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The new American pope's positions on AI, migration, and the Iran War create friction with Trump while navigating internal Catholic divisions
Pope Leo XIV on Monday became the first pontiff to address the Spanish parliament, calling for a "moral renewal" in public life and respect for the dignity of migrants, the unborn and the most vulnerable during a speech to the Congress of…
3 MIN READCardinal Robert McElroy, the Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday removed a well-known priest from his role as an exorcist of the archdiocese after the priest publicly suggested that UFO sightings were the work of demons.
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV released his first encyclical on May 25, warning that unregulated artificial intelligence could weaken democracy by eroding the distinction between fact and fiction. The document, titled 'Magnifica Humanity: On Safeguarding…
3 MIN READROME (AP) — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Cubs fan, met privately Thursday with Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native and lifelong White Sox fan, at the Vatican and invited the pontiff to visit his native city next year.
3 MIN READJari Honora, a New Orleans genealogist, was drawn to the new pope’s French-sounding surname, Prevost, and what he found in the census rolls was a direct line to a free Black community that predated the Civil War: all four of Pope Leo XIV’s…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV issued a historic apology Monday for the Holy See's own role in legitimizing slavery, calling the Vatican's record a 'wound in Christian memory.' The apology, delivered in the pontiff's first encyclical, directly addressed…
3 MIN READVatican City’s Pope Leo XIV made a public apology on Monday for the Holy See’s role in legitimizing slavery and for centuries in which it failed to condemn it, calling the Vatican record a “wound in Christian memory.” In his first…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV, in his first major teaching document, said artificial intelligence is becoming “a new test of human dignity, work and power,” and warned that it needs to be “disarmed.” He also apologized for the Vatican’s role in…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV used his first encyclical, presented at the Vatican on May 25, to warn that artificial intelligence could deepen inequality, weaken democracy and blur what it means to be human. The pope urged “disarming AI” by removing it…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV issued a historic apology on Monday for the Holy See’s role in authorizing and legitimizing slavery over centuries, marking the first time a pontiff has publicly acknowledged the Vatican’s direct institutional complicity in…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV will address artificial intelligence in his first encyclical, titled *Magnifica humanitas*—Latin for “magnificent humanity.” NPR reports the Vatican says the teaching will focus on “safeguarding the human person in the time of…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV will unveil his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, on May 25, the Vatican said. The Vatican will present the document in the main Vatican auditorium with senior cardinals and Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah among the…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV said his election was both “a cross to bear and a blessing” as he celebrated his first Mass Friday, the day after cardinals elected him as the Catholic Church’s 267th pope. In the Sistine Chapel, he spoke off-the-cuff in…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV will unveil his first encyclical on artificial intelligence on May 25, with the Vatican saying the document will focus on the care of human dignity in the AI era. The launch will include Pope officials and speakers, including…
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Pope Leo XIV will unveil his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity), on May 25 with the Vatican’s top doctrine and development cardinals and Christopher Olah, co-founder of artificial intelligence company Anthropic,…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV will release his first encyclical on May 25, a document focused on the care of human dignity in the era of artificial intelligence, with Christopher Olah, co-founder of the AI safety company Anthropic, joining the pontiff for…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV will unveil his first encyclical, *Magnifica Humanitas* (*Magnificent Humanity*), on May 25, the Vatican said. The document focuses on the care of human dignity in the era of artificial intelligence, and the Vatican is…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV will unveil his first encyclical focused on artificial intelligence on May 25, the Vatican announced. The document, *Magnifica Humanitas* (Magnificent Humanity), will address what the Vatican said is the care of human dignity…
3 MIN READA breakaway Catholic traditionalist group rejected the Vatican's offer of talks on February 19, signaling it plans to proceed with consecrating four bishops on July 1 despite papal threats of sanctions and schism. The Society of St. Pius…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV will unveil his first encyclical on artificial intelligence on May 25, the Vatican announced. The document, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity), is centered on the care of human dignity in the era of AI, and the Vatican…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV will make a four-day visit to France from September 25 to 28 that includes a stop at the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO, the Vatican announced Saturday.
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV has established a Vatican study group on artificial intelligence and signed his first encyclical, expected to call for an ethics-based approach to AI that prioritizes human dignity and peace, the Vatican announced Saturday.
