Pope Leo XIV at the Vaticanʼs Easter Vigil on April 4 described the ancient ceremony as “filled with light” and as the “mother of all vigils” where the faithful “relive the memorial of the victory of the Lord of life over death.”

“We do so after having traversed, over the past few days — as if in a single, grand celebration — the mysteries of the Passion of the God who, for our sake, became a man of sorrows: despised and rejected by men, tortured and crucified,” the pope reflected.

Pope Leo XIV presides over the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica, Saturday, April 4, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

At the vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope described the Risen Christ as "the very Creator of the universe who — just as he granted us existence out of nothing at the dawn of history — so too, upon the Cross, in order to demonstrate his boundless love for us, bestowed upon us the gift of life.”

Reflecting on the account of the Resurrection, Leo said: “On Easter morning, the women — overcoming their sorrow and fear — set out on their way. They wanted to go to Jesus’ tomb. They expected to find it sealed, with a large stone at the entrance and soldiers standing guard."

Pope Leo XIV presides over the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica, Saturday, April 4, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

He described that stone as representative of sin, “a massive barrier that shuts us in and separates us from God, seeking to stifle his words of hope within us.”

"Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, however, did not let themselves be intimidated," he said. "They went to the tomb and, thanks to their faith and their love, became the first witnesses of the Resurrection.”

The pope said Jesus' message to the women — “Peace be with you” — is “also our message to the world.”

Pope Leo XIV presides over the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica, Saturday, April 4, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

"Like the women who ran to bring the news to the brethren, we too wish to set out tonight from this Basilica, to carry to everyone the Good News that Jesus has risen, and that — through his power, having risen with him — we too can give birth to a new world of peace and unity.”

Addressing the catechumens receiving baptism during the vigil, the pope described them as “reborn in Christ to become new creatures.”

“Even in our own day, there is no shortage of tombs that need opening; indeed, the stones sealing them are often so heavy and so heavily guarded that they seem immovable,” he said.

“Some of these stones weigh upon the human heart — such as mistrust, fear, selfishness, and resentment. Others — the consequences of those inner burdens — sever the bonds between us, such as war, injustice, and the closing off of peoples and nations from one another.”

“Let us not allow ourselves to be paralyzed by them!” the pope said.

Pointing to the heroic work of the Christians of the past, the pope urged the faithful to “be moved by their example.”

“And on this Holy Night, let us make their commitment our own, so that everywhere and always — throughout the world — the Easter gifts of harmony and peace may grow and flourish,” he said.

This story was originally published by ACI Stampa, EWTN News' Italian-language partner agency. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to “live our lives as a journey” and prayed for the Church to “follow in the footprints” of Christ as he walked the Via Crucis on April 3.

The pope personally carried the cross through every station of the Good Friday Way of the Cross at the Colosseum, the first time in four years the figure of the Supreme Pontiff has been present at the amphitheater.

A flickering cross towers at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News A candle flickers at the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV carries the cross during the Via Crucis at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to “live our lives as a journey” and prayed for the Church to “follow in the footprints” of Christ as he walked the Via Crucis on April 3.

The pope personally carried the cross through every station of the Good Friday Way of the Cross at the Colosseum, the first time in four years the figure of the Supreme Pontiff has been present at the amphitheater.

Due to health concerns, Pope Francis last participated in person at the Colosseum in 2022, appearing via video after that.

Leo told media earlier in the week that the event “will be an important sign, given what the pope represents: a spiritual leader in today’s world — a voice to proclaim that Christ still suffers.”

"And I, too, carry all of this suffering in my prayers,” the pope said.

The Via Crucis meditations for 2026 were written by Father Francesco Patton, the former Custos of the Holy Land. The reflections noted that “every authority must answer before God for the manner in which it exercises the power it has received,” including “the power to initiate a war or to end it” and “the power to trample upon human dignity or to safeguard it.”

“Each one of us, too, is called to answer for the power we exercise in our daily lives,” the meditations said.

At the conclusion of the Way of the Cross, the pope quoted Saint Francis of Assisi in praying that God would “give us miserable ones the grace to do for you alone what we know you want us to do and always to desire what pleases you.”

“Inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, may we be able to follow in the footprints of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,” the pope prayed.

This story was originally published by ACI Stampa, EWTN News' Italian-language partner agency. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

VATICAN — Pope Leo XIV presided over the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion in St. Peter’s Basilica on Good Friday during which the preacher of the papal household exhorted Christians to “approach the Lord’s cross without fear.”

The liturgy began with the pope lying prostrate before the cross and then unfolded in three parts: the Liturgy of the Word, veneration of the cross, and Holy Communion.

There was no opening antiphon; the solemn liturgy began with silent prayer, the unifying thread through the entire celebration.

After the proclamation of the Gospel of John’s account of Christ’s passion, the papal preacher, Father Roberto Pasolini, OFMCap, delivered a homily.

Pope Leo XIV lies prostrate before the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica during the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News ‘The greatest act of love’

“In a time like ours, still torn apart by hatred and violence, when even the name of God is invoked to justify wars and deadly decisions, we Christians are called to approach the Lord’s Cross without fear — indeed, with full trust — knowing that it is a throne upon which one sits and learns to reign with him by placing one’s life at the service of others,” Pasolini said.

“If we can hold fast to the profession of this faith, then our days too will be able to give voice to the songs of both joy and suffering, that mysterious score of the Cross in which the notes of the greatest love can be clearly recognized,” he continued.

The preacher recalled that the day’s liturgy invites Catholics to contemplate the Passion: “Yet the Cross of Christ risks remaining incomprehensible if we look at it only as an isolated fact, as a sudden event. In reality, it is the highest point of a journey, the fulfillment of an entire life in which Jesus learned to listen to and welcome the voice of the Father, allowing himself to be guided day by day all the way to the greatest act of love.”

“Jesus is the man of sorrows who knows suffering well — no violence, no resort to force, no temptation to destroy everything and start over from scratch. We know how difficult it is to embrace such a mission. We are tempted to use aggression and violence, thinking that without them nothing can ever be resolved. But only meekness is the true strength for confronting the darkness of evil,” he continued.

