“Sts. Peter and Paul,” Altar of St. Catherine (1465), Schwabach, Germany. Artist unknown. / Credit: Public domain

Vatican City, Nov 18, 2025 / 05:00 am (CNA).

Nov. 18 is celebrated in the Catholic Church as the feast day of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul. Here are three things to know about the historical, architectural, and spiritual significance of these two papal basilicas:

1. Historical significance of the Nov. 18 feast day 

In the fourth century, the world’s first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine, commissioned the construction of two separate basilicas over the burial sites of St. Peter and St. Paul to enable the public veneration of the two great apostles, martyrs, and evangelizers of Rome.

After Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire following the Edict of Milan issued by Constantine in 313, construction of the first Basilica of St. Peter began in 319 and was consecrated by Pope Sylvester on Nov. 18, 326. Historical records indicate that Sylvester consecrated the first basilica built by Constantine dedicated to the apostle St. Paul on Nov. 19 around the year 330.

The masses of pilgrims who came to pray at the tombs of the “Prince of the Apostles” and the “Apostle to the Gentiles” required constant repairs, renovations, and expansion of the two basilicas built by Constantine.

In 1506, Pope Julius II ordered the demolition of the original basilica dedicated to St. Peter to construct the second Basilica of St. Peter, which still stands today. Pope Urban VIII solemnly consecrated the magnificent Basilica of St. Peter 120 years later on Nov. 18, 1626.

Over the centuries the basilica dedicated to St. Paul underwent several renovations and two major reconstructions. The current Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls is the third basilica built above the apostle’s burial site. In 1854 — after the great fire of 1823 and over 30 years of construction work — Pius IX consecrated the newly-built basilica and fixed Nov. 18 as its commemoration date.

2. Architectural significance of the two basilicas 

With histories that span nearly two millennia, both the Basilica of St. Peter and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls bear the marks of changing architectural designs dating back from the Paleo-Christian period to the present day.

The world-famous 16th-century Basilica of St. Peter, visited by millions of tourists and pilgrims yearly, took more than 100 years to construct and was heavily influenced by Western artistic styles of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Designed by the Italian architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the 94-foot-tall bronze canopy, known as the baldacchino, is a Baroque masterpiece that towers above the central altar and stands directly above the tomb of St. Peter. To highlight the primacy of Peter among the apostles, the baldacchino features sculptures of cherubs holding the papal tiara as well as the “keys to the kingdom of heaven,” which Jesus entrusted to St. Peter and his successors. Bernini also designed the keyhole shape of St. Peter’s Square.

Throughout its history, the Roman basilica dedicated to St. Paul was a testimony to the Catholic Church’s ancient past. Before the 1823 fire, the basilica housed artworks and historical artifacts from the Paleo-Christian, Byzantine, Renaissance, and Baroque periods.

Reconstructed to be identical to the basilica destroyed by fire, the art and architecture of St. Paul Outside the Walls has taken its inspiration from different architectural styles dating back from the 11th century to contemporary designs of the 21st century.

The Holy Door of this major basilica was designed by Enrico Manfrini in preparation for the 2000 Jubilee Year. Inside this door stands the Byzantine door, created in 1070, depicting scenes of the life of Christ and the first Christians.

3. Spiritual significance of the two basilicas 

The burial sites of the two patron saints of Rome remain significant places of pilgrimage for Christians.

St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Paul Outside the Walls, two of the four papal basilicas of Rome, are visited by millions of tourists for their historical, architectural, and artistic importance. For Christian pilgrims, the two major basilicas hold a greater spiritual significance that links their faith in Jesus and his Church to two of its most faithful apostles who led the way for Christians throughout the ages through their teachings and witness.

On the June 29, 2024, solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Pope Francis invited all of the Catholic faithful to imitate their example and “open the doors” of the Church during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope. 

“The jubilee will be a time of grace, during which we will open the Holy Door so that everyone may cross the threshold of that ‘living sanctuary’ who is Jesus,” the Holy Father said in his homily.

