The First Seven Days of Pope Leo XIV

The first seven days (and one night) of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate concluded Thursday night after a busy week which saw him elected, give his first Address, and make his first trip outside of the Vatican City as pope, among many other important events. 

For this reason, we look back at his historic first week in this article. 

Appearing for the first time on May 8, 2025 between 7:25 and 7:30 pm Roman time, Pope Leo XIV’s first Address to the people of the world as pope began with an invocation of Jesus Christ’s first words at Easter: “Peace be with you all!” For many Catholics, we hear this and say this at every mass, but it almost becomes offhand. 

Yet, Pope Leo XIV’s words come with a purpose, for he further called for us to be a missionary Church. Pope Leo XIV truly seeks for these words to have meaning, not just during our Easter season, but for every day in our lives. In a 2012 interview with Catholic News Service, then Father Prevost, O.S.A., stated how all Baptised Catholics are called to be missionaries with the people around them, with the places they visit. 

Pope Leo XIV has lived these truths as an Augustinian missionizing every day, especially in the USA and Peru, and across the Italian Peninsula. 

Pope Leo XIV continued this message in his Homily on Friday 9 May at his first mass as pope called the Pro Ecclesia in the Sistine Chapel with the cardinals. 

He told them how belief in Jesus as God is most important, because many often either reject Jesus fully because of his strong morals or rather accept Jesus as only a man, which allows these very people to abandon Jesus when life becomes tough. 

Thus, in order to become a better missionizing Church, we must embrace Jesus as fully God so that we may spread our Faith more. 

Pope Leo’s most important message in the homily came in the quoted and translated insert below:

“Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure. These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied. Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society. Today, there are also many settings in which Jesus, although appreciated as a man, is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman. This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians, who end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism. This is the world that has been entrusted to us, a world in which, as Pope Francis taught us so many times, we are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Christ the Saviour. Therefore, it is essential that we too repeat, with Peter: 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' ” - Pope Leo XIV 

Pope Leo XIV concluded with how we must first do this in our personal relationship with God, and then come together as a Church to share in this belief in Jesus as God. 

Pope Leo XIV demonstrated his leadership on Saturday 10 May in his first Address to the College of the Cardinals.

Here, he stressed the importance of how he seeks and needs the help of the cardinals and of God to help him in his pontificate. 

He also stressed how being pope means to be in service to the Church and to Jesus Christ.

“Beginning with Saint Peter and up to myself, his unworthy Successor, the Pope has been a humble servant of God and of his brothers and sisters, and nothing more than this.” - Pope Leo XIV

He further stated how we must be extremely attentive to what God is calling us to do because he often speaks in silence rather than loudly.

“It is the Risen Lord, present among us, who protects and guides the Church, and continues to fill her with hope through the love “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us”. It is up to us to be docile listeners to his voice and faithful ministers of his plan of salvation, mindful that God loves to communicate himself, not in the roar of thunder and earthquakes, but in the “whisper of a gentle breeze” or, as some translate it, in a “sound of sheer silence”. It is this essential and important encounter to which we must guide and accompany all the holy People of God entrusted to our care.” - Pope Leo XIV

Thus, it is in this listening that one displays this service to God more fully because leaders must listen to God to guide the people to Heaven. 

He continued using examples from the Bible and past papal Apostolic Exhortations to get across his points throughout the address, using Pope Francis’s Evangelii Gaudium, where he focused on some key fundamental points from this exhortation such as the return to the Primacy of Jesus in addresses, the “missionary conversion of the entire Christian community”, “growth in collegiality and synodality”, an attention to popular piety and other important features found in sensus fidei, “loving care for the least and rejected”, and “courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world”. 

Pope Leo XIV continued his address by stating the reason he chose the name Leo XIV: 

“Sensing myself called to continue in this same path, I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice, and labour.”

He concluded using a quote from the inauguration of Saint Pope John VI how nothing is valid or holy without the strength of God and the holy flame of Faith. 

Following this important address where a back and forth dialogue ensued, Pope Leo XIV would take his first trip as pope outside the Vatican City State and into Italy as he traveled to the Marian Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano run by the Augustinians. 

