Pope Leo XIV arrives at St. Peter’s Basilica for a Mass with cardinals on Jan. 8, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Jan 8, 2026 / 17:04 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday called on cardinals to experience the extraordinary consistory as a time of s… […]
Pope Leo XIV addresses cardinals during the extraordinary consistory on Jan. 7, 2026, in Vatican City. | Credit: Vatican Media
Jan 8, 2026 / 10:52 am (CNA).
ROME — Some cardinals and faithful who have a devotion to the traditional Roman rite have expressed concern that the liturgy appears to be sidelined in the extraordinary consistory currently underway at the Vatican after the cardinals voted to give priority to other issues on the agenda.
In his opening address to the consistory yesterday, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed to the cardinal participants that they will have the opportunity to “engage in a communal reflection” on four themes already preannounced to be on the meeting’s agenda.
Those topics, he said, were Pope Francis’ 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, “that is, the mission of the Church in today’s world”; Praedicate Evangelium, the late pope’s apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia; the Synod and synodality “as both an instrument and a style of cooperation”; and the liturgy, “the source and summit of the Christian life.”
But Leo added that “due to time constraints, and in order to encourage a genuinely in-depth analysis, only two of them will be discussed specifically.”
The cardinals were then asked to make clear which two of the four they would want to be specifically debated and, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, “a large majority” decided the topics would be “evangelization and the Church’s missionary activity drawn from rereading Evangelii Gaudium,” and “the Synod and synodality.”
Bruni told reporters at a press briefing Wednesday evening that the 170 cardinals taking part were divided into 20 groups, which were then divided into two blocks. Eleven groups consisted of cardinals in Rome including curial cardinals and those who have concluded their service and are no longer electors. The remaining nine groups were cardinal electors of local Churches (archbishops and bishops of dioceses), cardinal electors who are nuncios and cardinal electors who have concluded their service but remain electors due to being under the age of 80.
Bruni said that “for reasons of time,” the cardinal secretaries of the second block had the job of reporting back the decision of the cardinals. “They had three minutes to explain the work done within the groups and the reasons that led to the choice of the two themes.”
The Holy Father had made clear in his opening address that it was his preference to hear back from the second block as he does not usually receive advice from those cardinals. “It is naturally easier for me to seek counsel from those who work in the Curia and live in Rome,” he said.
But the decision not to make the liturgy a key theme was disappointing to some cardinals and traditional faithful.
The liturgy has long been a particularly sensitive issue, and especially to traditional-minded Catholics following recent sweeping restrictions on the older form of the Latin rite during Pope Francis’ pontificate. These faithful experienced the restrictions not as a mere disciplinary change but as a judgment on their fidelity, spirituality, and ecclesial belonging, which many have described as deeply wounding and divisive.
The popular Italian traditional website “Messa in Latino“ wrote Jan. 7 that it had contacted some anonymous but important cardinals who all said they were “discouraged and disappointed” about the relegation of the liturgy as a discussion topic.
In comments to the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, on Jan. 8, the website’s editor Luigi Casalini asked: “To whom did the pope delegate this choice, and according to what criteria were these cardinals of the nine local Churches selected in order to remove — in effect — two topics?” He also wondered “why cardinals sensitive to the issue” appear to have “made no attempt to lobby” for the liturgy to be included as a core topic of discussion, “even before the consistory.”
The consistory, he added, “appears to be in perfect continuity with the synods and the thought of Francis” — a reference to how recent synods were silent on the traditional liturgy.
Speaking to journalists Wednesday, Bruni tried to offer some reassurance. “The other two themes will still be addressed in some way, because mission does not exclude the liturgy,” he said. “On the contrary, in many ways it does not mean exclusion. It means that they will still be addressed within the others or in some other way.”
He added: “As the pope said and as he noted in both his opening and closing speeches [on Wednesday], the themes cannot be separated from each other, because in mission and evangelization there is liturgy.”
Casalini said he was looking ahead to the two free discussions today to see “whether the topic of the liturgy will be taken up again.”
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.
The concluding high Mass for the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage, an annual three-day pilgrimage for devotees of the Traditional Latin Mass, on Oct. 29, 2023, celebrated by Bishop Guido Pozzo at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims… […]
Pope Leo XIV gives the first general audience of 2026 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Jan. 7, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Jan 7, 2026 / 09:37 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV began a series of reflections on the Second Vatican Council at his first general audience of 2026 on Wednesday.
The public audience, held indoors in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall due to low temperatures, took place shortly before the start of Leo’s first consultation with cardinals, called a consistory, convened for Jan. 7–8.
The pope noted that though the Second Vatican Council took place just over 60 years ago, its generation of bishops, theologians, and lay Catholics is no longer alive — necessitating a renewed study of its teachings.