The Holy Door in the Basilica of St. Peter opened on Christmas Eve 2024 to usher in the jubilee year and the Holy Door of St. Paul Outside the Walls opened on Jan. 5, 2025. The former wil close on Jan. 6, 2026, and the latter will close on Dec. 28, 2025.

This story was first published on Nov. 18, 2024, and has been updated.

Pope Leo XIV addresses diocesan liturgy officials during an audience on Nov. 17, 2025, at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 17, 2025 / 19:40 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV urged parishes to invest in liturgical formation, especially for lectors, while also encouraging people to pray the Liturgy of the Hours and calling for attention to be paid to popular piety.

While receiving participants in a course organized by the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of St. Anselm in Rome at the Apostolic Palace for diocesan liturgical pastoral workers, the Holy Father said that “in the dioceses and parishes there is a need for such formation” and encouraged the creation of “biblical and liturgical courses” in places where such formation programs are lacking.

Through such courses, the pope said the institute could help local churches and parish communities “to be formed by the word of God, explaining the texts of the weekday and feast day Lectionary.”

For the pope, it is important that the liturgy be “expression of a community that cares for its celebrations, prepares them, and lives them to the full.”

Regarding biblical formation combined with liturgical formation, he recommended that those in charge of liturgical ministry pay “particular attention” to those who proclaim the word of God.

Referring to lectors and those who regularly read the Scriptures, the Holy Father said that “basic biblical knowledge, clear diction, the ability to sing the responsorial psalm, as well as to compose prayers of the faithful for the community are important aspects that implement liturgical reform and help the people of God grow on their path.” 

“We are well aware that liturgical formation is one of the main themes of the entire conciliar and postconciliar journey,” Leo XIV stated.

In this regard, he affirmed that while “much progress has been made” there is still “a long way to go.” “Let us not tire: Let us enthusiastically resume the good initiatives inspired by the reform and, at the same time, seek new ways and new methods,” he urged.

The pope said the aim is “to foster the fruitful participation of the people of God as well as a dignified liturgy that is attentive to different sensibilities and sober in its solemnity.”

Among other things, he expressly asked the diocesan liturgy to promote the Liturgy of the Hours and to nurture the dimension of “popular piety.”

“Among the aspects linked to your service as directors, I would like to mention the promotion of the Liturgy of the Hours, care for popular piety, and attention to the celebratory dimension in the construction of new churches and the adaptation of existing ones,” he stated.

“In many parishes, then, there are also liturgical groups who must work in synergy with the diocesan commission,” the pope noted.

Parish liturgy committees

The Holy Father continued: “The experience of a group, even small but well motivated, that is concerned with the preparation of the liturgy is an expression of a community that cares for its celebrations, prepares them, and lives them to the full, in agreement with the parish priest.”

“In this way, we avoid delegating everything to him and leaving only a few people responsible for singing, proclaiming the word, and decorating the church,” he explained.

Similarly, he lamented that these parish groups “have dwindled to nothing, as if they had lost their identity.” Therefore, he called for a commitment to make “this area of Church life attractive again, capable of involving people who are competent or at least inclined to this type of service.”

He thus encouraged liturgical leaders to propose to parish priests “formation courses to start or consolidate liturgical groups in the parish, training their members and offering suggestions for their activities."

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 prays during a Mass at Sant’Anselmo Church, located at a Benedictine monastery on the Aventine Hill in Rome, on Nov. 11, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 17, 2025 / 14:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV sent a message Nov. 17 to participants in the meeting for “Building Communities that Protect Dignity,” promoted by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The Holy Father said that efforts to build communities where the dignity of minors and the most vulnerable is protected and promoted are a matter that he holds “deep in his heart.”

The pontiff explained that “dignity is a gift from God” and that it is not something obtained through merit or force but rather “a gift that precedes us: It is born from the loving gaze with which God has loved us individually and continues to love us.”

“In every human face, even when marked by weariness or pain, there is a reflection of the Creator’s goodness, a light that no darkness can extinguish,” he affirmed.

The pope thus emphasized that “by taking responsibility for the lives of others, we learn true freedom, the kind that does not dominate but serves, that does not possess but accompanies.”

“Consecrated life, an expression of the total gift of oneself to Christ, is called in a special way to be a welcoming home and a place of encounter and grace,” he underscored.

