PAYSANDÚ, Uruguay — Pope Leo XIV on Saturday celebrated his first Mass in the Americas since his election as pope, choosing to do so not in a national capital but in a provincial border city, where he lauded and encouraged the simple faith of ordinary people.

In his first full day on a tour of three South American countries, Leo also honored Uruguay’s first bishop, Bl. Jacinto Vera, whom he remembered as the “gaucho bishop” who evangelized the region in the 19th century.

Pope Leo XIV delivers the homily at the papal Mass in Paysandú, Uruguay, Nov. 7, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN

The pope’s homily was a reminder to Uruguay, one of Latin America’s most secular countries, where more than half the population is unaffiliated with organized religion, that the Catholic Church has deep roots in its history.

“From the earliest days of evangelization on this continent, [people of faith] arrived in the name of the Lord to proclaim the great joy they themselves had experienced in encountering Christ,” Leo said. “Like the angels who appeared to the shepherds, they joyfully shared the Good News of the Gospel, expressing their faith through works of charity and mercy.”

Paysandú is a city of about 80,000 people, just across the Uruguay River from Argentina, and more than 200 miles from Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo. 

Pope Leo XIV waves to crowds as he arrives for the papal Mass at Parque París Londres, Paysandú, Uruguay, Nov. 7, 2026. | Credit: Tiziana FABI / AFP via Getty Images

Leo celebrated Mass under cloudy skies in a city park whose grounds were muddy after recent rains. Temperatures were in the low 60s Fahrenheit but felt 10 degree colder on account of the wind.

Still, over 40,000 turned out for the Mass and the enthusiasm level was high, with members of the congregation chanting out their affection for Leo prior to his arrival.

“It’s an enormous joy, an enormous joy. We waited a long time for Francis, and now Pope Leo has arrived, so we’re happy,” said María del Rosario Esquiros, a retiree from Paysandú who said she had trained for several days to serve as an extraordinary minister of Communion at the Mass.

The last pope to visit Uruguay was St. John Paul II, who spent three days there in 1988.

A woman prays at the papal Mass at Parque París Londres, Paysandú, Uruguay, Nov. 7, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN

Leo organized his homily on Saturday around three symbols: bridges, palm groves and mate, a traditional herbal infusion popular in the region.

Bridges bring people together, Leo said, repeating a metaphor beloved of his immediate predecessor Pope Francis. He said that palm trees are symbols of rootedness in Christ, and the fact that they grow not separately but in groves a symbol of the Church.

As for mate, often drunk in company, Leo called it “a sign of familiarity, friendship and encounter. It teaches us to share and to be together, strengthening the bonds that unite us as brothers and sisters. It is a sign of welcome, integration and shared values.”

After three days in Uruguay, the pope will spend three days in Argentina and five days in his adopted Peru, where he served for about 20 years as a missionary and bishop.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Pope Leo XIV on Friday opened his first visit to South America as pope with a call to protect life from its beginning in the womb until its natural end and to guarantee healthcare for all members of society.

The pope addressed Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi and other dignitaries in the country’s capital on the first day of an 11-day tour of the continent that will also take him to Argentina and Peru.

“The unborn already belong to the human family and to the future of their people. Their absolute dependence on their mother does not diminish the dignity to which they are entitled or the protection they deserve,” Leo said.

Though he did not directly mention euthanasia, which Uruguay legalized last year, the pope stressed the need to preserve life even in the midst of suffering.

“Given the painful reality of suicide, it is clear that adequate healthcare, family ties, and the closeness of the community are inseparable. None should ever feel like a stranger among their own or think that their absence matters less than their presence,” Leo said. “It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that each person can live with dignity, receive the care they need, and be accompanied until the natural end of his or her life.”

Euthanasia, the intentional ending of a human life in order to relieve suffering, is forbidden by Catholic teaching.

The pope referred to his recent surgery for lung cancer, less than a month before his trip to South America, in his call for universal healthcare.

“Recently I experienced firsthand the limitations imposed by illness and I received care for which I am deeply grateful. That experience makes me think of the many men and women who lack the means to obtain a timely diagnosis or receive the treatments they need. Ensuring that healthcare is accessible to everyone, regardless of their resources, is a duty that confronts every society,” Leo said.

Uruguay is exceptional among Latin American countries for the extent of its state-provided social services. It is also one of the most secular countries in the region, where more than half the population does not identify with organized religion and the official state calendar refers to Holy Week as Tourism Week.

Echoing remarks he made in September in France, whose model of secularism has historically influenced Uruguay, Leo called for religious believers and institutions to take part in public life.

“The secular character of the state involves an obligation to ensure that there is room for believers and nonbelievers to live together in freedom and respect. This neutrality does not require that the religious dimension be confined to the private sphere,” the pope said. “Individuals and religious communities can contribute to the common good while respecting the autonomy of civil institutions.”

An annual forum on artificial intelligence held in Rome this week aimed to foster a new interdisciplinary community dedicated to supporting the development of AI products that serve the Church’s mission.

The Builders AI Forum, held Nov. 5–6 at the Pontifical Gregorian University, was centered on Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas and brought together companies leading in Catholic AI, venture capital, and angel investors as well as prominent AI thought leaders and researchers.

In his opening remarks, Cardinal Michael Czerny, a founder of the Vatican’s inter-dicastery commission on artificial intelligence, drew on his work with the commission to remind participants that we “cannot treat learning as an isolated, transactional process but rather a communal, dialogue form.” He went on to say that “we are all impacted by AI but nobody’s listening [to one another].”

Vincent Higgins, CEO of the Builders AI Forum, said the event aims to cover four areas: AI in evangelization, in healthcare, in education, and in building and scaling AI for responsible development in creating critical safeguards online.

The prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, Maria Montserrat “Montse” Alvarado, echoed the importance of collaboration — not only with those in the AI community — but also with the Holy Father. She asked the forum participants to ask themselves, “Who are we supposed to be as we develop and shape this technology?”, reminding them that they must not lose their interdependence but “leverage the network through the people in this room.”

