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ASSISI, Italy — Eight centuries after St. Francis gathered thousands of friars near the Portiuncula, Pope Leo XIV met with 2,500 young adults in Assisi on Thursday and urged them to embrace Gospel radicalism, work for peace and remain faithful to the Church despite her wounds and internal crises.

The pope spoke Aug. 6 at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels during the GO! Franciscan Youth Meeting 2026, a gathering of young people ages 18 to 33 from throughout Europe and from countries including the United States, Vietnam and South Sudan.

The event formed part of celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi.

In 1221, St. Francis gathered approximately 5,000 friars from across Europe near the Portiuncula for what became known as the Chapter of Mats. With nowhere else to stay, the friars slept on simple mats — an image Pope Leo XIV invoked in his remarks to the young participants, many of whom had spent the gathering sleeping in bags.

The pope arrived by helicopter at approximately 8:28 a.m. near St. Mary of the Angels. He was welcomed by Bishop Felice Accrocca of Assisi and local civil authorities before traveling to the basilica, where he was received by the ministers general of the principal Franciscan orders.

According to Father Alfio Vespoli, Pope Leo XIV personally chose the youth gathering from among the many events planned for the Franciscan centenary year.

Father Marco Vianelli, provincial minister of the Friars Minor of Umbria and Sardinia, welcomed the pope and recalled the importance of the Portiuncula in Franciscan history.

"Your Holiness, here at the Portiuncula St. Francis understood his vocation; here he welcomed his first brothers; here St. Clare consecrated her life to the Lord; here the indulgence of the Pardon of Assisi blossomed, a sign of God's boundless mercy," Vianelli said.

"Here, on Oct. 3, 1226, naked on the bare earth, he welcomed Sister Death in song," the friar continued. "We thank you for accepting our invitation and for wanting to meet these young people."

Becoming artisans of peace

The first question came from Karolina, a young woman from Zagreb, Croatia, who described the challenge of witnessing to the faith in a rapidly changing society.

"Today, however, we live in a rapidly changing world, where many young people struggle to find points of reference, to build authentic relationships and open their hearts to God," she said. "We too want to be credible witnesses to the Gospel wherever we live, study and work, and to bring the light of Christ with the simplicity and fraternal spirit of Saint Francis."

She asked the pope what advice he would give young people formed in the Franciscan spiritual tradition so that they could remain faithful disciples of Christ and bring hope to their peers without losing the joy and simplicity of the Gospel.

Pope Leo XIV noted that Karolina came from a part of Europe that was marked by war only three decades ago and praised the Franciscans' history of promoting dialogue and peaceful coexistence among Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims.

"Increasingly, Christians will be called to become artisans of peace within societies that are tempted to place religion at the service of competing identities," the pope said.

"Being witnesses to Christ, therefore, is both captivating and demanding. It enlarges our minds and hearts, freeing us from artificial boundaries, from the fears created by misinformation and from walls built by prejudice," he continued. "Rejecting the culture of power and building a civilization of love are choices that are not immediately understood or accepted."

The pope encouraged the young people to learn from St. Francis a radical commitment to the Gospel that should never be confused with fundamentalism.

"Saint Francis, however, teaches that radicalism of the Gospel is the very opposite of fundamentalism," he said. "It does not make us blind or violent; instead, it makes us aware, attentive and always eager to follow Jesus, and therefore humble and welcoming towards everyone. It is not an easy path, but it brings much joy."

Pope Leo XIV then asked the participants to imagine the site eight centuries earlier, when young friars from across Europe gathered around St. Francis.

Citing "The Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi," the pope described the friars gathered "company by company, here forty, there a hundred and there eighty together, all employed in speaking of God, in prayers, in tears and in exercises of charity, behaving themselves with so great silence and with such sobriety that no clamor was heard there."

"That silence stands in stark contrast to war, with its violence, clamor and cruelty," he said. "The simple mats on which those friars slept speak to us of peace — just like your sleeping bags today. This is the Church: an assembly of brothers and sisters to which everyone is invited."

The pope also encouraged the young people to bear witness through personal encounters at a time when technology is making face-to-face relationships less common.

"More than words, it is this joy that evangelizes, and it cannot be hidden," he said.

The courage to choose forever

Giovanni, a 27-year-old from Bologna, asked about discerning and remaining faithful to a vocation in a culture dominated by temporary commitments.

"How can we say a full and courageous 'yes' to him, without 'putting our hand to the plough and looking back,' by dwelling too much on the hardships and sacrifices that the journey may entail?" he asked. "What helped you most on your own vocational journey?"

Pope Leo XIV said contemporary misunderstandings of freedom can lead people to believe that no decision is truly permanent because both individuals and the world around them are constantly changing.

"In such a context, the courage to make a definitive choice may well be the most revolutionary act of all," he said.

A permanent choice, the pope continued, "does not imprison us within a cage; rather, it opens us to a greater dynamism."

