The Vatican said Pope Leo XIV’s recovery from surgery is “proceeding as normal” and said he still intends to travel to South America.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, spoke to journalists on Oct. 14 regarding the pope’s recovery after surgery to remove a lung nodule.

“He is having a normal postoperative course, and his blood values are within the normal range for the type of operation the Pope underwent,” Bruni said to the journalists gathered.

When journalists asked whether Leo’s trip to South America would be modified or canceled, Bruni said the pope’s intention to travel remains unchanged.

“What I told you previously still stands. We have heard the Pope’s words about the trip, namely, his intention, his desire, and also the fact that he intends to go."

Before Bruni met with journalists, the Holy See Press Office published the following statement regarding Leo’s recovery:

“This morning, the Holy Father underwent the blood tests and chest X-ray scheduled following the operation. The results confirm a regular post-operative course: the values are within the normal range for the type of surgery performed.”

The statement also added that the pope “underwent respiratory physiotherapy and began walking around his room and resumed a normal diet, having breakfast and lunch.”

The pontiff also, according to the statement, “underwent respiratory physiotherapy and began walking around his room.”

After his physiotherapy, the pope “resumed a normal diet, having breakfast and lunch.”

As Pope Leo XIV recovers at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital from surgery that confirmed lung cancer, Catholics around the world are praying for him, and many are turning to a 14th-century Servite priest long known as “the cancer saint”: St. Peregrine Laziosi.

LIVE UPDATES: Pope Leo XIV diagnosed with lung cancer From punch to penance

According to an account by Father Lawrence G. Lovasik, SVD, published in EWTN’s library, Peregrine was born in 1260 in Forlì, Italy. He was the only son of a wealthy family, and as a young man he sided with the city’s anti-papal faction.

When St. Philip Benizi of the Servants of Mary (the Servites) came to Forlì to preach peace on behalf of Pope Martin IV, he was met with insults, rocks, and clubs. Peregrine struck him in the face. Philip answered by offering the other cheek and praying for the young man.

Moved, Peregrine ran after the departing friar. He begged forgiveness on his knees and promised to change his life. According to the traditional account, the Virgin Mary later appeared to him in Forlì’s cathedral and told him: “Go to Siena. There you will find the devout men who call themselves my servants. Join them.”

Peregrine received the Servite habit in 1292. It was said that for 30 years he never sat down. In 1322, his superiors sent him to found a Servite house in his hometown of Forlì, where he became known as a preacher and a readily available confessor.

The night before the amputation

Later in life, Peregrine developed a painful cancerous wound on his foot. Lovasik writes that its “gangrenous stench” was so foul that others kept away. Surgeons decided to amputate.

Peregrine spent the night before the operation in prayer before an image of the crucified Christ and fell asleep there. In a dream, Christ seemed to reach down from the cross and touch his diseased foot. When he awoke, he was healed. The account says the doctors could no longer find any trace of the disease.

Peregrine died in 1345 at about 80 years of age. He was beatified in 1609, and Pope Benedict XIII canonized him in 1726. His feast is celebrated May 1. His body rests in the Basilica of San Pellegrino Laziosi in Forlì. Devotion to him has spread far beyond Italy, including to the National Shrine of St. Peregrine at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica in Chicago, the city where Leo was born.

Lovasik’s booklet includes several prayers, and EWTN offers a novena to St. Peregrine.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery Tuesday to remove the lower lobe of his right lung after doctors confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican announced Tuesday evening.

“The Holy Father underwent thoracic surgery as scheduled. To ensure the radical removal of the tumor, the lower lobe of the right lung was removed using a video-assisted technique. An intraoperative histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, as suspected from preoperative tests,” the Holy See Press Office said in a statement concerning the operation performed Tuesday afternoon at Romeʼs Agostino Gemelli University Hospital.

“The Holy Father was in the operating room for approximately three hours, while the procedure itself lasted about 90 minutes,” the statement continued. “The operation was successful, and there were no complications. After surgery, the pope regained consciousness normally and, following a brief period of observation, returned to his room on the 10th floor.”

The statement was prepared by Dr. Luigi Carbone, the popeʼs personal physician, and Professor Stefano Margaritora, who performed the operation.

In addition to Margaritora, the surgical team included Professor Elisa Meacci and Drs. Maria Teresa Congedo and Leonardo Petracca Ciaravella. The anesthesiology team consisted of Professor Massimo Antonelli and Drs. Giovanni Punzo and Giuseppe Bello.

Further postoperative tests, including a histological examination, are expected in the coming days. Doctors have not discussed chemotherapy or similar treatments at this stage.

Leo XIV is being accompanied at the hospital by his two secretaries, the religious sisters who assist him, and his personal physician.

Further updates on the pontiffʼs health could be released Wednesday.

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 entered the hospital on Oct. 13 to undergo surgery to remove a lung nodule. The Vatican has said his recovery in the hospital will take at least a week and the pope’s appointments are canceled through Oct. 20.

An extended hospital stay for one of the most important leaders in the world may raise the question: Who exactly runs the Vatican wh

en a pope is hospitalized or unable to perform his normal duties?

Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director of EWTN News and the author of numerous books on Catholicism including “Encyclopedia of Catholic History,” told EWTN News in 2025 after then-Pope Francis was hospitalized that in such cases, “the machinery of state tends to keep functioning.”

Andreas Widmer, an associate professor of practice in entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business and former Swiss Guard at the Vatican, likewise said much of the Vatican’s administration continues even when the pope is sick.

“Things keep going. He is kept apprised by [Vatican officials],” said Widmer, who served as a Swiss Guard under Pope John Paul II in the 1980s and who regularly returns to the Vatican to work with the guard.

Pope Leo is expected to be hospitalized for just a week. But in some cases, popes have addressed the possible need for resignations in the event of serious health crises.

Pope Paul VI in 1965 wrote a letter to the dean of the College of Cardinals stating that, in the event of his incapacitation while in office, he should be considered resigned. (Pope Paul ultimately lived another 13 years and died while in office.)