Found in the outskirts of the Metropolitan City of Rome, the commune of Genazzano became famous when it contributed a large part of its revenue to the building of the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggione (Saint Mary Major), and thus Pope Sixtus III (432-440) would build a pilgrimage church there called Santa Maria. 

This parish was later entrusted to the Order of Saint Augustine in the 13th Century. In 1467, the church was in need of repair after funds had been cut short. Yet, a miracle came with Heavenly singing and a descending cloud appearing out of nowhere on the Feast of Saint Mark falling upon the unfinished wall. The fresco of Our Lady of Good Counsel was then found along one of the walls needing repair, as if it had travelled from another Church. Many concluded it must have come from Shkodër in Albania to protect it from the invading Ottoman Empire.

Thus, it became a holy image and patronage of many organizations promoted by the Augustinians, such as the Augustinian Province of Our Lady of Good Council for the USA’s Midwest Region based out of Chicago where Pope Leo XIV entered into priestly studies and served for many years. 

In 1753, the Pious Union of Our Lady of Good Counsel was established by Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758) and its most known member became Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) who even added Our Lady of Good Counsel to the Litany of Loreto in 1903 and made the church a Minor Basilica. 

Venerable Pope Pius XII was so close to Our Lady of Good Counsel that he placed his pontificate under her maternal care at the outset of World War II. 

Pope Leo XIV stated that he wanted to visit this shrine in the early days of his pontificate because of his closeness to it.

Pope Leo XIV greeted the people of the city after they had greeted him with yells of “Leo, Leo”, and then prayed through Our Lady of Good Counsel, singing the Salve Regina and praying the Hail Mary. He then gave a homily to the people in which he urged the people to be inspired by the Virgin Mary to “spread peace and reconciliation in the world” and stressed the people, “Whatever she tells you, do it”. 

Coincidentally, the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome is where Pope Francis is buried, and thus Pope Leo XIV would visit the connected major basilica on his way back to the Vatican City to pray at the Tomb of Pope Francis. 

Here, Pope Leo XIV also prayed through the Virgin Mary Image of Salus Populi Romani (Protection of the Roman People). 

Pope Leo XIV began his first Sunday as pope in the Vatican Grottoes to celebrate Holy Mass at the Altar near the Holy Tomb of Saint Peter in the Crypt of Saint Peter’s Basilica. 

Father Alejandro Moral Anton, Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine, was there to concelebrate as well.

His Homily began with a focus on the example of Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd, saying to Jesus that “we celebrate with joy this day and we deeply appreciate your presence here”. 

He next focused on Mother’s Day and stated how “[O]ne of the most wonderful expressions of the love of God is the love that is poured out by mothers, especially to their children and grandchildren”. 

He next focused on vocations, and stated how we must show joy in our own lives to encourage young people to embrace the calling God has for them through vocations.

Then, he switched from his native English to Italian.

He mentioned how his mission is now not just to one diocese rather it is to the whole world, a universal church, and spoke of the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles Book 13, Chapter 14: Verses 43-52. He mentioned how Barnabas and Saint Paul at first go to Antioch to preach to the Jews, but how they do not wish to hear it so they then go to all the world, to the pagans. And how Saint Paul even fulfills his mission by coming to Rome. 

Pope Leo XIV mentioned how this story is an invitation to us all to preach the Gospel to the whole world, and how we must not be afraid as Jesus commanded us, to have courage, giving life, and service, often with great sacrifice to carry out the mission. 

He continued with the importance of listening, listening to the Word of God, but also to others, without judging so as to build bridges through dialogue, “not closing the doors thinking that we have all the truth and no-one else can tell us anything”. 

Pope Leo XIV concluded by asking “the Lord to give us this grace of being able to listen to His Word, to serve all His people”.

Following mass, Pope Leo XIV spent time in silent prayer at the tombs of his predecessors and at the Pallis, which symbolizes the connection the pope has to all his metropolitan archbishops.

Sunday 11 May during this Easter Season marked a special time for the Regina Caeli prayer, where we honor the Virgin Mary as it temporarily replaces the traditional Angelus prayer heard on Sunday from the pope to the whole world, especially those gathered in Saint Peter’s Square.

