The Vatican released a letter May 4 but dated November 2024 in which the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) categorically rejected a proposal from the German episcopate to introduce ritualized blessings for couples in same-sex unions and irregular situations, warning that such blessings could be interpreted as the legitimization of unions incompatible with Church doctrine.

The letter is signed by the prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and addressed to Stephan Ackermann, bishop of Trier, and through him to the entire German episcopate.

In the letter, dated Nov. 18, 2024, Rome issued a categorical rejection of a text proposing the implementation of blessings with a prescribed ritual form.

The DDF in the letter responds to a “vademecum” (an authoritative handbook or reference guide) drafted by the German episcopate in October 2024 as a guide for priests. Written in German and Italian, it was intended to serve as a practical aid for “Blessings for Couples Who Love Each Other” and was presented as an application of the declaration Fiducia Supplicans to the “pastoral reality” in Germany.

The background: Fiducia Supplicans

In 2023, the DDF published the document Fiducia Supplicans, which opened the possibility of blessing couples “in irregular situations” or of the same sex, without equating them to marriage. The text specified that such blessings could not be performed with a precise ritual nor with signs characteristic of a wedding.

The Church in Africa subsequently expressed its unanimous rejection of the document and requested clarifications from Pope Francis. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said the document did not apply to the Eastern Catholic Churches.

In the November 2024 letter, which it has published on its website, the DDF recalled that Fiducia Supplicans clearly establishes that the “Church does not have the power to confer its liturgical blessing when this, in any way, might offer a form of moral legitimation to a union that purports to be a marriage or to an extramarital sexual practice,” nor to those who claim “the legitimation of their own status.”

In light of this, Fernández’s letter notes that the German “vademecum” “speaks of a union and of an ‘official regulation’ on the part of pastors of couples who love one another outside of marriage” and even of an “acclamation,” a “gesture normally prescribed in the marriage rite.” In this regard, the Vatican states that such an act legitimizes “the status of such couples, in a manner contrary to what was affirmed by Fiducia Supplicans.”

Why the Vatican is publishing it now

The November 2024 letter began circulating widely on the internet this week, causing confusion as it was presented as if it were a recent pronouncement.

“The Holy Father stated on the return flight from Africa that the Holy See had already sent a response regarding this matter to the German bishops, and many were asking where that response was or what it said. For that reason, we decided to make it public,” Fernández explained in a statement to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

The Holy See ‘does not agree’

During his return flight to Rome following an 11-day tour of Africa, Pope Leo XIV stated to journalists on April 23 that the Holy See “does not agree with the formal blessing of homosexual couples.”

The pontiff was responding to a question from a journalist regarding a directive issued by German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising, who had urged priests and pastoral workers to offer blessings in a uniform manner to same-sex couples or to divorced and remarried individuals within his archdiocese.

Before responding directly, Leo XIV emphasized that “the unity or division of the Church should not revolve around sexual matters” and lamented the tendency to reduce Christian morality solely to that area. “In reality, I believe there are much greater and more important issues, such as justice, the equality, freedom of men and women, freedom of religion, that would all take priority before that particular issue,” he stated.

Nevertheless, the pope noted that “the Holy See has already addressed the German bishops and has made it clear that it does not agree with the formal blessing of same-sex couples.”

“When a priest gives the blessing at the end of Mass, or when the pope gives a blessing at the end of a great celebration, like the one we had today, there are blessings for all people,” he noted, recalling the famous expression of his predecessor, Francis: “Tutti, tutti, tutti” ("everyone, everyone, everyone”).

Going beyond this, Leo XIV warned, “can cause more disunity than unity.” “Everyone is invited to follow Jesus, and everyone is invited to seek conversion in their own lives,” 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.

The faithful curious about who Pope Leo XIV was before his election to the papacy now have a new window into the Augustinian spirituality that shaped him.

The Order of St. Augustine and the Vatican Publishing House have published a book by Pope Leo XIV titled “Free Under Grace: Writings and Meditations 2001–2013,” a collection of texts written during his years as prior general of the Augustinian order.

The volume includes for the first time speeches, homilies, letters, messages, and meditations written during the more than 10 years in which Robert Francis Prevost led the Order of St. Augustine. According to a statement, the book offers readers a “closer look at his spirituality,” deeply marked by the Augustinian tradition.

The first copy of the Italian edition, which arrived in bookstores Monday — four days before the first anniversary of Leo XIV’s pontificate — was presented to Pope Leo XIV by Father Joseph Lawrence Farrell, OSA, the current prior general of the Order of St. Augustine and promoter of the publication.

Also taking part in the presentation were Father Rocco Ronzani, OSA, prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archive and one of the book’s editors, and Lorenzo Fazzini, editorial director of the Vatican Publishing House.

In addition to Ronzani, the book was edited by Augustinian Fathers Miguel Ángel Martín Juárez and Michael Di Gregorio. The official presentation of the volume took place last October during the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, though its commercial distribution in Italy began Monday.

The Vatican Publishing House confirmed to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that the text will be published in the coming months in several languages, including Spanish and English, and is currently being translated in nearly 30 countries.

“The book, which compiles many of the communications of then-Prior General Robert Francis Prevost, OSA, offers an overview of some of the important themes developed during his years at the head of the Order of St. Augustine,” Farrell said.

The pages include spiritual reflections, meditations, and homilies that anticipate central aspects of the thought and spirituality of the man who is now Pope Leo XIV.

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 Monday, the Holy See Press Office confirmed that Pope Leo XIV will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on May 7.

The meeting follows a period of tension between the Holy See and U.S. President Donald Trump. In April, Trump publicly attacked the pontiff on social media, calling him “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy” in response to the pontiffʼs appeals for peace amid the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

Leo XIV has called repeatedly for a peaceful resolution to the armed conflict in the Middle East. In April, he described Trumpʼs threats against Iranian civilization as "not acceptable."

Trump criticized Leo, stating that he did not “want a pope who thinks itʼs OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” Leo responded that he had “no fear of the Trump administration” but a few days later said he had no interest in debating the president.

As originally reported by Vatican News, Rubio will meet the pope at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 7. It will be their second meeting, following their previous meeting after the popeʼs Mass of installation on May 18, 2025. U.S. Vice President JD Vance was also in attendance at that meeting.

Also on the morning of May 7, Leo will meet with the prime minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, at 9 a.m.

Pope Leo XIV praised the work of Catholic Charities USA on Monday, encouraging the organization not to be discouraged despite institutional challenges.

In his address to the board of directors during a private audience, the pontiff expressed gratitude for their work with the less fortunate in the United States and noted the current funding difficulties the organization and similar organizations face from the United States government.

“As was the case with the apostles and with the early Church, the proclamation of the Gospel through caring for the poor and for those most in need will always present certain difficulties on both the personal and the institutional levels,” Leo said. “I am fully aware that the Catholic Charities agencies in the United States of America are by no means immune from these challenges that continue to manifest themselves in our own day. Yet it is precisely when we are confronted with such obstacles that we must learn to hear Jesus’ voice saying to us once again, ‘I am with you always!’”

