Pope Leo XIV visits the historic telescopes located at the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo, 15 miles southeast of Rome, on July 20, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jul 31, 2025 / 12:11 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday appointed astronomer Father Richard Anthony D’Souza, SJ, as the new director of the Vatican Observatory.

D’Souza, who has worked at the Vatican’s astronomical research and educational institution since 2016, will start his new position on Sept. 19, according to the Holy See Press Office statement.

The Indian priest succeeds Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ, whose 10-year mandate ends next month, as head of the observatory. Consolmagno will remain at the scientific institution as a staff astronomer.

Born in Goa in 1978, D’Souza joined the Society of Jesus in 1996 and was ordained a priest in 2011 after completing studies at the Jnana Deepa Institute of Philosophy and Theology in India.

He obtained a bachelor’s degree in physics from St. Xavier’s College, University of Mumbai, India, in 2002 and was awarded a master’s degree in physics by the University of Heidelberg, Germany, in 2005.

In 2016, he completed his doctorate in astronomy at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, before moving to Italy to work with the Vatican Observatory in the same year. 

According to the Vatican Observatory website, D’Souza, whose area of specialized research is the formation and evolution of galaxies, is also the superior of the Jesuit community attached to the observatory in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. 

In 1891, Leo XIII issued the motu proprio Ut Mysticam (“As Mystical”) authorizing the construction of a new modernized observatory in Castel Gandolfo, approximately 15 miles southeast of Rome. 

The Church’s first observatory was founded in 1579 by Pope Gregory XIII, who entrusted the institution to the Society of Jesus.

Signs hanging in the office of papal charities in Vatican City show the different models of papal blessing certificates that can be ordered, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. / Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNA

Vatican City, Jul 31, 2025 / 10:41 am (CNA).

The Vatican has seen a boom in requests for blessings from the new pope, with at least a 30% increase during Leo XIV’s first month reflecting enthusiasm over the start of a new pontificate — and highlighting a traditional practice that combines devotion with fundraising for charitable works.

In June, the Vatican granted 20,000 papal blessing requests — up from the 12,000 to 15,000 parchments distributed in a typical month — something that “has never happened in history,” Cardinal Konrad Krajewski told CNA in an interview this week.

The Polish cardinal, who is responsible for the Vatican’s charitable activities and the granting of blessing certificates, said when the office reopened its doors in May after the papal interregnum and Leo’s election, a line formed a 10th of a mile long, winding out the building, down the street, and almost beyond the Vatican’s Sant’Anna Gate.

The papal charities office had to close online orders for around two weeks in June because they couldn’t keep up with requests, he noted. “Everyone wanted the blessing of the new pope.”

He added that the start of the new pontificate coincided with a popular time of year to receive sacraments, including confirmation, first holy Communion, and priestly ordination, contributing to the rise in demand.

The meaning of a blessing

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, blessings — of people, meals, objects, and places — praise God and pray for his gifts.

“In Christ, Christians are blessed by God the Father ‘with every spiritual blessing.’ This is why the Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually while making the holy sign of the cross of Christ,” the catechism says.

For Catholics, Krajewski said, the blessing of the pope can hold a special significance, since he is their spiritual father.

“We want to ask for the blessing of the pope, which we hang in our home and which helps us to live through difficult times,” he said. It helps us to know “that there is someone who bears the name of Jesus, who comes under my roof and blesses me; this is something normal, something very human.”

People can receive the pope’s blessing during an in-person encounter or now, even through social media or the television. But having his apostolic blessing on paper, hanging in their home, helps people to feel “strongly united with the pontiff, who represents Our Lord,” the cardinal said.

He likened a blessing to a mother’s kiss on her child’s hurt knee: It does not necessarily take away the pain of suffering, but the expression of the pope’s closeness can give a lot of comfort as people are trying to live the Christian life.

How a blessing gets made

Since the late 19th century, the Vatican has granted signed and stamped certificates bestowing apostolic blessings on Catholics, usually for a special occasion such as a baptism, marriage, wedding anniversary, first holy Communion, or milestone birthday.

For a period, the Vatican authorized some souvenir and bookstores close to St. Peter’s Basilica to also sell the blessings, but that practice ended in 2014, and now, the only way to request the apostolic blessing parchment is online or in person at the papal charities office in Vatican City.