"To love is an exodus," he said. "It is a path to be discovered, a journey that God himself walks with us. This is the meaning of every vocation."

Faith, trust and faithfulness are inseparably connected, the pope said, warning that people cannot solve their problems simply by fleeing commitments or moving continually from one experience to another.

"We may multiply our experiences, our acquaintances and our possessions, yet remain in exactly the same place," he said. "The human cost is immense, and the inner emptiness that follows is profound."

Reflecting on his own vocation, Pope Leo XIV said God had always accompanied him through the people placed beside him.

"Looking back on my own life, I can say that the Lord has never left me alone," he said. "He has always accompanied me, often by placing people beside me with whom I could share the journey."

The pope said the light that guided him as a priest, an Augustinian and a missionary remained with him when he was called to accept the unique vocation of serving as pope.

Rebuilding a wounded Church

The final question was posed by Luigi, a 22-year-old from Paternò, Sicily, who spoke on behalf of the Franciscan Youth of Sicily.

Luigi recalled that St. Francis remained obedient to the pope and the Roman Church despite the contradictions and difficulties of his time. Rather than attacking or judging the Church, Francis responded through compassion, obedience and reparative love, he said.

"Today many young people say that they 'believe, but not in the Church,'" Luigi said. "Even within our own communities we sometimes see a Church marked by contradictions and internal crises."

"How can we remain faithful to this reparative love?" he asked. "Why is it so difficult today to see the Church as a Mother who, despite her wounds, is always ready to welcome us and to love us?"

Pope Leo XIV acknowledged that many people throughout history have struggled to experience the Church as Christ desires her to be.

"This causes deep suffering; it leaves wounds and disappointments, and for some it even becomes an obstacle to faith," he said.

Yet the Church continues to bring together men and women who otherwise might never have met, the pope said. Whenever people overcome discrimination and inequality by recognizing one another as brothers and sisters, the miracle desired by Christ is renewed.

"The word of God, the Sacraments and the practice of fraternal love are the means by which the image of Christ is formed within us," Pope Leo XIV said.

"Francis walked this path: not to dominate, but to serve; not to grasp, but to receive; not to withhold, but to give back," he continued. "This is the very life of God, which continually renews the Church and makes her a free people, a place of refreshment and salvation."

Each Christian has a role in the continuing work of rebuilding the Church, the pope said, through different vocations and responsibilities undertaken together.

"Then we shall speak of the Church with the affection one has for a mother, because we shall know that we belong to her," he said.

After the public exchange, the pope greeted representatives of the Franciscan orders, bishops attending the gathering and members of the national committee responsible for the eighth centenary of St. Francis' death. He later celebrated Mass in the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels.

Father Luca De Pasquale, one of the organizers, told ACI Stampa that the gathering was not intended to create a temporary spiritual high in which the young people merely enjoyed spending several days together.

Its central objective, he said, was to prepare a "missionary charter" offering concrete guidance to help participants return home and place the Gospel and fraternity at the center of their daily lives.

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

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If you want to strengthen marriages in your community and drive down the divorce rate, Mary Rose Verret has a simple piece of advice: "Start with your own marriage."

Verret and her husband, Ryan, have for years run the marriage ministry Witness to Love; in 2024 Pope Francis named them as consultants to the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.

Since 2012 the Verrets have used that ministry to reach both engaged and married couples in a variety of formats. And their work has occurred amid an encouraging shift in U.S. marriage culture: declining divorce rates for new marriages.

Data compiled by the Institute for Family Studies shows that couples who married in the 2010s have markedly lower divorce rates than couples who married in earlier decades.

That trend has been part of an overall decline in divorce since roughly the 1980s onward: While 30% of first marriages in the 1970s ended in divorce after 10 years, just 18% of first marriages from 2010–2012 did so, with the divorce rate for the rest of the latter decade remaining roughly similar so far.

Mary Rose Verret told EWTN News there's "not a lot of data" to indicate reasons why that rate is trending downward. Yet some of the explanations, she said, could be that people "are taking marriage a little more seriously" and are entering into the institution more prepared.

She said that half of the work of their ministry involves engaged or recently married couples, while the other half is with couples who have been married longer and who serve as mentors of younger husbands and wives.

When looking to keep divorce rates low, Verret said, ministering to those who have been married for years is just as critical a component as preparing couples for marriage.

"The more we can do to strengthen existing marriages, that's what going to lower the divorce rate and increase the number of happily married couples that are really being witnesses," she said.

The beginning point, meanwhile, is close to home, she said: "Start with your own marriage. Start with investing in your church community. Invest in your diocese."

"There's nothing more important than preparing the next generation of couples and families," she said.

The 50% divorce myth

A pop culture talking point for years has been the contention that half of all marriages will end in divorce. Yet the Institute for Family Studies argues that that statistic is outdated, having been popularized "during the heyday of hippies through the MTV era" amid massive shifts in the institution of marriage.

