Author: Eric Deabill

NEW YORK (OSV News) – The world “always has and always will need a missionary Church,” said Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks in his first homily as the new shepherd of the Archdiocese of New York.

“The mission is before us,” he said. “The world is waiting with hope. And behold, God is with us always.”

Moments after his Feb. 6 installation Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral — a liturgy that that filled “America’s parish church” with at least some 2,000 congregants — Archbishop Hicks reaffirmed the words he spoke at the time of his December appointment by Pope Leo XIV: The Church is meant to go forth from the pews to the peripheries, bringing the Gospel of Christ’s saving love to a wounded and warring world.

“This is a call to be a missionary Church, not a country club,” said Archbishop Hicks, now the 11th archbishop of New York. “A club exists to serve its members. The Church exists, on the other hand, to go out and serve all people, on fire with faith, hope, and charity in the name of Jesus Christ.

“This is not a criticism; it’s simply an invitation to constantly renew who we are and to rediscover why the Church exists,” he stressed.

That message — delivered with fervor, humility and a gentle wit — set the tone for the bilingual installation Mass, a liturgy of both splendor and warmth that blended the solemnity of the Church’s sacred tradition of episcopal succession with pastoral closeness and affection.

Embraces, laughter, prayerful quiet, applause and more than one standing ovation marked key moments of the sacred celebration.

Even as he processed outside the cathedral ahead of his formal entrance, Archbishop Hicks was greeted by dozens of youth and young adults from the Neocatechumenal Way — a Vatican-approved Catholic formation program that originated in Spain — who joyfully sang hymns in his honor, braving the winter chill behind a barricade across the street from the heavily guarded cathedral.

Knocking on the doors of the cathedral with a hammer, Archbishop Hicks was admitted by St. Patrick’s rector, Father Enrique Salvo, and then greeted by his predecessor, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, who welcomed the new shepherd on behalf of the Archdiocese of New York’s faithful.

Also greeting Archbishop Hicks were several dozen fellow prelates, including Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago — whom the archbishop, a Chicago native ordained a priest of that archdiocese — thanked in his homily for more than 11 years of “example and mentorship.”

Archdiocesan vicar general Msgr. Joseph LaMorte presented Archbishop Hicks with a crucifix, which the archbishop kissed before being presented with holy water by Father Salvo and blessing the congregation.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and bishops from throughout the nation, including several from the Eastern Catholic churches, awaited Archbishop Hicks as well, preceding him up the aisle to the sanctuary.

Archbishop Hicks pressed his hand to his heart as the entrance hymn, “All Creatures of Our God and King,” concluded — the first of several such gestures he made throughout the liturgy, which he celebrated with joyful intensity and energy.

Following the entrance procession to the sanctuary, Cardinal Dolan greeted the congregation from the cathedra, the episcopal throne, before Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the U.S., prepared to read the apostolic letter in which Pope Leo formally appointed Archbishop Hicks as the shepherd of New York.

Cardinal Pierre first commended Cardinal Dolan for his 17 years of service to the Archdiocese of New York, prompting applause and a standing ovation.

“And by the way, did you know it is his birthday?” added Cardinal Pierre, with the choir promptly singing a brief version of “Happy Birthday” to Cardinal Dolan, who turned 76.

A year ago, after his 75th birthday, Cardinal Dolan submitted his resignation to the pope as required by canon law. On Dec. 18, Pope Leo accepted his resignation and named Archbishop Hicks, then bishop of Joliet, Illinois, as his successor.

Applause and a standing ovation marked Archbishop Hicks’ formal acceptance of Pope Leo’s appointment, with the new shepherd of New York displaying the document to those present. He and Cardinal Dolan embraced, and Archbishop Hicks then seated himself at the cathedra, greeting a number of faith leaders — among them, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and representatives of the Jewish and Muslim communities.

Throughout the Mass, hymns and readings flowed easily from English to Spanish to Latin, and from chant to modern liturgical compositions, reflecting both the Church’s ancient heritage and its message to the current moment.

A sense of history, both ecclesial and personal, infused Archbishop Hicks’ installation. He chose to wear the pectoral cross of the first archbishop of New York, Archbishop John Hughes, and used the crozier of Cardinal Patrick Hayes, the see’s fourth archbishop.

