Saint Joseph Catholic Church

“Whether prince or pilgrim, patriarch or postulant, the solicitude of the Successor of Peter remains the same towards all and loving towards each one,” Pope Leo said during the February 1 audience, which took place in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. “The sober beauty that characterizes papal protocol is reflected in in your every gesture.”

“Thinking of the history of those who have gone before you, bear witness to their values with a consistent life, knowing well that the service of honor certainly requires a particular code of ethics, but even more so a solid faith, and therefore a spiritual style marked by devotion to the Church and the Pope,” the Pontiff said. “May your daily actions, posture and gaze always be a shining reflection of this.”

“The possibility of spreading different opinions, and of offering different interpretations of the facts, is the concrete foundation of that free exchange of ideas without which there is no freedom of thought,” Pope Leo wrote in his letter to Claudio Cerasa. “It is necessary to promote dialogue and not surrender to an extremist and deceptive polarization that reduces reality to its parody, cultural and religious roots almost to labels to be exhibited, thought to a calculation,”

In the letter, dated January 23 and published on January 30, the Pope added that a free press “requires a great sense of responsibility, for example in the distinction between the most objective narration of the facts possible and the exposition of opinions on them, always dutifully open to discussion.”

Warning of the risk of chaos and violence, the bishops of Cuba called for “structural, social, economic, and political changes” in the Caribbean nation, including “respect for the dignity and exercise of freedom of every human being.”

“These beautiful images we are contemplating today recall the greatness of the vocation to which God calls us, namely, the universal vocation to holiness,” Pope Leo continued. “I encourage you, with God’s grace, to be witnesses and examples of that holiness in today’s world. For that is God’s will: our own sanctification.”

The event took place on the afternoon of January 31, with the Peruvian bishops, the ambassador of Peru to the Holy See, and the president of the Governorate of Vatican City State in attendance.

Addressing young people involved in a political innovation hackathon associated with the Focolare Movement, Pope Leo XIV reflected on peace as “a gift, a covenant and a promise” and said that “there can be no peace while humanity wages war against itself.”

February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, is also the 30th World Day for Consecrated Life, a commemoration instituted by Pope St. John Paul II in 1997.

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica this evening (booklet, video) and called upon consecrated men and women “to be prophets—messengers who announce the presence of the Lord and prepare the way for him.”

The superior general of the Society of Saint Pius X announced today that the Society’s bishops will consecrate new bishops on July 1.

“We cannot support legislation that expands or sustains enforcement practices without adequately addressing their consequences for families and communities,” the bishops and other signatories said. A budget “that prioritizes detention and removal—while lacking strong safeguards for family unity, due process, and accountability—risks entrenching harm rather than promoting justice or public safety.”