While online orders of blessings must fall under one of a limited set of categories and require only a personal declaration of eligibility, Krajewski explained that people can also make in-person requests for blessings for other reasons, such as illness. In these cases, the papal charities office requires a parish priest or an apostolic nuncio (the pope’s ambassador to a country) to pronounce on the suitability of granting the blessing.

The cardinal said this was to avoid any possibility that someone might try to acquire a blessing certificate for a scandalous purpose, such as for display in a hospital where abortions are performed. The doctors at that hospital need blessings and prayers, Krajewski underlined, but an apostolic blessing on the wall, with a photo of the pope, could falsely give an impression of papal approbation.

After a request for a blessing is received, it takes between two and three weeks to process the order, to create the “parchment” (actually thick paper), and to prepare it either to be picked up or to be mailed.

Part of the preparation includes hand-lettering the certificates — for which the office employs 11 calligraphers.

Krajewski said a few of the blessing parchments are still made by request entirely in calligraphy but that most people today desire the more legible print produced by a computer. But all of the papers contain some hand-drawn elements, such as the ornate first letter of certain words.

Where the proceeds go

The Vatican charges around $23 to $35 for each blessing certificate it distributes — but clearly states that the cost is a suggested donation, and every cent of the proceeds goes directly to aid people struggling from poverty, war, or disaster.

“We say that the real blessing is the alms,” Krajewski said. “Because every [donation] obtained from the blessings goes to the poor.”

Krajewski, who was appointed papal almoner by Pope Francis in 2013, emphasized the enormous help donations for blessings make to the charitable works his office carries out. He declined to provide exact figures, but said in 2024, most of the $8 million that his office spent on aid around the world came from the blessings.

“We are Pope Leo’s first aid,” he said. “When something happens in the world [we are the] first aid … the ambulance that runs to help.”

A recent project financed by the donations, he said, was support for those affected by the typhoon in Taiwan. Through the apostolic nuncio the Vatican is able to send money to a country in need sometimes in a matter of hours.

“The Holy Father reminds us that it is not enough to say ‘I’m sorry,’ ‘I’m united with you,’ but [we need to also] send concrete aid.”

Another recent gift from the Vatican’s charitable arm was a bread oven for the war-torn city of Kharkiv, Ukraine. Throughout the war, the Vatican has given food, medical aid, and even cash to people struggling in Ukraine, often delivered in a truck driven by the 61-year-old Krajewski himself.

“Pope Francis once told me if this money does not go to the poor, I will end up in hell,” the cardinal said. “Pope Francis was very, very direct. And then, he would always ask if our bank account was empty, because if our bank account was empty, it meant that we had helped a lot of people.”

“But the blessings help us to be sure of having resources to help and this is a beautiful thing,” he added.

St. John Henry Newman (1881). / Credit: Sir John Everett Millais/Public domain

Vatican City, Jul 31, 2025 / 09:36 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday approved the decision to declare St. John Henry Newman the 38th doctor of the universal Church.

The decision to confer the title upon the 19th-century English saint — a former Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism — was confirmed during the pope’s morning meeting with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. 

According to the Holy See Press Office, the Holy Father accepted the “affirmative opinion” of dicastery members and the plenary session of cardinals and bishops regarding the founder of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England.  

In the Church’s 2,000-year history, only 37 other saints, including four women, have been given the title of doctor. The title is granted in recognition of an already canonized saint’s significant contribution to advancing the Church’s knowledge of doctrine, theology, or spirituality.   

The Vatican has not yet confirmed the date of Newman’s formal proclamation as a doctor of the Church.

Born in London and baptized into the Church of England in 1801, Newman was a popular and respected Anglican priest, theologian, and writer among his peers prior to his conversion to Catholicism.

In 1845, Newman asked his friend Blessed Dominic Barberi, an Italian Passionist priest living in England, to receive him into the Catholic Church.

He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1847 and later made a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879. He chose the motto “Cor ad cor loquitur” (“Heart speaks to heart”) as an expression of his conversion in his own heart, through the heart of God.    

As a Catholic, Newman deepened and contributed to the Church’s teaching, thanks to his broad knowledge of theology and his keen insight into modern times, grounded in the Gospel.

His body of work includes 40 books and more than 20,000 letters.

Newman died in Edgbaston, England, in 1890. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on Sept. 19, 2010, and canonized by Pope Francis on Oct. 13, 2019.

