On the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the Pope closes the Jubilee of Sport with a Mass, reminding everyone that sports can be a “means of reconciliation and encounter.”

By Kielce Gussie

In St. Peter’s Basilica in front of thousands of athletes of all levels, backgrounds and sports, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV presided over Mass to close the Jubilee of Sport and celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

In his homily, the Pope reflected on how “unusual” the connection between the Trinity and sport might seem. However, he pointed out that since every good human activity reflects God’s infinite beauty in some way, “sport is certainly one of these.”

14-6-2025

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV decries the military escalation between Iran and [Israel] and renews his appeal for dialogue and the pursuit of a world free from the nuclear threat.

By Linda Bordoni

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on Saturday appealed to Iranian and [Israeli] leaders to step back from war and engage in dialogue for the common good.

Speaking during an Audience for the Jubilee of Sport in St. Peter’s Basilica, he said “No one should ever threaten another’s existence.”

"In these days, news continues to arrive that causes great concern. The situation in Iran and [Israel] has seriously deteriorated, and at such a delicate moment, I wish to strongly renew an appeal to responsibility and reason,” he said.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) General Secretary Rev. Prof. Dr. Jerry Pillay strongly condemned the [Israeli] military attack on Iranian territory as “an unlawful act that violates international law and the sovereignty of a nation-state”.

“Such aggression endangers the entire Middle East region, reignites cycles of violence, and risks triggering a catastrophic war with global implications,” he said. “It challenges all efforts made through diplomacy and dialogue, and gravely undermines the pursuit of peace, justice, and human dignity.”

In a telegram for the Day of Life observed by the Church in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV calls on Catholics to continue to bear witness to the God-given dignity of every person without exception.

By Christopher Wells

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV has expressed his “spiritual closeness” to all those taking part in the 2025 “Day for Life,” promoted by the bishops’ conferences of England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV addresses young people gathered in his hometown – Chicago – and urges them to build community, embrace God’s love, and become “beacons of hope” in today’s world.

By Linda Bordoni 

Thousands of young people gathered at Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox Major League Baseball team, on Saturday, June 14, for a joyful celebration organised by the Archdiocese of Chicago to honour the recent election of their native son, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.

In a video message, the newly elected Pope, formerly Archbishop of Chiclayo, Peru, expressed gratitude and encouragement to the young people of his hometown and the world.

On June 15, 2025, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the World, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), celebrated the Holy Qurobo for the feast of the Syriac Martyrs of Sayfo, and on the occasion of the end of the academic year at Mor Aphrem Theological Seminary, on the altar of the Martyrs of Sayfo at Mor Aphrem Monastery in Maarat Saydnaya.

His Holiness was assisted by their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Yacoub Babawi, Patriarchal Vicar for Monks Affairs and the Administration of Mor Aphrem Theological Seminary in Maarat Saydnaya, Mor Christophoros Markose, Patriarchal Secretary for the Affairs of the Church in India, and Mor Augeen Al-Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary.

Jn 16:12-15

In today’s Gospel passage (Jn 16:12-15), we hear that when Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit. He repeats a somewhat strange expression twice. For he says that the Spirit “will take what is mine and declare it to you” (Jn 16:14,15).

To understand what Jesus is trying to tell us with this expression, let’s take a step back and come to an Old Testament passage where we see an opposite situation to what Jesus is talking about.

The passage in question is Genesis 3:1-12. God had just created man and entered into a dialog with him. The passage is well known: God hands over to man all the wonderful creation he has just made and, with the commandment about the tree of knowledge of good and evil, asks him to remain in a meek attitude, the attitude of a person who owns nothing but accepts everything as a gift. The filial attitude of a person who knows that he is not the master of everything…

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly General Audience and reflects on the Gospel account of the healing of the blind man who cried out to Jesus and began to follow Him after his sight was restored.

By Christopher Wells

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV used his catechesis at Wednesday’s General Audience to highlight “another essential aspect of the life of Jesus, namely, His healings.”

The Holy Father reflected on the Gospel account of the healing of a blind man, Bartimaeus, who cried out to Jesus as He passed through the city of Jericho on the way to Jerusalem.

On June 10, 2025, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the World, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), visited the construction site of St. Shemoun d-Zayte in Boros and inspected the ongoing work of construction of the new building for the Church.

His Holiness was accompanied by their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Youhanon Lahdo, Archbishop of Sweden and Scandinavia, and Mor Augeen Al-Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary.

On June 9, 2025, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the World, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), presided over the Ramsho Prayer at St. Gabriel Church in Gotenberg.

