On the eve of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Turkey for the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, America spoke with Jean-Marc Balhan, S.J., a Belgian Jesuit who has lived in the country since 2001, about the situation of Christians, the state of interreligious dialogue and how the pope’s visit is viewed there. Father […]
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
Pope Leo fulfills Francis’ promise: 62 Indigenous artifacts returned to Canada
In a historic moment in the long journey of reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Indigenous peoples of Canada, Pope Leo XIV formally handed over 62 artifacts from the Vatican Museums to a delegation of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. The artifacts, including an Inuit kayak, masks, moccasins and etchings that have been […]
Posted inVatican Dispatch
On World Day of the Poor, Pope Leo calls on government leaders ‘to listen to the cry of the poorest’
Pope Francis established the day in 2016 as a reminder that the poor are “at the heart of the Gospel.” Leo has shown that he is following the same path.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo to call College of Cardinals to Rome for a two-day January meeting
Pope Leo XIV intends to call all the cardinals to the Vatican for a two-day meeting on Jan. 7-8, 2026, the Vatican Secretariat of State has told them. Called an extraordinary consistory, the meeting will allow the pope to consult with them personally and hear their opinions on some issues that have not yet been […]
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
Pope Leo XIV and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, recognized the “urgent need to provide assistance to the civilian population in Gaza and to end the conflict by pursuing a two-state solution,” when they met for the first time in the Vatican this morning, Nov. 5.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Vatican officially says no to controversial titles for Mary: ‘Co-redemptrix’ and ‘Mediatrix of all Graces’
The titles risk obscuring the revealed truth that Christ is “the sole Mediator and Redeemer,” a new document from the Vatican’s doctrinal office says.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Leo declares St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the church and co-patron of Catholic education
Pope Leo XIV declared St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the church, also declaring the saint co-patron with St. Thomas Aquinas of the church’s educational mission.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo at interfaith peace meeting: ‘War is never holy’
On Tuesday evening, Oct. 28, Pope Leo made a forceful appeal for peace at Rome’s Colosseum and in the presence of representatives of the world’s main religions.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo and King Charles make history with first-ever joint prayer service in Sistine Chapel
For the first time in history, a British monarch and a pope prayed together in the Sistine Chapel in an event of great ecumenical significance.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo says religious freedom is ‘not optional but essential’ as new report documents global persecution
Almost two-thirds of humanity—more than five billion people—live in countries where serious violations of religious freedom are taking place, according to the 2025 “Religious Freedom in the World Report.”