Chiclayo, Peru, prepares for papal visit
The Diocese of Chiclayo has confirmed the principal locations Pope Leo XIV will visit in the city during his Nov. 11–17 apostolic visit to Peru. The Holy Father’s visit will mark his return to the diocese where he exercised his episcopal ministry for several years.
According to a diocesan press release, the pontiff will visit Chiclayo Cathedral, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Peace, Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo Catholic University, the districts of Santa Cruz and Zaña, and the open grounds of the Reque Industrial Park, where the main gatherings and celebrations of his visit to the region will take place.
The diocese noted that the return of Leo XIV will represent a moment of great significance for the people, “who will welcome the successor of Peter with faith, hope, and a spirit of unity.” The visit to Chiclayo will be part of his overall apostolic journey to Peru, which will also include the cities of Lima, Cusco, and Pucallpa.
The Peruvian Episcopal Conference (CEP, by its Spanish acronym) has expressed its “immense joy” at the official confirmation of the apostolic visit and is inviting the faithful to prepare themselves spiritually for it.
“His presence among us will be a true gift for our people and an opportunity to renew our faith, strengthen hope, and walk united as a Church in the service of the Gospel,” conference president Bishop Carlos García Camader stated.
The country’s bishops specifically called upon all the faithful and people of goodwill to join in prayer as a form of preparation.
In an interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Carlos Castillo, archbishop of Lima and primate of Peru, said the pontiff’s upcoming trip is generating “enormous anticipation” among Peruvians.
“We receive this news not only with great pleasure but also with a vital surge of encouragement that prepares us to commit ourselves generously to our faith, so that we may welcome him and better invigorate our Christian and Catholic experience,” Castillo remarked.
The president of Peru, Keiko Fujimori, wrote on her X account that she received “the confirmation with profound joy,” adding that it is “news that fills millions of Peruvians with excitement.”
Fujimori added that the pontiff’s arrival “will be a moment of encounter for our faith and a message of hope for our country.”
“Holy Father, we await you with open hearts to welcome you back to your home, Peru,” she said.
Castillo also noted that the papal visit is taking place during a time marked by challenges such as insecurity, violence, and social difficulties, and that the Holy Fatherʼs presence could foster a necessary reflection.
“May the Holy Father disarm us and make it possible for a peace that is both unarmed and disarming to unfold with full clarity,” Castillo concluded.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
OAS council may seek emergency foreign‑ministers session over Nicaragua crackdown
The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) may summon hemispheric foreign ministers for an emergency session on Nicaragua after President Daniel Ortega’s vow to end elections and deepening concerns over crackdowns against the Catholic Church.
At a special meeting on Aug. 5, the formal U.S. representation at the OAS presented the draft resolution, titled “Convocation of a Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs to Consider the Situation in Nicaragua.” The Permanent Mission of the United States’ resolution was cosponsored by the Permanent Missions of Argentina, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The Permanent Mission of the United States called for the meeting to take place before Sept. 1, when the Ortega regime is set to codify its latest policy reforms.
The move would invoke one of the OAS’ highest‑level diplomatic tools, signaling that member states view Nicaragua’s political rupture as a regional concern with direct human rights implications. Ortega’s announcement, paired with constitutional changes aimed at blocking opposition figures from power, prompted the United States and Paraguay to request the extraordinary meeting.
Commissioner Rosa María Payá, rapporteur for Nicaragua at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, expressed concern at the OAS Permanent Council meeting over ongoing human rights abuses against Nicaraguans, including arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances.
She noted that about 838,363 Nicaraguans have fled the country since 2018 and that many face transnational repression. Representatives for several member states said during the meeting that the forced migration of Nicaraguans constitutes a migration crisis and a threat to national security.
Payá, a Catholic of Cuban descent, also highlighted persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, citing the disappearance of Bishop Emeritus Juan Abelardo Mata Guevara of Estelí, Nicaragua. Mata was detained by police on two occasions in late June after praying for the persecuted Church in Nicaragua during a Mass he celebrated on Sunday, June 28.
“We are very concerned about the situation of the persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua and the persecution of the faith in general, and the practice and the exercise of the faith,” Payá told EWTN News. “We have been very vocal about our concerns and alarm about the disappearance of Monsignor Abelardo Mata Guevara.”
