Courtney Mares

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.

Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the influential churchman who shaped Catholic life in Italy for nearly two decades as both vicar of Rome and president of the Italian bishops' conference, died June 16 at age 95.

Pope Leo XIV told Catholic university leaders on June 3 that they have a responsibility to instill in their students a passion for "not only intellectual truth, but the truth that is Christ himself."

Pope Leo XIV praised Venerable Fulton Sheen on June 1 as "a light of faith, hope, and love" whose radio and television broadcasts brought the Gospel to millions of Americans — including the pope himself as a child.

Pope Leo XIV met the leadership of Catholic Charities USA in an audience at the Vatican on May 4, offering words of encouragement to one of the country's largest disaster relief networks as it navigates growing demand for food and basic services to aid the poor in the United States.

It will be the first time that a pope has carried the cross for every station in the Via Crucis since the tradition was revived at the site more than six decades ago.

Pope Leo XIV declared Fr. Edward Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, venerable on March 23, recognizing his heroic virtue and moving him one step closer to sainthood.

Bishop-designate Godfrey Mullen, 60, is a native son of the diocese and currently serves as its administrator.

Pope Leo XIV has highlighted how St. Joseph, who is never directly quoted in the Bible, is an example for Christians of the importance of "being present."

Pope Leo XIV has named Spanish Augustinian Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín as the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, reassigning Cardinal Konrad Krajewski to serve as archbishop of his home diocese in his native Poland.

Pope Leo XIV met privately March 11 with the cardinal archbishop of Tehran after the Belgian-born prelate was evacuated from Iran amid U.S. and Israeli military strikes on the country.

Pope Leo XIV sent a message to students gathered at Loyola University Chicago for a peacebuilding conference March 7, calling on them to "be co-workers for peace with Christ."

The Vatican's International Theological Commission has warned that if humanity places total trust in technology in a "world ruled by machines," it risks replacing the "living God" with a counterfeit "virtual God."

A Synod on Synodality study group has recommended the creation of a new "Pontifical Commission for Digital Culture and New Technologies" in the first of 15 synod study group reports expected in the coming weeks. The Vatican published the first two final reports from its Synod on Synodality study groups on March 3.

 "To give a true homily is to share faith," and artificial intelligence "will never be able to share faith," the pope said.

The Italian hilltown of Assisi is anticipating a visit from Pope Leo XIV during the special Jubilee Year of St. Francis as the city celebrates the 800th anniversary of the death of its most famous saint.