In 2022, Pope Francis revealed that in the first year of his pontificate he had signed his resignation and given it to then-Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, to be invoked if he was medically incapacitated and unable to carry out his duties. (“I don’t know who Cardinal Bertone gave it to, but I gave it to him when he was secretary of state,” the late pope joked at the time.)

In his biography published in 2024, Francis said he considered the Petrine ministry to be “for life” and saw no conditions for resignation, barring serious physical impairment.

Widmer argued that popes are not given to leaving such matters unresolved one way or the other. “A pope is not going to leave this to chance. They take their responsibility very seriously,” he said.

The Vatican said on Oct. 13 that the pope’s surgery was completed successfully. Yet in the event of a pope’s death, Bunson said, much of the immediate administration of the Vatican falls to the camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church — one of the few officials of the Vatican who does not immediately lose his job upon a pope’s death.

The camerlengo’s roles include certifying the pope’s death and overseeing the functions of the interregnum.

“It’s his job to certify the death of the reigning pope and to make sure the wishes of the pope are respected,” Bunson explained. “Then the cardinals are summoned to Rome,” after which a new pope is eventually elected.

Also retaining his title in the event of a pope’s death is the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the dicastery for which the chief role is the forgiveness of sins.

That official “always keeps his job,” Bunson said, “because there must always be the opportunity for God’s loving mercy.”

A second key official is the almoner of his holiness, the cardinal in charge of papal charity and care for the poor. It was Pope Francis who decreed that the almoner should keep his post, a reflection of Francis’ concern for the forgotten and most vulnerable.

This story was first published on Feb. 26, 2025, and was updated on Oct. 13, 2026.

As Pope Leo XIV undergoes lung surgery and recovers at Gemelli Hospital this week in Rome, the faithful can turn to the intercession of a 15th-century Franciscan friar who is the patron saint of lung diseases and respiratory illnesses.

St. Bernardine of Siena, known as “the Apostle of Italy” for his efforts to revive the countryʼs Catholic faith in the 1400s, was known to have overcome a weak voice and severe respiratory/throat issues early in his life, while also caring for plague victims and the hospitalized.

Born to upper-class parents in the Italian republic of Siena during 1380, Bernardine Albizeschi soon suffered misfortune when he lost his mother at the age of 3 and his father four years later. His aunt Diana cared for him afterward, teaching him to seek consolation and security by trusting in God.

Even at a young age, Bernardine demonstrated a remarkable concern for the poor as an outgrowth of his love for God. Having become accustomed to fasting, he preferred at times to go without any food in order to help someone in greater need. From the ages of 11 to 17 he focused on his studies, developing the eloquence and dedication that would serve his future work as an evangelist.

Before becoming a preacher, however, Bernardine spent several years ministering to the sick and dying. He enrolled in a religious association that served at a hospital in the town of Scala and applied himself to this work from 1397 to 1400.

During that time, a severe plague broke out in Siena, causing a crisis that would eventually lead to the young man taking charge of the entire hospital. Inside its walls, up to 20 people were dying each day from an illness that also killed many of the hospital workers. The staff was decimated and new victims were coming in constantly.

Bernardine persuaded 12 young men to help him continue the work of the hospital, which he took over for a period of four months. Although the plague did not infect him, the exhausting work left him weak and he contracted a different sickness that kept him in bed for four months.

After recovering, he spent over a year caring for his aunt Bartholomaea before her death. Then the 22-year-old Bernardine moved to a small house outside the city, where he began to discern Godʼs will for his future through prayer and fasting.

He eventually chose to join the Franciscans of the Strict Observance in 1403, embracing an austere life focused on poverty and humility. During this time, while praying before a crucifix, Bernardine heard Christ say to him: “My son, behold me hanging upon a cross. If you love me, or desire to imitate me, be also fastened naked to your cross and follow me. Thus you will assuredly find me.”

After Bernardine was ordained a priest, his superiors commissioned him to preach as a missionary to the Italians who were falling away from their Catholic faith. The Dominican evangelist St. Vincent Ferrer, just before leaving Italy, preached a sermon in which he predicted that one of his listeners would continue his work among the Italians — a prophecy Bernardine heard in person and went on to fulfill.

Bernardineʼs personal devotion to God, which amazed even the strict Franciscans, made his preaching extremely effective. He moved his hearers to abandon their vices, turn back to God, and make peace with one another. He promoted devotion to the name of Jesus as a simple and effective means of recalling Godʼs love at all times.

When other priests consulted him for advice, Bernardine gave them a simple rule: “In all your actions, seek in the first place the kingdom of God and his glory. Direct all you do purely to his honor. Persevere in brotherly charity, and practice first all that you desire to teach others.”

“By this means,” he said, “the Holy Spirit will be your master and will give you such wisdom and such a tongue that no adversary will be able to stand against you.”

Bernardineʼs own life attested to this source of strength in the face of trials. He patiently suffered an accusation of heresy — which Pope Martin V judged to be false — and refused to abandon his bold preaching when a nobleman threatened him with death.

But Bernardine was also widely admired throughout Italy, and he was offered the office of a bishop on three occasions. Each time, however, he turned down the position, choosing to fulfill the prediction of St. Vincent Ferrer through his missionary work. Bernardine preached throughout most of Italy several times over, and even managed to reconcile members of its warring political factions.

Later in his life, Bernardine served for five years as the vicar general for his Franciscan order and revived the practice of its strict rule of life. Then in 1444, 40 years after he first entered religious life, Bernardine became sick while traveling. He continued to preach, but soon lost his strength and his voice.

He died on May 20, 1444, and only six years later, in 1450, Pope Nicholas V canonized him a saint.

This story was first published on May 15, 2011, and was updated Oct. 13, 2026.

As Pope Leo XIV undergoes surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, one figure has taken on particular prominence in recent hours: Dr. Luigi Carbone, who is responsible for coordinating the pontiff’s medical care and is one of his closest advisers on health matters.

Carbone was among the doctors who welcomed Leo XIV when he arrived at the hospital in an armored Ford sedan.

