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VILNIUS, Lithuania — A planned reorganization and merger of Lithuania's Kaunas Christian Maternity Home (KGN) with its parent hospital have triggered protests from families and pro-life advocates who fear the consolidation will erode the institution's distinctive character and family-focused mission.

KGN is owned by LSMU Kaunas Hospital, which itself is equally divided between two shareholders: the Ministry of Health and the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU), each holding 50% ownership. Both shareholders recently approved an optimization plan that would merge KGN into the larger hospital in an effort to streamline operations and reduce costs linked to obstetrics.

A century of care

Founded in 1926, KGN is the last major maternity home of its kind in Lithuania, focusing on low-risk pregnant mothers. When a report of its family-friendly environment and quality care reached Pope John Paul II in 1997, the impressed pontiff later sent a handwritten greeting blessing the maternity home. To date, it has been consistently rated as one of the best places to give birth in Lithuania.

The maternity home has long partnered with Caritas Lithuania, the Archdiocese of Kaunas, and various pregnancy crisis centers to help mothers give birth in a safe and highly personal environment, which most argue is not the case in typical obstetrics wards in major hospitals.

Critics of the merger say that dismantling KGN, given its rich 100-year history, recognition from the late pope, and excellent record, makes families feel unheard and their needs ignored.

Why families fear the merger

Jarune Rimavice, head of the "Let's Save the Kaunas Maternity Home" initiative, which has gathered over 12,000 signatures, told EWTN News that the merger plans would negatively alter the care mothers receive.

She explained that the infrastructure at LSMU Kaunas Hospital is less family-friendly and that allocating higher flows of pregnant mothers there would result in "less privacy and less individual attention." She also pointed out that "some of the delivery rooms and wards do not have private sanitary facilities, which reduces the feeling of privacy and dignity during childbirth."

Rimavice argued that KGN's defining strength lies not only in its family-oriented facilities but also in a care culture built around emotional safety, close personal attention, and respectful communication between staff and mothers.

She said this approach is a key reason for the maternity home's high satisfaction among families. Such a culture, she warned, "cannot be simply transferred to another environment by administrative decision alone."

For that reason, she said, merging KGN into a larger multi-specialty hospital "is not an equivalent transfer of services — it is a real deterioration of conditions for women in labor."

An appeal to Pope Leo XIV

Reports circulated that organizers of the KGN petition had met with Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the apostolic nuncio to the Baltic states.

When EWTN News approached him for confirmation, Gänswein acknowledged the meeting, saying he received three representatives who outlined the situation surrounding the Kaunas Christian Maternity Home. He added: "On that occasion they gave me a letter for Pope Leo XIV."

Organizers later told EWTN News that the letter was an appeal to the Holy Father, detailing their concerns. Gänswein added that he subsequently spoke with the archbishop of Kaunas, informing him of the meeting while discussing the facts of the matter. "He promised to take care on the matter," he noted.

The Archdiocese of Kaunas later issued a statement supporting the petition while highlighting the long-standing role of maternity homes "whose activities are based on Christian values," in providing both medical and dignity-based care. Kaunas Archbishop Kestutis Kevalas also called for cooperation to find solutions to preserve the maternity home.

Lithuania's current healthcare situation

On May 3, marked as Mother's Day in Lithuania, supporters gathered outside KGN, calling for its preservation while stressing its importance to families. The demonstration reflects a broader rise in visibility of Lithuania's pro-life movement, which included a major pro-life march held last year in Vilnius. It also comes as the government continues to discuss measures aimed at supporting families and addressing the country's declining birth rate.

Against this backdrop, Rimavice highlighted what she described as a clear policy contradiction. "On one hand, the state talks about encouraging birth rates, but on the other hand, it reduces the choices available to mothers and destroys precisely those places that families trust the most and where they feel safe," she said.

Others have also pointed to structural issues in Lithuania's healthcare system. The current funding model reimburses hospitals largely based on the number of deliveries performed, which critics say incentivizes volume over quality. This approach can contribute to staff burnout, lower levels of individual care, and a tendency to favor faster, more intervention-heavy procedures, such as C-section births over natural births. Rimavice stated that "maternity wards already face low pay and heavy workloads," making it difficult to attract and retain staff, and leaving obstetrics systematically undervalued.

Observers have pointed to Germany as a potential model for reform. There, funding changes introduced payments that cover fixed costs regardless of delivery volume, helping maintain service availability and reducing incentives tied to the number of births.