3 MIN READThe Vatican confirmed Saturday that Pope Leo XIV will make a four-day visit to France from Sept. 25-28, including a stop at the United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO. The trip comes as the pope adds to an already busy 2026 travel…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV has created an in-house study group on artificial intelligence, the Vatican said Saturday, as he prepares to release his first encyclical expected to emphasize an ethics-based approach that prioritizes human dignity and peace.…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV on Thursday condemned the growing use of artificial intelligence in warfare, warning that investments in high-tech weaponry are leading the world into a “spiral of annihilation.” Speaking at Rome’s La Sapienza University, the…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV on Thursday warned that investments in artificial intelligence and high-tech weaponry were pushing the world toward a “spiral of annihilation,” while he called for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine at Rome’s La Sapienza…
3 MIN READThe Vatican on Wednesday issued a final warning to the breakaway traditionalist Society of St. Pius X that its planned consecration of four bishops without papal approval would be a schismatic act incurring automatic excommunication, the…
5 MIN READPope Leo XIV’s Vatican issued a final warning to the Society of St. Pius X on May 13, saying its planned July 1 consecration of four bishops without papal consent would be a schismatic act that carries automatic excommunication. The…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV said social justice and equality should take priority over sexual morality in preserving church unity, according to an Associated Press report, as the Vatican released a synod document featuring the testimonies of two gay…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV marked his first anniversary as pontiff on Friday, reflecting on a year defined by his pastoral, unifying approach to the Catholic Church but punctuated by an unprecedented public feud with U.S. President Donald Trump over the…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV marked his first year as pope with a homily in Pompeii that called on God’s mercy to soften “fratricidal hatred,” while the Vatican continued to navigate verbal sparring with President Donald Trump. The anniversary weekend…
3 MIN READThe Vatican is sending new signals in the Pope Leo XIV era on how it plans to minister to LGBTQ+ Catholics, Catholic officials and advocates said, including the publication of a Vatican working-group report that includes firsthand…
4 MIN READPope Leo XIV has spent his first year in the papacy focused on consolidating his approach and making targeted changes to carry forward decisions on governance, finances and Church priorities, the Associated Press reported. In the coming…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV prayed Friday for political leaders to end the “fratricidal hatred” in the world as he marked the anniversary of his election with a visit to Pompeii, Italy. The pope traveled to the ancient city for a daylong visit to honor…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV, one year into his papacy, has focused on shaping church leadership through planned appointments and on managing divisions left by Pope Francis, particularly over the Latin Mass and Vatican financial governance. The Vatican…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV prayed for political leaders to end “fratricidal hatred” during an anniversary visit to Pompeii on Friday, the first-year milestone since his election. Speaking at a sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Pompeii, the pope also…
3 MIN READPope Leo XIV marked his first year in the Vatican by choosing a longer view than his predecessor, reshaping finances and appointments while preparing for major flashpoints over the Latin Mass and Germany’s “Synodal Path.” In a look ahead…
3 MIN READPresident Donald Trump renewed his criticism of Pope Leo XIV on Monday, falsely claiming the pontiff supports an Iranian nuclear weapon and potentially complicating Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s planned diplomatic visit to the Vatican…
3 MIN READPresident Donald Trump renewed his criticism of Pope Leo XIV in an interview with Hugh Hewitt, a flare-up that could complicate Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s planned visit to the Vatican this week. Trump said the pope is helping Iran and also made the world less safe with remarks he linked to the pope’s comments about immigrants.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to travel to Rome and Vatican City this week to ease rising tensions between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over U.S. immigration and military policies. The State Department confirmed the Thursday and Friday trip will include discussions on the Middle East and shared security interests with Italian counterparts.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Rome and Vatican City this week and meet with Pope Leo XIV as tensions between Pope and President Donald Trump over U.S. policies, including the Iran war, continue to escalate. The State Department said Rubio will be in Italy on Thursday and Friday, and the Vatican said the meeting with Leo would take place on Thursday.
Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff, encouraged wealthy American Catholics to continue funding papal charitable works during a Saturday audience in Rome, as the U.S.-based Papal Foundation announced a record $15 million in grants for 2026.