Father Roberto Pasolini preaches during the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion in St. Peter’s Basilica, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Example of the Servant Songs

In his homily, Pasolini referred to the Servant Songs, four poetic texts found in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (42, 49, 50, 52–53), which describe a mysterious figure — the “Servant”— who fulfills God’s will through vicarious suffering.

“To understand this journey during the days of Holy Week, the liturgy has had us listen to the so‑called Songs of the Servant of the Lord. These are poetic texts in which the prophet Isaiah sketched the figure of a mysterious servant through whom God would be able to save the world from evil and sin. Christian tradition has recognized in these songs a striking and dramatic foreshadowing,” Pasolini explained.

“In the third song, a new surprise emerges: The servant wants to help, but people respond with anger and violence,” Pasolini said. “Those who live in darkness do not always welcome the light, because the light also exposes what we would prefer to keep hidden — our wounds, our ambiguities.”

“In the fourth song, something deeply unsettling occurs: The violence inflicted on the servant is so intense that it disfigures his face. He has no appearance or beauty, yet the servant has learned not to return the evil he has received,” the preacher said.

The servant "does not resign himself to this logic [of violence]; he absorbs everything without retaliating. For this reason, he bore the sin of many,” the priest explained.

For the papal preacher, the Lord Jesus “did not merely listen to these songs; he lived them intensely, with complete trust in the Father.”

“We see it constantly in wars, in divisions, in wounds: evil keeps circulating because it always finds someone willing to pass it on. Jesus broke this chain by accepting what happened to him. In the Passion, he recognized the score of the songs of love and service that the Father had entrusted to him. In this way, he learned the most difficult obedience — the obedience of loving the other,” Pasolini continued.

“The voice of God no longer guides us — not because it has disappeared, but because it has become just one voice among many, the others promising security and well‑being,” he said.

“What is missing is a word, a song capable of guiding our steps toward a more just world,” he added. “And yet, if we look closely, we can glimpse a silent crowd of people who choose a different voice — a voice that does not shout, that does not impose itself by force, a quiet and persistent song that invites us to love and never return evil for evil. They do not perform extraordinary deeds, but each day they try to make their lives serve not only themselves, but others as well.”

Pope Leo XIV prays in St. Peter’s Basilica during the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion, Friday, April 3, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News ‘Lay down the weapons’

Referencing the act of venerating the cross, Pasolini encouraged those present to use the opportunity to “lay down the weapons” they are holding.

“They may not seem as dangerous as those wielded by the powerful of this world. Yet they, too, are instruments of death, because they are enough to weaken, wound, and drain meaning and love from our daily relationships,” he said.

“Salvation will not drop down from above, nor can it be guaranteed by political, economic, or military decisions. The world is constantly being saved by those who are willing to embrace the Songs of the Servant of the Lord as the shape of their own lives,” the preacher encouraged.

“This is what the Lord Jesus did. He took the Father’s will seriously, accepting it as a score to be carried out to the end, with loud cries and tears.”

“Tonight we too are handed the score of the cross. We can freely accept it if we acknowledge that there is no difficulty that cannot be faced, no guilty party we must point to, no enemy who can prevent us from loving and serving."

"There is only ourselves — who, by choosing not to return evil, by remaining patient in trials, by believing in good even when darkness seems to swallow everything, can become day by day those servants the Lord needs to bring salvation into the world,” he said.

This story was originally published by ACI Stampa, EWTN News' Italian-language partner agency. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV spoke by phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Good Friday.

The Vatican said the pope spoke separately with both presidents on April 3. They exchanged Easter and Passover greetings. Leo also spoke with the presidents about the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and highlighted the need for continued humanitarian aid.

The Middle East and Ukraine continue to be plagued by armed conflicts. The U.S. and Israeli conflict with Iran has entered a new phase with U.S. President Donald Trump this week vowing stronger military action against Iran. The Russia-Ukraine War continues to claim casualties and has entered its fourth year.

A statement from the office of the Israeli president said Herzog discussed the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran with the pope, including “the ongoing threat of missile attacks by the Iranian regime and its terror proxies against people of all faiths in the region.”

The statement also said that Herzog recalled to Leo recent Iranian missile attacks on Jerusalem, and his insistence that Hezbollah continues to be a threat to stability in the Middle East.

The telephone discussions followed Leo’s public plea on March 31 in which he again called for an unconditional ceasefire and expressed hopes that Trump would be “looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing.” In that same plea, he also called for an Easter truce for both conflicts.

The discussion between the pope and the Israeli president also followed an incident in Jerusalem on March 29, where the Latin patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, was denied access to the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday by Israeli police.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land later reached an agreement with Israeli authorities, permitting access for Church representatives to celebrate Masses and religious rites while restrictions on public gatherings remain in force.

Neither the office of the Israeli president nor the Vatican commented on whether the pope and Herzog discussed the incident in Jerusalem.

The Good Friday Reproaches are a series of antiphons, known also as the “Improperia” or “Popule Meus” (“My People”), coming from the opening lines of the Latin text of the recitation.

Dating back to the ninth century, though not gaining a permanent place in the Roman orders until the 14th century, the Good Friday Reproaches have long been an essential part of the Roman liturgy. But they largely disappeared from many parishes following the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

The antiphons have, however, retained their prominence at the Vatican — and are normally chanted by the Sistine Chapel Choir during the Good Friday service in St. Peter’s Basilica.

In the moment leading up to the dramatic recitation, the priest chants three times, in an increasing pitch, “Ecce lignum crucis,” or “Behold the wood of the cross,” each time gradually unveiling the cross that hitherto has been covered in a purple veil.

Once the crucifix is placed in a central location at the edge of the sanctuary, cast against a bare altar, the faithful are invited to kneel before — and kiss — it, a powerful remembrance of Christ’s passion but also a recognition of the cross as an instrument of salvation.

During the adoration of the cross, the Good Friday Reproaches are chanted in an alternating manner between a cantor and choir. It opens: “Popule meus, quid feci tibi? Aut in quo contristavi te? Responde mihi” (“My people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me”).

This hauntingly sorrowful and beautiful text is followed by the first reproach: “Quia eduxi te de terra Aegypti: parasti crucem Salvatori tuo” (“Because I led thee out of the land of Egypt: thou hast prepared a cross for thy Savior”), showcasing the world’s fatal rejection of Christ despite his love and saving acts.

