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03/09/2025

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for September 2025 is for “our relationship with all of creation.

In this month’s Pope Video, the Holy Father invites us to pray that “inspired by Saint Francis, we might experience our interdependence with all creatures who are loved by God and worthy of love and respect.”

The prayer that follows emphasizes God’s love for all of creation, noting that “nothing exists outside” of His “tenderness” and recalling God’s care for “even the simplest or shortest life.” “Like St Francis of Assisi, today we too want to say, ‘Praised be You, my Lord” – alluding, too, to Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical on the care of creation which begins with those very words.

Pope Leo’s prayer goes on speak of “the beauty of creation” as a revelation of God “as the source of goodness,” and asks Him to “open our eyes to recognize you, learning from the mystery of your closeness to all creation that the world is infinitely more than a problem to solve.” Instead, the Pope says, “It is a mystery to be contemplated with gratitude.”

The Holy Father concludes his prayer with a plea to God to “help us discover Your presence in all creation, so that, in fully recognizing it, we may feel and know ourselves to be responsible for our common home where You invite us to care for, respect, and protect life in all its forms and possibilities.”

Living a moment of gratitude
In a press release accompanying the prayer, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network – which is responsible for preparing each month’s intention – notes that “the video comes out within the context of the Season of Creation, an ecumenical period from September 1 to October 4 (the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi) that unites Christians from various denominations in prayer and action for the care of the earth.”

This year’s Season of Creation takes place as the Church marks both the 800th anniversary of Saint Francis’ “Canticle of Creation” and the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato sí.

“The Jubilee of Hope and the 10th anniversary of the Encyclical Laudato Si’ invite us to live a moment of gratitude, commitment to and care for our common home,” says Cardinal Michael Czerny, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Development, which supported the production of this month’s Pope Video.

An interconnected world
Commenting on this month’s intention, the International Director of the Prayer Netword, Father Cristóbal Fones, S.J., explains that this month’s prayer intention “reminds us how interconnected our world is. Our well-being cannot be separated from other creatures living on earth, or from the ‘state of health’ of our planet.”

“This month,” Father Fones continues, “the Pope invites us to reflect on how our actions affect nature, God’s work, and to seek ways of living that foster the restoration and natural balance and harmony between human beings and the environment. In the midst of such a competitive, hectic world, dominated by consumerism, a large part of humanity deeply longs to live well, closer to and more respectful of nature – a style of life that would allow us to contemplate it in an attentive silence that leads to an encounter with ourselves, with God and with others.”

03/09/2025

In his catechesis at the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Leo XIV focused on Jesus’ final words on the Cross—“I thirst” and “It is finished”—according to the Gospel of John.

As He hung upon the Cross and humanity faced our most lumunious yet darkest moment, noted the Pope, Jesus spoke those two sentences filled with an entire lifetime, which reveal the entire existence of the Son of God.

Jesus appears on the Cross as a “supplicant for love,” not as a victorious hero, he said. “He humbly asks for what He, alone, cannot give to Himself in any way.”

The Pope pointed out that Jesus’ thirst on the Cross was not only the physiological need of a tortured body, but also “an expression of a profound desire: that of love, of relationship, of communion.”

“It is the silent cry of a God who, having wished to share everything of our human condition, also lets Himself be overcome by this thirst,” said the Pope. “Our God is not ashamed to beg for a sip, because in that gesture He tells us that love, in order to be true, must also learn to ask and not only to give.”

In expressing His thirst, noted Pope Leo, Jesus shows that we cannot be self-sufficient or save ourselves, since His next words—“It is finished”—comes after He receives a sponge soaked with vinegar.

“Love has made itself needy,” he said, “and precisely for this reason it has accomplished its work.”

The Christian paradox is that God saves “not by doing, but by letting Himself be done unto; not defeating evil with force, but by accepting the weakness of love to the very end.”

“Salvation is not found in autonomy, but in humbly recognizing one’s own need and in being able to express it freely,” he said.

Humanity finds fulfilment in trust, added Pope Leo, which opens us up to true hope, since even the Son of God could not be self-sufficient, thirsting as He did for love, meaning, and justice.

“Jesus saves us by showing us that asking is not unworthy, but liberating,” he said. “It is the way out of the hiddenness of sin, so as to re-enter the space of communion. Ever since the beginning, sin has begotten shame. But forgiveness – real forgiveness – is born when we can face up to our need and no longer fear rejection.”

As He thirsted on the Cross, said the Pope, Jesus expresses all of wounded humanity’s cry for living water, in such a way that leads us to God and unites us to Him.

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV invited Christians to find joy and true fulfilment in fraternity, the simple life, the art of asking without shame, and offering what we can without ulterior motives.

“Let us not be afraid to ask, especially when it seems to us that we do not deserve,” he said. “Let us not be ashamed to reach out our hand. It is right there, in that humble gesture, that salvation hides.”

23/05/2025

Pope Leo meets with EU Bishops.

In their audience with the Pope, the bishops discussed some of the EU's main priorities, including the war in Ukraine, artificial intelligence, and migration.

One participant told Vatican News that the Pope "mainly wanted to hear what we had to say."

"It was an inspiration, and a very important moment," he added, "to be with the Successor of Peter and hear the voice of Pope Leo."

03/01/2023

Churches remember Benedict XVI as a man committed to ecumenism

Christian Churches across the world express deep sorrow at the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and remember him as a fine theologian committed to ecumenical dialogue and a very humane person.

By Lisa Zengarini

As thousands of people begin to flock to St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican to pay their final respects to Benedict XVI, tributes to the late Pope Emeritus continue to pour in from across the world, including other Christian Churches, Heads of state and government, and also from faith leaders of other religions.

Following the announcement of his passing away on 31 December, the acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Reverend Ioan Sauca, expressed the “deepest condolences” of all its member Churches, highlighting his significant contribution to ecumenical dialogue.

Noting that he was the first pope to have come from a country, Germany, with a roughly equal balance between Protestants and Catholics, and one that had been at the very centre of the 16th century Reformation, Rev. Sauca also remarked that Benedict XVI was the first Catholic Pontiff to have belonged to a committee of the WCC, as one of the Catholic members of its ‘Faith and Order Commission’.

02/01/2023

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Churches remember Benedict XVI as a man committed to ecumenism

Christian Churches across the world express deep sorrow at the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and remember him as a fine theologian committed to ecumenical dialogue and a very humane person.

By Lisa Zengarini

As thousands of people begin to flock to St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican to pay their final respects to Benedict XVI, tributes to the late Pope Emeritus continue to pour in from across the world, including other Christian Churches, Heads of state and government, and also from faith leaders of other religions.

Following the announcement of his passing away on 31 December, the acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Reverend Ioan Sauca, expressed the “deepest condolences” of all its member Churches, highlighting his significant contribution to ecumenical dialogue.

Noting that he was the first pope to have come from a country, Germany, with a roughly equal balance between Protestants and Catholics, and one that had been at the very centre of the 16th century Reformation, Rev. Sauca also remarked that Benedict XVI was the first Catholic Pontiff to have belonged to a committee of the WCC, as one of the Catholic members of its ‘Faith and Order Commission’.