Family members, including his brother and sister-in-law, served as gift-bearers. The first reading was proclaimed in Spanish by Samuel Jimenez Coreass, a former orphan at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, a home caring for more than 3,400 abandoned and orphaned children in Latin America and the Caribbean. In July 2005, with permission from Cardinal Francis E. George, then-Father Hicks moved from Chicago to El Salvador to begin his five-year term as the organization’s regional director.

Archbishop Hicks alternately delivered his homily in English and Spanish — and began by quoting one of his favorite hymns, “Alma Misionera” by Enrique Garcia Velez, also sung during holy Communion: “Señor, toma mi vida nueva. … Estoy dispuesto a lo que quieras, no importa lo que sea, tú llévame a servir” (“Lord, take my new life. … I am willing to do whatever you want, no matter where it is you take me to serve”).

“We exist to follow Jesus, who fed the hungry, healed those ill in body and spirit, rejected hatred and proclaimed love,” said Archbishop Hicks.

He explained, “We are called to be a missionary Church; a Church that catechizes, evangelizes and puts our faith into action; a Church made up of missionary disciples who go out and make disciples, passing the faith on from one generation to the next.”

The archbishop called for “a Church that takes care of the poor and the vulnerable,” “respects and upholds life, from conception to natural death,” “cares for creation, builds bridges, listens synodally” and “protects children, promotes healing for survivors and for all those who have been wounded by the Church.”

“A Church that shows respect for all, building unity across cultures and generations,” Archbishop Hicks continued.

And, he said, “I believe the world always has and always will need a missionary Church. A Church that proclaims Jesus Christ clearly and without fear. A Church that forms missionary disciples, not passive spectators. A Church that goes out to the peripheries.”

Archbishop Hicks said that, as a shepherd of that Church, “I come to walk with you, to serve you, and to proclaim Jesus Christ to you.”

“Somos una Iglesia misionera, enviada por Cristo al corazón del mundo,” he said. “So as always, let’s go out, strengthened by the Eucharist, sent by the Lord, and guided by the Holy Spirit.”

Pope Leo XIV’s complete letter can be found in English by clicking here.

Pope Leo XIV’s complete letter can be found in Spanish by clicking here.

 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Just as the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina were about to begin, Pope Leo XIV called on the Catholic Church to recognize sport as an opportunity to offer much-needed human and spiritual guidance.

With so many dangers and distortions threatening the integrity of athletics and the dignity of players, the Church can help strengthen the needed harmony between people’s physical and spiritual development, he wrote, helping sport become a place “for athletes to learn to take care of themselves without falling prey to vanity, to push themselves to their limits without harming themselves and to compete without losing sight of fraternity.”

Pope Leo, who considers himself “a decent amateur tennis player,” issued a letter on “the value of sport,” Feb. 6, titled “Life in Abundance,” from Jesus’ declaration, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly,” from the Gospel according to St. John (10:10).

The need for holistic, integral human development is critical, he wrote, because “the danger of narcissism … permeates the entire sporting culture today. Athletes can become obsessed with their physical image and with their own success, measured by visibility and approval.”

And sometimes sports can take on a “quasi-religious dimension” with athletes perceived as “saviors,” he wrote. “When sport claims to replace religion, it loses its character as a game that benefits our lives, becoming instead aggrandized, all-encompassing and absolute.”

The pope dated and released the eight-page letter the same day the XXV Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo began Feb. 6. Set to run until Feb. 22, the international sporting event will be followed by the XIV Paralympic Games March 6-15.

Offering his “greeting and good wishes to those who are directly involved” in the Games, the pope also encouraged all the world’s nations to “rediscover and respect” the Olympic Truce as a symbol and promise of hope and reconciliation in “a world thirsting for peace.”

“We need tools that can put an end to the abuse of power, displays of force and indifference to the rule of law,” he wrote, decrying the “radicalization of conflict and a refusal to cooperate” as well as a “culture of death.”

The world is witnessing “lives broken, dreams shattered, survivors’ trauma, cities destroyed — as if human coexistence were superficially reduced to a video game scenario,” he wrote, repeating St. John Paul II’s warning that aggression, violence and war are “always a defeat for humanity.”