What made this past Sunday’s prayer even more unique was how it fell on Pope Leo XIV’s third full day as pope, thus meaning he was to speak from the central loggia of Saint Peter’s Basilica instead of the Apostolic Palace due to it still being closed and needing work. 

Therefore, when Pope Leo XIV greeted the crowd, it carried the imagery of the previous Thursday night when he first addressed the crowd following his election with the curtains departing to the sides and Pope Leo XIV coming out onto the balcony to cheers.

Prior to the Regina Caeli, Pope Leo XIV announced to the crowd how happy he was that his first Sunday mass as pope fell on Good Shepherd Sunday, where Jesus Christ is depicted as a shepherd leading his flock. 

He would also call for the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims there to pray for the vocations in the priesthood and consecrated life, and to accompany the young people making these decisions.

Additionally, it was not only the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, but also the last day of the Jubilee of Bands and Popular Entertainment, in which Pope Leo XIV thanked the countless number of entertainers from nearly a hundred countries for their music and performances that “enliven the feast of Christ the Good Shepherd: the One who guides the Church with his Holy Spirit”. 

In the Regina Caeli, he would sing the antiphon followed by leading the crowd in a series of calls and responses, as well as prayers such as the “Glory Be”. He would conclude by making the sign of the cross.

Afterwards, he continued speaking to the crowd. He reminisced about how we marked the end of World War II, 80 years ago, on the 8th of May, which killed 60 million victims. But, he warned how we are now in the “piecemeal” of World War III, a term Pope Francis often used, and addressed world leaders, “Never Again War!” 

This generated a huge applause from the global crowd with flags from nations of all continents and with posters of local dioceses, parishes, and groups of many kinds.

He called for an “authentic, just, and lasting peace” in Ukraine and for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, advocating for the allowance of the delivery of aid and the freeing of hostages. 

Pope Leo XIV expressed satisfaction with the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and made a “heartfelt appeal to the Queen of Peace” to present to Jesus “to obtain for us the miracle of peace” for all conflicts around the world. 

Next, he greeted all Romans and pilgrims, and called out those from “the British and Foreign Bible Society, the group of doctors from Granada (Spain), the faithful of Malta, Panama, Dallas (Texas), Valladolid, Torrelodones (Madrid), Montesilvano, and Cinisi (Palermo)”. 

Next, Pope Leo XIV greeted the participants in the “Let’s choose life” demonstration, and the “young people of the Fraternity of Blessed Mary Immaculate and Saint Francis of Assisi, of Reggio Emilia”. 

He announced how in Italy they celebrated Mother’s Day today, and that he would pray for all the mothers both living and in Heaven to have a good Mother’s Day. 

Pope Leo XIV finished by saying “Happy Sunday to all of you” and would enter back into Saint Peter’s Basilica. 

He concluded his Sunday activities by having the Apostolic Palace and papal apartment opened which had been sealed off since the afternoon of April 21st after Pope Francis’s passing. 

Present were Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell (Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church), Cardinal Pietro Parolin (Cardinal Secretary of State for the Holy See), Archbishop Peña Parra (Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State for the Holy See), Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher (Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations for the Holy See), Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza (regent for the Prefect of the Pontifical Household), and Pope Leo XIV himself.

Continuing the tradition of Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV held his First Audience with the Media the Monday following the Conclave on May 12th at Paul XI Audience Hall. 

He began with a joke about the applause at the beginning of his First Audience in English, and then continued a speech in Italian.

Reminding the audience of the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus’s Seventh Beatitude of “Blessed are the peacemakers”, for how relevant this Beatitude is for all of us, especially the media.

Calling on the media to refrain from “seeking consensus at all costs”, to not use “aggressive words”, to not seek only “the culture of competition”, to not separate “the search for truth from the love with which we must humbly seek it”. 

“Peace begins with each one of us, in the way we look at others, listen to others, and speak about others. In this sense, the way we communicate is of fundamental importance. We must say no to the “war of words” and images. We must reject the paradigm of war!” - Pope Leo XIV

Speaking of the journalists who are imprisoned for speaking the truth, Pope Leo XIV stated how the Church remains in solidarity with them seeking their release from prison and subsequent freedom. 