The following is the full text of the reproaches:

Popule meus, quid feci tibi?
Aut in quo contristavi te?
Responde mihi.
(O my people, what have I done to thee?
Or how have I offended you?
Answer me.)

Quia eduxi te de terra Aegypti:
parasti crucem Salvatori tuo.
(Because I led thee out of the land of Egypt:
thou hast prepared a cross for thy Savior.)

Hagios o Theos.
Sanctus Deus.
Hagios Ischyros.
Sanctus fortis.
Hagios Athanatos, eleison himas.
Sanctus immortalis, miserere nobis.
(O holy God!
O holy God!
O holy strong One!
O holy strong One!
O holy and immortal, have mercy upon us.
O holy and immortal, have mercy upon us.)

Quia eduxi te per desertum quadraginta annis:
et manna cibavi te, et introduxi te in terram satis bonam:
parasti crucem Salvatori tuo.
Hagios ...
(Because I led thee through the desert for 40 years:
and fed thee with manna, and brought thee into a land exceeding good:
Thou hast prepared a cross for thy Savior.
O holy God! ...)

Quid ultra debui facere tibi, et non feci?
Ego quidem plantavi te vineam meam speciosissimam:
et tu facta es mihi nimis amara:
aceto namque sitim meam potasti:
et lancea perforasti latus Salvatori tuo.
Hagios ...
(What more ought I to have done for thee, that I have not done?
I planted thee, indeed, my most beautiful vineyard:
and thou hast become exceeding bitter to me:
for in my thirst thou gavest me vinegar to drink:
and with a spear thou hast pierced the side of thy Savior.
O holy God! ...)

Ego propter te flagellavi Aegyptum cum primogenitis suis:
et tu me flagellatum tradidisti.
Popule meus ...
(For thy sake I scourged the firstborn of Egypt:
Thou hast given me up to be scourged.
O my people ...)

Ego te eduxi de Aegypto, demerso Pharone in mare Rubrum:
et tu me tradidisti principibus sacerdotum.
Popule meus ...
(I led thee out of Egypt, having drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea:
and thou hast delivered me to the chief priests.
O my people ...)

Ego ante te aperui mare:
et tu aperuisti lancea latus meum.
Popule meus ...
(I opened the sea before thee:
and thou hast opened my side with a spear.
O my people ...)

Ego ante te praeivi in columna nubis:
et tu me duxisti ad praetorium Pilati.
Popule meus ...
(I went before thee in a pillar of cloud:
and thou hast led me to the judgment hall of Pilate.
O my people ...)

Ego te pavi manna in desertum:
et tu me cedisti alapis et flagellis.
Popule meus . . .
(I fed thee with manna in the desert:
and thou hast assaulted me with blows and scourges.
O my people ...)

Ego te potavi aqua salutis de petra:
et tu me potasti felle et aceto.
Popule meus ...
(I gave thee the water of salvation from the rock:
and thou hast given me gall and vinegar to drink.
O my people ...)

Ego propter te Chananeorum reges percussi:
et tu percussisti arundine caput meum.
Popule meus . . .
(For thy sake I struck the kings of the Canaanites:
and thou hast struck my head with a reed.
O my people ...)

Ego dedi tibi sceptrum regale:
et tu dedisti capiti meo spineam coronam.
Popule meus ...
(I gave thee a royal scepter:
and thou hast given a crown of thorns for my head.
O my people ...)

Ego te exaltavi magna virtute:
et tu me suspendisti in patibulo crucis.
Popule meus ...
(I exalted thee with great strength:
and thou hast hanged me on the gibbet of the cross.
O my people ...)

This story was first published on Good Friday 2024 and has been updated.

Pope Leo XIV on Holy Thursday returned the Mass of the Lord’s Supper to the Basilica of St. John Lateran, reviving a papal practice last observed there in 2012 under Benedict XVI.

Departing from Pope Francis’ custom of celebrating the liturgy in prisons or migrant centers, Leo celebrated the rite in the cathedral of Rome and washed the feet of 12 priests of the Diocese of Rome.

Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful at the Basilica of St. John Lateran during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV celebrates the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV washes the feet of priests at the Basilica of St. John Lateran during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Acolytes process through the Basilica of St. John Lateran during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News The Gospel is held aloft at the Basilica of St. John Lateran during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV incenses the altar of the Basilica of St. John Lateran during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV holds a crucifix aloft at the Basilica of St. John Lateran during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Pope Leo XIV on Holy Thursday returned the Mass of the Lord’s Supper to the Basilica of St. John Lateran, reviving a papal practice last observed there in 2012 under Benedict XVI.

Departing from Pope Francis’ custom of celebrating the liturgy in prisons or migrant centers, Leo celebrated the rite in the cathedral of Rome and washed the feet of 12 priests of the Diocese of Rome.

In his homily, the pope framed the liturgy as the solemn entrance into the Easter Triduum and said Christ’s love, shown in both the Eucharist and the washing of the feet, reveals the justice of God in a world wounded by evil.

“This evening’s solemn liturgy marks our entry into the holy Triduum of the Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection,” Leo said. “We cross this threshold not as mere spectators, nor out of habit, but as those personally invited by Jesus himself as guests at the Supper in which bread and wine become for us the sacrament of salvation.”

“His love becomes both gesture and nourishment for all, revealing the justice of God,” the pope said. “In this world, and particularly in those places where evil abounds, Jesus loves definitively — forever, and with his whole being.”

Reflecting on the washing of the feet, Leo said the gesture is not simply a moral lesson but a revelation of God’s own way of loving.

“What the Lord shows us — taking the water, the basin, and the towel — is far more than a moral example,” he said. “He entrusts to us his very way of life. The washing of the feet is a gesture that encapsulates the revelation of God.”

The pope also cited Benedict XVI, recalling that Christians must repeatedly learn that God’s greatness is unlike worldly greatness. “We too must ‘learn repeatedly that God’s greatness is different from our idea of greatness… because we systematically desire a God of success and not of the Passion,’” Leo said.

