VATICAN CITY — Religious sisters and consecrated women are a formidable presence inside Vatican City State and the Roman Curia, with recent years seeing their number and prominence rise.

The increasing presence of women in the Vatican has been well documented. According to the Vatican, the percentage of women grew from 19.2% to 23.4% during the first decade of Pope Francis’ pontificate.

According to a study done at the end of 2024, there were 1,318 women in a total workforce of around 6,000. There is no publicly available data on how big a share of the female presence is composed of consecrated women and religious sisters.

Sister Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ, was one of the first women to be appointed to a major role at the Vatican when she was named undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops in 2021. She was also the first woman to vote at a synodal assembly.

Becquart told EWTN News that during her five years at the Vatican not only have women been given more key positions, but they are also serving in less visible, though no less important, roles.

“At the Vatican now, you have more women as consultors to the different dicasteries or member of the dicasteries, on different commissions,” she said. “We had women in all our commissions as experts, as facilitators, inside the synod.”

In August 2025, Pope Leo appointed Sister Iuliana Sarosi, CMD, and Sister Martha Driscoll, OCSO, consultors of the Dicastery for Clergy.

Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE, president of the Governorate and of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Sister Raffaella Petrini of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist is the first woman in the history of the Church to head the Vatican City State.

She was appointed president of the Governorate and of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State — the equivalent of a kind of governor — in March 2025 after serving as secretary general of the city state for four years.

Petrini is also one of the first women to be a member of the Dicastery for Bishops. Pope Francis appointed Petrini, consecrated virgin María Lía Zervino, and Sister Yvonne Reungoat, FMA, members in July 2022.

Since 2023, the undersecretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) is also a religious sister: Sister Silvana Piro, FMGB.

Serving at the Vatican

Becquart described coming to the Vatican to work as “an adventure.”

“For me, being appointed at the Vatican has been a little bit like being sent to be a missionary in Papua New Guinea or in Brazil. It’s arriving in a new context, a new experience, learning a new language, new ways of working. A new culture, I would say, a new environment,” the sister said.

Sister Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ, is an undersecretary for the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

Becquart noted that one of the qualities religious sisters in general bring to their service at the Vatican is “a deep connection with real life.” As well, many “have started at the grassroots [ministering to] the people where they are. So we bring also this experience of being with others, especially with the poor and the most marginalized.”

Margherita Romanelli, a non-religious sister who recently retired after working for 31 years in the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, told EWTN News “the recent appointments of women to top positions have greatly helped other women working [in the Vatican] to feel valued and to commit themselves to working for the common good, alongside men.”

Romanelli, who is also president of the Women in the Vatican Association (DIVA), said the association was founded in 2016 because some women “felt the need to come together to respond to the needs of their female colleagues and, above all, to gain greater visibility within the Vatican. Their goal is therefore to create a network of friendship and solidarity.”

In the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, where Romanelli worked, economist Sister Alessandra Smerilli, FMA, is the first woman to hold the No. 2 position.

Smerilli was named secretary in April 2022 after serving for eight months as interim secretary and, prior to that, almost half a year as undersecretary, starting in March 2021. Before starting in the Roman Curia, Smerilli was also a councilor of the Vatican City State.

Sister Alessandra Smerilli, FMA, secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Religious sisters serving religious

In one department at the Vatican, there has been a revolution of women religious in leadership over the last year.

In 2025, first Pope Francis, and then Pope Leo XIV, put two religious sisters in charge of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, starting with Sister Simona Brambilla of the Consolata Missionaries.

Appointed prefect in January 2025, Brambilla is the first woman ever named prefect of a dicastery. She leads together with Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB, who is pro-prefect of the same dicastery.

Brambilla, who served as superior general of the Consolata Missionary Sisters from 2011 to 2023, was secretary of the dicastery for religious and consecrated life since October 2023.

The sister, who trained as a nurse before entering religious life, was a missionary in Mozambique in the late 1990s. She then returned to Italy, where, with her advanced degree in psychology, she taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University in its Institute of Psychology. She was head of the institute of Consolata Missionary Sisters from 2011 until May 2023.

In May 2025, Pope Leo XIV named Sister Tiziana Merletti, a Franciscan Sister of the Poor, secretary of the same dicastery.

Merletti, a former superior general of her order, is an expert in canon law who taught at the Pontifical University Antonianum.

With Sister Carmen Ros Nortes, NSC, who has been undersecretary of the same dicastery since 2018, three of the department’s top five positions are filled by religious sisters.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday remembered Father Pierre El Raii, a Maronite priest who died after being wounded in an Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon, and described him as “a true shepherd” who remained with his people despite the war.

El Raii was killed on March 9 while going to the aid of a parishioner wounded in a earlier attack, according to Father Toufic Bou Merhi, a Franciscan of the Custody of the Holy Land, who spoke with Vatican media.

At the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peterʼs Square, Leo commented on the March 11 funeral of El Raii and the war affecting villages in southern Lebanon.

“I am close to all the Lebanese people at this time of grave trial,” he said.

“In Arabic, ‘El Raii’ means ‘the shepherd,’” the pope said.“Father Pierre was a true shepherd, who always remained close to his people, with the love and sacrifice of Jesus the Good Shepherd. As soon as he heard that some parishioners had been wounded by a bombing, he rushed to help them without hesitation. May the Lord grant that his blood shed be a seed of peace for beloved Lebanon.”

In his appeal, Leo also called for prayers for peace in Iran and throughout the Middle East, “especially for the many civilian victims, including many innocent children.”

“May our prayer be a comfort to those who suffer and a seed of hope for the future,” he said.

A Church open to others

In his audience catechesis, the Holy Father reflected on the nature of the Church and emphasized that it “can never turn inwards on herself,” but must be “open to everyone and … for everyone.”

“In the Church there is, and there must be, a place for everyone, and every Christian is called to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness in every environment in which he or she lives and works,” he explained.

Although believers in Christ belong to the Church, the Second Vatican Council reminds us that “All men are called to belong to the new people of God,” the pope said.

In his talk, Leo continued his reflection on the dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium, focusing on the document’s second chapter, devoted to the People of God — one of the central parts of ecclesiology.

“The Church is one but includes everyone,” he said to thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.

Henri de Lubac and Vatican II

The pope quoted Cardinal Henri de Lubac, SJ, one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century and a key figure of the Second Vatican Council, to describe the Church: “The unique Ark of Salvation must welcome all human diversity into its vast nave.”

For this reason, he noted that the People of God “shows its catholicity, welcoming the wealth and resources of different cultures and, at the same time, offering them the newness of the Gospel to purify them and to raise them up.”

The pope said that the Church is a people in which “women and men of different nationalities, languages and cultures live together in faith.” For this reason, he presented it as “a sign placed in the very heart of humanity, a reminder and prophecy of that unity and peace to which God the Father calls all his children.”

Every Christian, the pontiff emphasized, is called to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness in the environments in which he or she lives and works.

“Even those who have not yet received the Gospel are therefore, in some way, oriented towards the people of God,” he affirmed.

