Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish

Pope Leo XIV speaks to participants in the Jubilee of Eastern Churches on May 14, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, May 19, 2025 / 14:34 pm (CNA).

A 36-minute video purporting to show Pope Leo XIV reading a statement denouncing colonialism and praising Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the 37-year-old leader of Burkina Faso, has garnered nearly a million views on YouTube as of Monday. 

Claim: Pope Leo XIV is shown seated in the Paul VI Audience Hall reading from a paper. In an apparent response to a purported speech from Ibrahim Traoré, Pope Leo XIV appears to address the Catholic Church’s historical entanglement with colonialism and acknowledge its past failures to stand with the oppressed and speak out against economic exploitation and political interference in Africa. 

The “pope” then addresses ongoing injustices, including the plunder of Africa’s resources, the theft of cultural memory, the denial of sovereignty, and the crisis of migration, affirming Africa’s vital role as a “beacon of faith” and calling for a new era of justice, reconciliation, and partnership.

CNA finds: The video is entirely fake and admits as much in its own description on YouTube — but that hasn’t stopped thousands of viewers from being misled. 

“This made me cry!! What I’ve been waiting for a pope to say all my life!! Gives me hope for the world,” reads one user’s comment, amid hundreds more expressing similar sentiment. 

In reality, however, a disclaimer in the video’s description, posted by the channel Pan-African Dreams, explicitly describes the video as “a work of fiction inspired by the life of Ibrahim Traoré.”

“While some elements are based on real events, the situations and dialogues described are entirely imaginary and do not reflect any actual events. Any resemblance to real-life facts is purely coincidental,” the disclaimer says. 

A YouTube-required label on the video also notes that it contains “Altered or synthetic content: Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated.”

The video is by no means the first AI-generated, fake video of the newly elected Pope Leo to make the rounds online. (The pope himself, in a May 12 address to the media, has already emphasized the responsibility and discernment needed by all people, of all ages, in the use of artificial intelligence.)

In addition, this isn’t the first fake, propagandizing video to surface online specifically glorifying Traoré. In fact, posts recently circulated on social media claim to share a song released by jailed R&B singer R. Kelly in support of Traoré and his regime, AFP Fact-Check reported.

The young military leader, who came to power in 2022 following a coup, has been accused by observers of benefiting from propaganda specifically produced by Russia, possibly because of a connection to the infamous Russian mercenary organization the Wagner Group.  

The verdict: The video is fake and not to be taken seriously. That doesn’t mean Pope Leo will never address the topics raised in the video, such as colonialism and Catholicism in Africa, however — he just hasn’t yet.

We rate this claim false.

Pope Leo XIV meets with faith leaders on Monday, May 19, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, May 19, 2025 / 14:04 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV met with faith leaders at the Vatican on Monday, emphasizing his commitment to continue Pope Francis’ legacy on synodality in relation to ecumenical dialogue with other churches and religions.

Inviting representatives of other Christian churches, ecclessial communities, and other religions who attended his Sunday inauguration Mass to the Apostolic Palace for a private audience, the Holy Father stated his desire to continue the Church’s “ecumenical journey and interreligious dialogue” following the legacy of his predecessors St. John XXIII and Pope Francis. 

“Synodality and ecumenism are closely linked,” he said. “I wish to assure you of my intention to continue Pope Francis’ commitment to promoting the synodal character of the Catholic Church and to developing new and concrete forms for an ever more intense synodality in the ecumenical field.”

“Today is the time for dialogue and for building bridges,” he added. “Therefore I am happy and grateful for the presence of the representatives of other religious traditions, who share the search for God and his will, which is always and only the will of love and life for men and women and for all creatures.”

Expressing his particular fraternal affection for the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, and Assyrian Patriarch Mar Awa III in the meeting, Leo XIV highlighted the need for Christian unity in light of the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea to be celebrated on May 20.