He warned that human beings are tempted to seek a God who grants success, victory, or usefulness like wealth and power rather than recognizing the divine power revealed in humble service.

“Yet we fail to perceive that God does indeed serve us through the gratuitous and humble gesture of washing feet,” Leo said. “This is the true omnipotence of God.”

The pope said Jesus’ action purifies both humanity’s false image of God and its false image of man.

“For we tend to consider ourselves powerful when we dominate, victorious when we destroy our equals, great when we are feared,” he said. “In contrast, as true God and true man, Christ offers us the example of self-giving, service, and love.”

Leo stressed that Christ gave this example not in a moment of acclaim but “on the night he was betrayed, in the darkness of incomprehension and violence.”

“In this way, it becomes clear that the Lord’s love precedes our own goodness or purity; he loves us first, and in that love, he forgives and restores us,” the pope said.

Quoting St. John’s Gospel, Leo urged Christians to live out mutual service in imitation of Christ: “He does not ask us to repay him but to share his gift among ourselves: ‘You also ought to wash one another’s feet.’”

The pope also referred to Pope Francis’ 2013 Holy Thursday homily, noting that Christian service cannot be reduced to abstraction or empty obligation but must spring from charity.

Allowing oneself to be served by the Lord, Leo said, is a precondition for serving others. “By washing our bodies, Jesus purifies our souls,” he said. “In him, God has given us an example — not of how to dominate, but of how to liberate; not of how to destroy life, but of how to give it.”

In one of the homily’s strongest appeals, the pope turned to the suffering of those crushed by violence and oppression.

“As humanity is brought to its knees by so many acts of brutality, let us too kneel down as brothers and sisters alongside the oppressed,” he said.

Leo said the liturgy of Holy Thursday draws together the institution of the Eucharist and holy orders, revealing “the perfect self-gift of Jesus, the High Priest and living, eternal Eucharist.”

Addressing priests directly, he said: “Beloved brothers in the priesthood, we are called to serve the people of God with our whole lives.”

He concluded by inviting Catholics to spend time in Eucharistic adoration and to ask for the grace to imitate Christ’s love.

“Holy Thursday is therefore a day of fervent gratitude and authentic fraternity,” the pope said. “May this evening’s Eucharistic adoration, in every parish and community, be a time to contemplate Jesus’ gesture, kneeling as he did, and to ask for the strength to imitate his service with the same love.”

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 celebrated a chrism Mass at the Vatican on April 2, his first as pope after being elected as supreme pontiff in May 2025.

The Mass included the traditional blessing of the holy oils that will be used throughout the year in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, anointing of the sick, and holy orders.

Pope Leo XIV presides over a chrism Mass at the Vatican on Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV presides over a chrism Mass at the Vatican on Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV breathes over oil during a chrism Mass at the Vatican on Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV greets clergy at a chrism Mass at the Vatican on Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV greets clergy at a chrism Mass at the Vatican on Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Clergy raise their hands in prayer during a chrism Mass at the Vatican on Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV presides over a chrism Mass at the Vatican on Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Chrismaria stand in a line at a chrism Mass at the Vatican on Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Pope Leo XIV on Holy Thursday proposed Christian mission as an antidote to what he called the “imperialist occupation of the world,” saying it is now a priority to remember that “neither in the pastoral sphere nor in the social and political spheres can good come from abuse of power.”

At the Chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on April 2, the pope reflected on the mission God entrusts to his people and warned that it must never be distorted by “a desire for domination, entirely foreign to the way of Jesus Christ.”

“The cross is part of the mission: the sending becomes more bitter and frightening, but also more freeing and transformative,” Leo said. “The imperialist occupation of the world is thus disrupted from within; the violence that until now has been the law is unmasked.”

The pope did not point to any specific geopolitical situation when he used the phrase.

The Chrism Mass, one of the principal liturgies of Holy Thursday, includes the blessing of the holy oils that will be used throughout the year in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, anointing of the sick, and holy orders. During the Mass, priests also renew the promises they made at ordination.

Presiding over the rite for the first time as bishop of Rome, Leo addressed nearly 1,000 priests in St. Peter’s Basilica and emphasized that the Christian mission is never lived in isolation or in rupture with the Church.

“Each of us takes part in it according to our own vocation in a deeply personal obedience to the voice of the Spirit, yet never without others, never neglecting or breaking communion!” he said.

The pope said the Easter Triduum, which begins later on Holy Thursday, calls Christians not to flee trial but to pass through it with Christ.

“What we are about to relive, in fact, possesses the power to transform what human pride generally tends to harden: our identity and our place in the world,” he said. “Jesus’ freedom changes hearts, heals wounds, refreshes and brightens our faces, reconciles and gathers us together, and forgives and raises us up.”

Leo also stressed that the Church is apostolic because it is sent out, not static, and said bishops and priests are called to remain at the service of a missionary people.

He warned that mission has too often been warped by worldly logic and said authentic Christian love cannot be tied to force or display.

“Love is true only when it is unguarded; it requires little fuss, no ostentation, and gently cherishes weakness and vulnerability,” he said.

The pope also cautioned against approaching the poor with worldly signs of influence.

“There is no ‘good news to the poor’ … if we go to them bearing the signs of power, nor is there authentic liberation unless we free ourselves from attachment,” he said.

Instead, Leo pointed to the witness of the great missionaries, who, he said, embody “quiet, unobtrusive approaches, whose method is the sharing of life, selfless service, the renunciation of any calculated strategy, dialogue and respect.”

He added that Christian mission requires simplicity and reverence before the mystery present in every people and culture.

“As Christians, we are guests,” he said. “To be hosts, in fact, we must learn to be guests ourselves.”

Even in places marked by secularization, he said, the Church must not think in terms of conquest or reconquest, but of listening, accompaniment, and witness. That is possible only when the Church walks together, he said, and when mission is not “a heroic adventure reserved for a few, but the living witness of a Body with many members.”

Leo also reflected on the possibility of rejection in Christian mission, recalling Jesus’ expulsion from Nazareth. Yet even that trial, he said, can become the place where the Gospel reveals its deepest power.

“How many ‘resurrections’ are we called to experience when, free from a defensive attitude, we immerse ourselves in service like a seed in the earth!” he said.

