The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, announced the launch of two new equity benchmarks developed in partnership with Morningstar Indexes.

The two indexes, the Morningstar IOR Eurozone Catholic Principles and the Morningstar IOR US Catholic Principles, are designed to serve as global reference points for investments that adhere to Catholic teaching, according to a Feb. 10 IOR press release.

Each index includes 50 medium- and large-cap companies selected in accordance with the IOR’s Investment Policy, which is guided by the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, according to the press release.

The indexes exclude companies involved in activities inconsistent with Catholic teachings, the IOR said.

According to the press release, the initiative will strengthen the IOR’s commitment to responsible and ethical finance, allowing Catholic institutions, dioceses, religious orders, and other faith-aligned investors worldwide to benchmark and evaluate performance in a manner consistent with Catholic teaching, particularly on issues related to life, social responsibility, and environmental protection.

Robert Edwards, managing director for EMEA at Morningstar Indexes, stated: “Investors increasingly seek benchmarks that reflect specific values-based or policy-driven criteria. Morningstar’s transparent, rules-based approach ensures client-defined standards are applied consistently and objectively.”

Giovanni Boscia, deputy director general, CFO, and head of asset management at the IOR, added: “With the launch of these two new equity indexes, the IOR takes a further step forward in the process that has seen it adopt international best financial practices for years, in strict compliance with the principles of the social doctrine of the Church.”

“Having benchmarks built in accordance with recognized Catholic ethical criteria allows us to make our performance assessment and reporting processes even more rigorous and transparent,” Boscia continued. “This initiative reaffirms our commitment as a financial institution serving the Church, further strengthening the role of the IOR as a reference point for the Catholic world.”

In 2022, the Vatican issued Mensuram Bonam, which means “a good measure.” It is a document intended to guide Catholics to think and act according to the teachings of the Church in their investment decisions, including considering how their economic actions affect the poor.

Last year, in its annual report, the IOR showed a net profit of 32.8 million euros in 2024, representing a 7% increase compared with 2023, attributing its positive financial performance with “numerous improvements” made, including adding specialized personnel and making strategic investments in digital and technological infrastructure.

Pope Leo XIV wants to travel to Jerusalem in 2033 to commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. The Jubilee of Redemption is an event that is shaping up to be a historic opportunity to advance toward the full and visible unity of Christians.

However, the main obstacle to this goal remains the rift between the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Constantinople, an expert told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Father Frans Bouwen, a missionary of the Society of Missionaries of Africa, has been in Jerusalem for more than 40 years. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Frans Bouwen

Father Frans Bouwen, a missionary of the Society of Missionaries of Africa — known as the White Fathers — and an expert in ecumenical dialogue, explained the complexity of the situation: “Moscow currently refuses to participate in ecumenical meetings where Constantinople is present, which also conditions its participation and that of the local churches aligned with it.”

The future ecumenical event, framed within the bimillennial Jubilee of the Redemption, was announced by the Vatican after the ecumenical meeting in which the pontiff participated during his trip to Turkey held at Mor Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church in Istanbul.

That meeting was also attended by representatives of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and other Christian communions and ecumenical organizations. Among the participants were also envoys from the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran World Federation, the Baptist World Alliance, the World Evangelical Alliance, and the World Council of Churches.

However, the Russian Orthodox were absent. As revealed by Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, in an interview with Crux, the patriarchate of Constantinople did not invite the Russian Orthodox Church.

The decision, he explained, was to invite the oldest Orthodox churches, which include the patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

“Catholics invite Catholics, and Orthodox invite Orthodox,” he said. “The decision not to invite the largest Orthodox church in the world was theirs to make, and I respect the decision of the Orthodox.”

There are still seven years until 2033, and many things can change, both in the ecumenical and geopolitical spheres. In any case, for Bouwen, for the 2033 pilgrimage to fulfill its objective and leave no one behind, the authentic participation of all the churches will be essential.

Pope Leo XIV greets Bartholomew I in Iznik during his trip to Turkey in November 2025. Credit: Vatican Media

“The specific paths of preparation must be studied and decided together, ecumenically, following a synodal approach, seeking to actively involve as many churches as possible. It is essential that contacts be established between the churches as soon as possible, creating working groups at both the local and global levels. Perhaps a preparation in different stages, as the Catholic Church did for the Jubilee of the Year 2000, would be advisable,” explained the priest, who has been in Jerusalem for over 40 years.

Ecumenical dialogue with Rome has progressed in recent years, but the situation within Orthodoxy is complicated.

New rift over Ukraine

The turning point came in 2018 when Bartholomew I granted autocephaly (self-governance) to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, separating it from being under the Moscow Patriarchate. Patriarch Kirill considered the move meddling and broke off Eucharistic communion with Constantinople, opening a rift that persists to this day.

The conflict has intensified, in part, due to Kirill’s support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, prompting Russian warnings of potentially even more drastic measures.

For Bouwen, this rupture is not theological in nature but rather canonical and geopolitical, linked above all to the status of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. “Russia considers Kyiv to be the place of its baptism and its birthplace, [with the baptism of Vladimir, Grand Prince of Kyivan Rus’ and his subjects in 988] and does not accept that it should come under another jurisdiction without its consent. Moreover, the Russian position reflects a more general distrust of the West and its values, and a growing reluctance toward ecumenism itself,” he noted.

“The interruption of communion has caused a major schism within the Orthodox communion and has repercussions for ecumenical relations worldwide,” he explained when addressing the complications arising from the break in communion between Moscow and Constantinople, which currently condition the potential participation of Russian Orthodox Christians in the Jubilee of 2033.

‘Let us have faith in the Spirit‘

The missionary clarified that, from a Catholic perspective, the path is one of hope and patience. “Let us have faith in the Spirit who will accompany this pilgrimage and help us discern what is possible at each stage,” he added.

“Perhaps opportunities will arise to collaborate in teaching, pastoral work, or even in the shared participation in certain sacraments. That in itself would constitute a powerful shared witness,” he noted.

Furthermore, he said that given that the final destination of this pilgrimage is Jerusalem, “it is important to establish contact with the patriarchs and heads of the Churches there without delay.” In this regard, he maintained that since the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem is generally recognized as first among his brethren, “he must be involved from the very beginning.”