Rimavice said her initiative's goal is to preserve the Kaunas Christian Maternity Home as an independent, family-oriented facility offering a "safe alternative between home birth and hospital inpatient birth." She stressed that the group supports reform, but only if it improves conditions for mothers, including changes to the funding model and more targeted, quality-focused service optimization.

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TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Father Gerardo F. Saco Jr., the priest appointed by Pope Leo XIV to become the next bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran in the Philippines, has decided not to proceed with his episcopal ordination, a move that surprised many clergy and faithful in Bohol province and across the Philippine Church.

In an official statement released by the Diocese of Tagbilaran on May 5, Saco said that after "much prayer and careful discernment," he had decided not to continue with the episcopal ordination scheduled for May 26.

"I sincerely ask for your understanding regarding this change of heart," Saco said in the statement. "It comes from a deep awareness of my own human limitations and inadequacies."

Saco, who had been serving as diocesan administrator since October 2025 following the appointment of Bishop Alberto Uy as archbishop of Cebu in 2025, was appointed bishop of Tagbilaran by Pope Leo XIV on March 25.

The Archdiocese of Cebu, the metropolitan see of Tagbilaran, later confirmed that the Vatican had accepted Saco's decision.

In a statement, Uy said that Saco had communicated his decision directly to the Holy Father.

"Bishop-elect Gerardo 'Jingboy' Saco Jr. has communicated to the Holy Father his decision not to proceed with his episcopal ordination," Uy said. "The papal nuncio has informed me that the Holy Father has accepted his decision."

Uy acknowledged that while he respects Saco's decision, it "has brought sadness to many of us, especially the faithful of the Diocese of Tagbilaran."

Despite widespread public interest surrounding the rare decision, Saco has declined interview requests from journalists. Sources interviewed by EWTN News said the priest has requested privacy and told those seeking interviews that he "just needs more time for himself."

One priest from the Diocese of Tagbilaran, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said many clergy were initially "shocked and saddened" upon hearing the news but that he respected the decision of Saco, whom he described as "a simple man, kind and has a big heart for the poor and marginalized."

"We have a very thriving diocese. We are not in debt. We have so many vocations. We send out priests to do mission work because we have many priests here. I don't know why he declined."

Online, many Catholic faithful and netizens reacted with surprise and sympathy. Some described the decision as "courageous," noting that stepping away from such an appointment required humility and honesty. Others promised prayers for Saco and for the Diocese of Tagbilaran, which remains "sede vacante" pending a new episcopal appointment.

Difficult role

Catholic apologist and pro-life advocate Carlos Antonio Palad cautioned against "dark and baseless speculations" about Saco's reasons, noting that "the pope has accepted his decision, so he cannot be accused of disobedience, as some have implied."

Palad added that the leadership of a diocese "is very heavy, and it is not a secret that many priests refuse the office when it is offered to them," urging respect for Saco's "conscience and his decision."

Catholic commentators also noted that, while rare, there have been instances in Church history where priests or bishops-elect declined episcopal appointments before ordination.

The Diocese of Tagbilaran comprises 60 parishes, served by 126 diocesan priests across 1,734 square kilometers (670 square miles) of the southern half of the island province of Bohol, according to the latest statistics.

Saco remains the diocesan administrator as the Holy See restarts the selection process for a new bishop of Tagbilaran.

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On Thursday Pope Leo XIV met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican, with the meeting coming amid tensions between the Holy See and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump has expressed his disapproval of Leo's public statements denouncing the U.S.-led war on Iran. The Holy Father has repeatedly called for peace amid the ongoing conflict.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Department of State, the pontiff and Rubio discussed "the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere."

It also stated that their meeting "underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity."

The Holy See published its own statement of the meeting, which, according to Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni, lasted for 45 minutes.

The statement described the meeting as an encounter where "cordial discussions" took place regarding the "fostering of strong bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America."

This week Trump expressed his desire that Rubio tell the pope that "Iran cannot have nuclear weapons." The president has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that Leo wants the Middle Eastern country to develop nuclear armaments.

Leo has rejected those allegations. On May 5 at Castel Gandolfo he stated that the Church "has spoken for years against all nuclear weapons." On Wednesday, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin stated that the Holy See "has always worked, and will continue to work, on nuclear disarmament."