During the homily, the pope cited St. Óscar Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador murdered in 1980, as a witness of persevering hope amid danger and suffering.

At the close of his reflection, Leo urged Catholics to renew their commitment to a mission marked by unity and peace.

“In this dark hour of history, it has pleased God to send us to spread the fragrance of Christ where the stench of death reigns,” he said. “Let us renew our ‘yes’ to this mission that calls for unity and brings peace. Yes, we are here! Let us overcome the sense of powerlessness and fear!”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News’ Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

NASA’s Artemis II test flight launched into space on Wednesday evening for an expected 10-day lunar flyby mission.

The flight — which is the first crewed mission to orbit the moon since the Apollo 11 landing in 1969 — is a test for future missions hoping to return humans to the lunar surface in 2028.

Jesuit Father Richard A. D’Souza, director of the Vatican Observatory since September 2025, told EWTN News the Artemis II program is “a great development” that will hopefully lead to answers about the origin of the moon.

The astronomer said the Catholic Church has always supported space exploration but, noting the increased commercialization of spaceflight, warned that it should be for “the benefit of all.”

D’Souza shared with EWTN News the significance of this launch and how the Church continues to view space exploration:

EWTN News: From the Vatican Observatory’s perspective, what is the significance of Artemis II returning humans to the moon’s vicinity after more than 50 years?

D’Souza: The Artemis program is a great development from the perspective of human spaceflight. Since the Apollo missions, our understanding of the moon and our scientific techniques to answer many of the unanswered questions have improved. A possible landing on the moon will allow us to answer several unanswered questions about the origin of the moon.

Furthermore, there is a growing awareness that the moon could host several scientific experiments which could not be possible from the earth due to the abundance of electromagnetic pollution. The far side of the moon remains shielded from various forms of electromagnetic pollutions from the Earth and is ideal to listen to faint signals from the cosmos.

How does the Catholic Church view human spaceflight today — has that perspective evolved since the Apollo era?

The Apollo program — lead by NASA — focused on human endeavor and making the impossible possible. Today, there are many more actors in space with the inclusion of many private companies focused solely on commercial benefit. The Catholic Church, while encouraging all forms of human progress, is particularly concerned that the benefits of such technologies should lead to the benefit of all and not to further inequality and injustice.

Furthermore, the Vatican is especially concerned about the pollution of pristine environments in space (e.g. the moon or other planets) and the great risk of increasing space debris.

Artemis II is a test mission rather than a landing — what does the emphasis on preparation and patience say about how we should approach exploration?

Artemis II is part of a long-term program to return humankind to the moon. While 50 years have passed since we were last on the surface of the moon, we now have a much better understanding of the risks involved. At the same time, much of the technology that will be used in the Artemis program has never been tested for this kind of enterprise. In any form of space mission which involves human persons, the highest forms of accountability and security are needed. Hence, the great caution on the part of NASA in doing all the preparation necessary before landing again on the moon.

Some critics argue that space exploration distracts us from addressing suffering and injustice on Earth. How does the Church respond to that concern?

The Catholic Church has long supported space exploration right from the initial days of the Apollo missions. It understands the symbolic value of space exploration and its effect on other dimensions of human life. Yet at the same time, it is very concerned that exploration of space should not lead to an increase in injustice here on Earth. For this reason, it has been particularly vociferous about international treaties and regulations of space use and travel that need to be put in place — to ensure peace, justice, and that its benefits reach all.

Looking ahead, what questions do you hope future space missions will help humanity explore?

Human space travel to Mars will require us to understand the long-term effect of space travel on the human person. The longest a person has been in space has been 437 days. Before we can undertake longer space missions, we need to understand how to deal with medical emergencies in space. The recent return of the astronauts from the space station due to a health emergency shows how difficult this can be.

Peruvian priest Father Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga, personal secretary to Pope Leo XIV, said the Holy Father “hasn’t changed” since his years as a bishop in Peru and is still approachable, serene, and possesses a great capacity for listening.

In an interview with the Spanish media outlet Alfa and Omega, the priest, who first met the pontiff when their paths crossed in Chiclayo, Peru, emphasized that despite his new responsibilities, the pope “remains the same.”

“The only things that have changed are his attire, which is now white, and his responsibilities; otherwise, the man we have all come to know remains exactly the same: approachable, calm, an excellent listener, and always available,” he said.

A discreet service alongside the pope

Rimaycuna explained that his role as personal secretary consists of accompanying the Holy Father in his daily life and ensuring he has the necessary time and space for rest.

“It means working alongside a friend, in my particular case, and also serving as the one who assists him in his daily work and protects him, so he is able to carry out his duties in a peaceful atmosphere,” he noted.

The priest also said his role is defined by discretion, in which the spotlight always remains on the pope.

“No one teaches you how to be the pope’s secretary, because it’s an assignment that comes upon you quite suddenly,” he remarked, explaining that he has found inspiration in St. Joseph and St. John the Baptist.

He highlighted St. Joseph’s silence and his capacity to remain in the background and St. John the Baptist’s attitude of humility, expressed in the phrase: “It is fitting that I decrease and that he increase.”

“I believe that these are the two images that summarize the mission, the task, of a secretary: to take second place, and for the other person to be the center of attention,” he noted.

Latin American warmth in the pontificate

Rimaycuna also said the pope’s experience in Latin America has shaped his style of governance, particularly in his closeness to people.

“In Latin America, we are accustomed to physical closeness, close contact,” he explained, noting that this characteristic is reflected by the pontiff in particular ways, such as “offering a greeting, smiling, offering a word of encouragement, or making a small gesture.”

Some observers perceive Leo’s pontificate as reserved, and Rimaycuna confirmed that this reservedness is part of the pope’s personality: “He is reserved because that is simply his nature — always prudent, calm, and patient — but his years in Peru have also helped him maintain that closeness with the people.”

In this regard, he added that the pope manages to integrate “prudence and practicality” with the “cordial, approachable, and affectionate” gestures characteristic of Latin America.

On the apostolic journey to Spain

Regarding the upcoming apostolic journey to Spain, the pope’s personal secretary noted that its primary significance will lie in the closeness of the shepherd to his flock.

He also highlighted that the Holy Father seeks to acknowledge Spain’s historical contribution to the Church.

