Pope Leo XIV appointed Archbishop James Checchio coadjutor archbishop of New Orleans in September 2025 to automatically succeed the 76-year-old Archbishop Gregory Aymond upon his retirement.

Pope Leo XIV spoke about sacred Scripture during his weekly audience with pilgrims in the Vatican.

“I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15) is the theme chosen by Pope Leo XIV for the sixth World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, which this year will take place on Sunday, July 26.

Vatican aid is headed to hard-hit areas including Fastiv and Kyiv, with distribution organized through parish networks.

Pope Leo XIV approved the new statutes of the Pontifical International Marian Academy, founded to promote and coordinate Mariological and Marian studies worldwide.

In his Angelus catechesis, the pope said true joy is found in communion with Christ and lived through concrete acts of charity.

The pontiff is expected to travel to Africa in April, visit Peru later this year, and make a summer stop in Spain.

The country’s bishops will travel to Rome from Feb. 16–20 to present to Pope Leo XIV “the vicissitudes, sorrows, joys, and hopes of the Church in Cuba.”

In a message for the Church’s Feb. 8 World Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking, the pope warns that conflict and inequality fuel exploitation.

Pope Leo XIV and Sant’Egidio Community founder Andrea Riccardi discussed the role Christians and the Church are called to play in promoting peace in the midst of various world conflicts.