The Olympic Truce is built on the belief that participating in public sport with a spirit of “virtue and excellence” promotes greater fraternity, solidarity and the common good, he wrote.

“International competitions offer a privileged opportunity to experience our shared humanity in all its rich diversity,” he wrote. “Indeed, there is something deeply moving about the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games, when we see the athletes parade with their national flags and in the traditional garments of their countries.”

These global gatherings “can inspire us and remind us that we are called to form one human family” and that “the values promoted by sport — such as loyalty, sharing, hospitality, dialogue, and trust in others — are common to every person, regardless of ethnic origin, culture or religious belief,” he wrote.

While the pope praised the power and potential of the Olympics, the bulk of the letter was dedicated to all levels of sport, from those engaged in informal fun to serious athleticism.

Like his predecessors, Pope Leo highlighted the virtues of engaging in physical activity and competition as well as warned against current risks that threaten healthy values.

He criticized the perennial problems of using sports as a platform to push political or ideological interests, doping and seeking profits or winning at all costs, warning against the “dictatorship of performance.”

“When financial incentives become the sole criterion, individuals and teams may also fall prey to subjecting their performance to the corruption and influence of the gambling industry,” he wrote. “Such dishonesty not only corrupts sporting activities themselves, but also demoralizes the general public and undermines the positive contribution of sport to society as a whole.”

He also criticized “pay-to-play” programs, which often require costly fees for children to participate, when organized sports should be accessible to everyone.

“In other societies, girls and women are not allowed to participate in sports. Sometimes, in religious formation, especially of women, there is a mistrust and fear of physical activity and sport,” he wrote in the letter, encouraging greater efforts to make sport more accessible to diversity and fraternity, too.

He also warned against “transhumanism” or technologies, including AI, being applied to enhance performance, artificially separating body and mind, and “transforming the athlete into an optimized, controlled product, enhanced beyond natural limits.”

“Finally, we must question the growing assimilation of sport into the logic of video games,” Pope Leo wrote, pointing to the “extreme gamification of sport,” turning it into “simply a device for consumers” and disconnecting it from “concrete relationships.”

The pope said, “There is an urgent need to reaffirm integral care of the human person; physical well-being cannot be separated from inner balance, ethical responsibility and openness to others,” calling on the Church “to recognize sport as an opportunity for discernment and accompaniment and to offer human and spiritual guidance.”

He asked that every national bishops’ conference have an office or commission dedicated to sport and help unite parishes, schools, universities, oratories, associations and neighborhoods in a “shared vision.”

“Pastoral accompaniment of sport is not limited to moments of celebration, but takes place over time through sharing the efforts, expectations, disappointments and hopes of those who play daily on the field, in the gym or on the street,” he added.

He called for seeking out those “who have combined passion for sports, sensitivity to social issues and holiness,” such as St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, who “perfectly combined faith, prayer, social commitment and sport.” Pope Leo canonized the 24-year-old Italian Sept. 7 at the Vatican.

The fullness of life “integrates our bodies, relationships and interior lives,” the pope wrote. “In this way, sport can truly become a school of life, where all can learn that abundance does not come from victory at any cost, but from sharing, from respecting others and from the joy of walking together.”

ROME (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV has called on people around the world to pray for children living with incurable diseases in a video message released by the Vatican Feb. 5.

The four-minute video, published by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network for the pope’s February prayer intention, shows Pope Leo kneeling in prayer inside the Church of San Pellegrino in Vatican City while looking at drawings made by children being treated at Rome’s Bambino Gesù Hospital for Children.

“Lord Jesus, who welcomed the little ones in your arms and blessed them tenderly, today we bring before you the children living with incurable illnesses,” the pope prayed.

“Sustain their families in hope, in the midst of weariness and uncertainty, and make of them witnesses of a faith that grows stronger through trial,” he added.

At the start of each month, the pope releases a video in which he offers a prayer for a specific intention, inviting people to join him in praying it regularly. February’s intention is for children living with incurable illnesses. On Feb. 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Church will celebrate the World Day of the Sick.

“Lord, teach us to recognize your face in every suffering child,” Pope Leo prayed. “May their vulnerability awaken our compassion, and move us to care, accompany, and love with concrete gestures of solidarity.”