“That council represents a fundamental stage in the development of the Creed shared by all the Churches and ecclesial communities,” the Holy Father said. “While we are on the path towards the reestablishment of full communion among all Christians, we recognize that this unity can only be unity in faith.” 

“As bishop of Rome, I consider one of my primary duties to seek the reestablishment of full and visible communion among all those who profess the same faith in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” he added. 

During the audience, Pope Leo reiterated the importance of a dialogue and fraternity — founded upon the shared belief in one God — with Jews and Muslims in order to achieve peace.

“Even in these difficult times, marked by conflicts and misunderstandings, it is necessary to continue with enthusiasm this very precious dialogue of ours,” he said.

“This approach, based on mutual respect and freedom of conscience, represents a solid basis for building bridges between our communities,” he added.

Toward the end of the audience, the pontiff reiterated his calls for peace and the need for leaders of all faith traditions to be united, “through the testimony of our brotherhood,” for the good of humanity.

“In a world wounded by violence and conflict, each of the communities represented here brings its own contribution of wisdom, compassion, and commitment to the good of humanity and the protection of our common home,” Pope Leo said.

“I am convinced that, if we are in agreement and free from ideological and political conditioning, we can be effective in saying ‘no’ to war and ‘yes’ to peace, ‘no’ to the arms race and ‘yes’ to disarmament, ‘no’ to an economy that impoverishes peoples and the Earth and ‘yes’ to integral development,” the Holy Father concluded.

Pope Leo XIV meets with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on May 19, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, May 19, 2025 / 13:01 pm (CNA).

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump invited Pope Leo XIV to the White House. The invitation was made in a letter from Trump that was hand-delivered to the pope by Vice President JD Vance on Monday.

In a video of the meeting between the vice president and Pope Leo, Vance can be heard saying “I wanted to make sure I gave you that letter,” and in his response Pope Leo can be heard saying “at some point.”

Vance told the pope: “As you can probably imagine, in the United States the people are extremely excited.”

During an exchange of gifts between the two, Vance gave the pope a Chicago Bears jersey with “Pope Leo XIV” emblazoned on the back.

At the meeting’s conclusion, Vance thanked Pope Leo XIV and told him: “We’ll pray for you.”

“Thank you for being here for the celebration,” the pope replied.

When Leo XIV was elected May 8, Trump expressed hearty congratulations, posting on Truth Social: “It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American pope. What excitement, and what a great honor for our country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

Vance and his wife, Usha, attended the pope’s inaugural Mass on Sunday. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also attended with his wife, Jeanette.

Pope Leo XIV greets crowds in St. Peter’s Square from the popemobile on Sunday, May 18, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

ACI Prensa Staff, May 19, 2025 / 12:03 pm (CNA).

From a portable throne carried on the shoulders of attendants to state-of-the-art electric cars, the pope’s means of transportation have evolved considerably over time, reflecting changes in the Church, technology, and the world.

For centuries, pontiffs used the “sedia gestatoria” (Italian for “portable chair”), a type of ceremonial throne used for solemn events adorned with feathered fans and carried by men during solemn ceremonies. The last to use a gestatory chair was John Paul I.

For longer journeys, the popes used horse-drawn carriages.

The oldest recorded carriage, according to the Vatican Museums website, is the Grand Gala Berliner, built in 1826 for Pope Leo XII. This carriage was crowned by a canopy decorated with a dove, representing the Holy Spirit.

The Vatican Museums houses at least five more carriages in its Coach Pavilion, including the Pontifical Landau, which could be opened to allow the pope to greet the faithful during his tours. It was used by Leo XIII and Pius XI.

The great epochal change came in 1929 with Pius XI, the first pontiff to use an automobile. That same year, after the signing of the Lateran Pacts — which gave rise to Vatican City State — the pope received as a gift an American Graham-Paige 837, whose interior seat resembles the Holy Father’s throne.