The pope therefore affirmed that “whoever follows the Lord on the path of chastity, poverty, and obedience discovers that authentic love is born from the recognition of one’s own limitations: from knowing that we are loved even in our weakness, and it is precisely this that enables us to love others with respect, tenderness, and a free heart.”

In this regard, he emphasized the purpose of the meeting: “to share experiences and paths taken in learning how to prevent all forms of abuse and how to be accountable, with truth and humility, for the processes of protection undertaken.”

He also urged the participants “to continue with this commitment so that communities become ever more examples of trust and dialogue, where every person is respected, listened to, and valued.”

“Where justice is lived with mercy, the wound is transformed into an opening for  grace,” the Holy Father said.

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 addresses the steering committee of the Catholic Biblical Federation at the Vatican on Nov. 17, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 17, 2025 / 10:39 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV lamented that there are cultural spaces where the Gospel is “distorted by particular interests” during a meeting with the Catholic Biblical Federation at the Vatican on Monday.

“New generations inhabit new digital environments where the word of God is easily overshadowed. New communities often find themselves in cultural spaces where the Gospel is unfamiliar or distorted by particular interests,” the pope said Nov. 17.

The Catholic Biblical Federation is an international organization — led by Cardinal Luis Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization — whose main goal is to promote the knowledge, dissemination, study, and pastoral ministry of sacred Scripture around the world.

The pontiff made clear that the group’s mission and vision “should always be inspired by the conviction that the Church draws life not from herself but from the Gospel.”

He added that “ensuring easy access to sacred Scripture for all the faithful is essential so that everyone may encounter the God who speaks, shares his love, and draws us into the fullness of life” and said translations of Scripture “remain indispensable.”

Leo invited the group to reflect on what “easy access” to sacred Scripture means in our time and “how can we facilitate this encounter for those who have never heard the word of God or whose cultures remain untouched by the Gospel?”

The pope expressed the hope that these questions will inspire “new forms of biblical outreach, capable of opening pathways to the Scriptures, so that God’s word may take root in people’s hearts and lead all to live in his grace.”

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 shares lunch with people in need at the Vatican on Nov. 16, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Nov 16, 2025 / 11:15 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV had lunch on Sunday with more than 1,300 people experiencing poverty and social exclusion, gathering with them in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall for a festive meal marking the World Day of the Poor.

The hall was transformed into a vast dining room for the occasion. The event was organized by the Congregation of the Mission on behalf of Vincentian missionaries worldwide, who this year celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of their congregation and of the Daughters of Charity. Volunteers served lasagna, breaded chicken with potatoes, and the traditional Italian dessert babà.

As on similar occasions in past years, the Vatican, through the papal almoner Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, invited a group of transgender people from the Roman seaside town of Torvaianica. Father Andrea Conocchia, a parish priest in Torvaianica, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that he had accompanied about 50 transgender people from his community to the event.

In a special effort to highlight dignity and respect, the Vatican provided full table service with proper dishes, flatware, and table linens — avoiding plastic or disposable materials. Organizers said the aim was not only to offer a meal but also to create an experience of welcome and care for each guest.

After the meal, the pope thanked the Vincentian family for its service to the most vulnerable. “This lunch that we now receive is offered by Providence and by the great generosity of the Vincentian community, to whom we wish to express our gratitude,” he said.

The pope also shared his joy at spending time with the poor on a day instituted by his predecessor. “With great joy we gather this afternoon for this lunch on the World Day of the Poor, which was so desired by my beloved predecessor, Pope Francis,” he said.

He expressed gratitude for all who dedicate themselves to those in need: “So many priests, religious sisters, and lay volunteers devote their lives to helping people who experience various needs. We are filled with gratitude for them.”

Before the meal, he prayed: “May the Lord bless the gifts we are about to receive, bless the life of each one of us, our loved ones, and all those who have accompanied us on our journey.” He also remembered those suffering around the world: “Let us invoke the Lord’s blessing upon those who suffer from violence, war, and hunger, and may we celebrate this feast today in a spirit of fraternity.”