Bouwen situated the significance of the 2033 Jubilee not only in the anniversary itself — 2,000 years since the Redemption — but also in the context in which it was announced: the ecumenical celebrations of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea (325), held first in Iznik and then in Istanbul.

“While we celebrate in the Nicene Creed, the foundations of the Christian faith common to all the churches, the call to a shared pilgrimage toward 2033 turns our gaze toward the saving events at the heart of this faith: the incarnation, life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,” he noted.

From this perspective, Jerusalem emerges as the natural destination of this shared journey. “Jerusalem is the place where these events took place,” the missionary reminded, insisting that the jubilee can only bear fruit if it is lived as a genuine ecumenical process.

Bouwen also linked this perspective to a key historical precedent: the pilgrimage of St. Paul VI to Jerusalem in January 1964. “His ardent desire was to firmly root the Second Vatican Council, and the Church itself, in the mysteries that lie at the origin of its foundation and mission,” he explained.

During that journey, the historic meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras took place, sealed with a kiss of peace that, in the words of this priest, “became an icon and a promise of the shared rediscovery and joint journey of our churches toward full communion.”

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 accepted the resignation of Archbishop Gregory Aymond on Wednesday, paving the way for coadjutor Archbishop James Checchio to assume the leadership of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Leo appointed Checchio, 59, coadjutor archbishop of New Orleans in September 2025 to automatically succeed Aymond upon his retirement. After Checchio arrived in mid-November 2025, he has assisted Aymond at the archdiocese of over half a million Catholics in southeastern Louisiana for three months.

Checchio previously served, since 2016, as bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey. He was rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 2006 to 2016 and has a doctorate in canon law.

He said in a Feb. 11 statement from the archdiocese his first three months in New Orleans “have gone by very quickly as I learn more about our local Church.”

Checchio will celebrate his first Mass as archbishop at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18.

He takes the helm in New Orleans as the archdiocese moves to resolve yearslong bankruptcy negotiations with a settlement for over 600 clergy sexual abuse claimants. In September 2025, the archdiocese announced a $230 million settlement offer to clergy sexual abuse claimants, up from a previous offer of $180 million.

The settlement offer follows five years of negotiations in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, where the nation’s second-oldest Catholic archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in May 2020.

Aymond, a New Orleans native, led the archdiocese since 2009. He turned 75, the age when bishops are required to submit their resignation to the pope, in November 2024.

He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New Orleans in 1975. His priestly ministry focused on education — including serving as the president-rector of Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans from 1986 to 2000 — and missionary work in Mexico and Nicaragua.

In 1996, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese and given oversight over its Catholic schools.

Aymond came under fire in the late 1990s for allowing the coach at Sacred Heart of Jesus School in Norco, Brian Matherne, to remain in his role for several months after Aymond received information about alleged abuse of a minor boy by Matherne.

Matherne was later arrested and is now serving a 30-year sentence after pleading guilty to the molestation of 17 children over a 15-year period ending in 1999.

Aymond later admitted his mistake in keeping Matherne in his post and called the case a “painful experience — I will never forget it. It helped me to understand the complexity of pedophilia better.”

He was appointed coadjutor bishop of Austin, Texas, in June 2000 and succeeded Bishop John E. McCarthy as bishop of Austin in January 2021.

In that position, Aymond strengthened the diocese’s sex abuse policies, though clerical abuse activists from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) have criticized the archbishop’s record, claiming he only “postures as someone who takes clergy sex crimes seriously.”

Pope Leo XIV affirmed Wednesday that Sacred Scripture has been entrusted to the Catholic Church — that she preserves and explains it, and supports its purpose of making Christ known to the world.

“The Church is the rightful home of Sacred Scripture,” the pope said during the general audience on Feb. 11.

“With its efficacy and power [Sacred Scripture] sustains and invigorates the Christian community. All the faithful are called to drink from this wellspring, first and foremost in the celebration of the Eucharist and the other Sacraments,” he added.

Addressing thousands of pilgrims in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, Leo said, Scripture “finds the sphere in which to carry out its particular task and achieve its purpose: to make Christ known and to open dialogue with God” in the Church community.

The pontiff pointed to the 2008 Synod of Bishops on “The Word of God in the life and mission of the Church” as one of the Church’s recent important reflections on Scripture.

He quoted from Pope Benedict XVI’s post-synodal exhortation Verbum Domini. In that document, Pope Benedict affirmed that “The intrinsic link between the word and faith makes clear that authentic biblical hermeneutics can only be had within the faith of the Church, which has its paradigm in Mary’s fiat… the primary setting for scriptural interpretation is the life of the Church.”

The Purpose of Scripture

Pope Leo recalled the well-known phrase from St. Jerome that “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”

The expression reminds us, he said, “of the ultimate purpose of reading and meditating on the Scriptures: to get to know Christ and, through him, to enter into a relationship with God, a relationship that can be understood as a conversation, a dialogue.”

“We live surrounded by so many words, but how many of these are empty!” the pontiff said.

“On the contrary, the Word of God responds to our thirst for meaning, for the truth about our life. It is the only Word that is always new: revealing the mystery of God to us, it is inexhaustible, it never ceases to offer its riches.”

Leo said those who carry out the ministry of the Word — bishops, priests, deacons, and catechists — should be guided by love for the Sacred Scriptures and familiarity with them.

“The Church ardently desires that the Word of God may reach every one of her members and nurture their journey of faith. But the Word of God also propels the Church beyond herself; it opens her continually tothe mission towards everyone,” he said.

Vatican II’s Dei Verbum

The pope’s catechesis at the general audience was part of a series on the documents of the Second Vatican Council.

The Holy Father explained that the sixth chapter of Dei Verbum, Vatican II’s constitution on Divine Revelation, expresses a “profound and vital link that exists between the Word of God and the Church.”

The document “presented the Revelation to us precisely as a dialogue, in which God speaks to humans as though to friends,” he said.

Quoting the constitution, Pope Leo said “the Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God’s word and of Christ’s body.”

Pope Leo XIV lights a candle in honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes during the general audience in the Paul VI Hall on Feb. 11, 2026. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News. Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

Before the audience began, Pope Leo lit a candle in front of a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes present in the audience hall in honor of her Feb. 11 feast day.