Several of the participants at the 2025 EWTN Summer Academy in Rome, an intensive program in religious journalism and digital storytelling, come from places where Catholics live their faith amid severe adversity. / Credit: Lemmy Ogbonnaya Ijioma/EWTN Summer Academy

Vatican City, Jul 31, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Mikhail Ajjan fled war-torn Syria and the terrors of ISIS with his family when he was 10. Now a university student in Sweden, the 21-year-old Catholic faces a vastly different challenge of living his faith in a secular environment and is honing his media skills to help spread the Gospel.

Ajjan is one of more than 40 young Catholics from 23 countries who have come together to train in the 2025 EWTN Summer Academy in Rome, an intensive program in religious journalism and digital storytelling, which coincides this year with the Catholic Church’s Jubilee of Youth.

Several of the academy participants come from places where Catholics live their faith amid severe adversity — from war zones to countries where cartel violence or religious persecution threaten Christian communities.

Among them is Nicolawos Hazboun, a multimedia officer from Bethlehem who works closely with Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa documenting life in the Holy Land for the Latin Catholic Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

On a recent afternoon, Hazboun, 26, paused to reflect on the current situation facing Palestinian Catholics in Bethlehem.

“It’s a blessing for us to be in the same place where Jesus was born,” he said. “My family is one of the biggest Christian families in Bethlehem. … We are in Bethlehem for more than 500 years … And we want to stay.”

But staying isn’t easy. “Nowadays we have a bad situation because of the war,” Hazboun said. “We don’t have any pilgrimage … groups from outside. The people of Bethlehem … depend on the tourists. We don’t have any income.”

Many Christian families in Bethlehem, he added, are leaving for Europe or North America. “We want the Christians of Bethlehem to grow and to increase in numbers, but unfortunately, the numbers of Christians in Bethlehem are getting low because of the situation.”

Hazboun hopes to bring the skills he learns at the EWTN Summer Academy back to Bethlehem and Jerusalem to help him better communicate the experience of Christians in the Holy Land. 

“People are always surprised that there are … Palestinian Christians,” Hazboun said. “I want them to know that we are a strong community.”

“There are still Christians in Bethlehem. … Not all Palestinians are Muslim.”

The EWTN Summer Academy, organized by the global Catholic media network EWTN, CNA’s parent company, is now in its fourth year of training aspiring communicators in skills ranging from video editing to narrative reporting. The academy is held at the Pontifical Urban University’s CIAM center with a panoramic view of Rome and the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica and is offered at no cost to participants.

“I feel close to heaven,” said Sister Mary Iyadunni Adeniyi, 27, a Nigerian member of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel making her first pilgrimage to Rome to take part in the academy.

She recalls vividly the 2022 Pentecost massacre at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Nigeria, where dozens of Catholics were killed.

“It feels bad that you just go out and you could get killed,” she said. “We pray that God will help our faith and God could restore peace in our country.”

Even so, Sister Mary remains committed to building a hopeful future. “The charism of my congregation is evangelization through inculturation,” she explained.

“Now, it’s a digital world … so we also have to use that for evangelization.” She edits videos, designs graphics, and believes strongly in the potential of online platforms to reach young hearts.  

“Where can you find the young people in the 21st century? In the media,” the sister said. 

In Vietnam, Tâm Nguyên Bùi, 31, works with the Vietnamese bishops’ conference and also volunteers for the local archdiocese in Saigon.

“Even though we are a minority in the population — about 7% of 100 million people in the country — we have profound experiences in family life… and devotion in the churches,” Nguyên said. 

“In the EWTN Summer Academy 2025, we are alongside 43 communicators from 23 countries. We come from different backgrounds, different experiences of faith also. I really learn when I speak with others about how they live their faith in their country. For some, it is freely and it’s very enjoyable, but sometimes with difficulties,” he said. 

Nguyên has translated some of the writings of St. John Paul II into Vietnamese and is a veteran of Catholic youth gatherings across Asia. He said that Catholics in Vietnam are hoping that Pope Leo XIV will visit Vietnam soon. “We try to pray that the relationship between Vietnam and the Holy See is better and gets better.”

For Ajjan, the Jubilee of Youth will be a continuation of the rewarding experience that he had at the last World Youth Day.

“I’ve been to the World Youth Days in Portugal and I got hooked. So I was like, ‘I’m going to the jubilee. I’m going to South Korea,” he said referring to the 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul. 

Ajjan has also found a way to serve his local Catholic community. With EWTN Sweden, he helps a young priest to produce a weekly homily video series.  