He concluded with a final blessing: “Bless our life, our fraternity. Help us always to walk united in your love. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen. Warm greetings and enjoy your meal!”

Music added to the joyful atmosphere, with performances of classical and traditional Neapolitan pieces by 100 young people from Naples’ Rione Sanità neighborhood involved in the Sanitansamble and Tornà a Cantà educational programs of the Nova Opera ETS Foundation.

At the end of the lunch, the Vincentian Family of Italy gave each participant a “St. Vincent’s Backpack” containing food and hygiene products as a sign of continued accompaniment.

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 celebrates Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Nov. 16, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Nov 16, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Celebrating Mass for the Jubilee of the Poor on the ninth World Day of the Poor, Pope Leo XIV urged Christians not to retreat into a closed or “religious” world of their own but to help make human society “a space of fraternity and dignity for all, without exception.”

Presiding in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, the pope reflected on the “day of the Lord” and the upheavals of history, saying that Christ’s promise remains secure even amid war, violence, and deep social wounds.

Quoting the prophet Malachi, he described the “day of the Lord” as the dawn of a new era in which “the hopes of the poor and the humble will receive a final and definitive answer from the Lord” and recalled that Jesus himself is the “sun of righteousness” who comes close to every person. In the Gospel, he said, Christ assures his disciples that “not a hair of your head will perish” (Lk 21:18), anchoring Christian hope even “when all human hope seems to be extinguished.”

“In the midst of persecution, suffering, struggles, and oppression in our personal lives and in society, God does not abandon us,” the pope said, pointing to the “golden thread” of Scripture in which God always takes the side of “the little ones, orphans, strangers, and widows.”

World Day of the Poor: ‘Dilexi te — I have loved you’

Marking his first World Day of the Poor as pope, Leo XIV addressed his homily in a special way to those experiencing poverty and exclusion.

“While the entire Church rejoices and exults, it is especially to you, dear brothers and sisters, that I want to proclaim the irrevocable words of the Lord Jesus himself: ‘Dilexi te, I have loved you,’” he said, citing the title of his recent apostolic exhortation on love for the poor. “Yes, before our smallness and poverty, God looks at us like no one else and loves us with eternal love.”

In that spirit, he said, the Church today seeks to be “mother of the poor, a place of welcome and justice,” even as it continues to be “wounded by old and new forms of poverty.”

The pope warned against living as “distracted wanderers,” withdrawn into “a life closed in on ourselves, in a religious seclusion that isolates us from others and from history.” Seeking God’s kingdom, he insisted, “implies the desire to transform human coexistence into a space of fraternity and dignity for all, without exception.”

Many forms of poverty, one wound of loneliness

Leo XIV noted that “so many forms of poverty oppress our world,” from material deprivation to moral and spiritual poverty that “often affect young people in a particular way.”

“The tragedy that cuts across them all is loneliness,” he said. This tragedy, he continued, “challenges us to look at poverty in an integral way,” not limiting ourselves to emergency aid but developing “a culture of attention, precisely in order to break down the walls of loneliness.”

“Let us, then, be attentive to others, to each person, wherever we are, wherever we live,” the pope said, inviting Christians to become “witnesses of God’s tenderness” in families, workplaces, schools, communities, and even the digital world.

‘There can be no peace without justice’

Looking to current conflicts, Leo XIV said the proliferation of war “seems especially to confirm that we are in a state of helplessness,” but he stressed that this resignation is rooted in a lie.

“The globalization of helplessness arises from a lie, from believing that history has always been this way and cannot change,” he said. “The Gospel, on the other hand, reminds us that it is precisely in the upheavals of history that the Lord comes to save us. And today, as a Christian community, together with the poor, we must become a living sign of this salvation.”

Poverty, he added, “challenges Christians, but it also challenges all those who have positions of responsibility in society.” Addressing world leaders, he said: “I urge heads of state and the leaders of nations to listen to the cry of the poorest. There can be no peace without justice, and the poor remind us of this in many ways, through migration as well as through their cries, which are often stifled by the myth of well-being and progress that does not take everyone into account, and indeed forgets many individuals, leaving them to their fate.”