Carbone has professional ties to the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital, one of Italy’s leading medical centers and the hospital traditionally used to treat popes. His career has been particularly associated with emergency medicine and emergency services, fields in which rapid diagnosis and the ability to intervene immediately are essential.

He currently serves as director of the Vatican City State’s Directorate of Health and Hygiene, the agency responsible for providing medical care not only to the pope but also to employees and residents of the tiny state.

The directorate operates medical facilities and diagnostic equipment that allow for regular checkups, specialized examinations, and the coordination of medical care when necessary.

A role rooted in centuries of tradition

Carbone’s position recalls the historic role of the “archiatra pontificio,” or personal physician to the pope. Although the traditional title is no longer formally used, the Italian doctor performs similar functions as one of the principal officials responsible for the pontiff’s health, coordinating the work of the physicians, nurses, and specialists who care for him.

His duties include ensuring continuity of treatment, arranging medical procedures when necessary, and coordinating healthcare resources according to the pope’s needs.

It is a particularly delicate responsibility because it requires balancing clinical care with the demands of the Petrine ministry.

Accompanying the pope on apostolic journeys

The papal physician’s responsibilities extend beyond the Vatican. Carbone regularly accompanies Leo XIV on international apostolic journeys, working with nursing staff to oversee medical preparations for each trip.

Before each journey, factors such as travel time, the intensity of the schedule, and the availability of medical facilities in the countries being visited are assessed.

The papal aircraft also carries medical equipment that allows health checks to be performed and provides for a response to possible emergencies until the pontiff can be transferred to a specialized hospital.

Such planning requires constant coordination with local healthcare systems, as well as considerable discretion, to ensure that any medical emergency can be addressed without disrupting the pope’s pastoral and institutional commitments.

The connection to Gemelli Hospital

Carbone’s presence takes on particular significance at Gemelli Hospital, which has served for decades as the principal medical center for popes.

The relationship between the Rome hospital and the papacy was strengthened especially during the pontificate of St. John Paul II, who was hospitalized there on several occasions.

When a pope is hospitalized, his regular medical team works alongside Gemelli specialists to ensure continuity of care and facilitate the exchange of clinical information.

This arrangement reflects the evolution of papal healthcare, which has shifted from relying primarily on physicians attached to the Apostolic Palace to drawing on the resources of major, highly specialized hospitals.

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

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV’s decision to personally announce that he will undergo surgery to remove a nodule from one of his lungs has been welcomed as an unprecedented gesture of transparency in the recent history of the papacy.

The surprise announcement Sunday, Oct. 11, stunned hundreds of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus prayer.

By speaking directly about his health, the pontiff departed from a long-standing Vatican practice of limiting information about papal illnesses and medical treatment.

Traditionally, the health of popes has been shrouded in considerable secrecy. For decades, illnesses and hospitalizations were disclosed only in limited terms and sometimes incompletely.

In 1992, for example, St. John Paul II announced that he would enter the hospital for medical tests but did not explain why. Only three days later did the Vatican disclose that he had undergone surgery to remove a benign tumor from his colon.

Under Pope Francis, a greater degree of openness began to emerge. During his various hospitalizations, the Holy See issued medical bulletins about his condition and, in some cases, arranged briefings by the doctors treating him.

Even troubling details of the Argentine pontiff’s hospitalizations were disclosed, including respiratory crises during his final illness before his death in 2025.

Nevertheless, the information continued to come primarily through official Vatican channels rather than directly from the pope himself.

In earlier decades, secrecy surrounding papal health had contributed to controversies such as the death of John Paul I in 1978. The limited information released after his death, just 33 days after his election, fueled years of questions and speculation about the circumstances.

Against that historical background, Leo XIV’s decision to announce his own upcoming surgery represents a significant departure from tradition.

Senior cardinals interviewed by EWTN News described the disclosure as a shift in how the Vatican communicates about the health of the pope.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, linked the decision to the spirit of fraternity promoted in Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti.

“In the spirit of Fratelli Tutti, it is a sign of fraternity to share your illness with those who care for you,” Czerny said.

“And to say that the whole world cares for Pope Leo is not an exaggeration; it’s a fact. So I see his openness or transparency as an expression of both humility and truth.”

Czerny emphasized that the concern and prayers prompted by the announcement reflected the communion of the Church and the wider human family with the successor of Peter.

“Now, every feeling of concern, every hopeful prayer of whatever kind, is the human family expressing communion with an esteemed leader and father who we know loves us,” he said.

“May God bless Pope Leo and bring him back to us, healthy as ever!”

Czerny is scheduled to receive the first Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal on Tuesday afternoon at Borgo Laudato Si’, located on the grounds of the papal villas at Castel Gandolfo. The pope had been expected to attend the ceremony, but his participation was canceled.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said hearing the news directly from the pope had provoked a mixture of painful surprise, fear, and fraternal affection, along with a sense of closeness and honesty.

“Hearing the news directly from the pope caused me painful surprise, fear, fraternal affection, but at the same time a sense of intimacy, closeness, openness without masks, of great honesty toward us,” Fernández said.

“It is impossible not to feel personally involved when you hear the pope tell his truth in that way, acknowledge the frailty of his flesh and at the same time his serene confidence,” he added.

Fernández said that, paradoxically, the troubling news had deepened the sense of communion within the Church.

“Mysteriously, bad news thus becomes a deeply felt expression of ecclesial communion and affection for that father who unites us,” he said. “I experienced a powerful sense of how valuable it is for the Church to have that father.”

Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, archbishop of Tokyo and president of Caritas Internationalis, offered a firsthand account of the pope’s condition after meeting with him Monday, Oct. 12.

The audience, Kikuchi explained, had been arranged long in advance as part of the annual meeting in which the president and secretary-general of Caritas Internationalis report on the organization’s activities to the pope.

“Holy Father was as usual and calm with no sign of sickness,” Kikuchi told EWTN News.

“He assured me that this is a minor operation and he feels nothing wrong with his body, and he said he had decided to go for the operation as soon as possible not to change his plan of [the] Latin America pastoral visit.”

The pope is scheduled to travel to South America Nov. 6–17.