In October 2023, the Permanent Council unanimously approved the resolution “Rejection of the Repressive Measures of the Government of Nicaragua Against Educational Institutions and the Catholic Church in Nicaragua.” Nicaragua withdrew from the OAS in November 2023.
“When we talk about the Nicaraguan regime, we actually see a systematic continued behavior in the direction of violating freedom of religion, from the situation that took place with Monsignor [Rolando] Alvarez years ago — heʼs now forced to live in exile — to the situation of Monsignor Mata and many other priests and members of the Catholic communities that are afraid to practice their faith,” she said.
Payá said the Ortega regime’s suspension of elections has prompted a “collapse of democracy,” which she said “creates an environment of fear that impacts people of faith.”
“Iʼm Catholic myself and I also come from a society that has suffered the violation of human rights,” she said. “So I deeply understand what it is to to be afraid to speak your mind, what it is to be afraid of practicing and voicing your faith, which is a very primary human exercise.”
Payá is the daughter of Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, a Catholic dissident who founded the Christian Liberation Movement (CLM), a peaceful democratic movement inspired by Catholic social teaching in 1988. He was killed during the Cuban Spring in 2012.
“All of my solidarity is with the Nicaraguan people,” Payá said. “And I believe that also all the solidarity of the commission is too, and we will keep following the issue and we will keep engaging in the political dialogue with the member states.”
Pope Leo XIV’s face featured on new set of Vatican coins
Pope Leo XIV’s image features for the first time in a new set of commemorative euro coins for Vatican City.
As announced by the Vatican City State Governorate on July 30, these coins are part of a new Vatican euro collector coin set honoring the new pontificate. This also marks the first time since 2014 that the papal image has appeared on the coins, following Pope Francis’ personal request that his face not be used.
Except for the 5-euro coin, the Vatican coins can be used to buy things in the 21 European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency.
A unique design in the history of Vatican coin-making
Although these new coins with Leo are not the first to feature the pope’s face, they are part of an entirely unique design.
Leo’s coat of arms appears on the 1-cent, 2-cent, and 5-cent euro coins, while his face appears on the larger denominations.
The pope’s image has appeared on minted coins since the Middle Ages, when pontiffs held temporal power over the Papal States. Shortly after the establishment of Vatican City in 1929, the sovereign state issued lira coins (the Italian currency before the euro) bearing the papal image. The Vatican stopped making lira coins after it adopted the euro in 2001.
According to the European Central Bank, the first Vatican coins for the euro were issued in 2002 with the face of St. John Paul II. From 2006–2013, another set of coins was issued with the face of Pope Benedict XVI.
The coins featuring Francis in 2014 were the last until Leo to feature the pope’s face.
Francis’ refusal to be depicted on Vatican coins
For the 2017 issue of Vatican coins, Francis personally requested that his face not be used. Instead, they featured his coat of arms.
In a 2017 interview for Radio Vaticana, Mauro Olivieri, the then-director of the Philatelic and Numismatic Office for Vatican City State, explained the difficulties in accommodating his request.
“[Francis] asked that he no longer appear on coins, medals in general — and especially on those issued by his state — and we did everything we could to accommodate him,” Olivieri said. “We succeeded, despite some difficulties with the EU authorities, which were later resolved, and so the 2017 coinage features the popeʼs coat of arms.”
The newest Vatican coins can be purchased for 59 euros through the Vatican’s Philatelic and Numismatic Office, responsible for its coins and stamps.
New Vatican constitution corrects Francis-era anomaly, experts say
Pope Leo XIV has replaced the Vatican constitution promulgated by Pope Francis, eliminating a reference to the “munus petrinum,” or Petrine office, as the basis of the pope’s authority over Vatican City State.
The new Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, promulgated by Pope Leo and already in effect, represents considerably more than an update to the legal framework approved by Pope Francis in 2023.
Unlike the previous law, the new text makes a significant change to the way the foundation of the pontiff’s authority over the Vatican city-state is understood.
The constitution promulgated by Pope Francis stated that the pope exercised sovereign powers over Vatican City “by virtue of the Petrine office,” an expression referring to his sacred mission as the successor of St. Peter to guide, safeguard, and maintain the unity of the Church.
