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Pope Leo XIV speaks to bishops gathered for the Jubilee of Bishops on June 25, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Jun 25, 2025 / 11:24 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday called bishops to be firm and decisive in dealing with scandal and sexual abuse, linking vigilance against abuse to living a chaste life.Speaking to over 400 bishops from 38 countries in St. Peter's Basilica, the pope also emphasized the importance of pastoral prudence, poverty, and synodality in the ministry of a bishop."Together with material poverty, the life of the bishop is also marked by that specific form of poverty, which is celibacy and virginity for the sake of the kingdom of heaven," he said during the June 25 meeting, the last part of a morning of spiritual activities for the Jubilee of Bishops.Leo said celibacy is more than living as a celibate but includes "chastity of heart and conduct, and in this way, living a life of Christian discipleship and pr...
Father Francesco Ielpo, a Franciscan friar, on June 24, 2025, was appointed the new custos of the Holy Land and guardian of Mount Zion. Previously, since 2022, he was president of the Holy Land Foundation in addition to holding other organizational roles across Italian Franciscan provinces. / Credit: Custodia Terræ SanctæACI MENA, Jun 25, 2025 / 11:54 am (CNA).In a decision carrying both spiritual and humanitarian significance, Pope Leo XIV on June 24 approved the election of Father Francesco Ielpo, a member of the Order of Friars Minor, as the new custos of the Holy Land and guardian of Mount Zion, succeeding Father Francesco Patton, who concluded nine years of service in this sensitive role.The appointment followed an election conducted by the minister general of the Franciscan order and his council, in line with a long-standing tradition that reflects the historical continuity of the Franciscans' mission in the land where Jesus Christ walked.The new custos of the Holy Land, ...
Mourners gather at the Church of the Holy Cross in Qassaa, Damascus, on June 24, 2025, around white caskets of some of the worshippers who lost their lives in a terrorist attack at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Syria's capital on Sunday, June 22, 2025. / Credit: Mohammad Al-Rifai/ACI MENAACI MENA, Jun 25, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).In a scene marked by deep sorrow and righteous anger, churches across Syria held funeral services for the victims of the suicide bombing that targeted St. Elias Church in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Sunday. The attack claimed the lives of 25 people and left dozens injured.Mourners carry the caskets of the deceased into the Church of the Holy Cross in the Qassaa district of Damascus on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, for the funeral of many of those who lost their lives in a terrorist attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus two days earlier. Credit: Mohammad Al-Rifai/ACI MENAThe main funeral service for the majority of the victims took pla...
Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square, Wednesday, June 25, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAVatican City, Jun 25, 2025 / 07:15 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday addressed what he called the "fatigue of living" as one of the ailments afflicting modern society, and he urged the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square to face reality with the grace of Jesus. "A very widespread ailment of our time is the fatigue of living: Reality seems to us to be too complex, burdensome, difficult to face," the pope said at his final Wednesday general audience before summer break, when he is expected to reduce his schedule and public engagements for all of July. "And so we switch off, we fall asleep, in the delusion that, upon waking, things will be different. But reality has to be faced, and together with Jesus, we can do it well," the pope said. Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims at the Wednesday general audience in St. ...
Pope Leo XIV meets with the Order of Malta's grand master, Fra' John Dunlap, and members of the Order of Malta on June 23, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Jun 24, 2025 / 13:12 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV in a message to the Order of Malta underlined the order's religious character, stressing that without evangelization, the knights' service to the poor is merely philanthropy."Do not limit yourself to helping the needs of the poor, but announce to them the love of God with words and testimony. If this were to be lacking, the order would lose its religious character and would be reduced to being an organization with philanthropic purposes," Leo wrote in a message to the order on the feast of its patron saint, St. John the Baptist.The pope also met for the first time with the order's grand master, Fra' John Dunlap, at the Vatican on June 23.In his June 24 message, Leo pointed multiple times to the order's important dual purpose of "tuitio fidei and obsequium p...
