Thousands of the faithful took to the streets of Rome on Saturday to take part in elaborate and beautiful processions by members of Catholic confraternities from around the world who gathered in the Eternal City as part of the 2025 Jubilee festivities.

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.

Cardinal Parolin has not ruled out Pope Leo XIV traveling to Nicaea (modern-day Iznik) for the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council later this month.

Pope Leo XIV on Friday said peaceful societies can be achieved if governments invested in families “founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman” in his first address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See.

The Holy See press office released a new photograph of Pope Leo XIV on Friday, available for free download.

In this central Roman neighborhood, just steps from St. Peter’s Square, the Pope frequented the Omega Fitness Club, which since May 8 — when he was elected pope — has become the most famous gym in Rome.

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday lamented that today’s youth must deal with “relativism,” “emotional instability,” and “superficiality,” although he called for transforming these challenges of the contemporary age into “springboards.”

The pontificate of Pope Leo XIV can bring new impetus to the Church’s evangelical mission in the world today, theologian and philosopher George Weigel said this week.

In the first week of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, his preaching and speeches have featured quotations from saints and Church Fathers from St. Ignatius of Antioch to St. Gregory the Great.

Pope Leo XIV earned a doctorate in canon law from Rome’s Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, where his thesis on Augustinian leadership may offer clues to his papal governance, according to the university’s rector.

Pope Leo XIV is expected to move into the official papal residence, an apartment on the top floor of the Apostolic Palace.

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday briefly discussed the revision of Opus Dei’s statutes with the apostolate’s prelate, Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz, a revision that was postponed following the death of Pope Francis on April 21.

Why is Pope Leo stressing this issue so prominently at the very beginning of his pontificate — and what can we conclude about the approach he intends to take in addressing it?

It’s worth noting that the Pauline Chapel, one of three in the Apostolic Palace, is pictured in the Holy Father’s official portrait. The personal chapel of the Holy Father is the official place for the pope’s prayers and Masses.

Is Pope Leo XIV the first missionary to become pope since St. Peter?

Pope Leo XIV met Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner at the Vatican on Wednesday.

The Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV has decided to “maintain an active presence on social media through official papal accounts” on X @Pontifex and Instagram, creating a new one for the latter platform.

Before becoming pope, Leo XIV kept a low profile on some reforms supported by his predecessor but remained close to Pope Francis and upheld pro-life values, care for migrants and the environment, and a more synodal Church.

Pope Leo XIV urged thousands of Eastern Catholics from around the world, many of whom come from places experiencing violence, not to abandon their ancestral lands and assured them that he will do everything he can to bring peace there.

In his first days as Pope, Leo XIV has signaled continuity over rupture, rooted his vision in patristic tradition, and issued a bold call to young people: ‘Do not be afraid.’

Father Hugo Gabriel Sánchez of Chiclayo, Peru, had been planning a trip with his mother for months to visit various Marian shrines in Europe, such as Fátima, Medjugorje, and Lourdes, with of course a final stop in Rome.

Pope Leo XIV, when he was bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, offered a special prayer of consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary before the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fátima, whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates on May 13.

The leadership of the Vatican’s synod office has pledged its full availability and support of Pope Leo XIV in a public letter to the new pontiff shared Tuesday to its website and social media pages.

May 13 is the optional memorial of Our Lady of Fátima, arguably the most prominent approved apparition of the 20th century. It became famous the world over, particularly for its three-part “secret.”