of Lent.

Reflecting on the meaning of the ashes traditionally imposed on the heads of the faithful, Leo recalled a 1966 catechesis by St. Paul VI, who described the public celebration of the rite as a “severe and striking penitential ceremony” and as “a realistic pedagogy,” intended to cut through modern illusions and widespread pessimism that can reduce life to “the metaphysics of the absurd and of nothingness.”

“Today, we can recognize that his words were prophetic as we perceive in the ashes imposed on us the weight of a world that is ablaze, of entire cities destroyed by war,” Leo said.

He said that devastation is echoed in “the ashes of international law and justice among peoples,” “the ashes of entire ecosystems and harmony among peoples,” “the ashes of critical thinking and ancient local wisdom,” and “the ashes of that sense of the sacred that dwells in every creature.”

In the same homily, the pope urged Catholics to treat Lent as a time when the Church is renewed as a true community, even as modern society finds it harder to come together in communion.

Leo stressed that sin is never only private because it shapes and is shaped by the real and digital environments people inhabit. “Naturally, sin is always personal, but it takes shape in the real and virtual contexts of life… and often within real economic, cultural, political, and even religious ‘structures of sin,’” he said. Against idolatry, he added, Scripture calls Christians to dare to be free and to rediscover freedom through “an exodus, a journey,” rather than remaining “paralyzed, rigid, or complacent.”

The pope also pointed to what he described as a renewed attentiveness among young people to Ash Wednesday’s call to accountability. “Young people especially understand clearly that it is possible to live a just lifestyle, and that there should be accountability for wrongdoings in the Church and in the world,” he said, urging Catholics to “start where we can, with those who are around us,” and to embrace “the missionary significance of Lent” for “the many restless people of goodwill” seeking genuine renewal.

The pope also highlighted the ancient Roman tradition of the Lenten station churches, which begins each year with Santa Sabina. “The ancient Roman tradition of the Lenten ‘stationes’ — which begins today with the first station — is instructive,” he said, noting that it points both to moving, as pilgrims, and to pausing — ‘statio’ — at the memories of the martyrs on which Rome’s basilicas were built.

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

Grieving wives, mothers, and daughters of Ukrainian soldiers held prisoner in Russia found a moment of consolation and hope on Wednesday when several of them briefly greeted Pope Leo XIV after the general audience.

With mild winter temperatures returning to Rome, the audience was once again held outdoors in St. Peter’s Square, where the women were able to approach the pope at the close of the catechesis.

Traveling with the group was Kateryna Muzlova, director of the charitable foundation Heart in Action, along with 11 other Ukrainian women representing nongovernmental organizations and associations that support the families of prisoners of war and the missing.

“Shaking the pope’s hand, feeling his closeness to all the families who suffer because of the war, and entrusting him with all our concern has been a great opportunity to put our hearts into action and fill them with hope and deep spiritual consolation,” Muzlova said in remarks to official Vatican media.

Muzlova is known particularly for “Voices of Captives,” an initiative that seeks to bring greater visibility to the plight of Ukrainian prisoners of war and to keep public attention focused on those who remain in captivity.

Her own father, Oleh, was captured by Russian forces while defending the city of Mariupol and was freed after three years in prison on June 19. Since his release, the two have continued their efforts on behalf of Ukrainian families seeking reunion with husbands, sons, and fathers still held by Russian authorities.

Muzlova also noted that about a year ago she attended one of Pope Francis’ final general audiences; a few days later, she was able to speak by phone with her father for the first time after his release.

Also present at the meeting was Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See.

Symbolic gifts for the pope

During the encounter, the Ukrainian delegation presented Pope Leo XIV with a St. Nicholas icon made with amber from northern Ukraine, as well as a painting titled “Guardian Angel” by artist Olha Sypelyk depicting a sleeping child while an angel watches not only over the home but also over the child’s future. Sypelyk auctions off her works to help people in vulnerable situations.

The group also gave the pope a portrait of himself painted by a 12-year-old girl — the daughter of Serhii Nazareskul, a Ukrainian soldier missing on the front lines. The girl lives in Odesa and continues attending school and developing her artistic talent despite frequent power outages.

Among the women present — many holding Ukrainian flags — were representatives of charitable organizations assisting relatives of those missing or detained in Russia, including Valentyna Shcherbyna, the mother of a student captured in Kherson and a member of an association that supports families with loved ones in Russian prisons.

Men also participated in the delegation, including Oleh Litvynenko of the Veterans Hub Odessa regiment. His son, Mykyta, died in June 2022, and his remains were recovered in February 2025.

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

Pope Leo XIV said the successor of Peter must retain “complete freedom to speak the truth, denounce injustice, defend the rights of the weakest, promote peace,” and proclaim Jesus Christ amid “the troubled times in which we live.”

The pope made the remarks in an address Feb. 18 to members of Pro Petri Sede (“For the See of Peter”), an association that supports the work of the pope and the Holy See through prayer and financial assistance.