“While we hear the call not to let [the council’s] prophecy fade, and to continue to seek ways and means to implement its insights, it will be important to get to know it again closely, and to do so not through ‘hearsay’ or interpretations that have been given, but by rereading its documents and reflecting on their content,” the pope said on the morning of Jan. 7.
He affirmed that the magisterium of Vatican II “still constitutes the guiding star of the Church’s journey today.”
“As the years have passed, the conciliar documents have lost none of their timeliness; indeed, their teachings are proving particularly relevant to the new situation of the Church and the current globalized society,” he said, quoting Pope Benedict XVI.
The Holy Father also recalled the original impulse of this great ecclesial event, convened by St. John XXIII, which paved “the way for a new ecclesial season” following a “rich biblical, theological, and liturgical reflection spanning the 20th century.”
Leo reviewed some of the council’s principal fruits, including that it “rediscovered the face of God as the Father who, in Christ, calls us to be his children.”
It also led, he said, to a renewed understanding of the Church “as a mystery of communion and sacrament of unity between God and his people,” and it initiated an important “liturgical reform” by placing the mystery of salvation and the active and conscious participation of the entire people of God at its center.
“It helped us to open up to the world and to embrace the changes and challenges of the modern age in dialogue and co-responsibility, as a Church that wishes to open her arms to humanity,” he explained.
Quoting St. Paul VI, he stated that the Church embarked on a new path in order “to seek the truth by way of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, and dialogue with people of goodwill.”
That same spirit, he added, “must characterize our spiritual life and the pastoral action of the Church, because we have yet to achieve ecclesial reform more fully in a ministerial sense and, in the face of today’s challenges, we are called to continue to be vigilant interpreters of the signs of the times, joyful proclaimers of the Gospel, courageous witnesses of justice and peace.”
“As we approach the documents of Vatican Council II and rediscover their prophetic and contemporary relevance, we welcome the rich tradition of the life of the Church and, at the same time, we question ourselves about the present and renew our joy in running towards the world to bring it the Gospel of the kingdom of God, a kingdom of love, justice, and peace,” he said.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Rochester, New York. | Credit: DanielPenfield via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Jan 7, 2026 / 09:07 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday named New York Auxiliary Bishop John S. Bonnici to lead the Diocese of Rochester, … […]
Pope Leo XIV closes the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, concluding the Jubilee of Hope, on January 6, 2026. / Screenshot: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jan 6, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Sunday closed the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, bringing the ordinary Holy Year to an end — a time of grace that invited Catholics to conversion, reconciliation, and hope.
The pontiff processed toward the Holy Door as the antiphon O clavis David was sung. Reaching the threshold, he knelt before the door and remained for a few minutes in silent prayer. He then rose and, at 9:41 a.m., pushed shut the two large bronze doors — a gesture that visibly marked the end of the jubilee season.
“With thankful hearts we now prepare to close this Holy Door, crossed by a multitude of faithful, certain that the Good Shepherd always keeps the door of his heart open to welcome us whenever we feel weary and oppressed,” Leo XIV said in an address before the concluding gesture that ended the ecclesial event, ordinarily held every 25 years to offer the faithful the possibility of obtaining a plenary indulgence.
With these words, Leo XIV emphasized that even though the Jubilee has ended, God’s mercy remains ever open to believers.
Before closing the doors, the Holy Father pronounced in Latin the formula prescribed by the rite, following a practice established in 1975 and later simplified by St. John Paul II during the Jubilee of the Year 2000.
In keeping with the simplified celebration, the public rite did not include the portion involving the construction of a brick wall and was limited to the closing of the bronze doors. The masonry work itself will be carried out later, privately, about 10 days after this public rite.
The act will be overseen by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff. The so-called sampietrini — personnel of the Fabric of St. Peter, including carpenters, cabinetmakers, and electricians who normally handle basilica maintenance — will build the brick wall inside the basilica to definitively seal the Holy Door.
During this private rite — without cameras or journalists — the traditional metal capsule (capsis) will be inserted into the wall. It will contain the official act of closure, coins minted during the jubilee year, and the keys of the Holy Door, as a material and symbolic testimony of the Holy Year that, as the pope noted, has ended on the calendar but not in the spiritual life of the Church.
Leo XIV then recited the prayer of thanksgiving for the ordinary Holy Year, proclaiming: “This Holy Door is closed, but the door of your mercy is not closed.”
The formula concluded with an invocation that the “treasures” of divine grace would remain open “so that, at the end of our earthly pilgrimage, we may confidently knock at the door of your house and enjoy the fruits of the tree of life.”