He asked our Lady of Lourdes to accompany young people, newlyweds, and the sick, and to “intercede for before God, and obtain for you the graces that sustain you on your journey.”

After the catechesis, the pope planned to visit the Vatican Gardens, where there is a replica of the grotto where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, in 1858.

At the grotto, Leo said he would light a candle in prayer for the sick. The World Day of the Sick, commemorated on Feb. 11, was instituted by St. Pope John Paul II in 1992, one year after his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease.

“I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15) is the theme chosen by Pope Leo XIV for the sixth World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, which this year will take place on Sunday, July 26.

According to a Feb. 10 statement from the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, the verse chosen by the Holy Father “is meant to emphasize how God’s love for every person never fails, not even in the frailty of old age.”

Taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah, the theme also aims to be “a message of comfort and hope for all grandparents and the elderly,” especially those who live alone or feel forgotten.

The Vatican dicastery emphasized that it is also an invitation to families and ecclesial communities not to forget the elderly and to recognize in them “a precious presence and a blessing.”

World Grandparents’ Day was instituted by Pope Francis in 2021 and is celebrated every fourth Sunday of July. It is an opportunity to show the elderly the closeness of the Church and to value their contribution to families and communities.

This year, the date coincides with the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the maternal grandparents of Jesus Christ, on Sunday, July 26, and the Holy Father invited everyone to celebrate the day with a Eucharistic liturgy in the cathedral church of their diocese.

The Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life also urged particular Churches and ecclesial communities throughout the world to find ways to celebrate the day in their own local contexts.

Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first World Day of Grandparents in July 2025, an occasion on which he encouraged the faithful to participate in the “revolution” of care for the elderly.

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 has strengthened his support for Ukraine amid the ongoing war by sending new humanitarian aid to areas hardest hit by winter bombings, including 80 electricity generators, along with food and medicine.

According to the official Vatican News outlet, the assistance was sent at the pope’s request through the Dicastery for the Service of Charity. Three trucks carrying the generators departed Rome to help communities facing severe cold after repeated attacks on energy infrastructure.

Nighttime temperatures in Ukraine have fallen as low as minus 15 degrees Celsius, forcing many families to leave their homes in search of warmth in shelters, often the only places where they can receive a hot meal. The generators are intended to ensure electricity and heating in these shelters during the harsh winter months.

Along with the generators, the pope also sent food and large quantities of medicine, including antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, supplements, and melatonin, which has been especially sought after to help people sleep amid constant fear and stress caused by ongoing attacks.

The vehicles departed from the Basilica of St. Sophia in Rome, the church of Ukrainians in Italy, and have already reached Fastiv and Kyiv, two areas particularly affected by recent bombings. Once in Ukraine, the aid is distributed through parish networks in the dioceses.

This is not the first time Pope Leo XIV’s repeated appeals for peace have been accompanied by concrete action. On Dec. 28, 2025, he sent three other trucks with special food supplies designed to meet the most urgent needs of civilians in wartime conditions. At that time, the papal almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, explained that the food dissolves in small amounts of water to become high-energy chicken and vegetable soups.

Pope Leo XIV has consistently condemned the war in Ukraine. Following the Angelus on Jan. 11, he lamented the impact of recent Russian attacks that left more than a million households without water or heating in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

“New attacks, particularly serious ones, directed above all at energy infrastructure, precisely while the cold becomes harsher, are striking the civilian population heavily,” the pope 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 approved the new statutes of the Pontifical International Marian Academy, an organization founded 80 years ago to promote and coordinate Mariological and Marian studies worldwide.

According to the Vatican Press Office, the Holy Father approved the new statutes during an audience with Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State.

The updating of the statutes is intended to adapt the academy’s organization to the development of its mission and to the current structure of the institutions of the Roman Curia.

The Pontifical International Marian Academy was founded in 1946 by the Order of Friars Minor together with the Franciscan Marian Commission, institutions entrusted to the direction of the priest who inspired them, Father Charles Balić, then-rector magnificus (highest official) of the Pontifical Antonianum University and holder of the chair of Mariology.

Since 1950, the Holy See has entrusted the Marian Academy with the organization of the International Mariological-Marian Congresses.

In 1959, Pope John XXIII, recognizing that the academy, through its activities, had contributed to the progress of Marian doctrine and piety, added the title of “Pontifical.”

Originally dependent on the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, it now falls under the Dicastery for Culture and Education, following the reform implemented by Pope Francis with the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium.

The new statutes consist of a preamble and 22 articles. Article 4 specifies that the academy “has the task of promoting and supporting Mariological-Marian research at all levels and of coordinating its studies within the context of an ever-renewed evangelization, taking into account the language of different cultures and the Marian manifestations specific to each people,” with a view to fostering “sound popular piety and avoiding any form of maximalism or minimalism.”

The academy’s ordinary members cannot exceed 90 in number and may include nonbelievers and representatives of other religions and other Christian communities.

The academy is headed by the president, appointed by the pope, assisted by the council, which in turn is composed of the secretary, the treasurer — these two appointed by the minister general of the Order of Friars Minor — the director of the office of promotion and development, and seven members elected from among the ordinary members.

The appointment of ordinary members requires authorization from the Secretariat of State. Upon reaching the age of 75, they become emeritus members.

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 expressed sorrow and prayerful closeness for victims of recent violent attacks in Nigeria on Sunday, calling on authorities to ensure the protection of every citizen.

Speaking after the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 8, the pope said: “It is with sorrow and concern that I learned of the recent attacks against various communities in Nigeria leading to a heavy loss of life. I express my prayerful closeness to all the victims of violence and terrorism.”

According to reports cited by the Vatican agency Fides, armed groups had carried out a series of attacks in recent days in several Nigerian states, including Kaduna and Niger. The assaults included killings, kidnappings, the burning of police stations, attacks on churches and diocesan structures, and the vandalism of a Catholic clinic, forcing many residents to flee. Among those kidnapped was Father Nathaniel Asuwaye, parish priest of Holy Trinity Parish in Karku. The Diocese of Kafanchan confirmed the abduction and entrusted the captives “to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for their safe return.”

Earlier, in his reflection before the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV focused on the Gospel passage in which Jesus called his disciples “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world,” linking it to the theme of authentic Christian joy.

