His Eminence Bishop Professor Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm said the meeting clearly strengthened his hope for increasing unity amongst the churches. “We wholeheartedly agreed upon the necessity to put Christ in the center to move us to visible unity,” he said. “We also agreed that a strong prophetic voice against the unscrupulous instrumentalisation of Christian faith for political purposes is needed.”

Bedford-Strohm added: “Whether it is about aggressive invasion, chasing migrants, or putting down whole groups of people, the churches must lift up the voice of the preacher of the sermon on the mount who encouraged us to practice, love, even of the enemy and advocacy for the most vulnerable in society. It was encouraging that we are united in giving this witness of love and empathy to the world in a time where division and violence seem to triumph.”

On February 27, 2026, 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), met with His Excellency Mr. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, at his official residence in New Delhi.

His Beatitude Mor Baselius Joseph, Catholicos of India, and His Eminence Mor Eusebios Kuriakose, Metropolitan of New Delhi, accompanied His Holiness during this visit.

During the meeting, His Holiness discussed with His Excellency matters related to the current situation as well as matters related to the Syriac Orthodox Church.

On Clean Monday, 23 February 2026, at midday, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I received, according to established tradition, the hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne residing in Constantinople. On the occasion of the beginning of Holy and Great Lent, they exchanged brotherly greetings in a spirit of mutual forgiveness.

Later the same day, he presided from the Patriarchal Throne at the sacred service of Great Compline in the venerable Patriarchal Church at the Phanar…

Mt 17:1–9

Last Sunday, we saw that temptation enters the human heart, always seeking to diminish, or belittle in our eyes the work of God in the life of His creatures. 
The serpent does this by entering into dialogue with the woman and implies that God had forbidden them to eat from all the trees in the garden (Gen 3:1). In reality, we know that this is not the case: God had allowed them to eat from all the trees in the garden except one (Gen 2:16-17). 

The Tempter does the same thing with Jesus. At the time of His baptism in the Jordan, the Father addressed the Son by calling Him “Beloved Son” (Mt 3:17), and in the desert the Tempter merely calls Him “son.” 
And he tempts Him precisely on this point: “If you are the Son...” (Mt 4:3, 5). 
The devil certainly cannot deny that Jesus is the Son of the Father: he knows this very well and, throughout the Gospel accounts, he is always the first to want to reveal Jesus' identity, to the point that Jesus himself commands him to be silent. Jesus is therefore the Son. But is He the beloved Son? Will God take care of him or leave him at the mercy of pain, human violence, and death?…

The Holy See reiterates the moral imperative of disarmament amid massive expansion of arms budgets, and warns against the militarization of outer space, which must remain the “province of all mankind.”

Msgr. Daniel Pacho, Undersecretary for the Holy See’s Multilateral Sector of the Secretariat of State, has renewed the Church’s call for disarmament.

Addressing the UN-led 2026 Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Wednesday, he said humanity is at “a critical juncture,” recalling His Holiness  Leo XIV’s warning in January that war is “back in vogue, and a zeal for war is spreading.”

Msgr. Pacho lamented that diplomacy based on force is replacing dialogue and consensus-seeking, saying this shift has undermined multilateral discussions on disarmament, including the Conference on Disarmament.

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV names four new Auxiliary Bishops for his Diocese, all of whom were already active as Parish Priests in Rome.

The Bishop of Rome has appointed four new Auxiliaries for his Diocese: Stefano Sparapani, Alessandro Zenobbi, Andrea Carlevale and Marco Valenti.

All four were already Parish Priests in Rome.

The Holy See Press Office announces His Holiness Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming Apostolic Journeys: ten days in Africa, between Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, in April; one day in the Principality of Monaco at the end of March; and six days in Spain, between Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands archipelago, in June.

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV will make a ten-day Apostolic Journey to Africa and two others in Europe, the Holy See Press Office announced on Wednesday.

The first visit will be a day trip at the end of March to the Principality of Monaco, followed by the Africa Journey in April, and finally the six-day Journey to Spain and in the Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands in June.

After the significant journey to Türkiye and Lebanon at the end of 2025 and after the announcement of the upcoming pastoral visits in Italy that will take him as far as Lampedusa, Pope Leo is resuming his pilgrimages throughout the world. 

On February 24, 2026, 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. Mary Church in Dandenong - Melbourne.

