Pope Leo XIV is seen here at the Jubilee of Youth on August 3, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 18, 2025 / 11:48 am (CNA).
On the occasion of the 99th World Mission Day, to be celebrated on Sunday, Oct. 19, with the theme “Mi… […]
Britain’s King Charles III stands with Britain’s Princess Michael of Kent (left); Britain’s Prince Michael of Kent (second left); Britain’s Lord Frederick Windsor; Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales; Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales… […]
Pope Leo XIV waves from the popemobile during an Oct. 15, 2025 public audience in St. Peter’s Square. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Rome Newsroom, Oct 15, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).
Optimism can disappoint us, but Christian hope “promises and fulfills” our hearts’ desire for fullness, Pope Leo XIV said at his weekly audience on Wednesday.
Addressing thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 15, the pope said, “This deep desire in our hearts can find its ultimate answer not in roles, not in power, not in having, but in the certainty that there is someone who guarantees this constitutive impulse of our humanity; in the awareness that this expectation will not be disappointed or thwarted. This certainty coincides with hope.”
“This does not mean thinking in an optimistic way: often optimism lets us down, causing our expectations to implode, whereas hope promises and fulfills,” he added in his weekly message.
The Holy Father continued his reflections on the mystery of Christ, which culminates in the Resurrection, but this time he linked it to “current human and historical reality, with its questions and challenges.”
“From Christ’s Resurrection springs that hope that gives us a foretaste, despite the fatigue of living, of a deep and joyful calm: that peace that only he can give us in the end, without end,” the pope explained.
Leo recalled that human existence is full of contrasts — joy, sadness, gratitude, and stress — but that only in the Risen Christ does the heart find the fullness it seeks.
“We live busy lives, we concentrate on achieving results, and we even attain lofty, prestigious goals. Conversely, we remain suspended, precarious, awaiting success and recognition that are delayed or do not arrive at all,” he continued.
The pope acknowledged that this tension between the desire for fulfillment and the experience of limitation defines much of the human condition: “We find ourselves experiencing a paradoxical situation: we would like to be happy, and yet it is very difficult to be happy in a continuous way, without any shadows. We come to terms with our limitations and, at the same time, with the irrepressible urge to try to overcome them. We feel deep down that we are always missing something.”
However, the pontiff said, this feeling of “lack” is the call to find fulfillment in the Risen One.
“In truth,” he said, “we were not created for lack, but for fullness, to rejoice in life, and life in abundance, according to Jesus’ expression in the Gospel of John [10:10],” which says, “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
Leo emphasized that the Risen Christ “is the wellspring that satisfies our thirst, the infinite thirst for fullness that the Holy Spirit imbues into our hearts. Indeed, the Resurrection of Christ is not a simple event of human history, but the event that transformed it from within.”
The Holy Father noted that spiritual thirst is a permanent condition of the human heart, and only Jesus, who died and rose again, can answer our deepest questions, such as, “is there really a destination for us? Does our existence have any meaning? And the suffering of so many innocents, how can it be redeemed?”
“The Risen Jesus does not bestow upon us an answer ‘from above,’ but becomes our companion on this often arduous, painful and mysterious journey. Only He can fill our empty flask when our thirst becomes unbearable,” he explained.
“We are fragile creatures,” Leo added. “Mistakes are part of our humanity; it is the wound of sin that makes us fall, give up, despair. To rise again instead means to get up and stand on our feet.”
The Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), popularly known as the Vatican Bank. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Oct 15, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Last week, Pope Leo XIV introduced a significant reform to the financial architecture of the Ho… […]
Pope Leo XIV greets a baby at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Vatican City, Oct 14, 2025 / 08:41 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV has sent 5,000 doses of antibiotics to the Gaza Strip in a humanitarian gesture aimed primarily at children and made possible by the recent reopening of key border crossings allowing the entry of aid.
According to Vatican News, the shipment of the medicines began this week, following the ceasefire and the start of the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace deal.
Israel is allowing the entry of up to 600 aid trucks per day, operated by the United Nations and authorized by international organizations, private sector actors, and donor countries. On Oct. 12, more than 170 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid crossed into Gaza, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The shipment of antibiotics to Gaza was coordinated by the Office of the Papal Almoner, the Vatican dicastery charged with carrying out charitable works for the poor and those in need on behalf of the pope, and led by Cardinal Konrad Krajewski.