“Indeed, it is genuine joy that gives flavor to life and brings to light something that was not there before,” the pope said. “This joy springs from a way of life, a way of inhabiting the earth and of living together that must be desired and chosen. It is the life that shines in Jesus, the new flavor of his words and deeds.”

After encountering Christ, he explained, “those who would distance themselves from all this seem bland and dull,” referring to Jesus’ poverty of spirit, meekness and simplicity of heart, and hunger and thirst for justice that unlock mercy and peace as forces of transformation and reconciliation.

Acknowledging human frailty, Pope Leo XIV said: “Indeed, it is painful to lose flavor and give up joy; yet it is possible to have this wound in one’s heart.” Yet Jesus, he noted, warned believers not to surrender to discouragement, reminding them that God never discards anyone. “Every wound, even the deepest, will be healed by welcoming the word of the Beatitudes and setting us back on the path of the Gospel.”

The pope emphasized that concrete acts of charity and attention to others rekindled joy, while remaining rooted in the Eucharist. The “true flavor,” he said, was found “every Sunday in the Bread that is broken, which is a life given and a silent love.”

After the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV also recalled the beatification of Father Salvatore Valera Parra in Huércal-Overa, Spain, praising him as “a parish priest completely devoted to his people, humble and generous in pastoral charity.” His example, the pope said, could inspire today’s priests “to be faithful in living each day with simplicity and asceticism.”

Marking the memorial of St. Josephine Bakhita, the pope noted that the Church also celebrated the World Day of Prayer and Reflection Against Human Trafficking. “I thank the religious and all those who are committed to combating and eliminating current forms of slavery,” he said. “Together with them, I say: Peace begins with dignity!”

Pope Leo XIV also assured prayers for communities affected by floods and landslides in Portugal, Morocco, Spain — especially Grazalema in Andalusia — and southern Italy, particularly Niscemi in Sicily, encouraging them to remain united and supportive under the protection of the Virgin Mary.

Concluding his remarks, the pope urged continued prayer for peace: “History teaches us that strategies of economic and military power do not give humanity a future. The future lies in respect and fraternity among peoples.”

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

Pope Leo XIV will not travel to the United States in 2026, the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, said Sunday, denying circulating reports that the pontiff might make an apostolic trip to his native country.

A U.S. visit had been anticipated by some American Catholics ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary of independence on July 4, 2026.

At the same time, papal travel elsewhere is taking shape. Local church authorities in Africa have said Leo will visit several countries on the continent — with Angola and Equatorial Guinea among the destinations publicly confirmed by local authorities, and Cameroon also widely anticipated as part of the itinerary — with timing broadly described as after Easter.

In South America, Peruvian bishops have said the pope will visit the country — where he previously served as a bishop — later this year, with local church leaders pointing to a timeframe in November or early December.

A visit to Spain is also expected this summer, with Spanish church authorities indicating stops including Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands.

Popes have visited the United States multiple times, beginning with Pope Paul VI’s October 1965 trip, which included a visit to the United Nations.

St. John Paul II traveled to the U.S. on several occasions, first visiting in October 1979 with stops in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Des Moines, Chicago, and Washington, where he met then-President Jimmy Carter. Among his later visits, he returned in 1995 for the 50th anniversary of the United Nations and made his final U.S. trip to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1999.

Pope Benedict XVI also visited the United States, traveling in April 2008. During that trip, he marked his 81st birthday on April 16 at the White House with President George W. Bush, and he later visited New York, including a time of prayer at Ground Zero in remembrance of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The most recent pope to visit the United States was Pope Francis, who traveled there from Sept. 22–27, 2015. During the visit, he went to Washington, D.C., where he canonized Junípero Serra and addressed the U.S. Congress. He then traveled to New York, speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, before concluding the trip in Philadelphia, where he presided over events marking the close of the Eighth World Meeting of Families.

Cuba’s bishops are scheduled to travel to Rome later this month to meet with Vatican dicasteries and present Pope Leo XIV with a report on the state of the dioceses on the island.

In a message that will be read at Masses this weekend, the bishops will announce that they have been “called to Rome during Feb. 16–20 to pray in the four major basilicas, to meet for the first time with the Holy Father Leo XIV, and to share with him and with the heads of the Holy See’s dicasteries the vicissitudes, sorrows, joys, and hopes of the Church in Cuba.”

The Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops (COCC, by its Spanish acronym) states that the trip is part of the ad limina visit that bishops must make every five years to the See of St. Peter.

“Every five years, the diocesan bishop must have a personal meeting with the Holy Father, present him with a report on the state of his diocese, and make a pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul,” the announcement states, citing the Code of Canon Law.

The COCC reports that the meeting with Leo XIV will take place on the morning of Friday, Feb. 20. “We are filled with anticipation to listen to and converse with someone who, in a way, knows us, since he visited our country twice when he was the superior general of the Augustinian Fathers,” the announcement notes.

The trip comes as the Catholic Church is the sole distributor of humanitarian aid sent by the United States government to people affected by Hurricane Melissa — a distribution that is taking place without the intervention of the Cuban government.

This is in addition to the meetings that some bishops have held in recent days with the chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, Mike Hammer.

On Sunday, Feb. 1, Pope Leo XIV expressed his concern over “reports of increased tensions between Cuba and the United States of America.”

The pontiff expressed his support for the bishops’ message of Jan. 31 and urged “all those responsible to promote a sincere and effective dialogue, to avoid violence and any action that could increase the sufferings of the dear Cuban people.”

Prayer for their ad limina visit

On the occasion of their trip to the Vatican, the bishops have asked the faithful to accompany them with their prayers and have published the following prayer on their website:

Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd,

who guide your Church along the paths of history,

we pray for our bishops,

who are making a pilgrimage to Rome

to participate in the Ad Limina Apostolorum visit:

May this visit be for them a time of grace and renewal in faith,

of strengthening in communion with the successor of the Apostle Peter, Pope Leo XIV.

Lord, assist our bishops with your grace,

make this visit for them

a moment of attentive listening and sincere conversion,

of profound encounter with you and with their brothers

with Pope Leo and all his closest collaborators,

so that upon their return, they may continue to inspire our life of faith

and accompany the daily lives of our communities and people.

May they, as they kneel before the tombs of the holy apostles,

carry in their hearts the joys and sorrows,

the hopes and wounds of this Church on pilgrimage in Cuba,

and of all the Cuban people,

especially the weakest and most weary,

those who live in despair and poverty,

violence or loneliness.