Christ gathers the new people

During the catechesis, Leo XIV highlighted that the history of the ancient people of Israel constitutes a preparation for the new covenant that God establishes in Jesus Christ. Quoting Lumen gentium, the pope recalled that “All these things, however, were done by way of preparation and as a figure of that new and perfect covenant, which was to be ratified in Christ.”

He explained that it is Christ who, “in giving his body and his blood, unites this people in himself and in a definitive way.” This people is now composed of men and women from every nation and “is united by faith in him, by adherence to him, by living the same life as him, animated by the Spirit of the Risen One.”

In this way, he continued, the Church is born — understood as the People of God “who draw their existence from the body of Christ and who are themselves the body of Christ.”

“It is not a people like any other,” he emphasized, but a community called together by God and made up of people from all the peoples of the earth.

Its unity “is not a language, a culture, an ethnicity, but faith in Christ.” As the Council says, the Church is “the assembly of all those who in faith look upon Jesus,” he added.

A messianic people

The pontiff also explained that the Church is “a messianic people,” because it has Christ, the Messiah, as its head.

“Above any task or function, what really matters in the Church is to be grafted onto Christ,” he said. This, he explained, is the only “honorary title we should seek as Christians:” to live as children of the Father and as brothers and sisters among ourselves.

Consequently, he affirmed that the fundamental law governing relationships within the Church is “love,” as it is received and experienced in Christ.

Leo concluded his catechesis by highlighting the prophetic value of the Church in today’s world. The Church, he said, “is a great sign of hope — especially in our times, traversed by so many conflicts and wars — to know that the Church is a people in which women and men of different nationalities, languages and cultures live together in faith.”

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.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See is promoting dialogue on Cuba and has taken “the necessary steps” with the aim of encouraging a negotiated solution to the problems facing the island.

“For Cuba as well, we have done what we had to do, we met with the foreign minister and we took the necessary steps, always with a view to a dialogue-based solution to the problems that exist,” Parolin said in comments to several media outlets, including the Holy See’s official news outlet, Vatican News.

The cardinal made the remarks March 9 in Rome on the sidelines of the second edition of the interreligious initiative “Il Tavolo del Ramadan–Iftar,” dedicated to encounters among Christian, Jewish, and Muslim representatives.

Parolin’s comments come amid intensified diplomatic contacts involving Cuba. On Feb. 28, Pope Leo XIV received Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla in audience at the Vatican. Rodríguez attended as special envoy of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.

After the meeting, the Cuban foreign minister publicly thanked the pontiff on X, writing: “I deeply thank His Holiness Leo XIV for the honor of receiving me in audience as Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Cuba.”

The visit by Cuba’s top diplomat came days after another significant meeting in Rome on the situation in Cuba. On Feb. 20, the head of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana, Mike Hammer, met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states, to discuss conditions in the Caribbean nation and the “important role” played by the Catholic Church in Cuban society.

In comments to EWTN after that meeting, Hammer said Cuba is at a decisive moment and expressed hope that the country will soon attain “the freedom it has not had in 67 years.”

“If there is freedom, there will not be suffering because there will be the necessary change. How will it happen? Well, that is what we are working on,” the U.S. diplomat said in an interview with EWTN.

Eight days after that meeting, Rodríguez Parrilla traveled to the Vatican, where he met with both Leo XIV and Parolin.

Also on March 2, a group of Cubans in exile in Miami led by Rosa María Payá — founder of Cuba Decide and daughter of the late dissident leader Oswaldo Payá — signed what they call a Liberation Agreement for Cuba, a 10-step roadmap to restore “democracy and the rule of law” on the island.

The Holy See has repeatedly played a mediating role between Cuba and the United States. The most recent example came during the administration of President Joe Biden, when the Vatican helped facilitate efforts that led to the release of 553 prisoners in Cuba in exchange for the removal of Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Parolin also addressed the growing military escalation involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, which has spread to other countries in the Middle East. He said the Holy See continues to keep channels of communication open with all parties in an effort to prevent a broader conflict.

“It is necessary to have open dialogue with everyone so that this immense tragedy now unfolding does not continue to expand instead of being contained,” he said.

The secretary of state said one of the defining characteristics of Vatican diplomacy is its willingness to remain in contact with all sides involved.

“The Holy See speaks with everyone and, when necessary, also speaks with the Americans and the Israelis, presenting what, in our view, could be solutions,” he said.

Parolin also referred to the killing of Maronite Father Pierre El-Rahi, pastor of Qlaya’a in Lebanon. The priest died after going to help a parishioner and was later struck by a bombardment.

Leo XIV expressed his “deep sorrow” that same day over the priest’s death and for all the victims of the recent bombings in the Middle East, including many civilians and children, according to the Vatican press office’s Telegram channel.

“Unfortunately, the Church too is a victim of this situation; we are not exempt or immune from what the population is suffering,” Parolin said.

The cardinal also warned of the risk that the Christian presence in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East could continue to decline because of war, instability, and growing hatred.

“It is a risk the Holy See has always denounced. War, destabilization, and conflict certainly do not favor the presence of Christians,” he said, underscoring that the situation is an additional cause of concern for the Vatican.

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

Pope Leo XIV will become the first pope in history to visit Monaco on March 28, making a one-day trip to the small European principality whose Catholic roots have shaped its identity for centuries.

The visit will include an encounter with the local Catholic community, a meeting with the country’s young people, and the celebration of Mass in a stadium.

According to the program released by the Vatican, the Holy Father will depart at 7 a.m. Rome time from the Vatican City heliport and arrive in Monaco at 9 a.m.

Following the official reception, a welcome ceremony will be held at the Prince’s Palace with Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene.

Prince Albert met with the pontiff at the Vatican in January, shortly after declining to promulgate a law favorable to abortion, underscoring the influence of the Catholic Church in the principality.

After a private meeting with the royal couple at 11 a.m., Leo XIV will meet with the Catholic community at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

The principality’s constitution recognizes the Catholic religion as the state religion, and more than 90% of the population currently identifies as Catholic.

Later, at 11:45 a.m., the pope will travel to St. Devota Church to meet with young people and catechumens from the country. He is scheduled to deliver his first address in the area outside the church.

In the afternoon, at 3:30 p.m., he will celebrate Mass at Stade Louis II, which has a capacity of more than 18,000 people.

At the conclusion of the Eucharistic celebration, the pope will depart from the Monaco heliport at 5:45 p.m. and is expected to arrive back in Rome at 7:45 p.m.

The logo chosen for the brief trip highlights the spiritual and pastoral dimension of the visit. It features a black-and-white image of the Holy Father smiling and giving his blessing while wearing liturgical vestments, the miter, and the papal ferula.

According to the Vatican, the right side of the image includes a stylized depiction of a tower from the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, recalling the identity and sovereignty of the principality.

The tower is rendered in pale yellow so that the upper part of the logo as a whole evokes the colors of the Vatican flag.

At the bottom appears the inscription announcing the trip: “Leo XIV” alongside the word “Monaco,” highlighted in the bright red of the national flag and the principality’s coat of arms.