The Jubilee of Hope was instituted on Dec. 24, 2024, by Pope Francis but, after his death in April, was concluded by his successor, Leo XIV — a situation not seen since the year 1700. The last ordinary Jubilee (celebrated every 25 years) took place in 2000.
Jubilees may also be celebrated at “extraordinary” moments, such as the Jubilee of Mercy celebrated by Francis in 2015, or the one to be convoked in 2033 to commemorate the two millennia of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
After closing the Holy Door, Leo XIV presided over Mass for the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord inside St. Peter’s Basilica, bringing the day’s liturgical celebration to its conclusion.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Leo XIV addresses pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for the recitation of the Angelus on January 4, 2026. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jan 4, 2026 / 10:20 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV said Christian hope “is not based on optimistic forecasts or human calculations,” but on God’s decision to share humanity’s path so that no one is alone on life’s journey.
Speaking Jan. 4 from the window of the Apostolic Palace to hundreds of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square despite the rain, the pope said the foundation of Christian hope is “God’s Incarnation,” pointing to the day’s Gospel reading from the Prologue of St. John: “The Word became flesh and lived among us” (Jn 1:14).
On the Second Sunday after Christmas, before reciting the Angelus, Leo urged believers to rethink their faith and avoid an abstract or distant spirituality. “He is not a distant deity in a perfect heaven above us, but a God who is nearby and inhabits our fragile earth, who becomes present in the faces of our brothers and sisters, and reveals himself in the circumstances of daily life,” he said.
The pope also underscored that the Incarnation calls for a concrete and consistent commitment, including examining whether one’s spirituality and the ways faith is expressed are “truly incarnate.” “God has become flesh; therefore, there is no authentic worship of God without care for humanity,” he said, linking Christian faith to solidarity with those who suffer.
After the Angelus, Leo reiterated his closeness to those affected by the New Year’s Eve fire in a bar in the Alpine town of Crans-Montana, Switzerland, where young people had been celebrating. Swiss authorities have confirmed at least 40 dead and about 115 injured, many of them seriously.
“I wish to express once again my closeness to those suffering as a result of the tragedy in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, and to assure them of my prayers for the young people who died, for the injured, and for their families,” the pope said.
He also said he was following developments in Venezuela “with deep concern,” and that “the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration.” His remarks came a day after news of the U.S. capture and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The pope urged that the country’s sovereignty and rule of law be guaranteed.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been adapted by CNA.
Pope Leo XIV addresses pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the recitation of the Angelus on January 4, 2026. In his message after the prayer, the pope called for respecting Venezuela’s sovereignty and constitution following the capture by U.S. forces of the country’s President Nicolás Maduro. / Screenshot: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jan 4, 2026 / 06:51 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV expressed deep concern over the situation in Venezuela and called for the country’s national sovereignty to be fully respected, one day after a U.S. operation ended with the capture and arrest of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
“With a heart full of concern I follow the evolution of the situation in Venezuela,” the pope said, underscoring that “the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail above any other consideration.”
At the end of the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the situation in Venezuela, following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the United States under President Donald Trump. “With a heart full of concern I follow the developments… the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must… pic.twitter.com/81BlY0Sv4A
— EWTN Vatican (@EWTNVatican) January 4, 2026
Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the recitation of the Angelus, Leo XIV insisted on the need to “overcome violence” and called for “embarking on paths of justice and peace, guaranteeing the country’s sovereignty.”
The Holy Father also pointed to the importance of “ensuring the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution” and of “respecting the human and civil rights of each and every person.”
He further urged working together to “build a serene future of collaboration, stability, and concordia.”
The pontiff emphasized that this effort must be carried out “with special attention to the poorest, who suffer because of the difficult economic situation.”
Finally, the pope invited Catholics to unite in prayer for Venezuela, entrusting this intention “to the intercession of Our Lady of Coromoto and of Saints José Gregorio Hernández and Sister Carmen Rendiles,” canonized last year.
The pope’s remarks come at a moment of maximum political and international tension for Venezuela following the capture of President Maduro and his wife, and Maduro’s imminent prosecution on U.S. soil on drug trafficking charges.
Hours earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said a second wave of attacks was planned if forces in the country offered resistance. “We are going to govern Venezuela until there is a safe transition,” he said at a press conference.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice has ordered that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assume the presidency due to Maduro’s “forced absence.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Leo XIV addresses pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for recitation of the Angelus on Jan. 1, 2026. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jan 1, 2026 / 07:30 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday urged Catholics to pray fo… […]
Credit: Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock
Dec 31, 2025 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
On New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, and the first day of 2026, the Catholic Church offers the opportunity to obtain plenary indulgences as a sign of God’s mercy and the desire for t… […]
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