This was considered a historic vehicle, as it was the first to leave Vatican City since the fall of Rome in 1870. Years later, Pope Pius XII used the same car to personally travel to Rome’s San Lorenzo neighborhood after the American bombing of July 19, 1943.

In the following decades, papal vehicles continued to be modernized. In 1975, on the occasion of the jubilee, Paul VI commissioned an open-top car to greet the faithful in St. Peter’s Square.

This style was also adopted by John Paul II, during whose pontificate the term “popemobile” became popular. One of the most iconic was the Fiat Campagnola, in which the pope was shot during the 1981 assassination attempt. From then on, designs were outfitted with bulletproof glass and reinforced security.

The same style of automobiles continued with Pope Francis, except that he rejected armored cars for most of his trips involving large crowds of the faithful.

Toward the end of his pontificate, the use of electric cars was promoted, both for his personal transportation and for the Vatican’s vehicle fleet.

Donated vehicles 

Over time, the Vatican has also received vehicles as gifts, such as the Ferrari Enzo donated to the pope himself, who decided to auction it off and allocate the funds to the victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia.

Similarly, in November 2017, Pope Francis received a white Lamborghini Huracán, which was auctioned six months later for $950,000. Part of this money was used to help with reconstruction in the Nineveh Plains of Iraq.

Pope Francis also requested that one of his vehicles be transformed by Caritas Jerusalem into a mobile medical unit to provide health care to children in the Gaza Strip.

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

null / Credit: KieferPix/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 19, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Catholic Charities in Youngstown, Ohio, will join a new pilot study, Lifting Moms Out of Poverty (LMOP), a program developed by Catholic Charities USA, in a bid to offer aid to mothers with small children.

“The intent of the program from Catholic Charities USA is to evaluate the effectiveness of programs that support young families with kiddos under 3 years of age,” Rick Squier, the executive director of the Catholic Charities serving Portage and Stark counties, told CNA.

“I’m excited that we have the opportunity to do this,” Squier said. “We’re going to be able to quantify the results of the program and say that when we do our financial literacy program with young families over the course of 18 months, they see dramatic increases in their ability to overcome when life happens.” 

“And then we have the opportunity to go out and write grants” based on the successful results, he said.

The pilot program will run for 18 months and will monitor the status of at least 20 families. Each family will take three surveys over the course of the year and a half with the goal of determining improvement in financial literacy, emotional perspective, and parenting skills. 

The agency serving Portage and Stark counties is currently monitoring 38 families and is using a combination of internal funds along with a $75,000 grant from Catholic Charities USA. 

According to Squier, 100% of these funds go toward the direct support of the families in the form of rent and utilities, transportation, education, or other similar core costs. 

Squier said the pilot program will be adapted to existing ones. First Step for Families, which already serves families in Portage and Stark counties, will benefit from the program. 

“What we did is take this program that already exists and add a little bit more client management into it … with our case workers,” he explained. 

“Now, they’re just spending a little bit more time and effort in connecting with the families and really working with them on the financial portion, the parenting portion, and seeing what we can do to alleviate the barriers that exist in their situation to get them ahead and get them to be more resilient.” 

At the end of the pilot program, The Catholic University of America will evaluate the results in order to formulate recommendations to send to Catholic Charities agencies in other dioceses. 

Ultimately, Squier said he hopes the pilot program will “really enable us to see what works best, so that we can provide support … lifting moms out of poverty.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seated in places of honor usually reserved for heads of state, meet with Pope Leo XIV in the papal library on May 19, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, May 19, 2025 / 06:52 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV held a private meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the papal library on Monday morning.

Details of the meeting were not released, but the Americans later spoke with a top Vatican diplomat about U.S. and international issues.

The 45-minute papal audience began with a one-on-one between Vance and the pope, with Rubio joining afterward. Second Lady Usha Vance; Rubio’s wife, Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio; and the larger U.S. delegation joined for the final part of the meeting, which included the customary exchange of gifts.