The motto appears beneath it: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (Jn 14:6), underscoring that the pontiff comes as a spokesman for Christ himself and his message.

This article was originally published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The Vatican is set to host an international conference in Vatican City that will bring together scientists, physicians, and bioethicists to reflect on the ethical challenges of molecular biology, regenerative medicine, and new biotechnologies from a Christian perspective.

The Pontifical Academy for Life, together with the NCCR Molecular Systems Engineering at the University of Basel and ETH Zurich and the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, is organizing the third ICEEL conference on March 23–24 under the title Quid est homo? Quis est homo? (“What is man? Who is man?”).

The event will explore links among fields including biomedicine and molecular engineering and will feature leading international scientists, bioethicists, and physicians in roundtable discussions on the ethical and social implications of technological innovation from a Christian perspective.

The program includes keynote lectures and panels on science and the human person, the human body, consciousness and spirituality, as well as sessions on responsibility and scientific communication.

Topics will also include the neuroscience of consciousness, regenerative medicine, and the ethics of genetic engineering, with a focus on the moral and social challenges posed by contemporary biotechnology.

According to the organizers, the conference seeks to foster dialogue among science, ethics, and spirituality by combining cutting-edge scientific perspectives with the Christian values promoted by the Church. They said the discussions are intended to help guide future responsible policies and practices in biomedical research and molecular biology.

Among the participants are several prominent researchers, including Maria Chiara Carrozza, an Italian engineer and former education minister known for her work in applied robotics and the ethics of artificial intelligence, and John P. A. Ioannidis, a Stanford University professor and internationally known statistician and epidemiologist.

Also scheduled to participate are Gaia Novarino of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, a neuroscientist specializing in the genetics of neurological diseases, and Bert Gordijn of Dublin City University, a philosopher and bioethicist known for his work on life ethics and biotechnology policy.

Other notable participants include Hope Kean of MIT, an expert in cognitive neuroscience, and Maria Patrão Neves of the University of the Azores in Portugal, whose work focuses on the philosophy of scientific responsibility.

The gathering will conclude March 25 with an audience for all participants with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican Apostolic Palace.

This article was originally published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Bishop Emanuel Shaleta, a Chaldean Catholic bishop arrested in San Diego last week on charges of embezzling Church funds.

The Vatican also announced March 10 that Leo has appointed Bishop Saad Sirop Hanna, a Chaldean Catholic bishop from Iraq, to oversee the Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle of San Diego as apostolic administrator following Shaleta’s resignation.

An attempt by EWTN News to contact Bishop Shaleta through the eparchy was not immediately successful.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said Shaleta was arrested on March 5 at San Diego International Airport as the prelate was “attempting to leave the country.”

The sheriff’s office said in a press release that the bishop was charged with multiple counts of embezzlement and money laundering as well as one count of “aggravated white collar crime enhancement.”

Records show Shaleta is being held on $125,000 bail on one of the embezzlement charges. All charges against the bishop are listed as felonies by the sheriff’s office.

In remarks at a Feb. 22 Mass, the bishop denied that he has ever misused Church money.

Shaleta has served as the San Diego Chaldean eparch since 2017. He was born in Iraq.

In the context of International Women’s Day, celebrated March 8, Pope Leo XIV responded to a letter from a reader of Piazza San Pietro magazine who asked what can be done about femicides, and the pope shared that violence against women causes him “great suffering.”

Femicide is defined as a man killing a girl or a woman for the very reason that she is female.

Pope Leo replied to a woman named Giovanna, who said she is “fortunate” to be married to a man who loves and respects her. The letter appeared in the latest issue of the publication, which this March is dedicated to women.

In her letter, the woman confessed to having “tears in her eyes” because of the “death trap” that married life becomes when a man kills a woman due to a “culture of possession.”

Giovanna then proposed an alliance between the Catholic Church and schools to educate young people in love and respect. “Who else, if not schools and the Church, can help new generations by spreading a culture of respect, love, and above all, freedom?” she asked.

Pope Leo XIV’s response to violence against women

“You raise a major issue that for me is always a source of great suffering: violence in relationships, and in particular violence against women,” the Holy Father responded to Giovanna.

“In a world often dominated by violent thinking, we must further support the feminine genius, as St. John Paul II said, the ‘genius of women,’ protagonists and creators of a culture of care and fraternity indispensable for giving a future and dignity to all humanity,” he emphasized.

Leo XIV added that “perhaps this is also why women are beaten and murdered, because they are a sign of contradiction in this confused, uncertain, and violent society, because they point to values ​​of faith, freedom, equality, generativity, hope, solidarity, and justice.”

“These are great values, which are nevertheless attacked by a dangerous mentality that infests relationships and only produces selfishness, prejudice, discrimination, and a will to dominate,” he added.

After recalling that he had already denounced the violence of femicides in June 2025, the pope stressed that “violence, any violence, is the boundary that separates civilization from barbarism.”

Leo XIV then advised that “we must never underestimate an act of violence and we must not be afraid to denounce violence, including that climate of justification or that downplays or denies responsibility.”

“Walking together in mutual respect for our humanity is not a dream, but the only possible reality for building a world of light for all.”

A task for the Church

The pope thanked Giovanna for her suggestions for an “ever stronger educational alliance” and stated that “the Church, together with families, schools, parishes, movements and associations, religious congregations, and public institutions, can share the urgency of carrying out specific projects to prevent and stop violence against women.”

The pope also recalled that on Nov. 25, 2025, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, he emphasized that “to stop violence, we must begin with the education of young people.”

“We must begin by opening everyone’s hearts to the fact that every person is a human being who deserves respect, that dignity for men and women, for everyone.”

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 continued his pastoral visits to parishes on the outskirts of Rome Sunday, traveling to the Santa Maria della Presentazione parish in the Torrevecchia neighborhood, where he encouraged Catholics to ensure parish activities reflect a Church that “cares for her children.”

The pope arrived at the parish at 4 p.m., when he was welcomed by Cardinal Vicar Baldo Reina and the pastor, Father Paolo Stacchiotti. The warmest welcome, however, came from catechism students, young people, and families from Rome’s 13th municipal district.

It has been more than 40 years since a pope last visited Santa Maria della Presentazione parish. The previous papal visit was made by St. John Paul II in 1982.

The pastor said the neighborhood faces significant challenges but is also marked by strong community bonds.

“This is not an easy neighborhood,” Stacchiotti said. “But the crime reports do not do justice to the good that exists here. This is a united community, full of generous people who do not hold back in helping one another.”

The visit marked Leo XIV’s fourth to a Roman parish since mid-February. Parishioners welcomed him with banners, songs, and warm handshakes.

“We will give the pope an icon made by consecrated women who have lived in Bastogi for 30 years,” the pastor said. “It is a copy of the Madonna Pellegrina that travels around the neighborhood during the month of May. It is not a precious gift, but it is a symbol of our parish.”

Before Mass, the pope stopped on the parish sports field to greet children and families amid banners reading “we give our hearts,” balloons, and a festive atmosphere.