Leo recalled that the association traces its roots to the papal Zouaves, a 19th-century corps of Catholic volunteers who defended the Papal States against efforts to invade Rome.

Those volunteers “committed themselves unconditionally, even to the point of giving their lives, to defend the freedom of the Roman pontiff, threatened at the time,” the pope said.

Leo stressed that “the socio-historic conditions have obviously changed,” adding that “today there is no longer any question of fighting with weapons or exercising any kind of violence.”

Instead, he said, the association’s commitment is expressed through prayer, helping the faithful understand the role and action of the Holy See, and material support, “especially in favor of the least fortunate.”

Leo highlighted the group’s decision this year to support a charitable project in Chiclayo, his former diocese in Peru, where the association is helping fund the creation of a training center for people most in need.

Reflecting on the pope’s mission, Leo said: “The bishop of Rome has received from Christ the task of gathering the faithful people into unity and proclaiming the Gospel of salvation throughout the earth; and the charism of his successors implies the sovereign freedom to do so.”

He added that “the proclamation of the kingdom is hindered in many places throughout the world, and in many ways,” underscoring the importance of the pope’s freedom to carry out his mission.

“How important it is, therefore, in the troubled times in which we live, that ‘Peter’ retain his complete freedom to speak the truth, denounce injustice, defend the rights of the weakest, promote peace, and above all proclaim Jesus Christ, who died and rose again, the only possible hope for a reconciliated humanity,” he said.

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

Pope Leo XIV emphasized Wednesday that the Church experiences a part of God’s plan for unity by being together at liturgical celebrations.

The pope stated that God’s plan for the Church has a clear purpose: “to unify all creatures thanks to the reconciliatory action of Jesus Christ,” accomplished through his death on the cross.

“This is experienced first of all in the assembly gathered for the liturgical celebration: There, differences are relativized, and what counts is being together because we are drawn by the love of Christ, who broke down the wall of separation between people and social groups,” he said on Feb. 18.

Leo continued his weekly catecheses dedicated to the Second Vatican Council, focusing on the dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, approved on Nov. 21, 1964.

The pope delivered his lesson to thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, taking advantage of Rome’s mild temperatures. During the colder winter months, the weekly meeting with the faithful had taken place in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.

Catechesis on the constitution Lumen Gentium

According to Leo, Lumen Gentium “enables us to understand the relationship between the unifying action of the pasch of Jesus, which is the mystery of his passion, death, and resurrection, and the identity of the Church.”

The pontiff added that the conciliar text also invites gratitude for belonging to the Church, “the body of the risen Christ, and the one pilgrim people of God journeying throughout history, which lives as a sanctifying presence in the midst of a still fragmented humanity, as an effective sign of unity and reconciliation among peoples.”

In explaining the use of the term “mystery” in Lumen Gentium, Leo XIV recalled that it comes from the letters of St. Paul and does not refer to something dark or incomprehensible.

On the contrary, the Holy Father explained that “when St. Paul uses the word, especially in the Letter to the Ephesians, he wishes to indicate a reality that was previously hidden and is now revealed.”

The Church as a sign of unity

The pope stressed that humanity lives in a condition of fragmentation “that human beings are unable to repair, even though the tendency towards unity dwells in their hearts. The action of Jesus Christ enters into this condition through the power of the Holy Spirit and overcomes the powers of division and the divider himself.”

He highlighted the meaning of the word “ekklesia” (Church), understood as the assembly of those called together by God.

“The Church is the mystery made perceptible,” he affirmed, recalling that the council defined the Church as a “sacrament, or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race.”

For Leo XIV, this means that the Church is not merely a passive sign but an active instrument through which God “achieves the aim of bringing people to him and uniting them with one another.”

The pontiff quoted a passage from chapter 7 of Lumen Gentium that says the risen Christ “is continually active in the world that he might lead men to the Church and through it join them to himself and that he might make them partakers of his glorious life by nourishing them with his own body and blood.”

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

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, announced on Feb. 17 that the Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace,” an initiative promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump to address various conflicts around the world, such as the one in Gaza.

The Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace due to its particular nature, which is clearly not that of other states,” the cardinal told reporters after a meeting in Rome with the Italian government at Palazzo Borromeo on the occasion of the anniversary of the Lateran Pacts, which in 1929 recognized the sovereignty of Vatican City State.

When asked about Italy’s participation as an observer on the Board of Peace, Parolin stated: “There are some points that leave one somewhat perplexed. There are critical points that need to be explained.”

“The important thing is that an attempt is being made to provide an answer. However, for us, there are some critical issues that need to be resolved,” the cardinal said, according to Vatican News, adding that “one concern is that, at the international level, it is primarily the U.N. [United Nations] that manages these crisis situations. This is one of the points on which we have emphasized.”

On Jan. 21, Parolin had told reporters that the Vatican was evaluating whether or not to participate in Trump’s Board of Peace, a question that has now been decided.