Many incurable diseases affecting children are rare genetic or chronic conditions that require lifelong treatment and monitoring. These include certain pediatric cancers, severe neurological disorders, heart defects and rare metabolic diseases. While medical advances have improved survival rates and quality of life for some children, many conditions remain without a cure and can involve ongoing pain, disability or progressive decline. Among the more than 6,000 identified rare diseases, 70% start in childhood.

According to UNICEF, more than 2.1 billion children and adolescents under the age of 20 worldwide are affected by chronic illnesses or long-term health conditions, including cancer, Type 1 diabetes, and heart and respiratory diseases. Each year, around 1 million children under 20 die from these illnesses, many of which could be treated or effectively prevented with adequate access to health care.

In his prayer, Pope Leo asked that sick children “may never lack proper medical care, human and compassionate attention, and the support of a community that accompanies them with love.”

He also asked the Lord to “bless the hands of doctors, nurses, and caregivers, so that their work may always be an expression of active compassion.”

“May your Spirit enlighten them in every difficult decision, and grant them patience and tenderness to serve with dignity,” he said.

 

The full text of Pope Leo XIV’s prayer for children with incurable diseases can be found below:

“Lord Jesus,
who welcomed the little ones in your arms and blessed them tenderly,
today we bring before you the children living with incurable illnesses.
Their fragile bodies are a sign of your presence,
and their smiles, even in the midst of pain, are a testimony of your Kingdom. We ask you, Lord, that they may never lack proper medical care,
human and compassionate attention,
and the support of a community that accompanies them with love.

Sustain their families in hope,
in the midst of weariness and uncertainty,
and make of them witnesses of a faith that grows stronger through trial.
Bless the hands of doctors, nurses, and caregivers,
so that their work may always be an expression of active compassion.
May your Spirit enlighten them in every difficult decision,
and grant them patience and tenderness to serve with dignity.
Lord, teach us to recognize your face in every suffering child.
May their vulnerability awaken our compassion,
and move us to care, accompany, and love
with concrete gestures of solidarity.
Make of us a Church that,
animated by the feelings of your Heart
and moved by prayer and service,
knows how to uphold fragility,
and in the midst of suffering, becomes a source of comfort,
a seed of hope, and a proclamation of new life.
Amen.”

SCRANTON – The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will once again travel throughout the Diocese of Scranton during Lent 2026 to lead Holy Hours in each of the Diocese’s 12 deaneries, continuing a tradition that began several years ago.

The 2026 Lenten Holy Hours will begin on Thursday, Feb. 19 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Wyalusing, Bradford County, and continue through Tuesday, March 24, at SS. Peter and Paul Parish in Plains, Luzerne County.

Each Holy Hour will offer Catholics the opportunity to gather for prayer, reflection, and Eucharistic devotion during the Lenten season.

This year’s theme that Bishop Bambera will preach on is: Finding Peace in Challenging Times.

First launched several years ago as part of the National Eucharistic Revival, the Lenten Holy Hours with Bishop Bambera have drawn strong participation and elicited positive responses from parishioners. Many attendees return year after year, finding the evenings to be a moment of quiet encounter with Christ.

Each Holy Hour includes Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, time for silent prayer and adoration, a homily offered by Bishop Bambera, and sacred music that enhances the reverent atmosphere.

“It is such a special occasion to have the Bishop with us and to have him here in our little town,” Christine Aydelotte said after a 2024 Holy Hour at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Tunkhannock. “He helps to strengthen our bond with Jesus. He’s an inspiration and a reminder that we all play a small part in our one Holy Catholic Apostolic Church.”

Amid a busy and often chaotic season – leading up to Easter – many parishioners have found profound peace in spending quiet time in prayer before the Lord.

“If people put themselves fully into this experience and really sit with the Lord, He makes Himself known. I think everyone, when they fully enter into it, has their own personal revelation,” Concetta Cooney said following a 2025 Holy Hour at Saint John the Evangelist Parish in Pittston.

Every Holy Hour will take place at 7 p.m.

All are welcome to attend any of the Holy Hours, regardless of parish or deanery affiliation.