The future of AI policy

Over the course of the two-day summit, religious and industry leaders, as well as policy advocates, gave testimonies reflecting what was being discussed in the workshop groups.

One participant was Megan Garcia, who tragically lost her son, Sewell, by suicide after forming a romantic attachment with a chatbot. She told EWTN News the primary message she wants to advocate for is accountability — “Who is responsible when AI hurts a child?”

To make AI chatbots safe for children in the future, Garcia said that companies need to partake in third-party release testing and make sure that they cannot release, retain, or sell children’s data. Speaking through her personal experience, Garcia highlighted that any policy that is designed to protect children against the dangers of AI would absolutely need to include a measure of accountability.

Repeated many times over the conference, many participants said AI in Catholic schools needs to be kept in line with our Church systems, teaching, and philosophies. Families are operating in their own bubbles, but they need to start having a larger conversation with the community so everyone can be in tune with what is available for families and what should be censored, people at the forum argued.

Speaking on the importance of aligning AI with Catholic morals and beliefs, Matthew Sanders, CEO of Longbeard, a company that organizes the Builders AI Forum, told EWTN News: “AI when it is designed today is designed to align with a billion people, which is an impossible task.”

AI access to information

A common theme through every workshop group, especially among AI entrepreneurs, was the need to train their own models by making sure they have access to all the right information. This has been a main focus for Longbeard, particularly its product, Magisterium AI, which Bishop Stephen Wang of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in England mentioned when speaking about priestly formation and AI.

“The reality is that so many people are discovering the faith or seeking answers to their questions through the internet, through AI... this is the starting point,” Wang said in comments to EWTN News, noting the importance of using AI as a tool.

Through his experience at the Venerable English College in Rome, Wang reflected that young men coming into seminary are already immersed in AI, so it is important to give them the tools for discernment. The process of priestly formation is very holistic, and it is important to acknowledge the presence and utility of AI in this formation, he said.

Communicating through AI

According to in-house statistics by Magisterium AI and Hallow, their AI tools have helped bring people to the faith and into the Church. Erich Kerekes, CEO and founder of the Hallow app, told EWTN News that “prayer is fundamentally a relationship... coming before God, bringing your needs before him... that is something AI will never be able to come up with.” Alvarado reiterated this notion, saying: “The message can’t be communicated by AI. Itʼs communicated through AI. AI is not a person, AI is a tool.”

“The first thing AI builders need to hear from the Church is that [we’re] listening... if they feel accompanied, we’ll find a way together,” said Czerny, as Sanders said builders should “start from the world and what you want to build and work backwards.”

Jeffrey Quesnelle, co-founder and CTO of Nous Research, said in comments to EWTN News that “humans in our messiness and our incompleteness are a source of friction in a lot of instances in life.” Ultimately, he added, “AI should make you better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today.”

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT — Pope Leo came to the back of the plane on Friday to greet approximately 80 journalists traveling with him to South America. He got a bunch of questions in return, most of which he answered.

The pope usually pays a visit to the journalists’ section on the outbound flight of an international trip. This is not supposed to be a press conference, which typically happens on the flight home, but reporters naturally spring at the chance to pose quick questions, and Leo is generally obliging.

Many of the questions this time were, unsurprisingly, about the pope’s health. He is making the 12-day trip less than a month after undergoing surgery for lung cancer.

In brief remarks to the whole cabin, Leo acknowledged that “some people were doubtful about this trip taking place,” but he said he “had no doubt and was convinced that this trip had to go forward.”

Later, a reporter wanted to know the pope’s secret for springing back so quickly from surgery. The answer: “Faith in God, good doctors, and a healthy lifestyle.” Leo had advice for cancer patients: “Not to be afraid. Early detection is obviously the best way to go, and so regular checkups are a blessing. And take care of yourselves.”

Asked if his surgery, which removed part of his right lung, had given him a new sense of urgency about his agenda, Leo replied that the experience had strengthened his desire to be close to the sick, and his conviction that “healthcare should be a right of all people” — a point he said he planned to make later in the day in a speech to Uruguay’s president and other dignitaries.

The pope revealed that his reading in the hospital had consisted of his breviary, prayer book, and unspecified newspapers, and that he has not resumed his tennis game but intends to do so.

Leo said that, at the time of his September visit to the French shrine of Lourdes, where he prayed with the sick, “there were no signs of any difficulties” with his own health, and he was “much more concerned about the health of those there.”

The pope was also asked about the recent news that he had voted in this month’s election in Illinois by absentee ballot. “I’m proud to be an American and to exercise the right,” he said. He declined to comment on election results.

The U.S.-born Leo, who is a naturalized citizen of Peru, said he would have voted earlier this year in that country’s elections if he had been able to do so from Rome: “I didn’t vote because it wasn’t possible, but I would’ve done it, it’s a good thing.”

The pope also introduced the press to the new prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, Montse Alvarado, who took office Nov. 1 and is accompanying the pope on his trip to South America. Leo praised Alvarado, who until this month was president and chief operating office of EWTN News, for her “wonderful experience, creativity, and liveliness.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, expressed his hope this week that the results of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections will foster future collaboration.

The diplomat spoke on Nov. 5 on the sidelines of the conference “The Universal Face of the Church in China,” held at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. The elections saw major victories for the Democratic Party, which regained majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Parolin, responding to a question about whether democracy had won in these U.S. elections, said that he hoped for collaboration for the good of the country.

“It is difficult to make such categorical statements as ‘democracy has won,’” Parolin said. “Let’s hope there is a capacity to collaborate.”

“We will try to find ways of working together for the good of the country. This is important, and this is what we hope for.”

Parolin also said he expected the Democratic Party’s recent victories to bring changes to the U.S.

“This will surely bring changes; itʼs logical. Now we will see how they manage it. But letʼs hope that reason and common sense prevail,” Parolin remarked.

He also noted the unprecedented nature of Pope Leo XIV voting in the U.S. election, the first of any pontiff in history.

