Category Archives: Vatican

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Sophia Forchas, who survived a gunshot wound to the head during an all-school Mass at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis Aug. 27, 2025, and her father, Tom Forchas, exit a limousine at Hennepin County Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis Oct. 23, just after her release from Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul. A police escort led by Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara arrived at HCMC for a brief visit with hospital staff there who treated Sophia. (OSV News photo/Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit)

NATION
MINNEAPOLIS (OSV News) – Sophia Forchas, who was critically injured in an Aug. 27 shooting during an all-school Mass at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis, has been discharged from the hospital and was greeted with signs and cheers Oct. 23 in Minneapolis. Sophia, 12, was in critical condition for two weeks after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. Then, Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis reported on Sept. 11 that she had moved into serious condition – defined as having “a chance for improved prognosis.” On her way home from Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul Oct. 23, where she was receiving inpatient rehabilitation, Sophia was escorted to Hennepin Healthcare. She was greeted by staff who clapped and cheered. Some staff cried and hugged each other. They held signs that included birthday messages and sang the “Happy Birthday” song to her. Sophia, a seventh grader, turns 13 on Oct. 25. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara was part of the escort. Sophia’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Walt Galicich, credited staff at Hennepin Healthcare for assisting in the girl’s recovery. Sophia’s family, members of St. Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Minneapolis, stated her healing progress was “nothing short of miraculous; an undeniable testament to the mercy and intervention of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – A coalition of Catholic organizations held prayer vigils across the country on Oct. 22 for what organizers called “a national day of public witness for our immigrant brothers and sisters.” The vigils came amid growing concern from some faith communities – including a Catholic parish in Chicago – about the impact of the Trump administration’s rollback of a policy that prohibited immigration enforcement in sensitive locations, such as churches, schools, and hospitals. The “One Church, One Family: Catholic Public Witness for Immigrants,” vigils took place in multiple locations around the country on Oct. 22, with a second series of events scheduled for Nov. 13, the feast day of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, universal patroness of immigrants. The protest and prayer vigil in the nation’s capital took place in front of the headquarters for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as employees entered the building and as rush-hour drivers occasionally honked at the group in apparent acknowledgement. Judy Coode, communications director for Pax Christi USA told OSV News at the Washington vigil, “We wanted to be a witness.” “Both as Catholics and also as U.S. citizens, we have a responsibility to bear witness to injustices that we see,” Coode said.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The pursuit of synodality should strengthen the Catholic Church’s mission of proclaiming the Gospel and help all Catholics learn to collaborate to make the world a better place, Pope Leo XIV said. “As Pope Francis reminded us on numerous occasions,” the pope said, the purpose of synodality “is to help the church fulfill its primary role in the world, which is to be missionary, to announce the Gospel, to give witness to the person of Jesus Christ in every part of the world, to the ends of the earth.” That witness includes speaking up for justice, caring for the planet and promoting peace, Pope Leo said during a meeting late Oct. 24 with participants in the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies. “The church has a voice, and we need to be courageous in raising our voice to change the world, to make it a better place,” he told the pilgrims, who included about 150 representatives from the United States with 15 U.S. bishops.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Commemorating the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and its Creed, as well as reaffirming hopes for peace in the Middle East, Pope Leo XIV will travel to Turkey and Lebanon Nov. 27-Dec. 2. The Vatican released the itinerary for Pope Leo’s first foreign trip Oct. 27. The trip to Iznik, Turkey, site of the ancient Nicaea, initially was planned for Pope Francis. But Pope Leo, just days after his election in May, announced his intention to commemorate the anniversary with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. The patriarch announced at a liturgy in Istanbul Oct. 22 that he had invited the three other patriarchs of the ancient “pentarchy” to join him and the pope for the Nicaea celebration, according to the Orthodox Times website. The heads of churches invited are: Greek Orthodox Patriarchs Theophilos III of Jerusalem, Theodore II of Alexandria and John X of Antioch.

WORLD
PARIS (OSV News) – Students from Trinity High School in Whitesville, Kentucky, found comfort in faith after witnessing chaos in Paris. The group of 20 sophomores, juniors and seniors, along with three chaperones, were visiting the Louvre on Oct. 19 when a dramatic jewel heist unfolded just hours before their flight home. Principal Emily Hernandez, who led the group, said they were in line by 8:45 a.m for their 9 a.m. tour, and they first went to see the “Mona Lisa.” Then they headed to the Gallery of Apollo when one student heard what sounded like “power tools.” Moments later, crowds were ushered out of the museum. Not “until we were out of the Louvre,” Hernandez said, did the group learn of the robbery, in which nine items were stolen from the Gallery of Apollo by several masked thieves. Hernandez said she believes the sound of power tools heard by the student turned out to be the chainsaw used to break open the window into the gallery. The experience left students shaken but safe. They attended Mass together at Notre Dame Cathedral later that day. “After Mass, everyone was calm,” Hernandez said. “They really took care of each other.”

TEHRAN, Iran (OSV News) – In Iran, a new metro station in Tehran dedicated to the Virgin Mary is drawing attention – and reflection. Belgian Cardinal Dominique Mathieu, who leads the Archdiocese of Tehran-Isfahan, says the “Maryam-e Moghadass” or “Holy Mary” station offers commuters a daily reminder of God’s love for all. Writing Oct. 22 in Fides agency, the cardinal described the bas-relief images of Jesus, Mary, and a dove representing the Holy Spirit that decorate the station. He said their serene faces “invite those passing by to contemplate the love of the one God” and to walk the path of peace. Located near the Armenian Cathedral of St. Sarkis, the station also honors Iran’s Armenian Christian community – the country’s largest minority. While the artwork signals interreligious respect, religious freedom in Iran remains limited. A U.S. commission reports Christians still face imprisonment and persecution for practicing or sharing their faith. The Marian images at the metro station feature various verses from “Surah Maryam,” the 19th chapter of the Quran dedicated to Mary. As the mother of Jesus, the third chapter of the Quran states that Mary, who is highly venerated in Islam, was chosen by God “from all the women of the world.”

