At Regina Caeli, Pope Leo XIV recalls the message of peace from Francis of Assisi. May Laudato Si' Week serve to renew our commitment to ‘integral ecology’. In the age of AI, we must “promote communication that respects the truth of the human person”. Ascension of the Lord: with the saints “next door”, we must learn “to ascend day by day towards Heaven”.
The pontiff had a phone conversation with the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch this morning “in a cordial and fraternal atmosphere," the Vatican Press Office reported, to give "impetus" to the celebrations for the Day of Friendship. Leo also expressed hope that work “with all Churches of the Oriental Orthodox family” can resume.
The pope visited Europe's largest university. He told students: "We are a desire, not an algorithm.” He told professors that “Teaching is a form of charity just like rescuing a migrant at sea.” He lamented “A world unfortunately distorted by wars”, and said not to call “‘defence’ rearmament, defence that increases tensions”. He slammed the “inhuman evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies”. Knowledge should help “discerning who one is.”
On 13 May 1981, feast day of Our Lady of Fatima 45 years ago, John Paul II was hit by two bullets. Today, Leo XIV remembered his predecessor before the general audience in St Peter's Square by kneeling at the spot where he was wounded. He dedicated today’s catechesis to Mary, "the perfect model" for the Church, entrusting to her "the cry for peace" of "peoples afflicted by war.”
The Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue issued a message of good wishes to the world’s Buddhists on the occasion of the feast of Vesak. May goodness break “the cycle of suspicion” and open “paths where none seemed possible,” it reads. May “prayer, contemplation, and inner transformation” be “deepest sources” for a peace that believers can build together rather than be “passive observers”.
At the Regina Caeli, Leo called for an end to the violence in the Sahel region. He thanked the people of the Canary Islands for letting passengers on the cruise ship with the hantavirus outbreak to disembark. The pontiff also sent his greetings to Tawadros II and the Coptic Church on the Day of Coptic-Catholic Friendship. On Mother's Day, he urged prayers “for every mother, particularly those living in very difficult circumstances.”
At the Shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary, Leo XIV called for prayer to be put back at the centre. “The wars that are still being fought in many regions of the world require a renewed commitment that is not only economic and political, but also spiritual and religious." In his message on behalf of Indian Catholics, Cardinal Poola writes that, “Pope Leo XIV’s first year is a call to renewed fidelity: to be artisans of peace, builders of communion, and servants of the poor.”
At the general audience, continuing his commentary on “Lumen Gentium”, Leo XIV focused on the eschatological dimension of the Church, which “lives in service to the coming of the Kingdom of God”, interpreting the “dynamics of history” from the perspective of the Gospel. Earthly history is marked “by injustices and suffering”, but believers are “neither deluded nor despairing”. Ecclesiastical institutions “called to a continual conversion”.
On the day promoted by UNESCO, the Pope remembers reporters who have fallen victim to war. In May, he calls for the recitation of the Rosary for unity within the Church and peace in the world.
Leo XIV spoke about his apostolic visit, "a message of peace" amid "wars" and "violations of international law,” an opportunity for “African peoples [. . .] to make their voices heard”, “strengthening bridges" in Algeria, and “countering the various forms of neo-colonialism” in Cameroon. In Angola, hope can resist the “empty promises of the powerful." The pope also mentioned the song by prisoners in Bata praising God.
The pope and the archbishop of Canterbury renew the ecumenical journey adopted by the two Churches, following the path set in 1966 by Paul VI and Michael Ramsey. For Leo, “it would also be a scandal if we did not continue to work towards overcoming our differences”. Both share a commitment to peace, dialogue, and Christian witness in a world marked by divisions and violence.
During the Regina Caeli, Leo XIV spoke about the 1986 nuclear disaster, which “left a lasting mark on the conscience of humanity,” and serves “as a warning regarding the inherent risks of using increasingly powerful technologies.” In his comment on the Gospel, he noted that "thieves" are those who pillage “the earth’s resources” and wage " blood-thirsty wars”.
In Mongomo, Leo XIV marked 170 years of evangelisation, inviting all the baptised to be "witnesses to a new humanity." He quoted Paul VI's appeal to Africans to be “missionaries to yourselves.” May "natural riches" be "a blessing for all." He slammed “the gap between the privileged and the disadvantaged." In the afternoon, he visited Bata prison.
Leo XIV told Equatoguinean authorities to “dismantle the obstacles to integral human development.” Citing Pope Francis a year after his death, he reiterated the Church’s opposition to “an economy of exclusion and inequality.” God “must never be invoked to justify choices and actions of death.” In a letter to the pontiff, Equatorial Guinea’s exiled political opposition laments that, "The country has been captured by the president’s family."
On his third day in Angola, Leo XIV spoke in the diamond-rich city where people’s “hope” is "exploited by the overbearing and defrauded by the rich.” The pontiff slammed the injustice that makes bread "the possession of a few." Violence and exploitation deny "the resurrection,” while the faithful are urged to embrace "the meaning" of Christ's words, and reject “superstitious practices”.