Pope Leo XIV on Saturday encouraged some of the wealthiest U.S. Catholics to keep donating to support his charitable works, telling stewards of the Papal Foundation that the giving allows “countless people” to experience God’s “goodness and kindness” in their communities. The Chicago-born pope met in Rome with foundation members at the end of their annual pilgrimage, as the group reported $15 million in approved grants for 2026.
Pope Leo XIV appointed Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, an El Salvador-born advocate for immigrants and a critic of the Trump administration’s deportation policies, as the new bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia on Friday. Menjivar-Ayala, 55, fled El Salvador’s civil war as a teenager and entered the United States illegally in 1990 before gaining legal status and citizenship.
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, an El Salvador-born advocate for immigrants, as bishop of the Wheeling-Charleston diocese in West Virginia. Menjivar-Ayala, 55, replaces Mark Brennan, who has led the diocese since 2019.
Pope Leo XIV told inmates at a prison in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, on Wednesday that “You are not alone,” urging them and their families with a message of hope as he neared the end of a four-nation Africa tour. The visit brought renewed attention to prison conditions and the country’s human-rights record, including concerns raised by campaigners and international bodies.
More than a dozen Equatorial Guinea Catholics who fled abuses abroad say Pope Leo XIV’s visit risks giving President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo new legitimacy amid longtime allegations of repression. In interviews, some said the Vatican trip could serve as image repair for a government accused by activists of rights abuses, even as the Vatican and church leaders say they will emphasize justice.
Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to Pope Francis on Tuesday on the first anniversary of Francis’s death, recalling Francis’s preaching on God’s mercy and his gestures of solidarity with poor people. The American pope delivered the remarks aboard the papal plane en route from Angola to Equatorial Guinea, the final leg of a four-nation trip.
Pope Leo XIV visited a prison in Equatorial Guinea’s port city of Bata on Wednesday, telling inmates in Spanish that “You are not alone” and promising that the Church would stand by them. The visit came at the end of the pope’s four-nation Africa tour and drew attention to prison conditions and human rights abuses that campaigners have long criticized.
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday and immediately condemned the "colonization" of Africa's mineral resources by foreign powers, saying an economy built on mineral extraction "kills" the poor. The visit, the first papal trip to the country since Pope John Paul II in 1982, placed the pontiff at odds with the Trump administration's strategy to secure Africa's critical minerals for U.S. leverage against China.
Pope Leo XIV made an unprecedented direct appeal on April 7 to American voters to contact their representatives and demand an end to the Iran war. The appeal marks the Vatican's most direct political intervention in U.S. affairs since the Cuban Missile Crisis and comes amid escalating tension with President Trump over the pope's peace messaging during a four-nation Africa tour.
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Angola on Saturday as the third leg of his four-nation African tour. In his first speech to government authorities, he challenged the country's leaders to break what he called the "cycle of interests" that has exploited Africa for centuries. The pontiff said Angola's people possessed treasures that could not be "bought or stolen" despite the nation's history of colonial plunder, civil war, and pervasive poverty.
Pope Leo XIV said Saturday that it was "not in my interest at all" to debate U.S. President Donald Trump about the Iran war, even as he reaffirmed his commitment to preaching peace. Speaking aboard the papal plane as it flew from Cameroon to Angola, Leo addressed a week-long public dispute with the U.S. administration that has consumed international headlines.
Lula da Silva said Wednesday that Pope Leo XIV should be defended from “powerful people” after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the pope’s comments on the war in Iran. Speaking in a video message to Brazil’s bishops’ conference during a trip to Cameroon, Lula urged Catholics to stand in solidarity with the pope.
Aboard a charter flight from Algiers to Yaounde on Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV pressed forward with an 11-day, four-nation Africa tour as an escalating public dispute with President Donald Trump played out on social media thousands of miles away, testing the first American pope's ability to keep his planned program at the center of a journey that Washington has tried to reshape from afar. Leo, traveling with a Vatican delegation and roughly 70 accredited journalists in a tightly managed press pool, did not take reporters' questions on the five-hour flight to Cameroon. He delivered brief remarks in English about his just-concluded Algerian visit — the first papal trip to that country — without addressing Trump directly.