Vatican II vision for Christian education still inspires Catholic school renewal at 60

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By Kimberley Heatherington , OSV News

(OSV News) — It’s among the shortest and perhaps least controversial of the Second Vatican Council’s 16 documents — four constitutions, nine decrees, and three declarations — and yet, it remains a touchstone for all the documents that followed concerning Catholic education.

“Gravissimum Educationis,” the Declaration on Christian Education, marks its 60th anniversary Oct. 28.

And while today’s classrooms are in many ways different than in 1965, the document’s basic principles remain as relevant as when it was promulgated by Pope St. Paul VI to guide Catholic schools in their work.

“At its heart, the document affirms two truths that still guide us today,” Steven F. Cheeseman — president and CEO of the National Catholic Educational Association, told OSV News.

Pope Leo XIV greets children of participants in a seminar sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Theology during an audience in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Sept. 13, 2025. Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, looks on. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

“The first thing: That every child has the right to an education that develops the mind, the heart, and the soul,” he said. “And secondly, affirming parents are the primary educators of their children; that we play an important role as a ministry of the church to support them in that.”

Cheeseman noted the mission of Catholic schools has remained consistent throughout many eras.

“If you look at the history of Catholic schools in the United States, they’ve embodied that vision — forming generations of students in faith and knowledge, serving immigrant communities, the underserved, and consistently working to deliver academic quality while keeping Christ at the center,” he said.

There have, however, been changes in the Catholic educational landscape since “Gravissimum Educationis” was issued.

During the 1964-1965 school year, the nationwide network of Catholic parochial schools served about 5.6 million students. Since then, enrollment has dropped 70%, to around 1.7 million students today. Some 5,832 Catholic schools are staffed by 154,258 professional staff.

But ironically, the COVID-19 pandemic that swept across the globe in 2020 actually aided U.S. Catholic school enrollment.

Because Catholic schools were open when public schools were teaching remotely by video, “We saw a surge in enrollment in many places,” said Cheeseman.

“Those numbers have not dropped off precipitously once public schools opened. And I think that’s because once people were back in Catholic schools, they realized just what they offered,” he suggested. “They realized that it is nice to be in an environment that focuses on faith.”

While Cheeseman sees hopeful signs of growth — because schools are “getting back to that core mission; they’re not trying to chase the public school down the block” — regaining the numbers of students from the epoch of “Gravissimum Educationis” still seems a distant goal.

Cheeseman has a theory why.

“Many parishes and dioceses do not see a responsibility in ensuring access to Catholic education. Many have — and many bishops have really committed to that, and many pastors have,” he said. “But nationwide, one of the big differences between then and now — besides demographic shifts in recent times — is really the commitment of the church to Catholic education.”

“We are a ministry of the church; we’re fulfilling the church’s mission,” Cheeseman said. “And I think part of the sad reality is that we have lost, in many places, our connection to the parish; to the church.”

Father Friedrich Bechina, former undersecretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education and research associate at the Boston College Center for Higher Education Studies, agreed.

“I think there are some factors that changed,” said the priest, who serves as an international consultant to bishops’ conferences and dioceses. “On the one hand, the most important factor is demographics. Many parishes no longer have the minimum number of kids to be enrolled in a Catholic school.”

Father Bechina attributes that — at least in part — to a lack of foresight.

“I think that we would say it’s a bit of a homemade problem,” he offered, “because it was visible that the demographics would develop in this sense. And the parishes, they would have been able to predict how it would come — and that their school was no longer feasible. And also the decline of religious vocations.”

“So,” added Father Bechina, “those responsible for schools — and these were typically the bishops and the parish priests — could have seen that they would have to change the organizational and financial model of the Catholic schools, and that it could not be continued like it was.”

He also stressed the mission of evangelization.

“Catholic education is a way of evangelization, and is not an additional activity of the Church. The church can do many activities in addition to its key mission — but education is part of the key mission. Jesus himself was a teacher,” Father Bechina said. “The profession of Jesus, if you want, is teacher.”

He noted that in some ways, “Gravissimum Educationis” reaffirmed the central purpose of the Catholic school.

“There’s a strong emphasis which you find in ‘Gravissimum Educationis’ — this is something which is always true; but it is kind of rediscovered — that school has to do with relationship with the whole.”

“The Catholic school’s most important purpose is to bring students into personal relationship with Christ and with God,” he said. “I would say the baseline of it is that students would understand that they are seen; that they are understood; that they are loved; and that they are guided by God. This is, then, the Catholic school’s purpose — to translate this into the reality of human development and education.”

“Gravissimum Educationis” also foreshadowed schools that became more attentive to the student as learner versus the teacher as a transmitter of information.

“Something new is the focus on the right to education of the children — because by then, typically, it was the obligation of the parents that was underscored,” said Father Bechina. “And now this turns around, and it’s the right and obligation of the children — which is an interesting development, and I think anticipates what we today would call student-centered learning.”

John Garvey — former president of The Catholic University of America, and a current visiting professor of law at the University of Notre Dame — cited cultural shifts as another factor.

“Parochial schools were being encouraged to wall off religion; the culture was becoming more agnostic. Parents didn’t raise their children that way anymore,” he reflected. “So the enrollment plummeted, and why not?”

“What’s the point,” he continued, “of paying for an education that you could get in the public schools — there’s essentially no difference between them, except that you get a religion course. Why not send your kids to CCD classes?” said Garvey, referring to the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, the parish-based religious education program for children who attend public or non-Catholic schools.

“So it was a really bad time for the church to say the world is God’s creation, and Christ should be the center of culture, and it’s the parent’s primary duty to educate their children — all true things,” Garvey said, “but the culture was going in exactly the opposite direction, and encouraging the churches to do the same.”

But like Cheeseman, Garvey said he also sees sparks of hope.

“I’m pleased at the effect that things like vouchers are having,” he said.

School vouchers provide public funds to parents to use for private school tuition or other educational expenses. The NCEA found that 31% of Catholic schools use parental choice programs, while 18% of students utilize them.

Garvey also noted two additional positive developments.

“One is that the law has been more accepting of the role of faith in the culture,” he said. “And the second is that young people — 25, 35-year-olds — who are raising children have themselves taken advantage of this, and taken the responsibility of educating their children in the faith.”

