By Courtney Mares Preparations are in full swing for World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul, South Korea, where Pope Leo XIV is expected to join young Catholics from around the world for the second World Youth Day ever held in Asia. The 3 to 8 August 2027 gathering comes more than three decades after the first World Youth Day in Asia, which drew 4 - 5 million people to Manila with St John Pau...

By OSV News Pope Leo XIV is inviting Catholics to pray "for evangelisation in the city" as his August prayer intention, asking the Lord to accompany millions searching for meaning amid the noise and haste of urban life. In his monthly Pray with the Pope video, Pope Leo expressed his hope that urban environments may provide "fertile ground" for proclaiming the Gospel. The Chicago-born ...

Artistic render of the new Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament that will become New Zealand's first newly constructed Catholic Cathedral in more than 120 years. Image: NZBC. Fifteen years after the devastating Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand claimed 186 lives and damaged thousands of buildings including the diocese's historic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Catholic Bishop of Chris...

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Piazza della Liberta in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, Italy, on 19 July 2026. Photo: OSV News/Matteo Minnella, Reuters. Pope Leo XIV has told pilgrims gathered at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, that the Kingdom of God grows quietly through faith, patience and humble service. Addressing the faithful during his 19 July Angelus address at Piazza della Lib...

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims and residents as he leads the Angelus prayer in Piazza della Libertà in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, Italy, on 12 July 2026. Photo: OSV News/Elisabetta Trevisan, Vatican News. Pope Leo XIV has called on Catholics not to lose hope as conflict continues to spread across parts of the world, warning that the "winds of war" are once again “sowing violence, terror and ...

I will never forget you (Is 49:15) is the theme selected by Pope Leo XIV for the Sixth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly that will be celebrated on Sunday 26 July. This year’s celebration coincides with the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. It provides an opportunity to bring the Church closer to the elderly and acknowledge their contribution to fa...

The relics of Carlo Acutis on display in 2024. Photo: Archdiocese of Perth. The relic of St Carlo Acutis, the Church's first millennial saint will draw pilgrims to St Mary's Cathedral from 31 July to 5 August, as the relic's national mission reaches Perth. The relic is a section of St Carlo's pericardium, the membrane that encloses and protects the heart, measuring six centimetres by tw...

Pope Leo XIV prays for respect for human life as his July 2026 prayer intention in this screenshot from a "Pray with the Pope" video released by the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network on 2 July. Photo: OSV News/Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network. By Deborah Castellano Lubov Pope Leo XIV has urged Catholics across the globe to join him this July in praying for respect for human life. In his ...

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Monsignor Stuart Hall as Bishop to the Military Ordinariate of Australia. He is currently Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne. Ordained a priest in 1987, Bishop-elect Hall served for 22 years as a Navy chaplain in naval establishments throughout Australia and aboard fleet units, deploying on operational service, including to Timor-Leste and the Middle East...

By Courtney Mares Pope Leo XIV opened the second extraordinary consistory of his pontificate on 26 June, urging cardinals to help him discern what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church today and reminding them they are not "guardians of particular interests," but disciples called to communion in Christ. In his opening speech for the two-day meeting, Pope Leo told the cardinals gathered...