Parolin, who also met Rubio on May 7, also described Trump's recent verbal attacks against the pope as "strange."

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WASHINGTON — The academic director of one of the most celebrated current archaeological digs in Israel was in Washington, D.C., this week to provide an update on the ongoing excavation of Bethsaida, the town that the Gospel of John (1:44) records as the home of the apostles Peter, his brother Andrew, and Philip and where Jesus performed various miracles.

In a May 5 presentation at the Catholic Information Center, Steven Notley, the academic director of the El Araj Excavation Project, said the excavation of the last town of apostolic times to be discovered, which began in 2016 and has been ongoing since then, has essentially confirmed that the site, known as El Araj, is indeed the location of the Galilean seaside town of Bethsaida, which is referenced several times in the New Testament.

Notley, who is also executive director of the Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins, lived in Jerusalem with his wife and four children for 16 years and has been leading groups of students and laypeople to Israel and the eastern Mediterranean region for over 35 years.

Melissa Overmyer, a Catholic evangelist who has participated in the dig at Bethsaida, shared her own testimony at the event, saying being a part of such experiences in the Holy Land turns "Bible stories into Bible realities."

Notley said excavations at the site in 2018 uncovered the remains of a Byzantine-era basilica and a first-century house located directly under its apse in 2023.

These remains, he said, match the historic account of Willibald, an eighth-century bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria, Germany, who traveled to the Holy Land in 725 A.D. and wrote about a church in Bethsaida that was built over the home of Sts. Peter and Andrew.

Among the discoveries made at this basilica is a mosaic, uncovered in 2022, with the inscription "Chief of the apostles and keeper of the keys of heaven, intercede for him and his children George and Theophano."

Last year, the site also endured a wildfire, the results of which Notley said have subsequently allowed the team to uncover evidence of columns and other structures previously overlooked due to dense underbrush.

Notley told EWTN News that the archaeological team was able to identify a structure underneath the apse of the basilica by identifying pottery they discovered there as first-century pottery. The team also found first-century fishing weights.

"So, we have a first-century house wall under the apse. It doesn't have a plaque on it that says 'Peter slept here,' but from a perspective of archaeology, it doesn't get much better than that," Notley said.

Notley said he welcomes volunteers to participate in the ongoing dig, which he said is entirely privately funded. Information about how to volunteer may be found on the excavation's website.

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Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, archbishop of Guadalajara in Jalisco state in Mexico, warned this week that "at the level of many municipalities, at the level of several states, the government, the decisions, are in the hands of organized crime."

In a May 3 press conference, the Mexican cardinal noted that "this is nothing new; it's what the people experience."

The cardinal said this in response to a question from the press regarding recent controversy surrounding the unsealing of an indictment filed by a U.S. federal prosecutor, which was announced in an April 29 press release, against the governor of the state of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, and nine other Mexican officials.

Rocha, a member of the ruling Morena party, is charged with "narcotics importation [into the U.S.] conspiracy," "possession of machine guns and destructive devices," and "conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices." U.S. authorities are seeking life imprisonment for the politician, who is currently on leave from his post.

Regarding the accusations made by U.S. authorities, Claudia Sheinbaum, president of Mexico, said during her May 4 morning press conference that "we don't cover for anyone" but demanded "evidence."

"Let them send whatever evidence they have. And if warranted, the prosecutor's office — the [federal] prosecutor's office — will take action," she said.

The power of organized crime in Mexico is 'nothing new'

Robles noted that "the allegations made by the U.S. government are one thing, allegations which I am willing to assume are based on investigation, on firsthand knowledge, and which have some foundation."

However, he emphasized, "as far as our own country is concerned, something we have been saying and lamenting for a long time now, we are experiencing, at the level of many municipalities and several states, that the government, the decisions, are in the hands of organized crime."

The residents experience this through a financial "levy they call 'protection money' — demanded, threatened, and coerced — because they have a business or hold a job, and are forced to pay a fee to organized crime," he said.

The archbishop noted that the actions of criminals have also made themselves felt "during election periods," and that he knows of cases involving candidates who "received threats from organized crime if they continued their bid for the office to which they were legitimately aspiring."

This, he warned, "indicates that organized crime in many places puts forward its candidates, imposes its candidates under threat," in situations that "speak to the very real power that organized crime holds within the structure of our society."

