Vatican News

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has warned that violations of religious freedom continue to rise globally, affecting “hundreds of millions of people,” and cautioned that threats to one faith community inevitably endanger others. Read all  

The Dicastery for Culture and Education is aimed at evangelization through the development of human and Christian values. The Dicastery is divided into “Culture” and “Education” sections, which work together, within their respective areas of expertise, in an integrated and coordinated manner. Read all  

Inspired by their foundress, Blessed Mary of the Passion, the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in India are dedicating their lives to the service of the poor and marginalized. In the St. Francis Region, the sisters primarily serve children, adults, and women by providing education, rescuing individuals from trafficking, supporting rehabilitation, and bringing hope and transformation to their lives. Read all  

Pope Leo XIV invites the faithful to unite in prayer and fasting on 22 August for peace, and calls for a “disarmed and disarming peace” in all places torn by armed conflict. Read all  

During his weekly General Audience, Pope Leo XIV illustrates to the faithful how Jesus’ love, despite being betrayed, did not allow evil to have the last word, and “that there is always a way to continue to love, even when everything seems irredeemably compromised.” Read all  

We must “truly seek the way forward, to find peace,” the Pope told journalists Tuesday night before returning to the Vatican from Castel Gandolfo, where he had gone for a second period of rest on 13 August. Read all  

The United Nations reveals at least 383 humanitarian workers have been killed globally since the beginning of 2024, describing the toll as a “shocking record” and a stark reflection of the growing dangers faced by aid personnel. Read all  

Church leaders have voiced alarm about the state of the earth ahead of the annual “Season of Creation,” when Christians worldwide dedicate more than a month to prayer for creation. Their concern comes as officials say that climate-linked disasters intensify across Europe and Asia. Read all  

The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches is the Curial department responsible for dealing, on behalf of the Pope, with matters that affect the Eastern Catholic Churches, whose proper territories extend from Ethiopia to the Middle East, from Europe to India, and of all the diaspora communities which are children of these “sui iuris” Churches throughout the world. Read all  

Fr. Piotr Zelazko recently led a group of Hebrew-speaking Catholics from Israel on a pilgrimage to Rome, where they attended the Pope’s weekly General Audience and prayed for peace. Read all  

At the opening of Festival Golo Koe 2025, Bishop Maksimus Regus urged that tourism in Indonesia’s Labuan Bajo must unite communities, protect creation, and resist the lure of profit-driven exploitation. Read all  

Nigerian sisters have recently been meeting at the Lux Terra Foundation in Abuja for a specialised training on Trauma-Informed Care. This programme was organised for religious women who are under the auspices of the Nigerian Conference of Women Religious Against Human Trafficking and was facilitated by Father George Ehusani, founder of the Lux Terra Foundation; Father Richard Ehusani, director of the Psycho-Spiritual Institute at Lux Terra; and their team. Read all  

Pope Leo XIV travels to a Marian shrine of Our Lady of Grace in a village within the Diocese of Palestrina, and holds a private meeting with the Resurrectionist religious dedicated to caring for the sanctuary. Read all  

Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, tells Vatican Media that the parish neighborhood in Gaza City is not under an evacuation order, reiterating his invitation to pray for peace. Read all  

The Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) opens its first Assembly of Bishops in Bogotá, five years after its launch in the wake of the 2019 Synod for the Amazon. Read all  

Costa Rica is hosting the 12th Regional Meeting of Bishops and Pastoral Workers of Human Mobility dedicated to responding to the pastoral challenges of migratory situation in the region. Read all  

As World Humanitarian Day is observed globally today, August 19th, Caritas Internationalis, the humanitarian arm of the Catholic Church, is calling on those with the power to end violence worldwide to do so and to protect each human life. Read all  

Ahead of the 2025 Season of Creation, the leaders of European Churches join their voices to invite Christians to pray for a “garden of peace” through a healthy relationship with creation. Read all  

In the latest issue of the magazine Piazza San Pietro, Pope Leo XIV responds to a letter from Laura, a mother who shared some of her struggles with faith, and invites her to keep the Virgin Mary as a firm point of reference amid difficulties. Read all  

Pope Leo XIV reaffirms the importance of preaching Jesus Christ clearly and with immense charity among the inhabitants of the Amazonia region, in a message to the Summit of Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon Region happening this week. Read all  

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed for unwavering U.S. and European support as Russia intensified deadly strikes on multiple Ukrainian cities ahead of high-stakes talks in Washington with President Donald J. Trump and other world leaders. Read all  

Moderate centrist Rodrigo Paz has surprised political pundits and shocked pollsters, by winning the first round of Bolivia’s Presidential Election, with a second-round runoff set for October 19th. Read all  

The Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities (SACRU) elects Isabel Capeloa Gil, the rector of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, as its new president. Read all  

As tens of thousands of women make an annual Marian pilgrimage, the Apostolic Nuncio to Poland urges Catholics to ensure that their lives embody the face and love of God. Read all  

In the wake of the deadly flooding that killed more than 300 across Pakistan, India and Nepal, relief and rescue efforts resume in the worst-hit country of Pakistan after heavy rains in flood-hit areas disrupted emergency efforts. Read all