“Throughout history, Spain has been characterized as a land that has produced many saints,” he stated, emphasizing that the trip would also serve as a gesture of “gratitude for all that Spain has given to the world and to the Church in terms of faith and Christian life.”

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.

Leo XIV records his “Pray with the Pope” video each month, but how does he choose the intentions he wants the Church to pray for?

“They’re absolutely the pope’s intentions; however, he does it in a very synodal way,” after gathering input from many sources, Father Cristóbal Fones, SJ, international director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (PWPN), told EWTN News.

The prayer network, established as a Vatican entity by Pope Francis in 2018, recently undertook a lengthy consultation process with its national directors in 94 countries and members of the Roman Curia.

“Last year, we received about 300 proposals in different languages,” Fones said. “We categorized them, we summarized them, and then the [prayer network’s] international office proposed 16 of them to the pope to facilitate his work.”

“In December, I passed him these 16 proposals … he put another one that wasn’t part of the [original] proposals and changed the order,” he continued.

“He’s quite involved in this process. For him it is critical,” he said.

Every month, Pope Leo records three versions — English, Italian, and Spanish — of his monthly prayer intention.

“It’s a lot of work,” the PWPN director told EWTN News. “He’s committed to this because he knows it is important and because he wants to pray with people.”

According to Fones, Pope Leo is continuing the tradition of Pope Francis, who recorded the first video of the monthly intentions in 2016, but the current pope has put his own stamp on the practice.

“[Pope Leo] wanted to invite people not only to pray for the intention but to pray with him,” he said. “So he wanted a video where he was praying and people could join him.”

“He’s teaching us how to pray at the same time,” Fones said, “by saying ‘hello’ to the Lord, pausing a little bit, and meaning every single word.”

Fones said Pope Leo asked the global network to help people cultivate a “friendship” with God through the various multimedia resources they offer.

“He said to me, ‘Please teach people how to pray,’” Fones said. “He’s very conscious that we may be Catholics but not have this kind of relationship with Jesus.”

“Prayer is not something that we do or something that we say, but it’s a relationship that we build up — not with something — but with someone,” he added.

In addition to the “Pray with the Pope” campaign, the Vatican foundation also offers a nine-step spirituality program called “Way of the Heart.”

At Leo’s request, PWPN launched the “Pray with the Pope” campaign in January with the desire to teach people “intercessory prayer” that is focused on “Christ and the challenges of humanity.”

“The closer we are to the heart of Jesus, the closer we are to the pains and sufferings of the world who are at the core of his heart,” Fones said.

“The important thing is to be compassionate with so many challenges we are facing around the world, very critical, that obviously are in the heart of the pope, as [they are] in the heart of so many people who are suffering those problems, and … certainly in the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said.

The laity are not “a formless mass, but the body of Christ,” endowed with dignity and responsibility in the Church and in the world, Pope Leo XIV said in his catechesis at the general audience on Wednesday.

After riding around a packed St. Peter’s Square in the popemobile on April 1, the Holy Father recalled the nature and mission of the laity, who for centuries had been defined simply as “those who are not part of the clergy or the consecrated life” in a reflection based on the Second Vatican Council’s dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium.

Dignity and mission of the laity

The pope explained that Vatican II broke with the former understanding of the laity by affirming the equality of all the baptized and emphasizing both the dignity and the mission of the laity in the Church and in the world.

“Naturally, the greater the gift, the greater the commitment too,” the pontiff said.

In light of Lumen Gentium, Leo affirmed that, by virtue of baptism, “the lay faithful participate in the very priesthood of Christ.”

He recalled the apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici, in which St. John Paul II emphasized that “the council, with its rich doctrinal, spiritual, and pastoral patrimony, has written as never before on the nature, dignity, spirituality, mission, and responsibility of the lay faithful.” In this way, the saintly pope “relaunched the apostolate of the laity,” Leo noted.

He also stressed that the vast field of the lay apostolate “is not confined to the Church but extends to the world” and that the Church is present “wherever her children profess and bear witness to the Gospel.”

As examples, he cited workplaces, civil society, and all human relationships, “wherever they, through their choices, show the beauty of Christian life, which foretells here and now the justice and peace that will be accomplished in the kingdom of God.”

Quoting Lumen Gentium, the Holy Father stated that “the world needs to be permeated by the spirit of Christ, and more effectively fulfill its purpose in justice, charity, and peace.” He added: “And this is possible only through the contribution, service, and witness of the laity!”

This, the pontiff explained, is the invitation to be the “outgoing” Church spoken of by Pope Francis: “a Church embodied in history, always open to mission, in which we are all called to be missionary disciples, apostles of the Gospel, witnesses of the kingdom of God, bearers of the joy of Christ whom we have encountered!”

During his greeting to pilgrims, Pope Leo XIV encouraged them to remain close to the tomb of Christ and to be faithful in the hour of silence and trial.

He also encouraged the faithful to strengthen their faith during Holy Week and to ask the Lord that the paschal mystery renew in them the grace to be joyful witnesses of the Risen One, confident that love and peace are stronger than death.

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

Pope Leo XIV has renewed his appeal for peace in a world wounded by conflict and violence.

In remarks to journalists on March 31 outside the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo, the pope reminded that “Easter should be the holiest, most sacred time of the year. It is a time of peace, a time for much reflection, but as we all know, once again in the world, in so many places, we are seeing so much suffering, so many deaths, even innocent children.”

The pope said he had been told President Donald Trump wants to end the war in the Middle East and expressed hope that Trump is seeking a way to decrease the violence.

Pope Leo asked everyone, “especially Christians,” to “live these days recognizing that Christ is still crucified today, that Christ still suffers today in the innocent, especially those who are suffering from violence, hatred, and war.”

“Let us pray for them, for the victims of war, let us pray that there may truly be a new, renewed peace, which can give new life to all,” Pope Leo urged.

“We make continuous appeals for peace, but unfortunately many people want to promote hatred and violence, war,” the pope said.

Hope for a truce

He expressed hope for a truce during Easter, saying: “I’m told that President Trump recently stated that he would like to end the war. Hopefully he’s looking for an ‘off ramp.’ Hopefully he’s looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing, which would be a significant contribution to removing the hatred that’s being created and that’s increasing constantly in the Middle East and elsewhere.”