"I don't know to what degree the authorities bear a shared responsibility — it could not be otherwise — or to what degree there is impunity, for we do not see these matters being brought to trial or subjected to the enforcement of the law," he stated. "In that sense, we can say that the drug traffickers govern in certain jurisdictions, in certain places."

Violence in Jalisco and the extent of organized crime in Mexico

Jalisco is the stronghold of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful criminal groups, designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State.

According to the 2025 Mexico Peace Index, produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace, "over the last two decades, Jalisco has recorded both the highest number of disappeared [missing and presumed dead] persons and the highest number of bodies exhumed from clandestine graves."

"Of the 3,335 bodies exhumed nationwide between late 2018 and late 2021, one-third were found in Jalisco alone, representing by far the highest figure recorded in any state," the report notes.

An especially dramatic case that brought these practices to international light in early 2025 was that of "Rancho Izaguirre," about 40 miles from Guadalajara, where charred human remains, along with hundreds of scattered clothes and shoes, were discovered in what had apparently functioned as an organized crime training and extermination camp.

Based on leaked intelligence from the Secretariat of National Defense, the Mexican newspaper El Universal produced an "Organized Crime Map" of Mexico in October 2022, indicating that "40% of the country's states have their entire territory divided among one or more organized crime groups."

"Of the 2,471 municipalities in Mexico, at least one cartel, crime gang, or crime cell is listed in 1,198 of them [48%]," the Mexican newspaper states.

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.

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A decision by the administration of the Palmyra region in Syria to adopt new names for a number of the city's schools has reopened debate over a growing trend in Syria: the removal of names of national and cultural figures from public spaces and their replacement with neutral or religious names reflecting a single identity.

While this process is sometimes presented as part of "reorganization," many see it as a sign of deeper changes affecting the identity of public space and the balance of its symbols.

The latest changes in Palmyra affected 16 school names. Among the most prominent was that of archaeologist Khaled al-Asaad, whose name became internationally associated with Palmyra after he spent more than four decades as director of its antiquities. He contributed to the discovery, restoration, and documentation of large parts of the ancient city before being killed by ISIS for refusing to reveal the locations of archaeological treasures. He later became an international symbol of the protection of heritage.

Also removed was the name of educator Jumaa al-Bayai, one of the pioneers of educational development in the Syrian Badia. His name was associated with social stability and educational work, and he helped graduate generations of professional cadres in the region.

The changes also included the name of writer and physician Abd al-Salam al-Ujayli, considered one of the pillars of modern Syrian culture. As a novelist and short-story writer, he helped consolidate Syria's cultural standing, dedicating his life to documenting the identity of the Syrian Badia and serving his community as a doctor.

The name of Huda Shaarawi, an icon of the Arab women's movement in the 20th century, was also removed. Shaarawi contributed to women's empowerment and to helping to free women from rigid social constraints by advocating for their right to education and political participation. Her name was replaced at one of Palmyra's schools with "Al-Shayma bint al-Harith."

This step does not appear to be isolated. Days earlier, street names in the city of Homs were replaced with other names, removing figures such as Zaki al-Arsuzi, Saleh al-Ali, Sultan al-Atrash, and others.

Schools in several Syrian governorates have witnessed similar changes in recent months. In Aleppo, the names of about 128 schools were changed. The Sami al-Kayyali School, named after the writer and researcher, was renamed Imam al-Ghazali School. Other names were replaced with religious titles, such as Dawn of Islam and Aisha, Mother of the Believers.

The renaming has also affected two schools bearing the names of Christian figures, Mikhail Kashour and Antoine Aswad. The name of poet Nizar Qabbani was nearly replaced with that of one of the Prophet Muhammad's companions before the decision was reversed. In Damascus, dozens of names were reconsidered, including an attempt to remove the name of playwright Saadallah Wannous, before officials backed down under public pressure.

The wave of school and street renaming, therefore, is not limited to the removal of symbols associated with Syria's former authorities. It also extends to literary, scientific, and national figures with no connection to the previous government, raising serious questions about the criteria being used in the process.

At the same time, critics point to a clear increase in the adoption of religious names reflecting one particular identity, some of which are not connected to the Syrian context. They say this reflects the dominance of a single narrative at the expense of the country's historical and cultural diversity.

While there is no objection to a balanced presence of religious figures in public life, critics stress that public space must continue to reflect the mosaic of society. For them, the debate has become a struggle over memory, identity, and Syria's image.

