As Pope Leo XIV neared his 70th birthday Sept. 14, those closest to the American-born pontiff said they knew, very early on, that he was in for lifelong service to the Church.
Pope Leo XIV
The future that Christians hope for and must build “is not one of walls and barbed wire, but one of mutual acceptance,” Pope Leo XIV told young adult Catholics from more than a dozen Mediterranean countries.
Pope Leo XIV expressed condolences to victims and their families after the derailment of Lisbon’s historic funicular streetcar Elevador da Glória, which caused the death of over a dozen people.
Pope Leo XIV publicly called on the leaders of Sudan’s warring factions to negotiate an end to the violence and to ensure aid can reach desperate civilians.
Participating in the ecumenical Season of Creation, Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of September is “for our relationship with all of creation.”
Christian hope is not about avoiding pain and suffering but about knowing that God gives people the strength to persevere and to love even when things go wrong, Pope Leo XIV said.
Two months after celebrating a new Mass “for the care of creation,” Pope Leo XIV will return to Castel Gandolfo to formally inaugurate Borgo Laudato Si’, a place of education, ecology, and spirituality in the papal summer estate.
Every Catholic at Mass, but especially the altar servers, should rejoice that they are in the presence of Jesus, Pope Leo XIV said.
Catholic legislators are called to enact laws that reflect love of God and love of neighbor, Pope Leo XIV told an international group of lawmakers.
A plan for Pope Leo XIV to visit Lebanon as well as Turkey in late November and early December is being studied, a Vatican official said.