Trump’s Peace Board seeks to address global conflicts, with a particular focus on the Gaza Strip, as an independent body separate from the United Nations. More than 25 countries have announced their participation, including Argentina, El Salvador, Paraguay, Belarus, Bulgaria, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Egypt, and Morocco.

Parolin also spoke on Feb. 17 about the war in Ukraine, saying that “there is great pessimism,” since “neither side seems to have made any real progress toward peace, and it is tragic that after four years we are still at this point.”

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

As the Basilica of St. Peter approaches the 400th anniversary of its consecration, the Vatican has announced a slate of liturgical and cultural initiatives — including opening parts of the basilica complex that have never been accessible to the public and rolling out a new digital entry system designed to better manage crowds.

St. Peter’s Basilica was consecrated on Nov. 18, 1626, by Pope Urban VIII. Vatican officials presented the anniversary program on Monday, highlighting plans intended to ease visitor pressure inside the basilica while improving security and preserving an atmosphere of prayer.

“We want to lighten the weight of the crowds in the basilica and foster deeper spiritual recollection,” said Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, “while at the same time offering new spaces to get to know St. Peter better through themed itineraries.”

Among the most significant measures is the opening of the entire terrace of the basilica to visitors; currently, only about one-third is accessible. The newly opened terrace areas will feature a permanent exhibition on the history, construction, and ongoing maintenance of St. Peter’s.

Gambetti also said the restoration area currently located on the terrace will be reconfigured and expanded. The space will double and continue to be managed by the Fabric of St. Peter, he said, totaling about 100 square meters (roughly 1,075 square feet) and moving to the opposite side from its current location.

The Vatican also foresees the future opening of the large galleries of the Gregorian and Clementine domes, with educational proposals designed especially for children and young people.

To improve crowd management, officials announced a new digital access system — SmartPass — integrated into the basilica’s official website, along with a network of sensors to monitor visitor presence in real time and enhance security.

Gambetti described the initiative as a new “ecosystem” meant to safeguard the basilica’s sacred character while welcoming the millions of pilgrims and tourists who continue to come to the heart of Christianity.

A look ‘beyond the visible’

The cardinal stressed that the anniversary is not being treated merely as a historical commemoration but as an opportunity to renew the basilica’s spiritual meaning.

Built over the remains of the original Constantinian basilica, the current church stands as “the living memory of our faith in Jesus Christ, supported by Peter’s profession of faith,” Gambetti said, calling it “at the same time a door open to all who seek God.” He also recalled the transition from the earlier basilica to the present one, promoted by Pope Julius II during the Renaissance.

Gambetti pointed as well to the collaboration of the Italian energy company Eni, which is supporting conservation and “enhancement” projects tied to the anniversary.

Program of events

The spiritual program begins Feb. 20 with the inauguration of a new permanent Stations of the Cross inside the basilica, created by Swiss artist Manuel Durr, winner of an international competition launched in 2023.

On Saturday afternoons, the basilica will also host brief 30-minute “spiritual elevations” featuring prayer and polyphonic chant for those present.

Three “solemn pastoral lectures” — historical-cultural, theological-liturgical, and pastoral-spiritual — are planned for March 24, May 26, and Oct. 13 on the meaning of the basilica’s dedication. A spiritual meditation on St. Peter in light of the Gospel will be given by the preacher of the Papal Household, Father Roberto Pasolini, OFM Cap.

Additional initiatives include the urban itinerary “Quo Vadis,” tracing the footsteps of Sts. Peter and Paul through Rome, and the theatrical production “Pietro e Paolo a Roma” by Michele Aginestra, planned around the June 29 feast of the apostles.

The celebrations are set to culminate Nov. 18 with a solemn Mass to be celebrated by Pope Leo XIV on the exact 400th anniversary of the basilica’s consecration.

Eni’s technical work

During the presentation, Eni executive Claudio Granata said the company’s technical work for St. Peter’s has involved an 18-month process, much of it devoted to study and planning. He recalled Eni’s earlier restoration of the basilica façade beginning in 1999 — the first deep cleaning since architect Carlo Maderno completed it in 1612.

This time, Granata said, the scale is larger: Measurements were carried out across approximately 80,000 square meters, covering the entire basilica, including outer areas. The analysis includes visible surfaces — such as the façade, columns, and roofs — as well as “invisible” elements like the foundations, resulting in a permanent monitoring system and a comprehensive digital model.

Eni research and development director Annalisa Muccioli said the project was guided by respect for the basilica’s historical, artistic, and spiritual character. The effort included 4,500 work hours across day and night shifts, as well as extensive historical study and technical documentation. Using techniques intended to “see without altering,” she said the team employed methods such as geophysical investigations, laser scanning, and advanced photogrammetry.

Muccioli described the result as a dynamic model integrating architectural geometry, subsurface geology, and real-time data — a tool meant to support the Fabric of St. Peter in future conservation and planning.