On the document’s 50th anniversary in 2015, Pope Francis created the Gravissimum Educationis Foundation.

“By this foundation,” the pontiff remarked to foundation members in a 2018 address, “the church renews her commitment to Catholic education in step with the historical transformations of our time.”

“It’s important for us all to realize that Catholic schools remain one of the church’s greatest gifts to society,” said Cheeseman.

“We have this opportunity to create a future, to form graduates who not only succeed academically and in their life, but also make a difference in the world. It’s a great responsibility; a great privilege — and,” he concluded, “‘Gravissimum Educationis’ recognizes that, and promotes that.”

(Kimberley Heatherington is an OSV News correspondent. She writes from Virginia.)

NOTES: A link to “Gravissimum Educationis” can be found here: https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_gravissimum-educationis_en.html

A synodal church evangelizes better, works together for justice, pope says

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By Cindy Wooden , Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The pursuit of synodality should strengthen the Catholic Church’s mission of proclaiming the Gospel and help all Catholics learn to collaborate to make the world a better place, Pope Leo XIV said.

“As Pope Francis reminded us on numerous occasions,” the pope said, the purpose of synodality “is to help the church fulfill its primary role in the world, which is to be missionary, to announce the Gospel, to give witness to the person of Jesus Christ in every part of the world, to the ends of the earth.”

That witness includes speaking up for justice, caring for the planet and promoting peace, Pope Leo said during a meeting late Oct. 24 with participants in the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies.

Many of the U.S. bishops and pilgrims attending the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies pose for a group photo Oct. 25, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

“The church has a voice, and we need to be courageous in raising our voice to change the world, to make it a better place,” he told the pilgrims, who included about 150 representatives from the United States with 15 U.S. bishops.

During the evening meeting, the pope listened to seven regionals reports on the implementation of the 2021-2024 Synod of Bishops on synodality and answered a question from each regional representative. Pope Leo took notes during the presentations, and his responses appeared to be unscripted.

Two questions drew strong applause from participants, a reaction Pope Leo noted in his responses. The first applauded question was about changing the minds of “bishops and priests who are concerned that synodality may diminish their authority as pastors”; and the second was whether the pope believed “equality between men and women in the church can become a lived reality in the future.”

Canadian Bishop Alain Faubert of Valleyfield, Quebec, gave the North American report, which ended with the question about getting all bishops and priests onboard.

Pope Leo said there is a need “to invite the priests, particularly, even more so than the bishops, I think, to somehow open their hearts and take part in these processes. Oftentimes, the resistances come out of fear and the lack of knowledge.”

The synodal process of listening to one another without immediately judging or defending one’s position has practical applications, he said.

Apparently referring to the breakdown of U.S.-Canada talks about trade and tariffs, the pope noted that the two countries “are experiencing even great difficulties. Two countries that were once considered the closest allies, at times, become separated from one another, and it’s another proof, another expression, of why synodality — listening and dialogue — are so important, and how they have concrete applications in our daily lives.”

People committed to synodality in the church need to be patient, though, he said. “We have to understand that we do not all run at the same speed, and sometimes we have to be patient with one another, rather than a few people running ahead and leaving a lot behind, which could cause even a break in an ecclesial experience.”

Presenting the European report, Klara-Antonia Csiszar, a professor of theology in Linz, Austria, told Pope Leo that “the question of women remains an important issue throughout Europe. In many local churches in the West, impatience for greater female participation is an open reality, while elsewhere, debates on the diaconate or on women’s leadership encounter resistance, skepticism or fear.”

Responding, the pope began by telling the delegates that sometime in the 1970s he remembers asking his mother if she wanted to be equal to men. “And she said, ‘No, because we are already better.’ And she was not joking.”

“Leaving aside the most difficult themes that are being studied by study groups,” particularly the question of ordaining women to the diaconate, Pope Leo said he believed the lack of equality for women in the church is due mainly to “cultural obstacles.”

“I mean women could play a key role in the church, but there are priests and bishops who hesitate,” he said. “There are cultures in the church where women still suffer because of inequality. In some cultures, women are considered as second-class citizens and in reality, do not enjoy the same rights as men.”

A challenge for the church, Pope Leo said, is to “understand how we can promote respect for the rights of everyone, men and women. How can we promote a culture in which these things become not only possible, but they become a reality, a culture in which there is co-participation of all the members of society, each according to their vocation, so everyone can play a role, can have a role of responsibility in the church.”

The church, he said, must find ways to “to transform cultures according to the values of the Gospel. Unfortunately, often the way which we live out our faith is influenced more by our culture than by Gospel values.”

Love for the poor is hallmark of faith, pope says in first exhortation

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By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Many Christians “need to go back and re-read the Gospel” because they have forgotten that faith and love for the poor go hand in hand, Pope Leo XIV said in his first major papal document.

“Love for the poor – whatever the form their poverty may take – is the evangelical hallmark of a Church faithful to the heart of God,” the pope wrote in “Dilexi Te” (“I Have Loved You”), an apostolic exhortation “to all Christians on love for the poor.”

Pope Leo signed the document Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, and the Vatican released the text Oct. 9.

The document was begun by Pope Francis, Pope Leo said, but he added to it and wanted to issue it near the beginning of his papacy “since I share the desire of my beloved predecessor that all Christians come to appreciate the close connection between Christ’s love and his summons to care for the poor.”

The connection is not new or modern and was not a Pope Francis invention, he said. In fact, throughout the Hebrew Scriptures “God’s love is vividly demonstrated by his protection of the weak and the poor, to the extent that he can be said to have a particular fondness for them.”

“I am convinced that the preferential choice for the poor is a source of extraordinary renewal both for the Church and for society,” Pope Leo wrote, “if we can only set ourselves free of our self-centeredness and open our ears to their cry.”

As he has done from the beginning of his papacy in May, the pope decried the increasing gap between the world’s wealthiest and poorest citizens and noted how women often are “doubly poor,” struggling to feed their children and doing so with few rights or possibilities.

Pope Leo also affirmed church teaching since at least the 1960s that there are “structures of sin” that keep the poor in poverty and lead those who have sufficient resources to ignore the poor or think they are better than them.