Holy Mary, Virgin of charity,

Mother of the Church and queen of the apostles,

receive our bishops under your mantle

and accompany them on this pilgrimage to Rome,

so that, strengthened by the faith of Peter,

they may return to our Church with renewed apostolic and missionary zeal.

Amen.

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 Church marks the 12th World Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking, Pope Leo XIV renewed what he called the Church’s “urgent call” to end a crime that “gravely wounds human dignity” and undermines authentic peace.

The annual day of prayer is observed on Feb. 8, the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, a former slave whose life has become a universal symbol of the Church’s commitment to combating human trafficking. Events in Rome this year span several days and culminate Sunday with the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square.

In his message for the occasion, titled “Peace Begins with Dignity: A Global Call to End Human Trafficking,” the pope reflects on Christ’s greeting after the Resurrection: “Peace be with you.”

“These words are more than a salutation; they offer a path toward a renewed humanity,” the pope writes. “True peace begins with the recognition and protection of the God-given dignity of every person.”

He warns that contemporary conflicts often erode this vision of peace, noting that “in situations of conflict, the loss of human life is too often dismissed by warmongers as ‘collateral damage,’ sacrificed in the pursuit of political or economic interests.”

According to the pope, the same logic fuels human trafficking worldwide. “Geopolitical instability and armed conflicts create fertile ground for traffickers to exploit the most vulnerable, especially displaced persons, migrants, and refugees,” he writes, adding that “within this broken paradigm, women and children are the most impacted by this heinous trade.”

The pope also draws attention to newer forms of exploitation, including what he calls “cyber slavery,” in which victims are coerced into criminal activities such as online fraud or drug smuggling.

“In such cases, the victim is coerced into assuming the role of perpetrator, exacerbating their spiritual wounds,” he writes. “These forms of violence are not isolated incidents but symptoms of a culture that has forgotten how to love as Christ loves.”

Faced with these realities, Pope Leo XIV urges prayer and concrete awareness. “Prayer is the ‘small flame’ that we must guard amidst the storm, as it gives us the strength to resist indifference to injustice,” he writes, while awareness helps uncover “the hidden mechanisms of exploitation in our neighborhoods and in digital spaces.”

The pope also expresses gratitude to those working on the front lines to assist victims of trafficking, including international Catholic networks such as Talitha Kum, and acknowledges survivors who now advocate for others.

In Rome, events marking the World Day include an online global pilgrimage of prayer, a youth formation day, and public awareness initiatives. The observances conclude Sunday, Feb. 8, with the Angelus prayer with Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square, followed by a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Vincent Nichols in collaboration with the Santa Marta Group.

Entrusting the initiative to the intercession of St. Josephine Bakhita, the pope calls Catholics to work for a peace that is more than the absence of war — a peace, he writes, that is “unarmed and disarming,” rooted in full respect for the dignity of every person.

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

Pope Leo XIV and the founder of the Sant’Egidio Community, Andrea Riccardi, met at the Vatican this week and discussed the role Christians and the Church are called to play in promoting peace in the midst of various conflicts around the world.

According to a statement, the Feb. 5 meeting took place on the eve of the 58th anniversary of the ecclesial community, which was founded in Rome and has been committed for decades to peace, dialogue, and caring for the poorest.

In particular, the value of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue was emphasized as a fundamental resource, promoted by the so-called “spirit of Assisi”: the movement of interreligious dialogue and communal prayer for world peace initiated by Pope John Paul II on Oct. 27, 1986, in that Italian city to reject the use of violence in the name of religion and to foster encounter, reconciliation, and peaceful coexistence among peoples.

The Sant’Egidio Community is a lay Catholic movement founded in 1968 by Riccardi in Rome that focuses on prayer, solidarity with the poor (especially homeless people and the elderly), and peace, operating in more than 70 countries.

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 met with members of Courage International on Feb. 6 in what the ministry called a “historic” and “momentous” event that took place in Vatican City.

The Connecticut-based ministry, which for nearly half a century has ministered to Catholics dealing with same-sex attraction, said in a press statement that leaders associated with the group, including Bridgeport Bishop Frank Caggiano and group Executive Director Father Brian Gannon, met with the Holy Father in a private audience.

“The opportunity to share with the Holy Father the works of the apostolate, to provide pastoral accompaniment to persons who experience same-sex attraction but who strive to live chaste lives or to accompany family members who have a loved one who identifies as LGBTQ, was a momentous occasion,” the group said.

Officially founded in 1980, Courage International marked 45 years in 2025 of helping individuals struggling with sexuality to “live a chaste life” in line with Church teaching. Originally founded in Manhattan, the group’s headquarters is based in Bridgeport.

Pope Leo “is very, very supportive of everything that Courage is doing.”

Father Brian Gannon

Executive Director, Courage International

Gannon, who came into the leadership role at the organization in 2024, told EWTN News on Feb. 6 that the meeting — the group's first with a pope — was an “extraordinary gift” from the Holy Father.

“The pope was very gracious, a very good listener,” he said. “We talked about the importance of chastity, how it heals and strengthens and restores the person. The pope was obviously very encouraging.”

The Holy Father in turn “talked about freedom, about what real freedom is —not the unbridled freedom that the world offers, but rather mastering our passions and being in complete surrender to the will of God.”

Gannon said the meeting with Leo constitutes a “huge morale booster” for the group, which has chapters in over a dozen countries and numbers more than 200 chaplains, including through its family support ministry, EnCourage.

“All the members of Courage throughout the whole world will see that the pope extended an audience and listened and is very, very supportive of everything that Courage is doing,” Gannon said, calling the encounter “a huge blessing.”

The priest told EWTN News last year that the organization is a “needed ministry” that “helps people find peace.”

Group members “come together, read through the goals, discuss their experiences and challenges during the week, and pray,” he said. “Prayer is absolutely central to it.”

On Feb. 6, Gannon said, the pope spoke to the group about “the woundedness of people,” and how “Jesus Christ is always with you and you’re never alone.”

Gannon described the group’s mission as helping people to develop self-control in service to Christ. He offered the example of someone who falls into water and is ”thrashing about,” unable to swim.

