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During his General Audience this Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV affirmed that the Church cannot be understood solely from a human or institutional perspective, but rather “in the fact that the Church is generated by God’s plan for humanity, realized in Christ.” although he emphasized that this does not presuppose the “spiritual superiority” of its members. "An ideal and pure Church, separated from the earth, does not exist; only the one Church of Christ, embodied in history,” the Holy Father asserted. #popeleoxiv #vatican #catholicchurch #vaticanii

March is rich with witnesses of faith — martyrs, monks, missionaries, and the Mother of God herself. ✨ Here are some of the great saints and feasts the Church celebrates this month: ✝️ March 6 — Saints Perpetua & Felicity, Martyrs 📚 March 7 — St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church 🏛️ March 9 — St. Frances of Rome 📜 March 12 — St. Gregory the Great, Pope & Doctor of the Church ☘️ March 17 — St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland 🛠️ March 19 — St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary ⛪ March 21 — St. Benedict, Abbot 🌿 March 25 — The Annunciation of the Lord 💔 March 27 — Our Lady of Sorrows 🌿 March 29 — Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week From the courage of the early martyrs to the hidden fidelity of St. Joseph and the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem, these feasts remind us that holiness takes many forms — scholarship, sacrifice, prayer, mission, and trust in God. Which of these saints or feasts speaks most to you this month? #Catholic #SaintOfTheDay #CatholicSaints #LiturgicalCalendar #palmsunday

Eight hundred years later, Saint Francis still draws hearts to Assisi. Pilgrims journey from across the world to pray where he founded his order and, during the Holy Year of St. Francis, to witness the extraordinary exposition of his mortal remains. In the quiet of his tomb, his radical poverty, joy, and love for Christ continue to call the faithful to live the Gospel with renewed courage. #stfrancisofassisi #catholicchurch #catholictiktok

💫 March, the Month of St. Joseph The Church dedicates this month to St. Joseph, chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary and patron of the Universal Church. 🙏 Known as the "Saint of Silence," Sacred Scripture does not record any of his words, but rather his deeds, his faith, and his love, which deeply marked Jesus and Mary. 🌹 St. Teresa of Jesus was one of his greatest devotees. Through his intercession, she was healed from an illness considered incurable. ✨ "To other saints, it seems that God has granted the power to help us in certain needs; to St. Joseph, however, he has given the power to assist us in everything," the Carmelite saint loved to repeat. And before her death, she confided: "For forty years, every year on the feast of St. Joseph, I asked him for a special grace and he never let me down. I invite you to try it: pray with faith to this great saint and you will see the fruits." 🌟 During his first Advent as Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV highlighted the virtues of St. Joseph to prepare for Christmas: "Piety and charity, mercy and surrender." 💛 "These are attitudes that educate the heart," the Pope said, "and they help us to be, for one another, a welcoming manger, a comfortable home, and a sign of God's presence." 🕊️ "The story of Joseph is a wonderful page of salvation: a man fragile like us, but courageous and strong in faith."

Pope Leo XIV was warmly welcomed in Rome’s Quarticciolo neighborhood, sharing joyful hugs with parishioners during his Sunday evening pastoral visit to the Parish of the Ascension of Our Lord. Meeting young people and local families before celebrating Mass, the Holy Father reflected on the Transfiguration and invited the community to trust God beyond fear and the need for control. He encouraged everyone to live “the logic of unconditional love” — building community and becoming light in the very place where they live. #popeleoxiv #catholicchurch #catholictiktok