Leo XIV in Kilamba with 100,000 faithful in the aftermath of the civil war: ‘The Lord is with us’. The call to “be vigilant regarding forms of traditional religiosity”. The need for pastors and missionaries with “a desire to break their own lives and give them away”. Yesterday in Luanda to the authorities: “true joy” free from the “logic of extractivisim”. At the Regina Caeli: the truce in Lebanon “a seed of relief for the people”.
Leo XIV spoke at the Japoma Stadium in Cameroon's economic capital, before a crowd of 120,000. He urged young people to "Reject every form of abuse or violence”, calling on them to be the first to bring "the bread of life” to others. Sharing is the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. Proclaiming Jesus means "leaving signs of justice in a suffering and oppressed land.”
The pope visited today Cameroon’s English-speaking region in the western of the country, scene of a forgotten war that has caused thousands of deaths, destruction, and more than a million refugees in this part of Africa. During his peace meeting with the local community, the pontiff encouraged those working for reconciliation, contrasting their action with what the masters of war do, to “look into each other’s eyes: we are this immense people!”
Leo XIV arrived in Cameroon, the second stop in his trip to Africa. Speaking to the authorities of a country governed for more than 40 years by the same president, who is now 92, he called for “renewal” and some soul-searching. He also said to “love your neighbor as yourself”, a commandment that is “equally applicable to international relations!” Before leaving Algiers, he visited a local Church-run orphanage.
The pontiff leaves Algeria today to travel to Cameroon, the second stop on his apostolic journey to Africa. The testimony of a young woman who grew up in Italy and chose to be present in Algiers to experience this historic event alongside her people. “In the crowd, everyone was saying: it’s a sign of unity between Christians and Muslims. We’ve seen that change happens in a subtle but real way.”
The Augustinian pope is the first pontiff to visit the birthplace of the Bishop of Hippo. This morning, he visited the home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, saying that God's heart is with the "humble," not the "arrogant”. In the Basilica of St Augustine, he said that the Christians of Algeria bring “joy and comfort to so many brothers and sisters.” The Church is a “welcoming bosom for all peoples.” Jesus’s call is “to be born again from above, that is, from God.”
Leo XIV arrived in Algeria, the first time a pontiff has visited the Muslim country, a bridge between Africa and the Mediterranean. In his address, he said that, “peace that is not merely an absence of conflict, but one that is an expression of justice and dignity.” About Algeria he said that, “A nation that loves God possesses true wealth”. For the pontiff, “fundamentalism and secularization” are “absurd polarizations”. Asked about Trump's insults, he said that he would continue “speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel”
The President of the National Assembly in Hanoi presented the Pope with a letter from the President, who is now firmly at the helm of power in Vietnam. It was precisely internal disagreements over the local political balance of power that had slowed down the preparations for the visit, which is so eagerly awaited by the Catholic community. Cardinal Parolin is due to visit soon to establish full diplomatic relations. The possibility of 2027, when the Pope is already expected in Seoul for World Youth Day.
At the Regina Caeli, Leo XIV invoked the "principle of humanity" to "protect the civilian population" from war. He mentioned the peoples of Ukraine, Lebanon, and Sudan. Yesterday, at the vigil in St Peter's, he appealed to political leaders to “Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned”. He stressed that praying is a “transformative response to death”.
In a reflection sent to AsiaNews on the eve of the prayer vigil for peace called for tomorrow by the Pope – which coincides with the anticipated start of talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan – the cardinal recalls that peace is not an “external matter”, but “arises from within” and becomes “word, gesture and way of life”. If conscience “is silenced, aggression grows”. The cross “shows that true power is not that which crushes, but that which remains faithful to the truth”.
Speaking at the end of the general audience, Leo XIV said that, “Only through negotiations can we reach an end to the war." He called for "dialogue" to become a tool for conflict resolution around the world. He also renewed his invitation to join a prayer vigil for peace in St Peter's next Saturday at 6 pm. In his catechesis on holiness, he described the latter as a gift that binds every baptised person.
“The despair of death is swept away forever,” Leo XIV said on Easter Monday. Although “fake news” shroud Christian witness, "the truth does not remain hidden”. Proclaiming Easter is giving voice to hope “stifled by the hands of the violent.” Remembering Pope Francis, Leo said that the pontiff who passed away on 21 April 2025 bore “profound witness of faith and love”.
The Pope’s Urbi et Orbi message on the day of Jesus’ resurrection. Against a backdrop where war is felt everywhere this year, the Pope did not mention specific places but invited people to reflect on the ‘true strength’ that reconciles humanity by overcoming indifference. A special prayer vigil for peace has been called, which the Pope will preside over on 11 April in St Peter’s Basilica.
The Pope presided over the traditional Good Friday service, personally carrying the crucifix through all 14 stations. At the end, he recited only the words of a prayer by St Francis, the 800th anniversary of whose death falls this year. The former Custos of the Holy Land, Father Patton, recalled in his meditations that “even those who start a war will have to answer for it before God”.
With the bishops and priests of Rome, the pontiff presided for the first time at the Mass with the blessing of the sacred oils. He reflected upon the "Christian mission," the "very same as Jesus',” characterised by detachment, encounter, and trial. Leo urged priests to feel like "guests," like the "great missionaries” who use “unobtrusive approaches” to reach out to others. He also remembered Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero, assassinated in 1980 while celebrating the Eucharist.