This is a quote from “Dilexi Te,” Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation which promulgated Oct. 9, 2025. (OSV News graphic/Megan Marley)

When the church speaks of God’s preferential option for the poor, he said, it does not exclude or discriminate against others, something “which would be impossible for God.”

But the phrase is “meant to emphasize God’s actions, which are moved by compassion toward the poverty and weakness of all humanity,” he wrote.

“Wanting to inaugurate a kingdom of justice, fraternity and solidarity,” Pope Leo said, “God has a special place in his heart for those who are discriminated against and oppressed, and he asks us, his Church, to make a decisive and radical choice in favor of the weakest.”

That choice, he said, must include pastoral and spiritual care as well as education, health care, jobs training and charity – all of which the church has provided for centuries.

The document includes a separate section on migrants with the pope writing, “The Church has always recognized in migrants a living presence of the Lord who, on the day of judgment, will say to those on his right: ‘I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.’”

The quotation is from the Gospel of Matthew 25:35, which is part of the “Judgment of the Nations” in which Jesus clearly states that his followers will be judged on how they care for the poor, the sick, the imprisoned and the foreigner.

“The Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking” in search of a better, safer life for themselves and their families, Pope Leo wrote.

“Where the world sees threats, she (the church) sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges,” he continued. “She knows that her proclamation of the Gospel is credible only when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome.”

The church knows, he said, “that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community.”

In his exhortation, Pope Leo went through biblical references to the obligation to love and care for the poor and cited saints and religious orders throughout history that have dedicated themselves to living with the poor and assisting them.

A section of the document focuses on the “fathers of the church,” the early theologians, who, he said, “recognized in the poor a privileged way to reach God, a special way to meet him. Charity shown to those in need was not only seen as a moral virtue, but a concrete expression of faith in the incarnate Word,” Jesus.
Of course, for Pope Leo, an Augustinian, St. Augustine of Hippo was included in the document. The saint, “The Doctor of Grace, saw caring for the poor as concrete proof of the sincerity of faith,” the pope wrote. For Augustine, “anyone who says they love God and has no compassion for the needy is lying.”

And while the pope wrote that “the most important way to help the disadvantaged is to assist them in finding a good job,” he insisted that when that is not possible, giving alms to a person asking for money is still a compassionate thing to do.

“It is always better at least to do something rather than nothing,” Pope Leo wrote.

Still, the pope said, Christians cannot stand idly by while the global economic system penalizes the poor and makes some people exceedingly wealthy. “We must continue, then, to denounce the ‘dictatorship of an economy that kills,’” he said, quoting a phrase Pope Francis used.

“Either we regain our moral and spiritual dignity, or we fall into a cesspool,” he wrote.

“A Church that sets no limits to love, that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women to love,” Pope Leo said, “is the Church that the world needs today.”

Briefs

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WASHINGTON (OSV News) – As the U.S. military carried out another strike on Oct. 16 against what it said was a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean, a Notre Dame Law School expert warned that type of action, without authorization from Congress, could set the stage for the government to conduct strikes closer to home with virtually no guardrails. First reported by Reuters, the Oct. 16 strike is believed to be the first out of at least six such strikes that left survivors among the crew. Nearly 30 people have been killed in the strikes. Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor at Notre Dame Law School who specializes in international law and conflict resolution, expressed concern that Trump “played a critical role in winning a ceasefire in Gaza only to turn around to use lawless military force in the Caribbean.” On Jan. 20, Trump issued an executive order designating certain international cartels and other organizations as “foreign terrorist organizations.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church states legitimate authorities are entrusted with preserving the common good by “rendering the unjust aggressor unable to inflict harm,” but specifies strict conditions for the use of military force including the exhaustion of all other efforts to stop such damage. O’Connell said the strikes have no justification in U.S. or international law, and there is nothing in the president’s executive order that prevents him from using this kind of lethal force in Lake Michigan, a waterway accessible from Canada but fully within U.S. territory.

A 17th-century monastery in northern Italy where recently canonized St. Carlo Acutis received his first Communion is seen in flames as firefighters try to contain the fire Oct. 11, 2025. The Bernaga Monastery, located in the La Valletta Brianza municipality in the Lombardy region, was home to 22 Ambrosian-rite cloistered nuns, all of whom survived the devastating blaze. (OSV News/courtesy Lombardy firefighters) Editors: best quality available.

ANCHORAGE (OSV News) – Catholic dioceses in Alaska are calling for prayer and support, after flooding from a recent typhoon devastated several coastal communities. The remnants of Typhoon Halong struck the state’s western coast over the Oct. 11-12 weekend, killing at least one. Two other individuals remain missing, and hundreds of stranded residents have been airlifted to Anchorage for safety, with many watching their homes float away. According to state officials, some 1,800 Alaska residents from just under 50 communities had been displaced. In an Oct. 14 letter posted to Facebook, Bishop Steven J. Maekawa of Fairbanks asked parishioners to “pray for the people of western Alaska who were affected by the typhoon and storms this past week. For those who lost their lives and for their families and friends. For those whose homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged. For those communities that are without power, heat, and water. For the people working in the rescue and relief efforts.”

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV met with a coalition of survivors of abuse and victims’ advocates for the first time at the Vatican Oct. 20. Members of the board of Ending Clergy Abuse met with the pope for about an hour in a closed-door meeting that was later confirmed by the Vatican. “This was a deeply meaningful conversation,” Gemma Hickey, ECA board president and survivor of clergy abuse in Canada, said in a press release. “It reflects a shared commitment to justice, healing and real change.” “Survivors have long sought a seat at the table, and today we felt heard,” Hickey said in the statement. “Pope Leo is very warm, he listened,” Hickey said at a news conference, according to Reuters. “We told him that we come as bridge-builders, ready to walk together toward truth, justice and healing.” While the group of six people representing ECA met with the pope, video clips from the Vatican also showed a separate meeting between Pope Leo and Pedro Salinas, a Peruvian journalist and abuse survivor. Salinas, a former member of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae who suffered physical and psychological abuse by the movement’s founder, Luis Fernando Figari, is seen in the footage giving the pope a copy of his new book, “The Truth Sets Us Free,” in Spanish.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Sacramental marriage and traditional family life increase joy in the good times, give strength during hard times and are a path to true holiness, Pope Leo XIV said. Marking the 10th anniversary of the canonization of Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Pope Leo said the couple “bears witness to the ineffable happiness and profound joy that God grants, both here on earth and for eternity, to those who commit themselves to this path of fidelity and fruitfulness.” The pope’s comments came in a message to Bishop Bruno Feillet of Séez, France, the home diocese of the Martin family. The message was released at the Vatican Oct. 18, the date of the anniversary of the Martins becoming “the first couple to be canonized as such,” the pope said.