During his visit to the parish complex, Leo XIV also met with people with disabilities and the sick. In the parish hall he greeted about 60 people experiencing various forms of vulnerability before celebrating Mass at 5 p.m.

In his homily, reflecting on the Gospel account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman, the pope emphasized the connection between God’s closeness and the life of faith.

“In this journey, the closeness of God and our life of faith are deeply intertwined: by renewing in each of us the grace of Baptism, the Lord calls us to conversion, even as he purifies our hearts with his love and with the works of charity he invites us to perform,” the pope said.

“The thirst for life and love of the Samaritan woman is our thirst: the thirst of the Church and of all humanity, wounded by sin but even more deeply inhabited by the desire for God,” he continued.

Leo XIV noted that the Gospel narrative shows the woman’s gradual recognition of Jesus — first as a man, then a prophet, the Messiah, and finally the Savior — and how encountering Christ transforms her into a witness to others.

“Standing beside him and enjoying his company, the Samaritan woman becomes in turn a source of truth,” he said. “The new water of God’s gift has begun to spring up in her heart, and she feels immediately driven to return to her village, finally free from shame and eager to make known to everyone her liberator, Jesus.”

The pope also addressed the social difficulties facing the parish’s neighborhood.

“I know well that your parish community lives in an area with many challenges,” he said. “Situations of marginalization are not lacking, nor material and moral poverty.”

“Many are waiting for a home, a job that ensures a dignified life, and safe places where they can meet, play, and build something beautiful together,” he said.

Encouraging the faithful to respond to these realities with pastoral charity, the pope pointed to the Eucharist as the heart of Christian community life.

“Starting from the Eucharist, the beating heart of every Christian community, I encourage you to ensure that parish activities become a sign of a Church that — like a mother — cares for her children, without condemning them, but rather welcoming them, listening to them, and supporting them in the face of danger,” Leo XIV said.

Before the Mass, the pope also spoke informally to young people and children gathered on the sports field, many of whom are preparing for their first Communion.

“Jesus will come to your home, into your heart, into your life,” he told them. “We must all be ready to open the door to find Jesus who is waiting for us.”

He also encouraged them to pray regularly and to speak to God about their worries and daily difficulties.

Finally, the pope spoke to the children about the importance of peace and reconciliation.

“Make peace with your friends when there are difficulties or differences of opinion,” he said. “Reject all forms of violence and hatred, things that cause division, and try to be promoters of peace and reconciliation in today’s world.”

At the end of the celebration, the pope met with the parish pastoral council and priests before returning to the Vatican.

This article was originally published by ACI Stampa, EWTN News’ Italian-language partner agency, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News.

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday appealed for peace as violence and fear continue to spread in Iran and across the Middle East, praying in particular for Lebanon and warning that the conflict could widen.

Speaking after the Angelus on March 8, the pope said “deeply disturbing news continues to arrive from Iran and the entire Middle East.”

“In addition to the episodes of violence and devastation as well as the widespread climate of hatred and fear, there is also the concern that the conflict will spread and that other countries in the region, including beloved Lebanon, may again sink back into instability,” he said.

“We lift up our humble prayer to the Lord, so that the thunderous sound of bombs may cease, weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open up in which the voice of the people can be heard,” the pope said. He added that he was entrusting that intention to the Virgin Mary, “that she may intercede for those who suffer because of war and lead hearts along the paths of reconciliation and hope.”

Before the Marian prayer in St. Peter’s Square, Leo reflected on the day’s Gospel and said that “since the first centuries of the Church’s history, the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, the healing of the man born blind and the resurrection of Lazarus illuminate the path of those who, at Easter, will receive Baptism and begin a new life.”

“These great Gospel passages, which we read beginning this Sunday, are intended for the catechumens to help them on their journey to become Christians,” he said. “At the same time, these passages are heard once again by the entire community of believers to help them to be more authentic and joyful Christians.”

Referring to Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman, the pope said: “Indeed, Jesus is the response to our thirst. As he suggested to the Samaritan woman, the encounter with him stirs in the depths of each person ‘a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’”

“How many people in the entire world are searching even today for this spiritual spring!” he said.

Quoting the diary of Etty Hillesum, a Dutch Jewish writer who died in Auschwitz during World War II, Leo said: “‘Sometimes I am there too. But more often stones and grit block the well, and God is buried beneath. Then he must be dug out again.’”

“Dear friends, there is no energy better spent than that dedicated to freeing our heart,” the pope said. “For this reason, Lent is a gift: we are starting the third week and now we are able to intensify the journey!”

He went on to reflect on the disciples’ reaction in the Gospel: “His disciples came [and] they were astonished that he was speaking with a woman.” The Master, he said, had to prompt them: “‘Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.’”

“The Lord still says to his Church: ‘Lift up your eyes and recognize God’s surprises!’” Leo said. “In the fields, four months prior to the harvest, one sees practically nothing. But there, where we see nothing, grace is already at work and its fruits are ready to be gathered.”

“The harvest is great: perhaps the workers are few because they are distracted by other activities,” he continued. “Jesus, on the other hand, is attentive. According to custom, he ought to have simply ignored that Samaritan woman; instead, Jesus speaks with her, listens to her, and shows her respect — without a hidden agenda and without disdain.”

“How many people seek in the Church this same sensitivity, this availability!” the pope said.

“And how beautiful it is when we lose track of time in order to give attention to the person we are encountering, as we see in this passage,” he added. “Jesus was so spiritually nourished by God’s desire to reach people on the deepest levels that he even forgot to eat.”

Leo said that “the Samaritan woman becomes the first of many female evangelizers.” Because of her testimony, “many from her village of despised and rejected people came to meet Jesus, and also in them faith bubbled forth like pure water.”

The pope also marked International Women’s Day, observed March 8, saying: “We renew our commitment, which for us Christians is based on the Gospel, to recognize the equal dignity of man and woman.”

“Unfortunately many women, from childhood onwards, are still discriminated against and suffer various forms of violence,” he said. “In a special way, I offer to them my solidarity and my prayers.”

This article was originally published by ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News.

Thirteen-year-old Fernando Bejarano Calvo — the second of seven children — felt the desire to become a priest in preschool. “He started talking about the seminary when he was 6,” recalled his mother, Nerea Calvo.

At first, she thought it was just a passing childhood whim. “We thought he was saying it somewhat unconsciously,” she explained in a phone conversation with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. However, that early vocational fervor remained burning in his heart. In fifth grade, at the age of 9, he entered the minor seminary in Toledo, Spain.

Fernando Bejarano Calvo serves at Benediction. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Bejarano Calvo family

“We neither pushed him nor held him back,” explained his father, also named Fernando. “It’s not our decision, it’s his,” he added.

This seminary isn’t very different from other schools, except that it operates as a boarding school and places great importance on spiritual life. Prayer marks the hours of the day, during which academic formation is also very important.

“They have their teachers, their school hours, and when school is over they have their time for prayer and various activities,” Nerea explained.