LONDON — Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally on Thursday expressed solidarity with Pope Leo XIV in calling for peace in the Middle East, standing by the pontiff as his advocacy drew public criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Vatican visitors on Tuesday reacted sharply to U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV, who has been urging a softer approach to talk of war. The pope was away on a 10-day trip to Africa as the dispute unfolded online and at the Vatican.
Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday reinforced his call for peace and dialogue as U.S. President Donald Trump continued a week of public attacks on history's first American-born pope, accusing him of weakness on crime, claiming him as a political captive, and asserting that Leo owed his election to Trump. Speaking to journalists aboard the papal plane en route to Cameroon, Leo said the message "the world needs to hear today" is one of peace and dialogue. Leo made no mention of Trump's latest social media posts or the suggestion by Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, that the pope should "be careful" when speaking about theology.
U.S. Catholic voters backed Donald Trump in 2024, but many across the Catholic political spectrum reacted with dismay after Trump launched a broad verbal assault on Pope Leo XIV, the first pope leading the U.S. Catholic Church. Critics included leaders of the U.S. bishops’ conference and prominent conservative Catholics, while Trump defended himself and said no apology was needed.
In a rushed White House Q&A on April 13, President Donald Trump said he would not apologize to Pope Leon XIV after criticizing the pope for speaking out against the U.S. war with Iran. Trump also addressed a now-deleted social media post that showed him in a religious-style scene, saying he thought the image was him as a doctor.
Pope Leo XIV opened an 11-day Africa tour in Algeria on Monday, urging peace and an end to “neocolonial tendencies” as the Vatican’s leader faces new criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump over the war involving Iran. During his first remarks in Algiers, Leo linked his appeals for peace to Algeria’s fight for independence and said a just peace requires dignity for every nation.
Pope Leo XIV denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and urged political leaders to stop and negotiate peace, in remarks during an evening prayer service at St. Peter’s Basilica on April 11. The Vatican said the pope’s message appeared aimed at U.S. officials and was delivered the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan.
Pope Leo XIV will begin a first papal visit to Algeria on Monday as part of a two-day stop before traveling to Angola, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. The Vatican said the trip will focus on migration, the exploitation of natural and human resources, corruption, and the role of leaders in countries where some presidents have remained in power for decades.
Pope Leo XIV ended an 11-day visit to four African countries, using the tour to call for peace and to denounce issues he described as driving conflict and exploitation on the continent. Before returning to Rome on Thursday, the Vatican said the pope’s final stop was Equatorial Guinea on Africa’s west coast.
Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost in Chicago, is an American citizen who also leads the Catholic Church and Vatican City as a foreign head of state. Legal experts said the U.S. government could “actively review” the citizenship status of Americans who serve in those roles, but federal law and the practical facts of renunciation make termination unlikely.
Pope Leo XIV said U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to “destroy Iranian civilization” was “truly unacceptable” and warned that attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law. Speaking Tuesday as he left his country house in Castel Gandolfo, the pope urged Americans and other people of good will to contact political leaders and congressional representatives to demand they reject war and seek peace.
Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call for people with weapons to lay them down and for those who have power to seek peace through dialogue. In his Urbi et Orbi blessing from St. Peter’s Basilica’s loggia, the pope did not list the world’s conflicts by name, instead drawing on a message about the “great thirst for death” that Pope Francis delivered from the same spot last Easter.
El papa León XIV cargó una cruz de madera a través de las 14 estaciones del vía crucis en el Coliseo de Roma el Viernes Santo, en su primer día en el puesto, una práctica que no se repetía en esas dimensiones “en décadas”, según la crónica de la agencia AP. El pontífice, escoltado dentro del anfiteatro por dos portadores de antorchas, recorrió el rito durante una hora y luego subió por escaleras hasta el monte Palatino para la bendición final.
Pope Leo XIV said he hoped the U.S.-Israel war on Iran could be finished before Easter, in remarks to reporters as he left the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo outside Rome on Tuesday. The Pope urged world leaders to return to dialogue and find “ways to reduce the amount of violence,” adding that Easter should be a “time of peace” amid suffering across the Middle East.
Pope Leo XIV rejected claims that God justifies war during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, while asking for special prayers for Christians in the Middle East. Speaking to tens of thousands gathered in the square, he said Jesus, the “king of peace,” rejects violence and cannot be used to justify war.
