Pope Leo XIV urges Catholics to read printed books

The pontiff marked the centenary of the Vatican Publishing House, saying printed books remain a vital “opportunity to think” in the digital age.

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday underscored the enduring value of printed books in the digital age, saying reading “nourishes the mind” and offers Christians a valuable opportunity to proclaim Christ.

The pope made the remarks May 7 during an audience at the Vatican with employees of the Vatican Publishing House, or Libreria Editrice Vaticana, which was founded in 1926 and is celebrating its centenary this year.

The Holy Father said the book “is an opportunity to think,” defending the physicality of printed books in an increasingly digital culture because, he said, they remind readers of the importance of “thought, reflection, and study.”

“Reading nourishes the mind; it helps to foster a conscious and well-formed critical sense, guarding us against fundamentalism and ideological shortcuts,” Pope Leo said.

“For this reason, I urge everyone to read books, as an antidote to closed-mindedness, which is reflected in rigid attitudes and reductive views of reality,” he added.

The pope also emphasized that books offer an opportunity for encounter.

“When we hold a book in our hands, we ideally encounter its author,” he said. “But at the same time, we meet those who have read it before us, or who are reading it now or will read it in the future.”

Pope Leo noted that Pope Francis had taught Catholics “to practice the culture of encounter,” adding that “a book is a bridge to others, a source of dialogue that enriches us, a stimulus to expand our own perspective.”

For Christians in particular, the pope said, books can be “an opportunity to proclaim Christ.”

“We know well how reading a saint’s biography or a well-written spiritual reflection can touch the heart,” he said.

He also pointed to the Virgin Mary, who is often depicted in the Annunciation “intent on reading the holy Scriptures,” and to St. Anthony of Padua, who is commonly shown holding “the open Book of the Gospels, upon which the Infant Jesus stands.”

“We often see St. Augustine seated at a desk before a large book and, at times, holding a heart in his hand: truth and charity,” the pope said.

“At the school of Mary and the saints, let us nourish ourselves with the word of God, so that it may shape our way of thinking and acting,” Pope Leo added.

The pope concluded by recalling the words of St. Paul VI, who in 1976 met with employees of the Vatican Publishing House for its 50th anniversary and urged them to “look ahead, to refine ideas and plans for the future.”

“I thank you for your work, which I hope you will carry out with dedication and passion,” Pope Leo said. “And I cordially bless each of you and your loved ones.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.