WORLD
MEZCALA, Mexico (OSV News) – Another Catholic priest has been murdered in Mexico’s violence-stricken Guerrero state. Father Bertoldo Pantaleón Estrada, pastor of San Cristóbal Parish in Mezcala, was found dead Oct. 6 – two days after disappearing. According to press reports, he was shot twice in the neck, and federal officials have named his driver as the prime suspect. “At this time, we have no indication that the father was involved in anything wrong,” Federal public security secretary Omar García Harfuch said Oct. 7. Father Pantaleón’s death underscores the growing danger for clergy in cartel-controlled regions. Guerrero, once a hub for heroin production, remains plagued by organized crime, extortion, and kidnappings. The Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, where the priest served, has suffered multiple clergy killings in recent years. The Mexican bishops’ conference condemned the violence, calling for a full and transparent investigation. Since 2006, at least 52 priests have been killed in Mexico – making it the deadliest country in the world for Catholic clergy.

LA VALLETTA BRIANZA, Italy (OSV News) – A devastating fire has gutted a 17th-century monastery in northern Italy where newly canonized St. Carlo Acutis once received his first Communion. The blaze broke out on Oct. 11 at Bernaga Monastery in La Valletta Brianza, reducing much of the wooden structure to ruins. Thankfully, all 22 cloistered nuns inside survived, with one sister raising the alarm just in time. Archbishop Mario Delpini of Milan expressed deep sorrow, calling the fire a tragic loss of sacred heritage and personal belongings. The monastery had just marked the Jubilee of Consecrated Life and was preparing to celebrate St. Carlo’s first official feast day on Oct. 12. A first-class relic of the young saint – a lock of his hair – was saved from the flames, though a crucifix gifted by St. Paul VI remains missing. Authorities suspect an electrical short circuit may have sparked the fire. Investigations are ongoing as the faithful rally in prayer and support. According to the archdiocese, from a young age, St. Carlo was “fond of the nuns” at the monastery. It was there that he was introduced to Bishop Pasquale Macchi. It was Bishop Macchi, the archdiocese said, that informed St. Carlo’s parents that the 7-year-old future saint was ready for his first Communion.

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NATION
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop James F. Checchio of Metuchen, New Jersey, as the coadjutor archbishop of New Orleans. The appointment was publicized Sept. 24 In Washington by Cardinal Christophe Piere, apostolic nuncio to the United States. As coadjutor, Archbishop Checchio will assist Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond and automatically succeed him upon retirement. Archbishop Checchio called the New Orleans Archdiocese a “faith-filled” community and thanked both Pope Leo and local church leaders for their warm welcome. As coadjutor, he is coming into an archdiocese faced with having to resolve hundreds of sexual abuse claims. A Camden, New Jersey, native, Archbishop Checchio brings to his new assignment decades of pastoral and administrative experience – including 10 years as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Ordained in 1992, he has led the Diocese of Metuchen since 2016, prioritizing parish visits, child protection and accountability. Notably, the diocese said in a statement, he implemented a bishop abuse reporting system before it was required by church law. Archbishop Checchio has served on national boards, including Seton Hall and the National Catholic Bioethics Center – and once ministered as chaplain to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The 2026 National March for Life theme is “Life is a Gift,” The March for Life Education and Defense Fund announced Sept. 30. Jennie Bradley Lichter, who became president of the March for Life earlier this year, noted the group chooses a theme each year for the annual pro-life march in Washington as “an opportunity to focus our attention on a key message or a timely element of the prolife mission.” “We’re now at a critical moment in our country where the March for Life and what we stand for is more important than ever,” Lichter told reporters at a launch event, adding, “This year, with this theme, we really want to speak to the heart.” The 53rd annual National March for Life is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. A pre-rally concert will feature the Christian band Sanctus Real, Lichter said, and the Friends of Club 21 Choir, comprised of individuals with Down syndrome, will lead the national anthem at the event. Georgetown University Right to Life will carry the banner at the start of the March. Lichter said the group is also launching a “Marchers’ Stories Project” where they will seek video submissions from participants to document the group’s history.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Loving someone who is sick requires “concrete gestures of closeness,” just like that shown in the Gospel story of the Samaritan who helps the person beaten by thieves, said a Vatican office. The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development announced Sept. 26 that Pope Leo XIV had chosen the theme for the church’s next celebration of the World Day of the Sick: “The compassion of the Samaritan: Loving by bearing the pain of the other.” The world day is celebrated annually on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes Feb. 11. A papal message for the celebration usually is published in early January.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV announced he will proclaim St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the church Nov. 1 during the Jubilee of the World of Education. Speaking after Mass Sept. 28 for the Jubilee of Catechists, the pope said St. Newman “contributed decisively to the renewal of theology and to the understanding of the development of Christian doctrine.” The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints had announced July 31 that Pope Leo “confirmed the affirmative opinion” of the cardinals and bishops who are members of the dicastery “regarding the title of Doctor of the Universal Church which will soon be conferred on Saint John Henry Newman, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Founder of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri in England.” St. Newman was born in London Feb. 21, 1801, was ordained an Anglican priest, became Catholic in 1845, was made a cardinal in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII and died in Edgbaston, near Birmingham, England, in 1890.

