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Pope Leo writes message for 1st anniversary of death of Pope Francis (Dicastery for Communication (Italian))

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 07:04:40 GMT

In a message to Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, for the first anniversary of Pope Francis’s death, Pope Leo XIV said that his predecessor “remained a disciple of the Lord, faithful to his Baptism and consecration in the episcopal ministry, until the end. He was also a missionary, proclaiming the Gospel of mercy ‘to all, to all, to all,’ as he said several times.”

“In harmony with his predecessors, he took up the legacy of the Second Vatican Council and spurred the Church to be open to mission,” Pope Leo continued. “We still hear his exhortations, expressed in eloquent words, to make the good news more understandable: mercy, peace, brotherhood, the smell of the sheep, the field hospital and many others. Each of these expressions brings us back to the Gospel he lived with a new language that proclaims the same Gospel as always.”

Pope Leo also highlighted his predecessor’s Marian devotion.

“Pope Francis nurtured a deep devotion to Mary throughout his life,” he said, citing his visits to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major and Marian shrines around the world. “May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, help us to be tireless apostles of her divine Son and prophets of his merciful love in every circumstance.”

In Christian civilization, the sick are loved, Pope says at psychiatric hospital (CWN)

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 07:04:43 GMT

Pope Leo XIV visited a psychiatric hospital in Equatorial Guinea (video) and said that loving care for the sick is a hallmark of Christian civilization.

Italian president hails Pope Francis as moral leader of immense wisdom (Vatican News (Italian))

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:04:57 GMT

“One year has passed since the passing of the beloved Pope Francis, and the Italian people cherish the memory of his figure and his teachings with affection and gratitude,” Italian President Sergio Mattarella wrote in a tribute published on the front page of the Vatican newspaper.

“Francis possessed an acute ability to identify problems, breaking points, and the risks of division; he held the gift of looking far ahead—a hallmark of the Pontifical Magisterium—beyond the limited horizon of the immediate and contingent,” President Mattarella continued, as he hailed the late Pontiff as “a spiritual and moral leader of immense and admirable wisdom.”

The Italian president concluded, “One year after his passing, we renew our gratitude for the teachings of Francis, which stand as a beacon of hope for all people of peace.”

Vatican spokesman sees African papal trip as 'the journey that reveals the pontificate' (Vatican News)

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:04:13 GMT

Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, said in an editorial that he sees Pope Leo’s apostolic journey to four African nations as “the journey that reveals the pontificate.”

“The emphasis on peace, on returning to negotiation, and on respect for international law—interventions that have drawn reactions in recent days—fits within this context,” Tornielli wrote. “It helps to clarify once more the nature of the Church’s service, and particularly that of the Successor of Peter, who does not act as a politician but as a pastor.”

“Yet it is inherent in being a pastor—far from any reduction to a purely spiritual or abstract dimension—to care about peace, justice, dialogue, encounter, the building of more just societies, closeness to those who are persecuted or discriminated against, solidarity with innocent victims of war, and the prophetic concern for the fate of humanity in this “dramatic hour of history,” Tornielli concluded.

Pope departs from Angola, heads to Equatorial Guinea (CWN)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 10:04:20 GMT

Following a private Mass at the apostolic nunciature and a farewell ceremony (video), Pope Leo XIV departed this morning from Luanda, Angola’s capital and largest city, for Equatorial Guinea.

In Christ, the harmony between truth, reason, and freedom is manifest, Pope tells university community (CWN)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 09:04:56 GMT

In Christ, “the profound harmony between truth, reason and freedom is manifested,” Pope Leo XIV said this afternoon at the inauguration of a new university campus in Equatorial Guinea.

Addressing journalists, Pope Leo recalls Pope Francis, says no date set to name new cardinals (CWN)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 02:04:37 GMT

As he spoke to journalists on his flight from Angola to Equatorial Guinea today, Pope Leo paid tribute to Pope Francis on the anniversary of his passing and addressed a question about new cardinals.

Central Asian bishops express 'firm support' for Pope, elect Cardinal Marengo as president (Fides)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 07:04:25 GMT

At a meeting in Uzbekistan, the bishops of the Central Asian Bishops’ Conference expressed “fervent support” for Pope Leo’s “peacemaking efforts and pastoral ministry” following President Donald Trump’s social media post blasting the Pontiff.

The bishops and other ordinaries of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, and Azerbaijan elected Cardinal Giorgio Marengo (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) as the conference’s president; Bishop José Luis Mumbiela Sierra (Almaty, Kazakhstan) as vice president; and Auxiliary Bishop Yevgeniy Zinkovskiy (Karaganda, Kazakhstan) as secretary general.

Serve the city of God and not love of self, Pope exhorts Equatorial Guinea's leaders (CWN)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 06:04:55 GMT

Pope Leo XIV addressed Equatorial Guinea’s political and civil leaders today (video) and encouraged them to serve the City of God, rather than the “lust for power and worldly glory that leads to destruction.”

Iran war could worsen hunger worldwide, Vatican diplomat warns (Vatican News)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 06:04:11 GMT

Msgr. Fernando Chica Arellano, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations food and agriculture agencies in Rome, said at a conference that “the rising costs of energy and fertilizers, coupled with uncertainty in supply chains, are driving up production costs and exacerbating food price volatility, particularly in vulnerable countries that depend on imports.”

“The escalation of the current conflict in the Middle East will have consequences beyond borders and further worsen hunger worldwide, especially among the most vulnerable populations,” the diplomat warned at the 38th session of the Regional Conference for the Middle East.