Pope Leo XIV urged Monaco’s residents to use the principality’s wealth and influence for good and to reject what he called the “idolatry of power and money” that he said is fueling wars worldwide. The pope made a one-day visit to the Mediterranean enclave on Saturday, meeting Prince Albert and Princess Charlene before addressing Catholics in the cathedral and delivering a homily at Mass in the Monaco stadium.
Pope Leo XIV will travel Nov. 28 to Nicaea in present-day Turkey to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, a foundational moment that helped shape the Nicene Creed, which many Christians still recite. The anniversary also highlights how the creed’s adoption came from an early collaboration of church and state and how later schisms left no lasting doctrinal agreement.
Pope Leo XIV declared Father Edward Joseph Flanagan of Boys Town “venerable” Monday, a Vatican step that advances the Nebraska priest toward beatification. The pope’s decree follows a review by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints into Flanagan’s life and writings.
Pope Leo XIV has endorsed Pope Francis’ controversial 2016 document “The Joy of Love” as he marks its 10th anniversary, while convening a Rome meeting of bishops’ conference presidents on ministering to families. The endorsement centers on Francis’ Chapter VIII and a related footnote discussing when, in particular cases, the help of the sacraments could include Communion for Catholics in civil remarriages.
Pope Leo XIV demanded a ceasefire in the Middle East on Sunday in what the Vatican presented as his strongest appeal to date, addressing those “responsible for this conflict.” The pope spoke at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, without naming the United States or Israel.
Pope Leo XIV on Monday met with Vatican child-protection officials and with investigative journalist Gareth Gore, whose book “Opus” alleges abuses within Opus Dei. In remarks to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the pope emphasized concerns about abuse of “vulnerable” adults in addition to the church’s focus on clergy sexual abuse of children.
Pope Leo XIV moved into a newly renovated papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace on Saturday, the Vatican said. The move places him in a residence famously eschewed by Pope Francis and required a major renovation to update utilities and other systems.
One of Silicon Valley tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s invitation-only lectures on the Antichrist is scheduled to take place in Rome from Sunday to Wednesday, amid public distancing from Catholic universities initially linked to the event. The Associated Press reported that the Vatican’s backyard conference is not being hosted by the Pontifical St. Thomas Aquinas University, also known as the Angelicum, and that the Catholic University of America said it is not sponsoring the Rome gathering. Organizers have said the series is intended to draw on classical and Christian thought.
Pope Leo XIV will make a four-nation Africa tour from April 13-23 that the Vatican says will emphasize Christian-Muslim relations, comfort for victims of violence and outreach to Catholics in countries where it operates under state pressure and conflict. The itinerary includes a visit to a mosque in Algeria, a peace meeting in Cameroon and a memorial in Equatorial Guinea for victims of a 2021 blast. In each stop, he also plans meetings with leaders and local bishops, Vatican officials said.
Pope Leo XIV will accept the Liberty Medal on Independence Mall in Philadelphia on July 3 in a remote broadcast from Rome, while he will not travel to the United States during the country’s 250th birthday celebrations this year. The National Constitution Center said the honor will recognize his “lifelong work promoting religious liberty and freedom of conscience and expression around the world.”
Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley tech billionaire, is holding a four-lecture, invitation-only series in Rome on the Antichrist, drawing public distance from Catholic institutions initially linked to the event. The lectures run from Sunday to Wednesday, according to event details seen by The Associated Press.
Pope Leo XIV on Sunday demanded a ceasefire in the Middle East in his strongest remarks yet, addressing the leaders responsible for the war in Iran. Speaking at the end of his noon blessing, the pope appealed “to those responsible for this conflict” to “Cease fire so that avenues for dialogue may be reopened.”
ROME—The Vatican has released details of Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming four-nation Africa tour, saying the April 13-23 trip will include meetings with Muslim and Catholic communities, a peace meeting in Cameroon, and a visit to a memorial for victims of a deadly 2021 blast in Equatorial Guinea. The Vatican said the pope will also hold private talks with leaders of the four countries and celebrate Masses for the faithful.