His Holiness was assisted by their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Malatius Malki Malki, Patriarchal Vicar of Australia and New Zealand, and Mor Augeen Al-Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary.

Sunday, February 15, 2026 is Judgment Sunday (Meatfare Sunday), followed by Forgiveness Sunday (Cheesefare Sunday) on February 22. Then, as Holy and Great Lent begins, we would do well to look to the guidance and insights of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I as to how best to observe this blessed period.

In his message for Holy and Great Lent 2025, His All-Holiness reminds us that this is a time of “fasting and repentance, of spiritual vigilance and journey with the Lord,” culminating in “the veneration of His splendid Resurrection.” This is because “the services and hymns of this season associate the spiritual struggle of the faithful with the expectation of the Lord’s Pascha, whereby the forty-day fast radiates the fragrance of the paschal joy.”

The goal for every Christian is to become “worthy of our own passage from earthly things to ‘that which no eyes have seen and no ears have heard and no human heart has ascended’ (1 Cor. 2.9).” The Christian must take hold of the opportunity that Holy and Great Lent offers to “become conscious of the depth and wealth of our faith as ‘a personal encounter with Christ’”…

In a message to the Theological-Pastoral Congress on the Guadalupan Event, held in Mexico City from 24 to 26 February 2026, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV presents Our Lady of Guadalupe as a model of authentic inculturation and a lasting criterion for the Church’s Evangelizing mission.

The Theological-Pastoral Congress, promoted by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, the Mexican Episcopal Conference, the Knights of Columbus, and the Pontifical International Marian Academy, seeks to renew reflection on the Guadalupan event in preparation for the Jubilee of 2031, marking 500 years since the apparitions to Saint Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill.

In his message, dated 5 February, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV reflects on the manner in which God reveals Himself in history, not as an abstract idea imposed from without, but by entering into human experience and engaging freedom. Evangelization, he explains, means making Jesus Christ present and fostering a living relationship with Him that shapes personal and communal life.

We publish the text of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV’s new introduction to the book “Peace Be with You!” published by HarperCollins and available in bookstores in the United States and English-speaking countries starting February 24, which is the English-language version of the volume “E pace sia!” published in August 2025 by the Vatican Publishing House.

By His Holiness Pope Leo XIV

Peace is one of the great issues of our time, and is both a gift and a commitment: a gift from God built by men and women throughout the ages.

We live in a world wounded by too many conflicts and struck by bloody hostilities. Bitter nationalism tramples on the rights of the weakest. Even before it is crushed on the battlefield, peace is defeated in the human heart when we give in to selfishness and greed and when we allow partisan interests to prevail instead of looking to the common good. Many writers have said that it is when we refuse to listen to other people’s stories that we begin to deprive them of their dignity. Depersonalizing others is the first step in any war. To know others, on the other hand, is a foretaste of peace. But in order to know, one must first know how to love. Saint Augustine said that “no one can be known except through friendship” (Eighty-three Different Questions, 71)…

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV writes a note to Bishops inviting them to embed Vatican News' new video widget in the web pages of Dioceses, Parishes, and organizations linked to the Catholic Church, which will be automatically updated with our latest news and videos.

“Dear brother, this initiative by Vatican News is a tool for evangelization; it offers an opportunity to create a network and exchange gifts between Rome and the Church in your country. It is a way for your parishes and communities to constantly obtain information from the primary source.”

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV wrote this in a message sent to Bishops around the world, inviting them to use Vatican News’ new video widget.

Dioceses, parishes, and Catholic associations and organizations will be able to embed this tool on their websites, in order to feature videos and news for free about the Pope and the Holy See.

After celebrating Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Castro Pretorio neighborhood in Rome, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV met with members of the community founded by Saint John Bosco, to whom the parish is entrusted, expressing appreciation for their service towards young people, especially foreigners.

“As a young man, before entering the Augustinians, I also visited the Salesian community. You came in second place — I’m sorry!”

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV’s “confession” to the members of the community founded by St. John Bosco was welcomed with laughter, as he addressed them during his visit to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Castro Pretorio neighbourhood in Rome on Sunday, February 22.

He expressed his appreciation for their service in many parts of the world, “where there is war, where there is conflict, where there is poverty, where Jesus wants to be present.”

Is 52:13-15; 53:1-6; Mt 27:27-31 

Dear brothers and sisters,

The image of Christ crowned with thorns, the “Ecce Homo,” which we celebrate today, is one of the most difficult to understand, yet also one of the most significant in our tradition. It is not merely a moment of cruelty in the Passion, but the revelation of the face of both God and man.

