Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Pope Leo XIV departed this morning from Rome Fiumicino Airport for Spain on his fourth international apostolic journey (program), following previous trips to Turkey and Lebanon (November 27-December 2), Monaco (March 28), and Algeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea (April 13-23).

The trip “will be an important opportunity to recall the perspective from which the Church views politics and commitment to the common good,” Tornielli wrote on June 5, the day before the trip began. “Today, this perspective is far removed both from any form of political alignment and from any attempt, encouraged by secularist ideology, to reduce Christian faith to a purely private and interior experience.”

Pope Leo XIV visited a Madrid homeless shelter early this evening (video) and said that charity is central to the Gospel.

During the audience, which last nearly two hours, “we explained the situation, difficult situation,” Cardinal Bo told Vatican News. The Myanmar civil war began in 2021 following a coup d’état.

“At the same time, all the people of Myanmar, bishop, priests, religious and the faithful, they are very much having faith, they have resilience,” Cardinal Bo added. “In spite of the difficult situation, the Church in Myanmar is growing and being strengthened very much.”

Buddhism is the official religion of the Southeast Asian nation of 57.9 million (map). Myanmar is 74% Buddhist, 9% ethnic religionist, 9% Christian, and 4% Muslim.

Born in 1972, Bishop Osório Cîtora Afonso, I.M.C., was ordained to the priesthood in 2002, appointed auxiliary bishop of Maputo (the nation’s capital) in 2023, and became bishop of Quelimane last July, according to the Annuario Pontificio. Prior to being named a bishop, he was an an official in the Dicastery for Evangelization; previously, he earned a licentiate at the Biblicum, worked at seminaries, and held regional leadership positions in his order, the Consolata Missionaries.

The Portuguese bishops’ news agency reported that the murder was “committed with an AKM-type weapon by individuals who climbed the wall of his residence, having vandalized the electrical security ... There are no detainees so far, and the authorities are investigating the case.”

The director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) praised Pope Leo’s reflections on artificial intelligence and commitment to peace following a June 5 papal audience.