“In our city, we have a very good youth pastor,” he explained. “And we started to film a Sunday homily series with him. So each Wednesday we filmed the series, edited it, and then put it out on Sunday morning. … It was really, really fun.”

From Lebanon, Marguerita Kallassy is a trilingual journalist for ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, also owned by EWTN. She has covered everything from street protests to massive religious processions. But her heart lies in telling Catholic stories.

“It was so magical to bring that part of the East that still believes … that still has a place for Jesus in their lives,” she said.

She wants to correct the common misperception that Christianity is all but vanished from the Middle East. 

“People never realize the scale [of Christianity] in the East. … They thought we have only Muslim community in Lebanon so I really need to tell people that this is the birthplace of Jesus. I mean — Jesus is not from New Jersey, you know?” she joked.

“My work with the EWTN inspired me so that I applied to the Sorbonne … in media studies,” she said. Kallassy will start her graduate studies in Paris in the fall.

Daniela Sánchez y Sánchez, 21, grew up in Puebla, Mexico, and is now studying journalism in Spain.

“Since I was a little kid, I always wanted to know … everything about everything,” she said. She began working with Radio María and the Archdiocese of Puebla to report the news of the local Church and bring a message of faith to a country torn by drug violence. 

The Church’s response, she said, has always been prayer — even for those committing violence. “[We] pray for all the victims, for all the priests who have been affected by this, and pray for those people … who are bad and want to do bad to our community,” she said. “We all need to have mercy and pray for them.”

Seated in view of St. Peter’s, Sánchez marveled at the experience. “If you’re into spreading God’s message throughout the world and journalism, this is the best opportunity God has given us.”

WASHINGTON - “I commend President Trump for acknowledging that starvation is happening in Gaza, especially affecting children, and I urge him to demand the immediate expansion of humanitarian assistance through all channels in Gaza,” said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace. Bishop Zaidan’s comments follow reports that the United States would work with its allies to distribute aid to Gaza to address the humanitarian crisis:

“As the world watches in horror the heart-rending images of starvation in Gaza, I call on Catholics and all men and women of good will to ardently pray for the alleviation of the suffering of the Gazan people—a crisis already ranked as one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the 21st century. Pope Leo XIV has often reiterated his ‘heartfelt appeal for a ceasefire, for the release of hostages, and for the full respect for humanitarian law’ in Gaza, and I add my voice and prayers to that of our Holy Father.

“I commend President Trump for acknowledging that starvation is happening in Gaza, especially affecting children, and I urge him to demand the immediate expansion of humanitarian assistance through all channels in Gaza. Reflecting Christ’s mandate in the Gospel to love one another, Pope Leo XIV’s challenge to us is clear: ‘We cannot pray to God as “Father” and then be harsh and insensitive towards others. Instead, it is important to let ourselves be transformed by his goodness, his patience, his mercy, so that his face may be reflected in ours as in a mirror.’

“I would also like to express our heartfelt solidarity with His Eminence Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem, our fellow Christian brothers and sisters, and all men and women of good will in the Holy Land, especially those suffering from unprovoked violence. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit, creator and vivifier, may infuse fraternal love into the hearts and minds of peoples of all faiths living in the lands of our Lord’s life, death, and glorious resurrection.”   

### 

ROME (CNS) -- God, not AI, answers the questions that really matter in life, and God has an idea of the saint everyone is meant to be, said two U.S. bishops speaking at a national gathering in Rome.

More than 4,000 pilgrims from the United States flocked to St. Paul's Outside the Walls for the USA National Jubilee Pilgrim Gathering July 30 as part of the Jubilee of Youth taking place July 28-Aug. 3.

The evening event, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops with the support of the Knights of Columbus, featured prayer, music, moments of witness, Eucharistic adoration and a solemn procession of the relics of a dozen saints and blesseds, including Blesseds Stanley Rother, Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, and Sts. Paul, Kateri Tekakwitha and Elizabeth Ann Seton. 

After U.S. Cardinal James Harvey, archpriest of the basilica, welcomed the pilgrims, Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, gave the keynote address, highlighting the stories of several biblical figures and how "the Bible tells the story of a great adventure," that of being called by God "to a higher life."

"And that's the adventure of the spiritual life, everybody. Don't ever let them tell you that religious people are kind of dull, stay-at-home types," said the bishop, who is also chairman of the USCCB committee of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, and head of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

"On the contrary, it seems to me, religion at its best is always a summons to adventure," he said.

