St. Joseph Catholic Church

WASHINGTON – “Though we are grateful that aspects of the Administration’s policies announced Thursday intend to include comprehensive and holistic restorative reproductive medicine, which can help ethically to address infertility and its underlying causes, we strongly reject the promotion of procedures like IVF that instead freeze or destroy precious human beings and treat them like property,” said Bishop Robert E. Barron, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth; Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty; and Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

Responding to the White House’s announcement of new actions to expand access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and fertility treatments, the bishops continued, “Every human life, born and preborn, is sacred and loved by God. Without diminishing the dignity of people born through IVF, we must recognize that children have a right to be born of a natural and exclusive act of married love, rather than a business’s technological intervention. And harmful government action to expand access to IVF must not also push people of faith to be complicit in its evils.

“We will continue to review these new policies, and look forward to engaging further with the Administration and Congress, always proclaiming the sanctity of life and of marriage.”

The policies announced Thursday were pursuant to an executive order issued in February. A statement of Bishops Barron and Thomas responding to that order may be read here.

For more on assisted reproductive technology, including in vitro fertilization, please see: https://www.usccb.org/prolife/reproductive-technology. For more information on infertility, ethical restorative reproductive medicine, and research to address its root causes, please see: https://www.usccb.org/topics/natural-family-planning/infertility.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV traveled 23 miles by car to board the "Bel Espoir" sailboat and speak to the crew about peacemaking.

The boat, whose name means "beautiful hope," had spent the previous eight months sailing to 30 Mediterranean ports where rotating crews of 25 young adults met their peers and talked about their faith and the challenges to peace.

Meeting the last crew Oct. 17 at the marina in Ostia, outside of Rome, Pope Leo told them the world needs "signs, witness, impressions that give hope." 

The name of the boat and, even more, the efforts of the young people "are indeed a sign of hope for the Mediterranean and the world," he told them.

Living and working together on the boat, the pope said, has taught them the importance of dialogue.

"How important it is to learn to talk to one another, to sit down, to learn to listen, to express your own ideas and your own values with respect for one another" so that others also feel they were heard, he said.

Eight groups of 25 young adults from different Mediterranean countries and different religions each spent a month as part of the crew and held roundtable discussions on different themes with young adults in the 30 ports of call.

The experience, the pope said, should have reinforced for them the importance of "building bridges," not literally, "but a bridge among all of us, peoples from many different nations."

Pope Leo said he had asked each member of the crew where they were from, which made it obvious that despite big differences in language, faith and culture, the young adults still made life aboard work. 

Living on a relatively small boat with a large group of people, he said, "you have to learn how to live with one another and how to respect one another, and how to work out the difficulties, and that too is a great experience for all of you as young people, but (also) something that you can teach all of us."

Noting that the crew included several Palestinians, Pope Leo told the group that it is especially important to learn "to be promoters of peace in a world that more and more tends to go toward violence and hatred and separation and distance and polarization."

The young people can show the world that "we can come together, even though we are from different countries, we have different languages, different cultures, different religions, and yet we are all human beings." 

"We all sons and daughters of the one God," he said. "We are all living together on this world, and we all have a shared responsibility to together care for creation and care for one another and to promote peace throughout the world."

Pope Leo also told the crew that he had been to Ostia many times as an Augustinian friar because of the port town's close connection to the story of St. Augustine and, especially, his mother, St. Monica.

In fact, St. Monica died in Ostia in 387 while waiting for St. Augustine to join her for the return journey to North Africa. She was buried there, but her remains were moved to Rome in the 15th century.

WASHINGTON – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has announced Carol Glatz as Editor in Chief of Catholic News Service in Rome. USCCB General Secretary, Father Michael J.K. Fuller, made the appointment, which takes effect on January 1, 2026. 

The news follows the announcement of the retirement of Cindy Wooden who has led the Rome office of Catholic News Service since 2015, first as Bureau Chief and, since 2023, as Editor in Chief. As a veteran journalist covering the Catholic Church, Ms. Wooden’s career has spanned the pontificates of Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, and Pope Leo XIV. 