Journalists visit a working area at outside Sagrada Familia following a news conference to announce an update on the works of the basilica in Barcelona, Spain, Sept. 18, 2025. Over a century in the making, the Tower of Jesus Christ, designed by the famed Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, will soon crown the Basilica of the Holy Family, making it the tallest Catholic church in the world. (OSV News photo/Albert Gea, Reuters)

WORLD
BARCELONA, Spain (OSV News) – The iconic Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is nearing a historic milestone: the completion of the Tower of Jesus Christ, which will make it the tallest Catholic church in the world. Designed by visionary architect and Servant of God Antoni Gaudí, the tower will stand over 564 feet tall – surpassing both the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Ivory Coast and even Germany’s Ulmer Münster. Head architect Jordi Faulí announced that the central spire is finished, and crews are now preparing to install a massive seven-piece cross atop it. “The cross is made up of seven large pieces that are assembled here and will then be lifted with the crane,” Faulí said. The cross is expected to be in place by early 2026, aligning with the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death. Construction on the basilica began in 1882 and has weathered wars, pandemics and funding delays. While the main structure is on track for completion in 2026, artistic elements like statues and chapels will continue into the 2030s – bringing Gaudí’s masterpiece one step closer to completion.

New young saints encourage faithful to live life to the fullest, pope says

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By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The greatest risk in life is to waste it by not seeking to follow God’s plan, Pope Leo XIV said, proclaiming two new saints – two young laymen of the 20th and 21st centuries.

“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 upward and make them masterpieces,” the pope said Sept. 7.

“The simple but winning formula of their holiness,” he said, is accessible to everyone at any time. “They encourage us with their words: ‘Not I, but God,’ as Carlo used to say. And Pier Giorgio: ‘If you have God at the center of all your actions, then you will reach the end.’”

Before canonizing the first saints of his pontificate, Pope Leo greeted the more than 80,000 faithful who had gathered early in St. Peter’s Square because he wanted to share his joy with them before the start of the solemn ceremony.

“Brothers and sisters, today is a wonderful celebration for all of Italy, for the whole church, for the whole world,” he said before the Mass.

“While the celebration is very solemn, it is also a day of great joy, and I wanted to greet especially the many young people who have come for this holy Mass,” he said, also greeting the families of the soon-to-be saints and the associations and communities to which the young men had belonged.

Pope Leo asked that everyone “feel in our hearts the same thing that Pier Giorgio and Carlo experienced: this love for Jesus Christ, especially in the Eucharist, but also in the poor, in our brothers and sisters.”

“All of you, all of us, are also called to be saints,” he said, before leaving to prepare for Mass and paying homage to a statue of Mary with baby Jesus and the reliquaries containing the relics of the two young men.

More than 80,000 people gather in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for the canonization Mass of Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis celebrated by Pope Leo XIV Sept. 7, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

In his homily, the pope underlined Jesus’ call in the day’s Gospel reading “to abandon ourselves without hesitation to the adventure that he offers us, with the intelligence and strength that comes from his Spirit, that we can receive to the extent that we empty ourselves of the things and ideas to which we are attached, in order to listen to his word.”

That is what the two new saints did and what every disciple of Christ is called to do, he said.

Many people, especially when they are young, he said, face a kind of “crossroads” in life when they reflect on what to do with their life.
The saints of the church are often portrayed as “great figures, forgetting that for them it all began when, while still young, they said ‘yes’ to God and gave themselves to him completely, keeping nothing for themselves,” the pope said.

“Today we look to St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis: a young man from the early 20th century and a teenager from our own day, both in love with Jesus and ready to give everything for him,” he said.
Pope Leo then dedicated a large portion of his homily to sharing quotes from the two and details of their lives, which is something Pope Francis had shifted away from, preferring to focus more on the day’s readings.

“Pier Giorgio’s life is a beacon for lay spirituality,” Pope Leo said.

“For him, faith was not a private devotion, but it was driven by the power of the Gospel and his membership in ecclesial associations,” he said. “He was also generously committed to society, contributed to political life and devoted himself ardently to the service of the poor.”

“Carlo, for his part, encountered Jesus in his family, thanks to his parents, Andrea and Antonia – who are here today with his two siblings, Francesca and Michele,” he said, as the crowd applauded, and Antonia smiled shyly at the camera.

St. Acutis also encountered Jesus at the Jesuit-run school he attended and “above all in the sacraments celebrated in the parish community,” he said. “He grew up naturally integrating prayer, sport, study and charity into his days as a child and young man.”

The pope said the new saints “cultivated their love for God and for their brothers and sisters through simple acts, available to everyone: daily Mass, prayer and especially Eucharistic adoration.”

St. Frassati was born April 6, 1901, in Turin and died there July 4, 1925, of polio at the age of 24. St. Acutis was born to Italian parents May 3, 1991, in London and died in Monza, Italy, Oct. 12, 2006, of leukemia at the age of 15.

The pope said that “even when illness struck them and cut short their young lives, not even this stopped them nor prevented them from loving, offering themselves to God, blessing him and praying to him for themselves and for everyone.”

Several family members and people closely associated with the new saints attended the Mass, along with dignitaries, such as Italian President Sergio Mattarella.

St. Acutis’ parents, Andrea and Antonia, and his twin siblings, Michele and Francesca, who were born four years after their brother died, were present and together brought the pope the offertory gifts. Michele also did the first reading at the Mass in English.

Valeria Valverde, who read the first prayer of the faithful, is a young Costa Rican woman who suffered a severe head injury while living in Italy. It was her unexplained healing that provided the second miracle needed for St. Acutis’ canonization.

St. Frassati was active with Catholic Action, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Italian Catholic University Federation and the Dominican Third Order. Lorenzo Zardi, vice president of the youth group of Italy’s Catholic Action read the second reading at the Mass and Michele Tridente, the secretary general of the lay movement, also presented the pope with offertory gifts.

Before praying the Angelus, the pope once again thanked everyone for coming to celebrate the church’s two new saints.

However, he also called for people’s “incessant prayer for peace, especially in the Holy Land, and in Ukraine and in every other land bloodied by war.”

“To governing leaders, I repeat, listen to the voice of conscience,” he said.

“The apparent victories won with weapons, sowing death and destruction, are really defeats and will never bring peace and security,” he said.