In a photo of the encounter released by the Vatican, Vance appears to have given the pontiff a Chicago Bears jersey with “Pope Leo XIV” printed on the back.

Other photos show Vance and Rubio smiling, seated in places of honor across the papal desk from Leo, a position usually reserved for heads of state.

A Vatican spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the seating arrangement.

Following the papal audience, Vance and Rubio met with Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Rubio’s Vatican counterpart. They discussed collaboration between Church and state and issues relevant to ecclesial life and religious freedom, according to the Vatican.

The brief communication on the meeting from the Vatican also appeared to reference disagreements — “an exchange of views” — between the Vatican and the U.S. administration on “some current international issues.”

During the meeting, there was a call for “respect for humanitarian law and international law in areas of conflict and for a negotiated solution between the parties involved,” the Vatican’s statement said.

In the 10 days since his election May 8, Leo has appeared to take a more pro-Ukraine line in the Russia-Ukraine conflict than his immediate predecessor, first by speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone in the first hours of his papacy, then meeting the leader for a private audience the same day of his inaugural Mass.

Leo also called for negotiations for a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine in his first two Regina Caeli messages on May 11 and 18, and one of his early audiences was with the head of the Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk.

As a bishop in Peru in 2022, then-Bishop Prevost also made explicit reference to Russia’s invasion, calling it “imperialist in nature,” while Francis avoided such language in his peace appeals and had even called for Ukraine to raise the white flag.

On the conflict in Gaza, Leo, like Francis, has called for ceasefire and the return of Israeli hostages.

Vance, Rubio, and Zelenskyy also met together in Rome, after they both attended Pope Leo’s inaugural Mass on May 18.

According to a post on X from Vance’s office, the leaders discussed “updates on the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire and lasting peace.”

Zelenskyy called the encounter a “good meeting” in his own post on X and said he “reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy.”

The Ukrainian president also said he spoke about the need for pressure and sanctions against Russia as well as “defense cooperation.”

Archbishop Charles C. Thompson elevates the Eucharist during the Opening Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis, marking the official launch of the St. Katharine Drexel Route. May 18, 2025. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

CNA Newsroom, May 18, 2025 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

The 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage kicked off Sunday, May 18, with an opening Mass in downtown Indianapolis where an estimated 1,000 people, including many young families, joined Archbishop Charles C. Thompson to officially launch this year’s pilgrimage.

“Our faith is not something to be lived just within the walls of the Church. The Mass ends with being sent out,” the archbishop told EWTN News before the Mass began at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. “The Eucharist is transforming. And it transforms us, and through us it transforms others.” 

The 2025 pilgrimage is a continuation of last year’s four simultaneous Eucharistic pilgrimages, which converged in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress in July 2024. The pilgrimages are part of the National Eucharistic Revival, a multi-year plan launched by the U.S. bishops to strengthen faith in Jesus Christ and the Eucharist. 

Eight young adult pilgrims called “Perpetual Pilgrims” will accompany the Blessed Sacrament for the 3,300-mile mile trek this year named for St. Katharine Drexel (1858–1955), which will culminate on Corpus Christi Sunday, June 22, in Los Angeles. 

At the opening Mass was Matthew Heidenreich, a 2024 Marian Route pilgrim, who said he wanted to come out and support this year’s pilgrims. “Something like this, a pilgrimage that goes across the country, the Lord just uses that to create powerful, powerful moments that will ultimately bring so many people to him, and to the Church,” he told EWTN News.

The University of Alabama student from Columbus, Ohio, also shared how his life has changed since making last year’s pilgrimage. 

“My relationship and the way that I walk with the Lord has completely changed,” he said. “Just like experiencing that day to day walk with him, and realizing how much he wants to enter into every part of my life, it transforms the way you view every moment, and the way you enter into life. Because you just know the Lord is with you, he’s walking with you, he wants to be there.”