“It never happened with Italian popes, nor with Polish popes, nor with German popes, but in the end at least he was a citizen. I believe he remains a U.S. citizen and therefore has every right to do so.”

Parolin also expressed his hope that new leadership in the U.S. would advance peace in the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

“Right now itʼs very difficult to predict who knows what changes. For a long time we have been hoping and trying to do everything possible to close the very painful chapter of Ukraine and many other conflicts around the world. But itʼs difficult to say right now what will happen. We live and wait.”

A newly-published book shares the stories of a veteran flight attendant who has traveled with popes St. John Paul II to Leo XIV.

The book “Stories in Flight: 80 Years of Air Transport in Italy” recounts stories of flying with the popes from the perspective of veteran ITA Airways flight attendant Rino Anastasio. Anastasio, 67, has served as a flight attendant coordinator for special flights — including those of the pope — for over 45 years.

Co-authored in Italian with Filippo Anastasi, the Amalfi Coast native shares personal anecdotes about caring for the popes on board, ranging from worries about insufficient fuel to an unexpected birthday surprise.

History of papal flights

The Vatican does not own airplanes or helicopters for the pope to use. Instead, it charters commercial airliners, using ITA Airways (Italy’s national carrier) for flights departing from Rome and local carriers for the pope’s return flights from abroad.

St. Paul VI was the first pope to travel by airplane when he visited Jordan and Israel in January 1964. He was also the first pope to leave the Italian peninsula since Pope Pius VII was captured and taken to France by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1809.

St. Paul VI was canonized by Pope Francis on Oct. 14, 2018. | Credit: EWTN News

Since Paul VI, papal travel has remained an important means of outreach for the popes. St. John Paul II completed 109 apostolic journeys outside Italy, visiting 129 countries worldwide during his 26-year pontificate.

Pope Benedict XVI completed 24 apostolic journeys, while Pope Francis completed 47.

Pope Leo XIV has also made travel a feature of his ministry, including visits to Africa, Turkey, Lebanon, Spain, and France, before traveling to South America from Nov. 6–17.

Jet escorts, fuel concerns, and a festive birthday flight

Speaking with Vatican News’ Andrea Tornielli, Anastasio recounted his experiences with the popes, beginning with John Paul II.

“With John Paul II there was a very strict protocol,” Anastasio said. “I remember one time there were two fighter jets escorting us towards Kazakhstan right after Sept. 11, 2001.”

“John Paul II called me and asked: ‘But what are those?’ I replied: ‘Holy Father, those are our guardian angels escorting us.’”

Pope John Paul II on the papal flight with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI. | Credit: Vatican Media

On a trip to France with Benedict XVI in 2008, Anastasio recalled that the pontiff was reading a newspaper with a headline about ITA Airways’ (Alitalia at the time) bankruptcy troubles that year.

“In the newspaper, it was written in huge letters that Alitalia doesn’t even have the money to pay for fuel. Pope Benedict, with his little glasses, looked up from the newspaper and said to me: ‘But you did put fuel in the plane, right?’”

Pope Francis boards the papal plane before his apostolic journey to Chile and Peru on Jan. 15, 2018. | Credit: Vatican Media

It was Anastasio’s birthday when he accompanied Pope Francis to Marseille, France. He recounted how Francis surprised him on the return flight to Rome.

“It was my birthday. In the morning, the pope asked the gendarmes to buy six giant cakes and 12 bottles of champagne to celebrate my birthday, but I wasn’t supposed to know anything,” Anastasio said.

“When the curtain opened, and these cakes arrived, I was truly moved there. Perhaps it was one of the most beautiful joys of my life.”

Pope Leo XIV is embarking on an apostolic journey Nov. 6–17 to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, where he served as a missionary and bishop.

Father Fabricio Forcat is an Argentine priest who has just been appointed a member of the International Theological Commission (ITC). He recently explained how this Vatican body, which assists the Holy See in “examining doctrinal questions of major importance,” carries out its work.

What is the International Theological Commission?

Established by St. Paul VI in 1969, the ITC operates under the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. According to the Vatican website, it is composed of “theologians from diverse schools and nations, noted for their knowledge and faithfulness to the Magisterium of the Church.”

Its members are appointed by the Holy Father for a five-year term, upon the proposal of the dicastery’s cardinal prefect and following consultation with the episcopal conferences. They meet in a plenary assembly once a year, and the results of their studies are presented to the pope. One of the pontiff’s most recent requests has been for them to conduct the necessary studies to define what is meant by the tradition of the Church.

The commission consists of a maximum of 30 members. For the 2026–2031 term, eight women have been appointed — six laywomen and two women religious — along with four laymen and 20 clerics.

The commission’s work

Forcat explained to EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that the increased presence of women and laypeople on the commission is “to a large extent the result of the entire process of receiving the Second Vatican Council.”

“It’s a fruit that is ripening as a result of truly walking together with the entire great human family, which is enveloped in a mystery of love, that of God the creator and God the redeemer,” he added.

The Argentine theologian, who was appointed to be a member of the commission on Oct. 19, called the work of the entity “a very important service: to gather, collect, and integrate the voices of various theologians, men and women from across the globe who in their own way help mature our understanding of evangelization, ensuring it is suited to our times, and of a theology that serves the work of evangelization,” he explained.

This, he noted, is “so that the word of God may remain present and alive within the heart of new sensibilities, and within the realities we encounter among different peoples and cultures.”

Pope Leo XIV in Argentina

Regarding this month’s visit of Pope Leo XIV to Argentina, part of a tour that also includes Uruguay and Peru, the theologian noted that the pontiff “comes to strengthen the faith; he comes to bring joy to a Church that must rise up, meet the demands of the current era, and creatively find ways to reach the hearts of the people of our time.”

“We expect this to be a truly intense moment of joy and evangelization. Just recently, we had the youth pilgrimage to the Shrine of Luján,” in which some 2.7 million pilgrims took part, he noted.

The priest also highlighted the importance of popular religiosity and the need for theology to engage with this reality as well.