Kerry Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, described the audience with Leo as encouraging for their work in helping disadvantaged people. In a press briefing after the audience, she discussed her organizationʼs recent funding cuts from the U.S. government, citing policy differences on migration and donor skepticism following cases of abuse in the U.S. Catholic Church.

“Agencies that have had decades-long relationships with the USCCB to resettle refugees continue to care for the people in their charge, even in light of across-the-board federal cuts,” Robinson told EWTN News. “Catholic Charities USA at the national level is almost entirely privately funded, so we did not see direct cuts. For 20 years, we have been working to usher in a culture of contemporary best practices, accountability, and financial transparency to restore trust in the Church. Because of the hard work of the last two decades, we do not see that crisis negatively affecting Catholic Charities' fundraising today.”

During the audience, Robinson gave the pope a book detailing the “People of Hope: Faith-Filled Stories of Neighbors Helping Neighbors” initiative in which a museum of hope, outfitted in a car, will embark on a three-year nationwide tour, encouraging visitors to the car museum to look for ways to help the less fortunate.

Robinson described the initiative as not merely making a difference in oneʼs life but as a cause to “actually end generational cycles of violence and poverty.”

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday remembered journalists and reporters killed by war and violence, warning that press freedom is often violated around the world.

Speaking after the May 3 Regina Caeli in St. Peter’s Square, the pope noted that the day marked World Press Freedom Day, promoted by UNESCO.

“Unfortunately, this right is often violated — sometimes blatantly, sometimes in more subtle ways,” Pope Leo said. “Let us remember the many journalists and reporters who have fallen victim to wars and violence.”

The pope’s appeal came as press freedom faces growing pressure worldwide. According to the 2026 World Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders, global press freedom has deteriorated to its lowest point in at least 25 years, with more than half of the world’s countries now classified as being in a “difficult” or “very serious” situation for journalism.

The organization has warned that journalists face mounting economic pressure, direct violence, legal threats, and other restrictions that compromise the independence of the media.

The pope also marked the beginning of May, a month traditionally dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, inviting Catholics to pray the rosary.

“The month of May has begun: throughout the Church, the joy of gathering in the name of Mary, our Mother, is renewed, especially by praying the Rosary together,” he said.

Leo entrusted his intentions to Mary, “particularly for communion within the Church and for peace in the world.”

Earlier, in his catechesis before the Marian prayer, the pope reflected on Sunday’s Gospel from the Last Supper, in which Jesus tells his disciples: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.”

Leo said this promise “involves us from this moment onwards in the mystery of his Resurrection” and reveals that “God has a place for everyone.”

“Even now, faced with death, Jesus speaks of a home, but this time a very large one,” he said. “It is the house of his Father and our Father, where there is room for all.”

The pope contrasted the world’s attraction to exclusive places and privileges with the new world opened by the risen Christ.

“In the new world into which the risen One leads us, however, what is most valuable is within everyone’s reach,” he said. “Gratitude takes the place of competition; welcome overcomes exclusion; and abundance no longer entails inequality.”

Leo said faith frees the heart “from the anxiety of possessing and acquiring” and from the illusion that human worth depends on prestige.

“Each person already has infinite worth in the mystery of God, which is the true reality,” he said.

By living Christ’s new commandment of love, the pope said, Christians already “anticipate heaven on earth.”

“By loving one another as Jesus has loved us, we impart this awareness to one another,” he said. “This is the new commandment; in this way, we anticipate heaven on earth and reveal to all that fraternity and peace are our calling.”

The pope concluded by asking Catholics to pray to Mary Most Holy, Mother of the Church, “that every Christian community may be a home open to all and attentive to each person.”

After the Regina Caeli, Leo greeted pilgrims from Rome and many countries, including Spain, the United States, Malaysia, and Peru. He also thanked the Meter Association, which for 30 years has worked to defend minors from abuse, support victims, and promote prevention.

“Thank you for your service!” the pope said.

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

The Catholic Church on May 2 honors St. Athanasius of Alexandria, a fourth-century bishop known as “the father of orthodoxy” for his dedication to the doctrine of Christ’s divinity. Athanasius played a key role at the First Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 and defended the Nicene Creed throughout his life.

Last year marked the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which was convened during the pontificate of Pope Sylvester I in 325.

St. Athanasius was born to Christian parents living in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 296. His parents took great care to have their son educated, and his talents came to the attention of a local priest who was later canonized — St. Alexander of Alexandria. The priest and future saint tutored Athanasius in theology and eventually appointed him as an assistant.

Around the age of 19, Athanasius spent a formative period in the Egyptian desert as a disciple of St. Anthony in his monastic community. Returning to Alexandria, he was ordained a deacon in 319 and resumed his assistance to Alexander, who had become a bishop. The Catholic Church, newly recognized by the Roman Empire, was already encountering a new series of dangers from within.

The most serious threat to the fourth-century Church came from a priest named Arius, who taught that Jesus could not have existed eternally as God prior to his historical incarnation as a man. According to Arius, Jesus was the highest of created beings and could be considered “divine” only by analogy. Arians professed a belief in Jesus’ “divinity” but meant only that he was Godʼs greatest creature.

Opponents of Arianism brought forth numerous Scriptures that taught Christ’s eternal preexistence and his identity as God. Nonetheless, many Greek-speaking Christians found it intellectually easier to believe in Jesus as a created demigod than to accept the mystery of a Father-Son relationship within the Godhead. By 325, the controversy was dividing the Church and unsettling the Roman Empire.

Nicaea

In that year, Athanasius attended the First Ecumenical Council, held at Nicaea to examine and judge Arius’ doctrine in light of apostolic tradition. It reaffirmed the Church’s perennial teaching on Christ’s full deity and established the Nicene Creed as an authoritative statement of faith. The remainder of Athanasius’ life was a constant struggle to uphold the council’s teaching about Christ.

Near the end of St. Alexander’s life, he insisted that Athanasius succeed him as the bishop of Alexandria. Athanasius took on the position just as Emperor Constantine, despite having convoked the Council of Nicaea, decided to relax its condemnation of Arius and his supporters. Athanasius continually refused to admit Arius to Communion, however, despite the urgings of the emperor.

A number of Arians spent the next several decades attempting to manipulate bishops, emperors, and popes to move against Athanasius — particularly through the use of false accusations. Athanasius was accused of theft, murder, assault, and even of causing a famine by interfering with food shipments.

Arius became ill and died in 336, but his heresy continued to live. Under the rule of the three emperors that followed Constantine, and particularly under the rule of the strongly Arian Constantius, Athanasius was driven into exile at least five times for insisting on the Nicene Creed as the Church’s authoritative rule of faith.

Athanasius received the support of several popes and spent a portion of his exile in Rome. However, the Emperor Constantius did succeed in coercing one pope, Liberius, into condemning Athanasius by having him kidnapped, threatened with death, and sent away from Rome for two years. The pope eventually managed to return to Rome, where he again proclaimed Athanasius’ orthodoxy.