In practice, the formulation linked the pope’s temporal authority to his status as the successor of the apostle to whom Christ entrusted the keys of the Church.
“Francis introduced an anomaly that asserted that his powers as head of state derived from being the successor of Peter,” historian of Christianity Giovanni Maria Vian told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.
Vian, a former editor of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano and a professor of patristic philology at Rome’s Sapienza University, said the formulation represented a completely unprecedented innovation.
“It made his authority over Vatican City State derive directly from his status as Peter’s successor,” he said. “It was a theocratic arrangement without precedent in the very long history of the Apostolic See.”
Vian said Pope Leo, who is trained in both civil and canon law, appears to have decided to correct that innovation and return to the approach followed by the two previous Vatican constitutions, promulgated in 1929 and 2000.
“That assertion was neither adequate, correct, nor precise from a theological and historical point of view. That is why it was removed,” said Father Roberto Regoli, an expert in ecclesiastical history and diplomacy from the 19th to the 21st centuries and president of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation.
“This omission is very important because the concept was unnecessary and, moreover, inappropriate,” he said.
4 constitutions for Vatican City State
The new law, dated July 31, completely replaces the constitution promulgated by Pope Francis on May 13, 2023. It is the fourth Fundamental Law in the history of Vatican City State.
The first was promulgated by Pope Pius XI on June 7, 1929, a few months after the signing of the Lateran Pacts and the creation of the new state. The law was drafted by Jewish jurist Federico Cammeo.
The second was the reform approved by St. John Paul II in 2000. The third was promulgated by Pope Francis in 2023.
Now, just three years later, Pope Leo has approved the Vatican’s fourth constitution.
The most significant change is found in the preamble. The new text recalls that Vatican City State was created through the Lateran Treaty to guarantee the Holy See absolute and visible independence and to ensure its sovereignty in the international sphere.
According to Vian, the difference between the two constitutions is substantial.
“One cannot maintain that Peter possessed temporal power or that his successors received it directly from him,” he said.
The historian noted that the temporal power of the popes emerged centuries after the apostolic era.
“That did not occur until the beginning of the Middle Ages,” he said. “The Papal States began to take shape around the middle of the eighth century.”
From that perspective, Vian said the formulation introduced by Pope Francis was historically difficult to sustain.
“It was probably the result of a mentality connected to his Jesuit background, obedience to the pope, and also the legal advice he received,” he said. “But from a historical and ecclesiological point of view, it was an anomaly.”
Regoli likewise said Pope Leo has restored the traditional formulation.
“Temporal power is at the service of spiritual power, nothing more,” he said. “Temporal power cannot be divinized or placed on the same level as spiritual ministry.”
A more traditional understanding of the Petrine ministry
Both experts said Pope Leo’s decision reflects a more traditional understanding of the Petrine ministry.
“He understands it in continuity with the tradition of his predecessors,” Vian said.
The Italian historian noted that the popes’ temporal power developed between the eighth and 19th centuries, over the course of more than a millennium, without deriving directly from the apostolic primacy of St. Peter.
Vian also said it was necessary to place the creation of Vatican City State in its historical context.
Following the French Revolution, the Papal States were abolished on several occasions: in 1798, with the establishment of the French-backed First Roman Republic; in 1809, during the Napoleonic occupation; in 1849, with the Second Roman Republic; and finally in 1870, when Italian troops took Rome and brought the temporal power of the popes to an end.
The events opened what became known as the “Roman Question.” For nearly 60 years, the pontiffs refused to recognize the new situation created by the Italian state. As a gesture of protest, they ceased appearing at the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to impart public blessings.
The crisis was resolved in 1929 with the signing of the Lateran Pacts between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreements included an international treaty, a financial convention, and a concordat.
The treaty created Vatican City State as a sovereign territory intended to guarantee the independence of the Holy See.
The new constitution preserves the traditional principle that the pope possesses the fullness of power within Vatican City State.
Article 1 states: “The Supreme Pontiff, sovereign of Vatican City State, possesses the fullness of governing authority, which includes legislative, executive, and judicial power.”
The wording is nearly identical to that used by Pope Pius XI in 1929.
A new legal framework
Another significant change introduced by Pope Leo provides a legal basis for a situation that arose during Pope Francis’ pontificate.