Fernando Bejarano Calvo participates in a procession. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Bejarano Calvo family

Fernando returns home one weekend a month and receives visits from his family every Sunday. “We talk to him every day. Even though they live at the seminary, obviously it’s not like the family suddenly disappears,” his father emphasized.

In any case, his mother doesn’t deny that the physical separation has an emotional cost: “It’s a kind of heartbreak, so to speak, that is both beautiful and difficult, but you share it with other families.”

Fernando Bejarano Calvo with his parents and sister at the seminary. |Credit: Photo courtesy of the Bejarano Calvo family

At the seminary — which has just celebrated its 100th anniversary — they have found a support network among parents and formators. Nerea experiences it as a gift: “You don’t lose your son, you gain 40 more, and 40 more families.”

An unexpected gift during the papal audience

This family accompanied their son Fernando and 46 other young men from the minor seminary in Toledo to an audience with Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace on Feb. 28 — along with other families whose sons have also experienced an early vocation.

Pope Leo XIV shows his affection for Fernando Bejarano Calvo and the other children during an audience at the Vatican. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Bejarano Calvo family

“We had been waiting for this moment for many months. We wanted to receive what the Holy Father had in store for the seminarians and also for the families who accompany them,” the boy’s father explained.

For the young men of St. Thomas Villanova Minor Seminary in Toledo, this pilgrimage was especially significant, as it coincided with the centenary celebration of the diocesan institution, whose patron saint, an Augustinian friar, holds a very special place in the heart of Pope Leo XIV.

The 46 minor seminarians from Toledo, Spain, make their way to Rome with their formators. | Credit: St. Thomas Villanova Minor Seminary in Toledo

At the end of the meeting, the pope greeted the family and held the youngest of the siblings, whom they had named Leo (León in Spanish) after the pope. Nerea’s husband, Fernando — to whom she has been married for 17 years — already had the name in mind. “I already had the name,” he said. “I hadn’t thought about it like some strategy. It was simply clear to me.”

The boy was born after a difficult pregnancy, which his mother offered for the Church, vocations, and the pontificate of the new pope.

“I was vomiting from Day 1 until the very last day. It was very difficult. I practically didn’t leave the house except to go to Mass. Very confined, very limited,” Nerea recounted.

The pope thanked them “for praying for the Church” and blessed the little boy in an unexpected gift that extended to their entire family.

Pope Leo XIV holds the youngest of the seven siblings in the Bejarano Calvo family, León. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Bejarano Calvo family

Bishops, formators, seminarians, and family members from other Spanish seminaries — Alcalá de Henares and the Interdiocesan Seminary of Catalonia and Cartagena — participated in the audience.

Among them was the rector of the Conciliar Seminary of the Immaculate Conception and the Holy Children of the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares, Father Luis Eduardo Morona Alguacil, who shared with ACI Prensa that the meeting was “an experience of catholicity” and “a moment of great inner joy.”

Currently, the diocesan seminary he directs has seven seminarians, representing a diversity of ages and backgrounds. “There’s a bit of everything; there are young men, and then most are between 25 and 35 years old. Almost all of them have already had professional experience and university studies.” He indicated that all of them maintain a close connection with the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares, either by coming from its parishes or by having been mentored by diocesan priests.

Seminary rector Father Luis Eduardo Morona Alguacil (left) with Bishop Antonio Prieto Lucena, bishop of Alcalá de Henares. | Credit: Diocese of Alcalá de Henares ‘A much-desired experience’

The trip to Rome had been long awaited. According to the rector, the audience had already been requested and granted during Pope Francis’ pontificate, but it could not take place due to the worsening of his illness. “It was at that time that he was already hospitalized and with a fairly advanced illness, and he was unable to receive us,” he recalled.

A year later, the meeting with Leo XIV finally took place. “It was an experience, as always when one goes to Rome, to be with the pope, an experience of catholicity, of savoring and experiencing the mystery of the Church and of being close to the successor of Peter,” he said.

Morona also highlighted the ecclesial communion dimension of the meeting, given the presence of several Spanish seminaries.

‘Deeply moved’

According to the rector, the seminarians returned “deeply moved by the depth and essence of what the pope told them.” The central theme of the papal address was the call to cultivate a supernatural vision of reality, especially during their formation.

Pope Leo XIV meets with the seminarians of the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares at the Vatican. | Credit: Diocese of Alcalá de Henares

“They were rereading the address and overjoyed to know that the pope prays for them,” explained the rector, who emphasized the impact that Leo XIV’s personal presence had on the seminarians.

After the address, the pope approached the different groups and listened to each one. “He is a man who listens; you can tell he is paying attention when you are speaking to him, that he is attentive to what you are saying. That is something that also surprised them,” Morona recounted. Several seminarians were able to give the pope personal letters and small gifts in an atmosphere he described as “a very beautiful sense of ecclesial communion.”

Ordinations in April and the visit to Spain

The audience took place at a particularly significant time for the seminary of Diocese of Alcalá de Henares, which is preparing for the ordination of several deacons. When the rector informed the pope, Leo XIV asked: “But before or after my visit to Spain?”

“He had his visit to Spain in mind; it’s something he must have in his heart and mind,” the rector noted.

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 named Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia as the new apostolic nuncio to the United States, succeeding Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who retired after turning 80 at the end of January.

Archbishop Caccia has till now served as the Holy Seeʼs permanent observer at the United Nations in New York.

The Holy See Press Office announced the appointment on March 7.

The French-born Pierre served as apostolic nuncio, the pope’s diplomatic representative, to the U.S. for nearly 10 years — spanning three U.S. presidential terms and two papacies. The role includes assisting with the selection of bishops and representing the Vatican at political and Church events.

Cardinal Christophe Pierre speaks to EWTN News President and COO Montse Alvarado in Rome on Friday, April 25, 2025. - Credit: EWTN News

In an interview with “EWTN News In-Depth” anchor Catherine Hadro ahead of his 80th birthday on Jan. 30, Cardinal Pierre described his decade as the papal representative to the U.S. as “very beautiful” and “difficult” years.

Pope Francis appointed Pierre apostolic nuncio in April 2016, following a nine-year term as nuncio in Mexico. He was made a cardinal by Francis in 2023.

Pierre’s retirement marks the end of an ecclesiastical diplomatic career that began in 1977 with his first role in New Zealand, and included stints in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Cuba,Brazil, and the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

In 1995, St. Pope John Paul II named him apostolic nuncio in Haiti, and four years later, in Uganda.

The Lenten sermons began March 6 in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican, delivered by the Capuchin friar and preacher to the papal household, Father Roberto Pasolini, and inspired by the conversion of St. Francis of Assisi.

In the first of the meditations, which will take place every Friday until March 27, Pasolini reflected in the presence of Pope Leo XIV, members of the Roman Curia, and Vatican employees on “Conversion: Following the Lord Jesus on the Path of Humility.”

Aware of the crisis gripping the Middle East and the escalating violence, the priest noted that, in these days marked by sorrow, “speaking of humility might seem abstract, almost a spiritual luxury.”