Constantius went so far as to send troops to attack his clergy and congregations. Neither these measures nor direct attempts to assassinate the bishop succeeded in silencing him. However, they frequently made it difficult for him to remain in his diocese. He enjoyed some respite after Constantius’ death in 361 but was later persecuted by Emperor Julian the Apostate, who sought to revive paganism.

In 369, Athanasius managed to convene an assembly of 90 bishops in Alexandria for the sake of warning the Church in Africa against the continuing threat of Arianism. He died in 373 and was vindicated by a more comprehensive rejection of Arianism at the Second Ecumenical Council, held in 381 at Constantinople.

St. Gregory Nazianzen, who presided over part of that council, described St. Athanasius as “the true pillar of the Church” whose “life and conduct were the rule of bishops and his doctrine the rule of the orthodox faith.”

This story was last published on May 2, 2025, and has been updated.

The Supervisory and Financial Information and Authority (ASIF, by its Italian acronym), the body established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 to put an end to irregularities, received a total of 78 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) within its financial system in 2025.

Of these reports, 73 were linked to accounts held at the Institute for the Works of Religion — known as the Vatican Bank — four originated from various entities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State, while one pertained to another unspecified organization.

The annual report, presented April 30, underscores, according to the Vatican, “the robustness” of its own oversight system regarding “the prevention of and fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.”

According to the report, there has also been “a strengthening” of relations with counterpart agencies and key international bodies, as part of its commitment to international standards in the field of financial oversight.

In 2024, the Vatican’s financial watchdog received 79 reports of suspicious activity, representing a 36% decrease compared with 2023, when 123 cases were identified.

Compared with the previous year, the report notes a lower incidence of communications related to the use of cash, a phenomenon that, according to the official statement, would be linked to a reduction in financial flows passing through Vatican City State. In 2024, these flows totaled 27,866,033 euros ($32.6 million), whereas last year the figure was 18,770,783 euros ($22 million).

This trend is also reflected in the statistics regarding declarations of cross-border cash transport.

The report also indicates that a financial transaction valued at approximately 522,000 euros ($611,883) was suspended as a preventive measure in light of potential illegality, although the report does not specify the date or the intended purpose of said amount.

Despite this, the qualitative level of the communications received by the ASIF remains stable, as evidenced by both the volume of exchanges with other authorities and the preventive measures adopted. Financial intelligence continues to be a key element in the conduct of subsequent investigative activities.

Throughout 2025, the ASIF sent 16 reports to the Office of the Promoter of Justice, the body that exercises prosecutorial functions, a figure slightly higher than that of the previous year, when 11 cases were referred.

Internally, the report specifically highlights the strengthening of collaboration between the authorities of the Holy See and those of Vatican City State.

The flow of communications with key domestic counterparts saw a notable increase compared with the previous year, with a 65% rise in incoming communications and a 31% rise in outgoing ones — a figure that, according to the document, reflects an increasingly integrated and cohesive system.

Likewise, international cooperation activities have been strengthened, with the participation of the Holy See in Moneyval, the Council of Europe body tasked with assessing systems for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, among other forums.

The report concludes by highlighting the close and constant cooperation with the Vatican Gendarmerie Corps, which has established itself as a central interlocutor in the work carried out by ASIF.

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’s prayer intention for the month of May is that everyone might have food.

In a video released on X, the Holy Father asked the faithful: “What do you feel about 318 million people experiencing acute hunger every day?”

“We need to act, but without prayer we will remain powerless,” he said. “This May, I invite you to join me in prayer that we may seriously commit to avoiding food waste and to ensuring that everyone has access to quality food every day.”

In the full video shared on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention.

Here is the pope’s full prayer:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lord of creation,

You gave us the fertile earth and, with it, our daily bread,

as a sign of your love and providence.

Today we recognize with sorrow

that millions of brothers and sisters continue to suffer from hunger,

while so many goods are wasted at our tables.

Awaken in us a new awareness:

that we learn to thank for every food,

to consume simply,

to share with joy,

and to care for the fruits of the earth as a gift from you,

destined for all, not just a few.

Good Father,

make us capable of transforming the logic of selfish consumption

into a culture of solidarity.

May our communities promote concrete gestures:

awareness campaigns, food banks,

and a sober and responsible lifestyle.

You who sent us your beloved Son Jesus,

broken bread for the life of the world,

give us a new heart, hungry for justice and thirsty for fraternity.

May no one be excluded from the common table,

and may your Spirit teach us to see bread

not as an object of consumption,

but as a sign of communion and care.

Amen.

“Pray with the Pope” is accessible on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and its digital platforms.

The Catholic Church dedicates the entire month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God and spiritual mother of all.

In the plan of salvation, the Blessed Virgin Mary holds a special place. By virtue of her role to be the mother of the Son of God by divine election, she was conceived immaculately — i.e., without the stain of original sin — and by fidelity to her son has been crowned queen of heaven and earth.

Everything Mary said and did leads to Christ. Who knows a child better than a mother? And what good and loving child does not know his or her mother and love her with all of his or her heart?

Mary knew and loved Jesus like no one else on earth — and she loves each of her children, human beings, with similar affection and tenderness.

The Church, in its wisdom, asks its children to be especially devoted to Mother Mary during the month of May and to be particularly grateful for all of her care.

A model for every Christian

Mary, the most humble of all women, is a model for everyone, today, in the here and now. She is a model in a particular way for every woman, as expressed by Pope Francis.

“There is only one model for you, Mary: the woman of fidelity, the one who did not understand what was happening to her but obeyed. The one who, as soon as she knew what her cousin needed took off [to help her], the Virgin of Promptness. The one who escaped as a refugee in a foreign country to save the life of her son,” Pope Francis said during an April 2014 message to 20,000 young people gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a regional youth day.

The first disciple

Years later, during an Aug. 24, 2021, catechesis, Pope Francis called Mary “the first disciple of Jesus” and reminded us that “Mary is there, praying for us, praying for those who do not pray. Why? Because she is our mother.”

The Virgin, through Jesus, has brought heaven closer to us and her life is the best proof that it is possible to reach it. Pope Francis said it best: “She shows us that heaven is within reach, if we too do not give in to sin, we praise God with humility, and we serve others with generosity” (Pope Francis, Angelus address on the solemnity of the Assumption, Aug. 15, 2022).

A version of 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.

St. Joseph, the beloved spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and earthly father of Jesus, is celebrated twice by the Catholic Church every year — first on March 19 for the feast of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, and again on May 1 for the feast of St. Joseph the Worker.

While the saint’s March feast dates back to the 10th century, his May feast wasn’t instituted until 1955. What was behind it?

May Day

Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1, 1955, so that it would coincide with International Workers Day, also known as May Day — a secular celebration of labor and workers’ rights.

During this time, the Soviet Union proclaimed itself as “the defender of workers” and utilized May Day as an opportunity to exalt communism and parade its military prowess. Pope Pius XII chose the date specifically to ensure that workers did not lose the Christian understanding of work.