Kikuchi said he also joked with Leo XIV about the wisdom of publicly announcing the surgery.

“I told him jokingly that his decision to make it public was prudent to prevent speculation of [the] public who would be next pope. For this he smiled,” the cardinal recalled.

“But I really believe so that he made really a prudent decision to avoid any speculation or gossiping,” Kikuchi added.

The cardinal’s account suggests that Leo XIV’s decision to disclose his medical condition was intended not only to inform the faithful but also to forestall rumors about the future of the papacy.

For the cardinals who spoke to EWTN News, the announcement marks a notable change in Vatican communications, with the pope choosing to speak openly about his vulnerability while expressing confidence about his treatment and his plans to continue his ministry.

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

Pope Leo XIV arrived at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday for same-day surgery to remove a small lung nodule detected at a very early stage. Follow updates and reactions here.

A new documentary about the life of St. John Henry Newman has premiered in Rome.

The film “Lead Kindly Light: The Story of Saint John Henry Newman” premiered at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome on Oct. 9, marking the first celebration of his feast day since Pope Leo XIV declared him the 38th doctor of the Church in 2025.

The movie, produced by Lumine Studios in Brazil, features places significant to Newman’s life, including his childhood home in London, the University of Oxford, and Rome, where he studied for the Catholic priesthood after converting from Anglicanism.

The movie is available in English on the Catholic media website Formed.

‘A story of conversion and great personal sacrifice’

Father Hermann Geissler, FSO, director of the International Centre of Newman Friends in Rome, described the movie as a demonstration of faith and the significant personal sacrifices that would mark Newman’s life.

Father Hermann Geissler delivers remarks at the premiere of the film “Lead Kindly Light: The Story of Saint John Henry Newman,” at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome on Oct. 9, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Sister Christiane Fritsch, FSO

“It is a documentary film where we visit all of the places where Newman lived, doing interviews,” Geissler told EWTN News, “and where we are telling the story of Newman and reading parts of Newmanʼs letters. It is a wonderful film that shows the great faith of Newman, the sacrifice that his conversion cost, and the coherence of his life and thought.”

A doctor and patron for Catholic education

Pope Francis canonized Newman along with four others in 2019, after Pope Benedict XVI beatified him in Birmingham, England, in 2010.

On All Saints Day 2025, St. John Henry Newman was proclaimed a doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIV. | Credit: Vatican Media

In 2025, Pope Leo XIV declared Newman a doctor of the Church and a co-patron of Catholic education alongside St. Thomas Aquinas. In his homily, the pontiff cited Newman’s famous hymn “Lead, Kindly Light” to highlight the need for education to inspire hope.

“The task of education is precisely to offer this Kindly Light to those who might otherwise remain imprisoned by the particularly insidious shadows of pessimism and fear,” Leo said. “For this reason, I would like to say to you: Let us disarm the false reasons for resignation and powerlessness, and let us share the great reasons for hope in today’s world.”

In February, the Vatican established Newman’s feast day as Oct. 9 in the General Roman Calendar.

Oct. 12, 2026, marks the 20th anniversary of the death of St. Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenager who captivated a generation of young Catholics with his love of the Eucharist and passion for technology.

Acutis’ journey to sainthood has unfolded alongside the lives of the last four popes, each of whom has marked a different chapter in the teenager’s short life and legacy.

Carlo went on pilgrimage to see John Paul II, offered up his suffering from cancer for Benedict XVI, and was later beatified during the pontificate of Pope Francis. Finally, Pope Leo XIV canonized him, along with Pier Giorgio Frassati, on Sept. 7, 2025, making him the first millennial to ever be made a saint.

A childhood inspired by John Paul II

Born in 1991 during the pontificate of John Paul II, Carlo Acutis grew up at a time when the Polish pontiff was inspiring millions with his travels and teaching. It was Carlo’s Polish nanny, herself devoted to the pope, who helped cultivate Carlo’s early faith.

In October 2000, the Acutis family traveled to Rome to attend a landmark moment of the Great Jubilee: Pope John Paul II’s act of entrusting the new millennium to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Standing in St. Peter’s Square, the then-9-year-old Carlo witnessed a crowd united in prayer, gathered beneath Bernini’s colonnade and in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fátima.

“The Church today, through the voice of the successor of Peter, in union with so many pastors assembled here from every corner of the world, seeks refuge in your motherly protection and trustingly begs your intercession as she faces the challenges which lie hidden in the future,” John Paul II prayed to Our Lady.

Offering his suffering for Benedict XVI

When white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel in April 2005, 13-year-old Carlo Acutis watched closely as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI. According to his mother, Carlo was “fascinated” by Benedict XVI.

The following year, Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia. Before he died of cancer in October 2006, he offered up his suffering for Benedict XVI, saying: “I offer all the suffering I will have to endure to the Lord for the pope and for the Church, in order not to go through purgatory and to go straight to heaven.”

Beatification under Pope Francis

Pope Francis declared Carlo Acutis’ heroic virtue in 2018 and recognized the two miracles attributed to Carlo’s intercession that made possible his beatification and canonization.

Francis frequently cited Carlo as a model for youth in the digital age. In Christus Vivit, his apostolic exhortation to young people, Francis wrote that Carlo’s life stood as a witness against the temptation of “self-absorption, isolation, and empty pleasure” in the digital world.

“His witness indicates to today’s young people that true happiness is found by putting God in first place and serving him in our brothers and sisters, especially the least,” Pope Francis said the day after Carlo’s beatification in 2020.

Pope Francis had been scheduled to preside over Carlo’s canonization on April 27, 2025, during a jubilee event expected to draw 80,000 teenagers to Rome. Instead, with Francis’ death on April 21, 2025, Carlo’s canonization awaited a new date until a new pope was elected.

Carlo Acutis and Pope Leo XIV: A witness to young people

Carlo Acutis’ canonization on Sept. 7, 2025, was one of the first major acts of Leo XIV following his election to the papacy in May 2025. In his homily at the canonization, the pontiff hailed Acutis and Frassati as models for youth seeking holiness.

“Dear friends, Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces,” Leo said.