With the beginning of Lent now only a month away, Bishop Bambera invites the faithful to save the dates of these special Holy Hours and encourages them to attend at least one of the special evenings of prayer.

SCRANTON – On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will be principal celebrant and homilist for the 12:10 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, a 40-day season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving that ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It is a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter.

During Lent, fasting and abstinence regulations are observed. Fasting and abstinence are church-imposed penitential practices that deny us food and drink during certain seasons and on certain days. These acts of self-denial dispose us to free ourselves from worldly distractions, to express our longing for Jesus, to somehow imitate His suffering.

Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 18, 2026) and Good Friday (April 3, 2026) by all Catholics over 18 years of age to the beginning of their 60th year. On days of fasting, one full meal is allowed. Two smaller meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to one’s needs, but together should not equal another full meal, unless dispensed or excused.

Abstinence from meat is to be observed by all Catholics who are 14 years of age or older. Ash Wednesday, all of the Fridays of Lent, and Good Friday are days of abstinence.

A full listing of Ash Wednesday Masses for all 102 parishes in the Diocese of Scranton is now available on the Diocese of Scranton website at dioceseofscranton.org.

(OSV News) – Two U.S. bishops Feb. 3 urged Catholics to be “faithful stewards of memory” and “courageous witnesses to truth” during Black History Month, observed in February.

Bishop Daniel E. Garcia of Austin, Texas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation, and Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr. of Washington, chairman of the USCCB’s Subcommittee on African American Affairs, issued a joint statement to commemorate the month.

They noted that the 2026 observance marks 100 years of commemorating Black history in the United States. “This milestone is an opportunity for us to prayerfully reflect on the ways history has been preserved, honored, and passed on across generations,” Bishop Garcia and Bishop Campbell said.

In 1926, Carter G. Woodson, an American historian, author and journalist, initiated the first Negro History Week in February of that year. He selected the week that included the birthdays of two key figures in the history of Black Americans: President Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12) and abolitionist Frederick Douglass (Feb. 20).

It expanded and became Black History Month, officially recognized by President Gerald R. Ford in February 1976, and later codified by Congress in 1986. The combined efforts marked what the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture called a century of commemorating the history, achievements and contributions of Black Americans.

The bishops pointed to “Open Wide Our Hearts,” the U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter against racism, in which they said the bishops “recognized that the lived experience of the vast majority of African Americans bears the marks of our country’s original sin of racism.”

“During this year’s observance of Black History Month, we encourage the faithful to consider the lessons of history, honoring our heroes of the past and learning from the mistakes of the past,” they said.

“Although we may at times encounter people or situations in our country that seek to erase ‘memory’ from our minds and books, it can never be erased from our hearts,” they continued.

“May our reflections strengthen our faith and communities. Let us be faithful stewards of memory. Let us be courageous witnesses to truth. Let us pray and work to honor the inherent dignity of every person and the sacred stories of every people.”

In a joint reflection they issued with the statement, Bishop Garcia and Bishop Campbell emphasized that racism is a sin against human dignity.

“As shepherds of the Church, entrusted with the care of souls and the proclamation of the Gospel, we care deeply for our people, their joys and sorrows, and the stories they carry. This is especially important in our efforts to witness to the dignity of every person, which requires acknowledging the times in our nation’s history when racism has prevented that dignity from being realized,” they said.

“This reflection is about the sacred task of remembering,” they added. “We must recommit ourselves to the sacred task of remembering — especially the stories of those whose voices have long been unheard. Sacred Scripture and Tradition offer a way forward for helping us understand why telling our stories is central to the Gospel mandate.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV has added the feast day of St. John Henry Newman, who is “a radiant light for the Church on pilgrimage through history,” to the General Roman Calendar so that “his Optional Memorial be celebrated by all on 9 October.”

Cardinal Arthur Roche and Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, respectively prefect and secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, announced the pope’s decision in a decree published by the Vatican Feb. 3.

Previously, the feast day of St. Newman was inscribed only in the proper calendar of the Congregation of the Oratory – the religious congregation to which he belonged – and the proper calendar of England and Wales. Now his memorial, celebrated on the date of his conversion to Catholicism in 1845, is included in the calendar of the universal church.