Reflecting on the threat of war, he emphasized that “peace is born not only from political agreements, nor from diplomatic or military strategies, but from men and women who find the courage to humble themselves.”

These people, marked by humility, are, according to Pasolini, “capable of taking a step back, of renouncing violence in all its forms, of not yielding to the temptation of revenge and oppression, of choosing dialogue even when circumstances seem to thwart it.”

He then described the saint of Assisi as “a man pierced by the fire of the Gospel, capable of rekindling in each person the longing for a new life in the Spirit.”

In light of the example of St. Francis, the priest posed this question as a starting point: “What is meant by conversion?”

“It is, first and foremost, God’s initiative, in which man is called to participate with all his freedom,” he said.

He further explained that it occurs “in the innermost recesses of our nature, where the image of God imprinted within us awaits awakening. It is when something, long silent, begins to stir anew within the person.”

“Conversion is no longer an attempt to straighten out one’s life through one’s own strength but rather a response to a grace that has redefined the parameters of how we perceive, judge, and desire,” he added.

“Conversion is no longer an attempt to straighten out one’s life through one’s own strength but rather a response to a grace that has redefined the parameters of how we perceive, judge, and desire.”

Father Roberto Pasolini

Capuchin friar and preacher to the papal household

For a true evangelical conversion, the friar emphasized the need to identify the root of evil — that is, sin — without falling into the temptation of reducing it “to a small mistake or weakness.”

He proposed “deep healing” for this purpose, emphasizing that “if the possibility of true evil no longer exists, we cannot even believe in the possibility of true good. If sin disappears, even holiness becomes an abstract and incomprehensible destiny.”

He emphasized that humility “is a path that every baptized person is called to follow if they wish to fully embrace the grace of life in Christ.” Furthermore, he emphasized that it “does not impoverish man” but rather restores him to himself and to his true greatness.

“Original sin arises precisely from the rejection of humility: from the refusal to accept oneself as a finite human being, dependent on God. Conversion, then, can only be understood as a return to humility,” he affirmed.

Finally, Pasolini exhorted everyone to ongoing conversion and reiterated that evangelical humility is most necessary “in times of conflict and difficulty.”

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.

“To respect the role of journalists and the dignity of readers,” Pope Leo XIV described the particular task of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera (Evening Courier) on the occasion of its 150th anniversary.

In his letter, addressed to editor-in-chief Luciano Fontana, the Holy Father also warned of the challenge posed by the technological revolution and urged the newspaper to “keep pace with the times.”

In the age of artificial intelligence, the pope emphasized, “there is an irreplaceable task concerning communication” and, in particular, for major newspapers, given their historical legacy.

According to the pope, this task consists of “never renouncing one’s authority, guaranteeing the transparency of sources, respecting the role of journalists and the dignity of readers, cultivating the human dimension of the story, which only experience can provide.”

“...never renouncing oneʼs authority, guaranteeing the transparency of sources, respecting the role of journalists and the dignity of readers, cultivating the human dimension of the story, which only experience can provide.”

Pope Leo IXV

Pope Leo XIV congratulated the newspaper on its 150th anniversary and for having borne witness “to the role of the printed press as a vehicle for disseminating not only news but also ideas and culture as a living leaven of the society that your newspaper has helped to build.”

“Your responsibility is great, as long as your history. Many best wishes for this anniversary, which testifies to the deep bond that unites you with Italy and encourages you to cultivate together your roots and your future,” the Holy Father stated.

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.

Cardinal Joseph Zen, a prominent supporter of the Traditional Latin Mass, has urged the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to avoid schism by listening to Pope Leo XIV’s explanations of the Second Vatican Council.

In a comment posted to X in Italian on Friday, the 94-year-old Chinese prelate weighed in on the ongoing discussions between the Holy See and the society, which has said it will consecrate bishops without papal approval.

Zen’s comment follows those of Cardinals Gerhard Müller and Robert Sarah, who criticized the society for moving forward with its plan to consecrate bishops in defiance of the Vatican.

“Pope Leo is one who listens! He understands and will make his children understand that certain things perpetrated in the name of the so-called ‘spirit of the council,’ but contrary to the Church’s tradition, are not of the council,” the cardinal wrote.

He noted that even traditionalists are divided over the SSPX consecrations. “A schism must be avoided at all costs, because it will cause serious and lasting damage to the Church; but on the other hand, we must also respect a major problem of conscience: ‘How can we force someone to follow teachings that clearly deny the holy tradition of the Church?’” Zen said.

Zen also accused the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, of wanting “to dismantle the Church’s traditions.”

“The SSPX has been sent to dialogue with the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, but is there any hope to be gained from this dialogue?” he said.

He also compared the discussions between the SSPX and the DDF to the biblical story of Joseph and his brothers. He identified the SSPX as Joseph, Fernández as Joseph’s brothers, and Pope Leo XIV as Reuben, who saved Joseph from his brothers.

The SSPX — which exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass — published a statement in February defending its decision to consecrate bishops and the breakdown in discussions with the Vatican. Under canon law, a bishop who consecrates another bishop without a papal mandate incurs automatic excommunication along with the one who was consecrated.

Zen slammed synodality at the consistory of cardinals in January. He is also an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the 2018 Vatican-China deal.

Speaking at a conference in Geneva on March 3, Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations since 2023, decried the fact that Christians are the most persecuted community in the world.

His address was titled “Standing with Persecuted Christians: Defending the Faith and Christian Values.”

Balestrero, who is also the Holy See’s representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), stated that during 2025 “almost 5,000 faithful were killed for their faith,” the equivalent of 13 people a day.

“Almost 400 million Christians worldwide face persecution or violence, making them the most persecuted religious community in the world,” the prelate told Vatican News.

Balestrero stated that the victims “are martyrs in the etymological sense of the term,” because they are witnesses “to their creed who embody values that challenge the logic of power.”

From the perspective of international law, the Italian prelate emphasized that Christians are also victims of “outrageous human rights violations” and insisted that their witness should not distract from the responsibility of states, whose duty it is to provide protection.

“It is the state’s duty to protect freedom of religion or belief, which includes preventing third parties from violating this right. This protection has to safeguard believers who are targeted, before, during, and after an attack,” he stated.

The problem of impunity

Balestrero drew attention to the issue of impunity for those who take the lives of Christians, which he referred to as “one of the most serious issues in the global landscape of religious persecution.”

After expressing his concern for the millions of persecuted Christians, he noted that this “scourge” to which they are subjected “affects countries across the world” and continents, including Europe. In this context, he cited the recent report on hate crimes by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, which recorded more than 760 hate crimes against Christians in Europe in 2024 alone.

Beyond the crimes, the Holy See’s representative in Geneva denounced other forms of persecution that are “more subtle and often silent forms of persecution,” such as gradual marginalization or exclusion from social and professional life “even in traditionally Christian lands.”

He also specified that this persecution takes the form of more discreet restrictions and limitations, “through which legal norms and administrative practices restrict or, in fact, nullify the legally recognized rights of the predominantly Christian population, even in some parts of Europe.”