Decades of data, on the other hand, indicate that only first marriages that began in the 1970s had a more-than-50% likelihood of ending in divorce by their 50th anniversary. In the 1950s the rate hovered around 30%; in the 1960s it was slightly over 40%.

Other decades thus far have trended higher or lower, though none have topped 50%.

Grant Bailey, the deputy director of the Get Married Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies, told EWTN News that the decline of divorce rates from their peak in the late '70s and early '80s can be explained in part by "later marriages."

"The divorce revolution of the 1960s and 1970s saw rising divorce rates across the board, with the highest divorce rates among couples who married in their early 20s," he said. "Adults began marrying later, bringing lower divorce risks, and as a result we saw the aggregate divorce rate fall from the 1980s onward."

Yet more recent data show divorce rates trending downward "regardless of what age couples marry." Later marriages, he said, "no longer explain why divorce rates are falling."

Peter and Sheila Oprysko, the North America secretariat ecclesial team of Worldwide Marriage Encounter, said declining divorce numbers are in part due to a greater "intentionality" about marriage among younger people.

"We know that people are getting married later in life," Peter told EWTN News. "So when they make a decision, they've spent the time living with it, thinking it out, and coming out in the end with it. So there's a more permanent decision there."

Sheila said many young Catholic couples getting married today are "coming back to the Church" with a greater awareness of its implications.

"They're understanding what our faith is, and they're beginning to understand marriage is a sacrament," she said.

Marriage Encounter advertises itself as a "marriage enrichment program." Peter said the program itself is "not a crisis hotline" for marriages but one that helps husbands and wives develop a "lifelong communication framework" that actually prevents crises from arising in the first place.

He said that the statistics of successful marriage "don't happen by accident."

"They happen when couples invest in their relationship and learn the skills to communicate deeply," he said. Marriage advocates in recent years are "seeing a greater intentionality in nourishing that commitment," he said.

Sheila said the program teaches not just communication but prayer as a couple. "They also have a community (of married couples) afterward, too, so they realize they have even more support."

Though divorce numbers are promising, overall marriage rates remain anemic in recent decades. A Heritage Foundation report in May found that over the past 50 years, marriage rates have declined from more than 90% of Americans having married by ages 30-35 in 1962 to 55% as of 2025.

In October, the Vatican will host a meeting of bishops focused on marriage and childbearing, among other issues. The Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life said discussions will include "walking with families in complex situations" such as "abandonment, separation, and divorce."

Worldwide Marriage Encounter was recognized by the Vatican this year as an official international association of the faithful, Peter Oprysko told EWTN News. Peter and Sheila attended the reading of the decree in Rome and afterward had an audience with Pope Leo XIV.

At the event, both Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell and Pope Leo XIV "talked about the importance of marriage, for the family and for the Church," Sheila said.

Though the decline in divorce is a welcome development for marriage advocates, Bailey said the "at least some of the decline in divorce rates is due to a more select population," which he called "the admittedly dark side to an otherwise positive finding."

"Fewer adults are getting married today, but couples who do marry appear to be more committed than those from recent decades," he said. He said the public should be taught that "a successful marriage is not a coin toss and that it is possible to form a stable and happy family life in the present day."

Ryan Verret argued that in his extensive writings on the topic, Pope John Paul II positioned marriage and family as a counterrevolution to destructive modernist tendencies.

"Maybe in some ways we're in the counterrevolution now," he said. "There definitely seems to be a substantial movement of young people coming back to faith and things that are transcendent."

Sheila Oprysko said that married couples should treat their marriage like anything else that needs regular upkeep to stay healthy.

"You bring your car in for maintenance," she said. "Priests go on for retreat once a year. You do something for yourself spiritually. You've got to do something for your marriage as well."

Peter Oprysko argued that marriage advocates "can't be complacent" even as divorce trends look promising. "We have to keep reaching out," he said. "We're trying to change the narrative."

Mary Rose Verret, meanwhile, stressed that husbands and wives in happy, thriving unions need to serve as vital witnesses to a culture in need of healthy marriage.

"If you don't see happy married couples around, you're not going to want to get married," she said.

"If we get it right, the marriage rate will go up and the divorce rate will go down," she said.

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ASSISI, Italy — Pope Leo XIV called on young people gathered in Assisi to become "new saints," reject the culture of power, and help build a world founded on fraternity rather than domination.

The pope celebrated Mass on Thursday at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels before the Portiuncula, the small chapel closely associated with the life and vocation of St. Francis.

Addressing approximately 2,500 participants in the GO! Franciscan Youth Meeting on the feast of the Transfiguration, Pope Leo said Assisi has long drawn pilgrims because "everything whispers that our lives can take on a new form, radiate light and heal the world."

"It was here that the transformation of Francis, Clare and then thousands of other young people began," he said. "They embraced the Gospel sine glossa — we could say, in its simplicity — then the life of Jesus began anew within them."