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

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The Vatican's General Secretariat of the Synod published Tuesday the testimonies of two men in civil marriages with other men who describe from personal experience the tensions and wounds that have marked their life of faith within the Church.

It is the first time a Vatican text has given voice to this group in such detail. One testimony is from a man in Portugal who said he suffered a deep wound when a spiritual director suggested he could have been married to a woman to "find peace" and "use my gifts," minimizing the affective dimension of marriage.

The man said the suggestion was painful because "it was a suggestion to harm a woman by robbing her of the chance to be completely loved and desired, all to fulfill a social expectation." From that point, he said, he began excluding his relationship and affective life from his prayer.

The Synod also published the testimony of a U.S. Catholic man in a civil marriage with another man, an immigrant, and active in parish life. "My sexuality isn't a perversion, disorder, or cross; it's a gift from God," he wrote. "I have a happy, healthy marriage and am flourishing as an openly gay Catholic."

Both testimonies are written in English and are published on the Synod website as annexes to the final report of Study Group 9, titled "Theological Criteria and Synodal Methodologies for Shared Discernment of Emerging Doctrinal, Pastoral, and Ethical Issues."

One of the testimonies recalls the author's experience with Courage, a Catholic apostolate that supports people with same-sex attraction who seek to live chastely according to Church teaching. Pope Leo XIV received members of Courage at the Vatican on Feb. 6.

The man wrote that he went to the group at the suggestion of a therapist he had met to deal with his "condition." He added: "I tried in vain to date a Catholic woman, but our relationship failed when my family faced a crisis. The time had come to be honest with myself, God, and others."

What the Catholic Church teaches about homosexuality

Catholic teaching on homosexuality is summarized in three articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Nos. 2357, 2358, and 2359.

In these articles, the Church teaches that homosexual persons "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided."

Homosexuality as a tendency is "intrinsically disordered" and "constitutes for most of them [homosexuals] a trial."

Grounded in Scripture, tradition has always taught that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered" and "do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity" and therefore "under no circumstances can they be approved."

"Homosexual persons are called to chastity," and through "the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection."

Presented to Pope Leo for study

The 32-page report, published first in Italian and presented in English as a working translation, is not a definitive doctrinal proposal. Rather, it outlines a methodological shift and will now be presented to Pope Leo XIV for study.

Drawing from the testimonies, the Synod study group says the first account describes "the devastating effects of reparative therapies aimed at recovering heterosexuality" and "contradictory advice" such as suggestions to marry a woman in order to "find peace."

The report proposes a new approach based on listening and dialogue for addressing "emerging doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues," including the experience of "people of faith with same-sex attractions."

The text is rooted in what it calls the "principle of pastorality," which stresses that Christian proclamation must take into account concrete persons and their lived experience. It proposes a change in approach to some of the most delicate questions in the life of the Church.

The report does not seek to offer total solutions but to open a path of discernment. Instead of speaking of "controversial" issues, as the subject of the report was originally announced, it proposes calling them "emerging" issues, understood as experiences that prompt the Church to rethink how to live and transmit the Gospel in diverse contexts.

The document explicitly recognizes the difficulty of harmonizing doctrine and pastoral practice. It says testimonies received by the study group show "how arduous it is for individuals and Christian communities to reconcile 'doctrinal firmness' with 'pastoral welcome.'" It adds that polarized positions often result in "profound suffering, personal lacerations, and experiences of marginalization or 'double lives'" for believers with same-sex attraction.

In this context, the report proposes a method based on three steps within what it calls "conversation in the Spirit": listening to ourselves, paying attention to reality, and summoning various forms of expertise.

The text says this dynamic of listening seeks to foster a synodal Church in which the people of God actively participate in discernment.

The report also stresses the importance of paying attention to those living on existential, social, and cultural "peripheries." It cites other examples of "emerging issues," including the rise of adult catechumens in some local Churches, which it says calls for rethinking pastoral structures.

In addition to the testimonies of two homosexual persons, Study Group 9 includes an experience of active nonviolence, as witnessed by a Serbian youth movement that helped bring about the peaceful fall of President Slobodan Miloševic on Oct. 5, 2000, drawing inspiration in part from the first Christians.

The Synod also published the final report of another study group, Study Group 7, on criteria for selecting candidates for bishop.