This statement received a grand applause in Paul XI Hall as it touched on the often fatal part of a journalists’ job when covering places suffering from a lack of human rights. 

Pope Leo XIV stated how the Church supports the journalists who stand up for dignity, who report to inform their audience, because “only informed individuals can make free decisions”. 

He continued to speak in favor of free speech and the freedom of the press, and commented how the imprisonment of journalists challenges the conscience of nations and the international community. In other words, these journalists pose a check on absolute power for the promotion of freedom. He concluded this thought with a thank you to the journalists because “they have captured the essence of who we [the Church] are and conveyed it to the whole world through every form of media possible”.

“Today one of the most important challenges is to promote communication that can bring us out of the Tower of Babel, in which we sometimes find ourselves, out of the confusion of loveless languages that are often ideological or partisan. Therefore your service with the words you use and the style you adopt is crucial. As you know, communication is not only the transmission of information, but it is also the creation of a culture of human and digital environments that becomes spaces of dialogue and discussion.” - Pope Leo XIV

He continued with how this is especially important in the changing technologies of today, especially with artificial intelligence, which has great potential but also needs to be used responsibly for the good of all humans. 

Pope Leo XIV then recounted Pope Francis’s call earlier: “Let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred. Let us free it from aggression. We do not need loud and forceful communication, but rather communication that is capable of listening and of gathering the voices of the weak that have no voice. Let us disarm words and we will help to disarm the world.”

This quote received huge applause from the audience.

Pope Leo XIV stressed how this is so important for journalists who often cover wars because their words can truly disarm a populace into supporting peace, and how they must try to do so with their words. He ended this thought by thanking all of them for their work and then gave them a Papal blessing.

He then left the stage to greet the crowd, even meeting some friendly faces from home such as media personalities in the USA and Peru. Having received many gifts, and blessing many people and their belongings, Pope Leo XIV was also asked to sign a baseball which he did, and also meant a fellow Chicago Blackhawks (NHL ice hockey team) fan, definitely a taste back from his Chicago home.

News broke on Tuesday May 13th as Pope Leo XIV posted his first post on social media to Instagram and then later to X (Twitter) on the official papal accounts, @Pontifex – Pope Leo XIV on Instagram and @Pontifex on X. 

Prior to becoming pope, he had an active social media presence across multiple platforms on his personal account, but now will be using the official papal accounts instead.

His first post on both platforms in English read: “Peace be with you all! This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, and among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.”

Later that day, Pope Leo XIV made a surprise visit to the General Curia of the Order of Saint Augustine where he said Mass at the Chapel and then ate lunch with his Augustinian brothers, saying thank you to them for their friendship over the years as he had often gone to the Augustinian Curia right next to Saint Peter’s Square when he was cardinal, and had also lived there while Prior General from 2001-2013. 

He greeted not only the Augustinians, but also the workers in the kitchen and other staff that were present, and told the Augustinians that they “must always stay close to one another, and live in communion, just as Saint Augustine calls us to do.” 

Wednesday May 14th was another long day for the pope in his first seven days in his new position as he met with the leaders of the Eastern Catholic churches during the official Address to the Jubilee of the Oriental Churches held at Pope John VI Audience Hall. 

Pope Leo XIV greeted the Eastern Catholic representatives by declaring how happy he was to see them with “Christ is Risen. He is truly risen!” 

This statement is adored by Eastern Catholics perhaps more than any other from the Bible and can be heard during the Easter Season across these historic and ancient lands where the Church first began.

“You are precious in God’s eyes. Looking at you, I think of the diversity of your origins, your glorious history and the bitter sufferings that many of your communities have endured or continue to endure. I would like to reaffirm the conviction of Pope Francis that the Eastern Churches are to be ‘cherished and esteemed for the unique spiritual and sapiential traditions that they preserve, and for all that they have to say to us about the Christian life, synodality, and the liturgy. We think of early Fathers, the Councils, and monasticism… inestimable treasures for the Church’.” - Pope Leo XIV

Invoking the words of Pope Leo XIII who was the first pope to devote a specific document to the Eastern Catholic churches, Pope Leo XIV quoted Pope Leo XIII’s 1894 Apostolic Letter Orientalium Dignitas that “the work of human redemption began in the East”. 