“Hopefully, God willing, this will be able to find expression during the days we will experience with the pope’s visit. Let’s also hope the weather is on our side and that the El Niño phenomenon [which brings heavy rains] allows for it,” he added.

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

A century after the consecration of the first Chinese bishops, Pope Leo XIV praised the Church in China for remaining in communion with Rome.

On Nov. 5, the Vatican published a video message from the pontiff during a conference titled “The Universal Face of the Church in China,” held at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. The meeting not only marked the 1926 consecration of China’s first bishops but also reflected on the state of the Chinese church today, particularly regarding the ongoing Vatican-China deal.

Among those present were Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, dean of the College of Cardinals; Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, bishop of Hong Kong; and Ignazio Ding Zuyao, bishop of Haimen.

Communion with Peter, not colonialism

In his message, Leo noted Chinese Catholics’ long history of fidelity to the papacy, quoting Pope Benedict XVI, who said that they have always had “legitimate pastors who have preserved intact apostolic succession.”

“No shepherd in the Church can claim the mission as his own,” Leo said. “Rather, he receives and exercises it in communion with the successor of Peter and with all the other successors of the apostles, the bishops.”

Pope Leo XIV passes in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in the popemobile during his weekly ride through the crowds in St. Peter’s Square for the general audience on Oct. 28, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

The pope also noted the significance of six Chinese priests traveling from Shanghai to Rome in 1926 to receive consecration from Pope Pius XI.

“They crossed the world to bear witness to the communion that springs from the faith of the apostles,” Leo said.

Quoting Pope Benedict XV, Leo affirmed that the Church’s missionary work “cannot be confused with processes of colonization” but is “born of mission” to “bear witness to Christ in charity.”

China-Holy See relations: A relationship marked by suspicion?

The Holy See and China have not maintained official diplomatic relations since 1951. Their provisional, undisclosed 2018 agreement on the selection of bishops has been challenged, with concerns that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is suppressing the Church.

Parolin, speaking on the sidelines of the conference, acknowledged that the deal still has its imperfections.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin speaks during the conference “The Universal Face of the Church in China” at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome on Nov. 5, 2026. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News

“All agreements are imperfect, including the one on China,” Parolin said to reporters. “However, the path is open. So we move forward trying to perfect what is imperfect.”

Chow noted the suspicion with which Catholics are sometimes viewed in China, out of fear that their religion could be used as a tool of foreign influence.

“We wonder how come the Church, our Church, in China for so many years is still seen as a foreign Church,” he said. “I think that in China, a major concern is that, for example, religion will not be used as a vehicle for foreign intervention.”

The conference “The Universal Face of the Church in China” took place at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome on Nov. 5, 2026. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News

Others, however, expressed support for the so-called “Sinicization” of the Church, which is a state-led campaign to subordinate religious institutions to its Chinese Communist Party agenda.

“The ‘Sinicization of Catholicism’ is not a departure from Catholic tradition but an expression of authentic catholicity,” Joseph Li Shan, bishop of Beijing, said.

Zuyao, made a bishop in October under the Vatican-China deal, added that Sinicization is “not a departure from communion with the universal faith” but rather “a natural expression of inner faith and a faithful implementation of Christ’s command ‘Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s.’”

The last time Father Hugo Gabriel Sánchez met Robert Prevost in Chiclayo, Peru, the future pope had just been created a cardinal. In just a few days, that friend, who wishes Sánchez a happy birthday every year and with whom he shared “hearty laughter” when he was Sánchez’s bishop, will return to Peru as pontiff.

A historic visit

Pope Leo will be in Peru from Nov. 11–16, a historic visit that Sánchez described as “a gift from God.” For him, Prevost’s election has meant “a change in the color of his cassock: He remains the same close friend as always, attentive to us and concerned for our well-being.”

Serenity, trust in providence, clarity, and firmness are, in the priest’s view, some of the traits that best define Leo XIV.

Speaking with EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, he also recalled that “Bishop Roberto reflected very well the image of Christ the good shepherd: a shepherd who was always close to his people, whose doors were always open and, above all, whose heart was ready and whose time was available to listen to you patiently and calmly. He knew how to offer wise answers that did not remain merely words but were translated into concrete actions.”

‘The roots of his ministry are here’

Although the two have met on more than one occasion in the Vatican since Leo was elected successor of St. Peter, the young priest acknowledged that this occasion will be different.

“This visit is very important because it was here that he was able to fully develop his vocation and found a way of exercising his ministry first as a priest and then as a bishop. He grew deeply attached to Chiclayo, and having him here again after eight years will be very important for him and for us. The roots of his ministry are here,” Sánchez emphasized.

Recalling the pope’s missionary journey, the priest highlighted the enthusiasm with which “Bishop Roberto” approached major projects and pastoral challenges.

“One of the things that excited him most was launching major initiatives for evangelization, proclaiming the Gospel, and passing on the faith, while never neglecting social assistance,” he said.

A source of encouragement

Sánchez said he has no doubt that Leo XIV is preparing for this trip “with much prayer,” just as the Church in Peru is doing. He is also convinced that this encounter will be a source of encouragement for the Holy Father, especially “after recovering from his operation.”

The priest revealed that the Holy Father expressed a desire to visit the most remote communities. However, difficulties in access, especially because of weather conditions, ultimately prevented their inclusion in the official itinerary.

Even so, he explained, “the pope wanted these people to be the guests of honor at the gathering that will take place in Zaña, in the Chiclayo district.” There, the pontiff will preside over the closing of the jubilee year marking the 300th anniversary of the canonization of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo.

Expectations in the country that holds a special place in Leo XIV’s heart are immense. The Chiclayo priest noted that despite the pope’s simple, humble, and reserved character, “he is someone who, when he stands before a large crowd, seems to come alive even more, with greater joy, enthusiasm, and excitement. You could say that his heart grows larger, and for that reason he will enjoy it very much.”

Sánchez, a member of the organizing committee for the papal trip, said that despite the diocese’s lack of experience and the enormous challenge of preparing a visit of this magnitude, special effort has been made to attend to every detail of the events and warmly welcome all pilgrims.