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

Each Ash Wednesday, dozens of people crowd the doors of the Church of Sant’Anselmo, perched on the Aventine — one of Rome’s seven hills — to witness the penitential procession that moves solemnly along the roughly 200 meters (656 feet) separating it from Santa Sabina.

This year, the tradition of the Station Churches, rooted in the first centuries of Christianity, takes on special significance: It will be the first time Pope Leo XIV presides over it.

It lasts less than five minutes, but it is not a mere ceremonial transfer. The short route liturgically marks the beginning of Lent and underscores the Aventine’s strong monastic presence: the Benedictines at Sant’Anselmo and the Dominicans at Santa Sabina.

“The penitential character of Lent allows us to explore the spiritual dimension of these centuries-old stational liturgies. Lent is marked by themes of baptism and conversion: reorienting our lives toward Christ, making his life fruitful in ours, and striving to imitate him,” Father Stefan Geiger, president of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, told EWTN News.

Martyrs as models of life

Along that path, martyrs occupy a privileged place because, Geiger said, they “serve as exceptional models of this way of life.”

“The method of the early Church was not based on theoretical instruction but on the concrete example of a life lived for Christ, offering an invitation to realign one’s life completely with him,” he added.

Santa Sabina’s role as the destination is no accident. It is a “Station Church,” a key concept in the Roman Church’s tradition.

“It is the church the pope goes to on a specific occasion to celebrate the liturgy with the faithful,” the Benedictine priest explained.

The practice goes back to the early Church, when Christianity began organizing public worship in Rome. After the Edict of Milan in 313, when the emperor Constantine granted freedom of worship, Christian communities grew quickly, leading to a multiplication of places for Sunday celebrations known as “tituli” — early parish-like churches.

“These ‘titular churches’ represented their respective parishes, dividing the growing number of faithful into smaller units,” Geiger said.

But this expansion in urban contexts posed a theological and pastoral challenge, he said: “From very early on, there was concern about how to maintain and visibly express the unity of the local Church. At that time, the ideal of the local Church was still the community gathered around its bishop. However, this became increasingly difficult to sustain, especially in urban settings, and it threatened to obscure visible unity.”

Stational liturgies arose in the fourth century

In that context, stational liturgies emerged in the fourth century as a tangible sign of ecclesial communion. The pope, as bishop of Rome, would regularly “station” at a specific titular church, preside over the liturgy there, and in doing so confer upon it a “precedence over other liturgies,” Geiger explained.

A century later, the Roman tradition added a decisive element: the penitential procession.

“In the fifth century, a uniquely Roman custom developed: a penitential procession toward the stational church, which began at a gathering church — the ‘collecta’ — where penitential antiphons and the Litany of the Saints were sung,” he said.

The route culminated in a triple invocation of the “Kyrie eleison” (“Lord, have mercy”) — one of Christianity’s oldest and most fundamental liturgical prayers — and an intense silent prayer before the altar, during which clergy prostrated themselves.

“It is a gesture we still see today in the liturgy of Good Friday. The procession concluded with a silent prayer and a prostration of the clergy before the final prayer, since the Kyrie had been sung during the litanies,” he added.

From medieval solemnity to modern eclipse

During the early Middle Ages, this pattern was adopted and enriched with an ever more solemn ceremonial.

“The pope traveled on horseback from St. John Lateran — then the papal residence — and was received ceremonially at the Station Church, vested in liturgical garments. Then he entered the church accompanied by acolytes carrying seven torches, and only then did the celebration begin,” Geiger recalled.

At the end of the liturgy, the deacon solemnly announced the next Station Church and, if applicable, the church of the collecta, to which the faithful responded with “Deo gratias.”

Over time, however, the tradition weakened. During the period when seven popes resided in Avignon, France (1309–1377), it virtually disappeared from Rome.

After the capture of Rome in 1870 — the final milestone of the Italian Risorgimento, when troops of the Kingdom of Italy breached the Aurelian Walls near Porta Pia — stational liturgies were officially prohibited in 1870 as part of a general decree banning all processions.

Contemporary recovery

The revival of the tradition came after the Lateran Pacts, the 1929 concordat defining civil and religious relations between the government and the Church in Italy.

The Pontifical Academy of Martyrs — which seeks to keep alive the legacy of the early witnesses of the Christian faith — promoted the restoration of stational liturgies, especially through its first director, Carlo Respighi.

“Even today, the academy is responsible for overseeing these celebrations, and its website lists the Station Churches of Lent,” Geiger said.

In any case, the president of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute noted that today the pope generally presides over only two stational liturgies: Ash Wednesday at Santa Sabina and Holy Thursday at St. John Lateran.

“Before the liturgical reform, the Missal listed about 89 stational liturgies in 42 Station Churches. The origins of each of the ‘titular churches’ are no longer known, but they are closely linked to the martyrs, who have a special significance in the memory of the city of Rome,” he said.