He thanked charity workers and volunteers who serve those in need and encouraged them “to continue to be the critical conscience of society.”

“You know well that the question of the poor leads back to the essence of our faith, for they are the very flesh of Christ and not just a sociological category,” he said, again citing Dilexi Te. “This is why ‘the Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking. Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges.’”

The pope also invited the faithful to take inspiration from the saints who served Christ in the poor, highlighting St. Benedict Joseph Labre, whose life as a “vagabond of God” makes him “the patron saint of the homeless.”

Poor at the center of the celebration

Several thousand people in situations of poverty or social exclusion, accompanied by Catholic organizations, were present for the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and in St. Peter’s Square, where others followed the liturgy on large screens.

Among them, according to organizers, were some 1,500 people from France who have experienced life on the streets, prostitution, prison, or other forms of marginalization and who traveled to Rome with volunteers and pastoral workers for the Jubilee of the Poor. Before Mass, the pope greeted those gathered in the square from the popemobile.

Angelus: Persecuted Christians as witnesses of truth, justice, and hope

Later, appearing at the window of the Apostolic Palace to pray the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, Leo XIV returned to the day’s Gospel from Luke 21, which speaks of wars, uprisings, and persecutions.

“As the liturgical year draws to a close, today’s Gospel (Lk 21:5-19) invites us to reflect on the travails of history and the end times,” he said. In the face of these upheavals, Jesus’ appeal “is very timely,” the pope said: “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified” (v. 9).

“Jesus’ words proclaim that the attack of evil cannot destroy the hope of those who trust in him. The darker the hour, the more faith shines like the sun,” he said.

Twice in the Gospel, Christ says that “because of my name” many will suffer violence and betrayal, the pope continued, “but precisely then they will have the opportunity to bear witness.” That witness, he stressed, belongs not only to those who face physical violence.

“Indeed, the persecution of Christians does not only happen through mistreatment and weapons but also with words, that is, through lies and ideological manipulation,” he said. “Especially when we are oppressed by these evils, both physical and moral, we are called to bear witness to the truth that saves the world; to the justice that redeems peoples from oppression; to the hope that shows everyone the way to peace.”

Quoting Jesus’ promise “By your endurance you will gain your souls” (Lk 21:19), the pope said this assurance “gives us the strength to resist the threatening events of history and every offense,” because Christ himself gives believers “words and a wisdom” to persevere in doing good.

He pointed to the martyrs as a sign that “God’s grace is capable of transforming even violence into a sign of redemption” and entrusted persecuted Christians throughout the world to the intercession of Mary, Help of Christians.

Appeals for persecuted Christians, Ukraine, and Peru crash victims

After praying the Angelus, Leo XIV turned to current situations of suffering, beginning with Christians who face discrimination and persecution.

“Christians today are still suffering from discrimination and persecution in various parts of the world,” he said, mentioning in particular Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sudan, and other countries “from which we often hear news of attacks on communities and places of worship.”

“God is a merciful Father, and he desires peace among all his children!” the pope added, praying especially for families in Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a recent terrorist attack killed at least 20 civilians.

He said he is following “with sorrow” the reports of continuing attacks on numerous Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, which have caused deaths and injuries — “children among them” — and widespread damage to civilian infrastructure, leaving families homeless as winter approaches. “We must not become accustomed to war and destruction!” he said, urging prayer “for a just and lasting peace in war-torn Ukraine.”

The pope also prayed for the victims of a serious bus accident in southern Peru’s Arequipa region in which at least 37 people died and many others were injured after a bus plunged into a ravine in the rural district of Ocoña.

“I would also like to offer my prayers for the victims of the serious road accident that occurred last Wednesday in southern Peru,” he said. “May the Lord welcome the deceased, sustain the injured, and comfort the bereaved families."

Road safety, new blessed, the poor, and abuse survivors

In a wider appeal for road safety, Leo XIV noted that the Church was also remembering “all those who have died in road accidents, too often caused by irresponsible behavior. Let each of us examine our conscience on this matter,” he said.

The pope recalled the beatification on Saturday in Bari of Italian diocesan priest Carmelo De Palma, who died in 1961 after a life “generously spent in the ministry of confession and spiritual accompaniment,” and prayed that his example would inspire priests to give themselves “unreservedly” in service to God’s people.