In his address to the Catholic Association of Italian Workers on that day in 1955, Pius XII said: “There could not be a better protector to help you penetrate the spirit of the Gospel into your life … From the heart of the Man-God, savior of the world, this spirit flows into you and into all men; but it is certain that no worker has ever been as perfectly and deeply penetrated by it as the putative father of Jesus, who lived with him in the closest intimacy and commonality of family and work.”

He added: “So, if you want to be close to Christ, we also today repeat to you ‘Ite ad Ioseph’ — Go to Joseph!”

The Catholic Church has long placed an importance on the dignity of human work. By working, we fulfill the commands found in the Book of Genesis to care for the earth and be productive in our labors.

In his encyclical Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II wrote that “the Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated, and to help to guide [social] changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man and society.”

St. Joseph is considered a role model of this as he worked tirelessly to protect and provide for his family as he strove to listen to and obey God.

Even before the institution of this feast, many popes were beginning to spread a devotion to St. Joseph the Worker. One of these was Pope Leo XIII, who wrote on the subject in his encyclical Quamquam Pluries in 1889.

He wrote: “Joseph became the guardian, the administrator, and the legal defender of the divine house whose chief he was. And during the whole course of his life he fulfilled those charges and those duties. He set himself to protect with a mighty love and a daily solicitude his spouse and the Divine Infant; regularly by his work he earned what was necessary for the one and the other for nourishment and clothing; he guarded from death the Child threatened by a monarch’s jealousy, and found for him a refuge; in the miseries of the journey and in the bitternesses of exile he was ever the companion, the assistance, and the upholder of the Virgin and of Jesus.”

In addition to being the patron of the universal Church and workers in general, St. Joseph is also the patron saint of several professions including craftsmen, carpenters, accountants, attorneys, bursars, cabinetmakers, cemetery workers, civil engineers, confectioners, educators, furniture makers, wheelwrights, and lawyers.

This story was first published on May 1, 2024, and has been updated.

Pope Leo XIV is aware that among the vocations to which men and women are called by God, marriage is one of the “noblest and highest.”

He said as much last October, on the 10th anniversary of the canonization of Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Now, the pope has set in motion a process to address both marital crises and the growing fear among young people of getting married and forming a family.

Leo XIV has called the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences to Rome this October to seek a response to an issue he considers crucial not only for the Church but also for society.

In preparation for the high-level meeting, the Vatican organized a study day Tuesday titled “The Sacrament of Marriage, Faith, and Munus Docendi” at the Casina Pio IV.

The initiative, hosted by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, brought together about 75 participants by invitation, including representatives of various dicasteries of the Roman Curia as well as rectors, lecturers, and others involved in the formation of future pastors.

According to the dicastery, the study day was devoted to the formation of priests in accompanying “young people, engaged couples, and married couples in faith.”

How can the Church form pastors capable of accompanying young people, engaged couples, and spouses so that they live Christian marriage as an authentic experience of faith in a cultural context marked by secularization? Several speakers addressed that question, including Father Andrea Bozzolo, rector of the Pontifical Salesian University.

Speaking with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, the Italian priest — who has taught theology of marriage at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family — emphasized the urgent need to form priests who are prepared to accompany young people and help them live Christian marriage as a true event of faith rather than as a mere “formality or social rite.”

According to Bozzolo, in large sectors of contemporary society, marriage is no longer perceived as a decisive moment in the formation of a family.

“For many couples, marriage today seems to be a less decisive step in the emergence of the family covenant,” he said.

In that context, he added, cohabitation before marriage has become widespread as a kind of trial stage. For many young people, the strength of that relationship, tested in daily life, “has become the condition for eventually considering access to marriage,” he said.

Bozzolo explained that this mentality fuels the now widespread phenomenon of couples living together before going to the altar.

Unlike in past decades, when de facto unions were presented as an ideological alternative to marriage, today “they are often understood as a preparatory path,” he said.

In what he described as a “liquid society,” cohabitation frequently functions as a first family experience, open to being consolidated over time into a more stable relationship.

“Cohabitation in most cases does not seek to exclude the marriage covenant but rather to verify its viability,” he said, noting that the increase in separations also reflects this way of understanding the bond.

Not blaming, but not trivializing

In response to this reality, Bozzolo said the Church should “not blame” young people who ask to marry after living together, but it also should not “trivialize” premarital cohabitation, because “it is not the correct way” to arrive at the altar.

He also called on the Church to break with stereotypes that present love as if it were “a simple feeling.”

“Love has ontological value — and not merely psychological value — and that is why marriage is a privileged vehicle for the biblical revelation of the face of God,” he said.

Bozzolo insisted on the need for priestly formation that helps future priests rediscover the decisive value of marriage as a public and sacramental act.

“The public and religious expression of consent,” he said, is no longer usually perceived today as something that substantially affects the stability of the bond — a reality he described as “a pastoral challenge of the first order.”

Marriage is not a simple social procedure

For that reason, he said, it is essential for the Church to prepare priests who can accompany young people along a journey of faith that presents Christian marriage not as a “simple social procedure.”

The goal, Bozzolo explained, is to help priests accompany married couples so that they learn to “recognize the presence and action of God in the concrete history of their bond.”

Such accompaniment, he said, requires a “formative approach” capable of bringing together biblical wisdom, theological understanding, an awareness of contemporary cultural trends, and attentive listening to the real experiences of families.

One current problem among couples, he said, is the tendency to absolutize the relationship and place expectations on the spousal bond that the other person cannot sustain alone.

“We cannot place the entire responsibility for our happiness on our spouse, because he or she will disappoint us. For that, we have Jesus, the true messiah,” Bozzolo said.

Only from a well-grounded faith, he emphasized, is it possible to live marriage in a healthy, realistic way that is open to gratuitousness, without making the other person the ultimate source of meaning.

For that reason, and in direct relation to the formation of future priests, Bozzolo highlighted the need to create formation paths in seminaries that integrate these dimensions and prepare pastors for authentic marriage ministry, rooted in life and not reduced to theoretical frameworks.

The last time a pope called together all the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences was in February 2019, when Pope Francis gathered them to address the wound of sexual abuse in the Church. That meeting marked a shift in the global perception of the problem and made it possible to outline a long-term strategy.

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 Thursday that the Church is called to reach all peoples not by imposing itself but by bearing witness to the truth in charity.

In an April 30 audience with members of the Diocesan Office for the Universal Church and Dialogue of the Archdiocese of Cologne, the pope reflected on the universality of the Church and the importance of dialogue.

The pope recalled that, “in light of Christ’s resurrection, the Church recognizes herself as being sent to all peoples — not by imposing herself but by bearing witness to the truth in charity.”

“Dialogue, in turn, strengthens communion, opens paths of understanding, and serves the cause of peace,” he said, adding that “Christ draws all things to himself and makes the Church a sign of unity and hope for the world.”

Leo addressed the delegation on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of Weltkirche & Dialog, today known as the Diocesan Office for the Universal Church and Dialogue.

Turning to the German archdiocese, the pope highlighted its long-standing openness to encounter, mutual exchange, and dialogue among peoples and cultures. In particular, he recalled that in 1954, under Cardinal Josef Frings and Vicar General Father Josef Teusch, the Archdiocese of Cologne established a partnership with the Archdiocese of Tokyo — “the first of its kind in Germany.”