Ms. Glatz has spent nearly three decades in Catholic journalism, covering the Vatican and the global Church since 1998 for Vatican Radio, and since 2004 for Catholic News Service.

“On behalf of the bishops, I would like to thank Cindy for her long-time service to the Church. Her distinguished career as a Catholic journalist has taken her from a state-side reporter for a diocesan newspaper, to the D.C. newsroom of Catholic News Service, and then to Rome to cover the Holy Father and the Vatican. She will be missed, and we wish her well in retirement,” said Father Fuller. “I’m equally thankful to have Carol continue the good work that Cindy has led in a continuation of Catholic News Service’s mission to invite Catholics in the United States closer to the ministry of the Pope,” he continued. 

“I’m grateful for this opportunity to build upon the long-time presence and trusted relationships that Cindy and my colleagues at Catholic News Service have built over the years,” said Ms. Glatz. “I look forward to leading the news team here in Rome as we tackle the challenges posed by changes in the way people get their news. Together, we will report through digital media and creative story packages to keep the Catholic faithful informed and engaged with news about Pope Leo and the Holy See.” 

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- To improve the church's safeguarding approaches and measures, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said it relied on extensive input and feedback from victims/survivors in its second annual report.

As a consequence, the report featured a chapter listing more than 20 major concerns drawn up by its victim/survivor focus group, which included: an ongoing lack of accountability for church leaders and resistance to safeguarding reforms; the risk of retaliation and rejection for whistleblowers; the continued ministry of known perpetrators; the need to vet all church personnel properly; and the need for a "mature approach" to reparation.

"The primary need from victims/survivors is not financial compensation but rather recognition of harm, genuine apologies, and meaningful action to prevent future abuses," said the 103-page report, which was released Oct. 16 at the Vatican.

"In many cases, however, victims/survivors report that the Church has responded with empty settlements, performative gestures, and a persistent refusal to engage with victims/survivors in good faith," it said.

"Figures of authority within the Church who perpetrate or enable abuse have perhaps viewed themselves as too essential and important to be held accountable," it said.

"The Church believes herself to be central to God's plan for humanity," it said, "but God's promises to the Church are not a 'too essential to fail' free pass of impunity: to the contrary, the Church needs to remember that judgment begins within the household of God." 

The papal commission's Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding is meant to serve "as both compass and chronicle in the Church's global pilgrimage toward accountability," Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry, France, president of the papal commission, wrote in the document's introduction.

Using data from multiple sources for the 2024 calendar year, including observations from apostolic nuncios and the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child's reporting mechanism, the report analyzed several church entities, offering an overview of their current safeguarding measures, ongoing challenges and recommendations from the commission members.

Each year, the report focuses on a different set of bishops' conferences, religious institutes and offices of the Roman Curia, and this year's report also included a lay association: the Focolare movement.

In addition to providing precise details regarding individual church entities, the report also offers a global analysis of its main findings and observations.

It said there are six areas "that the church must further address in order to fulfil its fundamental obligations to victims/survivors": safe spaces for listening and care; better communication, such as with public and private apologies; better spiritual and psychotherapeutic support; financial support that is tailored to each victim's specific needs; meaningful sanctions and institutional reforms; and more safeguarding initiatives throughout the church community. 

The commission will further develop the six areas into "more detailed procedures to be offered as guidance to episcopal conferences and religious orders, tailored to their different cultural and social contexts," the report said. 

One major focus of the report was on the need for proper and concrete "reparation" to victims by the entire church community.

"One cannot harm one of Christ's precious 'little ones' without betraying, harming, and, indeed, angering Christ," it said. Therefore, "in facing the tragedy of abuse, the Church must acknowledge her debt of reparation to God" as well as to victims/survivors and to the larger community.

"We must re-emphasize that the Church's decades-long pattern of mishandling reports, including abandoning, ignoring, shaming, blaming, and stigmatizing victims/survivors, perpetuates the trauma as an ongoing harm," it said.

"The first objective of repair is to stop the spiritual and emotional bleeding precipitated by the combination of abuse, enablement of abuse, and mishandling of reports of abuse. This is why both new and old cases matter," it added.

The report listed multiple harms caused by abuse and the mishandling, silencing and cover-up of cases.