The Drexel route will process through 10 states — including California and Texas — as well as through 20 Catholic dioceses and four Eastern Catholic eparchies. Along the way will be opportunities to encounter Jesus including daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, Eucharistic processions, witness talks, and fellowship meals with the Perpetual Pilgrims. 

In keeping with the ongoing Jubilee Year of Hope in the Catholic Church, the focus of the Drexel Route is on “hope and healing,” with visits planned not only to churches but also to prisons and nursing homes. 

“[The Eucharistic pilgrimage] is bringing a Christ centered focus to a world that is in desperate need of meaning and purpose and healing,” said Archbishop Thompson. “That’s what this procession is all about — Jesus Christ, the way the truth and the life, being proclaimed, being adored, being worshipped. The one who leads us and unites us.”

Pope Leo XIV acknowledged divisions among the faithful with a call for fraternal communion and unity in the homily at his inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square on May 18, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, May 18, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV delivered the following homily at the Mass for the Initiation of the Petrine Ministry in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, May 18, after being elected the 266th successor of St. Peter on May 8.

Dear Brother Cardinals,

Brother Bishops and Priests,

Distinguished Authorities and Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Greetings to the pilgrims who came on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Confraternities!

Brothers and Sisters, I greet all of you with a heart full of gratitude at the beginning of the ministry that has been entrusted to me. St. Augustine wrote: “Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Confessions, I: 1,1).

In these days, we have experienced intense emotions. The death of Pope Francis filled our hearts with sadness. In those difficult hours, we felt like the crowds that the Gospel says were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36). Yet on Easter Sunday, we received his final blessing and, in the light of the Resurrection, we experienced the days that followed in the certainty that the Lord never abandons his people but gathers them when they are scattered and guards them “as a shepherd guards his flock” (Jer 31:10).

In this spirit of faith, the College of Cardinals met for the conclave. Coming from different backgrounds and experiences, we placed in God’s hands our desire to elect the new successor of Peter, the bishop of Rome, a shepherd capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, looking to the future, in order to confront the questions, concerns, and challenges of today’s world. Accompanied by your prayers, we could feel the working of the Holy Spirit, who was able to bring us into harmony, like musical instruments, so that our heartstrings could vibrate in a single melody.

I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family.

Love and unity: These are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus.

We see this in today’s Gospel, which takes us to the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus began the mission he received from the Father: to be a “fisher” of humanity in order to draw it up from the waters of evil and death. Walking along the shore, he had called Peter and the other first disciples to be, like him, “fishers of men.” Now, after the Resurrection, it is up to them to carry on this mission, to cast their nets again and again, to bring the hope of the Gospel into the “waters” of the world, to sail the seas of life so that all may experience God’s embrace.

How can Peter carry out this task? The Gospel tells us that it is possible only because his own life was touched by the infinite and unconditional love of God, even in the hour of his failure and denial. For this reason, when Jesus addresses Peter, the Gospel uses the Greek verb “agapáo,” which refers to the love that God has for us, to the offering of himself without reserve and without calculation. Whereas the verb used in Peter’s response describes the love of friendship that we have for one another.

Consequently, when Jesus asks Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (Jn 21:16), he is referring to the love of the Father. It is as if Jesus said to him, “Only if you have known and experienced this love of God, which never fails, will you be able to feed my lambs. Only in the love of God the Father will you be able to love your brothers and sisters with that same ‘more,’ that is, by offering your life for your brothers and sisters.”

Peter is thus entrusted with the task of “loving more” and giving his life for the flock. The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda, or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did.

The Apostle Peter himself tells us that Jesus “is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, and has become the cornerstone” (Acts 4:11). Moreover, if the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him (cf. 1 Pt 5:3). On the contrary, he is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them, for all of us are “living stones” (1 Pet 2:5), called through our baptism to build God’s house in fraternal communion, in the harmony of the Spirit, in the coexistence of diversity. In the words of St. Augustine: “The Church consists of all those who are in harmony with their brothers and sisters and who love their neighbor” (Serm. 359,9).

Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.

In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest. For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion, and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one. This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of goodwill, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!

This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.

Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today: If this criterion “were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?” (Rerum Novarum, 21).

With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.

Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk toward God and love one another.

Pope Leo XIV waves during the inaugural Mass of his pontificate, held in St. Peter’s Square on May 18, 2025. He stands in front of a Flemish tapestry depicting the dialogue between Jesus and Peter after the miraculous catch of fish. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, May 18, 2025 / 06:58 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday formally began his ministry as head of the 1.4 billion members of the universal Catholic Church, acknowledging divisions among the faithful with a call for fraternal communion and unity at his inaugural Mass.

Addressing an estimated 150,000 people crowded into St. Peter’s Square and the surrounding streets, the 69-year-old pope, elected May 8, said: “I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.”

Under Pope Francis, the Church experienced internal division over issues of liturgy and moral doctrine on sexuality and the family, including the approval of the blessing of same-sex couples.

At the Mass, concelebrated with the members of the College of Cardinals, Leo expressed his intention to “come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family.”

Leo XIV has indicated his desire for collegiality from his first moment as pope, when he spoke about walking together as a united Church in his opening words to the world on May 8, following the announcement of his election. He also held an early meeting with cardinals where they were invited to speak up on whatever issue concerned them, something that had not happened under Francis since 2014.

Reflecting on the qualities expected in the successor of St. Peter, he said: “If the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him.”

Hundreds of religious and international leaders and dignitaries, representing nearly 200 foreign delegations, attended the Mass for the Beginning of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome on May 18, including U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

In his homily, Leo spoke about the conclave that chose him to be the Church’s 267th pope: “Coming from different backgrounds and experiences, we [the cardinal electors] placed in God’s hands our desire to elect the new successor of Peter, the bishop of Rome, a shepherd capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, looking to the future, in order to confront the questions, concerns, and challenges of today’s world.”

“Love and unity: These are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus,” the pontiff added.

Quoting St. Augustine — who inspired the religious Order of St. Augustine, to which he belongs — Pope Leo XIV said: “The Church consists of all those who are in harmony with their brothers and sisters and who love their neighbor.”

The pope lamented the discord and wounds of our time: “For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion, and fraternity within the world.”

Before delivering his homily, Leo received the symbols of the papacy, the pallium and the fisherman’s ring, in a richly-symbolic rite including an act of obedience and fidelity from representatives of the College of Cardinals and “the people of God.”

The pallium, a narrow band made of white lamb’s wool, was draped over his shoulders. The pallium, which has two black flaps and three pins representing the nails of Christ’s cross, symbolizes the bishop as the good shepherd and Christ the Lamb crucified for the salvation of the human race.

The gold fisherman’s ring, a part of the papal insignia since the first millennium, has the image of St. Peter with the keys and fisherman’s net, a symbol of authority and the duty entrusted to St. Peter by Jesus to be “a fisher of men.”

After the sung proclamation of the Gospel in Latin and Greek — the passage from the Gospel of John, when Jesus asks Peter “do you love me?” and commands him to “feed my lambs” and “tend my sheep” — Cardinal Dominique Mamberti placed the pallium around Leo’s shoulders and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, OFM Cap, recited a prayer.

With visible emotion, Leo received the fisherman’s ring from Cardinal Luis Tagle, looking at the ring and then lifting his face in prayer.

His papal name and elements from his coat of arms — the fleur-de-lis, a symbol of purity and the Virgin Mary, and a pierced heart, the traditional symbol of the Augustinian order — are engraved on the inside of the ring.

Before the Mass, Pope Leo XIV took his first ride in the popemobile, standing and waving to the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square and Via Conciliazione, the main thoroughfare to the Vatican basilica.