The pope said the archdiocese’s commitment to a truly universal Church, “called to solidarity beyond the confines of Europe and sustained through a culture of dialogue,” remains at the heart of the office’s identity.

Leo also praised the archdiocese’s charitable work in regions affected by famine, flooding, war, and other crises as well as its relationships of support with churches in more than 100 countries, with particular attention to the Middle East and the Eastern Churches.

The pope also noted the scholarships for priestly formation and assistance to elderly priests offered by the Archdiocese of Cologne.

“I might add here that when I was bishop in Perù, in Chiclayo, the Archdiocese of Cologne was also very supportive of a number of different initiatives, including helping purchase oxygen-producing machines, which saved the lives of many people,” he said. “And the people today are still grateful for that support.”

The pope expressed gratitude for the group’s initiatives, saying that through their service “the universal dimension of the Church is made visible and concrete, fostering solidarity, strengthening bonds of unity, and bearing witness to the Gospel of peace in a world so often marked by division and distress.”

Such witness, Leo said, is “all the more necessary today,” especially as many Christians have been forced to leave their homelands because of war, violence, and poverty.

“I therefore encourage you to persevere in this mission of charity, so that they may still experience the closeness of the universal Church,” he said.

The pope asked the delegation in a particular way to continue supporting the presence of Christians in the Middle East “in order to ensure that these venerable traditions of the Eastern Churches are preserved, safeguarded, and more widely known.”

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 popemobile, the popeʼs special vehicle, will begin a charity tour of the United States.

On Wednesday at the Vatican, representatives of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity and Cross Catholic Outreach launched the “American Catholic Heroes: The Road Trip for Hope” initiative. According to the official Vatican News outlet, the initiative, which will run from June to July this year, will travel from New York to California to raise funds for victims of war and to promote the dicasteryʼs charitable work.

The tour will also coincide with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, handed the keys over to the president of Cross Catholic Outreach, Michele Sagarino. That same day, Sagarino also met with Pope Leo XIV after his weekly general audience.

Before the audience, she spoke with Vatican Radio about the partnership between her organization and the Holy See. She reflected on Leoʼs recent trip to Africa and the similarities between her organizationʼs work and his closeness to the vulnerable.

“It couldnʼt have been more appropriate for the work that Cross Catholic Outreach does — talking about his journey in Africa, being with those who are vulnerable, standing up for them, and also bringing the faith closer to them,” Sagarino said of Leoʼs recent catechesis. “I think thatʼs very similar to what we do at Cross Catholic Outreach as well. We have worked since our inception in 90 countries and helped with almost $5 billion worth of aid.”

San Martín at the event launching the initiative thanked Sagarino and Cross Catholic Outreach for their “long collaboration with the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, generously supporting it.”

The popemobile that will embark on the U.S. tour was entrusted to the dicastery by Pope Francis to raise funds for those in need.

Pope Leo XIV granted ecclesiastical communion to the new patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans, His Beatitude Mar Paul III Nona, who now serves as the head of this Eastern Catholic Church based in Iraq, which is in full communion with Rome.

TweetWhat is the Chaldean Church?

The Chaldean Church is one of more than 20 Eastern Catholic Churches under the authority of the pope in Rome and possesses autonomy in accordance with Canon 27 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

This allows it to manage its internal affairs in accordance with the laws it has established for itself. The Synod of Chaldean Bishops was the body that elected the new patriarch.

What is ecclesiastical communion?

The new patriarch, who succeeds Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako following his resignation, was elected on April 12 and received ecclesiastical communion on April 24, having requested it via a letter sent to Pope Leo, as established by Canon 76 § 2 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

“With a heart filled with joy, I grant you ecclesiastica communio as an expression and bond of full communion with the Apostolic See in the common service of unity within the Church and the building up of the body of Christ,” the Holy Father wrote to the new Chaldean patriarch.

Ecclesiastical communion is the formal recognition of full communion with the Diocese of Rome, i.e. with the pope, granted to the one requesting it; in this case, the Chaldean patriarch.

This recognition enables the new patriarch to fully exercise his ministry as the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, not only within Iraq but also among the diaspora throughout the world.

Once the patriarch, who is “primus inter pares” (“first among equals”) has received ecclesiastical communion, he may convene the synod of bishops of the Church over which he presides and also ordain bishops.

Pope Leo’s message to the new Chaldean patriarch

Pope Leo XIV offered his prayers for the new patriarch and his mission to proclaim the Gospel, “strengthening ecclesial communion within his own territory and in the territories of the diaspora, which is becoming increasingly numerous.”

The Holy Father highlighted that Mar Paul III Nona was elected “on the day when the Chaldean liturgy commemorates the encounter of the risen Christ with St. Thomas, from whom the living tradition of this Church originates.”

For this reason, he encouraged the Chaldeans to persevere as “true believers,” especially in the face of the “exceedingly arduous trials” that the faithful in Iraq and other territories often confront.

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 Observatory has named four asteroids after key figures in its history. Among them is Pope Leo XIII, who refounded the institution in 1891.

The newly named asteroids were discovered by the telescope the Vatican operates in Arizona.

The asteroid “Gioacchinopecci” honors Pope Leo XIII, born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci, whose legacy is closely tied to the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV.

According to the observatory, Leo XIII reestablished the Vatican Observatory after the loss of the Papal States and of important astronomical facilities, particularly the observatory of Father Angelo Secchi located above the Church of St. Ignatius in Rome.

Photographs of the Vatican from the early 20th century show the domes of the observatory’s telescopes above the Vatican walls and the Tower of the Winds.

In the 1930s, because electric lighting made Rome’s night sky brighter, the telescopes were moved to the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, whose domes can still be seen today from miles away.

The later increase in light pollution from Rome led to the construction of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, or VATT, on Mount Graham in Arizona in the 1990s.

Through the 1891 motu proprio Ut Mysticam, Leo XIII established the Vatican Observatory, stating that it would help show the world that the Church’s present and historic attitude toward “true and solid science” was to “embrace it, encourage it, and promote it with the greatest possible dedication,” contrary to what its critics claimed.

In particular, he emphasized that the observatory would help promote “a most noble science that, more than any other human discipline, raises the spirit of mortals to the contemplation of heavenly events.”

Leo XIII is the third pope to have an asteroid named after him. Gregory XIII has one in recognition of his role in the reform of the calendar, as does Benedict XVI, to whom “(8661) Ratzinger” is dedicated.

In addition to Pope Leo XIII, another asteroid has been named “Lais” in honor of Giuseppe Lais, an Italian priest and astronomer who served as deputy director of the Vatican Observatory for 30 years. Asteroids were also named for Pietro Maffi, an Italian cardinal, archbishop of Pisa, and astronomer, and André Bertiau, a Belgian Jesuit priest, astronomer, and former director of the Vatican Observatory.

Asteroids receive a provisional designation at the time of discovery based on the date of observation and managed by the Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union.