Reflecting on the Gospel account of the Transfiguration, the pope said the young pilgrims had come to Assisi in search of direction and meaning.

"We have come here to understand where history is heading and where we ourselves are going," he said. "In the Gospel, we see that meaning can indeed be found, that a path can be glimpsed. Like Peter, James and John, we too have been brought a little aside, and Jesus is with us. What matters is his presence."

"Now, in Jesus' Transfiguration, God himself reveals his glory, which takes the form of a cloud that protects and envelops. He points to his Son and invites us to listen to him. The path of life is discovered by following him together."

Pope Leo told the young people that their days of prayer, meetings, and conversation in Assisi offered evidence that they were not alone.

"We are not alone! In recent days you have experienced this, since you have met and listened to one another, moving beyond the clamor of overlapping and conflicting voices to the art of conversation," he said.

"Today, we contemplate Jesus, who is transfigured precisely in conversation with the Father, with those who preceded him — Moses and Elijah — and with his contemporaries, the disciples."

The Church, the pope continued, exists to draw people into "this dynamic of listening and decision-making," helping them understand "for whom we are to live and how we are to live."

He highlighted the Franciscan tradition's emphasis on restoring relationships damaged by sin, division, and exploitation.

"Franciscan spirituality, in which you have been formed, is among the most attentive to restoring fundamental relationships with God and with all his creatures," he said. "Today, more than ever, this is a harmony that needs to be safeguarded and cultivated."

Pope Leo said St. Francis continues to attract people eight centuries after his death because of the profound humanity that led him to abandon familiar paths and follow Christ in a new and radical way.

"Dear friends, the reason why Saint Francis still draws us to himself, even eight hundred years after his death, lies in the grandeur of humanity that led him to abandon familiar ways in order to find a new path that is more consistent with that of Jesus," he said.

"Even in a town that had been Christian for centuries, such as Assisi, this seemed revolutionary."

The pope then issued a direct appeal to the young people gathered before the Portiuncula.

"Well then, dear young people, today Europe and the whole world are looking to you to be new saints," he said. "Dare to believe in the word of the Gospel; become fully human with the freedom of Jesus Christ; embrace Sister Poverty!"

The name of the youth gathering, he said, was itself a missionary command.

"The title of your gathering, Go!, is a mission, a sending forth onto paths for which we have no maps, because they are opened by listening to the heart, obeying the Holy Spirit, and following the Risen One wherever he has chosen to go before us," Pope Leo said.

"Go! Go! Better yet: let us go! Let's go to the margins, where the injustice and arrogance of a few deny the dignity and dreams of many, of far too many sons and daughters of God."

Following Christ may bring misunderstanding, including from one's own family or community, the pope cautioned. He insisted, however, that opposing injustice and division does not mean betraying one's roots.

"We may not be understood, even by those closest to us, as happened to Saint Francis," he said.

"Yet, breaking free from the culture of power, and tearing down the walls that separate human beings from one another, is never a betrayal of our families, towns or traditions. Instead, it means freeing them from their ghosts, from enemies invented out of fear or ignorance and from the violence with which people seek to impose their own limited order on a reality that surpasses us on every side."

"To trust in God is to rediscover, like Francis and Clare, a world of brothers and sisters to cherish and serve, not to exploit and dominate," he continued. "Not a world to defend, but to embrace."

Concluding his homily, Pope Leo encouraged the young participants to place every aspect of their lives at the service of what he called the "civilization of love."

"Unite the best energies of your magnificent humanity: your studies, skills, work, friendships, love and prayer, so that you can bring Saint Francis' vision to life in many different ways," he said.

The pope then recited the prayer commonly attributed to St. Francis, beginning: "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace."

At the conclusion of the Mass, Francesco Varone addressed Pope Leo on behalf of the young participants.

"During these days, we have prayed, listened to testimonies, formed friendships, and allowed ourselves to be challenged by the Gospel and by the witness of St. Francis, who right here at the Portiuncula learned to make his life a total response to God's love," Varone said.

"Today, all of this has found fulfillment in your presence. Holy Father, we young people need authentic witnesses, men capable of pointing us to Christ with their lives, not only with words."

"Your voice encourages us not to be afraid to choose the good and to believe that the Gospel can still change the human heart," he continued. "Thank you, Holy Father, because today you make us feel that we are Church. Thank you for being here in Assisi, in Mary's house; thank you for being among your young people."

Following the celebration, Pope Leo entered the Portiuncula for a period of silent prayer, greeted the faithful, and then departed for the Vatican.

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

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Mexico's bishops have released a message in which they state that the centennial of the Cristero War, an uprising in defense of religious freedom that gave the Church numerous martyrs, "is not merely an anniversary; it is a time of grace."