His Holiness was accompanied by their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Youhanon Lahdo, Archbishop of Sweden and Scandinavia, and Mor Augeen Al-Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary.

At the conclusion of the 2024-2025 academic year of the Armenian Theological Seminary, a gathering was held to celebrate the successful culmination of the academic year as well as the ordination of one of its graduates. This event took place on June 8, 2025, at the fratery, presided over by His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), with the Cilician Brotherhood and the seminary community in attendance.

On June 8, 2025, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the World, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), presided over the Ramsho Prayer at St. Gabriel Church in Norrkoping.

His Holiness was accompanied by their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Youhanon Lahdo, Archbishop of Sweden and Scandinavia, and Mor Augeen Al-Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary.

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV meets with his Pontifical Representatives across the globe, and urges them to bear witness to the Church’s love for the world and her desire to do anything possible to stand on the side of those in need.

By Devin Watkins

Apostolic Nuncios and other papal representatives deployed throughout the world met with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican on Tuesday.

As other Popes have done at their first meeting with their diplomatic representatives, His Holiness Pope Leo gifted each with a ring symbolizing their bond to the Successor of Peter, which bears the inscription “sub umbra Petri”.

On June 8, 2025, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the World, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), celebrated the Holy Qurobo on the occasion of the Feast of the Pentecost at St. Mary Church in Orebro.

His Holiness was assisted by their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Dioscorus Benjamin Atas, Patriarchal Vicar in Sweden, Mor Youhanon Lahdo, Archbishop of Sweden and Scandinavia, and Mor Augeen Al-Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary.

On June 7, 2025, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the World, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), consecrated St. Matta Church in Halmstadt - Sweden.

His Holiness was assisted by their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Dioscorus Benjamin Atas, Patriarchal Vicar in Sweden, Mor Youhanon Lahdo, Archbishop of Sweden and Scandinavia, Mor Timotheos Mousa Al-Shamani, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of the Monastery of Mor Matta, and Mor Augeen Al-Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary.

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided, on Monday June 9th, the Liturgy of the Feast of the Holy Spirit, a major holiday which is usually celebrated the Monday after Sunday of Pentecost.

Towards the end of the Liturgy, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III delivered the following speech to commemorate the Feast:

“Your Eminences,
Your Graces,
Dear Archimandrite Vassian,
Dear Fathers,
Beloved Monastics,
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

We greet you with great joy on this blessed feast, when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit.

As we keep this feast we recall some words of a beautiful prayer to the Holy Spirit of Saint Simeon the New Theologian:

Come, true light.
Come, life eternal.
Come, Alone to the alone.
Come, for you are yourself the desire that is within me.
Come, my breath and my life.
Come, the consolation of my humble soul.
Come, my joy, my glory, my endless delight.

We rejoice today in the gift of the Holy Spirit, for it is by the gift of the Holy Spirit that the Church is grounded and maintained in unity…

On Sunday, 26 May / 8 June 2025, the Patriarchate celebrated the Sunday of Pentecost, in accordance with the Book of Pentecostarion, as the day commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the holy Disciples and Apostles of Christ. On this day, through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles spoke “in other tongues the wonderful works of God” to the multitudes who had heard the mighty wind of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, believed, and were baptised—those who were added to the Church on that very day, about “three thousand souls” (Acts 2:1–41).

On the occasion of this Feast, His Beatitude Theophilos III, Greak Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over the Divine Liturgy at the All-Holy and Life-Giving Tomb of the Lord.

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for officials of the Roman Curia on the Jubilee of the Holy See, and recalls that the Apostolic See draws its fruitfulness from Jesus Christ and the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

By Devin Watkins

As the Church marks the Jubilee of the Holy See, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV spent Monday morning with employees and officials of the Roman Curia.

The Jubilee began with a meditation offered by Sr. Maria Gloria Riva, a Sister of the Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady. The Pope then carried a Jubilee cross and led a procession of Holy See officials through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.

During the Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV recalls how the Holy Spirit accomplished 'something extraordinary' in the lives of the Apostles, and suggests that today, the Holy Spirit likewise descends upon us, ready to shatter our inner chains, fears, and hardened hearts, to make us new.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"Today, too, what took place in the Upper Room takes place anew in our midst.  Like a mighty wind that overtakes us, like a crash that startles us, like a fire that illuminates us, the gift of the Holy Spirit descends upon us."

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV meets with participants in the Symposium “Nicaea and the Church of the Third Millennium: Towards Catholic-Orthodox Unity," and highlights the many aspects that unite Christians, as the Church celebrates the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.