The journey of the Old Testament is a journey toward a Face. The believer’s heart longs to see the face of God: “My soul thirsts for God, the living God: when shall I come and behold the face of God?” (Ps 42:3). Moses speaks with God “face to face” (Ex 33:11), but when he asks to see His Glory, the answer is clear: “You cannot see my face” (Ex 33:20). The face of God remains hidden. The face is too much. It is the excess of being, holiness, and love that fallen man cannot bear. The Law, the Prophets, and Wisdom are His blurred features. The face of God is the great desire of every human being, and the ancient plea remains: “Make Your face shine upon us, and we shall be saved” (Ps 80:4)…

Mt 4:1–11

The account of the first sin committed by Adam and Eve, which we read in chapter three of Genesis, tells us that evil occurs in the heart of Man when one forgets the Word with which God spoke to him/her, allowing oneself to be confused by other voices, which insinuate themselves and distract from the truth that has been already revealed.

Today’s Gospel passage (Mt 4:1–11) follows this exact pattern: at the Jordan river, Jesus received a word from the Father, a word that revealed to him his identity as the beloved Son.

Immediately after this, Jesus must face a trial, which consists precisely in a voice different from that of the Father, a voice that proposes a different path from the one inaugurated at his Baptism.

It does not only propose that he do things differently, but that he assumes an identity not his own: Jesus is the beloved Son, who can trust the Father in everything and live by his Word, without seeking to secure his identity through achievement…

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV visits the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the neighbourhood of Castro Pretorio in Rome, close to the Termini train station and meets the Parish community. In his homily, he invited them to be “the yeast of the Gospel in the dough" of an area marked by many difficulties.

The wire of a phone charger dangles from an outlet, between the wooden confessionals built in the time of St. John Bosco, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Castro Pretorio in central Rome on Sunday, February 22, 2026.

Kicked aside by hurried steps, it’s easily forgotten, leaving eyes to wander elsewhere, as they’re attracted by the electric current that runs through the central nave of the Parish run by the Salesian Order: His Holiness Pope Leo XIV is passing by, as part of his second of five visits to Parishes across the city in the time leading up to Easter.

After the Angelus Prayer, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV strongly renewed his appeal for the silencing of arms and the cessation of bombings. "Let an immediate ceasefire be reached, and let dialogue be strengthened to pave the way toward peace," said the Pope, marking four years since the start of the war against Ukraine. Peace cannot be postponed, he emphasized: "Every war is truly a wound inflicted upon the entire human family; it leaves in its wake death, devastation and a trail of pain that marks generations."

"Let the weapons fall silent, let the bombings cease, let an immediate ceasefire be reached, and let dialogue be strengthened to pave the way toward peace."

Four years after the start of the war against Ukraine, the Pope’s heart went out to the people living through such suffering devastation, which His Holiness Pope Leo XIV recalled following the Angelus prayer from the Apostolic Palace window, a war that is "unfolding before the eyes of the whole world."

During his Sunday Angelus address on this first Sunday of Lent, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV says the Lenten season offers the faithful the opportunity to let the Lord cleanse them, cooperate better with God, and, in doing so, craft their lives as unique masterpieces.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Let the Lord cleanse you, purify you and transform you into a unique masterpiece, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV told the faithful on this first Sunday of Lent during his midday Angelus address in the Vatican.

In his address, the Pope recalled the day's Gospel reading according to St. Matthew, in which Jesus enters the desert and is tempted by the devil (cf. Mt 4:1–11). After fasting for forty days, the Pope noted that physically, through hunger, and morally, through the devil’s temptations, Christ feels the weight of his humanity.

On February 23, 2026, 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 “Mor Gregorius Bar Ebroyo” School for Christian Education in Melbourne.

Their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Malatius Malki Malki, Patriarchal Vicar of Australia and New Zealand, and Mor Augeen Al-Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary, were also present.

On February 23, 2026, 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), met the Youth of St. Georges Church in Melbourne.

Their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Malatius Malki Malki, Patriarchal Vicar of Australia and New Zealand, and Mor Augeen Al-Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary, were also present.

During the meeting, His Holiness listened to the youth and their challenges in the diaspora. He encouraged them to remain attached to their church and its traditions and to be active in offering witness to Christ in their society.