By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Aug 1, 2025 / 07:00 am With more than a million followers across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and other platforms, Father Cosimo Schena has become one of the most recognizable faces of the so-called “digital missionary” phenomenon in Italy. “The illness of this century is loneliness, and …

By Victoria Cardiel Rome Newsroom, Jun 29, 2025 / 10:15 am Pope Leo XIV warned new archbishops on Sunday against following “the same old pastoral plans without experiencing interior renewal and a willingness to respond to new challenges.” Speaking on the Solemnity of Peter and Paul — saints recognized by the …

By Victoria Cardiel Rome Newsroom, Jun 29, 2025 / 09:40 am Pope Leo XIV said on Sunday that unity in the Catholic Church “is nourished by forgiveness and mutual trust,” after bestowing the pallium on 54 new metropolitan archbishops on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, patrons of the city …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Jun 25, 2025 / 07:15 am Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday addressed what he called the “fatigue of living” as one of the ailments afflicting modern society, and he urged the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to face reality with the grace of Jesus. “A very widespread …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Jun 19, 2025 / 16:03 pm Pope Leo XIV celebrated the 43rd anniversary of his priestly ordination today. On June 19, 1982, Robert Prevost was ordained a priest by Belgian Archbishop Jean Jadot in St. Monica Chapel, located just outside the Vatican. He was 26 years …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Jun 17, 2025 / 13:38 pm In an unexpected visit, Hollywood actor Al Pacino was received by Pope Leo XIV on June 17 at the Vatican, according to photos shared on Instagram by Italian film producer Andrea Iervolino. Pacino and Iervolino are currently in Italy filming …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 17:39 pm Pope Leo XIV will canonize seven blesseds on Oct. 19, including two Venezuelans: José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, considered the “doctor of the poor,” and María del Carmen Rendiles Martínez, a nun and founder of the Sister Slaves of Jesus. The canonizations were …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, May 28, 2025 / 07:00 am Pope Leo XIV is now granting apostolic blessings to the faithful around the world, a spiritual gesture that can be officially requested through the Vatican’s Apostolic Almoner’s Office. These blessings, printed on parchment, are a well-established tradition in the Catholic Church …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, May 15, 2025 / 18:03 pm Pope Leo XIV on Thursday lamented that today’s youth must deal with “relativism,” “emotional instability,” and “superficiality,” although he called for transforming these challenges of the contemporary age into “springboards.” The pontiff received the Brothers of the Christian Schools, founded …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Apr 16, 2025 / 15:27 pm Father Frans Bouwen, a missionary with the African Missionary Society — better known as the White Fathers for the color of their habit — and one of the most renowned Catholic voices in ecumenical dialogue, holds that “there are no …