Pope Leo is sending a Vatican cardinal and archbishop to Ukraine on his behalf this week to advance peace efforts that began under Pope Francis.
Gerard O’Connell
Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Vatican pushes back on U.S. ambassador’s understanding of Pope Leo’s role in politics
The Vatican today responded to a misrepresentation of the pope’s role by the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, by reaffirming that “the pope always speaks as a shepherd.”
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo goes on vacation to Castel Gandolfo—after surprise July 4 visit with Trump’s ambassador to the Vatican
“I am very happy to be here among you and to spend the next few weeks with a little rest, a little prayer, a little reading and, hopefully, a little sport here in Castel Gandolfo!” Leo said.
Posted inFrom Our Archives
What Pope Leo heard about the death penalty in the U.S. from a leading abolition activist
An interview with Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, the executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Vatican declares excommunicated SSPX bishops, warns priests and lay faithful of schism
Today, the Vatican has taken a stricter, more inflexible position than those taken under Popes Benedict XVI and Francis.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
SSPX ordains four new bishops in defiance of Pope Leo and the Vatican
The SSPX ordained four new bishops without a papal mandate in Switzerland, triggering automatic excommunication for all six bishops involved.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo appoints Italian sister to top Vatican post
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Sister Alessandra Smerilli as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, making her the first woman to head this major Vatican office.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo makes final appeal to SSPX before schismatic ordination of bishops: ‘Please turn back!’
Pope Leo made a last-minute appeal to the SSPX to “turn back” from illicitly ordaining bishops, saying, “to tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity.”
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo urges 35 new metropolitan archbishops to be ‘apostles and builders of unity’
Pope Leo XVI placed the pallium on the shoulders of 35 new metropolitan archbishops appointed over the last year during Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo closes consistory with appeal for peace, continued emphasis on synodality
“We must not resign ourselves to violence. God continues to open paths of reconciliation and peace throughout history. We have a responsibility to walk these paths with courage and to help the world recognize them.”