Vatican News

Pope Leo XIV received American singer, poet, and artist Patti Smith in a private audience at the Vatican on Friday, July 31.The meeting lasted about 40 minutes at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, according to Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, undersecretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Edu...

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of August is for evangelization in the city.“Roughly half of us live in cities. Jesus himself walked city streets, in Cana, in Jericho, in Jerusalem, and just as in those cities Christ is present in ours — teaching, praying, celebrating, but also sufferi...

The Vatican’s financial investments and assets rose to a net worth of approximately $3 billion (2.686 billion euros) in 2025.According to the annual report released on July 31 by the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), the profit increased by $102 million (89 million euros)...

A Catholic anti-trafficking network, led by nuns, assisted 1.2 million people worldwide in 2025 through its outreach against human exploitation.The annual report for Talitha Kum, the international network of consecrated life against human trafficking, founded by the International Union of Superiors...

Pope Leo XIV stated Wednesday that “the beauty of music invites us to encounter the One who is beauty itself” during the “Canticle of Peace” prayer and fraternal gathering held at Castel Gandolfo’s Borgo Laudato Si’ gardens.Leo XIV also prayed for peace to reign “in all those places in the world tha...

Leo XIV, the first pope born in the United States, has emphasized his continued love for his native country, even as head of the global Catholic Church.The pontiff made these remarks in an interview with Tom Llamas of NBC News on July 29 at Castel Gandolfo. The interview followed the “Canticle of Pe...

The Vatican is participating in the international art exhibition “La Biennale di Venezia” in Italy for the fourth consecutive year. A senior Vatican official explained the Vatican’s support for the exhibition and its recent focus on contemporary art.Irish Bishop Paul Tighe, secretary of the Culture...

Pope Leo XIV encouraged young people to use social media and artificial intelligence (AI) prudently because “they can immerse us in an unreal world.”In a video message to participants at the 2026 Halleluya Festival in Fortaleza, Brazil, the pontiff proposed St. Carlo Acutis, known for using digital...

The Vatican has urged the United Nations (U.N.) to include the homeless in efforts to create sustainable cities, stating that the “persistence of homelessness should trouble the conscience of the international community.”The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the U.N. made these remarks i...

The Vatican will launch its first conference of Christians and Confucians to expand the Catholic Church’s outreach to the Asian ethical tradition.The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue will hold the colloquium “Dialogue on the Contribution of Christianity and Confucianism to an Ideal Society: New...

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged parties across the Middle East to suspend their attacks and reopen diplomatic negotiations, warning that escalating military operations were endangering civilians and worsening shortages of drinking water and electricity.“I continue to follow with deep concern the ongoin...

Pope Leo XIV, having just concluded his vacation at Castel Gandolfo in Italy, will return there on July 29 for a musical prayer service featuring the renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.As announced on July 27 by the Holy See Press Office, the pontiff will lead a moment of prayer at the “Canticle...