Photograph of Pope Leo XIV released by the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, May 16, 2025 / 15:11 pm (CNA).
The Holy See press office released a new photograph of Pope Leo XIV on Friday, available for free download at this link.
In the image, the pontiff appears smiling, dressed in the traditional white cassock and the gold pectoral cross he wore during his first greeting from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after his election as the successor of Peter on May 8.
The Vatican stated that “the image is provided free of charge and may only be reproduced for institutional purposes” and that “any use for commercial or other purposes is expressly prohibited.”
The Office of Liturgical Celebrations on May 10 had already published the official portrait of the Holy Father in which he appears wearing the red mozzetta, embroidered stole, rochet, and golden pectoral cross.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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A smiling Pope Francis arrives in St. Peter’s Square on April 13, 2025, in a surprise visit at the end of the outdoor Palm Sunday Mass. / Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Apr 13, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).
Marking another in a series of recent surprise public appearances, Pope Francis on Sunday briefly greeted thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square to celebrate Palm Sunday.
“Happy Palm Sunday and beginning of Holy Week!” the Holy Father said with some difficulty to the cheers of the large crowd that filled the square and spilled out along the Via della Conciliazione.
Unable to participate in the Palm Sunday Mass, the 88-year-old pontiff, still convalescing after a serious bout of double pneumonia that kept him hospitalized for 39 days, arrived in a wheelchair toward the end of the outdoor liturgy, smiling and without nasal tubes as he passed by clergy, religious men and women, and lay people standing near the altar.
Pope Francis offers a blessing to the gathered faithful from a ramp at St. Peter’s Basilica during Palm Sunday celebrations, April 13, 2025. The Holy Father made a brief appearance following the main liturgy presided over by Cardinal Sandri. Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren / EWTN News
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, vice dean of the College of Cardinals, presided over the Mass as the pope’s delegate and read the Holy Father’s written homily to crowds of people waving palms and olive branches under overcast skies.
In his prepared homily, the pope exhorted Christians to “experience the great miracle of mercy” by accompanying Jesus in his journey to the cross.
“Let us decide how we are meant to carry our own cross during this Holy Week: if not on our shoulders, in our hearts,” the pope shared. “And not only our cross, but also the cross of those who suffer all around us.”
Pope Francis’ homily focused on Simon of Cyrene who, in St. Luke’s gospel, “unexpectedly found himself caught up in a drama” of Christ’s crucifixion.
“As we make our own way towards Calvary, let us reflect for a moment on Simon’s actions, try to look into his heart, and follow in his footsteps at the side of Jesus,” the pope observed.
Religious sisters hold palm fronds and olive branches during Palm Sunday celebrations at St. Peter’s Square, April 13, 2025. The traditional symbols commemorate Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem as crowds laid branches before him, marking the beginning of Holy Week. | Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren / EWTN News. Credit: Bénédicte Cedergren / EWTN News
Though the man from Cyrene did not take up Jesus’ cross and follow him out of “conviction” but, rather, of “coercion,” the Holy Father praised him for being present to help the suffering Jesus and, in an “unexpected and astonishing way,” becomes “part of the history of salvation.”
“Between him and Jesus, there is no dialogue; not a single word is spoken. Between him and Jesus, there is only the wood of the cross,” the pope wrote.
“When we think of what Simon did for Jesus, we should also think of what Jesus did for Simon — what he did for me, for you, for each of us: he redeemed the world,” he added.
Placing emphasis on Christ’s infinite love which, “in obedience to the Father,” bore the sins of all humanity, the pope highlighted that Christians believe in a God who “suffered with us and for us.”
“Let us remember that God has made this road a place of redemption, for he walked it himself, giving his life for us,” the pope urged.
Pope’ Angelus message
In his Palm Sunday Angelus address released by the Vatican, the Holy Father asked Christians to continue to pray for those who are suffering in the world because of war, poverty, and disasters.
“The 15th of April will mark the second sad anniversary of the beginning of the conflict in Sudan, in which thousands have been killed and millions of families have been forced to flee their homes,” he said in his message.
“The suffering of children, women and vulnerable people cries out to heaven and begs us to act,” he added.
On Friday, Sudanese paramilitaries killed the entire nine-member staff of the last medical clinic in a refugee camp in the western region of Darfur, Sudan, according to a report in the New York Times, citing aid groups and the United Nations. In all, at least 100 people were killed in an assault on the camp, which is populated by a half-million people displaced by the country’s civil war, the report said.
Noting other ongoing civil wars affecting populations in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, the pope asked people to pray for peace in Congo, South Sudan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and Myanmar.
In his address, the Holy Father also asked people to remember the victims and families of the Santo Domingo disaster, in the Dominican Republic, which killed more than 200 people after a nightclub roof collapsed on April 8.
“May Mary, Mother of Sorrows, obtain this grace for us and help us to live this Holy Week with faith,” Pope Francis said.
Vatican City, Aug 29, 2020 / 09:36 am (CNA).- The Vatican is publishing a new book collecting Pope Francis’ notable speeches to athletes of all kinds, and which includes the testimonies of three professional athletes.
The Sistine Hall of the Vatican Library, the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City, is one of the oldest libraries in the world. / Credit: Checco2/Shutterstock
Vatican City, Nov 12, 2024 / 10:15 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has c… […]
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