Faith is cultivating an "attitude of trust in regard to the summoning power of God," he said, and "to be a person of faith is to accept that call and to place one's will within the higher will of God."

If one chooses to "settle for the person I am, to accept things the way they are, to just listen to the voices of people around me," Bishop Barron said, then "that is to live in this very narrow, cramped space." 

But Jesus told his disciples to "stop playing around in the shallow waters" of their own limited imaginations and to instead go "into the deep" or toward the great heights "of the person that God wants you to be," he said.

"God has an idea of the saint you were meant to be," he said, and "a person of faith is to open your heart trustingly to that call."

In fact, the most spiritually important question and the greatest decision one can make, he said, is "Who will I be?"

However, the mission God gives is never easy, he said, because "he's summoning us up out of ourselves to the heights."

"We hear the mission. We know what it is. We know the call to radical love, radical self-gift. But we tend to go the other way," he said, which tends to trigger some kind of "storm" or struggle in one's life.

"Is God being vindictive? No," Bishop Barron said. "It's spiritual physics. It's when you go against the divine call, storms kick up in you." 

"Refusing your mission is bad for you, and bad for people around you, because you were meant to help them in some way," he said. 

"What happens when we accept the mission?" he asked. "You don't know who you are until you find your mission," which comes by asking, "Whom do you worship, what voice do you listen to, and what's the mission that voice is giving to you?"

Each mission is unique to each individual, he said, "but it'll look something like a path toward greater self-gift, a greater letting go," much like the crucified Jesus, who gave his life away in love.

During the hour of Eucharistic adoration, Bishop Edward J. Burns of Dallas gave a homily in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, placed on the altar over the tomb of St. Paul. 

Hope is "alive within us because of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us and equips us, not with artificial intelligence, but with divine intelligence," said the bishop who is chairman-elect of the USCCB Committee of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

Search engines and AI models can help people with almost everything and answer so many questions, he said. "But let us remember the answers that truly matter do not come from codes or algorithms."

When praying to the Lord and before the Blessed Sacrament, ask those essential questions, he said, so that "you may be given the answers that truly matter," that uphold the dignity of every human life and every human person, and "that lead us to mercy and to compassion."

"The answers that we need are whispered by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us," Bishop Burns said.

"The Spirit of God doesn't merely inform us. The Spirit of God transforms us," he said. "With technology, we can see what is trending in our world. But with God's love, we can see what's timeless."

Before the Blessed Sacrament, the faithful do not ask for "quick answers, but for hearts renewed," he said.

"In the end, it is not data that will change the world, it's disciples -- disciples whose lives proclaim that Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again," Bishop Burns said.

U.S. bishops and youth unite in Rome for Jubilee celebration

As hundreds of thousands of young people poured into Rome for the Jubilee of Youth, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops hosted a national gathering for U.S. pilgrims at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome July 30, 2025.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Vatican secretary for relations with states, celebrates Mass at Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City on July 27, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Vatican City, Jul 30, 2025 / 17:09 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for relations with states and international organizations of the Holy See, noted that universities are not Catholic “because of the number of crucifixes” but because they strive to seek truth that is “in harmony with the certainty of faith.”

“Far from being just another institution in the global marketplace of ideas, and much less Catholic just because of the number of crucifixes on its walls or chapel services, a truly Catholic university is a place where the search for truth is in harmony with the certainty of faith,” he noted.

As reported by Vatican News, Gallagher gave his reflections during the inaugural conference of the 28th general assembly of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU), held July 28 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

During his visit to Mexico, the prelate emphasized that Catholic universities are called to play a “central role” in building peace through knowledge, dialogue, and the formation of ethical leaders.

In his address, the archbishop strongly argued that, in a context marked by armed conflict, ideological divisions, and growing polarization, Catholic universities must reaffirm their original vocation: to be beacons of humanity and understanding.

“Catholic universities — and also papal representatives — have always been beacons of knowledge, faith, and service to humanity,” he said.

The prelate thus emphasized their potential as active agents in the international arena: “In these turbulent times marked by conflict and war, division and mistrust, [universities] are called to reaffirm their vocation as builders of peace, collaborators in building bridges of understanding between cultures, religions, and disciplines.”

Academic diplomacy: A bridge between cultures and knowledge

From this perspective, Gallagher defended the concept of “academic diplomacy,” which he defined as an essential instrument for dialogue between peoples and fields of knowledge. “They can uniquely develop academic diplomacy as a means to promote peace through thoughtful engagement, ethical reflection, and respectful dialogue,” he explained, insisting that the university vocation goes far beyond the transmission of technical knowledge.