Pope Leo XIV spent Sunday afternoon in Rome’s Quarticciolo neighborhood, meeting young people, families affected by addiction, and parishioners at the Parish of the Ascension of Our Lord before celebrating Mass and calling the community to live “the logic of unconditional love.” Arriving shortly before 4 p.m., the Holy Father was welcomed by Cardinal Baldassare Reina, parish leaders, and faithful gathered in the courtyard. He greeted parishioners one by one and then met with young people from the local “Magis” initiative — a group whose wall bears the words, “Those who love go forward.” One member described their identity in a single word: “fraternity.” During the encounter, Pope Leo spoke about the suffering of children killed in the war in Gaza and about a crisis closer to home: drug abuse, which continues to wound Quarticciolo. He also spent time with the sick, the elderly, and mothers of those struggling with addiction — listening to the pain and hope of the neighborhood. In his homily, reflecting on the Transfiguration and the faith of Abraham, the Pope described life as a journey that requires trust in God — and sometimes the courage to “leave everything.” He warned against the temptation to control every uncertainty: “It happens every day … that we measure everything, we strain to keep everything under control. But in this way we lose the chance to discover the true treasure.” Sunday Mass, he said, is not an escape but a moment to be strengthened “not to stop and not to change direction.” Father Daniele Canali noted that this marked the third papal visit to the parish: St. John XXIII came on March 3, 1963, and St. John Paul II visited on Feb. 3, 1980. #popeleoxiv #rome #dioceseofrome

After today’s Angelus prayer, Pope Leo XIV expressed “deep concern” over the escalating violence in the Middle East following US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, which have also resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Tehran’s subsequent retaliatory attacks. He stressed that “stability and peace are not built with mutual threats, nor with weapons, which sow destruction, pain, and death, but only through a reasonable, authentic, and responsible dialogue.” Warning of “a tragedy of enormous proportions,” the Pope made a “heartfelt appeal” to all parties to assume their moral responsibility and “stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” urging diplomacy to “recover its role” and calling on all to continue praying for peace.

📍St. Peter’s Basilica: Saturday of First Week of Lent ⛪ The Holy Lance, believed to have pierced Christ’s side, holds a revered place in Christian tradition. According to the Gospel of John, a Roman soldier—later identified as Saint Longinus—ensured Jesus’ death with this sacred relic. 🕯️ Each year, during the first week of Lent, a solemn procession takes place in St. Peter’s Basilica. Led by a large wooden cross, the canons and clergy process to the main altar, where the Litany of the Saints is chanted. At the triple invocation of “Sancte Petre, ora pro nobis,” the procession moves through the nave and culminates at the Altar of the Chair for Holy Mass. 📜 Following Mass, an additional procession circles the High Altar of the Confessio. As the celebrant pauses near the statue of Saint Longinus, the bells ring and three canons solemnly bear the Holy Lance. The relic is displayed to all four corners of the loggia for the faithful to venerate before being returned to its resting place in the Chapel of Relics. 🕊️ Saint Longinus, who converted after witnessing Christ’s sacrifice, is commemorated on October 16. His towering statue, sculpted by Bernini, stands inside St. Peter’s, capturing his moment of faith. 🙏 As the Lance is lifted high, the faithful are reminded of the centurion’s words: “Truly, this man was the Son of God.” (Mark 15:39) 🎥: @cruxstationalis // Jacob Stein #Vatican #StPetersBasilica #CatholicChurch #Lent #Lent2026

📍 St. Peter’s Basilica — The Relic of the Lance of St. Longinus ⛪ Preserved within one of the great pillars of the basilica, the Holy Lance is venerated as the relic that pierced the Sacred Heart of Christ. The Gospel of John recounts how a Roman soldier opened Our Lord’s side, and from it flowed blood and water — a wellspring the Fathers saw as the birth of the Church. Tradition remembers that soldier as Longinus. 🕯️ Housed in the Chapel of Relics and honored with solemn ceremony, the Lance is brought forth for public veneration on the Saturday of the First Week of Lent during the Roman Station Church liturgy at 6 PM, lifted high for the faithful beneath the soaring dome of Michelangelo. Its presence is both stark and tender: an instrument of death that became a sign of mercy. 📸: Daniel Ibanez | EWTN Vatican Discover more with the EWTN Travel App! #romanstationchurch #vaticancity #stpetersbasilica #lent2026

At the close of the Lenten Spiritual Exercises in the Pauline Chapel, Pope Leo XIV described the week as a “profound spiritual experience,” confessing he felt personally “invited to reflect.” Thanking Bishop Erik Varden for meditations centered on monastic witness, the Pope highlighted hope, freedom, and truth as guiding themes, and urged the Roman Curia—echoing St. Paul—to “live in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.” The Holy Father concluded by imparting his Apostolic Blessing to all present and will resume his regular schedule tomorrow, 28 February.