The new Fundamental Law incorporates a November 2025 motu proprio allowing the presidency of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State to be held by someone other than a cardinal.
The reform addresses the case of Sister Raffaella Petrini, whom Pope Francis appointed to lead the Governorate of Vatican City State even though the legislation then in force stipulated that the position was to be held by a cardinal.
The appointment prompted criticism because of the discrepancy between the law and the institutional reality.
According to Regoli, the new constitution formalizes a correction Pope Leo had already introduced in 2025.
“The previous constitution established that the president had to be a cardinal; however, the president was Sister Petrini,” he said. “There was therefore an inconsistency between the law and reality. The pope intervened in 2025, and now, with the new 2026 constitution, that change has been fully incorporated into the legislation.”
The legal change means that “in addition to Sister Petrini, any other woman or man, including a layperson, may hold that office,” Regoli said.
“This is because Vatican City State, since it is not directly connected to theological or sacramental matters, does not necessarily require its governor to be a cardinal, bishop, or cleric,” he explained.
Membership in the College of Cardinals is therefore not an indispensable requirement, he said, because the position is not connected to the sacrament of holy orders.
The new Fundamental Law not only returns the Vatican constitution to the legal tradition of 1929 and 2000 but also regularizes several institutional reforms introduced in recent years.
Both experts agreed, however, that the most important change remains the redefinition of the origin of the pope’s temporal authority, an issue they consider essential to understanding the nature of the world’s smallest state.
“Pope Leo XIV has repaired an unprecedented break and returned to the original spirit in which Vatican City State was created,” Vian concluded.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Hiroshima’s bishop links atomic anniversary to Pope Leo’s peace call
Bishop Alexis Shirahama of Hiroshima, Japan, has opened a 75-hour vigil for peace marking the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city.
The event involves a prayer relay linking Hiroshima to Nagasaki, Rome, and New York.
The Diocese of Hiroshima offered a Mass for the victims of the bomb and all war dead at 8 a.m. Thursday local time at the World Peace Memorial Cathedral in the cityʼs Noboricho district, the hour the diocese gathers each year, minutes after the 1945 blast.
The vigil, organized with the Community of SantʼEgidio — the Rome-based lay movement known for its peace diplomacy — runs until exactly 11:02 a.m. on Sunday, the very minute the second atomic bomb struck Nagasaki, according to the diocese.
The Focolare Movement, parishioners, and volunteers are taking part. SantʼEgidio has kept the vigil annually since 2022.
The day, Aug. 6, is also the feast of the Transfiguration.
The Japanese prelate and the SantʼEgidio president, Marco Impagliazzo, issued a joint message to link the commemoration with the call for the common good as set out in Pope Leoʼs first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas.
In the message, Shirahama and Impagliazzo reflected on the American pontiffʼs words, calling the vigil a way to receive the peace of the risen Christ, “a disarming, humble, and persevering peace” — the phrase Leo used from the loggia of St. Peterʼs Basilica minutes after his election in May 2025.
Three chapels are open to the public for this event: the crypt of the cathedral in Hiroshima, the Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in New York, and the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome.
The prayer is livestreamed, and organizers are reading aloud intentions sent in from around the world.
An observance dating back to St. John Paul II
Thursday also marks the beginning of the annual “Ten Days for Peace” for Japanese Catholics, an event of prayer and penance running from the day of the Hiroshima bombing to the date of Japanʼs surrender on Aug. 15.
The bishops began the observance after Pope John Paul II came to Hiroshima in 1981 and issued his Appeal for Peace, telling the world that to remember the city is to repudiate nuclear war.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his 2006 World Day of Peace message, called reliance on nuclear arms “not only baneful but also completely fallacious,” warning that in a nuclear war there would be “no victors, only victims.”
Pope Leo, in a foreword published in July, called for the elimination of nuclear weapons outright.
Pope Leo XIV appoints new archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Eusebio Ramos Morales of Caguas as the new archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
As announced by the Holy See on Aug. 6, the pontiff also accepted the resignation of Archbishop Roberto Octavio González Nieves, OFM, who has led the archdiocese since 1999.