Not only are whole families, innocent priests and religious harmed, it said, a toxic environment marked by fear and distrust of priests, bishops, religious, teachers and other church staff, can undermine a child's "relationship to the Church and separate them from spiritually nurturing experiences."

In addition, priests, religious and church personnel can be unwilling to "nurture and mentor children and adolescents, based on fears of being unjustly accused or because of over-restrictive safeguarding protocols," it said. 

Anywhere there is an environment of fear and suspicion, it said, "the necessary boundaries of safeguarding can become barriers and children can be viewed as too dangerous for interactions," which is "gravely harmful to the development and spiritual formation of children and adolescents."

The report also called for greater transparency by specifying when the resignation and/or removal of church leaders or personnel was made because of abuse or negligence.

While such communication would need to respect principles related to privacy and the presumption of innocence, those principles cannot be used "at the cost of victims," Benyam Dawit Mezmur, a commission member, said at a Vatican news conference Oct. 16.

"Reparations definitely -- particularly apologies, rehabilitation, even financial compensation -- require that level of transparency, of course, without undermining the right to privacy and presumption of innocence," said the lawyer, who also had served on the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child.

The report said it was "not merely an account of the Church's progress and continued areas for improvement. Rather, it seeks to be a living instrument of shared conversion -- a means of communicating the wisdom and knowledge learned through the witness of victims/survivors, and the commitment of countless women and men of goodwill who have sought to respond to the question: what did you do, once you knew?"

By gathering and sharing on-the-ground, lived experiences and perspectives, it said, the report sought to represent a "shared journey" to help the church restore trust and credibility.

WASHINGTON – The Catholic Church in the United States will commemorate National Vocation Awareness Week, November 2-8. Each year, national Catholic organizations, dioceses, schools, and local parish communities sponsor events and provide different resources to raise awareness for vocations, and help those who are discerning a vocation, particularly one to ordained ministry or consecrated life.

“In this Jubilee Year of Hope, let us celebrate all who have responded to God’s call whether to serve as husbands, wives, parents, priests and others as ordained ministers, or consecrated persons,” said Bishop Earl A. Boyea, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. 

“In a meditation during the Jubilee of Seminarians, Pope Leo XIV said, ‘If you cultivate your heart through daily periods of silence, meditation, and prayer, you will learn the art of discernment. This, too, is important: learning discernment. When we are young, we overflow with desires, dreams and ambitions. Our hearts can often be overwhelmed and bewildered. On the other hand, if we follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we will surely learn to keep all those things in our heart and meditate on them.’ 

“With fervor, then, let us pray and renew our commitment to journey with and encourage young people as they discover the hope God has placed in their hearts through discerning how He has called them to be witnesses of the love ‘poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.’” (Romans 5:5)

Resources for National Vocation Awareness Week are available on the USCCB’s website in both English and Spanish.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Power, possessions and rank do not satisfy the deep desire for real meaning in life, Pope Leo XIV said.

"It is only the resurrected Jesus who can give the true and lasting peace that sustains and fills us," the pope said in English Oct. 15 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

"We are not truly satisfied with achievements and passing certainties of this world," he said, "because we are created in the image and likeness of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit we recognize an inexhaustible longing in our hearts for something more."

Greeting Polish-speaking visitors during the audience, the pope said he was joining them in asking for the intercession of St. John Paul II, whose feast day is Oct. 22.

Calling the Polish-born pope a "witness of hope and guide of young people," Pope Leo prayed: "May he inspire teachers, catechists and educators to collaborate with parents in forming the consciences of the new generations." 

Before the general audience, the pope received a 12-year-old silver-gray purebred Arabian horse as a gift from a Polish-born horse breeder. Video showed Pope Leo holding its reins and comfortably leading the horse by its bridle in a small courtyard inside Vatican City. The pope often traveled by horse when serving as a missionary in Peru.

The horse, named Proton, was raised at a stud farm in Poland, the Vatican press office said in a statement. Sired by Kahil Al Shaqab, a renowned stallion and show horse, Proton's maternal grandfather is Hlayyil Ramadan, a world Arabian horse champion, who was born and bred in Jordan by Princess Alia Al-Hussein.