The rite for the beginning of the pontificate started with Leo praying at the tomb of St. Peter together with the cardinals, who then walk in solemn procession together through St. Peter’s Basilica to St. Peter’s Square. 

An image of our Mother of Good Counsel from the Italian Sanctuary of Genazzano, which Leo visited on May 10 in one of his first acts as pope, was placed to the left of the altar.

“This is the hour for love!” Pope Leo said in his homily. “The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today: If this criterion ‘were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?’ (Rerum Novarum, 21).”

“With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love,” he continued, “a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made ‘restless’ by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.”

At the end of Mass, Leo appealed for “a just and lasting peace” around the world, especially in Gaza, Myanmar, and Ukraine, and sang the Regina Caeli, a Marian antiphon for the Easter season.

In addition to international leaders and dignitaries, a large number of religious representatives attended the first papal Mass, including members of the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Zoroastrianism, and Jainism religions.

Around 36 different Christian churches or organizations were also represented, with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and Patriarch Theophilos III of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem in attendance.

Jewish leaders from Italy, Israel, and the United States also came to the Mass, including the head rabbi of Rome, Riccardo Di Segni.

Melanie McClanahan, a Rosary Team volunteer, with a resident. / Credit: Mike Jensen

CNA Staff, May 18, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Teresa Rodriguez was working as a hospice nurse, seeing patients at a memory care facility, when she realized that her patients were not being offered any spiritual services. While speaking with a patient and the patient’s husband one day, the idea was proposed of organizing a time to pray the rosary. Rodriguez immediately decided to make that happen.

“That day I talked to the activities director … and she was thrilled. [She was] so excited that we would even consider coming in and praying with the residents,” Rodriguez told CNA in an interview. 

At the time, Rodriguez was leading a Bible study at her parish, Sacred Heart of Mary in Boulder, Colorado. She asked the women in her Bible study if anyone would be willing to volunteer to pray the rosary with patients at a memory care facility. Two of them volunteered to go with her. 

The event was quickly a success. What started as a once-a-week event quickly became twice a week, and then three times. Rodriguez placed bulletin announcements in the surrounding parishes and was able to gather more volunteers. This marked the beginning of what is now known as the Rosary Team, which started in 2019 and today is made up of over 500 volunteers in 18 states.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rosary Team held Zoom rosaries that were broadcast throughout the facilities. Once they began to reopen, Rodriguez reached back out to facilities to see if they could hold in-person rosaries again and, much to her surprise, there was even more excitement about having individuals come in to pray the rosary with the residents. 

Over the years, Rodriguez has had a plethora of moving experiences with residents at the memory care facilities. 

“One that really got to me was I was praying with one resident and she said to me after we were done praying, ‘That’s the first Hail Mary I’ve prayed in 45 years,’” Rodriguez recalled. 

She added that at times they encounter residents who can’t speak or can only say very few words, “then, all of the sudden, we start praying the rosary with them and they say out loud the prayers of the rosary.”

Melanie McClanahan, a Rosary Team volunteer, said her time volunteering with the ministry “has been a miracle in my life and I see how it is a miracle in the lives of others. I have watched people heal, including myself; I have seen family members come together, and I have watched people who weren’t sure about their beliefs grow in their love of Jesus and their devotion to our Blessed Mother.”

When asked why it’s so important to do work like this with the elderly and memory-impaired, Rodriguez said: “The elderly are quiet and we don’t see them a lot — due to their health issues and their mobility — and they can be easily forgotten, especially when they’re in facilities, when they’re not out at our parishes, not in our neighborhoods, or in the grocery stores. They’re such an easy group to forget and we don’t want to forget them.”

“This is a pro-life issue in pro-life ministry, that we need to take care of people from conception to natural death, and this is a part of caring for them and, you know, acknowledging them, and giving them love,” she added.

Rodriguez said she hopes that both volunteers and residents are being impacted by this ministry and that “the faith and love for God grows through the Rosary Team, and through the volunteers and the residents praying together.”