The pope addressed all world leaders, urging them: “Come back to the table, to dialogue. Let’s look for solutions to problems, let’s look for ways to reduce the amount of violence that we’re promoting, that peace — especially at Easter — might reign in our hearts.”

In response to a question about his plans, announced today, to carry a cross during the Good Friday Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome, the pope said: “I think it will be an important sign because of what the pope represents: a spiritual leader in today’s world, a voice to say that Christ still suffers. And I carry all these sufferings in my prayers as well.”

He asked “all people of goodwill, to people of faith, to walk together, to walk with Christ who suffered for us, to give us salvation, and to seek to be bearers of peace ourselves.”

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of April is for priests in crisis.

In a video released on X, the Holy Father posed a question for the faithful: “Have you ever been in a crisis?”

“In moments of fragility, it’s so important that we are there for one another,” he said. “This April, I invite you to join me in prayer for priests going through moments of crisis in their vocation, that they may find accompaniment and that communities may support them with understanding and prayer.”

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 Jesus,

Good Shepherd and companion on the journey,

today we place in your hands all priests,

especially those going through moments of crisis,

when loneliness weighs heavily,

when doubt clouds their hearts,

and when exhaustion seems stronger than hope.

You who know their struggles and wounds,

renew in them the certainty of your unconditional love.

Let them feel they are not mere functionaries or lonely heroes,

but beloved sons, humble and cherished disciples,

and pastors sustained by the prayer of their people.

Good Father,

teach us as a community to care for our priests:

to listen without judging,

to give thanks without demanding perfection,

to share with them the baptismal mission

of proclaiming the kingdom in word and deed,

and to accompany them with closeness and sincere prayer.

May we support those who so often support us.

Holy Spirit,

rekindle in our priests the joy of the Gospel.

Grant them healthy friendships, networks of fraternal support,

a sense of humor when things don’t go as expected,

and the grace to always rediscover the beauty of their vocation.

May they never lose trust in you,

nor the joy of serving your Church with a humble and generous heart.

Amen.

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

Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu is alarmed about rising hostility toward Christians, both in parts of the Islamic world and in Europe’s increasingly post‑Christian culture.

Nwachukwu, who serves as secretary of the Section of First Evangelization at the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, told EWTN News that any serious conversation about peace and coexistence must begin with clear condemnation of anti‑Christian violence, particularly from Muslim leaders in places where Christians lack full religious freedom.

The Nigerian prelate also warned of a growing cultural aversion to Christianity in the West, where Christian expression is often treated with suspicion even as societies insist on defending the religious symbols of others.

Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit four countries in Africa, including the Muslim-majority Algeria, on his first apostolic journey to the continent April 13–23.

A diplomat urges Muslims to confront anti‑Christian violence

Drawing on decades of diplomatic service in Ghana, Paraguay, Algeria, and Switzerland, Nwachukwu described the anti‑Christian discrimination he witnessed firsthand — experiences he believes continue to be overlooked.

“I do not criticize Islam; I criticize the way some people practice their Islam,” he said. “People just shout about Islamophobia, but its main cause is not to be sought in the West. It is to be sought in the way some Muslims practice their religion. We are calling our Muslim friends to condemn the wrong use of their religion as a religion of violence.”

He recalled that during his service in Algeria, Christians were openly labeled “enemies of Islam.” In one incident, a shopkeeper refused to serve him because he was wearing a Roman collar.

“Christians still do not have full liberty to practice their religion,” he said.

A West increasingly uncomfortable with its Christian roots

But Nwachukwu also directed sharp criticism toward Europe, where he sees a growing reluctance to defend Christianity even as Western societies emphasize religious tolerance.

“Everybody denounces Islamophobia, but nobody denounces Christianophobia,” he said. “We are in a post‑Christian Europe and a post‑Christian West.”

He noted that Christian symbols face discrimination not applied to other religions: “You enter a hall and see a symbol of Buddhism — nobody touches it. You see a Muslim in a hijab — nobody says to remove it. But you see a cross, and they say, ‘Remove it.’ Why?”

This, he argued, reflects a cultural embarrassment about Europe’s Christian heritage:

“It is like feeling guilty for having a mother who is ugly and then forgetting that she also has rights. The Christianity that gave them their education, culture, and society — they now feel uncomfortable with it.”

Reverse missionaries and a hopeful response to Europe’s secular drift

Nwachukwu said this situation makes the growing presence of African and Asian missionaries in Europe all the more significant, as a hopeful sign that the global Church can help rekindle the continent’s Christian identity.

“The West often forgets that we are the result of sacrifices made by their own brothers and sisters who became missionaries,” he said. “But the sheaves — the children of those missionaries — are now returning.”

Nwachukwu described this movement as a gift that can strengthen Western Christianity in places where secularism has taken deep root.

“We want to see the mother Churches in Europe accept and be proud of their missionary children from the global south.”

Encouragement for persecuted Christians

To Christians facing persecution — whether under hostile regimes, extremist movements, or secular cultural pressures — Nwachukwu offered a message of strength: “If you are encountering persecution, it means that the message you have is important. If your message were not important, people wouldn’t even think of you. So, the message is: Do not feel you are alone. Know what you are worth.”

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has canceled the second World Children’s Day, which had been scheduled to take place in Rome Sept. 25–27, about six weeks after Pope Leo XIV dissolved the commission responsible for its organization.

The Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life announced the decision March 27, saying it had “considered it appropriate to cancel the celebration of the Second World Children’s Day, initially scheduled to take place in Rome from Sept. 25 to 27, 2026.”

According to the official statement, the dicastery opted not to hold the international gathering in Rome and instead pointed to a more decentralized approach rooted in local communities.

“All initiatives aimed at the pastoral care of children may be celebrated, at the discretion of the ordinaries, at a diocesan or parish level and with the involvement of families, the proper place for the human and spiritual growth of every child,” the statement said, adding that the decision was made “after careful consideration and in agreement with the Holy Father.”

The text underscores the role of the family as central to the human and spiritual development of children, in keeping with the pastoral emphasis of the current pontificate.

The Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life also reaffirmed that it continues “its commitment to promoting the pastoral care of the family in all its components.”

The cancellation of the second World Children’s Day follows another decision made in February that brought a structural change by placing the initiative under the integrated management of the Roman Curia. Leo XIV dissolved the Pontifical Commission for World Children’s Day, a body created in 2024 by his predecessor, Pope Francis, for organizational matters.

As a result, the president, vice president, and all members of the body — including Father Enzo Fortunato, who had served as president of the committee — automatically ceased their functions.

Full responsibility then passed to the dicastery led by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, whom the pope entrusted with general coordination, resolving pending matters, and presenting the final liquidation balance to the Secretariat for the Economy.

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.

At the Vatican on Monday of Holy Week — known in some places as “Authority Monday” — Pope Leo XIV recalled Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple in Matthew 23:21-27, saying that through the paschal mystery, the Lord shows “that even the most difficult and challenging circumstances can be transformed from within by the power of love.”

‘The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate source of hope’

“The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate source of hope for all who believe in Christ and await the promise of eternal life,” the pontiff said during an audience with the Illinois Municipal League, an association of municipalities that advocates for the interests of local governments in Illinois, the pope’s home state.

Acknowledging that suffering cannot be avoided or eliminated, the Holy Father affirmed that one can “find a redemptive meaning” in it that restores lost dignity and “opens the door to a new life.”

The Holy Father also recalled that “the victory of the risen Lord over death” reveals that the heart of authentic authority is service: “His service and obedience to the will of the Father have led to a sure hope and lasting peace for all humanity.”

“Thus,” the pontiff added, “the victory born of Christ’s gift of self stands as both a beacon and a challenge for all of us today.”

He invited members of the state association “to be attentive to the needs of the weakest and most vulnerable in order to assist them toward integral human development.”

He cited as an example the Venerable Giorgio La Pira, who served as mayor of Florence, Italy, encouraging the group “to reduce and alleviate the suffering and hardships of their citizens in every possible way, through every measure that love suggests and the law provides.”

“The dignity of every individual must be recognized and upheld, because their municipalities are not anonymous places but rather possess faces and stories that must be cherished as valuable treasures,” he said.

Listening to the poor and to immigrants

The pope asked the group to listen to the poor, to immigrants, “and to all the least among you” in order “to promote the common good for the benefit of all.”

In this way, he emphasized, “each of your municipalities can become a place of genuine encounter among all citizens, providing opportunities for every individual to flourish.”

Pope Leo XIV also recalled that “those who exercise authority are also servants of God” and entrusted the association members to the intercession of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, who for many years assisted the most vulnerable in Chicago “with great love and dedication.”

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 reaffirmed its support for the Anglican ordinariates, confirming that these communities have a permanent and valued place within the Catholic Church.

On March 24, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a document titled “Characteristics of the Anglican Heritage as Lived in the Ordinariates Established Under the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus.”

The document is the fruit of a meeting held March 1–3 in Rome, during which Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the dicastery, invited the ordinariate bishops — including Bishop Steven J. Lopes of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, Bishop David Waller of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England, and Bishop Anthony Randazzo of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross — to reflect on how they have lived and integrated their Anglican spiritual and liturgical heritage within the Catholic Church.

The document highlights key characteristics of the Anglican patrimony as lived in the ordinariates, including a distinctive “ecclesial ethos” in which both the laity and the clergy participate actively in church governance, and a focus on evangelization through beauty in worship, music, and art.

Direct outreach to the poor is “a defining element of the patrimony,” according to the document, as is a pastoral culture that connects divine worship with daily life in what the document calls an “almost monastic rhythm drawn from the English spiritual tradition” that characterizes ordinariate parish communities.

The bishops said a strong emphasis on the family as the “domestic church,” as “the home is … the first place where the faith is learned and lived” is strongly emphasized.

The document also highlighted Scripture-centered preaching and the importance of spiritual direction and the sacrament of penance.

The bishops noted that, despite the great geographical distances between the three ordinariates, they share “a core shared identity” and offer “a unique reflection of the face of the Church and a distinctive contribution to the living richness of her identity as ‘one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.’”

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston serves as the mother church and cathedral of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, which spans the U.S. and Canada. Established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, the ordinariate was given its own cathedral when Lopes was ordained and installed on Feb. 2, 2016.

In a message sent to parishioners, Lopes welcomed the document as a significant encouragement, calling it “an exhortation to live this patrimony in all of its richness. We have been given a unique set of tools — the way we worship, the way we structure parish life, the centrality of family life, etc. — which add to the vitality of the Catholic Church. Our ordinariate identity arises from fidelity to this patrimony and this mission. Our diversity does not detract from the underlying communion of the Church… it strengthens it.”

Bishop Steven J. Lopes processes into Mass at Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2, 2025. | Credit: Amira Abuzeid/EWTN News

Lopes encouraged parishioners to share the document with family and friends who may wonder why the ordinariate’s experience of Catholic life looks different from the norm.

“Prior to today’s publication of this document, you had to glean descriptions of our patrimony from rather dry legal documents,” he wrote. “Now the Holy See is offering us a much more organic reflection on our identity and mission — and clearly stating that the ordinariate is not just a means to an end but has a long and bright future ahead of it!”

The ordinariates: A brief history

The Anglican ordinariates trace their origins to 1980, when St. John Paul II approved the Pastoral Provision, which allowed married former Episcopal clergy to be ordained as Catholic priests and permitted the formation of Anglican-use communities within existing Roman Catholic dioceses.

This was the first major step in preserving elements of Anglican liturgical and spiritual heritage for those entering full communion with Rome.

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI took this further by issuing the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, which created the personal ordinariates as permanent structures within the Catholic Church.

Each of the three Anglican ordinariates is a personal (non-territorial) jurisdiction, similar to a diocese but defined by people (those with an Anglican background who have entered full communion with the Catholic Church) rather than by strict geographical boundaries.

“Any Catholic may attend ordinariate liturgies and functions, just as members of the ordinariate can attend liturgies and functions at any Catholic parish,” according to the website for the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross encompasses Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Guam, Philippines, and surrounding areas.

The Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham is located in London and encompasses England, Scotland, and Wales.