Asked what Peru would like Leo XIV to find upon his arrival, the priest’s answer was clear: “It is reflected in his own Petrine motto, ‘In Illo uno unum’ — a united Church that knows how to walk together in fraternity.”

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

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday appointed two new undersecretaries to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development — a priest from Angola and a laywoman from Chile — completing a change in leadership at the dicastery that began Sept. 1.

The pontiff on Nov. 5 named Father Avelino Chicoma Bundo Chico, SJ, and Claudia Leal Luna to fill the hole left by Monsignor Jozef Barlaš’ promotion to secretary of the dicastery.

From Angola, 47-year-old Chico has served in the dicastery since 2020, first as regional coordinator for Africa, then as manager of the “Listening and Dialogue” section, and finally, since 2025, as office manager.

He has a master’s degree in social ethics and a research doctorate in contemporary international migration and development cooperation.

Claudia Leal Luna, left, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, speaks prior to her appointment at a press conference at the Vatican on Oct. 12, 2026, about a 2026 gathering of bishops on “Amoris Laetitia.” | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News

Leal, 48, originally from Chile but living in Italy, has been a teacher at the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences in Rome since 2022.

She has a doctorate in moral theology and previously taught at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile from 2012 to 2022.

She is also a consulter to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and a member of the International Theological Commission.

Leal was one of 26 experts invited to participate in the Vatican’s weeklong gathering of the heads of bishops’ conferences on the 10th anniversary of Amoris Laetitia Oct. 7–14.

The laywoman has two children.

Nomination of members of the Dicastery for Evangelization Cardinal Christophe Pierre, former apostolic nuncio to the United States. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Pope Leo on Nov. 5 also named new members for the Dicastery for Evangelization, in the section for the first evangelization and the new particular churches, including former papal nuncio to the United States, Cardinal Christophe Pierre.

He also named as members Cardinal Mario Zenari, former nuncio in Syria; Bishop Ambrogio Spreafico, bishop emeritus of Frosinone-Veroli-Ferentino and Anagni-Alatri in Italy; and Bishop Maurizio Malvestiti of Lodi in Italy.

VATICAN CITY — Hope in the resurrection and the communion of saints are the two truths “that illuminate our prayer for the deceased,” Pope Leo XIV said in his homily Thursday at Mass offered for the repose of the cardinals and bishops who have died during the past year.

It is customary for the popes to celebrate this Mass every year at the beginning of November. The list of names for whom the Mass is offered is printed in the opening pages of the liturgical booklet. This year, Mass was offered for seven cardinals and 136 bishops.

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for the repose of the souls of deceased cardinals and bishops from the past year at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica on Nov. 5, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

At the Mass, celebrated in Latin at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope reflected on the theme of service. For, he said, “indeed, whoever follows Christ becomes his servant and will always be where he is, precisely because they have followed his path.”

Drawing from the first reading of the liturgy, the pope reflected on the hope of the resurrection, a theme already present in the Old Testament. He said: “For our remembrance of our departed brothers and sisters at the altar of the Lord is founded on the promise that our life, in Christ, is not lost, because it has been redeemed.”

Moreover, “if, as Scripture emphasizes, there were no resurrection, it would be pointless to pray for the dead.” Therefore, “to pray for the deceased, then, means to celebrate life! First and foremost the risen life of Christ the Lord, and, by his grace, our own life, which rises in him. The Eucharistic sacrifice is the memorial of his passover, by which he saved us through the gift of himself for us. Let us not allow the memory of the deceased to become merely nostalgic. In faith, we contemplate the mystery of death without fear, because the Lord is alive; he awaits us and has already prepared a place for us in the house of his Father.”

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for the repose of the souls of deceased cardinals and bishops from the past year at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica on Nov. 5, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

This act of entrustment is rooted in hope in the communion of saints, he said. “When we pray for the deceased, we do so not only for them, but also with them, caught up in that reciprocity which the Holy Spirit brings to life in our hearts. The Church is a mystery of communion between Christ the head and us, his members: from him we receive life. This communion joins together the blessed spirits who already contemplate the face of God and all those who, in heaven or on earth, are making their way toward that radiant goal.”

Pope Leo XIV visits the grottoes under St. Peter’s Basilica, where many of his papal predecessors are buried, to pray at their tombs during the month the Church dedicates to prayers for the dead, on Nov. 5, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

For this reason, the pope concluded: “In Christ, death does not dissolve our bonds but transforms them into a new dimension, one that can only be understood in the mystery of his love, given to the end on the cross and poured out after the victory of Easter. As we receive, then, in the holy Eucharist, the charity of the risen Lord, may we always preserve and cultivate this communion along our journey, so that when our own hour comes, we too may receive the prayers of our pilgrim brothers and sisters and, with all the saints, enjoy the joy of our heavenly homeland.”

After Mass, Pope Leo visited the Vatican grottoes under St. Peter’s Basilica to pray at the tombs of some of his papal predecessors, including St. Paul VI, Venerable Pius XII, and Benedict XVI.

Pope Leo XIV stops to pray at the tomb of Pope Benedict XVI, who died on Dec. 31, 2022, and is buried in the grottoes under St. Peter’s Basilica, on Nov. 5, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

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

Pope Leo XIV has chosen community as the theme for the 2027 World Day of the Sick.

The Vatican announced the theme on Thursday ahead of the annual celebration on Feb. 11, 2027. It will also mark the 35th anniversary of the day’s establishment by St. John Paul II, which is celebrated on the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes.

The theme, “The Role of the Community in Caring for Every Person,” was published by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and draws on the narrative of Christ healing a paralytic lowered from the roof (Luke 5:19).

In a press release, the dicastery explained that the Gospel asks all to embrace the commandment to love God and neighbor.

“At the heart of our baptismal call is the commandment of mutual love: love your neighbor, take care of your neighbor,” according to the press release.

“Like the friends of the paralytic, parishes and Christian communities are called to assume the responsibility of caring for those who are alone, the elderly and those who suffer, creating spaces of closeness and of hope.”

