Pope Leo XIV reopens sealed papal apartment
The official reopening took place on 11 May, following the Regina Caeli prayer, in the presence of top Vatican officials, including Cardinal Kevin Farrell and Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Sealed since the death of Pope Francis on 21 April, the apartment's fate remains uncertain, as Pope Leo XIV has yet to confirm whether he will live there.
The gesture, rich in symbolism, marks a key step in the transition of papal authority and raises questions about the new pontiff's approach to tradition and simplicity.
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LeMonde
02-08-2025
- LeMonde
Pope Leo XIV welcomes hundreds of thousands of young Catholics to Rome for the Holy Year youth festival
Pope Leo XIV urged hundreds of thousands of young people on Saturday, August 2, to have the courage to make radical choices to do good, as he presided over his first big encounter with the next generation of Catholics during the highlight of the Vatican's 2025 Holy Year. Leo encountered a sea of people as he arrived by helicopter at the Tor Vergata field on Rome's outskirts for a vigil service of the Jubilee of Youth. Hailing from nearly 150 countries, the pilgrims had set up campsites on the field for the night, as misting trucks and water cannons spritzed them to cool them down from the 30° C temperatures. Leo displayed his fluency in speaking to the kids in Spanish, Italian and English about the dangers of social media, the value of true friendship and the need to have courage to make radical choices like marriage or religious vows. "Friendship can really change the world. Friendship is a path to peace," he said. "How much the world needs missionaries of the Gospel who are witnesses of justice and peace!" But history's first American pope also alerted them to some tragic news: Two young people who had made the pilgrimage to Rome had died, one reportedly of cardiac arrest, while a third was hospitalized, Leo told the crowd during the vigil service. Leo was to return to the field for an early morning Mass on Sunday morning to close out the celebration. Rome welcomes the throngs For the past week, these bands of young Catholics from around the world have poured into Rome for their special Jubilee celebration, in a Holy Year in which 32 million people are expected to descend on the Vatican to participate in a centuries-old pilgrimage to the seat of Catholicism. The young people have been traipsing down cobblestoned streets in color-coordinated T-shirts, praying the Rosary and singing hymns with guitars, bongo drums and tambourines shimmying alongside. Using their flags as tarps to shield them from the sun, they have taken over entire piazzas for Christian rock concerts and inspirational talks, and stood for hours at the Circus Maximus to confess their sins to 1,000 priests offering the sacrament in a dozen different languages. A mini World Youth Day, 25 years later It all has the vibe of a World Youth Day, the Catholic Woodstock festival that St. John Paul II inaugurated and made famous in Rome in 2000 at the very same Tor Vergata field. Back then, before an estimated two million people, John Paul told the young pilgrims they were the "sentinels of the morning" at the dawn of the third millennium. Officials had initially expected 500,000 young people this weekend, but Leo and organizers from the stage said the number could reach one million. The Vatican didn't immediately provide a final estimate. Romans inconvenienced, but tolerant Those Romans who didn't flee the onslaught have been inconvenienced by the additional strain on the city's notoriously insufficient public transport system. Residents are sharing social media posts of outbursts by Romans at kids flooding subway platforms and crowding bus stops that have delayed and complicated their commutes to work. But other Romans have welcomed the enthusiasm the youngsters have brought. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered a video welcome, marveling at the "extraordinary festival of faith, joy and hope" that the young people had created.