Their example, the pope explained, is the “type of witness we are called to follow, in order to enjoy life to the full and meet the Lord in the feast of heaven.”

Ishmael Adibuah contributed to this report.

This story was first published on April 27, 2025. It was updated on Oct. 12, 2026.

A conference in Rome last week brought together clergy, pastoral workers, and mental health professionals to discuss how to overcome the stigma surrounding mental health in the Church.

The conference, “A Healing Presence: The Church’s Call to Mental Health Ministry,” held in Rome from Oct. 9–10, responded to Pope Leo XIV’s October prayer intention for mental health. Organized by the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers, the conference also coincided with World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10.

The conference was also under the patronage of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Among those present were Bishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix, and Deacon Ed Shoener, a founding member of the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers.

‘The Church is a safe space, not a replacement for psychologists’

Among the themes discussed at the conference was the Church as a place where individuals can seek spiritual remedies for their mental health challenges.

Shoener clarified that the Church and those dedicated to mental health ministry complement medical professionals rather than replace them.

“Our goal is that someday, when someone faces a mental health challenge, the first place they think to turn is the Catholic Church as a safe space, Shoener told EWTN News. “We are not psychologists or psychiatrists providing medical care; rather, we provide the spiritual and social support that is so often missing due to stigma, discrimination, and fear.”

“We work closely with professionals because faith and science must go together,” he added.

Deacon Ed Shoener is a founding member of the Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Deacon Ed Shoener

Shoener also shared the personal tragedy of his daughter’s 2016 suicide, which prompted him to help establish the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers in hopes that others with similar challenges would be heard.

“Katie had bipolar disorder, lived with it for 10 years, went to college, had friends, and did not fit the stereotypes people often have about mental illness. Sadly, she died by suicide in 2016,” Shoener said.

“Her obituary went viral because we clearly stated that she had a mental illness, was not defined by it, and was a beautiful child of God.”

The conference “A Healing Presence: The Church’s Call to Mental Health Ministry” was held in Rome on Oct. 9–10, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Andrea Sarubbi

Speaking about the stigmatization of mental health in the wider culture and the Church, he also cited several reasons for it.

“In the U.S., we often avoid talking about it because we fear it makes us look weak or inadequate, potentially jeopardizing our success or employment. What brought me into this ministry was that overwhelming response from people longing for the Church to comfort them rather than push them aside,” Shoener said.

An epidemic hidden by happiness in Sweden

One participant, Samuelle Falk, discussed opportunities for the Church to minister to those with mental health challenges, particularly in her native Sweden, which is noted for its high Happiness Index.

“To the outside world, Sweden often appears as a model of security and comfort; we even rank fourth in the 2025 World Happiness Report,” Falk said. “Yet, beneath this surface of prosperity, we are facing a profound crisis of youth mental health, driven by a silent epidemic of loneliness.”

Samuelle Falk, a psychiatrist in training and a doctoral student at the Karolinska Insitutue in Sweden, participated in the conference “A Healing Presence: The Church’s Call to Mental Health Ministry,” held in Rome from Oct. 9–10, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Samuelle Falk

“Yet, I believe God has been using this inner suffering to lead a generation back to himself. The Catholic Church in Sweden is experiencing a clear influx of new members. The Church does not stand on the sidelines of the youth mental health crisis; she stands right in the middle of it,” Falk added.

Falk, a psychiatrist in training, began working in mental health ministry with the Diocese of Stockholm. Reflecting on her experience, she spoke of the unique offering the Church can give young people seeking help.

“The Church offers what medicine cannot: a home for the soul, a framework of meaning, and a sense of true belonging,” Falk told EWTN News. “Where youth are increasingly isolated behind digital screens, the Church offers a physical and present community. We proclaim the one truth the secular world cannot offer: Your worth does not lie in your achievements but in being unconditionally loved by God. We remind them that they are never walking alone.”

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, a 61-year-old Italian Franciscan, as the new archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The appointment also includes the positions of vicar general for Vatican City and president of the Fabric of St. Peter, the body responsible for the conservation of the basilica.

Viola thus leaves the Secretariat of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a position he had held since 2021. To succeed him, the pope appointed Bishop Aurelio García Macías, until now undersecretary of the same organization.

Born on Oct. 4, 1965, in Biella, in northern Italy, Viola belongs to the Order of Friars Minor. He was ordained a priest in 1993 and holds a doctorate in Sacred Liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of Sant’Anselmo in Rome.

Before arriving at the Roman Curia, he carried out much of his ministry in Assisi. Between 1999 and 2005 he was custodian of the convent and the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels at the Porziuncola. He also headed Caritas of Assisi between 2008 and 2014.

Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Tortona in 2014. Seven years later, in May 2021, he called him to Rome to join the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments as secretary.

New secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship

The second appointment falls to García, a Spanish priest who has worked in the dicastery since 2015 and who until now served as undersecretary.

Born on March 28, 1965, in Pollos, in the Spanish province of Valladolid, he was ordained a priest in 1992 for that archdiocese. He studied philosophy at the University of Salamanca and obtained a doctorate in liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of Sant’Anselmo in Rome.

Before joining the Vatican, he was diocesan delegate for liturgy and rector of the seminary of Valladolid.

In the Roman Curia he began as an official of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. In 2016 he became head of office and, in May 2021, Pope Francis appointed him undersecretary. He received episcopal ordination on July 11 of that year.

As secretary, García will work alongside the prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Arthur Roche, on matters related to the liturgy and the discipline of the sacraments. Among the responsibilities of the body are the promotion and regulation of the liturgy of the Latin Church and the application of the norms governing liturgical celebrations.

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 will be admitted to the Gemelli University Hospital in Rome on late Tuesday morning.

The Holy See Press Office made the announcement on Monday, one day after the pontiff said, during his Sunday Angelus, that he would undergo surgery to remove a nodule from one of his lungs.

The nodule, he explained in his Angelus address, was found during a routine medical checkup and prompted his doctors to advise him to have it surgically removed.