In February, Leo sent a message on compassion for the World Day of the Sick 2026. The Shrine of Our Lady of Peace in Chiclayo, Peru, was chosen as the celebration’s international site that year. Leo will visit the shrine during his apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru from Nov. 6–17.

As a neutral territory, Vatican City was largely spared from major bombing during World War II, while Rome was the target of raids by both Allied and Axis forces during Nazi Germany’s occupation of the city.

Except for one autumn night, around 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, 1943, when an unidentified plane dropped five bombs on the Vatican — four of which detonated — one narrowly missing St. Peter’s Basilica.

Luckily, no one was killed, but who dropped the bombs and why has it been shrouded in mystery ever since, with one historian offering a likely theory only in 2010?

What happened

Longtime Vatican archivist and World War II researcher Johan Ickx spoke to EWTN News about the event and other aspects of life at the Vatican during World War II.

Rome at the time was part of the Italian Social Republic, a German puppet state led by Benito Mussolini, and the Nazis had seized control of the capital nearly two months prior.

Ickx said it’s difficult to know exactly what life was like in the Vatican during that period. There were certainly fewer personnel, who were all priests, in the Secretariat of State.

And we know, the war historian said, that at a certain point, Pope Pius XII ordered the buildings not to be heated anymore, “as a sign of solidarity with the people outside” of Vatican City.

“We know also that there were people hidden in the Vatican during the war, and not a few,” he added. “These people were put at work in some way.”

Earlier that year, after the first Allied attacks on the city of Rome, the pope had written to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to ask Allied forces to spare the city “further pain and devastation” and to keep its treasured sites “from irreparable ruin.”

Roosevelt replied on June 16, 1943, saying: “Attacks against Italy are limited, to the extent humanly possible, to military objectives.”

“In the event it should be found necessary for Allied planes to operate over Rome, our aviators are thoroughly informed as to the location of the Vatican and have been specifically instructed to prevent bombs from falling within Vatican City,” the president wrote.

Despite this promise, heavy raids were carried out on Rome before it was captured by the Allies on June 4, 1944. Among these was the devastating bombing of July 19, 1943, in which thousands of civilians were killed.

The same day, after the raid ended, Pius XII and the future Pope Paul VI (then Secretariat of State Archbishop Giovanni Montini) traveled to the affected area, the San Lorenzo neighborhood, to hand out money to the victims gathered in front of the Church of San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura.

“A few days [before the bombs were dropped on the Vatican] bombs were dropped on Trastevere in Rome,” Ickx recalled. “But the Vatican, that was something new. And it was also an international shock, really, because just until that day, one could say that the Vatican was saved from any military action.”

The bombs hit the governatorate — the government offices of the city state — the mosaic laboratory, and offices of officials of the Roman Curia, causing considerable damage, as visible in video footage from the period.

The evening the bombs fell, Archbishop Domenico Tardini, at the time head of the Secretariat of State’s section for relations with states, “was not in [his] office working and was just going up through the corridor to his office. Now, it was providential luck. If not, he would have been hurt,” Ickx said.

Some people were injured, but it was fortunate no one was killed by the bombs, which weighed 150 kilograms (330 pounds) each, Ickx noted. One of them detonated close enough to the Vatican basilica to blow out one of its back windows.

Pope Pius XII, reacting privately after the bombing, said: “There was more respect in Cairo, as the religious center of Islam, than in Rome. And more concretely, we are struck by the need to recognize... that there no longer exists, I do not say Christian conscience, but even the minimum of human understanding and a sense of loyalty in acting that should be enough to leave the successor of St. Peter in the narrow strip of land that still remains.”

Who did it

“The Vatican, of course, starts investigating immediately,” said Ickx, director of the historical archives of the section for relations with states and international organizations of the Secretariat of State.

The Secretariat of State began interviewing people about what they saw and heard. On a fragment of one of the bombs, they could make out just the final three letters of a name, “lli,” so one Vatican employee was tasked with making a list of all the arms and bomb producers that matched. But after making the list, there were still dozens that ended in “lli.”

“The other part of the investigation,” the historian noted, “is who did it? What plane was coming over? Was it a British one? Was it an American one, or was it an Italian or a German one? And the worst case would have been, of course, a German one … [because] Rome was in that moment … occupied by the Germans.”

“The fear in the Vatican was very high that Germans could have entered also the Vatican to take over everything and to … take the pope away and bring him elsewhere,” Ickx said.

The Secretariat of State questioned the United States, Britain, Italy, and Germany, who all denied involvement.

What followed was uncertainty, the historian explained.

“And the uncertainty is that what makes journalists happy,” he said, because “they can create history, they can create news, they can create scoops.”

He described one of the laughable “scoops” printed in an Italian newspaper a few days after the incident, with the headline “Stalin thanks Churchill for dropping the bombs in the Vatican.”

“Now it makes us laugh, because all of a sudden the Russians are also involved in the case,” Ickx said. “We see that is the normal war propaganda which is doing its work at that moment.”

For the Vatican, the mystery was “never solved.”

Only years later did a plausible theory emerge, proposed by the author Augusto Ferrara in his 2010 book “1943. Bombe sul Vaticano” (“1943. Bombs on the Vatican”).

In that book, Ferrara’s investigation uncovered that the bombs were probably dropped from a S.79 aircraft supplied by the Italian Social Republic, which had departed from the airport of Viterbo, about 50 miles north of Rome.

He also wrote that the attack was ordered by Roberto Farinacci, a fascist politician and adviser to Mussolini who wanted to destroy Vatican Radio, because he thought it was transmitting military information to the “enemy.”

Ickx called that “a plausible explanation.”

For four months, the Vatican was spared any major destruction, until March 1, 1944, when a British plane missed the objective of its bombardment and hit the Vatican wall.