Marking the World Day of the Poor once more, Leo XIV thanked dioceses and parishes that organized initiatives of solidarity with those most in need, and invited the faithful to rediscover his exhortation Dilexi Te on love for the poor, “a document that Pope Francis was preparing in the last months of his life and which I completed with great joy.”

Finally, he joined the Church in Italy in observing a day of prayer for victims and survivors of abuse, calling for “a culture of respect” that safeguards the dignity of every person, “especially minors and the most vulnerable.”

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

Film director Spike Lee gives Pope Leo XIV a customized New York Knicks jersey at the Vatican on Nov. 15, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 15, 2025 / 13:45 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV told representatives of the global film industry on Saturday that cinema is far more than entertainment, calling it a vehicle capable of expressing humanity’s deepest spiritual search and its longing for the infinite.

The pope received a group of filmmakers, actors, and producers at the Apostolic Palace on Nov. 15. Among those greeting him were Academy Award-winning Australian actress Cate Blanchett, American actor Chris Pine, Italian actresses Monica Bellucci and Maria Grazia Cucinotta, and Oscar-winning director Spike Lee.

Ahead of the audience, the Vatican released a list of some of the pope’s favorite films, including “The Sound of Music” and “Life Is Beautiful.”

Addressing the artists, the pope said cinema is “still a young, dreamlike, and somewhat restless art form” and that although it began as a “play of light and shadow, designed to amuse and impress,” it soon began to convey “much deeper realities,” eventually becoming “an expression of the desire to contemplate and understand life, to recount its greatness and fragility, and to portray the longing for infinity.”

He told them: “It is wonderful to see that when the magic light of cinema illuminates the darkness, it simultaneously ignites the eyes of the soul. Indeed, cinema combines what appears to be mere entertainment with the narrative of the human person’s spiritual adventure.”

One of cinema’s most valuable contributions, he said, is “helping audiences consider their own lives, look at the complexity of their experiences with new eyes, and examine the world as if for the first time,” thus rediscovering “a portion of the hope that is essential for humanity to live to the fullest.”

He added: “I find comfort in the thought that cinema is not just moving pictures; it sets hope in motion!”

The cinema as the heart of community life

“Entering a cinema is like crossing a threshold,” the pope said. “In the darkness and silence, vision becomes sharper, the heart opens up, and the mind becomes receptive to things not yet imagined.” Through their work, filmmakers “connect with people who are looking for entertainment as well as those who carry within their hearts a sense of restlessness and are looking for meaning, justice, and beauty.”

“We live in an age where digital screens are always on,” he continued. “There is a constant flow of information. However, cinema is much more than just a screen; it is an intersection of desires, memories, and questions. It is a sensory journey in which light pierces the darkness and words meet silence. As the plot unfolds, our mind is educated, our imagination broadens, and even pain can find new meaning.”

He stressed that cultural institutions such as cinemas and theaters are “the beating hearts of our communities because they contribute to making them more human,” adding: “If a city is alive, it is thanks in part to its cultural spaces. We must inhabit these spaces and build relationships within them, day after day.”

Nonetheless, he warned that “cinemas are experiencing a troubling decline, with many being removed from cities and neighborhoods,” and noted that “more than a few people are saying that the art of cinema and the cinematic experience are in danger.” He urged institutions “not to give up but to cooperate in affirming the social and cultural value of this activity.”

Resisting the ‘algorithmic logic’ of the digital age

“The logic of algorithms tends to repeat what ‘works,’ but art opens up what is possible,” he said. “Not everything has to be immediate or predictable. Defend slowness when it serves a purpose, silence when it speaks and difference when evocative. Beauty is not just a means of escape; it is above all an invocation.”

“When cinema is authentic, it does not merely console, but challenges,” he continued. “It articulates the questions that dwell within us and sometimes even provokes tears that we did not know we needed to express.”

In the jubilee year, he told them, the Church invites everyone “to journey towards hope,” saying their presence was “a shining example” of that. He described filmmakers as “pilgrims of the imagination, seekers of meaning, narrators of hope, and heralds of humanity,” whose journey is measured not in distance but in “images, words, emotions, shared memories, and collective desires.”

