By Courtney Mares Bells rang out over the hilltop town of Assisi on the night of 22 March as Franciscan friars closed the month-long public veneration of the bones of St Francis of Assisi, which drew more than 370,000 pilgrims from around the world to pray before the beloved saint. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, who is president of the Italian bishops' conference, presided over the cl...

By Courtney Mares Pope Leo XIV has urged the media to show the human face of suffering amid war and to verify news so as not to recirculate "propaganda" or become a "mouthpiece for those in power." Pope Leo XVI addresses broadcast journalists who produce the TG2 news programs for the Italian state-owned television channel, Rai 2, during a March 16, 2026, audience in the Clementine Hall o...

By Junno Arocho Esteves , OSV News Pope Leo XIV has called for an end to the war in Iran and warned that the conflict could drag more countries in the Middle East into instability. Speaking to pilgrims after praying the Angelus prayer on March 8, Pope Leo said developing news from Iran and from across the Middle East has caused “deep dismay.” “Amid episodes of violence and devastation...

A large congregation gathered for the midday Ash Wednesday Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral. Photo: Phil Bayne. “We are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ's name is: be reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5: 20) The first day of the liturgical season of Lent has been commemorated across the Archdiocese with the faithful ...

By Courtney Mares, OSV News The ancient practice of fasting from food during Lent can free us from complacency and lead us to "hunger" for God, Pope Leo XIV said in his 2026 Lenten message. Ahead of Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of the 40-day liturgical season of Lent, the Holy Father encouraged people to embrace the "ancient ascetic practice" of abstaining from food, as well as "...

By Michael Cook, The Catholic Weekly, OSV News Excitement and anticipation is building across the local Catholic community with the news that Pope Leo XIV is expected to visit Australia in 2028 to preside over the International Eucharistic Congress. According to Bishop Richard Umbers, Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney and CEO of the Eucharistic congress organising committee, during a recent vis...

The compassion of the Samaritan: loving by bearing another’s pain. That was the theme - drawn from the parable of the Good Samaritan - that Pope Leo XIV selected for the 34th World Day of the Sick which was celebrated on February 11. In his message to commemorate the day, Pope Leo said, “we live immersed in a culture of speed, immediacy and haste - a culture of ‘discard’ and indifference...

By Josephine Peterson, Catholic News Service When scripture loses touch with reality, with human hopes and sufferings, or is proclaimed in language that is incomprehensible, uncommunicative or anachronistic, it becomes ineffective. That was the message delivered by Pope Leo XIV during his weekly general audience. Emphasising that the Bible is the word of God expressed through human autho...

The University of Notre Dame Australia’s theology lecturer, Shaun Blanchard, has been recognised globally as one of only 20 scholars who was invited to write in support of St John Henry Newman being made a Doctor of the Church. On 1 November 2025, Pope Leo XIV officially proclaimed St John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Doctor of the Church is...

By Carol Glatz Humanity must not allow technology, especially AI, to obscure, exploit or suppress human voices, needs, knowledge, talents, creativity and critical thinking abilities, Pope Leo XIV has said. Algorithms designed to maximise engagement on social media can lock people into "bubbles" of easy consensus and rage, weakening people's ability to listen and think critically, and inc...