The Aug. 4 video message was presented by the president of the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM, by its Spanish acronym), Bishop Ramón Castro Castro, and the CEM's secretary-general, Bishop Héctor Mario Pérez Villarreal.

"A hundred years ago in Mexico, the bells of the churches were silenced," the prelates recalled, but "their blood spoke instead."

"For two years, the churches were closed, and the religious conflict pitted Mexicans against one another," they stated.

The bishops lamented that "what happened in Mexico a century ago bears that tragic face. It was not a nation invaded by outsiders but a people divided against itself."

"On both sides of the trenches and the battalions were children of the same land — baptized in the same parishes, heirs to the same culture, and sharing the same mother in their hearts: the Virgin of Guadalupe," they added.

"Today, a hundred years later, we, the bishops of Mexico, wish to address everyone, not to reopen wounds but to heal them; not to judge the dead but to serve the living," the prelates stated.

"A people that does not remember is at the mercy of those who write history for them," they warned, going on to emphasize that "Christian memory is not nostalgia for the past; it is strength for the present."

The bishops further stated: "We are not commemorating a war, we are not celebrating a victory." They continued: "We do not exalt arms, nor do we idealize violence. We do not call for revenge, and we do not fuel resentment."

Rather, they said, "we commemorate the fidelity of a believing people who kept the faith alive when the churches fell silent. We commemorate our martyrs, who did not kill for Christ but died for him. And we remember a lesson learned at a very high price," the bishops pointed out.

In this regard, Mexico's bishops emphasized that "religious freedom is not a privilege of the clergy but the right of every human person."

The prelates underscored that "the martyrs remind us that there are truths worth living for and, if necessary, dying for — because whoever lays down their life out of love does not lose it; they sow."

"Today, we defend religious freedom as a right for all — believers and nonbelievers alike — because no conscience should be coerced, manipulated, or silenced," they emphasized.

This "time of grace," the country's bishops noted, represents "a call to build a Church that listens before speaking, that journeys together, and that awakens in every baptized person the awareness of living out their faith within the family, at work, and in public life."

"May this time find us reconciled — capable of speaking the truth without hatred, of forgiving without forgetting, and of building together a nation where no conscience is coerced and no life is deemed disposable," the bishops affirmed.

"May Christ reign in our hearts, and may St. Mary of Guadalupe protect our homeland," they concluded.

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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XAI-XAI, Mozambique — Cardinal Júlio Duarte Langa, the second native cardinal in Mozambique and archbishop emeritus of the Diocese of Xai-Xai, has passed away at the age of 98.

Langa died on Monday, Aug. 3, at Maputo Central Hospital, the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique (CEM) announced in a statement.

"As he completes his earthly pilgrimage, CEM gives thanks to God for the life and ministry of Cardinal Langa, who dedicated himself faithfully to the service of the Catholic Church in Mozambique, particularly in the Diocese of Xai-Xai," CEM members said in the statement.

They urged the people of God to "unite in prayer for the eternal repose of his soul."

"Further information concerning the funeral rites and celebrations will be communicated by the CEM in due course," the Catholic bishops added.

Born in Mangunze, Gaza Province, in October 1927, Langa was ordained a priest in June 1957.

In 1976, Pope Paul VI appointed him the first bishop of the newly established Diocese of Xai-Xai, where he served for more than two decades amid war, social upheaval, and the difficult task of pastoral reconstruction.

During those years, he promoted the pastoral life of the diocese and paid special attention to communities affected by the conflict as well as by epidemics and natural disasters.

In addition to his pastoral work, the late cardinal stood out for his knowledge of local languages. He participated in the edition of the translation of the texts of the Second Vatican Council into the main languages of Mozambique, contributing to their dissemination among the country's Catholic communities.

After his retirement in July 2004, he remained closely connected to the diocese and continued to be regarded as a respected figure known for his simplicity, pastoral presence, and fidelity to the Gospel.

Langa's elevation to the College of Cardinals by the late Pope Francis in February 2015 marked a historic moment for Mozambique, making him the second Mozambican cardinal.

With his passing, the College of Cardinals now consists of 240 cardinals, of whom 116 are electors and 124 are non-electors.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Eusebio Ramos Morales of Caguas as the new archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

As announced by the Holy See on Aug. 6, the pontiff also accepted the resignation of Archbishop Roberto Octavio González Nieves, OFM, who has led the archdiocese since 1999.

González concludes nearly 30 years of service

González concludes his service in Puerto Rico having led the archdiocese through challenging times, including Hurricane María in 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was ordained a Franciscan priest in 1977 and served as auxiliary bishop of Boston before becoming bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas. Notably, he replaced Bishop René Gracida at Corpus Christi, who signed his name to a "filial correction" criticizing Pope Francis' 2016 encyclical Amoris Laetitia.

Assigned to Puerto Rico by St. John Paul II, in 2023 González was honored with the Spirit of Francis Award by the Catholic Extension Society in recognition of his service in helping Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane María.

