Pope Leo XIV greets people gathered for the “Building Networks with the World of Culture, Art, Economy and Sport” meeting at the Movistar Arena in Madrid June 7, 2026. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
Vatican News

Spain showed a Leo more at ease with papal office

Vatican

Whether due to settling into a papacy after some 13 months, or a missionary pope on familiar turf outside of Rome, Pope Leo appeared more at ease during his trip to Spain than at any other point in his pontificate.

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Editors' Choice

Pope Leo XIV smiles as he greets visitors during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican June 17, 2026. A day earlier, Leo spoke with journalists about the Society of St. Pius X. (CNS/Vatican Media)

In Focus

Pope says church 'must move forward' if SSPX proceeds with illicit ordinations

Pope Leo XIV said that although he is considering a final appeal to the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, the choice to splinter from the Catholic Church falls on them.

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Pope Leo XIV smiles as he greets visitors during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican June 17, 2026. A day earlier, Leo spoke with journalists about the Society of St. Pius X. (CNS/Vatican Media)

#1
Pope says church 'must move forward' if SSPX proceeds with illicit ordinations

Pope Leo XIV said that although he is considering a final appeal to the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, the choice to splinter from the Catholic Church falls on them.

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News
Author, composer and professor Fr. Michael Joncas holding a June 2024 letter from former U.S. president Joe Biden by the bookcase where he framed and displayed the original 1976 score of "On Eagle's Wings," in his apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota, May 2026. (NCR photo/Camillo Barone)

#2
'On Eagle's Wings' turns 50: The journey behind the song that has consoled the world

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#3
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At the cathedral's birth in 1163, the entire square was packed with medieval houses, split by a single street. The archaeological team has reached their cellars — and therefore also the time in history they represent.

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#4
A viral photo of Pope Leo XIV and a Barcelona boy sparked an emotional search for his family

#5
Pope Leo plays tennis religiously as part of Augustinian devotion to sports and spirituality

#6
What we learned about Pope Leo during his Spain trip

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Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. bishops' conference, concelebrates Mass as the bishops consecrate the U.S. to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Orlando, Florida, June 11, 2026, during their spring plenary assembly. (OSV News/Bob Roller)

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Pope Leo XIV greets people gathered for the “Building Networks with the World of Culture, Art, Economy and Sport” meeting at the Movistar Arena in Madrid June 7, 2026. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
Vatican News

Spain showed a Leo more at ease with papal office

Whether due to settling into a papacy after some 13 months, or a missionary pope on familiar turf outside of Rome, Pope Leo appeared more at ease during his trip to Spain than at any other point in his pontificate.

Pope Leo XIV greets Peruvian President José María Balcázar June 18, 2026, at the Vatican. (OSV News/Vatican Media/Simone Risoluti)

Pope Leo XIV meets Peru's president, discusses possible November visit

Pope Leo XIV met with Peruvian President José María Balcázar at the Vatican June 18 for a nearly two-hour discussion, after which the president revealed details of a possible papal trip to Peru in November.

ByCourtney Mares, OSV News
Pope Leo XIV smiles as he greets visitors during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican June 17, 2026. A day earlier, Leo spoke with journalists about the Society of St. Pius X. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Pope says church 'must move forward' if SSPX proceeds with illicit ordinations

Pope Leo XIV said that although he is considering a final appeal to the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, the choice to splinter from the Catholic Church falls on them.

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

A viral photo of Pope Leo XIV and a Barcelona boy sparked an emotional search for his family

Pope Leo XIV locked eyes with the 7-year-old boy, holding both his hands as the two smiled at one another. Captured by Associated Press chief photographer Emilio Morenatti, the moment resonated first with onlookers and then with many others around the world.

ByEmilio Morenatti, Giovanna Dell'orto, Associated Press

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Demonstrators protest outside the Argentine National Congress building in Buenos Aires as lawmakers debate the Javier Milei government's proposal to reform Argentina's glacier protection law April 8, 2026. (AP/Rodrigo Abd)

Argentine Catholics join push to reverse Milei's changes to glacier protection law

A reform to Argentina's 2010 glacier protection law has been met with popular opposition, with opponents arguing that the changes loosen government oversight of mining and oil projects, and put water sources at risk.

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Mary Magdalene Vu Thi Tue (center, in denim jacket) sells fish to customers in Quang Tri, Vietnam, on April 22, 2026. At left is the fishing boat her family recently repaired after years of abandonment following the Formosa disaster. (Reporter in Vietnam)

Vietnamese sisters help survivors of Formosa environmental disaster rebuild lives

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People transport containers of water in Havana June 3, 2026. (AP/Ramon Espinosa)

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'Hazbin Hotel,' the best Catholic show on TV, is queer as hell

Amazon Prime's animated series asks perhaps the most challenging question of the Christian faith: Do we really believe in the possibility of redemption for everyone?

Emily Blunt portrays Margaret Fairchild, a TV meteorologist, in Steven Spielberg's science fiction thriller "Disclosure Day." (Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment )

Faith, fear and the wisdom of nuns in Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day'

Steven Spielberg anchors his new sci-fi thriller in a moving portrait of faith.

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Black Sacred Heart art by And Her Saints

This Pride Month, the Sacred Heart of Jesus bleeds for the queer

Tulio Huggins responds to a podcast episode from Catholic priests on Pride Month, writing that a myopic view of LGBTQ+ people has no place in the church.

ByTulio Huggins, Black Catholic Messenger
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Why soccer fandom in Latin America feels sacred

In Latin America, the passion of soccer fans is nurtured through a sense of community. The singing of anthems, tears shed after victories or defeats and the embrace of strangers inside a stadium are experiences that can mirror forms of collective devotion.
 


 

ByMaría Teresa Hernández, ElEonore Hughes, Nayara Batschke, Religion News Service

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Rochester Franciscan Sr. Phyllis Sellner, of Palm Desert, California, hands goody bags to men at the Cobina Posada del Migrante shelter where sisters and their friends celebrated Father’s Day June 6, 2026, in Mexicali, Mexico. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

Nuns take Father's Day to the border, visiting dads separated from their children

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Physical therapy student Major Kelley, left, and physical therapy instructor Michelle Keller assist Stepping Stone resident Marlin Chase. (Courtesy of Sr. Idelle Badt)

Benedictine sisters' respite center helps heal people who are homeless

Sr. Idelle Badt noticed that when people who are homeless are discharged from hospitals, "they're going to end up right back in the hospital or sicker than they were because they're still too ill to recover on the street."

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