That report says bishops should be evaluated not only for moral integrity, doctrinal orthodoxy, pastoral sensitivity, leadership ability, and capacity to administer Church goods but also for "synodal competencies." It quotes Pope Leo XIV as saying that a bishop's duty is "to build communion among its members and with the universal Church by fostering the variety of gifts and ministries given for its own growth and for the spread of the Gospel."

The report also asks the dicasteries of the Roman Curia to review their procedures in a more synodal spirit and proposes regular independent evaluation of the processes for selecting bishops.

This story was updated at 5:56 p.m. ET on May 6, 2026, to include the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding homosexuality and homosexual tendencies.

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.

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The Holy See made public on May 6 the official program for Pope Leo XIV's apostolic journey to Spain, which will take place June 6–12, when he will visit Madrid, Barcelona, ??and the Canary Islands.

The pontiff will depart from Rome on June 6 at 8 a.m. local time and is scheduled to arrive in Madrid at 10:30 a.m.

At 11:30 a.m., a welcome ceremony will take place at the Royal Palace of Madrid, followed by a courtesy visit to the king and queen of Spain, Don Felipe VI and Doña Letizia. At the same venue, the pontiff will meet with government officials, members of civil society, and the diplomatic corps, before whom he will deliver his first address.

At 6 p.m., he will visit the CEDIA 24-hour facility (an outreach to homeless people). Later that evening, starting at 8:30 p.m., a prayer vigil with young people will be held at Plaza de Lima, adjacent to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

On Sunday, June 7, he will celebrate Mass in Cibeles plaza followed by the Corpus Christi procession. In the afternoon, he will hold a private meeting with members of the Order of St. Augustine at the nunciature, and at 6 p.m. he will preside over an event titled "Weaving Networks with the Worlds of Culture, Art, and Sport," where he will deliver another address.

In the evening, he will dine at the residence of the archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo.

On Monday, June 8, at 9:30 a.m., he will meet with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the nunciature before heading to the Congress of Deputies (lower house), where Leo XIV will become the first pontiff to address the country's legislature, known as the Cortes Generales.

Subsequently, he will proceed to the headquarters of the Spanish Bishops' Conference, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary. There he will meet with the prelates. He will also meet with the bishops at the nunciature and have lunch there.

At 6 p.m., a prayer service and veneration of the Virgin of Almudena will take place at the cathedral. Afterward, at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, he will meet with the diocesan community, where he will offer another reflection.

On Tuesday, June 9, before traveling to Barcelona, Leo XIV will meet with volunteers at a pavilion within the International Trade Fair Center, to whom he will address a few words.

Shortly after 11, he will take off from Madrid, arriving at El Prat airport in Barcelona around 12:30. At 1 p.m. he will pray midday prayer at the cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia, where he will deliver a homily.

At 8 p.m. a prayer vigil will take place at Olympic Stadium, where the pope will deliver an address.

The following morning, Wednesday, June 10, the Holy Father will travel to the "Brians 1" correctional facility. At noon, he will proceed to the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, where he will pray the rosary and deliver an address.

Following lunch with the Benedictine community of Montserrat, he will hold a meeting at 4:30 p.m. with charitable and social assistance organizations at the St Augustine Church, where he will give another reflection.

At 7:30 p.m., he will celebrate Mass at Sagrada Família Basilica, where the Jesus Christ Tower will be inaugurated.

On Thursday, June 11, the pope will travel to the city of Las Palmas on Gran Canaria Island. At 11:40 a.m., he will get a firsthand look at the reception of migrants at the port of the town of Arguineguín on the southern end of the island.

At 1:30 p.m., he will meet with bishops, priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, and pastoral workers at Santa Ana Cathedral. Later that day, at 6:30 p.m., he will celebrate Mass at Gran Canaria Stadium.

On Friday, June 12, he will fly to the city of Santa Cruz on Tenerife Island, arriving at 9:10 a.m. Subsequently, he will hold a meeting with the migrants housed at the Las Raíces center.

At 10:10 a.m., a gathering focused on migrant integration initiatives is scheduled to take place at the Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna. After noon, he will celebrate Mass at the port of Santa Cruz on Tenerife.

Following a farewell ceremony, his plane will take off at 3 p.m. bound for Rome, where it is scheduled to arrive at 8:10 p.m. Rome time.

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.