“Throughout his long life, Cardinal Newman was unstinting in this service to which he had been called. The service of intellectual enquiry; the service of preaching and teaching; as well as service to the poor and the least,” said the decree, dated Nov. 9.

“His lively mind has left us enduring monuments of great importance in the fields of theology and ecclesiology, as well as poetic and devotional compositions. His constant search to be led out of shadows and images into the fullness of the truth has become an example for every disciple of the Risen One,” the decree said.

In a separate note, Cardinal Roche said the inclusion of St. Newman in the General Roman Calendar “is intended to present his figure as an outstanding example of the constant search for the truth that enlightens and saves” and to help the faithful contemplate him “as a man led by the ‘kindly light’ of God’s grace to find peace within the Catholic Church.”

Bishops’ conferences around the world will need to translate from Latin the prayers issued by the dicastery for Mass on his feast day as well as those used in the Liturgy of the Hours and in the Roman Martyrology, and have the translations confirmed by the dicastery.

Cardinal Roche said the collect or opening prayer for Mass on his feast day reveals “the very essence of the saint’s spiritual journey,” which can become “for us too a source of inspiration and a reason for humble prayer, we who desire to be led out of shadows and appearances, so as to arrive at the full light of truth.”

The Gospel reading for his feast is from the 13th chapter of St. Matthew, the cardinal said, in which “the Kingdom of God is compared to a net cast into the sea that gathers all kinds of fish. Only one who becomes a disciple can understand the parable of the Kingdom, becoming “like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

The decree came after Pope Leo proclaimed the British saint a doctor of the church Nov. 1, the feast of All Saints.

Celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square the Vatican Nov. 1, Pope Leo concluded the Jubilee of the World of Education and proclaimed St. Newman the 38th doctor of the church, including him among the men and women of the Christian East and West who have made decisive contributions to theology and spirituality.

Earlier that week, Pope Leo had officially recognized St. Newman as co-patron of education along with St. Thomas Aquinas.

St. Newman was born in London Feb. 21, 1801, and was ordained an Anglican priest in 1825. He joined the Catholic Church in 1845 and was ordained a Catholic priest in Rome at the church of the Pontifical Urbanian College May 30, 1847. He was made a cardinal in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII and died in 1890.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV praised consecrated men and women for going to the world’s peripheries and refusing to abandon their people, even amid conflict.

“They remain, often stripped of all security, as a living reminder – more eloquent than words – of the inviolable sacredness of life in its most vulnerable conditions,” he said Feb. 2 in his homily for Candlemas – the feast of the Presentation of the Lord – which also marks the Catholic Church’s celebration of World Day for Consecrated Life.

“Even where weapons roar and arrogance, self-interest and violence seem to prevail,” he said, the presence of these consecrated men and women “proclaims the words of Jesus” in his parable of the lost sheep: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for … their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

The pope’s Mass began with the pope blessing with holy water the candles used for the entrance procession. Dozens of consecrated men and women led the candlelit procession while the lights in St. Peter’s Basilica remained dimmed, and thousands of people who filled the basilica held lit candles as well.

After the darkened basilica was filled with light, Pope Leo, who joined the Order of St. Augustine as a young man and served as a missionary in Peru for decades, reflected on the mission of religious men and women in the Church and in the world.

“Dear brothers and sisters, the Church asks you to be prophets — messengers who announce the presence of the Lord and prepare the way for him,” he said in his homily. “You are called to this mission above all through the sacrificial offering of your lives, rooted in prayer and in a readiness to be consumed by charity,” he said.

Docile to the action of the Holy Spirit, the founders and foundresses of their religious orders and communities offer “wonderful models of how to fulfil this mandate faithfully and effectively,” he said.

“Living in constant tension between earth and heaven, they allowed themselves to be guided with faith and courage,” he said. Some founders “were led to the silence of the cloister, others to the demands of the apostolate,” but all of them returned “humbly and wisely, to the foot of the cross and to the tabernacle, where they offered everything and discovered in God both the source and the goal of all their actions.”

Pope Leo highlighted those founders who “embarked on perilous undertakings.”

“They became a prayerful presence in hostile or indifferent environments; a generous hand and a friendly shoulder amid degradation and abandonment; and witnesses of peace and reconciliation in situations marked by violence and hatred,” he said. “They were ready to bear the consequences of going against the current, becoming, in Christ, a ‘sign of contradiction,’ sometimes even to the point of martyrdom.”