“The doctors believe it is advisable to operate. I have decided to undergo surgery to remove it, following their advice,” Leo said in his address.

According to Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, who spoke to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, the pontiff is expected to remain hospitalized for about one week at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he will continue his recovery after the operation.

Due to the pope’s upcoming hospitalization and recovery, he will no longer celebrate the closing Mass of the meeting “10 Years After Amoris Laetitia: Proclaiming the Gospel with Families Today.” Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will replace him as the celebrant for the closing Mass.

Additionally, according to one of the organizers, Father Giacomo Costa, SJ, the conference’s concluding summary will no longer be published on Wednesday night. Costa told journalists Oct. 12 that the pope would like to have time following his hospitalization to read the document and possibly add his own response before making it public.

A press briefing on the night of Oct. 14 marking the conclusion of the conference will still take place at the Holy See Press Office as scheduled.

Pope Leo XIV described the death penalty as “inadmissible” in a message posted on social media on the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty on Saturday, Oct. 10.

In his post, the pontiff stated: “The death penalty is inadmissible because it attacks the inviolability and dignity of the person.”

He emphasized that the protection of society and the application of justice can be guaranteed without resorting to capital punishment. In this regard, he said that “the common good can be protected and the requirements of justice can be safeguarded without resorting to capital punishment: effective penitentiary systems have already been developed that protect citizens and, at the same time, do not entirely deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.”

The message concluded with the hashtag #NoDeathPenalty, used in international campaigns promoting the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.

The Holy Father made this statement one day after the secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, criticized the planned public execution in the United States of Nidal Hasan, according to Vatican News.

Parolin stated on Oct. 9 that plans to broadcast the execution live are unacceptable. “It is truly incomprehensible that anyone would want to resort to this method in this day and age,” he noted.

“I do not know for what purpose. It is certainly unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle. However guilty the person may be, there are other ways.”

He emphasized that the death penalty “does not serve as a deterrent.”

That same day, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Paul Coakley, expressed his “shock and great sorrow” and urged that the decision be reconsidered.

Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding another 32 at Fort Hood in November 2009, and a military court sentenced him to death in 2013. The Pentagon announced on Thursday that his execution by firing squad is scheduled for Dec. 3, although new legal proceedings could delay it.

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 will have surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital early this week to remove a small lung nodule found at a very early stage. Follow updates and reactions here.

Bishops from around the world asked for prayers for Pope Leo XIV after he announced on Sunday, Oct. 11, that he will undergo surgery to remove a nodule on one of his lungs in the coming days.

In the United States, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, said the prelates would join “the faithful and all people of good will in praying for his good health.” He also prayed for those who will perform the operation: “May the hand of Pope Leo’s surgeons be guided by the divine physician, Jesus Christ.”

Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York joined the prayers as he finished a week-long pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. “I join with the bishops, priests, faithful, and all people of good will of the Archdiocese of New York in praying for our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as he prepares for his surgery later this week,” he wrote. He also asked Jesus, “the divine physician,” to care for the pope and guide “the hands of his surgeons, nurses, and other health professionals.”

Prayers from Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru

Cardinal Daniel Sturla, archbishop of Montevideo, also wrote about the news. Uruguay is one of the countries expecting Pope Leo XIV on his upcoming visit to Latin America. “Let us pray for his speedy recovery and continue with greater spirit the preparation for his visit to our land,” he wrote.

In Peru, which also expects the pope later this year, the Archdiocese of Lima entrusted his health to the Lord of Miracles, a devotion that draws millions of Peruvians each year. “We ask the Lord of Miracles for his speedy recovery,” the archdiocese said on social media.

The Peruvian bishops’ conference issued a message titled “United in prayer for the health of the Holy Father Leo XIV.” It noted the :serenity and humility” with which the pope shared the news and asked that his health be entrusted to the Lord of Miracles.

“Lifting to God, Lord of life and source of all health, our supplications that he strengthen him and grant him the health that the fulfillment of his mission requires,” the Peruvian bishops said. They also urged communities, families, and the faithful to place the Holy Father under the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that in the fullness of his strength he may continue his mission in service of the Church and all humanity, as a messenger of peace and hope and a witness of unity, fraternity, and encounter among all peoples.

The Argentinian bishops said in a statement: “We ask the Lord to grant him strength and peace at this time, that the operation may go well, and that he may make a swift and full recovery.”

Prayers from Spain

The Spanish bishops’ conference also invited prayer for the pope. Its president, Archbishop Luis Argüello, asked “the whole Spanish Church — dioceses, institutes of consecrated life, communities and lay associations, all members of the People of God, and our fellow citizens — to pray for the health of our beloved Pope Leo XIV.”

The conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”

Instagram post

The conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”

Prayers from Poland, Great Britain, Malta

Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, the president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, issued an appeal to the Polish people, asking them to “pray for the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, asking God for a successful operation and a speedy recovery.”

Bishop John Keenan, on behalf of the Scottish bishops’ conference, said: “We invite Catholics across Scotland, and all people of goodwill, to join us in praying for Pope Leo, for the medical team caring for him, and for a successful operation and a full and speedy recovery.”

Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster and the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, assured Leo of the prayers of the faithful.

“We pray that following the procedure and a period of recovery, he will soon be restored to health,” Moth wrote.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta and Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote on X: “The Church in Malta is united in prayer for the Holy Father, wishing him well for the surgery he will be undergoing.”

Leo XIV asks for prayer

The pope announced the operation after Sunday’s Angelus. Doctors found a nodule on one of his lungs and recommended removing it. In sharing the news, Leo asked the faithful to accompany him spiritually in the coming days: “I entrust myself to your prayer.”

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 news that Pope Leo XIV will have surgery next week left many asking what a lung nodule is.

He confirmed at the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday that the lesion was caught early and is well localized. “The doctors consider it advisable to intervene. I have decided to have the operation to remove it, following their advice,” he said.

Many are asking how nodules are found, how they are evaluated, and what leads doctors to recommend removing them.

The condition, commonly called a “spot on the lung,” shows up on imaging as a white opacity against normal lung tissue and is generally up to 30 millimeters in diameter.