LeMonde
02-08-2025
- LeMonde
Up to a million young Catholics expected in Rome for Pope Leo vigil
Up to a million young Catholic believers are expected Saturday, August 2 for a night-time vigil led by Pope Leo XIV, the culmination of a week-long pilgrimage, a key event in the Jubilee holy year. The "Jubilee of Youth" – when the Vatican invites Catholics aged 18 to 35 to the seat of the global Church's power – has seen thousands of young pilgrims from around the world flood Rome this week. It is taking place just under three months since 69-year-old Leo – the first American pope – took over the papacy. Large groups of pilgrims have packed the streets of Rome all week, waving the flags of their countries or cities and chanting religious songs. Excitement has mounted over the course of the week for the new pope's final appearance to the youths on Saturday. "I feel mainly curiosity, as we don't know him very well yet," Parisian student Alice Berry, 21, told AFP. "What does he have to say to us? What is his message for young people?" Uncertainty, anxiety Various events have been planned for them by the Church throughout the city, including at Circus Maximus, where on Friday approximately 1,000 priests were on hand to take confession. Some 200 white gazebos lined the hippodrome where chariot races were once held in Ancient Rome, where youth lined up to speak to priests in 10 different languages. Spanish was one of the main languages heard on the streets of the Italian capital. The pilgrimage is taking place as economic uncertainty hits young people across the world and as climate change anxiety rises among the under-30s. Many young pilgrims said they wanted to hear the Vatican's position on climate change, wars and economic inequalities. Samarei Semos, 29, said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome. "We are still trying to understand his leadership," she said of the new pope, adding she hoped he would have a strong say about "third world countries." The pilgrimage also comes amid global alarm over starvation in Israel-blockaded Gaza, and more than three years into Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Night vigil The Vatican has praised Catholic youths who travelled to Rome from war-scarred countries like Ukraine or Syria, with Pope Leo repeatedly calling for the youths to "pray for peace." The voices of the amassed young people "will be heard to the end of the earth," Pope Leo told them earlier this week. The Vatican has said that more than 146 countries are represented. The mass that is the climax of the event will take place in Rome's Tor Vergata area in a vast open-air space with a newly built stage for the pope. It is the same area used 25 years ago for the last youth jubilee under Pope John Paul II. More than 4,300 volunteers will be working the event to welcome the young pilgrims, along with over 1,000 police, according to organizers. In an unprecedented move, Leo hosted a mass Tuesday for Catholic social media influencers, signaling the Vatican's openness to supporting the Internet-savvy youth. Rome authorities have tightened security in the city – which has seen an unprecedented number of people, with both tourists and pilgrims inundated the city.
France 24
29-07-2025
- France 24
Tens of thousands in Rome for Vatican's Jubilee of Youth
The mass gathering is taking place just over two months after Leo XIV became the head of the Catholic Church and the first American pope. Since Monday, groups of pilgrims -- chanting and draped in flags of their countries -- have flooded the streets of Italy's capital and the corners of the Vatican City. An opening mass is scheduled at St Peter's Basilica later on Tuesday at 1700 GMT. The Vatican had last week said it expected some half a million people from more than 150 countries to take part in the youth events -- that are dedicated to faith and culture. The week will culminate with a giant mass led by Pope Leo on Sunday. The Jubilee of Youth is aimed at young people aged between 18 and 35. Pilgrims AFP spoke to said topics they most wanted to discuss at the events were wars, climate change, social inequalities and the dangers linked to AI. "The most important topic for me is war. Everyone is talking about it, thinking about it, and we want to know what the pope thinks about it and what he expects from us," 25-year-old Tiago Santos, a pilgrim from Portugal, told AFP. The event is taking place as tens of thousands have been killed in Gaza after almost two years of war with Israel and as UN groups warn of spreading starvation in the blocked territory. In Ukraine, Russia's almost 3.5-year invasion has killed thousands, with Moscow continuing deadly attacks despite Western pressure to end its campaign. For Teophanie Nasta, a 26-year-old Lebanese pilgrim who left her country for the first time, said that -- despite the conflicts in the Middle East -- she was filled with "faith in humanity by seeing so many young people" gathered for the church. In an unprecedented move, the Vatican decided to dedicated a series of events to Catholic influencers -- a sign of growing importance of social media for the church. Speaking to them on Tuesday morning, Pope Leo warned against the dangers of undermining "human dignity" in the AI era.