“God does not want war. God wants peace!” he exclaimed to applause. God gives strength to those who work toward leaving behind the cycle of hatred and pursue the path of dialogue.

Briefs

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Pope Leo XIV blows out a candle on a cake for his 70th birthday Sept. 14, 2025, as cardinals, Vatican officials and ecumenical leaders look on after a prayer service at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

NATION
MIAMI (OSV News) – Dressed in the customary yellow colors of the event and with umbrellas in hand, elementary school student Aniela Alejandra Garcia and her mother, Yeily Garcia, didn’t let the weather stop them from approaching the statue of the Cuban Virgin of Our Lady of Charity. “I was helping people with the candles,” Aniela told the Florida Catholic, Miami’s archdiocesan news outlet. She made the remarks as she joined the local Cuban-American community Sept. 8 in placing bright yellow sunflowers and candles outdoors during a recitation of the rosary followed by Mass at the the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami. The color yellow is customarily associated with the Virgin of Charity, and her shrines – including the one in Miami – are often graced with yellow flowers. Affectionately known as La Ermita de La Caridad, the shrine is located near Coconut Grove. This year was also the 25th anniversary of La Ermita’s designation as a national shrine by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2000. Flash flood warnings and epic rain may have shut down flights at the Miami Airport Sept. 8 but it didn’t stop faithful from making the pilgrimage to Biscayne Bay for the annual feast event.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Dozens of small handmade signs and large bold banners waved in the crowd of some 30,000 visitors in St. Peter’s Square wishing Pope Leo XIV a happy birthday Sept. 14. Two gold mylar balloons with the numbers “7” and “0” were held up high. The largest banner, in red and white, was held by a group from the Peruvian city of Monsefú in the province of Chiclayo, where the pope had served as bishop for eight years. “Dear friends, it seems that you know that today I turn 70 years old,” the pope said to huge cheers and shouts of “auguri,” meaning “congratulations” and “happy birthday” in Italian. “I give thanks to the Lord and to my parents; and I thank all those who have remembered me in their prayers,” he said after reciting the Angelus with the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. Musicians and musical bands in the square struck up the “Happy Birthday” tune, and people sang and clapped along. “Many thanks to everyone!” he said, followed by someone shouting, “Long live the pope!” “Thank you! Have a good Sunday!” he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pain must never give rise to violence, and every Catholic needs to learn to safeguard with tenderness those who are vulnerable, Pope Leo XIV said during a prayer vigil dedicated to people experiencing pain and affliction due to illness, bereavement, violence or abuse. Recognizing that some members of the church “have unfortunately hurt you,” the pope said, the church “kneels with you today before our Mother (Mary). May we all learn from her to protect the most vulnerable with tenderness!” “May we learn to listen to your wounds and walk together,” he said in his homily Sept. 15, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. “May we receive from Our Lady of Sorrows the strength to recognize that life is not defined only by the evil we suffer, but by the love of God, who never abandons us and guides the whole church.” The pope led the prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica Sept. 15 as part of the Jubilee of Consolation, which is “dedicated to all those who are experiencing or have experienced moments of particular difficulty, grief, suffering or hardship in their lives,” according to the section of the Dicastery for Evangelization in charge of organizing the Holy Year. Pope Leo said, “pain must not give rise to violence, and that violence never has the final say, for it is conquered by a love that knows how to forgive.” “Where there is evil, we must seek the comfort and consolation that can overcome it and give it no respite,” he said. “In the church, this means never being alone.”

WORLD
VITERBO, Italy (OSV News) – Italian police say they’ve prevented what could have been a deadly attack at one of the country’s most cherished Catholic traditions. On Sept. 3, counterterrorism officers raided a bed and breakfast near the route of the famous “Macchina di Santa Rosa” procession in Viterbo, arresting two Turkish men. Authorities say the men were found with automatic weapons, including an assault rifle, just steps away from where 40,000 people had gathered for the centuries-old festival honoring St. Rose of Viterbo. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who had been scheduled to attend, was quickly moved to safety. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the swift police action, saying it ensured the peaceful celebration of an event UNESCO recognizes as cultural heritage. While investigators say the suspects appear tied to organized crime rather than international terror networks, prosecutors are still weighing charges of arms trafficking and possible plans for a terrorist act.

Briefs

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NATION
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. (OSV News) – Law enforcement officials arrested an Alabama man after he allegedly made criminal threats against an Orange County church, and a cache of ammunition and body armor was found in his vehicle, authorities said Sept. 2. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said its investigators were contacted Aug. 28 by a priest “regarding suspicious, threatening emails” sent to the Norbertine order’s St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado Canyon. They said the suspect, Joshua Michael Richardson, 38, an Alabama resident, “first sent emails that were interpreted as threatening,” before visiting the church “in person and made additional threats.” The Diocese of Orange did not immediately respond to a request for comment from OSV News. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said its investigators and deputies “quickly located and detained Richardson for criminal threats,” and that they subsequently found body armor, high-capacity magazines, brass knuckles, and knives after searching his vehicle. “We are grateful to the authorities for their quick action in ensuring the safety of our parish community,” said Jarryd Gonzales, head of communications for the Catholic Diocese of Orange. Noting the recent mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church, he added, “Our parishes and schools continue to strengthen security efforts.”

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – 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. A day after sending a telegram of condolence for people who died when heavy rains triggered a landslide in a remote area of Sudan, the pope publicly called for peace and for prayers Sept. 3 at the end of his weekly general audience. “Dramatic news is coming from Sudan, particularly from Darfur,” Pope Leo said. “In el-Fasher many civilians are trapped in the city, victims of famine and violence. In Tarasin, a devastating landslide has caused numerous deaths, leaving behind pain and despair. And as if that weren’t enough, the spread of cholera is threatening hundreds of thousands of people who are already exhausted.” The pope called on “those in positions of responsibility and to the international community to ensure humanitarian corridors are open and to implement a coordinated response to stop this humanitarian catastrophe.”