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

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of March is for disarmament and peace.

In a video released on X, the Holy Father posed a question to the faithful: “Would you imagine what a world without wars would be like? A world without the terror of approaching explosions? Without rocket alarms shattering the silence of the night?”

“Please join me in prayer this month for disarmament and peace,” he said.

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

Here is the pope’s full prayer:

Lord of Life,

you shaped every human being in your image and likeness.

We believe you created us for communion, not for war,

for fraternity, not for destruction.

You who greeted your disciples saying, “Peace be with you,”

grant us the gift of your peace

and the strength to make it a reality in history.

Today we lift up our prayer for peace in the world,

asking that nations renounce weapons

and choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy.

Disarm our hearts of hatred, resentment, and indifference,

so we may become instruments of reconciliation.

Help us understand that true security

does not come from control fueled by fear,

but from trust, justice, and solidarity among peoples.

Lord, enlighten the leaders of the nations,

so they may have the courage to abandon projects of death,

halt the arms race,

and place the lives of the most vulnerable at the center.

May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity.

Holy Spirit,

make us faithful and creative builders of daily peace:

in our hearts, our families,

our communities, and our cities.

May every kind word, every gesture of reconciliation,

and every choice for dialogue be seeds of a new world.

Amen.

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

ROME — A new exhibition in Rome is spotlighting the pivotal moment Pope Urban VIII entrusted a 25-year-old Gian Lorenzo Bernini with one of the most ambitious artistic commissions in Church history: creating the massive bronze canopy over the tomb of St. Peter in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The show — hosted by the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica at Palazzo Barberini and running through June 14 — explores the close relationship between Bernini and the pope born Maffeo Barberini, the artist’s first major patron, according to exhibition curator Maurizia Cicconi. The initiative also forms part of celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of the consecration of the new St. Peter’s Basilica in 1626 and is supported by the Fabric of St. Peter.

Bernini, who would later shape the visual identity of Baroque Rome — including the sweeping colonnade of St. Peter’s Square — was still considered too inexperienced for such a monumental undertaking. Cicconi said Urban VIII pushed ahead anyway, despite resistance from the body of cardinals overseeing the basilica’s building works.

Bernini’s canopy is nearly 100 feet tall. | Credit: Victoria Cardiel/EWTN News

Excavations for the canopy’s foundations began in June 1623, only months after Urban VIII’s election and even before the basilica’s solemn consecration in November. At the time, the apostle’s tomb beneath the altar was covered by a modest structure of wood and fabric. Urban VIII, Cicconi noted, wanted a stable, monumental work that would proclaim the grandeur of the new basilica and emphasize the centrality of the site.

‘Fear of profaning’ St. Peter’s remains

The excavation stirred anxiety among cardinals who worried that disturbing the soil could profane relics connected to the tomb of St. Peter. The solution, the curator explained, reflected the era’s intense religious sensibility: Every portion of earth removed was carefully preserved.

The exhibition includes a stone marker documenting that decision, Cicconi said, underscoring how the excavated soil itself came to be treated “in a certain way” as a relic. Urban VIII even donated some of that soil to monastic orders — including Carmelites — for the founding of convents in Naples and Rome.

The exhibition can be visited through mid-June in Rome. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News A decade-long construction, and a key design problem

Bernini’s canopy — formally known as the Baldachin of St. Peter’s — stands nearly 100 feet (about 92 feet, as the exhibit notes) tall and took a decade to complete, from 1624 to 1633. The exhibition traces the complex process through drawings, coins, printed books, and manuscripts, including studies in red chalk for the crown of the structure.

The exhibition displays documents detailing the construction of the canopy. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

One major technical issue documented in the show: an early concept featuring arches topped by a triumphant Christ proved structurally unworkable. Cicconi said the final solution likely came from Francesco Borromini, whose system of large volutes now supports the globe crowned by a cross.

Among the most evocative artifacts is a medal discovered last year inside the sarcophagus of Urban VIII’s tomb — also a Bernini work — bearing the pope’s portrait on one side and the canopy on the other. Cicconi said evidence suggests it had been worn on a cord around the neck before someone placed it in the tomb in a spontaneous gesture of devotion. While it is tempting to imagine Bernini himself left it there, she cautioned that such a claim goes beyond what the documentation can prove.

More than engineering: Power, politics, and the Barberini image

The exhibit extends beyond the canopy to show how Urban VIII’s artistic program helped define St. Peter’s during a volatile European moment. Cicconi pointed to the backdrop of the Thirty Years’ War, when religion and dynastic power were intertwined and the papacy faced major monarchies such as France and Spain. In that context, she said, the Church sought to assert its spiritual primacy — and its temporal influence — through art.

Visitors will also find materials tied to other Bernini projects in St. Peter’s, including pieces linked to the tomb of Matilda of Canossa, terracotta models for the virtue of charity intended for the pope’s funerary monument, and the valuable sketch connected to St. Longinus, one of the last ideas for the colossal statue that now rises in the basilica’s crossing.

The exhibition includes a sketch for Bernini’s marble statue of St. Longinus (1638). | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

Another section focuses on Bernini’s role in shaping the public identity of the Barberini family, including works associated with the “gallery of ancestors” promoted by Cardinal Francesco Barberini, the pope’s nephew. Among the featured works are some of Bernini’s early pieces, already regarded as true works of art.

The “Bernini and the Barberini” exhibition. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

Bernini “truly shaped the official image of the Barberini,” Cicconi said. The show includes extraordinary works such as a bust of Monsignor Francesco Barberini — on loan from Washington and displayed in Italy for the first time in many years — set beside busts of Camilla Barbadori, the pope’s mother, and Antonio Barberini Sr., made by Bernini with the help of one of his leading disciples.

The aim, Cicconi said, was clear: to move the bust-portrait — until then largely reserved for funerary monuments and family chapels — into palatial settings, giving it a dynastic and political dimension.

Bust of Pope Urban VIII. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

An entire wall is dedicated to Urban VIII’s image. Cicconi said the display of several seemingly similar busts — yet in fact profoundly different — helps visitors see how Bernini constructed and modulated the pope’s official image.

The exhibition. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

There are busts in marble, bronze, and even ancient red porphyry. Some were made directly by Bernini, others with the help of assistants, but always based on his model.

The show also highlights a lesser-known side of Bernini: painting. “It may be the least known aspect for the general public and yet extremely interesting,” Cicconi said.

Urban VIII even dreamed of making him the new Michelangelo of his pontificate and wanted him to decorate the Loggia of Blessings, echoing the ambition of the Sistine Chapel commissioned by Pope Julius II. Bernini, however, refused.

The exhibition. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

“The freedom of Gian Lorenzo Bernini is seen precisely in the possibility — or not — of freely accepting commissions,” Cicconi said.

Though Bernini would outlive his patron and serve other popes, the exhibition intentionally concentrates on the decisive years of Urban VIII’s pontificate, from 1623 to 1644, when the Barberini pope’s support helped propel the young Bernini into the heart of St. Peter’s — and into the center of Catholic artistic history.