Dr. Bruno Vincenzi, head of the oncology service at the Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital in Rome, told ACI Prensa, the sister service of EWTN News, that a nodule can be found because a patient has symptoms that lead to tests.

“A persistent cough that has just appeared, expectoration — that is, producing phlegm with traces of blood — or chest pain can be reasons the patient undergoes studies,” he said.

He added that these findings are now increasingly accidental. Patients may be scanned before an operation or a hospital stay, or as part of a screening program, especially if they are older or have been smokers.

Asked why a doctor would recommend surgery, as in the pope’s case, Vincenzi said certain features on the images can raise concern. Spiculated margins — irregular or jagged — can suggest a more worrying lesion and make removal advisable. Well-defined margins, perhaps with calcifications inside, more often suggest a benign nodule.

Dr. Elmer Huerta, a Peruvian oncologist based in the United States and the first Latin American president of the American Cancer Society, said the operation the pope is expected to have is usually done with minimally invasive techniques. “The old thoracotomies, which meant opening the chest, are no longer done. What is done now is minimally invasive robotic surgery, in which a half-centimeter opening is made between the ribs, the robot is introduced, and the operation is done with that,” he said.

Huerta said it is not yet possible to say how long the pope will need to recover fully, because the specific features of the nodule, and therefore the exact extent of the surgery, are not public. Depending on what is found, doctors may remove a wedge of lung that includes the nodule, a segment, or a whole lobe. That will determine the recovery.

On how soon the pope can resume his usual commitments, Huerta said it depends on the extent of the operation. A wedge removal is simpler, and he could fly in two or three weeks and make his planned trip to Latin America. Removing a lobe would be more complicated. The key is the nature of the nodule, which has not been made public.

Huerta also stressed that most lung nodules are not cancerous. A 2022 study found that 95 percent are benign and only 5 percent are cancer. Cancerous nodules have certain features on X-rays, CT scans, and PET exams.

Vincenzi said a histological analysis is needed to determine what a nodule is. When a nodule is removed because its features suggest a suspicious lesion, the pathologist’s final examination of the cells can give a clear indication of whether it is benign or malignant.

Both experts declined to speculate on the pope’s case without precise clinical details. Vincenzi said it is better to stop at the diagnostic stage, because saying more risks creating needless reassurance or needless worry. Huerta said the same thing he tells his patients: go step by step.

The hospitalization planned for next week will force the pope to cancel all commitments on those days, Vatican press office director Matteo Bruni told ACI Prensa. Among them is the closing Mass of an international meeting on the family, held for the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, which Leo XIV was to preside over on Wednesday with the presidents of episcopal conferences gathered at the Vatican.

In principle, the surgery would not affect the trip to South America planned for November 6–17, judging by the pope’s own words at the Angelus. Greeting members of the Brotherhood of the Lord of Miracles in St. Peter’s Square, he said, “Thank you for your prayer for the pastoral visit I will make to Peru.”

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 announced Sunday that he will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove a nodule from one of his lungs that was recently detected during medical examinations.

Speaking to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square after the Angelus prayer on Oct. 11, the pontiff personally disclosed his medical condition, explaining that the nodule had been discovered at a very early stage.

“Dear brothers and sisters, recently, during some medical examinations, doctors found a well-defined nodule in one of my lungs. It was detected at a very early stage and is well localized,” he said.

Leo XIV said doctors had recommended surgery to remove the nodule and that he had decided to follow their advice.

“The doctors believe it is advisable to operate. I have decided to undergo surgery to remove it, following their advice,” he said.

The pope also confirmed that the operation has already been scheduled and will take place in the coming days. He did not provide further details about the exact date or the surgical procedure.

“The operation has already been scheduled for the coming days. I thank you for your spiritual closeness and entrust myself to your prayers,” he said.

According to Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, who spoke to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, the pope’s surgery is scheduled for early this week, although an exact date has not yet been announced.

Bruni also said the pontiff is expected to remain hospitalized for approximately one week at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he will continue his recovery following the operation.

The hospitalization will require the pope to cancel all engagements scheduled for the coming days.

Among them is the closing Mass of an international meeting on the family marking the 10th anniversary of the publication of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia. The pope had been scheduled to preside at the Mass on Wednesday, with the presidents of bishops’ conferences gathered at the Vatican.

However, the pope’s upcoming surgery is not expected, at least for now, to prevent his planned trip to South America from Nov. 6–17, judging by the pontiff’s own remarks during the Angelus.

Leo XIV explicitly referred to his upcoming visit to Peru while greeting members of the Brotherhood of the Lord of Miracles gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

“Thank you for your prayers for the pastoral visit I will make to Peru,” he said.

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 CITY — Why are fewer young people choosing to marry in the Catholic Church, and how does contemporary society understand the relationship between sexuality, procreation, and the sacrament of marriage?

Those are among the questions being addressed at an international gathering on the family at the Vatican, taking place behind closed doors through Oct. 14 with the participation of presidents of bishops' conferences from around the world.

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said in his presentation Friday, Oct. 9, that in his country, and possibly many others, “the concept of a necessary link between sexual activity and procreation, and the importance of this in Christian marriage is no longer widely understood or accepted.”

To illustrate the problem, he cited the observations of a religious education director in Western Australia who is married and has teenage children.

“Many of our young people have inherited cultural assumptions about sexuality that differ substantially from those of the Church — they may understand the Church’s position, but they do not find it easy to embrace,” the educator told him.

Costelloe said this reflects a tension between Church teaching and prevailing cultural attitudes, reinforced by social media, entertainment, peer culture, and online influencers, which frequently promote relationships that prioritize “personal fulfillment, autonomy, and immediate happiness over permanence, sacrifice, and covenant.”

Moral failures of Church leaders

Compounding the problem, Costelloe said, many young people have experienced painful circumstances, including broken marriages in their own families, domestic violence, inequality between men and women, and the moral failures of Church leaders whose credibility has been damaged.

“We are competing with many other approaches to the meaning of marriage,” he acknowledged.