One way to honor these brothers and sisters, he said, is “by carrying forward their legacy.”

“You are called to bear witness to God’s saving presence in history for all peoples, even within a society in which false and reductive understandings of the human person increasingly widen the gap between faith and life,” he said.

“You are called to testify that the young, the elderly, the poor, the sick and the imprisoned hold a sacred place above all else on God’s altar and in his heart,” he said, and to show how each of the least is “an inviolable sanctuary of God’s presence, before whom we must bend our knee, in order to encounter him, adore him and give him glory.”

Many religious communities have established “outposts of the Gospel … in a wide variety of challenging contexts, even in the midst of conflict,” he said. “These communities do not abandon their people, nor do they flee” as they seek to uphold the sacredness of human life in its most vulnerable conditions.

“Consecrated life, in its serene detachment from all that is passing, reveals the inseparable bond between authentic care for earthly realities and a hope filled with love for what is eternal” and gives meaning to everything else, he said.

Through their promise to follow Christ more closely by professing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience, consecrated men and women “empty” themselves so that Christ, “the one eternal messenger of the covenant who remains present among humanity today, can melt and purify hearts with his love, grace and mercy,” Pope Leo said.

Through this self-emptying and life in the Spirit, he said, consecrated men and women “can show the world the way to overcome conflict, sowing fraternity through the freedom of those who love and forgive without measure.”

“Dear consecrated men and women, today the Church gives thanks to the Lord and to you for your presence,” he said, encouraging them “to be leaven of peace and signs of hope wherever Providence may lead you.”

(OSV News) – In a message to the Archdiocese of Milan, Pope Leo XIV expressed his hope that the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will be an occasion of solidarity and bridge-building between peoples and cultures.

The papal message was read during a Jan. 29 Mass marking the arrival of the “Cross of Athletes” and the official launch of the archdiocese’s Olympic pastoral initiative, “For Each Other.”

In his message, which was signed on his behalf by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, the pope said he hoped the Olympic Games would bring about “sentiments of friendship and fraternity, strengthening awareness of the value of sport at the service of the integral development of the human person.”

“The Holy Father assures his prayers so that these days of healthy competition may contribute to building bridges between cultures and peoples, promoting hospitality, solidarity, and peace,” the message stated.

The “For Each Other” initiative, which will coincide with the Feb. 6-22 Winter Olympics and the March 6-15 Paralympics, will feature activities, performances and events hosted in parishes across Milan.

At the heart of the activities will be the 11th-century Basilica di San Babila, dedicated to St. Babylas of Antioch, where the opening Mass was celebrated and which will be known as the “Church of Athletes” throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

During the Mass, the “Cross of Athletes” was entrusted to the archdiocese by Athletica Vaticana, the Holy See’s sports association. Blessed by Pope Francis at the 2013 World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, the cross has been placed in chapels in the Olympic host cities of London in 2012 and Paris in 2024.

According to the Archdiocese of Milan, the cross, which will remain at the altar in the Basilica di San Babila until the end of the Paralympics, “symbolizes the close bond between sporting activities and the values of solidarity, inclusion, and personal growth.”

In his homily, Archbishop Mario Delpini of Milan said the Olympic and Paralympic Games could serve as a form of rigorous spiritual education, describing the athletic competitions as “school of asceticism” and a “school of life” where one learns how to handle both victory and defeat.

For Olympians and Paralympians, the games will be a chance to learn “what strength is needed to accept defeat without becoming depressed, to live victory without becoming arrogant, to live through the disordered reactions of others, the unexpected anger, the irritating stubbornness, the paralyzing discouragement.”

Reflecting on the presence of the “Cross of Athletes,” which features a void silhouette of Christ’s crucified body, Archbishop Delpini said the cross offered “more of a glimpse than a figure” of the body of Christ that “encourages our questions, our gaze, and our attention.”

“If you want to know what love is, if you want to know if there is hope,” the archbishop said, “look to Jesus, adore the crucified and risen body, listen to his words and follow him, for he is the way, the truth, and the life.”