González concludes nearly 30 years of service
González concludes his service in Puerto Rico having led the archdiocese through challenging times, including Hurricane María in 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was ordained a Franciscan priest in 1977 and served as auxiliary bishop of Boston before becoming bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas. Notably, he replaced Bishop René Gracida at Corpus Christi, who signed his name to a “filial correction” criticizing Pope Francis’ 2016 encyclical Amoris Laetitia.
Assigned to Puerto Rico by St. John Paul II, in 2023 González was honored with the Spirit of Francis Award by the Catholic Extension Society in recognition of his service in helping Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane María.
Bishop Ramos: A theologian with pastoral work
Ramos was born in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, on Dec. 15, 1952. After completing studies in biology and theology in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Rome, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Caguas in Puerto Rico in 1983.
After more than 20 years as a parish priest and professor, he was named bishop of Fajardo-Humacao in 2008. He was transferred to Caguas in 2017 and was subsequently nominated as president of the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference.
Mozambique’s second native cardinal who served at the height of war as bishop dies at 98
XAI-XAI, Mozambique — Cardinal Júlio Duarte Langa, the second native cardinal in Mozambique and archbishop emeritus of the Diocese of Xai-Xai, has passed away at the age of 98.
Langa died on Monday, Aug. 3, at Maputo Central Hospital, the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique (CEM) announced in a statement.
“As he completes his earthly pilgrimage, CEM gives thanks to God for the life and ministry of Cardinal Langa, who dedicated himself faithfully to the service of the Catholic Church in Mozambique, particularly in the Diocese of Xai-Xai,” CEM members said in the statement.
They urged the people of God to “unite in prayer for the eternal repose of his soul.”
“Further information concerning the funeral rites and celebrations will be communicated by the CEM in due course,” the Catholic bishops added.
Born in Mangunze, Gaza Province, in October 1927, Langa was ordained a priest in June 1957.
In 1976, Pope Paul VI appointed him the first bishop of the newly established Diocese of Xai-Xai, where he served for more than two decades amid war, social upheaval, and the difficult task of pastoral reconstruction.
During those years, he promoted the pastoral life of the diocese and paid special attention to communities affected by the conflict as well as by epidemics and natural disasters.
In addition to his pastoral work, the late cardinal stood out for his knowledge of local languages. He participated in the edition of the translation of the texts of the Second Vatican Council into the main languages of Mozambique, contributing to their dissemination among the country’s Catholic communities.
After his retirement in July 2004, he remained closely connected to the diocese and continued to be regarded as a respected figure known for his simplicity, pastoral presence, and fidelity to the Gospel.
Langa’s elevation to the College of Cardinals by the late Pope Francis in February 2015 marked a historic moment for Mozambique, making him the second Mozambican cardinal.
With his passing, the College of Cardinals now consists of 240 cardinals, of whom 116 are electors and 124 are non-electors.
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
Mexican bishops: Cristero War centennial ‘a time of grace’
Mexico’s bishops have released a message in which they state that the centennial of the Cristero War, an uprising in defense of religious freedom that gave the Church numerous martyrs, “is not merely an anniversary; it is a time of grace.”
The Aug. 4 video message was presented by the president of the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM, by its Spanish acronym), Bishop Ramón Castro Castro, and the CEM’s secretary-general, Bishop Héctor Mario Pérez Villarreal.
“A hundred years ago in Mexico, the bells of the churches were silenced,” the prelates recalled, but “their blood spoke instead.”
“For two years, the churches were closed, and the religious conflict pitted Mexicans against one another,” they stated.
The bishops lamented that “what happened in Mexico a century ago bears that tragic face. It was not a nation invaded by outsiders but a people divided against itself.”
“On both sides of the trenches and the battalions were children of the same land — baptized in the same parishes, heirs to the same culture, and sharing the same mother in their hearts: the Virgin of Guadalupe,” they added.
“Today, a hundred years later, we, the bishops of Mexico, wish to address everyone, not to reopen wounds but to heal them; not to judge the dead but to serve the living,” the prelates stated.
“A people that does not remember is at the mercy of those who write history for them,” they warned, going on to emphasize that “Christian memory is not nostalgia for the past; it is strength for the present.”
The bishops further stated: “We are not commemorating a war, we are not celebrating a victory.” They continued: “We do not exalt arms, nor do we idealize violence. We do not call for revenge, and we do not fuel resentment.”