Bishop Ramos: A theologian with pastoral work

Ramos was born in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, on Dec. 15, 1952. After completing studies in biology and theology in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Rome, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Caguas in Puerto Rico in 1983.

After more than 20 years as a parish priest and professor, he was named bishop of Fajardo-Humacao in 2008. He was transferred to Caguas in 2017 and was subsequently nominated as president of the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference.

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Bishop Alexis Shirahama of Hiroshima, Japan, has opened a 75-hour vigil for peace marking the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city.

The event involves a prayer relay linking Hiroshima to Nagasaki, Rome, and New York.

The Diocese of Hiroshima offered a Mass for the victims of the bomb and all war dead at 8 a.m. Thursday local time at the World Peace Memorial Cathedral in the city's Noboricho district, the hour the diocese gathers each year, minutes after the 1945 blast.

The vigil, organized with the Community of Sant'Egidio — the Rome-based lay movement known for its peace diplomacy — runs until exactly 11:02 a.m. on Sunday, the very minute the second atomic bomb struck Nagasaki, according to the diocese.

The Focolare Movement, parishioners, and volunteers are taking part. Sant'Egidio has kept the vigil annually since 2022.

The day, Aug. 6, is also the feast of the Transfiguration.

The Japanese prelate and the Sant'Egidio president, Marco Impagliazzo, issued a joint message to link the commemoration with the call for the common good as set out in Pope Leo's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas.

In the message, Shirahama and Impagliazzo reflected on the American pontiff's words, calling the vigil a way to receive the peace of the risen Christ, "a disarming, humble, and persevering peace" — the phrase Leo used from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica minutes after his election in May 2025.

Three chapels are open to the public for this event: the crypt of the cathedral in Hiroshima, the Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in New York, and the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome.

The prayer is livestreamed, and organizers are reading aloud intentions sent in from around the world.

An observance dating back to St. John Paul II

Thursday also marks the beginning of the annual "Ten Days for Peace" for Japanese Catholics, an event of prayer and penance running from the day of the Hiroshima bombing to the date of Japan's surrender on Aug. 15.

The bishops began the observance after Pope John Paul II came to Hiroshima in 1981 and issued his Appeal for Peace, telling the world that to remember the city is to repudiate nuclear war.

Pope Benedict XVI, in his 2006 World Day of Peace message, called reliance on nuclear arms "not only baneful but also completely fallacious," warning that in a nuclear war there would be "no victors, only victims."

Pope Leo, in a foreword published in July, called for the elimination of nuclear weapons outright.

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Pope Leo XIV has replaced the Vatican constitution promulgated by Pope Francis, eliminating a reference to the "munus petrinum," or Petrine office, as the basis of the pope's authority over Vatican City State.

The new Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, promulgated by Pope Leo and already in effect, represents considerably more than an update to the legal framework approved by Pope Francis in 2023.

Unlike the previous law, the new text makes a significant change to the way the foundation of the pontiff's authority over the Vatican city-state is understood.

The constitution promulgated by Pope Francis stated that the pope exercised sovereign powers over Vatican City "by virtue of the Petrine office," an expression referring to his sacred mission as the successor of St. Peter to guide, safeguard, and maintain the unity of the Church.

In practice, the formulation linked the pope's temporal authority to his status as the successor of the apostle to whom Christ entrusted the keys of the Church.

"Francis introduced an anomaly that asserted that his powers as head of state derived from being the successor of Peter," historian of Christianity Giovanni Maria Vian told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Vian, a former editor of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano and a professor of patristic philology at Rome's Sapienza University, said the formulation represented a completely unprecedented innovation.

"It made his authority over Vatican City State derive directly from his status as Peter's successor," he said. "It was a theocratic arrangement without precedent in the very long history of the Apostolic See."

Vian said Pope Leo, who is trained in both civil and canon law, appears to have decided to correct that innovation and return to the approach followed by the two previous Vatican constitutions, promulgated in 1929 and 2000.

"That assertion was neither adequate, correct, nor precise from a theological and historical point of view. That is why it was removed," said Father Roberto Regoli, an expert in ecclesiastical history and diplomacy from the 19th to the 21st centuries and president of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation.

"This omission is very important because the concept was unnecessary and, moreover, inappropriate," he said.

4 constitutions for Vatican City State

The new law, dated July 31, completely replaces the constitution promulgated by Pope Francis on May 13, 2023. It is the fourth Fundamental Law in the history of Vatican City State.

The first was promulgated by Pope Pius XI on June 7, 1929, a few months after the signing of the Lateran Pacts and the creation of the new state. The law was drafted by Jewish jurist Federico Cammeo.

The second was the reform approved by St. John Paul II in 2000. The third was promulgated by Pope Francis in 2023.

Now, just three years later, Pope Leo has approved the Vatican's fourth constitution.