“The person who learns how to swim is really free, not the person who’s thrashing about,” he said. “You put the passions to good use for the pursuit of God.”

As the Winter Olympic Games open in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Pope Leo XIV has issued a wide-ranging letter on the value of sport, urging nations to embrace an “Olympic Truce” and warning against corruption, fanaticism, and a “dictatorship of performance” that can distort athletics’ deeper purpose.

The letter, titled “Life in Abundance,” was released by the Vatican on Feb. 6 on the occasion of the XXV Winter Olympic Games (Feb. 6–22) and the XIV Paralympic Games (March 6–15).

The pope describes sport as more than elite competition, calling it “a shared activity, open to all and salutary for both body and spirit, even becoming a universal expression of our humanity.”

A call for an Olympic Truce

Reflecting on sport’s role in peace-building, Leo recalls the ancient Greek tradition of the Olympic Truce — “an agreement to suspend hostilities before, during, and after the Olympic Games” — so that travel and competition could proceed safely.

By contrast, he warns that war “results from a radicalization of conflict and a refusal to cooperate with each other,” such that “the adversary is considered a mortal enemy, to be isolated and, if possible, eliminated.”

“In a world thirsting for peace,” he writes, “I wholeheartedly encourage all nations to rediscover and respect this instrument of hope that is the Olympic Truce, a symbol and promise of a reconciled world.”

The human person at the center

Turning to sport’s formative value, the pope anchors his reflection in Christ’s words: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). From a Christian perspective, he writes, “the human person must always remain the focal point of sport in all its expressions, even those aiming for competitive and professional excellence.”

Leo traces the Church’s positive engagement with physical culture through St. Paul’s athletic imagery, medieval theology’s rejection of gnostic and Manichean denials of the body, and the contributions of thinkers such as Hugh of Saint Victor and St. Thomas Aquinas. He also points to major educators including St. Philip Neri and St. John Bosco and notes how the Church’s modern reflection on sport grows through the 20th century and after the Second Vatican Council.

“The Second Vatican Council,” he writes, “placed its positive assessment of sport in the broader context of culture,” encouraging leisure and exercise as part of balanced human development and stronger fraternal relations.

Tennis, teamwork, and the ‘flow experience’

Using tennis as an example, the pope describes “a prolonged rally” as one of the sport’s most enjoyable moments because “each player pushes the other to the limit of his or her skill level. The experience is exhilarating, and the two players challenge each other to improve.”

He also emphasizes how sport can draw people out of egocentricity, especially in team settings. Quoting Pope Francis, Leo recalls the call to athletes: “Be team players … it is an opportunity to encounter and be with others, to help one another, to compete in mutual esteem and to grow in brotherhood.”

When team sports are “not polluted by the worship of profit,” he writes, young people “put themselves on the line” — “a tremendous educational opportunity.”

Corruption, doping, and fanaticism

Leo warns that sporting values are threatened when “business becomes the primary or sole motivation,” because decisions then cease to be rooted in “human dignity” and the true good of athletes and communities.

“When the objective is to maximize profit,” he cautions, “what can be measured or quantified is overvalued to the detriment of the incalculable and important human dimensions: ‘It only counts if it can be counted.’”

He also warns about the “dictatorship of performance,” which “can lead to the use of performance-enhancing substances and other forms of dishonesty,” and he underscores that “rejecting doping and all forms of corruption … is not merely a disciplinary issue but one that touches the very heart of sport.”

The pope similarly cautions against fandom becoming fanaticism, noting it can become “a source of polarization that leads to verbal and physical violence,” turning stadiums into places of confrontation rather than encounter.

Victory, defeat, and a ‘quasi-religious’ temptation

Leo says sport educates in a unique way through the relationship between winning and losing: “Losing… does not entail personal failure but can become a lesson in truth and humility.”

At the same time, he warns that sport can take on a “quasi-religious dimension,” where “stadiums are perceived as secular cathedrals, matches as collective liturgies and athletes as saviors.” Such “sacralization,” he writes, can reveal a real hunger for meaning and communion, but it risks hollowing out both sport and spirituality.

He also cautions against narcissism and the “cult of image and performance,” which can “fragment” the person by “separating body from mind and spirit.”

Saints, politics, and technology

Calling for models of integrated holiness, Leo writes: “We need to rediscover those who have combined passion for sports, sensitivity to social issues and holiness,” pointing to St. Pier Giorgio Frassati as a young man who “perfectly combined faith, prayer, social commitment, and sport.”

He warns, too, against politicizing international competitions: “Major sporting events are meant to be places of encounter and mutual admiration, not stages for the affirmation of political or ideological interests.”

The pope also highlights contemporary challenges from transhumanism and artificial intelligence, cautioning that performance technologies can “transform the athlete into an optimized, controlled product, enhanced beyond natural limits.”

A pastoral approach to sport

Finally, Leo urges local Churches to treat sport as a space for “discernment and accompaniment,” calling for pastoral initiatives that offer “human and spiritual guidance” and help make sport “a welcoming space” for communion.

He concludes by returning to the theme of “life in abundance,” writing: “This is not an accumulation of successes or performances but a fullness of life that integrates our bodies, relationships, and interior lives.” Sport, he adds, can become “a school of life,” teaching that “abundance does not come from victory at any cost but from sharing, from respecting others, and from the joy of walking together.”

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 Thursday called on Christians to remove prejudices and “disarm” their hearts in order to strengthen bonds of unity in Christ and advance the cause of Christian communion.

The pope made the appeal while receiving priests and monks from the Oriental Orthodox Churches who are participating in a study visit to Rome organized by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

Greeting representatives of the Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Malankara, and Syriac Orthodox Churches in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Leo said the historic and cultural differences among the churches form “a wonderful mosaic of our shared Christian heritage.”

At the same time, he emphasized the need for a concrete commitment to communion, saying: “We should continue to support each other, so that we may grow in our shared faith in Christ, who is the ultimate source of our peace.”

The pope recalled that the Church recently celebrated the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, whose theme was taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. Citing the apostle’s words, he noted the biblical foundation of Christian unity: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling.”

Reflecting on the missionary activity of St. Paul, Pope Leo said the apostle became aware of the particularities of each Christian community, including “their ethnicity, customs, as well as the challenges and concerns.” At the same time, Paul recognized the risk that communities could become too inward-looking.