“We are putting into practice the words of the apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te, dedicated to the poor,” Krajewski explained to Vatican News. “It is necessary to act, to pay attention to those in need.”
Caritas Jerusalem has become one of the first humanitarian organizations to respond to the ceasefire in Gaza, quickly mobilizing to address the urgent needs of families and children throughout the Gaza Strip.
Following the ceasefire, Caritas Jerusalem deployed its medical teams to deliver 10,000 bottles of infant formula to families with newborns and young children who had been deprived of basic nutrition during the months of conflict.
The distribution was carried out through Caritas’ network of medical centers in Gaza, ensuring that the aid reached the most vulnerable communities quickly and safely, the Catholic organization reported.
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 waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality on Oct. 12, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Oct 13, 2025 / 14:12 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV called on Catholics to supp… […]
Father Marko Rupnik, SJ, in an interview with EWTN in 2020. / Credit: EWTN
Vatican City, Oct 13, 2025 / 12:23 pm (CNA).
The Vatican’s doctrine office announced Monday that a panel of five judges has been nominated to decide the disciplinary cas… […]
Through the example of Mary, Pope Leo on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square said the Church can see the “revolutionary nature of love and tenderness” and its impact on the events of history as well as the everyday lives of each individual. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Oct 12, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV’s Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square was attended by 30,000 pilgrims in Rome for the Jubilee of Marian Spiritualities, and thousands more people who gathered in neighboring streets outside the Vatican for the liturgical celebration.
During the Mass, the Holy Father expressed his great appreciation and gratitude to the members of movements, confraternities, prayer groups, and shrines — dedicated to the Blessed Virgin — for coming to Rome to participate in the Church’s holy year dedicated to hope.
Leo said their spirituality, anchored in Sacred Scripture and Church tradition, reveals the profound beauty of God’s personal love for each person.
“Mary’s path follows that of Jesus, which leads us to encounter every human being, especially the poor, the wounded and sinners,” he said in his Oct. 12 homily. “Because of this, authentic Marian spirituality brings God’s tenderness, his way of ‘being a mother,’ to light in the Church.”
According to the pontiff, devotion to the Mother of God has “changed the face of the earth forever” and should be revived through “popular devotion,” particularly in a world seeking peace and justice.
“Let us use [Marian devotions] as a driving force for renewal and transformation,” he said on Sunday. “Indeed, the Jubilee we are celebrating calls for a time of conversion and restitution, of reflection and liberation.”
Since becoming pope in May, Leo XIV has frequently spoken about the significance of the Canticle of Mary in the life of the Church throughout its 2,000-year history.
“Some forms of worship do not foster communion with others and can numb our hearts … We fail to contribute, as Mary did, to changing the world, and to share in the joy of the Magnificat,” he said.
“Let us take care to avoid any exploitation of the faith that could lead to labelling those who are different — often the poor — as enemies, ‘lepers’ to be avoided and rejected,” he added.
Through the example of Mary, the Holy Father said the Church can see the “revolutionary nature of love and tenderness” and its impact on the events of history as well as the everyday lives of each individual.
“In her, we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong who need not treat others poorly in order to feel important themselves,” the pope said.
“Contemplating Mary, we realize that she who praised God for ‘bringing down the mighty from their thrones’ and ‘sending the rich away empty’ is also the one who brings a homely warmth to our pursuit of justice,” he continued.
After delivering his homily, Leo XIV stood before the original statue of Our Lady of Fatima brought to St. Peter’s Square from Portugal, and dedicated the Church and the world to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He prayed particularly for those “tormented by the scourges of war.”
“Obtain for us the gift of peace that we earnestly implore,” he prayed. “Mother of the Church, welcome us kindly so that under your mantle we may find refuge and be helped by your maternal aid in the trials of life.”
Before leading the congregation in the Angelus prayer before the conclusion of Holy Mass, the Holy Father delivered a brief Sunday address and asked the Church to especially pray for people in Israel and Palestine.