Gallagher also proposed rediscovering the universal value of a deep-rooted Catholic identity, capable of dialogue with everyone without losing its center.

“A truly Catholic education is not isolated but extroverted and committed to the universal search for truth,” he affirmed. “In a world awash in relativism and polarization, this deeply rooted — and therefore universal — Catholic identity constitutes a powerful resource.”

In this regard, he recalled that the Christian conception of the human being is a solid foundation for peace: “The anthropological conception that sees every person, regardless of race, religion, nationality, or condition, in the image and likeness of God, endowed with reason and conscience, and destined for communion, is a solid foundation upon which to build peace through dialogue.”

The archbishop also recalled his experience as a student at the Pontifical Gregorian University to illustrate how the university environment can foster authentic bonds. Along these lines, he affirmed that universities are “seeds of peace that are sown in classrooms, laboratories, residences, and libraries.”

He therefore said that the entire university can be an authentic diplomatic mission: “not an ivory tower disconnected from reality, but an active participant in building a culture of peace.”

This mission, he clarified, requires an interdisciplinary and collaborative structure: “This is intrinsically interdisciplinary, because only mutual exchange enriches all parties and contributes to the development of leaders capable of guiding their societies with wisdom and compassion.”

Regarding the content that should occupy a prominent place in this academic diplomacy, the Vatican official emphasized that many of the challenges of war and peace “in today’s world can only be addressed in a sustained manner by returning to these principles and applying them.”

“If they are ignored, already difficult situations can deteriorate rapidly and with terrible consequences,” he explained.

He also emphasized that diplomacy requires specialists but also “needs generalists who seek a broad and nuanced vision.”

Finally, the archbishop reaffirmed the Holy See’s commitment to a diplomacy that does not surrender to pragmatism but remains anchored in principles and humanity.

“In our efforts, we promote peace, defend human dignity, and give a voice to those without one, especially the poor, the displaced, and the marginalized,” he concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV waves from the popemobile during a surprise ride around St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican following the Jubilee of Youth welcome Mass on July 29, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 30, 2025 / 15:39 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV made a surprise appearance in St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday evening to greet the thousands of participants at the welcoming Mass for the Jubilee of Youth.

After touring the square, the Holy Father addressed the youth in Italian, Spanish, and English from the main altar. “‘Buona sera, buenas tardes,’ good evening,” Leo XIV said, causing the crowd to roar.

In English, the pope recalled Jesus’ words: “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:13:16).

“And today, your voices, your enthusiasm, your cries; are all for Jesus Christ, and you will be heard until the ends of the earth,” he proceeded, switching to Spanish. “Today begins a few days, a journey: the Jubilee of Hope, and the world needs messages of hope. You are this message, and you must continue to give hope to everyone,” he added.

“Let us hope that all of you will always be a sign of hope for the whole world,” said the Holy Father, this time speaking in Italian.

“Today we are beginning, and in the coming days we will have the opportunity to be a force that will give God’s grace, that will be [a source of] hope, and that will give light to the city of Rome and to the entire world,” he stated in his extemporaneous remarks.

Leo XIV then asked the young people to walk together “with our faith in Jesus Christ.” From St. Peter’s Square, he also prayed for peace for the entire world: “Our cry must also be for peace in the world. Let us all say: We want peace in the world! We want peace in the world! Let us pray for peace.”

“May we be a witness to the peace of Jesus Christ, of reconciliation, of this light of the world that we are all seeking,” the Holy Father added, again in Spanish. Finally, he prayed together with the thousands of young people and imparted his blessing.

“We’ll see you! We’ll meet at Tor Vergata! Have a good week!” the pope said in parting, referring to the prayer vigil he will hold with young people on the evening of Aug. 2 and the final Mass for the Jubilee of Youth, which he will celebrate Aug. 3.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CN

Pope Leo XIV signs a portrait of himself for a pilgrim at his general audience on July 30, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 30, 2025 / 15:09 pm (CNA).

Before a packed St. Peter’s Square filled with young people who had come from all over the world for the Jubilee of Youth, Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday gave his first general audience after his vacation in Castel Gandolfo.

Aboard the popemobile, the pontiff toured the colorful esplanade, warmly and enthusiastically greeting the hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims waving the flags of numerous countries.