When an asteroid’s orbit is determined with sufficient precision and its future path can be reliably predicted, it is assigned a permanent number. Currently, about 850,000 of the roughly 1.3 million known asteroids have received a permanent number.

Only after receiving this number, the observatory noted, can discoverers propose a definitive name to replace the provisional designation.

The proposed name is then examined by the working group and must comply with specific guidelines. Once approved, the asteroid is known by its official name, written as “(number) Name.”

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 Wednesday condemned a surge of violence in Colombia, following a weekend of deadly attacks in the southwest part of the country.

Since Friday, rebel groups have carried out more than two dozen attacks on civilians and military bases, just ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for May 31.

The deadliest incident took place when a bomb exploded on the Pan-American Highway in the department of Cauca as an intercity bus was passing by. The attack occurred in one of the regions that has suffered most from violence in recent weeks, amid an escalation of armed assaults.

It is the bloodiest massacre of civilians recorded in the country in more than a decade, when the Colombian state and specialized nongovernmental organizations began officially identifying episodes involving the simultaneous deaths of three or more people as massacres.

Before thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff expressed his condemnation of the renewed wave of violence affecting the South American country.

“With sorrow and concern, I have learned of the tragic situation of violence afflicting the southwestern region of Colombia, which has caused grave loss of human life,” he said, addressing Spanish-speakers.

“I express my closeness in prayer to the victims and their families, and I urge everyone to reject every form of violence and to choose decisively the path of peace,” the pope said in Spanish.

Colombia is once again experiencing some of the darkest episodes of its armed conflict. Since January, 48 massacres have been recorded. At least 229 people have been killed in the incidents, making it the most violent start to a year since the signing of the 2016 Peace Agreement.

The wave of violence extends from north to south across the country, in a context marked by an increasingly tense electoral climate.

Message of peace in Africa

As is customary after apostolic journeys, Pope Leo XIV devoted his main address during the general audience to a reflection on his April 13-23 trip to Africa: eleven days of pastoral pilgrimage during which he traveled to four countries — Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea — including taking 18 flights and stops in 11 cities.

Pope Leo XIV greets crowds of people from the popemobile during his weekly general audience in St. Peterʼs Square on April 29, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News.

“From the very beginning of my pontificate, I have thought about a journey in Africa. I thank the Lord for granting me the opportunity to undertake it, as Shepherd, to meet and encourage the people of God; and also to experience it as a message of peace at a time in history marked by wars and serious and frequent violations of international law,” he said.

Alongside this call to peace, he added, he also wished to draw attention to “the grave injustices that exist in these countries, so rich in natural resources,” and he urged the international community to overcome “neo-colonial attitudes” in order to commit to an “authentic collaboration” with the African continent.

Pope Leo XIV also highlighted the value of the trip as a platform for giving voice to the African people. According to the pope, the apostolic visit allowed those communities “to make their voices heard, to express the joy of being God’s people and the hope for a better future, of dignity for each and every one,” amid complex social and political contexts.

In a personal tone, the pontiff expressed his gratitude for what he received during the pastoral journey. “I thank the Lord for what they have given me, an inestimable treasure for my heart and my ministry.”

The assessment of the trip, he explained, is not limited to the pastoral sphere but also constitutes a call to international responsibility and a reminder of the dignity of African peoples.

At the start of his catechesis, the pope explained the reasons that led him to choose Algeria as the first stage of the journey, a country that preserves sites linked to St. Augustine.

“Thus, I found myself, on the one hand, revisiting the roots of my spiritual identity and, on the other, crossing and strengthening bridges that are very important for the world and the Church today: the bridge with the very fruitful age of the Fathers of the Church; the bridge with the Islamic world; and the bridge with the African continent," he said.

After Algeria, the pontiff visited Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea — three countries which, unlike Algeria, where Islam is practiced by the vast majority of the population, have a predominantly Christian population. There, he noted, “I therefore found myself immersed in an atmosphere of celebration of the faith and warm welcome, enhanced also by the characteristic traits of the African people.”

Like his predecessors, he said he experienced something of what Jesus lived with the crowds in Galilee: “He saw them thirsting and hungry for justice,” and proclaimed to them, “Blessed are the poor, blessed are the meek, blessed are the peacemakers,” and, recognizing their faith, said, “You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.”

Among the most striking moments, he recalled the visit to the prison in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, where inmates asked him to pray “for their sins and their freedom.”

“I had never seen anything like it,” the pope said. They prayed the “Our Father” together in heavy rain — “a genuine sign of the Kingdom of God!”

This story has been updated after publication with the popeʼs reflection on his apostolic journey in Africa.

This article was originally published in two parts by ACI Prensa, EWTN News' Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

On April 29, Catholics celebrate the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, a Dominican, Church reformer, mystic, and one of the four female doctors of the Church.

During the 14th century, the Catholic Church was in a weakened state as it faced internal crises and the devastating impact of the Black Death. St. Catherine lived during the troubled period but ultimately played a key role in inspiring reforms that guided the Church to greater unity and stability.

“Even in the most difficult times, the Lord does not cease to bless his people, bringing forth saints who give a jolt to minds and hearts, provoking conversion and renewal,” Pope Benedict XVI said at his general audience on Nov. 24, 2010.

“Catherine is one of these and still today speaks to us and impels us to walk courageously toward holiness to be ever more fully disciples of the Lord,” he said.

Her incredible spiritual graces led her to sainthood, and her influential writings earned her the title “doctor of the Church.”

Born in 1347 in Siena, Catherine was the 25th child of a large household. Her given name was Catherine Benincasa, but those around her often called her “Joy” due to her bright and cheerful nature.

When she was just 6 years old, she had her first vision of Christ, whom she saw bless her. From then on she chose a life of prayer, consecrating her virginity to Christ and dedicating herself to penance and works of charity.

As she grew older her parents wished for her to marry, but she fought it. In return, they made her life a complete service to the family, burdening her with many household duties. She accepted the work, but not their plan.

Catherine remained steadfast in her faith and developed a great love for the Dominicans. She would seek conversation with Dominican priests and visit Dominican sites. At the age of 16, after a vision of St. Dominic, Catherine joined the Third Order Dominicans.

At first the order was reluctant to accept her due to her young age, but her conviction and deep spiritually swayed them. She lived a life as a hermit in her home, spending three years in prayer and contemplation.

Life as a mystic

The accounts of St. Catherine’s spirituality and mystical experiences detailed in her biography by Blessed Raymond of Capua are nothing short of extraordinary.

After her seclusion, Catherine underwent a mystical marriage. In a vision, Our Lady presented her to Jesus, who gave her a ring and said: “I, your Creator and Savior, espouse you in the faith, that you will keep ever pure until you celebrate your eternal nuptials with me in heaven,” Raymond of Capua wrote.

St. Catherine understood this to be a profound bond of love with Christ and a gift from him. It was more than a mystical experience; it was a chance to receive his heart. This was further shown to her in another mystical exchange.

The Lord appeared to her “holding in his holy hands a human heart, bright red and shining.” He opened her side and put the heart within her and said: “Dearest daughter, as I took your heart away from you the other day, now, you see, I am giving you mine, so that you can go on living with it forever.”