As a result, the pope said, St. Paul consistently reminded believers that they were part of “the one mystical body of Christ,” encouraging them “to support one another and maintain the unity of faith and teachings that reflect the transcendent nature and oneness of God.”

Pope Leo stressed that authentic ecumenical progress requires an inner conversion, invoking Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople, a pioneer of the ecumenical movement. Quoting his prayer, the pope said: “I am disarmed of the need to be right, to justify myself by judging others,” by waging “the hardest war, the war against myself.”

“When we remove the prejudices we carry within ourselves and disarm our hearts, we grow in charity, work more closely together, and strengthen our bonds of unity in Christ,” the pope said.

He added that in this way, Christian unity becomes “a leaven for peace on earth and reconciliation of all.”

Pope Leo also noted that the study visit had been mutually enriching, saying it had been “a blessing to all those who have met you here, enabling them to learn more about your churches.”

Renewing his gratitude for the visit, the pope assured the participants of his prayers and invoked the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary upon them and their communities.

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

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday voiced deep concern at a “lack of progress in protecting children from danger” as he met with the organizing committee of the initiative “From Crisis to Care: Catholic Action for Children.”

Addressing participants gathered to advance proposals stemming from last year’s International Summit on Children’s Rights, convened by Pope Francis, Leo said: “It is indeed a tragedy that the children and youth of our world, the ones Jesus wanted to come to him, are so often deprived of care and access to the basic necessities of life.”

He added that children “frequently have few opportunities for achieving their God-given potential” and warned that the situation “has not improved during the past year.”

“One must question whether global commitments for sustainable development have been cast aside when we see in our global human family that so many children still live in extreme poverty, suffer abuse, and are forcibly displaced, not to mention that they lack proper education and are isolated or separated from their families,” the pope said.

Leo recalled Pope Francis’ teaching in Amoris Laetitia on the child’s “right to receive love from a mother and a father; both are necessary for a child’s integral and harmonious development” and urged continued defense of “the profound vision of life as a gift to be cherished and of the family as its responsible guardian.”

He thanked participants for advocating for children, telling them: “First, you are speaking on behalf of those who have no voice. This is a truly noble task.” Acknowledging discouragement that can come from “failed initiatives” or “seeming lack of interest,” he encouraged them: “Let the good you know you are doing carry you forward.”

The pope also emphasized the need to address children’s “transversal needs,” which “can easily go unnoticed when care is focused on just one area of need.” He noted the committee members’ varied charisms and specializations, while urging greater collaboration “so that children receive care that is well balanced, taking into consideration their physical, psychological, and spiritual welfare.”

Leo said several Vatican bodies and religious superiors’ unions are accompanying the effort, and he encouraged participants “to develop concrete steps and action plans to address the transversal needs of children.”

In closing, he recalled Pope Francis’ insistence on listening to children and cited a message presented to Francis at last year’s summit: “Together with you, we want to cleanse the world of bad things, color it with friendship and respect, and help you build a beautiful future for everyone!”

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

The Vatican will receive representatives of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) following the traditionalist group’s announcement that it plans to consecrate new bishops without permission from Rome — a move that could incur automatic excommunication of all bishops involved and deepen the group’s rupture with the Catholic Church.

The Vatican meeting will take place Feb. 12 at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and will be led by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the dicastery. The SSPX delegation will be led by its superior general, Father Davide Pagliarani, 55.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said "the meeting will be an opportunity for an informal and personal dialogue, which may help identify effective instruments of dialogue that could lead to positive outcomes,” according to the official outlet Vatican News.

At present, only a meeting with the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is planned, and it is not known whether Pope Leo XIV will also receive the SSPX superior general.

In a Feb. 5 communiqué, the SSPX encouraged members and faithful to accompany the upcoming meeting with prayer.

French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the SSPX in 1970 in opposition to some teachings of the Second Vatican Council, including those on religious freedom and the Church’s relations with other faiths. The society celebrates exclusively the traditional Latin Mass, using the liturgical books in force prior to the postconciliar reforms.

In 1988, Lefebvre ordained four bishops in defiance of an explicit order from St. John Paul II, resulting in the excommunication of all those involved. Lefebvre died in 1991 without having reconciled with Rome. Twenty-one years later, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications of the surviving bishops.

Pope Francis later authorized SSPX priests to hear confessions and witness marriages in a further attempt to foster reconciliation with the group. The society remains in an irregular canonical situation.

The SSPX has announced that the planned consecrations will take place on July 1, the anniversary of the 1988 decree signed by John Paul II excommunicating Archbishop Lefebvre.

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.

A week of spiritual exercises for Pope Leo XIV and the Roman Curia at the start of Lent will take on a distinctly monastic character, with the retreat returning to the Apostolic Palace but relocating to the Renaissance-era Pauline Chapel, decorated with frescoes by Michelangelo.

In previous years, the retreat was held in the palace’s Redemptoris Mater Chapel, known for mosaics associated with Father Marko Rupnik, who has been accused of sexual and spiritual abuse.

The preacher for the exercises will be Archbishop Erik Varden of Trondheim, a Cistercian of the Strict Observance (Trappist). A Norwegian who was baptized as a Lutheran by nonpracticing parents, Varden studied at Cambridge and later converted to Catholicism, a change he has linked to the inspiration of music. He has served as bishop of the Diocese of Trondheim since 2020.

“It is a responsible task. I hope, in one way or another, to be of service,” Varden told EWTN News.

A prolific author of spiritual books, Varden will offer two meditations a day. The first is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 22, at 5 p.m. Thereafter, each morning begins at 9 a.m. with the Liturgy of the Hours, and another meditation follows at 5 p.m. The final session will be on Friday, Feb. 27, concluding with afternoon Eucharistic adoration.

The theme of the retreat is “Illuminated by a Hidden Glory, a Lenten Itinerary,” centered on the figure of St. Bernard — described as both idealist and realist — and will also include reflections on the angels of God.

Pål Johannes Nes contributed to this report.

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

The Vatican has published the schedule of liturgies that Pope Leo XIV will celebrate in February, March, and the beginning of April, a period that includes the start of Lent and the preparation for Holy Week and Easter.