At the beginning of his July 30 catechesis, the last in a series dedicated to the public life of Jesus, the Holy Father lamented the climate of violence and hatred that marks our time, a reality that, he affirmed, “deeply wounds human dignity.” Against this backdrop, he firmly emphasized: “Our world needs healing.”

“We live in a society,” he explained, “that is becoming ill due to a kind of ‘bulimia’ of social media connections: We are hyperconnected, bombarded by images, sometimes false or distorted.”

The silent proximity of Jesus

Faced with these messages that provoke “contradictory emotions,” the pontiff warned that there is often an impulse “to turn everything off” and even to prefer not to feel anything anymore,” thus running the risk of losing the ability “to say to one another the most simple and profound things.”

In this context, Pope Leo XIV suggested meditating on the passage from the Gospel of St. Mark that presents a man who neither speaks nor hears (cf. Mk 7:31-37). He emphasized that “it is not he who comes to Jesus to be healed, but others bring him.”

“The Christian community, however, has also seen in these people an image of the Church, which accompanies each person to Jesus so that they may listen to his word,” he explained.

He noted that Jesus “takes this person aside,” which seems to “emphasize his isolation.” However, the pontiff pointed out that this gesture helps us understand “what lies behind the silence and closure of this man, as if Jesus had perceived his need for intimacy and closeness.”

“Jesus offers him silent closeness, through gestures that speak of a profound encounter: He touches this man’s ears and tongue,” he added.

He also emphasized that Jesus doesn’t use many words but rather says “only what is necessary in that moment: ‘Be opened!’” For the Holy Father, with this “simple and beautiful” word, Jesus invites him to open himself to this world that frightens him and to the relationships that have disappointed him.

‘To truly know Jesus, one must complete a journey’

Pope Leo pointed out that the attitude of the man in the Gospel could reflect the experience of someone who feels “inadequate” or is afraid to express themselves for fear of making a mistake. “All of us experience what it means to be misunderstood,” he noted.

He therefore emphasized the need to ask the Lord to heal our way of communicating, “not only so that we may be more effective, but also so that we may avoid wounding others with our words.”

In light of the Gospel, Pope Leo XIV recalled: “To truly know Jesus, one must complete a journey; one must remain with him and also pass through his Passion.”

“When we have seen him humiliated and suffering, when we have experienced the saving power of his cross, then we can say that we have truly come to know him. There are no shortcuts to becoming disciples of Jesus,” he emphasized.

At the end of his catechesis, the pope encouraged the faithful to ask the Lord “that we may learn to communicate with honesty and prudence. Let us pray for all those who have been wounded by the words of others.”

“Let us pray for the Church, that she may never fail in her mission to lead people to Jesus, so that they may hear his word, be healed by it, and in turn become bearers of his message of salvation,” he concluded.

Bright beacons of hope in the world

During his greetings to the pilgrims, the pope addressed in particular all the young people participating in the Jubilee of Youth, encouraging them to open their hearts “to God’s healing love, so that you can become even brighter beacons of hope in the world.”

“May this encounter with Jesus in fraternal communion strengthen your faith and your hope, fill your hearts with peace, and unite you in his love. Receive these gifts from Christ and share them with your contemporaries and compatriots in your homeland,” he added.

In his message to the Spanish-speaking faithful, the Holy Father urged them to pray “so that these days of faith, reflection, and friendship may bear fruit.” His words sparked a roaring ovation, and the square vibrated with loud applause, with the youth shouting: “[We are] the pope’s young people!”

Sorrow over church attack in Democratic Republic of Congo

The pope renewed his “deep sorrow” for the brutal terrorist attack that took place on the night of July 26-27 in Komanda in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than 40 Christians were murdered in a church during a prayer vigil and also in their own homes.

“As I entrust the victims to God’s loving mercy, I pray for the wounded and for Christians around the world who continue to suffer violence and persecution. I urge those with local and international responsibility to work together in order to prevent such tragedies,” he stated.

Finally, the Holy Father recalled that Aug. 1 marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, an agreement between 35 countries to guarantee security in the context of the Cold War.

This event, the pontiff stated, “renewed interest in human rights, with special emphasis on religious freedom.” He also recalled that the Holy See’s active participation “helped to promote political and moral commitment to peace.”