This time, tragically, the incident did cause loss of life: a Vatican workman was killed and an Augustinian friar was injured. The blast also shattered the windows of the Palace of the Holy Office, the building housing the now-Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Pope Leo XIV welcomed legendary American singer-songwriter and 2016 Nobel Prize in literature laureate Bob Dylan to the Vatican on Wednesday, Nov. 4.

During the meeting, for which Dylan wore a black-hooded jacket, the Holy Father presented him with a rosary, while the 85-year-old singer gifted the pontiff a copy of his autobiography, “Chronicles: Volume One,” according to Vatican News.

Dylan is in Rome for a Thursday, Nov. 5, concert at the Palazzo dello Sport as part of his “Rough and Rowdy Ways” tour, which also includes stops in Milan and Bologna.

Pope Leo XIV has quoted Dylan

In July, Pope Leo XIV quoted Dylan to criticize the arms race, which he described as something that “frightens and terrifies us today.”

"As singer-songwriter and poet Bob Dylan wrote, figuratively addressing the atomic bomb, in one of his poetic compositions: ‘I hate you cause yer man-made and man-owned an’ man-handled,’" the pope wrote, referring to the song "Go Away You Bomb" (1963).

The quote appears in an unpublished text from the book “Unarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift,” published by the Vatican Publishing House. It is the first anthology to collect various statements by Pope Leo XIV on the subject of peace, dating from his election on May 8, 2025.

A performance before St. John Paul II and a multitude of young people

Dylan’s audience with Pope Leo XIV was not the first time the singer-songwriter had met a pope.

In September 1997, Dylan was invited to perform at the 23rd National Eucharistic Congress in Bologna, Italy, before St. John Paul II and a crowd of approximately 300,000 young people.

The singer performed some of his hits, such as "Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door" — a song also popularized by Guns N’ Roses and Eric Clapton.

Although Dylan did not perform "Blowin’ in the Wind," the song’s theme was referenced by Pope John Paul II in his address to the gathering. In the song, the singer-songwriter asks, “How many roads must a man walk down before he can truly call himself a man?” — to which he himself provides the answer, in the song’s title: “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”

In his address, John Paul II revisited Dylan’s question, gave it a masterful twist, and offered an answer imbued with Christian realism: “One of your representatives has said, on your behalf, that the answer to the questions in your life ‘is blowin’ in the wind.’ That is true. But it is not the wind that scatters everything into the whirlpools of nothingness; rather, it is the wind that is the breath and voice of the Spirit.”

And he added: “You have asked me: ‘How many paths must a man travel to be able to recognize himself as a man?’ I answer you: one. There is only one path for man; it is Christ, who said: ‘I am the way’ (Jn 14:6). He is the way of truth, the way of life.”

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

Ten years after the publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, the Vatican has launched a new digital atlas to advance his ecological vision.

The Laudato Si’ Platform launched the Atlas of Laudato Si’ at a press conference Wednesday at the Holy See Press Office in Rome. The organization also presented its fifth annual report at the conference, highlighting 13,600 participants since 2021 and new tools to implement integral ecology within the Church.

Presenters included Sister Alessandra Smerilli, FMA, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Bishop Allwyn D’Silva, auxiliary bishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Bombay, India.

Care for creation is not optional

Among the themes discussed at the conference was the need to continue concrete actions toward care for the environment.

In her presentation, Smerilli said Catholic commitment to caring for creation is “not optional.”

The Atlas of Laudato Si’. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Molly Burhans

“Living our vocation as guardians of Godʼs work is ‘not something optional nor a secondary aspect of Christian experience,’” Smerilli said. “Caring for creation and caring for humanity are one and the same task.”

Participants also reflected on the impact of Laudato Si’ since its publication.

"The seeds sown by Laudato Si' have borne much fruit in different parts of the world,” DʼSilva said.

A new digital Catholic atlas

The press conference also presented a new digital atlas to demonstrate the Church’s commitment to integral ecology worldwide. The atlas uses data from the Leonum Institute of the Catholic University of America and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.

The Atlas of Laudato Si’ will allow users to explore ecological initiatives by institutions and dioceses, and also access data on natural disasters.

Molly Burhans, an American cartographer who pioneered the data collection and curation for the project, explained the importance of atlases and defended the integral ecology’s importance for Catholics.

Molly Burhans is an American cartographer who pioneered the data collection and curation of the Atlas of Laudato Si’. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Molly Burhans

“If you want to make environmental action, you should understand the environment,” Burhans told EWTN News. “And the best way to understand the environment is maps.”

“We are here to care for the garden. That’s in Genesis. If someone believes there’s a political agenda behind caring for the environment, I think they should go back and read the Bible.”

Pope Leo XIV urged Christians in the Middle East and Eastern Europe to continue working for peace in regions where Christian persecution persists.

The pontiff held a private audience on Wednesday with a delegation from L’Œuvre d’Orient and the Institut Chrétiens d’Orient (ICO), which will host a conference in Rome on peace in the Middle East from Nov. 5–6. L’Œuvre d’Orient is a prominent French nonprofit that has supported persecuted Christians in these regions since 1856.

In his address, delivered in French, Leo reflected on the conference’s theme of peace-building and said that interdisciplinary dialogue remains crucial to achieving reconciliation.

“Dialogue between faith and reason, culture and history is the indispensable path to justice and reconciliation,” Leo said. “Dialogue between philosophy and other disciplines makes it possible to rediscover the meaning of the words and concepts that are used, which is probably one of the principal challenges of our time.”

Christian persecution worldwide, including in much of the Holy Land, continues to rise. According to Aid to the Church in Need’s 2024–2026 report, 220 million Christians face persecution, and 413 million people live in countries where religious freedom remains under threat.

Amid ongoing hostility toward Christians in these regions, Leo encouraged them to continue for “peace that is unarmed and disarming.”

“Thus, by reflecting on the criteria of a just and enduring peace, especially in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, you become servants of a peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering,” the pope said.

“Therefore, be sowers of hope through your reflection and your action, keeping the humility taught by the Gospel: ‘One is the sower, another the reaper’ (Jn 4:37).”