As every year, the Benedictine community of Sant’Anselmo is preparing carefully for the event. The occasion takes on added meaning as it will be the pontiff’s second visit there during his first year in office: The monks previously welcomed Leo XIV on Nov. 11, 2025, on the feast of their church’s dedication.

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

The president of the Pontifical Academy for Life said Tuesday the Church needs to maintain a dialogue with universities on the issue of abortion.

Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro was responding to a question about controversy over the leadership appointment of a pro-abortion professor at the University of Notre Dame — and whether Catholic universities have a responsibility to uphold Church teaching on unborn life.

Abortion “is not acceptable as a practice,” Pegoraro said during a Vatican press conference on Feb. 17.

He added that it is the responsibility of not only individuals but also of society to help women and couples “avoid the idea that abortion could be a solution to a difficult pregnancy or a problem.”

Pegoraro addressed journalists during a presentation about the academy’s international workshop “Health Care for All: Sustainability and Equity,” held in Rome Feb. 16–17.

Pegoraro, who was named president of the Pontifical Academy for Life on May 27, 2025, said convincing people that abortion is not the only solution to a problem “is a big challenge.”

“We try to see how to maintain a debate about that, and we try to stress more the ethical and some social aspects, not immediately only the legal aspect of the problem,” he added.

Pope Leo XIV has eliminated the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day, established by Pope Francis in November 2024. In a decree published on Feb. 13, the Holy Father reaffirmed the importance of the Church giving special attention to children, in continuity with the intention expressed by his predecessor.

However, with the aim of “fostering greater synergies” and ensuring a more effective organization of this “noble initiative,” the decree stipulates that all the committee’s functions will be transferred to the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, where it has been integrated since August 2025.

The document also establishes the annulment of the acts and regulations adopted to date by the body, which will cease to have legal effect under both canon and civil law.

Likewise, the president, vice president, and other members of the committee are immediately relieved of their duties.

Finally, it states that the prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, must resolve outstanding matters and submit a final liquidation report to the Secretariat for the Economy.

Pope Francis established this day on Dec. 8, 2023. On that occasion, he announced that the first World Children’s Day would be celebrated worldwide on May 25-26, 2024.

Subsequently, Francis established the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day and appointed Father Enzo Fortunato, also director of communications for St. Peter’s Basilica and head of the press office of St. Francis of Assisi Basilica, as its president.

The next World Children’s Day will be celebrated Sept. 25–27 and is expected to be a time of encounter, prayer, and celebration involving children and their families from all over the world.

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

On Saturday, Feb. 14, the humanitarian situation in Gaza was the focus of a day of the arts at the apostolic vicariate in Rome. In the halls of the Lateran Apostolic Palace, the third edition of the initiative focused on the Gaza Strip, burdened by destruction and loss, where the suffering of its residents calls for ongoing attention.

The apostolic vicariate in Rome dedicated the third edition of its day of the arts to shedding light on the Gaza Strip. | Credit: Photo by Elias Turk/ACI MENA

The event offered an artistic journey divided into four consecutive performances under the title “If There Were Water.”

Father Gabriele Vecchioni, deputy director of the University Pastoral Office at the vicariate, explained at the event that art stands in direct opposition to adaptation and forgetfulness. Shedding light on Gaza, he said, means confronting what the world has heard in recent months: the killing of 64,000 people, including 18,000 children — figures that an arts day insists must not be archived but preserved as an active memory.

The apostolic vicariate in Rome dedicated the third edition of its day of the arts to shedding light on the Gaza Strip. | Credit: Photo by Elias Turk/ACI MENA

In the “Hall of Reconciliation,” the theatrical work “Gaza: Before the Silence” by Francesco D’Alfonso was performed by first-year students of the National Academy of Dramatic Art Silvio D’Amico. Through poetry, music, international reports, and literary excerpts, the performance restored faces and names to the victims. White shrouds and the stark numbers of the tragedy became signs of a collective responsibility shared by all.

The apostolic vicariate in Rome dedicated the third edition of its day of the arts to shedding light on the Gaza Strip. | Credit: Photo by Elias Turk/ACI MENA

Reflection on the suffering of Gaza’s people continued in the “Hall of the Emperors” with the artistic work “Holm” (“Dream”). This project by the National Academy of Dance combined choreography and video. Through the languages of body and image, it opened an intellectual space for reflection on the Palestinian cause, entrusting dance with the task of fostering listening and awareness.

The apostolic vicariate in Rome dedicated the third edition of its day of the arts to shedding light on the Gaza Strip. | Credit: Photo by Elias Turk/ACI MENA

In the Hall of David, “Who Are You? A Beautiful Question,” a work within the relational art movement, directly engaged the audience with the issue. Through words, images, and sounds, it unfolded fragments of memory about what has taken place in the Gaza Strip.