Pope Leo XIV continued invoking the continuity of respect for the Eastern Catholic churches by popes in the past three centuries when he would also quote from Saint Pope John Paul II’s 1995 Apostolic Letter Orientale Lumen that the Eastern Catholic churches have “a unique and privileged role as the original setting where the Church was born.” 

He continued on by stating how significant it is that several of the liturgies being celebrated today in the Eastern Catholic churches are being celebrated in the language of Jesus Christ. 

Yet, once again invoking the memory of Pope Leo XIII, Pope Leo XIV spoke to the importance of preserving the Eastern Catholic traditions for the Church as a whole.

“In our own day too, many of our Eastern brothers and sisters, including some of you, have been forced to flee their homelands because of war and persecution, instability and poverty, and risk losing not only their native lands, but also, when they reach the West, their religious identity. As a result, with the passing of generations, the priceless heritage of the Eastern Churches is being lost.” - Pope Leo XIV

Over a hundred years ago, Pope Leo XIII went so far as to declare that any Latin-Rite Catholic missionary that went and tried to convert an Eastern Rite Catholic from their church into the Latin Church should be removed from their position. Pope Leo XIV stated that this advice continues to all missionaries and that he wishes to coordinate more closely with the Dicastery for the Eastern Catholic Churches and Latin Rite Bishops on how to strengthen the Eastern Catholics that live in the Latin bishops’ geographical area or are administered under the Latin-Rite Bishop. 

“The Church needs you. The contribution that the Christian East can offer us today is immense! We have great need to recover the sense of mystery that remains alive in your liturgies, liturgies that engage the human person in his or her entirety, that sing of the beauty of salvation and evoke a sense of wonder at how God’s majesty embraces our human frailty! It is likewise important to rediscover, especially in the Christian West, a sense of the primacy of God, the importance of mystagogy and the values so typical of Eastern spirituality: constant intercession, penance, fasting, and weeping for one’s own sins and for those of all humanity (penthos)! It is vital, then, that you preserve your traditions without attenuating them, for the sake perhaps of practicality or convenience, lest they be corrupted by the mentality of consumerism and utilitarianism.” - Pope Leo XIV

Continuing into his next paragraph in the address, Pope Leo XIV made further poignant points: “Your traditions of spirituality, ancient yet ever new, are medicinal. In them, the drama of human misery is combined with wonder at God’s mercy, so that our sinfulness does not lead to despair, but opens us to accepting the gracious gift of becoming creatures who are healed, divinized and raised to the heights of heaven. For this, we ought to give endless praise and thanks to the Lord. Together, we can pray with Saint Ephrem the Syrian and say to the Lord Jesus: “Glory to you, who laid your cross as a bridge over death… Glory to you who clothed yourself in the body of mortal man, and made it the source of life for all mortals”. We must ask, then, for the grace to see the certainty of Easter in every trial of life and not to lose heart, remembering, as another great Eastern Father wrote, that “the greatest sin is not to believe in the power of the Resurrection” (Saint Isaac of Nineveh).”

Addressing the Eastern Catholics directly, Pope Leo XIV commented “who is better” at experiencing horrors yet staying true to God’s word, whether it be in the Holy Land, Ukraine, Syria and Lebanon, the Middle East, Tigray, and the Caucuses. He continued by stating how the “Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace.” 

Pope Leo XIV continued to preach that his pontificate will always seek for peace and never tire of discussing it for the sake of safety. He thanked all Catholics, Eastern and Latin Catholics in the Middle East, who remain in their native lands to keep Catholic tradition alive, despite the temptations to leave. 

“Christians must be given the opportunity, and not just in words, to remain in their native lands with all the rights needed for a secure existence.” - Pope Leo XIV

Following this important Address, Pope Leo XIV had a less serious meeting with Italian tennis star, current 2x defending World Champion via the 2023 and 2024 Davis Cup gold medals with Team Italy, and current World #1 through victories at the 2024 Australian Open, US Open, and ATP Finals, and 2025 Australian Open, Jannik Sinner. 

Jannik Sinner is in Rome for the 2025 Italian Open and thus meeting with the tennis playing Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican City seemed like a good idea. Joining him were his family and the President of the Italian Tennis Federation, Alberto Binaghi. 