The most significant change is found in the preamble. The new text recalls that Vatican City State was created through the Lateran Treaty to guarantee the Holy See absolute and visible independence and to ensure its sovereignty in the international sphere.

According to Vian, the difference between the two constitutions is substantial.

"One cannot maintain that Peter possessed temporal power or that his successors received it directly from him," he said.

The historian noted that the temporal power of the popes emerged centuries after the apostolic era.

"That did not occur until the beginning of the Middle Ages," he said. "The Papal States began to take shape around the middle of the eighth century."

From that perspective, Vian said the formulation introduced by Pope Francis was historically difficult to sustain.

"It was probably the result of a mentality connected to his Jesuit background, obedience to the pope, and also the legal advice he received," he said. "But from a historical and ecclesiological point of view, it was an anomaly."

Regoli likewise said Pope Leo has restored the traditional formulation.

"Temporal power is at the service of spiritual power, nothing more," he said. "Temporal power cannot be divinized or placed on the same level as spiritual ministry."

A more traditional understanding of the Petrine ministry

Both experts said Pope Leo's decision reflects a more traditional understanding of the Petrine ministry.

"He understands it in continuity with the tradition of his predecessors," Vian said.

The Italian historian noted that the popes' temporal power developed between the eighth and 19th centuries, over the course of more than a millennium, without deriving directly from the apostolic primacy of St. Peter.

Vian also said it was necessary to place the creation of Vatican City State in its historical context.

Following the French Revolution, the Papal States were abolished on several occasions: in 1798, with the establishment of the French-backed First Roman Republic; in 1809, during the Napoleonic occupation; in 1849, with the Second Roman Republic; and finally in 1870, when Italian troops took Rome and brought the temporal power of the popes to an end.

The events opened what became known as the "Roman Question." For nearly 60 years, the pontiffs refused to recognize the new situation created by the Italian state. As a gesture of protest, they ceased appearing at the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to impart public blessings.

The crisis was resolved in 1929 with the signing of the Lateran Pacts between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreements included an international treaty, a financial convention, and a concordat.

The treaty created Vatican City State as a sovereign territory intended to guarantee the independence of the Holy See.

The new constitution preserves the traditional principle that the pope possesses the fullness of power within Vatican City State.

Article 1 states: "The Supreme Pontiff, sovereign of Vatican City State, possesses the fullness of governing authority, which includes legislative, executive, and judicial power."

The wording is nearly identical to that used by Pope Pius XI in 1929.

A new legal framework

Another significant change introduced by Pope Leo provides a legal basis for a situation that arose during Pope Francis' pontificate.

The new Fundamental Law incorporates a November 2025 motu proprio allowing the presidency of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State to be held by someone other than a cardinal.

The reform addresses the case of Sister Raffaella Petrini, whom Pope Francis appointed to lead the Governorate of Vatican City State even though the legislation then in force stipulated that the position was to be held by a cardinal.

The appointment prompted criticism because of the discrepancy between the law and the institutional reality.

According to Regoli, the new constitution formalizes a correction Pope Leo had already introduced in 2025.

"The previous constitution established that the president had to be a cardinal; however, the president was Sister Petrini," he said. "There was therefore an inconsistency between the law and reality. The pope intervened in 2025, and now, with the new 2026 constitution, that change has been fully incorporated into the legislation."

The legal change means that "in addition to Sister Petrini, any other woman or man, including a layperson, may hold that office," Regoli said.

"This is because Vatican City State, since it is not directly connected to theological or sacramental matters, does not necessarily require its governor to be a cardinal, bishop, or cleric," he explained.

Membership in the College of Cardinals is therefore not an indispensable requirement, he said, because the position is not connected to the sacrament of holy orders.

The new Fundamental Law not only returns the Vatican constitution to the legal tradition of 1929 and 2000 but also regularizes several institutional reforms introduced in recent years.

Both experts agreed, however, that the most important change remains the redefinition of the origin of the pope's temporal authority, an issue they consider essential to understanding the nature of the world's smallest state.

"Pope Leo XIV has repaired an unprecedented break and returned to the original spirit in which Vatican City State was created," Vian concluded.

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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Pope Leo XIV's image features for the first time in a new set of commemorative euro coins for Vatican City.

As announced by the Vatican City State Governorate on July 30, these coins are part of a new Vatican euro collector coin set honoring the new pontificate. This also marks the first time since 2014 that the papal image has appeared on the coins, following Pope Francis' personal request that his face not be used.

Except for the 5-euro coin, the Vatican coins can be used to buy things in the 21 European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency.

A unique design in the history of Vatican coin-making

Although these new coins with Leo are not the first to feature the pope's face, they are part of an entirely unique design.

Leo's coat of arms appears on the 1-cent, 2-cent, and 5-cent euro coins, while his face appears on the larger denominations.

