Pope Leo XIV greets the families of the Vatican / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Sep 8, 2025 / 14:13 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 6 participated in the Vatican's Festival of Families, where he highlighted the importance of the witness of families in today's world.The event took place in the plaza of the Governorate of Vatican City, a beautiful esplanade located behind St. Peter's Basilica.Although originally scheduled for May, the festival had to be postponed due to the death of Pope Francis.In a brief impromptu address, reported by Vatican News, the Holy Father asked for applause for all the families and their children, expressing his joy at being able to gather with them in a festive atmosphere.The Sept. 6, 2025, Festival of Families was also attended by Sister Rafaella Petrini, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State. Credit: Vatican MediaHe also invited those present to live "this beautiful moment" with an open heart, to celebrate "the joy of being...
Pope Leo XIV greets the families of the Vatican / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 8, 2025 / 14:13 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 6 participated in the Vatican's Festival of Families, where he highlighted the importance of the witness of families in today's world.
The event took place in the plaza of the Governorate of Vatican City, a beautiful esplanade located behind St. Peter's Basilica.
Although originally scheduled for May, the festival had to be postponed due to the death of Pope Francis.
In a brief impromptu address, reported by Vatican News, the Holy Father asked for applause for all the families and their children, expressing his joy at being able to gather with them in a festive atmosphere.
The Sept. 6, 2025, Festival of Families was also attended by Sister Rafaella Petrini, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State. Credit: Vatican Media
He also invited those present to live "this beautiful moment" with an open heart, to celebrate "the joy of being a family, the joy of being all united, of becoming friends with one another, of celebrating the gifts, especially the gift of life, the gift of family that the Lord has given us."
"This witness of families is so important in our world today!" the Holy Father then emphasized.
Finally, he thanked the Vatican employees for their witness, their presence, and "for all they do, sometimes at great sacrifice, to live united as a family, transmitting this message, thus sharing in the spirit that Jesus Christ left us."
The Governorate of Vatican City hosted the Festival of Families event dedicated to families on Sept. 6, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media
He then prayed a Hail Mary and imparted his blessing to those present. The event was also attended by Sister Rafaella Petrini, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State.
Also present were the two secretaries-general, Archbishop Emilio Nappa and Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, along with the two emeritus presidents, Cardinal Fernando Vergéz Alzaga and Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello.
Pope Leo XIV had the opportunity to personally greet all the families and spend some time with them. The Italian pizzeria O' Zi Aniello even presented him with a pizza bearing his name.
Workers from the Italian pizzeria O' Zi Aniello present Pope Leo XIV with a pizza bearing his name. Credit: Vatican Media
The festival continued into the evening, with an outdoor dinner for Vatican employees, who were also able to enjoy various entertainment.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Rochester, New York. / Credit: DanielPenfield via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)CNA Staff, Sep 8, 2025 / 12:37 pm (CNA).One of the nation's largest sexual abuse settlements unfolded in a federal bankruptcy court in Rochester, New York, on Friday, bringing about resolution for the nearly 500 survivors of child sex abuse by clergy within the Diocese of Rochester.After a six-year legal battle, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York approved a $246 million settlement, which will average approximately $500,000 per survivor.The settlement concludes a process that began when the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 following the passage of the New York Child Victims Act, which allows abuse victims to file civil lawsuits until they are 55 years old. The law temporarily lifted the statute of limitations, enabling survivors to pursue claims against their abusers.Bankruptcy attorney Ilan Scharf described the day as a "milestone f...
Britain's King Charles III (right); Oratorian Father Ignatius Harrison (left); Daniel Joyce (back left), Newman archivist and librarian, Birmingham Oratory; and Father Anton Guziel (back right) walk during a tour of The Oratory of St. Philip Neri on Sept. 3, 2025. / Credit: CHRIS JACKSON/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesNational Catholic Register, Sep 8, 2025 / 13:06 pm (CNA).King Charles III was "very engaged, very interested" and "exceedingly kind" when on Sept. 3 he toured the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Birmingham, England, becoming the first English monarch to visit the priestly community St. John Henry Newman established there in 1848.The provost of the Birmingham Oratory, Oratorian Father Ignatius Harrison, said it was a very brief but joyful visit that was on "His Majesty's own initiative." His first engagement after the summer holidays, King Charles was also on a visit to England's second-largest city to open a new hospital.After welcoming the king and introducing him to the...
A painting of St. Joachim, the little Virgin Mary, and St. Anne in the Church of San Francesco in Reggio Emilia, Italy. / Credit: Renata Sedmakova/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Sep 8, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).The Catholic Church celebrates the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary on its traditional fixed date of Sept. 8, nine months after the Dec. 8 celebration of her immaculate conception as the child of Sts. Joachim and Anne.The circumstances of the Virgin Mary's infancy and early life are not directly recorded in the Bible, but other documents and traditions describing the circumstances of her birth are cited by some of the earliest Christian writers from the first centuries of the Church.These accounts, although not considered authoritative in the same manner as the Bible, outline some of the Church's traditional beliefs about the birth of Mary.The "Protoevangelium of James," which was probably put into its final written form in the early second century, describes Mary's father, Joachim,...
Pope Leo XIV greets the families of the Vatican / Credit: Vatican Media