According to the calendar published by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations, the pontiff will begin his pastoral visits to various churches in Rome on Feb. 15, when he will celebrate Mass at Holy Mary Queen of Peace Parish, located near the beach in Ostia Lido.

With this initiative, Leo XIV begins a tour of five parishes in Rome — one for each pastoral sector — to strengthen his connection with the diocese of which he is bishop.

Ash Wednesday

On Feb. 18, Ash Wednesday, the pope will preside over a penitential procession from St. Anselm Church followed by Mass with the blessing and imposition of ashes in St. Sabina Basilica on Aventine Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome. This tradition dates back to Pope Gregory the Great, shortly after the construction of the basilica in 422, thus marking the beginning of the Lenten season.

On Sunday, Feb. 22, Pope Leo XIV will visit Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in the Roman neighborhood of Castro Pretorio, near the Termini train station, where he will celebrate morning Mass. In the afternoon, the spiritual exercises for the Holy Father and the Roman Curia will begin, continuing until Feb. 27.

These meditations will take place in the Apostolic Palace, as confirmed by the Vatican. Under Pope Francis’ pontificate, this practice changed and was moved to the House of the Divine Master, a secluded and quiet convent located in the town of Ariccia about 28 miles from Rome.

Previously, these reflections took place in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel, a space that allowed numerous prelates to attend and made it easy for the pope and his secretaries to follow the meditations from a side area next to the altar.

The Vatican has not specified whether the spiritual exercises will take place in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel or in the Pauline Chapel, dedicated to Sts. Peter and Paul, which was conceived as a small palace chapel in contrast to the Sistine Chapel and has historically been linked to the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament and the pope’s private prayer.

The latter is not usually open to the public and, during the conclave, it was the starting point for the procession of the cardinal electors to the Sistine Chapel. It was also the place where Leo XIV stopped to pray just after being elected successor of Peter.

Pastoral visits to various churches in Rome

During the month of March, the pope will continue his pastoral visits to parishes in Rome, visiting Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ Parish on March 1, where he will celebrate Mass in the afternoon. The following week, on March 8, he will visit Holy Mary of the Presentation Parish to celebrate a 5 p.m. Mass. Finally, on March 15, Leo XIV will visit Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Ponte Mammolo, celebrating Mass there as well.

Holy Week

His schedule of commitments for Holy Week, one of the busiest periods for the pontiff, will begin with the celebration of Palm Sunday in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in the morning, commemorating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

On Holy Thursday, April 2, Leo XIV will celebrate the chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at 9:30 a.m. local time in the presence of all the priests of Rome.

In the afternoon, the pontiff will go to St. John Lateran Basilica, the cathedral of the bishop of Rome, to celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

Leo XIV thus revives this historical tradition after Pope Francis had chosen for 12 years to celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper in other places marked by suffering, such as prisons or immigrant centers.

The following day, Good Friday, the pontiff will preside over the service for the Lord’s Passion in St. Peter’s Basilica at 5 p.m. local time, and in the evening at 9:15 p.m., he will lead the traditional 14 Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum that commemorate Jesus’ passion, from his being condemned death to his burial, in one of the most widely followed ceremonies by the faithful in Rome.

This tradition also commemorates the persecution suffered by the early Christians under the Roman Empire and is usually led from a platform set up in the open air on Palatine Hill.

On Holy Saturday, April 4, the pope will celebrate the Easter Vigil, which will take place in the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica with the brief ceremony of the lighting of the fire and blessing of the paschal candle. In previous years, Pope Francis usually baptized and gave first Communion to a group of adults, although whether Pope Leo will do the same has not yet been confirmed by the Vatican.

The pontiff’s Holy Week will conclude on Easter Sunday, April 5, with the celebration of Mass in St. Peter’s Square followed by the lengthy Easter discourse and the urbi et orbi (“to the city and the world”) blessing from the central balcony of the basilica, praying for peace in 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.

Pope Leo XIV warned Wednesday of the grave danger of a “new global arms race” as the New START nuclear weapons treaty between the United States and Russia reached its expiration, urging world leaders not to allow the agreement to lapse without a credible and effective alternative.

Speaking at the conclusion of his general audience at the Vatican, the pope recalled that the treaty — signed in 2010 by then-U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev — represented a significant step in limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

“Tomorrow the New START treaty reaches its expiration,” the pope said, noting that the agreement had helped contain strategic nuclear arsenals and strengthen international security. He called for “every constructive effort in favor of disarmament and mutual trust,” insisting that the current international climate demands urgent action to prevent escalation.

The pope stressed that the world must abandon “the logic of fear and distrust” and instead embrace “a shared ethic capable of guiding decisions toward the common good and making peace a heritage safeguarded by all.”

Without a replacement framework, he warned, the end of New START opens a period of growing uncertainty, raising alarms across the international community about the weakening of nuclear arms control mechanisms.

Prayers for Ukraine amid winter hardship

During the same audience, the pope also renewed his appeal for prayers for the people of Ukraine, who he said are being “harshly tested” by continued Russian bombardments, including attacks on energy infrastructure during the winter months.

Citing reports of severe cold and widespread shortages of electricity, heating, and water, he urged the faithful not to forget the suffering of civilians, particularly children, the elderly, and the most vulnerable. The pope expressed gratitude for solidarity initiatives organized by Catholic dioceses in Poland and other countries assisting the Ukrainian population.

Evangelization must speak to real lives

Earlier in his catechesis, Pope Leo XIV reflected on the Church’s mission of evangelization, cautioning against the use of language that is “incomprehensible, poorly communicative, or anachronistic,” which he said renders the proclamation of the Gospel ineffective.

When the Word of God becomes detached from the concrete lives, hopes, and sufferings of people, he explained, it loses its power to reach hearts. The pope encouraged the Church to adopt “creative methods” that allow the Gospel to take flesh in history.

Continuing his catechetical series on "Dei Verbum," the Second Vatican Council’s constitution on divine revelation, the pope described Sacred Scripture as a “privileged space of encounter” where God continues to speak to men and women of every age.

He warned against both fundamentalist readings that ignore the human authors of Scripture and purely technical interpretations that deny its divine origin, emphasizing that a correct understanding must hold both dimensions together.

“The Gospel cannot be reduced to a merely philanthropic or social message,” the pope said. “It is the joyful proclamation of the fullness of life and eternal life that God has given us in Jesus.”

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