The Church, he said, “esteems you for your work with light and time, with faces and landscapes, with words and silence.” Quoting Pope Paul VI’s words to artists — “If you are friends of genuine art, you are our friends… this world in which we live needs beauty in order not to sink into despair” — he said he wished “to renew this friendship because cinema is a workshop of hope, a place where people can once again find themselves and their purpose.”

He encouraged them to remember the words of film pioneer David W. Griffith: “What the modern movie lacks is beauty, the beauty of the moving wind in the trees,” linking it to the Gospel image of the wind as a sign of the Spirit. “I invite you to make cinema an art of the Spirit,” he said.

“In the present era, there is a need for witnesses of hope, beauty, and truth,” he continued. “You can fulfill this role through your artistic work. Good cinema and those who create and star in it have the power to recover the authenticity of imagery in order to safeguard and promote human dignity. Do not be afraid to confront the world’s wounds.”

Good cinema, he stressed, “does not exploit pain; it recognizes and explores it.” Giving voice to the complex and sometimes dark feelings of the human heart “is an act of love,” he said, and authentic art “must engage with” human frailty.

Filmmaking, he reminded them, “is a communal effort, a collective endeavor in which no one is self-sufficient,” involving the contributions of countless professionals. “Every voice, every gesture, and every skill contributes to a work that can only exist as a whole.”

“In an age of exaggerated and confrontational personalities,” he said, they show that film requires “dedication and talent,” and that everyone’s gifts can “shine in a collaborative and fraternal atmosphere.” He prayed that cinema would “always be a meeting place and a home for those seeking meaning and a language of peace” and that it would “never lose its capacity to amaze and even continue to offer us a glimpse, however small, of the mystery of God.”

“May the Lord bless you, your work and your loved ones,” he concluded. “And may he always accompany you on your creative journey and help you to be artisans of hope.”

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 greets Vancouver Archbishop Richard Smith at the Vatican, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 15, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

In a Saturday meeting, Pope Leo XIV received Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, at which the Holy Father gifted dozens of artifacts that originated with Indigenous peoples of the North American country.

Leo at the meeting donated 62 pieces from the ethnological collections of the Vatican Museums to the Canadian bishops. Goudreault was accompanied by Archbishop Richard Smith of Vancouver and Father Jean Vézina, secretary-general of the Canadian bishops.

“It is an act of ecclesial sharing, through which the successor of Peter entrusts to the Church in Canada these objects, which bear witness to the history of the encounter between the faith and cultures of Indigenous peoples,” the Vatican said.

The 62 donated objects come from various Indigenous communities and are part of the collection received during the 1925 Vatican Missionary Exhibition, promoted by Pope Pius XI during the holy year to bear witness to the faith and cultural richness of the peoples.

“The Holy Father Leo XIV wanted this gift to represent a concrete sign of dialogue, respect, and fraternity,” the Holy See said.

“Sent to Rome by Catholic missionaries between 1923 and 1925, these objects became part of the Lateran Missionary Ethnological Museum, which later became the Anima Mundi Ethnological Museum of the Vatican Museums,” the Vatican added.

Pope Leo’s gift is part of the observance of the Jubilee Year 2025. All the pieces are accompanied by information from the Vatican Museums “certifying their provenance and the circumstances of their transfer to Rome for the 1925 Exhibition.”

“They were handed over to the Canadian Episcopal Conference, which, in a spirit of loyal cooperation and dialogue with the Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Vatican City State, has committed to ensuring their proper care, promotion, and conservation,” the Vatican said.

During a July 2022 visit to Canada, Pope Francis left a message of reconciliation and emphasized the need to “start afresh” by looking together at Christ crucified.

Throughout his trip, the pope had expressed his shame and regret for the role played by the Catholic Church in the management of many of the government-sponsored residential schools for Indigenous children.

These residential schools, which operated until the late 1990s, aimed to eradicate aspects of Indigenous culture, language, and religious practices. Former students have described mistreatment and even abuse at the residential schools.

