Vatican News

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, condemned the deadly shootings by U.S. federal agents in Minneapolis, describing the violence as "unacceptable" and calling for non-violent solutions.

In a message to the Archdiocese of Milan, Pope Leo XIV expressed his hope that the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will be an occasion of solidarity and bridge-building between peoples and cultures.

All Christians are called to invite everyone to trust in Christ, who enlightens and consoles, Pope Leo XIV said.

Pope Leo XIV is currently evaluating an invitation by U.S. President Donald Trump to join his "Board of Peace," an international body chaired by the president to oversee the governance and reconstruction of Gaza, the Vatican secretary of state said.

Pope Leo XIV met Jan. 15 with the families of victims of the Crans-Montana bar fire on New Year's night, which took the lives of 40 people and injured 116 in a Swiss resort tragedy.

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado asked for Pope Leo XIV's help in securing the release of political prisoners in the country following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

After an intense day of roundtable discussions, the "low-batteried" but "very pleased" cardinals wrapped the first historic extraordinary consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV. They left the consistory with a clear vision of the new pontiff for "a Church that cares."

Pope Leo XIV gathered cardinals present for the extraordinary consistory this week for an early morning Mass Jan. 8 in St. Peter's Basilica, telling them they're together not to promote "agendas," but to take part in a "discernment" that "comes from the Lord."

As the new year begins and the Jubilee Year comes to a close, Pope Leo XIV will hit the ground running with an extraordinary consistory taking place in Rome this week.

Seventeen Catholic priests, sisters, seminarians and lay workers were murdered in 2025, according to Fides, the Vatican's missionary news agency.