A funny moment ensued when Jannik Sinner asked Pope Leo XIV if he wanted to play a point in the rooms attached to Paul VI Hall, but Pope Leo XIV declined by stating with a smile on his face, “[H]ere we'll break something. Best not to!” 

The meeting was quite popular on social media especially for the various tennis accounts like the Davis Cup which has become an annual celebration for the country of Italy lately.

Yet, while Thursday May 15th served as a Quarterfinal victory for Jannik Sinner, Pope Leo XIV had to return to regular papal activity with an Address to the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Brothers) in the Clementine Hall, part of the Apostolic Palace.

Pope Leo XIV started off by stating how pleased he was to receive the Brothers on the third centenary of their approval by Pope Benedict XIII in 1725 with papal bull, In apostolicae Dignitatis solio and the 75th anniversary of Pope Pius XII’s proclamation on 15 May 1950 that stated the De La Salle Brothers’ founder Saint John Baptist de La Salle as “Heavenly patron of all educators”. 

Two important features of the De La Salle Brothers’ history were focused on by Pope Leo XIV: “attention to current events and the ministerial and missionary dimension of teaching in the community”.

Adrian Nyell was put in charge of a school for poor boys in Reims within a Convent of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus, but he was having troubles. Thus, Saint John Baptist de La Salle was asked to help out this school and would soon start many new innovations we see in our schools today.

Labeled as a “pedagogical revolution” by Pope Leo XIV, he stressed how Saint John Baptist de La Salle began the free and open to all tradition of Christian schools while introducing the “teaching of classes and no longer of individual pupils” to reach the whole community and lower expenses, while changing the language of instruction from Latin to the more accessible language of French, creating Sunday classes for the youth forced to work during the week, and creating the “educational triangle” where curriculum is created with collaboration from the parents too. 

Pope Leo XIV then posed a few questions that needed to be answered by the De La Salle Brothers on what were the “most urgent challenges to be faced by the youth today”, “what values are to be promoted”, and on “what sources can be counted on?”

“While, for example, in the seventeenth century the use of the Latin language was an insuperable barrier to communication for many people, today there are other obstacles to be faced. Think of the isolation caused by rampant relational models increasingly marked by superficiality, individualism and emotional instability; the spread of patterns of thought weakened by relativism; and the prevalence of rhythms and lifestyles in which there is not enough room for listening, reflection and dialogue, at school, in the family, and sometimes among peers themselves, with consequent loneliness.” - Pope Leo XIV

He continued to highlight the importance of Saint John the Baptist de La Salle’s innovation no matter the challenge made it imperative that today’s De La Salle Brothers continued on the same path, crediting them by stating that “the attention you pay, in your schools, to the training of teachers and to the creation of educating communities in which the teaching effort is enriched by the contribution of all is commendable”.

But, then Pope Leo XIV turned his attention from the “attention of current events” to the “teaching lived as ministry and mission, as consecration in the Church”. He said that Saint John Baptist de La Salle did not seek to have priests as teachers, but rather to have a community of Brothers “so that all your efforts would be directed, with God’s help, to the education of the pupils”. For the De La Salle Brothers, “teaching is [their] cathedra” meaning that the De La Salle Brothers were revolutionary in the creation of lay teachers and catechists in spirit with the teaching of evangelization through education and education through evangelization. 

Pope Leo XIV mentioned how the Brothers of the Christian Schools not only accomplish the fourth vow of teaching and the work of charity, but also set forth on the gifts of Baptism “as living members, to expend all their energy for the growth of the Church and its continuous sanctification”. 

Finishing with a blessing and a hopeful plea for the growth of religious vows in the Lasallian Brothers, Pope Leo XIV would then finish his Address.

Following this Address, Pope Leo XIV next met with the Major Archbishop of Kiev-Galicia and Primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, in the Library of the Apostolic Palace. 

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk thanked Pope Leo XIV for his words for Ukraine after the Regina Caeli prayer on Sunday the 11th, and presented him with a painting depicting the suffering of the Ukrainian people titled “Requiem Prayer” created by a father of a soldier who died in the conflict, Bohdan Pylypiv.