Saint Joseph Catholic Church

The Holy See Press Office said in a statement that “after the Provincial Superior’s greeting, the Pope addressed those present with words of gratitude for the opportunity to meet, emphasizing how communion and unity of heart among Augustinians can serve as a message to the world at this moment in history.”

Pope Leo highlighted the importance of the vocation of contemplative sisters, “also in order to give meaning to social action, at a time when silence and humanity’s ability to enter into one’s own heart are being lost,” according to the statement.

During a recent homily in Switzerland, the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity said that “martyrdom truly belongs to the heart of Christianity” and that “today, there are more martyrs than in the first centuries of Church history.”

Pope Leo XIV met last evening with Spanish cultural and business leaders and encouraged them not to be afraid of Jesus Christ.

In a video message to the Sixth World Apostolic Congress on Mercy, Pope Leo XIV said that “it is a source of great joy and true hope when we experience how merciful God is towards each one of us and how good it is for us to renew our trust in his mercy.”

Pope Leo XIV addressed the Spanish Parliament this morning in the Palacio de las Cortes and urged lawmakers to respect the dignity of every human person in their decisions about the unborn, parental rights, migration, peace, religious freedom, and the seal of Confession.

Pope Leo XIV presided at a prayer vigil with young people last evening in Madrid’s Plaza de Lima (video) and challenged the Catholic youth of Spain to “be missionaries of the Gospel amid the material and spiritual poverty of our time, knowing full well that our faith is a way of life that is lived out in charity.”