Rather, they said, “we commemorate the fidelity of a believing people who kept the faith alive when the churches fell silent. We commemorate our martyrs, who did not kill for Christ but died for him. And we remember a lesson learned at a very high price,” the bishops pointed out.
In this regard, Mexico’s bishops emphasized that “religious freedom is not a privilege of the clergy but the right of every human person.”
The prelates underscored that “the martyrs remind us that there are truths worth living for and, if necessary, dying for — because whoever lays down their life out of love does not lose it; they sow.”
“Today, we defend religious freedom as a right for all — believers and nonbelievers alike — because no conscience should be coerced, manipulated, or silenced,” they emphasized.
This “time of grace,” the country’s bishops noted, represents “a call to build a Church that listens before speaking, that journeys together, and that awakens in every baptized person the awareness of living out their faith within the family, at work, and in public life.”
“May this time find us reconciled — capable of speaking the truth without hatred, of forgiving without forgetting, and of building together a nation where no conscience is coerced and no life is deemed disposable,” the bishops affirmed.
“May Christ reign in our hearts, and may St. Mary of Guadalupe protect our homeland,” they concluded.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Pope Leo XIV to Assisi youth: ‘Europe and the whole world are looking to you to be new saints’
ASSISI, Italy — Pope Leo XIV called on young people gathered in Assisi to become “new saints,” reject the culture of power, and help build a world founded on fraternity rather than domination.
The pope celebrated Mass on Thursday at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels before the Portiuncula, the small chapel closely associated with the life and vocation of St. Francis.
Addressing approximately 2,500 participants in the GO! Franciscan Youth Meeting on the feast of the Transfiguration, Pope Leo said Assisi has long drawn pilgrims because “everything whispers that our lives can take on a new form, radiate light and heal the world.”
“It was here that the transformation of Francis, Clare and then thousands of other young people began,” he said. “They embraced the Gospel sine glossa — we could say, in its simplicity — then the life of Jesus began anew within them.”
Reflecting on the Gospel account of the Transfiguration, the pope said the young pilgrims had come to Assisi in search of direction and meaning.
“We have come here to understand where history is heading and where we ourselves are going,” he said. “In the Gospel, we see that meaning can indeed be found, that a path can be glimpsed. Like Peter, James and John, we too have been brought a little aside, and Jesus is with us. What matters is his presence.”
“Now, in Jesus’ Transfiguration, God himself reveals his glory, which takes the form of a cloud that protects and envelops. He points to his Son and invites us to listen to him. The path of life is discovered by following him together.”
Pope Leo told the young people that their days of prayer, meetings, and conversation in Assisi offered evidence that they were not alone.
“We are not alone! In recent days you have experienced this, since you have met and listened to one another, moving beyond the clamor of overlapping and conflicting voices to the art of conversation,” he said.
“Today, we contemplate Jesus, who is transfigured precisely in conversation with the Father, with those who preceded him — Moses and Elijah — and with his contemporaries, the disciples.”
The Church, the pope continued, exists to draw people into “this dynamic of listening and decision-making,” helping them understand “for whom we are to live and how we are to live.”
He highlighted the Franciscan tradition’s emphasis on restoring relationships damaged by sin, division, and exploitation.
“Franciscan spirituality, in which you have been formed, is among the most attentive to restoring fundamental relationships with God and with all his creatures,” he said. “Today, more than ever, this is a harmony that needs to be safeguarded and cultivated.”
Pope Leo said St. Francis continues to attract people eight centuries after his death because of the profound humanity that led him to abandon familiar paths and follow Christ in a new and radical way.
“Dear friends, the reason why Saint Francis still draws us to himself, even eight hundred years after his death, lies in the grandeur of humanity that led him to abandon familiar ways in order to find a new path that is more consistent with that of Jesus,” he said.
“Even in a town that had been Christian for centuries, such as Assisi, this seemed revolutionary.”
The pope then issued a direct appeal to the young people gathered before the Portiuncula.
“Well then, dear young people, today Europe and the whole world are looking to you to be new saints,” he said. “Dare to believe in the word of the Gospel; become fully human with the freedom of Jesus Christ; embrace Sister Poverty!”
The name of the youth gathering, he said, was itself a missionary command.
“The title of your gathering, Go!, is a mission, a sending forth onto paths for which we have no maps, because they are opened by listening to the heart, obeying the Holy Spirit, and following the Risen One wherever he has chosen to go before us,” Pope Leo said.