Meanwhile, in his ongoing series of audience talks on the Jubilee theme, "Jesus Christ our Hope," Pope Leo reflected on how Christ's resurrection fulfills the desires of every human heart.

"We live busy lives, we concentrate on achieving results, and we even attain lofty, prestigious goals," he said in his main address in Italian.

"We would like to be happy, and yet it is very difficult to be happy in a continuous way, without any shadows," he said. "We feel deep down that we are always missing something."

However, he said, "we were not created for lack, but for fullness, to rejoice in life, and life in abundance."

"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," the pope said. 

The risen Jesus "is the wellspring that satisfies our thirst, the infinite thirst for fullness that the Holy Spirit imbues into our hearts," he said. "Indeed, the resurrection of Christ is not a simple event of human history, but the event that transformed it from within."

Just like water quenches thirst, refreshes, irrigates and renders fertile "what would otherwise remain barren," he said, "the Risen One is the living wellspring" that always "stays pure and ready for anyone who is thirsty."

Only Jesus "responds to the deepest questions of our heart: 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?" he said.

"The risen Jesus does not bestow upon us an answer 'from above,' but becomes our companion on this often arduous, painful and mysterious journey," he said. "Only He can fill our empty flask when our thirst becomes unbearable."

Jesus is also "the destination of our journey. Without his love, the voyage of life would become wandering without a goal, a tragic mistake with a missed destination," he said. 

Human beings are "fragile creatures," who make mistakes, Pope Leo said. But the faithful can "rise again" with the help of the Risen One who "guarantees our arrival, leading us home, where we are awaited, loved, saved."

To journey with Jesus "means to experience being sustained despite everything, to have our thirst quenched and to be refreshed in the hardships and struggles that, like heavy stones, threaten to block or divert our history," he said.

"In a world struggling with fatigue and despair, let us be signs of hope, peace and joy of the risen Christ," he added.

Pope Leo: True peace comes from Jesus

A look at Pope Leo's general audience Oct. 15, 2025. (CNS video/Robert Duncan)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Making the first state visit of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV met Italian President Sergio Mattarella and spoke of common concerns, including war, migration, ecology and Italy's declining birthrate.

"In a climate of cordial respect, the Catholic Church and the Italian state collaborate for the common good -- at the service of the human person, whose inviolable dignity must always remain at the forefront of decision-making and action at all levels of social development, especially in defending the most fragile and needy," the pope told the president.

The morning meeting Oct. 14 took place at the Quirinal Palace, a former papal residence that has been home to Italian kings and presidents since 1870. 

Embracing all the pomp of an official visit, Pope Leo began his 2-mile journey to the palace by being greeted by Italian government officials just outside St. Peter's Square and then was escorted in a motorcade by the Italian military. The Italian cavalry, mounted on horseback, led the pope's car into the palace courtyard.

After a private meeting with Mattarella, the pope and president exchanged speeches in the Mirrors Room, which Italian kings once used as a ballroom.

While celebrating their common stances and cooperation on a host of issues, the two leaders also expressed common concerns.

"As is sadly evident," Pope Leo said, "we live in a time that, alongside many signs of hope, is marked by grave suffering that wounds humanity worldwide and demands urgent yet farsighted responses." 

"Numerous wars are devastating our planet, and as we look at the images, read the news, hear the voices and meet the people painfully affected," the pope said, he remembers the strong and prophetic words of his predecessors warning of the devastation that could come and pleading for peace.

"I therefore renew my heartfelt appeal that we continue to work to reestablish peace in every part of the world," he said, "and that the principles of justice, equity and cooperation among peoples -- principles which form its irreplaceable foundation -- be ever more cultivated and promoted."

Pope Leo also noted that the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi will be marked in 2026. "This offers an opportunity to highlight the urgent issue of caring for our common home," he said.

By teaching people to praise God by respecting God's creation, he said, "Italy has received, in a special way, the mission of transmitting to the nations a culture that recognizes the earth as 'a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us,'" as Pope Francis wrote. 

The declining birthrate in Italy and across Europe was another concern Pope Leo highlighted in his speech to Mattarella, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and top members of her cabinet.