According to the Holy See, the meeting on Nov. 15 concludes “the path begun by Pope Francis through his apostolic journey to Canada in 2022, the various audiences with Indigenous communities, and the publication of the Declaration on the Doctrine of Discovery in 2023.”

That year, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development stated that the so-called “Doctrine of Discovery,” which European colonizers allegedly used to justify their actions against Indigenous peoples, is not part of Catholic teaching.

The Vatican agencies then specified that “many Christians have committed acts of evil against Indigenous populations, for which recent popes have asked forgiveness on numerous occasions.”

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

New outpatient clinic for people in need in St. Peter’s Square. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 16:50 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 14 visited a new outpatient clinic in the Vatican, built beneath the colonnade of St. Peter’s Square, in the lead-up to the ninth World Day of the Poor, which will be celebrated on Sunday, Nov. 16.

The new health center aims to strengthen assistance and increase health care services for those in need, according to a statement from the Office of the Papal Almoner, also known as the Dicastery for the Service of Charity. 

The center was made possible through the collaboration of the Health and Hygiene Directorate of the Governorate of Vatican City State and features two new medical consultation rooms equipped with state-of-the-art instruments and a new radiology service.

This equipment, including a cutting-edge X-ray machine, will allow for the rapid and accurate diagnosis of pneumonia, bone fractures, tumors, degenerative diseases, kidney stones, and intestinal obstructions — conditions often overlooked by those living in poverty.

“Early diagnosis of these conditions will make it possible to start appropriate treatments in a timely manner, contributing to improving the quality of life of those who have nothing,” the statement reads.

At the Office of the Papal Almoner’s other outpatient clinic, more than 2,000 health care services are offered completely free of charge each month thanks to the work of 120 volunteers, including doctors, nurses, and health care technicians.

Thanks to the two clinics located beneath Bernini’s colonnade, general and specialized medical consultations, dental visits, blood tests, and X-rays will continue to be available to the poor. In addition, removable dentures, eyeglasses, and hearing aids will be donated.

Finally, the necessary medications will be delivered directly to the poor person, always completely free of charge. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity and papal almoner, emphasized that in these places dignity is restored to the poor, “in whom we see not a homeless person or a poor person, but the face of Jesus.”

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 receives cloistered Augustinian nuns at the Vatican on Nov. 13, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 14, 2025 / 15:43 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV praised the “silent and hidden love” of cloistered nuns who, he said, are free from the slavery of society’s focus on outward appearances.

Focusing on the contemplative dimension of the Augustinian nuns, Pope Leo recalled that their founder, St. Augustine, reflected in his book “Confessions” on the joy granted “to those who serve the Lord out of pure love.”

In his address, delivered from the Paul VI Audience Hall on Nov. 13, the pope offered his reflection during an audience at the Vatican with participants in the Ordinary Federal Assembly of the Federation of Augustinian Monasteries of Italy.

He invited the nuns to embrace “the cloistered life with enthusiasm,” which, he assured them, will give them “peace and consolation, and to those who knock on the doors of your monasteries, a message of hope more eloquent than a thousand words.”

The pope then emphasized the witness of charity of the cloistered Augustinian nuns and counseled them, in order to spread the fragrance of God throughout the world,” to strive to “to love one another with sincere affection, as sisters, and to carry in your hearts, in secret, every man and woman in this world, to present them to the Father in your prayers.”

“In a society so focused on outward appearances, where people sometimes do not hesitate to violate the respect of others and their feelings in pursuit of a spotlight and applause, may your example of silent and hidden love help others to rediscover the value of daily and discreet charity, focused on the substance of loving one another and free from the slavery of appearances,” he said.

At the end of his address, the pope emphasized the communal nature of the federation with the “form of association” promoted by Venerable Pius XII and reaffirmed by Pope Francis to foster fraternity among monasteries with the same charism.

“It is a demanding challenge, but one we cannot shy away from, even at the cost of making difficult choices and sacrifices, and overcoming a certain temptation to ‘self-referentiality’ that can sometimes seep into our circles,” Leo XIV cautioned.

The pope thanked the Augustinian nuns for all they do and promised them his prayers and heartfelt blessing.

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