“Today, more than ever, it is essential to safeguard the spirit of Helsinki: to persevere in dialogue, strengthen cooperation, and make diplomacy the preferred path to prevent and resolve conflicts,” the Holy Father emphasized.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi (second from left) with Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Alistair Dutton (second from right) and Caritas Youth delegates during the Jubilee of Youth in Rome on July 29, 2025. / Credit: Kristina Millare/CNA

Vatican City, Jul 30, 2025 / 13:39 pm (CNA).

President of Caritas Internationalis Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, SVD, praised the Church’s young humanitarians this week for their generous dedication to the world’s poor, saying they are bearers of hope who have overcome the world’s “biggest problem” of selfishness.

“You see, there are many problems right now,” Kikuchi told CNA in an interview. “But the biggest problem is that people are becoming very, very selfish — to think about themselves only and forget about the cry of those people in need.”

“Young people are living in difficult situations now in many countries,” he said. “The social situation, the economic situation, jobs, and education are not satisfactory and so young people are really only interested in themselves.”

“Caritas wants to tell people that opportunities are not only for them — God created everybody and everybody are brothers and sisters,” he continued.

“We are equal,” he said. “So we have to think about other people.”

In Rome to support the multinational Caritas Youth delegation participating in the July 28 to Aug. 3 Jubilee of Youth, the Japanese cardinal expressed great pride in the young men and women who have chosen to commit themselves to Caritas’ mission to serve the poor. 

“These young people are the real present of this world today,” the cardinal told CNA during his brief visit Tuesday with Caritas Youth delegates stationed near St. Peter’s Basilica to raise awareness of the Church’s humanitarian work with passersby and other jubilee pilgrims.

Kikuchi, who was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in December 2024 and has worked for Caritas since 1995, presides over the Church’s global humanitarian network — comprising 162 national member organizations — operating in thousands of dioceses and parishes in over 200 countries. 

Since the opening of the jubilee dedicated to youth, Pope Leo XIV has reiterated the need for the Church to be witnesses of hope, telling young people to “shout” for peace. This week, he also released his August prayer intention for “mutual coexistence.”

“And today your voices, your enthusiasm, your cries — which are all for Jesus Christ — will be heard to the ends of the earth,” Leo told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday evening.

“And our cry must also be for world peace,” he insisted. “Let us all say: ‘We want world peace!’”

According to Kikuchi, a missionary priest of the Society of the Divine Word, “Pope Leo is also saying the same thing [as Pope Francis] — that we have to be attentive to the cry of the people.”

Turning Pope Leo’s calls for peace into action 

For Caritas Korea youth delegate Maria Mi Kyong Kim, the pope’s continuous calls for peace have brought profound meaning to her work with the world’s second-largest humanitarian aid and development network.

“His first words out, ‘peace be with you,’ was very strong and powerful to many,” Kim told CNA, reflecting on the pope’s first address given from the balcony of St. Peter’s Square in May. “Peace is perhaps the essence of everything.” 

“At this moment, there are so many protracted crises and so many countries that are facing economic failures,” she said. “If you look deep down there is always that issue of ‘peace’ within the country and also with neighboring countries, and there are always constant conflicts.”

Building community, solidarity among people within regions 

Caritas Asia youth coordinator Sam Ratha Lay said the Church needs “the hands of young people” to support the vast region’s activities aimed at helping families affected by natural disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

“We need them to join together to build communities and even prevent [future] disasters,” he said. 

Supporting the poor, vulnerable in one’s own country   

Concerned by the social problems within her own country, Caritas Egypt youth delegate Engy Zaher coordinates a 90-day residential drug rehabilitation program in her home country. 

“Many younger people and families are facing challenges such as addiction, lack of economic empowerment and youth empowerment, poverty, and lack of access to mental health support,” she told CNA.

“Our professional services and our presence gives people hope and the real chance of rebuilding their lives with dignity,” she said.

Raising the voices of the poor to world leaders

Looking forward to reading Pope Leo’s highly-anticipated first encyclical once it is released, Edward Marshall, who volunteers with Caritas’ England-Wales branch known as the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), said the role of advocacy is just as important as fundraising or emergency response coordination.

“About 40% of our work is in advocacy in London,” he shared with CNA. “So, campaigning in Westminster for U.K. politicians on global issues like the debt crisis, the migration crisis, and climate change.”

Speaking about the world’s future leaders who will, one day, hold positions of authority and influence in the secular world, Marshall said youth today “have a lot of energy and a lot of wisdom.”

“Younger people have a much greater understanding than people think on the issues that they care about,” he said. “If they have, or are given, a platform, they’ll use it to the best of their abilities.”