The government must take action to support families, the pope said. Italians' traditional love of family and willingness to sacrifice for them is good for the country.

"In particular, I wish to emphasize the importance of guaranteeing all families the indispensable support of dignified work, in fair conditions and with due attention to the needs related to motherhood and fatherhood," he said. "Let us do everything possible to give confidence to families -- especially young families -- so that they may look to the future with serenity and grow in harmony." 

Pope Leo also urged Italians "to uphold and protect life in all its phases, from conception to old age, until the moment of death."

And he thanked Italy "for the generous assistance this country offers to migrants who increasingly knock at its doors, as well as for its efforts in combating human trafficking."

Migration and trafficking "are among the great challenges of our time," he said, "and Italy has never turned away from them."

"I encourage you to keep alive your attitude of openness and solidarity," the pope said, adding that migrants must be helped to integrate by learning "the values and traditions of Italian society."

Pope Leo calls for peace, solidarity and stronger families

Pope Leo XIV made a formal visit to the Quirinal Palace in Rome Oct. 14 to meet with Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella.

WASHINGTON – When the U.S. bishops gather in November for their Fall Plenary Assembly, November 10-13, they will elect the next president and vice president for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

The president and vice president are elected from a slate of 10 candidates who have been nominated by their fellow bishops. They are as follows (in alphabetical order):

• Bishop Robert E. Barron, Diocese of Winona-Rochester
• Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
• Bishop Daniel E. Flores, Diocese of Brownsville
• Archbishop Richard G. Henning, Archdiocese of Boston
• Bishop David J. Malloy, Diocese of Rockford
• Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, Archdiocese of Philadelphia
• Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
• Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon
• Archbishop Charles C. Thompson, Archdiocese of Indianapolis
• Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger, Archdiocese of Detroit

The president and vice president are elected to three-year terms, which begin at the conclusion of this year’s Plenary Assembly. At that time, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, will complete their terms as president and vice president, respectively.

The by-laws of the USCCB provide that the first election is that of the president by simple majority vote of members present and voting. Following the election of the president, the vice-president is elected from the remaining nine candidates. In either election, if a candidate does not receive more than half of the votes cast on the first ballot, a second vote is taken. If a third round of voting is necessary, that ballot is a run-off between the two bishops who received the most votes on the second ballot. 

During the meeting, the bishops will also vote for new chairmen of six USCCB standing committees: Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance; Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs; Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis; Committee on International Justice and Peace; Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People; and the Committee on Religious Liberty. The six committee chairmen elected will serve for one year as chairman-elect before beginning a three-year term at the conclusion of the bishops’ 2026 Fall General Assembly. Should any of the candidates for committee chairmanship be elected to fill to a higher office, the bishops’ Committee on Priorities and Plans will convene to nominate a new candidate for that committee.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In separate videos recorded in English, Spanish and Italian, Pope Leo XIV urged every Catholic parish around the globe to observe World Mission Sunday Oct. 19 and take up the annual collection that supports Catholic missionary work.

"When I served as a missionary priest and then bishop in Peru, I saw first-hand how the faith, the prayer and the generosity shown on World Mission Sunday can transform entire communities," said the Chicago-born pope. As an Augustinian priest, he served in the missions in Peru from 1985 to 1999 and then as apostolic administrator and later bishop of Chiclayo from 2014 to 2023. 

In the video message, released Oct. 13, Pope Leo encouraged all Catholics to pray on World Mission Sunday "particularly for missionaries and the fruitfulness of their apostolic labors."

"Your prayers, your support will help spread the Gospel, provide for pastoral and catechetical programs, help to build new churches, and care for the health and educational needs of our brothers and sisters in mission territories," the pope said.

According to the Pontifical Mission Societies USA, funds collected on World Mission Sunday support: "82,498 seminarians in formation; 258,540 religious sisters providing care and catechesis; (and) 844,000 catechists sharing the faith at the grassroots."

The funds also help sustain "12,000 health care centers; 8,750 orphanages and homes for the elderly" and have helped with the construction of 570 new churches, it said.