“Go! Go! Better yet: let us go! Let’s go to the margins, where the injustice and arrogance of a few deny the dignity and dreams of many, of far too many sons and daughters of God.”
Following Christ may bring misunderstanding, including from one’s own family or community, the pope cautioned. He insisted, however, that opposing injustice and division does not mean betraying one’s roots.
“We may not be understood, even by those closest to us, as happened to Saint Francis,” he said.
“Yet, breaking free from the culture of power, and tearing down the walls that separate human beings from one another, is never a betrayal of our families, towns or traditions. Instead, it means freeing them from their ghosts, from enemies invented out of fear or ignorance and from the violence with which people seek to impose their own limited order on a reality that surpasses us on every side.”
“To trust in God is to rediscover, like Francis and Clare, a world of brothers and sisters to cherish and serve, not to exploit and dominate,” he continued. “Not a world to defend, but to embrace.”
Concluding his homily, Pope Leo encouraged the young participants to place every aspect of their lives at the service of what he called the “civilization of love.”
“Unite the best energies of your magnificent humanity: your studies, skills, work, friendships, love and prayer, so that you can bring Saint Francis’ vision to life in many different ways,” he said.
The pope then recited the prayer commonly attributed to St. Francis, beginning: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”
At the conclusion of the Mass, Francesco Varone addressed Pope Leo on behalf of the young participants.
“During these days, we have prayed, listened to testimonies, formed friendships, and allowed ourselves to be challenged by the Gospel and by the witness of St. Francis, who right here at the Portiuncula learned to make his life a total response to God’s love,” Varone said.
“Today, all of this has found fulfillment in your presence. Holy Father, we young people need authentic witnesses, men capable of pointing us to Christ with their lives, not only with words.”
“Your voice encourages us not to be afraid to choose the good and to believe that the Gospel can still change the human heart,” he continued. “Thank you, Holy Father, because today you make us feel that we are Church. Thank you for being here in Assisi, in Mary’s house; thank you for being among your young people.”
Following the celebration, Pope Leo entered the Portiuncula for a period of silent prayer, greeted the faithful, and then departed for the Vatican.
This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Amid declining divorce rates, Catholic marriage advocates urge continued support for married couples
If you want to strengthen marriages in your community and drive down the divorce rate, Mary Rose Verret has a simple piece of advice: “Start with your own marriage.”
Verret and her husband, Ryan, have for years run the marriage ministry Witness to Love; in 2024 Pope Francis named them as consultants to the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.
Since 2012 the Verrets have used that ministry to reach both engaged and married couples in a variety of formats. And their work has occurred amid an encouraging shift in U.S. marriage culture: declining divorce rates for new marriages.
Data compiled by the Institute for Family Studies shows that couples who married in the 2010s have markedly lower divorce rates than couples who married in earlier decades.
That trend has been part of an overall decline in divorce since roughly the 1980s onward: While 30% of first marriages in the 1970s ended in divorce after 10 years, just 18% of first marriages from 2010–2012 did so, with the divorce rate for the rest of the latter decade remaining roughly similar so far.
Mary Rose Verret told EWTN News there’s “not a lot of data” to indicate reasons why that rate is trending downward. Yet some of the explanations, she said, could be that people “are taking marriage a little more seriously” and are entering into the institution more prepared.
She said that half of the work of their ministry involves engaged or recently married couples, while the other half is with couples who have been married longer and who serve as mentors of younger husbands and wives.
When looking to keep divorce rates low, Verret said, ministering to those who have been married for years is just as critical a component as preparing couples for marriage.
“The more we can do to strengthen existing marriages, that’s what going to lower the divorce rate and increase the number of happily married couples that are really being witnesses,” she said.
The beginning point, meanwhile, is close to home, she said: “Start with your own marriage. Start with investing in your church community. Invest in your diocese.”
“There’s nothing more important than preparing the next generation of couples and families,” she said.
The 50% divorce myth
A pop culture talking point for years has been the contention that half of all marriages will end in divorce. Yet the Institute for Family Studies argues that that statistic is outdated, having been popularized “during the heyday of hippies through the MTV era” amid massive shifts in the institution of marriage.