Despite these difficulties, the archbishop emphasized that many young people continue to seek lasting relationships that bring out their best qualities and provide a solid foundation for a meaningful future.

He called for supporting these aspirations and accompanying young people as they seek to build stable relationships.

At the same time, Costelloe observed, the prevalence of divorce and failed relationships has led many young people to question “whether lifelong commitment is possible or even desirable.”

In this context, he emphasized the importance of the example provided by stable marriages and families.

As one married couple told him: “The most persuasive argument for Christian marriage is often a married couple living it well.”

Costelloe suggested that parishes and dioceses should find ways to make such examples more visible, including through marriage preparation programs and Catholic schools.

He also advocated presenting the Churchʼs teaching on marital intimacy positively, as an ideal worth pursuing rather than merely a set of rules and prohibitions.

Understanding why young people reject marriage

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, warned participants that marriage rates are declining worldwide, both for civil marriages and those celebrated in the Church.

“We cannot ignore the fact that the number of marriages is currently declining throughout the world, both civil marriages and marriages celebrated in the Church,” he said. “We will seek to interpret this phenomenon, taking into account whether its causes are the same everywhere.”

The gathering marks the 10th anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, the apostolic exhortation published by Pope Francis in 2016 following two synods marked by intense debate over the Churchʼs pastoral approach to families.

The documentʼs proposals for accompanying newlyweds and couples experiencing marital difficulties were partly overshadowed by controversy over its implications for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

Bishops from the Buenos Aires pastoral region interpreted the document as permitting some divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist following a process of accompanied pastoral discernment, including in circumstances in which a person believes that abstaining from sexual relations would cause further harm to children of the new union.

In 2023, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith confirmed that this interpretation forms part of the authentic magisterium, having been published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the Holy Seeʼs official record.

Farrell noted that priests are not alone in worrying about young peopleʼs reluctance to marry. Many Christian parents share that concern as they watch their children struggle with loneliness and uncertainty about lifelong commitments.

“Pastors are not alone in facing this concern. It is felt first and foremost by the many Christian parents whose children suffer from loneliness, remain hesitant to make a lasting commitment, or categorically reject the path that their parents themselves had embraced with joy,” he said.

Among the factors contributing to this trend, Farrell cited divorce, different forms of cohabitation, and prevailing cultural attitudes.

“But at a deeper level, we might ask whether God has perhaps ceased to speak to the hearts of young people, stirring in them a desire for marriage,” he said.

The cardinal said participants would look for signs of hope and consider initiatives, individuals, and circumstances that could open new paths toward marriage.

“We will also consider how attentive our communities are to the witness of those who, despite everything, choose marriage — whether early in life or later on — and how their experience can help us understand and present the vocation to marriage more effectively.”

What are young people seeking when they speak of love?

Auxiliary Bishop Stephen Fernandes of Bombay, India, argued that the Churchʼs central challenge is not simply to ask why young people are reluctant to marry but to understand what they are seeking in relationships.

“The challenge before the Church, therefore, is not to begin by asking why young people are failing to accept marriage, but rather what are they seeking when they speak about love, freedom, dignity, and their future,” he said.

Fernandes explained that young people experience relationships in a cultural environment very different from that of previous generations.

“The culture of immediacy and continual choice can enter their experience of intimacy, while marriage requires patience, presence, forgiveness, and perseverance,” he observed.

He also pointed to economic insecurity as a significant obstacle to marriage, citing employment difficulties, housing costs, migration, and social instability.

“For some, therefore, postponing marriage is not simply a rejection of marriage. It can reflect a crisis of confidence in the possibility of building a stable and enduring life with another person,” he said.

Fernandes stressed that many young people have not abandoned the desire for lasting love, even if they increasingly doubt that it is attainable.

“Young people have not ceased to thirst for love. What has weakened for many is confidence that love can endure,” he said.

He urged the Church to listen more carefully to young peopleʼs experiences and to present marriage not simply as an obligation or social institution but as a vocation grounded in freedom, fidelity, and mutual self-giving.

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.

ROME — Pope Leo XIV will open an international congress on fertility and infertility on Oct. 16, bringing together specialists from a range of disciplines to address the scientific, anthropological, and ethical challenges related to sexuality and human reproduction.

The conference, titled “The Splendor of the Human Person: Safeguarding Fertility, Healing Infertility,” will be held Oct. 16–18 at the Rome campus of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.

According to the Vatican, the Holy Father will inaugurate the event during an audience at the Vatican following a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference.

The congress will mark the 25th anniversary of the International Scientific Institute Paul VI (ISI), which conducts research on human fertility and infertility in support of responsible procreation, as well as the 50th anniversary of the Center for Natural Fertility Regulation.

The initiative is being promoted by the ISI-Paul VI Foundation, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, the Toniolo Institute of Higher Studies, and the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital Foundation, along with other academic and cultural institutions linked to the Church.

Following the audience with Pope Leo XIV, the congress will officially begin at the university auditorium with an opening address by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, on “the dignity and beauty of procreation in the Church’s magisterium.”

Organizers have structured the program around four main themes: “The Transmission of Life Between Society and Science,” “The Fertility Roadmap for Couples,” “Preconception Health and the Prevention of Infertility,” and “Safeguarding the Human Person Amid Hypertechnology and the Culture of Waste.”

In addition to academic presentations, the event will feature scientific and interdisciplinary panels aimed at sharing clinical research, medical experience, and testimonies from health professionals, married couples, and parents.

Participants will reflect on the causes of infertility, therapeutic approaches compatible with Christian ethics, and ways to foster a culture that values human life from conception.

The congress is intended to continue the teaching of St. Paul VI on human fertility and responsible procreation, later developed by St. John Paul II. According to the organizers, the event seeks to highlight the importance of protecting fertility and accompanying married couples who face difficulties conceiving, while encouraging integration between scientific research, medical care, and a Christian anthropological vision.

The concluding session will be led by Bishop Claudio Giuliodori, president of the ISI Foundation and general ecclesiastical assistant of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, and Professor Tullio Ghi, director of the Obstetrics and Obstetric Pathology Unit at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

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.