Explore the significance of confession during Lent. With Pope Leo’s Theologian, we delve into its human and divine dimensions, and how faith, hope, and charity connect us with God. Watch Vaticano now to learn more about Lent in Rome and the importance of the Sacrament of Confession! #confession #catholicchurch #lent2026 #rome #catholictheology

📍The Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome is the Roman Station Church for Wednesday of the First Week of Lent. Discover more of this Marian Basilica and the Roman Station Church pilgrimage on the EWTN Travel Jubilee App. 💙Explore this Church in Rome and more with EWTN's Travel Jubilee App available for free download now #santamariamaggiore #ewtntravel #romanstationchurch #saluspopuliromani #catholicchurch

Pope Leo XIV faces a landmark year of international travel, with a schedule that will take him from a European micro‑state to four African nations and then to one of Europe’s major Catholic countries. On 28 March 2026, he is due to visit the Principality of Monaco, becoming the first pontiff ever to set foot in the city‑state at the invitation of the Head of State and the local archbishop. From 13 to 23 April 2026, the Pope will then undertake his first pastoral visit to Africa as Pontiff, an 11‑day Apostolic Journey that will include four countries: Algeria, where he will visit Algiers and Annaba (13–15 April) as the first Pope in history to travel to the country; Cameroon, with stops in Yaoundé, Bamenda and Douala (15–18 April); Angola, with Luanda, Muxima and Saurimo (18–21 April); and Equatorial Guinea, with visits to Malabo, Mongomo and Bata (21–23 April), in response to invitations from the respective Heads of State and ecclesiastical authorities. His stop in Algiers and Annaba will also carry a strong spiritual symbolism: as an Augustinian Pope, Leo XIV returns as a “son of Saint Augustine” to the land of Tagaste and Hippo, in present‑day Algeria, where the great Doctor of the Church was born and served as bishop. This gives the Algerian leg of the journey a distinctive patristic and historical depth, linking the contemporary papacy to one of the foundational voices of Latin Christianity rooted in North Africa. The sequence of trips will continue in early summer: from 6 to 12 June 2026, Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to travel to Spain, marking the first papal visit to the country since 2011, when Benedict XVI was in Madrid for World Youth Day.

Sant’Anastasia has long guarded more than prayer. At the foot of Rome’s Imperial Hill, its prominence secured the preservation of revered relics—the mantle of St. Joseph and a fragment of the Virgin’s veil, traditionally brought from the Holy Land by St. Jerome. The basilica also housed the Crux Stationais the ornate “Station Crosses” carried in procession to Rome’s Lenten churches each day. ✍️ More about the Roman Station Churches at @cruxstationalis // Jacob Stein in collaboration with EWTN Vatican #romanstationchurch #stjoseph #catholicchurch #catholictiktok

🥈“You came in second place, I’m sorry! But perhaps there is something that has remained in my heart, also united with you, within the Salesian community.” With affection and gratitude, the Holy Father Leo XIV recalled his closeness to the sons of Don Bosco yesterday morning at the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Castro Pretorio, recognizing in their mission “one of those signs not written in the book, yet indeed written in the heart of Jesus.” The Pope praised their service to young people and in the peripheries of the world, “even where there is war, where there is conflict, where there is poverty,” encouraging them to continue generously their educational ministry and witness of charity. “Live this spirit of Jesus’ love by following the example of Don Bosco… Let us walk together, united in the Church, united in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.” #popeleoxiv #salesians #augustinians #catholicchurch