When talk of her holiness spread, she became a spiritual figure offering guidance for people from every walk of life including nobles, politicians, and religious men and women — many even calling her “mother.”

She had a profound love for the Eucharist, even choosing to live solely off the body of Christ for a long period of her life as she went through intense fasts.

She would sit in ecstasy for hours after receiving the body of Christ, which many believed was a spectacle and tried to restrict her from receiving the Eucharist. But when they did, she would receive miraculous interventions.

In one of her spiritual states, she received the stigmata. The wounds were invisible to others during her lifetime and only appeared after her death.

Her fruitful work led to opposition in the Church, even from some Dominicans. The order wanted to verify her authenticity and appointed Raymond of Capua, a canon lawyer, who became her close confidant and biographer. He discovered that her wisdom went far beyond her years and her actions were genuine.

Ending the Avignon papacy

As the respect for the papacy waned throughout the Church and had reached a critical low point, Catherine began to be known as a respected peacemaker and trusted advocate for reform.

The popes had lived in France for more than 60 years when Catherine decided to visit Pope Gregory XI in Avignon to urge him to return to the Eternal City. She shocked him by telling him about private promises he had made before God, which ultimately convinced him.

She later received reports that the French cardinals were causing him to have second thoughts. She then began incessantly sending letters to him and others to aid the cause.

Most of her life she dictated letters, since she did not know how to read or write. She dictated them to scribes and secretaries who would send them to popes, kings, and even pirates, encouraging them to help strengthen the Church.

Eventually through prayer, she learned how to read and write herself. She sent thousands of letters, a little more than 300 of which remain today.

Soon Pope Gregory XI defied his court and went back to Rome.

‘The Dialogue’

Catherine then took to writing “The Dialogue of Divine Providence” in Tuscany and Siena between approximately 1377 and 1378. The 400 pages of writing are a conversation between her and Christ.

She often manifested her teachings in the work through images, including one known as the “Christ bridge.” She said the Father helped her understand that he has provided a bridge between heaven and man when he came to humanity through the Son.

Later, Catherine’s help was needed again in Rome. Following the return of the papacy from Avignon, the election of Pope Urban VI in 1378 was challenged by French cardinals who elected a rival pope.

The situation led to the start of the Great Western Schism, dividing the Church for the next 40 years. Catherine staunchly supported Pope Urban VI and understood that despite failings of the pope he was still “Christ on earth,” as she wrote.

Her work began to take immense tolls, leading her to suffer a fatal stroke at age 33 in 1380.

Becoming a doctor of the Church

Catherine was canonized a saint in 1461 by Pope Pius II. For her travels to help the reform of the Church, Pope John Paul II declared her co-patroness of Europe.

She was later declared the second female doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI on Oct. 4, 1970 — just days after declaring St. Teresa of Ávila as the first. There are now four female doctors of the Church (the other two are St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Hildegard of Bingen).

The title “doctor of the Church” recognizes canonized men and women who possessed profound knowledge, were superb teachers, and contributed significantly to the Church’s theology.

Traditionally, the title has been granted on the basis that he or she is a saint who left behind a body of teachings that made significant contributions to the life of the Church, and there is formal declaration by the Church — usually by a pope.

In his homily declaring her a doctor, Pope Paul VI said that St. Catherine addressed “cardinals and many bishops and priests, she … did not spare strong reproaches, but always in all humility and respect for their dignity as ministers of the blood of Christ.”

He then posed the question: “How then can we not remember the intense work carried out by the saint for the reform of the Church?”

Cardinal Ernest Simoni, 97, considered a “living martyr” of the bloody communist persecution in Albania, met at the Vatican with Pope Leo XIV this week in a private audience marked by the remembrance of the testimony of faith of the persecuted Church.

According to Vatican media reports, the cardinal presented the pontiff with a cross and a relic of the Albanian martyrs “who gave their lives out of fidelity and love for Jesus, and for the salvation of the people of Albania, so that all men may contemplate the smile of heaven,” the cardinal told the pope.

The meeting on April 26, also attended by about 40 of the cardinal’s relatives, took place in “an atmosphere of joy and hope, gazing upon the face of the Holy Father, who represents the face of Jesus, to proclaim to all mankind the good news from heaven, of peace, of fraternity, and of love for all the peoples of the world,” Simoni told Vatican media following the meeting.

Simoni under the communist dictator Enver Hoxha

Ordained a priest in 1956, 12 years after the regime of communist dictator Enver Hoxha came to power, Simoni endured the brutal repression of the Catholic Church in the worldʼs first officially atheist state, where all religious practice was prohibited.

The priest was arrested on Christmas Day 1963 and sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to forced labor. He spent 18 years in prison and was released in 1981. However, still considered “an enemy of the people,” he was afterward forced to work cleaning out the sewers in the city of Shkodër. He carried out priestly ministry clandestinely until the fall of the regime in 1990.

Despite the absolute ban on worship, during his imprisonment he celebrated Mass daily, resorting to ingenious subterfuges to go undetected. Since he celebrated Mass in Latin, his jailers thought he had gone mad and was merely babbling incomprehensible words.

Pope Francis' visit to Albania in 2014

In 2014, when Pope Francis visited Albania, the testimony of this now-elderly priest moved him to tears. In 2016, the pope created him a cardinal, publicly thanking him for a life of dedication that “does good to the Church.”

On April 7 this year, the cardinal celebrated the 70th anniversary of his priestly ordination. Two days earlier, on Easter Sunday, he accompanied Leo XIV during the “urbi et orbi” (“to the city and the world”) message and blessing from the central loggia of St. Peterʼs Basilica.

Simoni described the audience with the pontiff as “a special grace by the Holy Spirit and also by the Holy Father: to proclaim together, to all the peoples of the world, the peace that comes from heaven, that most sweet peace, spiritual joy, and the joy of the Resurrection.”

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 outlined the qualities needed in priests who serve as Vatican diplomats, describing their work as a unique ministry that serves not only Catholics but also the entire human family in individual nations and international organizations.

The pope made the remarks April 27 during a visit to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the Holy See’s school for training diplomats, on the occasion of the 325th anniversary of its founding.

Leo recalled that a few years earlier, while serving as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, he had visited the academy and reflected on “the essential mission carried out by the alma mater of the pontifical diplomats.”

“Today, almost a year after the start of my Petrine ministry, accompanied by the diligent commitment of the Secretariat of State and the pontifical representations,” he said, “I therefore look with deep gratitude upon the history of dedication and service that this joyful anniversary celebrates.”

That history, the pope said, rooted in the very Catholicity of the Church, has included an unbroken chain of priests from various parts of the world who have contributed “with their humble efforts to the building of that unity in Christ which, amid the diversity of origins, makes communion a fundamental characteristic of the diplomatic service of the Holy See.”

Referring to reforms made to the academy by Pope Francis in March 2025, Leo said the most important reform required of those entering the community is “a constant exercise in conversion, aimed at cultivating ‘closeness, attentive listening, witness, a fraternal approach, and dialogue … combined with humility and meekness.’”