In the video, Pope Leo asked Catholics to "reflect together on our baptismal call to be 'missionaries of hope among the peoples,'" and to commit themselves again "to the sweet and joyful task of bringing Christ Jesus our hope to the ends of the earth."

The annual papal message for World Mission Sunday is released in February. Pope Francis had chosen "Missionaries of Hope Among All Peoples" as the theme for the 2025 celebration.
 

Pope Leo: Support ‘Missionaries of Hope”

In a special video appeal, Pope Leo XIV asked Catholic parishes across the globe to support World Mission Sunday Oct. 19.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians must avoid using their faith to label those who are different -- often the poor -- as enemies to be avoided and rejected, Pope Leo XIV said.

"Some forms of worship do not foster communion with others and can numb our hearts," he said in his homily during Mass in St. Peter's Square Oct. 12 for the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality.

"Mary's path follows that of Jesus, which leads us to encounter every human being, especially the poor, the wounded and sinners," Pope Leo said in his homily. "Because of this, authentic Marian spirituality brings God's tenderness, his way of 'being a mother,' to light in the church." 

Members of movements, confraternities and various Marian prayer groups were invited to Rome for their Oct. 11-12 Jubilee, which included an evening prayer service in the square Oct. 11 with Pope Leo in the presence of the original statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

The statue, brought from the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, also was on display during the Oct. 12 Mass.

Marian spirituality, "which nourishes our faith, has Jesus as its center," Pope Leo said in his homily. Remembering Jesus Christ is what matters.

"The celebration of Sunday, therefore, should make us Christians," he said. "It should fill our thoughts and feelings with the burning memory of Jesus and change the way we live together and the way we inhabit the earth."

The pope reflected on the day's Gospel reading of Jesus cleansing 10 lepers (Lk 17:11-19). While all of them appealed to him and were healed, only one, who was a foreigner, thanked Jesus and glorified God.

"The lepers in the Gospel who do not return to give thanks remind us that God's grace can touch us and find no response," he said. "It can heal us, yet we can still fail to accept it."

"Let us take care, therefore, not to go up to the temple in such a way that does not lead us to follow Jesus," he said. 

When some forms of worship fail to foster communion with others, he said, "we fail to encounter the people God has placed in our lives. We fail to contribute, as Mary did, to changing the world, and to share in the joy of the Magnificat."

"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 said.

"Marian spirituality is at the service of the Gospel" because "it reveals its simplicity," he said.

"Our affection for Mary of Nazareth leads us to join her in becoming disciples of Jesus," he said, and "it teaches us to return to him and to meditate and ponder the events of our lives in which the Risen One still comes to us and calls us."

Marian spirituality "helps us to see the proud being scattered in their conceit, the mighty being cast down from their thrones and the rich being sent away empty-handed," he said, referring to the Canticle of Mary (Lk 1:51-54). "It impels us to fill the hungry with good things, to lift up the lowly, to remember God's mercy and to trust in the power of his arm." 

Just as God asked Mary for her "yes," he said, "Jesus invites us to be part of his kingdom."

"Dear friends, in a world seeking justice and peace, let us revive Christian spirituality and popular devotion to the events and places blessed by God that have changed the face of the earth forever," he said.

"Let us use them as a driving force for renewal and transformation," he said, especially during the Holy Year, which encourages conversion, restitution, reflection and liberation.

During the Mass, one of the prayers of the faithful prayed that God would "dispel all pride from the hearts of those who hold positions of power and inspire decisions which favor the little ones and the least."

The pope offered his own prayer entrusting the church, the world and all of humanity to Mary.

"Holy Virgin, Mother of Christ our hope, your caring presence in this Year of Grace accompanies and consoles us and gives us, in the dark nights of history, the certainty that in Christ evil is overcome and every person is redeemed by his love," he said.

"To your immaculate heart we entrust the whole world and all of humanity, especially your children who are tormented by the scourge of war," he said. "Advocate of grace, advise us on the path of reconciliation and forgiveness, do not fail to intercede for us, in joy and in sorrow, and obtain for us the gift of peace that we earnestly implore."
 

Pope Leo calls for disarmament

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass as part of the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality and calls for disarmament.