Pope Leo XIV will accept the Liberty Medal in Philadelphia on July 3 via a remote broadcast from Rome, according to the National Constitution Center. The pope will spend the Fourth of July on the Italian island of Lampedusa instead of traveling to the United States during the city’s 250th birthday celebrations.
ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV met Monday with Gareth Gore, an investigative journalist who has criticized Opus Dei, and told the Vatican’s child protection commission that the church should pay attention to abuse involving “vulnerable” adults. The pope held two back-to-back Vatican audiences focused on safeguarding, including one with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
Cuba’s government said it will release 51 people from prisons in the “upcoming days,” framing the decision as an act of goodwill and close relations with the Vatican. The announcement came Thursday night, hours before President Miguel Díaz-Canel is scheduled to speak to the press.
Havana’s government said Thursday night it would free 51 inmates in the coming days, describing the move as a gesture of goodwill tied to close relations with the Vatican. The announcement came hours before President Miguel Díaz‑Canel’s scheduled press briefing on national and international issues. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that all those slated for release have served a significant portion of their sentences and have maintained good conduct while incarcerated.
HAVANA — Cuba’s government announced Thursday night it will release 51 people from the island’s prisons in an unexpected move, citing goodwill and close Vatican ties. The decision comes hours before President Miguel Díaz-Canel addresses the nation and the world in a rare press conference.
Pope Leo XIV called for an end to the U.S.-Israel war in Iran on Monday, issuing a new appeal after two U.S. cardinals condemned the conflict. In Vatican statements, the pope expressed “deep sorrow” after a Maronite Catholic priest was killed in southern Lebanon.
Pope Leo XIV named Italian Archbishop Gabriele Caccia as the Holy See’s new ambassador to the United States, a role that will put the Vatican at the center of U.S.-Holy See diplomacy during tensions over Iran and immigration. Caccia, 68, replaces retiring French-born Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who has been apostolic nuncio in Washington.
The Vatican announced Pope Leo XIV will travel to Monaco and four African countries—Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea—in the first half of 2026. The schedule runs alongside a string of one-day visits across Italy beginning in May, which the Vatican said will allow the pope to meet Catholics after the 2025 Holy Year ended. The Vatican also confirmed that Leo will skip the United States this year and will instead travel to Italy’s Lampedusa on July 4.
Ronald Hicks was installed Friday as the 11th archbishop of New York in a Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, where he urged Catholics to build unity, spread the faith, and care for those most vulnerable. In remarks to clergy, laity and representatives from other faiths, Hicks succeeded Cardinal Timothy Dolan, whose resignation took effect after he turned 75, and said the archdiocese should be “a church made up of missionary disciples” that protects life and supports the poor.
Pope Leo XIV is facing his first major crisis with traditionalist Catholics after a breakaway group linked to the traditional Latin Mass announced plans to consecrate new bishops without papal consent, raising fears of another schism. The Society of St. Pius X, known as the SSPX, said the consecrations are scheduled for July 1, despite Vatican objections and the automatic excommunication that church law attaches to unauthorized bishop consecrations.
The Vatican said Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment” fresco is undergoing a three-month cleaning at the Sistine Chapel, its first major restoration in three decades. The Vatican Museums said the chapel will remain open to visitors during the work, though scaffolding will partially obstruct views.
Peru’s ambassador to the Holy See invited Pope Leo XIV to visit the South American country during a Vatican garden ceremony on Saturday, as the Vatican weighs major travel plans for 2026 that include potential trips to Africa and Latin America.
Pope Leo XIV told the Vatican’s doctrine office to uphold “truth, justice and charity” when deciding clergy sex abuse cases, during an audience Thursday with cardinals and bishops in the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith. The Pope said the matter requires careful attention to justice, while his remarks also came with renewed emphasis on ensuring victims are listened to and not left unheard.
Pew Research Center surveys of adults in six major Latin American countries found Catholicism shrinking and more people identifying as religiously unaffiliated, including atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” The Pew report, released Wednesday, draws on surveys conducted in early 2024 in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
Pope Leo XIV closed out 2025 with New Year’s Eve vespers at St. Peter’s Basilica, praying that Rome be welcoming to foreigners and vulnerable people, young and old. In his homily, the pope said he wanted it “to be so again” after the “time of grace” of the Holy Year, which brought millions of pilgrims to Rome.