The pope said the gathering was an opportunity to outline some characteristics of the pontifical diplomatic priest, who participates in the ministry of the successor of Peter and serves peace, truth, and justice.

The Vatican diplomat, he said, “must be, first of all, a messenger of the paschal proclamation ‘Peace be with you!’”

“Even when the hopes for dialogue and reconciliation seem to vanish and peace ‘as the world gives it’ is trampled upon and put to the test,” Leo said, “you are called to continue to bring the word of the risen Christ to all. ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.’”

Before trying to build peace “with our own meager strength,” the pope said, the mission of pontifical diplomats calls them to be bridges and channels for it, “so that the grace that comes from heaven may find its way through the vicissitudes of history.”

Leo also said the papal diplomat, working in different cultural settings and international organizations, “is specifically assigned to bear witness to the truth that is Christ.”

Such a diplomat, he said, must bring Christ’s message to the forum of nations and become “a sign of his love for that portion of humanity entrusted to his mission as a shepherd, even before that of a diplomat.”

The pope also stressed the importance of clear language in diplomacy, citing his January address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See in which he said it is urgently necessary that “words once again … express distinct and clear realities unequivocally,” because “only in this way can authentic dialogue resume without misunderstandings.”

“For this reason, too,” he told the students, “it is important that you bring to the world the Word of Life, who revealed himself not through the affirmation of abstract principles and ideas but by becoming flesh.”

Leo reminded the academy’s students that they are preparing for a ministry “which is not limited to safeguarding the good of the Catholic community but extends to the entire human family living in a particular nation or participating in the work of various international organizations.”

This, he said, requires them “to be promoters of all forms of justice that help to recognize, rebuild, and protect the image of God imprinted in every person.”

“In the defense of human rights — among which the rights to religious freedom and to life are prominent — I therefore urge you to continue to show the way, not toward confrontation and demands but toward the protection of human dignity, the development of peoples and communities, and the promotion of international cooperation,” he said. “These are the only means that allow us to embark on authentic paths of peace.”

The pope acknowledged that in a world marked by tensions, where conflict can appear to be the only way to address needs and demands, efforts at dialogue, listening, and reconciliation may seem insufficient, at times even futile.

“This must not discourage us!” he said. “Let us continue to invoke with confidence the gift of Christ’s peace, without fear.”

He assured the superiors and students that their ministry, at any time and in any place, will be “an instrument for promoting and safeguarding the dignity of every man and woman, created in the image and likeness of God, and for advancing the common good.”

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 has released a new document titled “Integral Ecology in the Life of the Family” aimed at promoting the care of creation and human life within the family, warning against the advancement of certain ideologies that encourage abortion and sterilization as means to control population growth.

The document, issued April 27, notes that there is currently “a tendency to perceive population growth as the primary threat to humanity” and deplores the policies of certain governments that “spread abortion“ and promote ”the adoption of sterilization practices in poor countries, thereby imposing ‘strong birth control measures.’”

The volume draws upon the magisterium of the last four pontiffs. The earliest document to which it refers is Gaudium et Spes from the Second Vatican Council, promulgated by St. Paul VI on Dec. 7, 1965. It incorporates contributions from St. John Paul II, who laid decisive foundations in the areas of the family and the Church’s social doctrine — particularly in Familiaris Consortio (1981) and Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987)  — and the 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate by Pope Benedict XVI.

It also incorporates the teachings of Francis, who, in Evangelii Gaudium (2013), calls for a Church that “goes out” centered on proclaiming the Gospel and close to the human peripheries. This pastoral approach is applied to family life in Amoris Laetitia (2016), wherein the importance of discernment and accompaniment is underscored.

Attempts to erase sexual differences

The document refers to “a countless number of children never being born, children who were denied the right to the primary gift of creation, the gift of life itself,” the Vatican laments. It adds that this phenomenon also occurs “when society is disrupted by attempts to erase sexual differences, because it no longer knows how to deal” with them.

In light of this reality, the document calls for focusing attention on other factors it deems truly harmful such as extreme consumerism, pollution, the throwaway culture, and the desire to exercise absolute power over the human body through its manipulation, facilitated by recent technological advances.

These dangerous trends emerge when “the right to life and to a natural death are not respected; when human conception, gestation, and birth are done artificially; or when human embryos are sacrificed for research” as well as when governments “promote abortion, at times encouraging the adoption of sterilization practices in impoverished nations,” and impose “strict birth control measures.”

The importance of sex education

The text further underscores that the comprehensive education of children by their parents must also include formation in love and sexuality. “This subject is currently the object of much debate, which often creates conflicts between schools and families when determining what should be taught.”

The Vatican insists that people “must not forget that learning to accept one’s own body, to care for it and to respect its meanings, is essential for a true human ecology,” since “the acceptance of one’s own body as a gift from God is necessary to welcome and accept the entire world as a gift from the Father and our common home.”

In practical terms, the document encourages families to assume the responsibility of educating their members, engaging in age-appropriate conversations “regarding the need to protect human life in the face of abortion, surrogacy, and euthanasia; the need to care for family members facing difficulties; and the beauty, dignity, and meaning of human sexuality.”

It also suggests becoming involved with local schools, promoting ecological improvements both in facilities and in educational content as well as initiatives such as school gardens and the study of botany.

Integral ecology in family life

The document was jointly prepared by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life. As its authors explain, it is the fruit of a collaborative effort involving theologians, consultants, and married couples.

It offers insights and practical advice for confronting current environmental challenges and fostering the integral development of every individual.

The second part, the core of the document, is structured around seven themes inspired by Laudato Si’: listening to the cry of the earth, listening to the cry of the poor and the vulnerable, adopting and promoting an ecological economy, fostering sustainable lifestyles, advancing integral ecology in education, strengthening ecological spirituality within the family, and promoting the participation of families in community life.

Each chapter is structured into four sections: an explanation of the topic, concrete implications, questions for reflection and discussion, and proposed actions. Among these, it poses questions such as: “Has our family experienced situations in which natural resources have been used ... in a way that creates or exacerbates social tensions or inequality?” or “Have we attempted to measure, in any way, the level of our consumption within our family and our home?”

Avoid waste and use public transportation

The text also includes concrete recommendations, such as teaching children to “respect and care for animals,” “avoid wasting food or electricity,” use “public transport more frequently,” explore “low-cost options for insulating their home against cold and heat,” and the proper sorting of household waste.

Finally, the document invites participation in projects committed “to assistance and solidarity, paying special attention to vulnerable population groups, such as members of Indigenous communities, refugees, migrants, at-risk children, families experiencing difficulties or bereavement, and illiterate individuals.”

It also raises questions regarding the educational role of parents and the tensions they face when imparting values ​​of moderation in a culture marked by consumerism and social pressure.

“Parents who attempt to instill values ​​such as moderation and a modest lifestyle may be perceived as authoritarian figures — or as individuals who are oblivious to marketing and peer pressure. How can such parents be supported in navigating these challenges?” the text asks.

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.