The apostolic vicariate in Rome dedicated the third edition of its day of the arts to shedding light on the Gaza Strip. | Credit: Photo by Elias Turk/ACI MENA

In the Hall of the Apostles, the event hosted the Santa Cecilia Music Institute, with Senka Slipać on the violin and Vehbija Hodžić on the accordion. The musicians performed works by Antonio Vivaldi, Dražan Kosorić, and Vittorio Monti.

The artistic journey at the Lateran also included a work titled “Fire,” a collective installation created within a workshop sponsored by Caritas Rome.

The apostolic vicariate in Rome dedicated the third edition of its day of the arts to shedding light on the Gaza Strip. | Credit: Photo by Elias Turk/ACI MENA

Pope Leo XIV has appointed a Harvard University epidemiology professor and director of the Human Flourishing Program to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Tyler J. VanderWeele, a Catholic, is also co-director of the Initiative on Health, Spirituality, and Religion at Harvard University and a contributor to the Institute for Family Studies, which promotes traditional marriage and family structures.

VanderWeele joins 35 other ordinary members — academics and professionals in the fields of law, political science, economics, and sociology — at the Vatican academy.

VanderWeele told EWTN News he is grateful “for the opportunity to participate and contribute” to the work of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

“Catholic social teaching has powerfully shaped the way I think about my own work and about the pursuit of societal flourishing,” he said.

The academic, who entered the Catholic Church in 2012, said: “The principles of the dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity provide a powerful roadmap for our life together. We certainly need to retain what is distinctive about the Catholic faith, but we also need to find common ground with others, and these principles of Catholic social teaching can help us to do so.”

VanderWeele holds degrees in mathematics, philosophy, theology, finance, and biostatistics from Harvard, the University of Oxford, and the University of Pennsylvania.

The Catholic University of America awarded VanderWeele an honorary doctorate in 2020.

VanderWeele described his work at the Human Flourishing Program as aiming “to create a ‘positive epidemiology,’ wherein we study the distribution and determinants of well-being, and to expand the purview of public health to include the promotion of individual and societal flourishing,” according to the website of the social sciences academy.

In 2015, the professor joined a group of scholars in filing an amicus brief in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, arguing that there is no constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

VanderWeele has also written on the topic of preventing and healing child sexual abuse in religious communities.

He spoke about Christianity’s contribution to the notion of human flourishing at a talk for the Veritas Forum at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2023.

Established by Pope John Paul II in 1994, the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences brings together academicians from a wide range of religious and nonreligious backgrounds. Current ordinary members include Catholic theologian Tracey Rowland and economist Jeffrey Sachs.

The academy is led by Sister Helen Alford, OP, president, and Cardinal Peter Turkson, chancellor.

Pope Leo XIV told the prelate of Opus Dei on Feb. 16 that “the process of updating Opus Dei’s statutes continues in its study phase and that no publication date can yet be foreseen,” according to a statement from the prelature.

The pope received Opus Dei’s prelate, Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz, in audience at the Vatican on Monday. Ocáriz was accompanied by his auxiliary vicar, Monsignor Mariano Fazio.

The Holy See Press Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Vatican meeting came as the personal prelature’s proposed statutes — submitted to the Holy See on June 11, 2025 — remain under review. Opus Dei’s draft is being examined by the Dicastery for the Clergy following the reforms to the governance of personal prelatures introduced under Pope Francis.

Opus Dei said that “several topics were addressed in an atmosphere of great trust,” including “the perspectives and challenges of the work of evangelization that Opus Dei carries out throughout the world, as it approaches its first centenary.”

The prelature added that it presented to the pope “the institutional perspective on some specific controversies in Argentina” and that the audience also included discussion of vocations in the Church, “particularly, the contrast between the situation in Africa and in Europe.”

According to the statement, Ocáriz presented the pope with two books: “The Church in the Street: The Reception of Gaudium et Spes in Six Holy Pastors,” by Augustinian Father Ramón Sala González, and “Yauyos, an Adventure in the Andes,” an account by Samuel Valero about Opus Dei priests’ evangelizing work in two provinces of Peru.

Opus Dei is currently the only personal prelature in the Catholic Church and reports about 94,450 members worldwide.

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

Pope Leo XIV on Monday warned that modern conflicts and widening social disparities are eroding respect for human life and equal access to health care, telling members of the Pontifical Academy for Life that “all lives are not equally respected and health is neither protected nor promoted in the same way for everyone.”

Addressing participants in the academy’s plenary assembly in the Apostolic Palace, the pope praised the meeting’s theme — “Health Care for All: Sustainability and Equity” — and lamented that “in a world scarred by conflicts, which consume enormous economic, technological, and organizational resources in the production of arms and other types of military equipment, it has never been more important to dedicate time, people, and expertise to safeguarding life and health.”

He cited Pope Francis’ insistence that health care cannot be treated as a luxury, noting that it “is not a consumer good but a universal right, which means that access to health care services cannot be a privilege.”

Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, Leo said it “has become clear how much reciprocity and interdependence underpin our health and our very lives,” adding that this reality demands collaboration across disciplines, including “medicine, politics, ethics, management, and others.”

Turning to global disparities, the pope said that when we examine “life expectancy and the quality of health in different countries and social groups, we discover enormous inequalities” tied to factors such as income, education, and the neighborhoods where people live. He also deplored wars that strike civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, calling them “the most grave attacks that human hands can make against life and public health.”

“It is often said that life and health are equally fundamental values for all,” he said, “but this statement is hypocritical if, at the same time, we ignore the structural causes and policies that determine inequalities.”

Leo also highlighted the “One health” approach, encouraging an integrated vision that recognizes the links between human health, environmental conditions, and other forms of life — an outlook he said aligns with the academy’s work in global bioethics.

The pope urged renewed commitment to the common good, warning it can become “an abstract and irrelevant notion” unless it is rooted in strong social bonds. “We need to rediscover the fundamental attitude of care as support and closeness to others,” he said, arguing that this is key to building sustainable health systems and restoring trust in medicine amid “misinformation or skepticism regarding science.”

Concluding, Leo renewed his call for stronger international and multilateral cooperation, saying such relationships are essential for preventing conflicts and resisting “the mindset of force, whether verbal, physical or military.”

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

Among the recent appointments of Pope Leo XIV, one in particular has been made with remarkable frequency: that of “chaplain of His Holiness.” What does this honorary title mean?

In November 2025, the Holy Father bestowed this title upon his secretary, Peruvian priest Father Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga, officially incorporating him into the papal household, in accordance with the provisions of the 1968 motu proprio Pontificalis Domus (“Pontifical House”).

Among those who have received this distinction in recent days is Father Fermín González Melado, a diocesan priest born in Badajoz, Spain, who has resided in Rome since 2019.

With degrees in biology and the theology of marriage and family, González is an adviser to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and a member of the clinical ethics committee at the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital. He has also served as vice rector of the Spanish National Church of St. James and Montserrat in Rome since 2021.

Father Fermín González Melado. | Credit: Archdiocese of Mérida-Badajoz

In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, he explained that the title of “chaplain of His Holiness” is a recognition “granted by the dicasteries, since it is the prefects who suggest to the secretariat of state the recognition of individuals who have been working at the Holy See.”

He clarified that this “does not imply a change of job or employment status, but rather a kind of medal that recognizes meritorious work. It is an honorary title that entails a change of cassock colors and little else,” he explained.

With this appointment as chaplain, the pope also bestowed upon him the honorary title of monsignor. From now on, as a member of the papal household, the priest may wear the cassock with purple buttons and trim, along with the sash of the same color, according to protocol.

González said this title is not reserved just for the Holy See to give “but can also be granted by bishops in their dioceses after requesting it from the Vatican.”

He pointed out that there is no precise figure for the number of chaplains of His Holiness worldwide. “Some dioceses grant this honor to priests upon reaching the age of 80, in recognition of their service,” he added.

Although he has not yet been able to express his gratitude to Pope Leo XIV in person, he recalled his recent meeting with him, along with other members of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, during its plenary assembly.

The priest told ACI Prensa that every time he meets with the Holy Father, he likes to give him “some small gift.” On the last occasion, he gave him a book and a documentary film about the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows of Chandavila, in La Codosera, Spain, which is in his diocese.

“It’s the first shrine and the first devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows approved in Spain under the new regulations of the dicastery on alleged supernatural phenomena,” he explained.

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

Pope Leo XIV will preside over the traditional Ash Wednesday procession and Mass on Rome’s Aventine Hill, an important place of Christian veneration and pilgrimage for more than 1,500 years.

For the Dominican and Benedictine religious orders, whose communities have had a significant historical presence on the Aventine, the Holy Father’s Feb. 18 visit will be a special occasion to begin the Church’s liturgical season dedicated to prayer and fasting before Easter.

On the first day of the 40-day Lenten “Stations Churches” pilgrimage — formally instituted in the sixth century by Pope Gregory the Great and restored by Pope John XXIII in 1959 — the pope leads a penitential procession from the Benedictine church of Sant’Anselmo to the nearby Dominican Basilica of Santa Sabina.

“To walk with Pope Leo on this pilgrimage from the nearby Sant’Anselmo church will be a sign, a symbol, for all of us of the spiritual work that’s taking place in our hearts in Lent,” Santa Sabina resident Father Patrick Briscoe, OP, told EWTN News. “We’ll all be on pilgrimage together.”

This year, Pope Leo will preside over a short afternoon prayer service at the Benedictine monastery and then celebrate the Ash Wednesday Mass at Santa Sabina, a fourth-century basilica that was gifted to St. Dominic and the Order of Preachers in 1219 by Pope Honorius III.

“The pope himself imposes ashes on [the cardinals] during the Mass,” Briscoe added. “The cardinals stand in for the whole Church and they’re a sign of all of us joining and following the pope’s lead.”