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.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, is warning that U.S. and Israeli bombings against Iran — and Tehran’s ensuing military response — could trigger a global spiral of violence with unpredictable consequences.

In an interview with Vatican News, the Holy See’s official news outlet, on March 4, Parolin lamented what he described as a troubling weakening of international law. “Might has replaced justice; the force of law has been replaced by the law of force,” he said.

Parolin said he is concerned the world is drifting toward what he called a dangerous form of multi-polarism marked by the primacy of power and political self-reference.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he launched the offensive after receiving indications Iran was about to carry out an attack and that action was needed to prevent retaliation against U.S. bases. Asked about the justification, Parolin said it can be difficult to determine who is right or wrong when analyzing the causes of a war, but he stressed that conflict “will always produce victims and destruction,” with devastating effects on civilians.

Warning against ‘preventive war’

The Vatican secretary of state was particularly critical of the logic of preventive war, warning that if every state claimed a right to launch a “preventive war” according to its own criteria and without a supranational legal framework, the entire world would risk going up in flames.

Parolin said he is living through the current moment “with great sorrow,” noting that the peoples of the Middle East — including Christian communities — “have once again fallen into the horror of war,” which destroys human life, causes devastation, and pulls entire nations into spirals of violence with uncertain outcomes.

He also pointed to Pope Leo XIV’s remarks during Sunday’s Angelus, when the pope spoke of a “tragedy of enormous proportions” and the risk of an “irreparable maelstrom,” language Parolin said accurately captures the gravity of the moment.

Diplomacy over weapons

Addressing the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, Parolin said peace and security must be pursued through diplomacy, especially within multilateral bodies such as the United Nations.

He recalled that the United Nations’ founders, in the wake of World War II, sought to prevent new horrors by establishing rules for managing conflicts. Today, he said, diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks broad consensus is increasingly being replaced by a “diplomacy of force,” rooted in the belief that peace can be achieved “through weapons.”

‘No first- and second-class victims’

Parolin insisted that the use of force must remain an “ultimate and most grave” recourse, after exhausting every tool of dialogue and within a multilateral framework of governance. Otherwise, he said, the “law of force” takes the place of the force of law — and peace is treated as something that comes only after the annihilation of an enemy.

The cardinal also condemned what he described as the selective application of international law.

“There are no first- and second-class dead, nor people who have more right to live than others,” he said, rejecting the idea that civilian casualties can be reduced to “collateral damage.”

Parolin reiterated the importance of international humanitarian law, stressing that respect for it cannot depend on circumstances or military or strategic interests. He underlined the duty to protect civilians and infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, and places of worship.

A fragile international order

Parolin argued that the current decline reflects a loss of awareness of the common good: “The awareness has weakened that the good of the other is also a good for me,” he said. That erosion, he added, has fueled a deep crisis in the multilateral system and weakened principles such as peoples’ self-determination and territorial sovereignty.

He concluded by expressing hope that the pope’s appeal will be heard and that “the noise of weapons will soon cease” and negotiations resume.

“Our peoples are asking for peace,” Parolin said, adding that the pope’s call “should shake leaders … and prompt them to multiply their efforts in favor of peace.”

This article was originally published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News’ Spanish-language partner. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News.

The General Secretariat of the Synod has published a preliminary report urging that women’s “views and assessments” be given due weight in the discernment of candidates for priesthood and warning against seminary models that separate future priests from the ordinary life of the people of God.

The text gathers conclusions from a synod study group tasked with examining priestly formation in a synodal key. The proposals are not definitive and have been forwarded to Pope Leo XIV for review.

One central concern in the report is the need to rethink seminary formation so it does not foster a culture of separation from parish life. “The formation itinerary must not create artificial environments detached from the ordinary life of the faithful,” the document says, calling instead for formation in “close contact with the daily life of the people of God.”

The report says the seminary “should not be a prolonged experience far from the people of God” and proposes “other formative modules along the way, not alternative but complementary to the ‘place/time’ of the seminary.” Those modules could include residence in parish communities or other ecclesial settings, while avoiding any further extension of overall formation time.

Such isolation, it warns, can become fertile ground for unhealthy dynamics. The report says this approach “will avoid the condition of separation where irresponsibility, dissimulation, and clerical infantilism are more easily bred.”

The document also stresses the importance of a “real experience of the life of faith and commitment in the Christian community” before entering specific vocational paths, describing it as an indispensable condition for initial discernment.

On selection for ordination, the report says the people of God should be “truly listened to” in the process “in view of the conferral of holy orders,” including consultation with the candidate’s pastor and those who have known his pastoral service — “giving due importance also to the views and assessments of women.”

The publication is part of a broader move toward transparency as the synod releases the work of its study groups, with additional reports expected in the coming weeks, including texts on liturgy in a synodal perspective and on the status of episcopal conferences, ecclesial assemblies, and particular councils.

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 International Theological Commission has released a new document arguing that “the life of the human being is vocation,” while warning that unprecedented scientific and technological developments must be matched by a corresponding growth in responsibility so that progress is directed toward the good of the person.

The text, titled “Quo vadis, humanitas? Thinking Christian anthropology in the face of some scenarios concerning the future of the human,” was published Wednesday and was drafted by the International Theological Commission, which is chaired by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The document was approved by Pope Leo XIV. The document was originally released in Italian, with other languages expected to be added.

“In this moment of the 21st century, the human family finds itself facing questions so radical that they even threaten its existence as we have known it up to now,” the document says, adding that human beings today are exposed to risks “never imagined before.”

Artificial intelligence and the human person

Addressing AI, the commission cautions that forms of knowledge and calculation detached from embodied, situated human intelligence — and from relational knowledge passed down through generations via education — can become a threat to the true good of humanity.

Social media, polarization, and ‘digital religions’

On social media, the document says online platforms can intensify “strong polarizations” among groups and can “tribalize” social exchange, fragmenting society into like-minded opinion blocs shaped by likes. The commission also warns that social platforms can become “territory of loneliness, manipulation, exploitation, and violence.”

The document raises concerns about what it describes as a “gigantic religious marketplace” online, where a variety of “digital religions” could offer an à la carte spirituality driven by individual interests rather than real bonds or community belonging. It also questions the genuinely ecclesial character of some Christian communication on social networks, particularly when used to inflame polemics, foster division, or damage the reputations of others.

‘The human being is vocation’

The commission reiterates that vocation is not only a theme for particular states of life in the Church but also is rooted in what a human person is. It adds that in the West a “culture of non-vocation” is often encouraged, shaping contemporary anthropological challenges — especially in the education of the young.

The text says many young people are taught to view their future primarily through the lens of career choice, economic stability, or the satisfaction of certain needs, without openness to an ultimate meaning and the foundational relationships that shape identity and destiny.

A warning about animals and humans

In a final caution, the commission says societies — especially in the West — should avoid treating some animals, particularly pets, “almost like persons,” while also resisting the opposite temptation: reducing human beings to animals.

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.