Decades of data, on the other hand, indicate that only first marriages that began in the 1970s had a more-than-50% likelihood of ending in divorce by their 50th anniversary. In the 1950s the rate hovered around 30%; in the 1960s it was slightly over 40%.
Other decades thus far have trended higher or lower, though none have topped 50%.
Grant Bailey, the deputy director of the Get Married Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies, told EWTN News that the decline of divorce rates from their peak in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s can be explained in part by “later marriages.”
“The divorce revolution of the 1960s and 1970s saw rising divorce rates across the board, with the highest divorce rates among couples who married in their early 20s,” he said. “Adults began marrying later, bringing lower divorce risks, and as a result we saw the aggregate divorce rate fall from the 1980s onward.”
Yet more recent data show divorce rates trending downward “regardless of what age couples marry.” Later marriages, he said, “no longer explain why divorce rates are falling.”
Peter and Sheila Oprysko, the North America secretariat ecclesial team of Worldwide Marriage Encounter, said declining divorce numbers are in part due to a greater “intentionality” about marriage among younger people.
“We know that people are getting married later in life,” Peter told EWTN News. “So when they make a decision, they’ve spent the time living with it, thinking it out, and coming out in the end with it. So there’s a more permanent decision there.”
Sheila said many young Catholic couples getting married today are “coming back to the Church” with a greater awareness of its implications.
“They’re understanding what our faith is, and they’re beginning to understand marriage is a sacrament,” she said.
Marriage Encounter advertises itself as a “marriage enrichment program.” Peter said the program itself is “not a crisis hotline” for marriages but one that helps husbands and wives develop a “lifelong communication framework” that actually prevents crises from arising in the first place.
He said that the statistics of successful marriage “don’t happen by accident.”
“They happen when couples invest in their relationship and learn the skills to communicate deeply,” he said. Marriage advocates in recent years are “seeing a greater intentionality in nourishing that commitment,” he said.
Sheila said the program teaches not just communication but prayer as a couple. “They also have a community (of married couples) afterward, too, so they realize they have even more support.”
Though divorce numbers are promising, overall marriage rates remain anemic in recent decades. A Heritage Foundation report in May found that over the past 50 years, marriage rates have declined from more than 90% of Americans having married by ages 30-35 in 1962 to 55% as of 2025.
In October, the Vatican will host a meeting of bishops focused on marriage and childbearing, among other issues. The Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life said discussions will include “walking with families in complex situations” such as “abandonment, separation, and divorce.”
Worldwide Marriage Encounter was recognized by the Vatican this year as an official international association of the faithful, Peter Oprysko told EWTN News. Peter and Sheila attended the reading of the decree in Rome and afterward had an audience with Pope Leo XIV.
At the event, both Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell and Pope Leo XIV “talked about the importance of marriage, for the family and for the Church,” Sheila said.
Though the decline in divorce is a welcome development for marriage advocates, Bailey said the “at least some of the decline in divorce rates is due to a more select population,” which he called “the admittedly dark side to an otherwise positive finding.”
“Fewer adults are getting married today, but couples who do marry appear to be more committed than those from recent decades,” he said. He said the public should be taught that “a successful marriage is not a coin toss and that it is possible to form a stable and happy family life in the present day.”
Ryan Verret argued that in his extensive writings on the topic, Pope John Paul II positioned marriage and family as a counterrevolution to destructive modernist tendencies.
“Maybe in some ways we’re in the counterrevolution now,” he said. “There definitely seems to be a substantial movement of young people coming back to faith and things that are transcendent.”
Sheila Oprysko said that married couples should treat their marriage like anything else that needs regular upkeep to stay healthy.
“You bring your car in for maintenance,” she said. “Priests go on for retreat once a year. You do something for yourself spiritually. You’ve got to do something for your marriage as well.”
Peter Oprysko argued that marriage advocates “can’t be complacent” even as divorce trends look promising. “We have to keep reaching out,” he said. “We’re trying to change the narrative.”
Mary Rose Verret, meanwhile, stressed that husbands and wives in happy, thriving unions need to serve as vital witnesses to a culture in need of healthy marriage.
“If you don’t see happy married couples around, you’re not going to want to get married,” she said.
“If we get it right, the marriage rate will go up and the divorce rate will go down,” she said.