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PARIS?— The Catholic Church in France is preparing to welcome Pope Leo XIV for an apostolic visit expected to take place at the end of September, the French Bishops' Conference announced in a May 6 communiqué.

While the Holy See has yet to make an official announcement, the news came as no surprise, as rumors of a papal trip to France had been circulating since March. 

"Since his election, a year ago, Pope Leo XIV has been asked by several bishops to come to France," the communiqué said. The formal invitation was extended by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, president of the French Bishops' Conference, acting in coordination with the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Celestino Migliore. It received an important boost when French President Emmanuel Macron voiced his own support for the trip during his Vatican visit April 10.

Commenting on the announcement, Aveline, who has held several working sessions with the pope on the matter, said that "Leo XIV has expressed, on various occasions, the great esteem he holds for our country and its spiritual history."

The cardinal continued: "His coming would be an opportunity to share with the pope what our Church in France is living and to let ourselves be encouraged by his word." He added that the two had already begun mapping out a tentative itinerary.

According to the itinerary currently under consideration, the Holy Father would visit both the French capital — where he is also expected to visit Notre-Dame Cathedral — and Lourdes, a landmark site of Marian apparitions in the Pyrenees Mountains.

According to reporting by press agency I.Média quoted by Famille chrétienne, the name of Scy-Chazelles, a small town in the Moselle department (northeast of France) that is home to the residence and tomb of Robert Schuman — known as the "Father of Europe" and whose cause of canonization is underway — has also been regularly mentioned as a possible stop. The Diocese of Metz, however, has said it has no confirmed information to that effect. 

If the visit goes ahead as planned, Leo XIV would be the first pope to make an official state visit to France in nearly two decades. The last came in September 2008, when Benedict XVI traveled to Paris and Lourdes. Pope Francis visited France three times during his pontificate — in Strasbourg in 2014 to address the European Parliament, in Marseille in 2023 for the Mediterranean Meetings, and in Corsica for a symposium on "popular religiosity in the Mediterranean" in December 2024 — though none of these trips constituted an official state visit. John Paul II, for his part, made no fewer than seven trips to France across the course of his pontificate.

The choice of date, according to observers, can be explained by the Holy See's desire to distance itself sufficiently from the electoral calendar in the interest of neutrality, as the presidential elections are scheduled for the first half of 2027.

The announcement comes at a time of unexpected renewal for Catholicism in France, a country known as the "eldest daughter of the Church" but long associated with aggressive "laicité" ("secularism") and de-Christianization.

In recent years, the Church has seen a steady increase in the number of adult catechumens, with 13,000 of them receiving baptism at Easter this year. In response, the bishops of the Île-de-France region convened a dedicated pastoral council focused on how to welcome these newcomers appropriately — accompanying them not only through the sacraments of initiation but also toward a lasting and deeply rooted life of faith. 

Pending the official announcement from the Holy See, the bishops of France have asked all the faithful to hold the preparation of this event in prayer.

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Ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's meeting with Pope Leo XIV, President Donald Trump told "EWTN News Nightly" that one message he wants to get to the Holy Father is: "Iran cannot have nuclear weapons."

"Well, I can tell you this, that as far as the pope is concerned, it's very simple, whether I make him happy or I don't make him happy, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump told EWTN News' Toby Capion when asked what message he hopes Rubio delivers to Leo at the May 7 meeting.

"And he seemed to be saying that they can [obtain a nuclear weapon], and I say they cannot because if that happened, the entire world would be hostage, and we're not going to let that happen," he said. "That's my only message."

Trump has repeated the claim several times that Leo believes Iran should be able to obtain a nuclear weapon; however, the pontiff has never said those words and has spoken out against nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and against nuclear weapons more broadly.

When speaking about the Israel-Iran conflict in June 2025, Leo said: "The commitment to creating a safer world, free from the nuclear threat, should be pursued through respectful encounter and sincere dialogue, to build a lasting peace, based on justice, fraternity, and the common good."

On March 5, Leo spoke more broadly against nuclear weapons, saying: "May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity."

During a news conference on May 5, Rubio told reporters that his May 7 meeting with Leo is not about the president's criticism of the Holy Father. Rather, he said the meeting had already been scheduled.

"The trip is really not tied to anything other than the fact that it would be normal for us to engage with them and other secretaries of state have done that in the past," Rubio said, noting common interests in religious freedom, Christian persecution, and humanitarian aid to Cuba.

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