Gena Heraty, a longtime Irish missionary in Haiti pictured with a child in a 2012 photo, has been freed after nearly a month of captivity, the news agency Agenzia Fides confirmed Sept. 1, 2025. Heraty was among several people – including a 3-year-old child – taken in the early hours of Aug. 3 after gunmen breached the Saint-Hélène orphanage in Kenscoff, near Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince. (OSV News photo/courtesy NPH International)

WORLD
JERUSALEM (OSV News) – As the Israel-Hamas war nears the two-year mark, Catholic leaders have headed to Jerusalem, the Palestinian West Bank and Israel on a pastoral visit. The delegation is headed by Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, who serves as vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari, president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association-Pontifical Mission; and members of the Knights of Columbus, including Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly and Supreme Secretary John A. Marrella. In a Sept. 2 press release issued by CNEWA-Pontifical Missions, Msgr. Vaccari said the visit was meant to provide accompaniment and solidarity with those suffering from the war, sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of Israel. “The Gospel compels us to witness, to stand in solidarity with all those who suffer at the hands of terror, war and famine, to answer the question put to Jesus in the Gospel of St. Luke, ‘And who is my neighbor,’” said Msgr. Vaccari. “By visiting the church of Jerusalem, from which our faith has spread throughout the world, we hope to communicate to our suffering sisters and brothers of our unity in resolve and purpose in assisting them in their time of Golgotha, as we work together to seek justice and advance the cause of lasting peace.”

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (OSV News) – An Irish missionary held hostage in Haiti has been freed after nearly a month in captivity. Gena Heraty, who has served in Haiti for three decades, was taken on Aug. 3 when armed men stormed the Saint-Hélène orphanage near Port-au-Prince. Heraty and several others, including a 3-year-old child with disabilities, are now safe and receiving medical and psychological care. Agenzia Fides, a news branch of the Dicastery for Evangelization, confirmed the release Sept. 1. Heraty leads the orphanage, part of an international network serving vulnerable children across Latin America. Her family expressed “deep gratitude” for the global prayers and efforts that secured her release, while asking for privacy as she recovers. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris had called for her immediate release, praising her lifelong dedication to Haiti’s poor when she was kidnapped. The abduction highlights the worsening crisis in Haiti, where gangs control most of the capital and millions face severe hunger. Church leaders warn that escalating violence is crippling ministry and humanitarian work. Between the beginning of April and the end of June, armed violence in Haiti has killed 1,520 people and injured 609 more, according to a new report on human rights in Haiti which was released on Aug. 1 by the U.N.nuclear-free future.

Pope Leo’s first 100 days: Leaning into his new role

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By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Stories about “the first 100 days” are standard fare at the beginning of a U.S. president’s four-year term; the articles usually focus on how much the new president was able to accomplish and how quickly.

But a pope is elected for life and without having promised voters anything or having presented a platform.

Pope Leo XIV was elected May 8, making Aug. 16 the 100th day since he stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as pope. He will celebrate his 70th birthday Sept. 14.

While the first 100 days of a pontificate may hint at what is to come, the initial period of Pope Leo’s ministry as the successor of Peter and bishop of Rome seemed mostly about him getting used to the role, the crowds and the protocol.

According to canon law, the pope “possesses supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power in the church, which he is always able to exercise freely.”

Pope Leo XIV greets people as he rides in the popemobile in St. Peter’s Square after celebrating Mass for the conclusion of the Jubilee of Sport in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican June 15, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

In other words, he could have issued a slew of the canonical equivalent of executive orders in his first days in office. Instead, he lived up to his reputation as a person who listens before deciding – holding a meeting with the College of Cardinals and individual meetings with the heads of Vatican offices.

Like his predecessors, Pope Leo confirmed the heads of Curia offices on a temporary basis a few days after his election. Some major nominations are expected in September or early October, starting with his own replacement as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.

His choices for members of his team, and whether he decides to have an international Council of Cardinals to advise him will send signals not only about what he wants to do but also how he wants to do it. (Pope Francis set up the Council of Cardinals early in his pontificate to help him with the reform of the Roman Curia and to advise him on other matters, but he did not make the council a formal body.) 

September also should bring an announcement about where Pope Leo will live. Several cardinals have said that in the days before the conclave they encouraged the future pope – whoever he would be – to move back into the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace.

In his first public address, moments after his election, the new pope said: “We want to be a synodal church, a church that moves forward, a church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close above all to those who are suffering.”

Pope Leo went deeper when he spoke about the key objectives of his ministry – in a pontificate that easily could last 20 years – during a meeting with the College of Cardinals two days after his election.

He asked the cardinals to join him in renewing a “complete commitment to the path that the universal church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council.”

That path had six fundamental points that, Pope Leo said, “Pope Francis masterfully and concretely set it forth” in his exhortation, “The Joy of the Gospel.”

The six points highlighted by Pope Leo were: “the return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation; the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community; growth in collegiality and synodality; attention to the ‘sensus fidei’ (the people of God’s sense of the faith), especially in its most authentic and inclusive forms, such as popular piety; loving care for the least and the rejected; (and) courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities.”

Those realities include the widespread media attention focused on the election of the first U.S.-born pope as well as the fact that people feel free to use social media to proclaim what Pope Leo “should” do, “must” or “must not” do.

According to a Gallup Poll published Aug. 5, Pope Leo was the most favorably viewed of 14 world leaders and newsmakers; 57% of Americans said they had a “favorable opinion” of him and 11% said they had an “unfavorable” opinion.

“These figures closely match Pope Francis’ ratings when he assumed the role in 2013, then viewed favorably by 58% and unfavorably by 10%, as well as Pope Benedict in 2005 – 55% favorable, 12% unfavorable,” Gallup said.

As the weeks passed after his election, Pope Leo seemed to grow more comfortable with a crowd, spending more time blessing babies and enjoying his interactions with the thousands of people who came to St. Peter’s Square for his weekly general audiences.

At his general audience Aug. 6 – held outside on a very warm summer day – the pope finished his formal program in less than an hour, then spent another two and a half hours shaking hands, posing for photos with pilgrim groups and having unusually long conversations with dozens of newlywed couples before offering them his blessing.

As a Curia official, the future pope had a reputation of being reserved, but Pope Leo has shown he has a special tool for connecting with a crowd: speaking English and Spanish as well as Italian, the Vatican’s official working language.