In its report, Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, inaccurately described the Vatican diplomat as an archbishop. The Annuario Pontificio notes that Father Arellano was named a monsignor in 2016, but has not been named a bishop.

Supreme Court agrees to hear Colorado religious freedom case (Religion Clause)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 08:04:59 GMT

The United States Supreme Court agreed to rule on whether religious schools may be excluded from state programs for adhering to traditional Christian teaching on sexuality.

The Becket Fund, which is representing Catholic parents in the case, explained:

In 2022, Colorado’s Department of Early Childhood created a universal preschool program to provide all kids with 15 hours per week of free education at a private or public school of their parents’ choice in the year before kindergarten ...

When implementing this program, however, the Department chose to deny this benefit to parents who send their kids to Catholic schools. Rather than work with all licensed preschools in Colorado, the Department imposed restrictions that categorically barred the Archdiocese of Denver’s Catholic preschools from participating—excluding over 1,500 kids attending over 30 different preschools simply because their parents chose a Catholic education.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops filed a brief in the case.

Israel investigates soldier who destroyed crucifix in Catholic village in Lebanon (CNA)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 08:04:00 GMT

Using a sledgehammer, an Israeli soldier defaced a crucifix in Debel, a largely Catholic village in southern Lebanon.

The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land expressed “profound indignation and unreserved condemnation of the desecration of a representation of Jesus crucified by an Israeli soldier in a Lebanese village.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he condemned “the act in the strongest terms. Military authorities are conducting a criminal probe of the matter and will take appropriately harsh disciplinary action against the offender.”

Synod announces date of meeting of presidents of world's episcopal conferences (General Secretariat of the Synod)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 07:04:55 GMT

The General Secretariat of the Synod announced that the presidents of the world’s episcopal conferences will meet in Rome from October 7-14.

Pope Leo convoked the meeting “to proceed, in mutual listening, to a synodal discernment on the steps to be taken in order to proclaim the Gospel to families today, in light of Amoris Laetitia and taking into account what is currently being done in the local Churches.”

The General Secretariat also announced a June 23-25 preparatory meeting to prepare for the continental evaluation assemblies of the implementation phase of the synod on synodality.

Pope Leo departs from Cameroon, says his remarks there did not refer to President Trump (CWN)

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:04:19 GMT

Following a farewell ceremony at Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport (video), Pope Leo departed from Cameroon for Angola this afternoon.

Ukrainian Catholic leader reports on Russian vandalism, seizure of parish (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 08:04:04 GMT

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said that Russian forces vandalized a Greek Catholic parish in Tokmak before handing it over to Russian Orthodox clergy.

Major Archbishop Shevchuk also thanked Pope Leo for his appeals for peace:

It was especially important to hear this voice in the light of the Lord’s Easter—the feast of the victory of life over death—when we welcome the Risen Christ among us as the Prince of Peace. In supporting the Holy Father in this struggle against war in the modern world, we want the whole world to hear: Ukraine stands. Ukraine fights. Ukraine prays!

Typical new US priest: 33-year-old cradle Catholic devoted to Rosary, Eucharistic adoration (CWN)

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 08:04:25 GMT

The typical member of the priestly ordination class of 2026 is a 33-year-old cradle Catholic, according to a newly released survey of 334 of the 428 men slated to be ordained to the priesthood in the United States this year. The survey was conducted for the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and posted on the USCCB’s website.

Belarus Supreme Court upholds liquidation of 3 Greek Catholic parishes (Forum 18)

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:04:42 GMT

The Supreme Court of Belarus upheld a lower court’s decision to liquidate three Eastern Catholic parishes.

“The three parishes first gained state registration in the 1990s,” Forum 18 reported. “Like all religious communities that wanted to continue to exist under the new Religion Law that came into force in July 2024, they were forced to seek re-registration. Officials of Brest Regional Executive Committee rejected their applications in 2025 and lodged the liquidation suits to court.”

The Eastern European nation of 9.5 million (map) is 82% Christian (63% Orthodox, 17% Catholic). An autocratic president, Alexander Lukashenko, has led the nation since 1994.

USCCB committee chairmen back Clergy Act (USCCB)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 06:04:53 GMT

The chairmen of two committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops lent their support to the Clergy Act, sponsored by Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA).

The bill would “establish a two-year window for clergy to revoke their exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes and enroll in the programs,” said Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville and Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York, who chair the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and the Committee on Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.

“We are pleased that the bipartisan measure was advanced unanimously by the House Ways and Means Committee in December 2025, and we therefore urge consideration by the full House of Representatives as soon as possible,” the prelates added.

Justice Department report confirms selective prosecution of pro-life activists [News Analysis] (CWN)

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:04:30 GMT

The US Department of Justice has released a report confirming that during the Biden administration, federal prosecutors “weaponized” their enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinics (FACE) Act, aggressively pursuing pro-life activists while downplaying criminal offenses by abortion supporters.

Vatican spokesman: It is increasingly difficult to claim that a just war exists (Vatican News)

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:04:13 GMT

In an editorial entitled “Popes and wars in the contemporary era,” a Vatican spokesman wrote that “as people return to speaking about a ‘just war,’ it is worth recalling the teaching on peace of the Popes who have succeeded one another on the Chair of Peter over the past hundred years.”

“This teaching has gradually been enriched and deepened, to the point of recognizing how increasingly difficult it is to claim that a ‘just war’ exists,” said Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication. He added:

Reflections based on the theology of past centuries and possible justifications for war fail to take into account that when theologians of earlier times wrote about these issues, wars were fought with swords and clubs—not with deadly weapons and machine-guided drones, a reality that raises moral questions of dramatic intensity. There has been a growing awareness that war is not a path to be followed.