VATICAN CITY — During Wednesday’s general audience, the last before his trip to South America Nov. 6–17, Pope Leo XIV pointed to the “threat to world peace” posed by the imbalances of an unjust economic system.

“The council fathers highlight, first of all, the threat to world peace deriving from the imbalances linked to an economic development that is neither equitable nor respectful of creation. This is a farsighted vision, which was unfortunately borne out towards the end of the last century and which we see even more clearly today,” the pontiff said, continuing his series of lessons on the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes.

He noted that technical solutions alone are not enough to address these problems. Citing the conciliar text, he recalled that “many reforms in the socioeconomic realm and a change of mentality and attitude are required of all.”

The pope also underscored the continuing relevance of the Church’s calls to “commit to eliminating discrimination against the most vulnerable social groups and migrants.”

The pontiff stressed that the social dimension is an integral part not only “of our faith in Christ Jesus” but is also “the precious legacy we receive from the incarnation of the Son of God.”

‘The heart of the economy is work’

One of the central themes of the catechesis was the dignity of human work. Leo XIV said that “the heart of the economy is work,” which “must never be distorted to the detriment of people, the common good, or creation.”

He also warned that work must never become a source of exploitation or harm to people. “Unemployment, exploitation, and working conditions that endanger health and life itself are unacceptable,” he emphasized.

The pope also defended the principle that “workers have the right and the duty to participate in decisions affecting their work” and to resolve conflicts through “dialogue and nonviolent action.”

An economy at the service of all

In his catechesis, the Holy Father said the Second Vatican Council recalls that one of the fundamental principles of the Church’s social teaching is the “universal destination of earthly goods.”

According to the pope, this principle also applies “to the financial sphere.” He said that those responsible for investments and planning the economy, “whether they be individuals or groups of public authorities,” are bound “to recognize their serious obligation of watching, on the one hand, that provision be made for the necessities required for a decent life both of individuals and of the whole community.”

The economy, the pope insisted, must always be “at the service of humankind and under human control,” echoing the vision of integral development later developed by St. Paul VI in the encyclical Populorum Progressio.

Pope Leo XIV rides the popemobile around St. Peter’s Square to greet the crowds during his general audience on Nov. 4, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Politics as service to the common good

Addressing the political dimension, Leo XIV said that political authority must always be directed toward the common good, taking into account local and historical circumstances while keeping “the good of the entire human family at heart.”

He also recalled the teaching of Gaudium et Spes on relations between the Church and the state, noting that both institutions are autonomous in their respective spheres but can cooperate in order to serve people more effectively.

“The Church and the political community in their own fields are autonomous and independent from each other. Yet both, under different titles, are devoted to the personal and social vocation of the same men. The more that both foster sounder cooperation between themselves with due consideration for the circumstances of time and place, the more effective will their service be exercised for the good of all,” he quoted.

Peace is built through economics and politics

Recalling a statement by his predecessor, Pope Francis, he reiterated that “war is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil.”

In contrast, he called for a form of politics that “tends to the wounds of peoples and of those who suffer injustice” and offers “grounds for hope for the future of humanity.”

Finally, he encouraged young people to “follow the example of those men and women who have borne faithful witness” in public life and renewed his appeal to Christian communities to “revive formation in the social doctrine of the Church.”

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, 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 November is for the proper use of wealth.

“What is wealth to you? Millions in a bank account? A huge house and a shiny new car? Or perhaps a place in life where you have enough to share with others — where you gather in order to build and multiply in order to do greater good,” Pope Leo asked the faithful in a video posted on X on Nov. 3.

He added: “This month I pray that however great your wealth may be, it will be your instrument for doing good for reconciliation and fraternity.”

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:

“Lord of life, all we have comes from you:

the fertile land, the talents we’ve received,

the effort of those who came before us.

Nothing is ours alone — everything is a shared gift.

But so often, Lord, we let the wealth we seek or attain

harden our hearts, lock us in selfishness,

and make us forget the most vulnerable.

Forgive us for storing up instead of sharing,

for using goods as power rather than as service.

You remind us that true wealth

is not found in what we keep

but in what we give with love.

A heart detached from possessions transforms the world:

It opens paths of justice, tears down walls of indifference,

and sows hope among the poor.

We ask you, Lord, that your Spirit teach us to use what we have —

money, time, talents, opportunities — as instruments of fraternity.

May each economic, family, or community decision

spring from a free heart,

able to recognize that every good is meant for all,

and that only by sharing we build the future.

Make us witnesses of a wealth

transformed into service and mercy,

so that our lives, united to the lives of others,

may be a sign of your kingdom of justice and peace.

Amen.”

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

Pope Leo XIV, in a message for this year’s 41st World Youth Day (WYD), encouraged young people to be courageous in an age of loneliness.

“Some of you know what it means to experience loneliness, disappointment, or the fear of not being good enough,” Leo said in his message. “It is in circumstances like these that we hear the Gospel’s invitation to take courage.”

The Vatican released his message on Tuesday ahead of WYD 2026, to be celebrated locally on Nov. 22, coinciding with the solemnity of Christ the King. The Vatican also published the message ahead of WYD 2027 in Seoul, South Korea, which the pope is expected to attend.

In his message, Leo noted the modern challenges young people face, including anxiety, self-doubt, and the difficulty of maintaining a personal identity in an age of social media.

“Under the influence of carefully curated images on social media, you may find it difficult to recognize and accept who you truly are,” the pope said.

“Perhaps you are anxious about the future, feel pressured to succeed and appear perfect, or experience the stress of constantly comparing yourselves with others or with unattainable, manufactured ideals.”

Leo then explained the need for young people to be vulnerable and to depend on Christ when lonely, citing the apostles’ fear when the risen Christ appeared to them.

“Faith does not immediately dispel the darkness, but neither does it leave us alone in it,” Leo explained. “Open your lives to Christ. Open your communities to Christ.”

“Allow yourselves to be united and transformed by his love.”

As he did in a video message for WYD 2027 in October, the pope also encouraged people to register for the event in Seoul, which will run from Aug. 3–8, 2027.