“In recent days, the agreement to begin the peace process has given a spark of hope in the Holy Land,” he said, referring to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal brokered Friday.
“I encourage the parties involved to continue courageously on the path they have chosen, towards a just and lasting peace that respects the legitimate aspirations of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples,” he said.
The Holy Father concluded his short address with petitions for prayer for the people of Ukraine, following recent fatal attacks in Kyiv;the people of Peru, who are undergoing a time of “political transition”; and for victims of workplace accidents in Italy.
A view of St. Peter’s Basilica during the Mass for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, with Bernini’s baldachin and the papal altar decorated with white flowers, Dec. 8, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
CNA Staff, Oct 11, 2025 / 16:28 pm (CNA).
A man urinated on the Altar of Confession of St. Peter’s Basilica on Friday before being taken away by security officers in the famous basilica, according to news reports.
The man climbed the altar and “urinated under the stunned gaze of hundreds of tourists,” according to the newspaper Corriere della Sera’s Rome edition. Video of the desecration was widely shared on social media.
Il Tempo reported that the man “was promptly reached by plainclothes police officers present in the basilica” and was escorted out of the church.
The latter newspaper claimed Pope Leo XIV was “shocked to learn of the news,” though the Holy See Press Office had not released a statement about the incident as of Oct. 11.
This is not the first time this year that a vandal has attacked the altar from which the pope says Mass.
In February, a man desecrated the altar by climbing on top of it and throwing six candelabras that were on the altar to the ground.
In June 2023, meanwhile, a Polish man approached the high altar as the basilica was about to close, undressed, and climbed onto the altar. Photos posted online showed the words “Save children of Ukraine” written in marker on his back. The Vatican performed a penitential rite after that act of desecration.
Pope Leo XIV stands before the original Our Lady of Fatima statue at a Marian vigil in St. Peter’s Square, Rome, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Vatican City, Oct 11, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).
Tens of thousands of people joined Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday to pray for peace in the world.
Before the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which was brought to Rome from Portugal for the Oct. 11–12 Jubilee of Marian Spiritualities, the pope entrusted believers to the Mother of God to guide the Church in its “pilgrimage of hope.”
During the special prayer vigil, which included a contemplative recitation of the rosary and time for Eucharistic adoration, the Holy Father delivered a short address and encouraged those present to ask the Mother of God for the gift of a “listening heart.”
“Our hope is guided by the gentle and persistent light of Mary’s words as recounted in the Gospel,” the pope said.
“Her last words at the wedding feast in Cana [‘Do whatever he tells you’] are particularly precious,” he said. “These words, which almost seem to be a testament, must be treasured by her children, as any mother’s testament would be.”
Sharing reflections on the life of Christ, which are included in the rosary prayer, Leo said peace in the world is not achieved through “power and money” but through prayer, listening, and living the Gospel message.
“Disarm your hands and, even more importantly, your hearts. As I have said before, peace is unarmed and disarming,” he said.
“It is not deterrence, but fraternity; it is not an ultimatum, but dialogue,” he continued. “Peace will not come as the result of victories over the enemy, but as the fruit of sowing justice and courageous forgiveness.”
Addressing the “powerful of the world,” the pope said it is necessary to “lay down your sword” and have the “courage to disarm” to achieve peace.
“At the same time, it is an invitation to each one of us to recognize that no idea, faith or policy justifies killing,” he added.
Encouraging those who desire peace and the end of conflict and violence, the Holy Father said “take courage” and “never give up.”
“Blessed are you: God gives joy to those who spread love in the world and to those who choose to make peace with their enemies rather than defeat them,” he said.
“Peace is a journey, and God walks with you,” he continued. “The Lord creates and spreads peace through his friends who are at peace in their hearts, and they in turn become peacemakers and instruments of his peace.”
Towards the end of the prayer vigil, the Holy Father turned to Mary, the “Queen of Peace” to whom the Church can turn in time of need.
“Teach us to live and bear witness to Christian love, by welcoming everyone as brothers and sisters; to renounce the darkness of selfishness in order to follow Christ, the true light of humanity,” he said.
“Virgin of peace, Gate of Sure Hope, accept the prayers of your children!” he prayed.
© Catholic World Report