As part of the Lenten tradition, the pope leads the procession through the main doors of Santa Sabina, which contains the oldest known artistic portrayal of Jesus Christ crucified.

“On the door we have a very important Christian symbol… It allows us to think of the meaning of Lent and to embrace the suffering of Christ,” Briscoe said.

“When we consider it from the historical perspective and the evolution of Christian understanding, we really didn’t know how to handle the cross,” he explained. “It took us a hundred years to depict it.”

“This says something to each of us entering into Lent — to discover anew what our sufferings mean and how to have them transformed by Christ’s own sacrifice,” he said.

Father Eusebius Martis, OSB, a sacramental theology professor who teaches at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant’Anselmo, told EWTN News the Aventine is an ideal place for prayer and pilgrimage.

“It’s really an ideal spot because it’s quiet and it’s a little bit separated but not too far [from the city center],” he said.

According to Martis, nature on the Aventine has inspired artists and pilgrims alike throughout the centuries to contemplate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“The acanthus leaf is growing all across our property here at [Sant’Anselmo],” Martis said. “It dies and it lays against the ground … completely dead until the spring [when] it comes back to life.”

“In a couple of weeks, it will start putting up flowers, which represent a bloom around Easter time,” he said.

Pointing out the reliefs of the acanthus leaf found on the Corinthian columns inside the Basilica of Sant’Anselmo, Martis said several churches across Rome purposefully depict the leaf to symbolize the Church’s belief in Jesus’ victory over sin and death.

“The architects wanted us to remember that, every time we’re at the altar, we are at Easter,” the Benedictine father said.

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday made his first visit to a parish in the Diocese of Rome, celebrating Mass at Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido and urging Catholics to cultivate “coherence between faith and life” while opposing violence and injustice with “the disarming strength of meekness” and renewed prayer for peace.

Santa Maria Regina Pacis, located on Rome’s coast and part of the diocese’s southern sector, is the first Roman parish the pope has visited during his pontificate. The pope is expected to visit four additional parishes over the next four Sundays in the diocese’s remaining sectors.

Upon his arrival, Leo was welcomed by Cardinal Vicar Baldassare Reina and Bishop Tarantelli Baccari, vicegerent and auxiliary bishop for the southern sector. Before Mass, the pope greeted children in catechism and young people in a field behind the church, then met with the elderly, the sick, the poor, and Caritas volunteers in the parish gym.

“It is for me a source of great joy,” the pope said in his homily, “to be here and to live with your community the gesture from which Sunday takes its name. It is the Lord’s Day because the risen Jesus comes among us, listens to us and speaks to us, nourishes us and sends us out.”

Reflecting on the day’s readings, Leo said the law God gave his people is not opposed to freedom but is “the condition for making it flourish.” The Lord’s commandments, he added, “are not an oppressive law, but his pedagogy for humanity, which seeks the fullness of life and freedom.”

Jesus’ preaching, he continued, reveals “the authentic and full meaning of God’s law,” pointing to a fidelity to God grounded in respect and care for others “in their inviolable sacredness” — something to be cultivated first “in the heart.” The pope warned that it is in the heart that both “the noblest sentiments” and “the most painful profanations” take root: “closures, envies, jealousies,” by which someone who harbors evil thoughts against a brother is “as if, within, he were already killing him.”

“We must remember,” Leo added, “that the evil we see in the world has its roots precisely there, where the heart becomes cold, hard, and poor in mercy.”

The pope said such realities are felt “also here, in Ostia,” where violence can wound, sometimes taking hold among young people and adolescents, “perhaps fueled by the use of substances,” or through criminal organizations that exploit people and draw them into wrongdoing.

In response, he urged the parish community to continue working “with generosity and courage” to sow “the good seed of the Gospel” in the neighborhood.

“Do not resign yourselves to the culture of abuse and injustice,” the pope said. “On the contrary, spread respect and harmony, beginning by disarming language and then investing energy and resources in education, especially for children and youth.”

Addressing the young in particular, Leo expressed the hope that they would learn in the parish “honesty, welcome, and love that overcomes boundaries,” as well as the ability to help those who do not repay them and to greet those who do not greet them — learning to go toward everyone “freely and gratuitously.”

“Learn coherence between faith and life, as Jesus teaches us,” he said.

In concluding remarks, the pope recalled that Pope Benedict XV gave the church its title, “Saint Mary, Queen of Peace,” during World War I, envisioning the community as “a ray of light in the leaden sky of war.” Today, Leo said, “many clouds still darken the world,” including the spread of ways of thinking contrary to the Gospel that exalt “the supremacy of the strongest,” encourage arrogance, and prize “victory at any cost,” deaf to the cry of those who suffer.

“Let us oppose this drift with the disarming strength of meekness,” the pope said, “continuing to ask for peace, and to welcome it and cultivate its gift with tenacity and humility.”

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