Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful at the gates of Castel Gandolfo on Aug. 19, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 20, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).
Speaking to reporters at Castel Gandolfo on Aug. 19, Pope Leo XIV expressed hope for an end to the war in Ukraine but noted that hard work and prayer are needed so that the peace negotiations may bear fruit.
According to Vatican News, before returning to the Vatican after his morning visit to the shrine of Our Lady of Mentorella, Mother of Graces, the pontiff spoke with journalists waiting outside the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo about the conflict in the heart of Europe: “There is hope, but we still need to work hard, pray hard, and truly seek the way forward to find peace.”
Leo XIV made these comments just after 9 p.m. local time after greeting hundreds of pilgrims gathered in the street, some of whom were able to speak briefly with the pontiff.
First 100 days, ‘a blessing from God’
Asked about his first 100 days as bishop of Rome and successor to St. Peter, the pontiff simply said that they have been “a blessing from God.”
“I receive so much, I believe deeply in the Lord’s grace, and I am very grateful for the welcome I have received. I thank you all,” he said before leaving for the Vatican.
Before that, Pope Leo XIV did not miss the opportunity to express his gratitude for the opportunity to enjoy Castel Gandolfo, where he hopes to return soon: “Being here is a blessing; I am very happy with the welcome I have received from the people.”
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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Pope Francis stands outside a car during the general audience June 30, 2021. / Pablo Esparza/CNA.
Rome, Italy, Jul 4, 2021 / 08:12 am (CNA).
Pope Francis is at a Rome hospital Sunday to undergo a surgery to relieve stricture of the colon caused … […]
Pope Francis greets pilgrims at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on March 22, 2023. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Vatican City, Mar 22, 2023 / 05:20 am (CNA).
To effectively witness to the Gospel, Christians need to be consistent in what they believe, how they live, and what they preach, Pope Francis said Wednesday.
“The witness of an authentically Christian life involves a journey to holiness,” Pope Francis said on March 22.
Speaking at his weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square, the pope underlined that Christian witness must include “professed faith” of what the Church teaches that transforms both one’s relationships and “the values that determine our choices.”
“Witness, therefore, cannot be separated from consistency between what one believes, what one proclaims, and how one lives,” he said.
“A person is credible if there is harmony between what he believes and how he lives. Many Christians only say they believe, but live something else … and this is hypocrisy.”
The pope asked the crowd to reflect on three questions first posed by Paul VI in his apostolic exhortation on evangelization in the modern world, Evangelii nuntiandi: “Do you believe what you are proclaiming? Do you live what you believe? Do you preach what you live?”
Pope Francis arrived at the general audience in the popemobile to a Florentine flag corps performance by a group that seeks to preserve Tuscany’s medieval and Renaissance traditions. Vatican Media
Pope Francis emphasized that holiness is “not reserved for a few” but is “a gift from God that demands to be received and made to bear fruit for ourselves and for others.”
“Paul VI teaches that the zeal for evangelization springs from holiness, springs from a heart that is full of God,” he said.
“Nourished by prayer and above all by love for the Eucharist, evangelization, in turn, increases holiness in those who carry it out.”
A reading from the New Testament was proclaimed in different languages at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on March 22, 2023. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Because of the importance of bearing witness to the Gospel, Pope Francis said that it is necessary for the Church to constantly be “evangelizing herself.”
“Indeed, ‘she needs to listen unceasingly to what she must believe, to her reasons for hoping, to the new commandment of love. She is the People of God immersed in the world, and often tempted by idols … and she always needs to hear the proclamation of the mighty works of God … this means that she has a constant need of being evangelized if she wishes to retain freshness, vigor, and strength in order to proclaim the Gospel,’” he said, quoting Evangelii nuntiandi.
“A Church that evangelizes herself in order to evangelize is a Church that, guided by the Holy Spirit, is required to walk a demanding path of continuous conversion and renewal,” he added.
A traditional Florentine flag corps performed for the pope at the general audience on March 22, 2023. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Pope Francis arrived at the general audience in the popemobile to a Florentine flag corps performance by a colorfully-clothed group that preserves the music and traditions from Tuscany’s medieval and Renaissance history.
At the end of the audience, the pope blessed a large bell engraved with the words, “Voice of the Unborn,” which will be installed in Lusaka, Zambia.
The giant bell was forged in the workshop of Jan Felczyński in Przemyśl, Poland as part of an initiative by the Polish Yes to Life foundation. Pope Francis has previously blessed “Voice of the Unborn” bells for Poland, Ecuador, and Ukraine.
Francis called the bell a “sign of the need to protect human life from conception to natural death.”
Pope Francis blessed blessed a large bell engraved with the words, “Voice of the Unborn,” which will be installed in Lusaka, Zambia. Vatican Media
“Let its sound carry the message that every life is sacred and inviolable. I bless you from my heart,” he said.
Pope Francis also recalled the upcoming anniversary of his consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Virgin Mary on March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation.
“Let us not tire of entrusting the cause of peace to the Queen of Peace,” the pope said.
“Therefore, I would like to invite each believer and community, especially prayer groups, to renew every March 25 the act of consecration to Our Lady, so that she, who is Mother, may guard us all in unity and peace.”
Vatican City, Oct 4, 2019 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- In Rome this week, two groups who say their voices are not often heard by Church leaders held events to speak out against aspects of the Amazon synod with which they disagree, with both groups offering drama… […]
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