The pope's image has appeared on minted coins since the Middle Ages, when pontiffs held temporal power over the Papal States. Shortly after the establishment of Vatican City in 1929, the sovereign state issued lira coins (the Italian currency before the euro) bearing the papal image. The Vatican stopped making lira coins after it adopted the euro in 2001.

According to the European Central Bank, the first Vatican coins for the euro were issued in 2002 with the face of St. John Paul II. From 2006–2013, another set of coins was issued with the face of Pope Benedict XVI.

The coins featuring Francis in 2014 were the last until Leo to feature the pope's face.

Francis' refusal to be depicted on Vatican coins

For the 2017 issue of Vatican coins, Francis personally requested that his face not be used. Instead, they featured his coat of arms.

In a 2017 interview for Radio Vaticana, Mauro Olivieri, the then-director of the Philatelic and Numismatic Office for Vatican City State, explained the difficulties in accommodating his request.

"[Francis] asked that he no longer appear on coins, medals in general — and especially on those issued by his state — and we did everything we could to accommodate him," Olivieri said. "We succeeded, despite some difficulties with the EU authorities, which were later resolved, and so the 2017 coinage features the pope's coat of arms."

The newest Vatican coins can be purchased for 59 euros through the Vatican's Philatelic and Numismatic Office, responsible for its coins and stamps.

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KIGALI, Rwanda — Pope Leo XIV called on Catholic communicators gathered this week in Kigali, Rwanda, to use digital communication platforms available to them to promote the common good, human dignity, truth, and environmental stewardship.

The pope's message was delivered by the apostolic nuncio in Rwanda, Archbishop Arnaldo Sánchez Catalán, during the opening ceremony of the first-ever SIGNIS World Congress to be held in Africa, taking place in Kigali under the theme "Digital Communication for Cultural Harmony and Environmental Well-Being."

In the message, sent through Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Pope Leo XIV expressed his spiritual closeness to participants and said he hoped their deliberations would provide "a new impetus" for ensuring that communication platforms serve the common good of the human family.

The pope warned against a communication culture increasingly shaped by algorithms rather than genuine human encounter.

He noted that the digital age has transformed everyday life, emphasizing that online communication goes beyond the transmission of information.

In his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV observes that digital communication contributes to the creation of culture because it shapes how people perceive the world and consequently influences the collective conscience.

Against this background, the Holy Father encouraged participants to explore communication strategies and tools inspired by the pursuit of truth and respect for human dignity. He said such efforts should contribute to a culture rooted in Gospel values, particularly communion, peace, and environmental stewardship.

Addressing participants through a recorded message, Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, warned that technological advances, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), must not come at the expense of human relationships and responsibility.

Ruffini acknowledged the transformative potential of AI but said the central question confronting society is not technological but human: what kind of people humanity chooses to become while using these technologies.

AI, he said, can calculate, organize information, and emulate language, but it cannot replace wisdom born from freedom, personal experience, responsibility, and love.

"We must never allow algorithms to write our story," Ruffini cautioned, stressing that human beings must remain in control of the technologies they create.

He called on communicators to safeguard human voices and faces in an increasingly digital environment, emphasizing that doing so requires cultivating critical thinking, preserving spaces for dialogue, and ensuring that technology remains at the service of the human person.

Ruffini also challenged SIGNIS to strengthen its role as a global network connecting professionals working in journalism, cinema, and communication.

He described communication as a public good that needs to be protected, urging the organization to build alliances with professionals, entrepreneurs, and information engineers committed to creating a better digital communication ecosystem.

According to the prefect, SIGNIS should remain a network of people united by faith rather than becoming merely an ecclesiastical bureaucracy.

He envisioned the organization as a space where relationships of trust can flourish, reliable information can be shared, and projects can be developed to promote a different model of communication.

Such a network, he said, should create room for dialogue amid diversity and disagreement while ensuring that differences do not destroy fraternity.

Ruffini further challenged Catholic communicators to resist a communication model driven primarily by profit or the pursuit of consensus, insisting that the ultimate purpose of communication must remain at the service of truth.

"The future of communication will not ultimately depend on the power of our technologies. It will depend on the strength of our commitment and on the nature of our relationship," he said.

He urged participants to use their faith-based network to build bridges and create meaningful encounters in a world increasingly mediated by digital platforms.

Ruffini called for greater space for human voices and faces in digital communication, encouraging SIGNIS members to help shape a communication ecosystem that places human dignity and relationships at its center.

"The greatest innovation we can still offer our society is not as much a machine but a more human way of communicating," he said.

Participants in the Aug. 3–8 congress are exploring a wide range of topics, including digital communication for communion, religious and cultural praxis in the digital age, artificial intelligence in contemporary media, media literacy, youth engagement, environmental communication, and the role of Catholic communicators in promoting reconciliation and cultural harmony.

Among the African countries represented at the congress are Rwanda (the host country), Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Togo, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Zambia, Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Benin, South Africa, and Mozambique.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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