By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Christmas carols in every language and culture are expressions of how music can convey “feelings and emotions, even the deepest movements of the soul,” Pope Leo XIV said after listening, clapping and singing along at the Vatican Christmas concert with the poor. “As the melodies touched […]
Pope gives thanks, calls for respect in first overseas trip
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service ANKARA, Turkey — Pope Leo XIV began his first papal trip speaking of dialogue, peace and thanksgiving — referring to both the holiday and his own gratitude. On the plane to Turkey Nov. 27, he wished a Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans among the 80 journalists traveling with him […]
Talk story: This holiday season, stand with marginalized
Office for Social Ministry “The Church supports your just struggles for land, housing and work. Like my predecessor Francis, I believe that just ways begin from the ground up, from the periphery toward the center.” (Pope Leo XIV, address to the World Meeting of Popular Movements, Oct. 23) As this Jubilee Year nears its close, […]
Pope Leo’s Middle East trip to focus on dialogue, peace
By Cindy WoodenCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Commemorating the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and its Creed, as well as reaffirming hopes for peace in the Middle East, Pope Leo XIV will travel to Turkey and Lebanon Nov. 27-Dec. 2. The Vatican released the itinerary for Pope Leo’s first foreign trip Oct. […]
Pope, King Charles III share historic prayer in Sistine Chapel
By Cindy WoodenCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV welcomed Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the Vatican for a unique visit combining ceremonial flourishes and a historic moment of prayer in the Sistine Chapel. According to Buckingham Palace, it was the first time since the Reformation in the early 16th […]
Talk story: Live our love by caring for the poor
Office for Social Ministry “I have loved you.” (Pope Leo XIV, “Dilexi Te”) When Pope Leo XIV signed his apostolic exhortation “Dilexi Te” — “I have loved you” — on Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, he extended a heartfelt invitation for all to rediscover the very heart of the Gospel by […]
Church must not disregard the poor, Pope Leo says in exhortation
A woman and child attended Pope Francis’ Mass for the World Day of the Poor Nov. 17 in St. Peter’s Basilica. (Vatican Media / CNS / 2024) By Gina ChristianOSV News In his first apostolic exhortation, Pope Leo XIV has taken up the call of Pope Francis for Christians to see in the poor the […]
Pope ‘very attentive’ to U.S. immigration advocates in meeting
By Kate ScanlonOSV News WASHINGTON — Pope Leo XIV expressed solidarity with the immigrant community in the U.S. and urged the church to be a united voice on their behalf in an Oct. 8 private audience with immigration advocates. Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, told OSV News that in the brief meeting […]
European officials are urged to embrace ‘healthy secularism’
By Cindy WoodenCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV encouraged members of the European Parliament to pursue “a healthy secularism” that maintains the distinction between religions and governments. “European institutions need people who know how to live a healthy secularism, that is, a style of thinking and acting that affirms the value of […]
World Communications Day to call for responsible tech use
By Cindy WoodenCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV, the subject of dozens of “deepfake” videos, has chosen “Preserving human voices and faces” as the theme for the Catholic Church’s celebration of World Communications Day in 2026. The Dicastery for Communication announced the theme Sept. 29. Just two weeks after his election in […]