(OSV News) – A change is coming in 2026 for the pope’s top man in America. Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, turned 80 Jan. 30, and he is widely expected to have his retirement accepted by Pope Leo XIV in the coming weeks. Nuncio to the U.S. since 2016, Cardinal Pierre’s retirement would draw to a close his nearly five-decade career in service to the Holy See’s diplomatic mission.

The French-born cardinal, whose upbringing was spent in various French-speaking African countries, was ordained a priest in 1970 in his native Archdiocese of Rennes. After completing degrees at the Catholic Institute of Paris, the Pontifical Lateran University and Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the latter two in Rome, Cardinal Pierre entered the Holy See’s diplomatic service in 1977.

The next two decades brought him to postings first in New Zealand, followed by Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Brazil and Switzerland at the European office of the Holy See’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

In 1995, Cardinal Pierre was named apostolic nuncio to Haiti by St. John Paul II and was ordained a titular archbishop the same year. After nearly four years in Haiti, where he facilitated the laicization of the county’s president at the time, former Salesian priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Cardinal Pierre was sent as apostolic nuncio in Uganda in 1999. There he decried the government’s advocacy of condom use as promoting “outright promiscuity,” as over 8% of the Ugandan population was infected with HIV/AIDS at the time.

In 2007, Cardinal Pierre was assigned to Mexico, where he served as apostolic nuncio until Pope Francis appointed him to the U.S. nunciature in Washington in 2016. Pierre followed the now-controversial Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who served as apostolic nuncio to the United States from 2011 and, in 2024, was found to be excommunicated after standing trial at the Vatican for schism.

Three years previously, in an interview with Catholic News Service, Cardinal Pierre said Archbishop Vigano’s portrait stayed in the D.C. nunciature despite his inflammatory statements against Pope Francis. “We are not Americans (who) want to take away the statues. We respect history,” Cardinal Pierre had said.

During his tenure as nuncio in the U.S., Cardinal Pierre was without a doubt Pope Francis’ biggest defender in America, and he was named a member of the college of cardinals in 2023. Cardinal Pierre, who had known Pope Francis since Francis had been archbishop of Buenos Aires, observed in the same 2021 CNS interview that Pope Francis was “not a dictator” but was “a mobilizer,” describing his desire “to help the Church be Church here” was his primary motivation.

Cardinal Pierre’s regular addresses to the plenary assemblies of U.S. bishops often centered on application of Pope Francis’ emphases and priorities, particularly synodality — which the nuncio told CNS is emblematic of “the strength of the Church.”

As apostolic nuncio, much of Cardinal Pierre’s time was occupied in overseeing the process of appointing bishops in the United States. He has been widely respected among the bishops for identifying candidates who personified the qualifications Pope Francis wanted to see in bishops, and yet who were, at the same time, also less likely to fan the flames of any polarization or ideologies. Several Church insiders have understood Cardinal Pierre’s role often as a check to Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, one of two American members of the Dicastery for Bishops, which ultimately presents candidates for the episcopacy to the pope.

In retirement Cardinal Pierre is expected to split his time between his native France and Rome.

It is rumored that Cardinal Pierre’s successor will be in place in Washington by the spring, which will mean his first address to the U.S. bishops could take place at their June plenary in Orlando. Who it will be is anybody’s guess. But certainly Pope Leo, as the first American-born successor of Peter, will take keen interest in the appointment.

Whoever the new apostolic nuncio might be is expected to be fully Pope Leo’s man in the U.S., like Cardinal Pierre was for Pope Francis. He is anticipated to oversee the appointment of archbishops for several major American sees such as Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as replacements for a growing list of baby-boom-age bishops ready for retirement.

The new nuncio will also be Pope Leo’s key liaison with President Donald Trump, particularly as his administration’s immigration policies are increasingly met by resistance by the U.S. bishops and by Rome. And Cardinal Pierre’s successor will also take up the reins of animating unity at a time when some bishops are increasingly comfortable speaking without wide consultation and collegiality — seen most recently when three American cardinals entered the political fray outside of the episcopal conference — risking a further fracturing of the country’s episcopate.

But, ultimately, it would seem from Pope Leo’s leadership style so far, he doesn’t so much need a defender as much as a diplomat to help him bring the Church together.