Seminarian Thomas Hammen smiles in view of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on Tuesday. June 24, 2025. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAVatican City, Jun 24, 2025 / 13:47 pm (CNA).More than 2,500 seminarians from 57 countries converged on Rome this week to pray at the tomb of St. Peter, receive a blessing from Pope Leo XIV, and celebrate their vocations in the Jubilee of Seminarians. "Thank you for courageously accepting the Lord's invitation to follow him, to be disciples, to enter the seminary. You have to be courageous and not be afraid," Pope Leo XIV told the young men gathered in St. Peter's Basilica on June 24. "As Christ loved with the heart of man, you are called to love with the heart of Christ!" the pope said in his catechesis to the seminarians, urging them to "love with the heart of Jesus." Over two days, the jubilee pilgrims prayed the rosary together at the tomb of St. Paul, passed through the Holy Doors of the basilicas in Rome, and knelt before the Euchari...
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, in an interview with ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, emphasized that the Catholic Church in the Holy Land must remain "open": "The Church must remain open and accessible to all. This is absolutely essential. Everyone must be able to reach us, we must be a point of connection for everyone." / Credit: Cristian Gennari/OESSH (Anba Agency)ACI MENA, Jun 24, 2025 / 14:17 pm (CNA).Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, in an exclusive interview with ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, emphasized that the Catholic Church in the Holy Land is "more active than people might think," noting that many of its initiatives and efforts take place away from the spotlight "so that we can be more effective."His remarks came in response to the recent escalation of violence between Iran and Israel.The cardinal also stressed the importance of openness. "The Church must remain o...
Pope Leo XIV waves to those gathered for Mass on the solemnity of Corpus Christi on Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Rome. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Jun 24, 2025 / 14:47 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday said he was "deeply saddened" by the terrorist attack on a church in Damascus, Syria, and assured his prayers for those mourning the 25 people who were killed.On Sunday, June 22, the solemnity of Corpus Christi, eyewitnesses reported that two armed men stormed the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Elias in Douailah on the outskirts of the Syrian capital.One of them remained outside, firing at worshippers and into the church's stained-glass windows, eyewitnesses said, while the second tried to enter the church and detonate a grenade, according to ACI MENA, CNA's Arabic-language news partner.Two parishioners intervened and managed to wrestle the explosive device away from the second man, preventing an immediate detonation. However, while being dragged outside, the attacker acti...
Over 3,000 Catholics filled the streets of Portland, Oregon, on Sunday, June 22, 2025, for a major Eucharistic procession led by Archbishop Alexander Sample. / Credit: Dylan EncarnacionPortland, Ore., Jun 24, 2025 / 15:17 pm (CNA).Over 3,000 Catholics filled the streets of Portland, Oregon, on Sunday for a Eucharistic procession led by Archbishop Alexander Sample.To encourage broad participation from clergy and the faithful across the archdiocese, a special Mass was offered at 2 p.m. at St. Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Mass was added to the regular Sunday Mass schedule to allow more local Catholics to participate in the procession after attending their own parish Masses. The procession through the streets followed immediately afterward.Over 3,000 Catholics filled the streets of Portland, Oregon, on Sunday, June 22, 2025, for a major Eucharistic procession led by Archbishop Alexander Sample. Credit: Dylan EncarnacionConfessions were also offered from 1 to 3...
Director Dallas Jenkins (left) and Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the wildly successful TV series "The Chosen," speak with journalists during a press conference on June 23, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAVatican City, Jun 23, 2025 / 13:41 pm (CNA)."The Chosen" actor Jonathan Roumie said Monday coming to the Vatican is a "humbling honor" and a confirmation for him of the TV show's continued mission of bringing Jesus Christ to the world.Roumie, other "The Chosen" castmates, and series creator and director Dallas Jenkins are at the Vatican this week after having just wrapped up three weeks of filming in southern Italy for the Crucifixion scenes of Season 6, out next year."The fact we're here now, sitting at the Vatican… is a testament to, I think, how God wants to continue to further this mission to bring more people to Jesus and to bring Jesus to them," Roumie, who plays Jesus in the wildly successful TV series on the Gospels, said during a press conference...
