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“Recognize that God is present,” he said in a recorded video to a crowd gathered at the home stadium of the White Sox.When Pope Leo XIV was selected in May as the next leader of the Catholic Church, his hometown, Chicago, erupted in shocked delight. There were joyful newspaper headlines (“DA POPE!”), impromptu gatherings at parishes across the city, and a “Pope-A-Roni” pie marketed by a local pizza joint. On Saturday afternoon, the city had a chance to formally celebrate together for the first time. The occasion was a festive program and Mass organized by the Archdiocese of Chicago and...

Through one Canadian ancestor, the pontiff can also be linked to Angelina Jolie and Hillary ClintonPope Leo XIV is reportedly related to a roster of famous names, including Justin Bieber and Madonna, according to a new report by the New York Times. The publication put together a deep dive into the Pope’s ancestry, in collaboration with genealogists at American Ancestors and the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami. One of the findings is that the pontiff is linked to both Bieber and Madonna through a common ancestor born around six generations ago – and it also links him to the...

Continuing their commitment to obstructing much of what President Trump has attempted to do to strengthen relationships with global leaders, the Democrats have now insulted millions of faithful Catholics by blocking the confirmation of Brian Burch, the President’s choice to serve as the Ambassador to the Vatican. It was a strategic move on the part of the Democratic Senators to demand an unprecedented cloture vote on Burch, requiring three-fifths of the Senate to vote in favor of the nominee. The denial by the Senate prevented Burch from participating in Pope Leo XVI’s installation as pontiff on Sunday, May 18th, and...

VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Leo XIV criticized the surge of nationalist political movements in the world as he prayed Sunday for reconciliation and dialogue – a message in line with his pledges to make the Catholic Church a symbol of peace. The pope celebrated Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square in front of tens of thousands faithful, and asked the Holy Spirit to “break down barriers and tear down the walls of indifference and hatred.” “Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for ‘security’ zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, tragically,...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Schneider asks Pope Leo XIV for full freedom for the Traditional Mass“The traditional liturgy is a work of the Holy Spirit. It can be persecuted, but not destroyed,” affirmed Monsignor Athanasius Schneider during an interview organized by the apostolate Know, Love, and Live Your Faith, in which he answered questions for over an hour about the state of the traditional liturgy, the doctrinal crisis in the Church, and the new pontificate of Leo XIV.The Traditional Mass, a “perennial” and persecuted liturgyMonsignor Schneider began by referring to the climate of “continued persecution” against the Traditional Mass in various...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Eijk: Pope Leo will restore unity to the Church -- Something is happening with the Young People in Europe2021: The Bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam, Bp. Hendriks, confirming 16 young faithful among them 9 converted young adults at the FSSP Personal Parish of St. Joseph in the St. Agnes Church in Amsterdam***“Pope Leo will restore unity to the Church." -- Cardinal Wim Eijk speaksOne month ago took place the Conclave that elected Robert Francis Prevost to the Throne of Peter: “There are many issues in the Church where there is disagreement, and internal discord is not good for us”Matteo...

[Catholic Caucus] One Month of Leo XIV by Caminante WandererArgentina, June 5, 2025Almost a month has passed since the beginning of thge pontificate of Leo XIV. In this blog we said that we would be waiting for the first one hundred days, and there is still more than half of it to go. However, that does not prevent us from gradually getting an idea of his character, based on his words and first decisions.I have the impression, reading what is published in X, that the progressives began a few days ago to lower the level of enthusiasm with which they...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV Faces an Early Challenge: How to Deal With Pope Francis’ Restrictions on the Latin MassA significant early challenge for Pope Leo XIV will be how he chooses to handle the restrictions that Pope Francis placed on the traditional Latin Mass (TLM). Since Pope Francis issued his apostolic letter Traditionis Custodes (Guardians of Tradition) in July 2021, the freedom to celebrate the pre-1970 Mass has been curtailed — severely in some cases — with the long-term aim of allowing only the new Mass. Cardinals, bishops, priests and many of the laity, including some who do not...

Pope Leo XIV urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take a meaningful step in favor of peace during a phone call Wednesday that focused on the ongoing war in Ukraine and the worsening humanitarian situation. The conversation, described by the Vatican as “frank and focused on the urgency of dialogue,” saw the Pope appeal directly for a gesture from Moscow that could help reduce tensions and create the conditions for further diplomatic engagement. According to Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, the Pontiff underlined the “importance of dialogue to create positive contacts between the parties and seek...

...today at the Vatican, Pope Leo addressed the issue of cohabitation with these words: “Perhaps many young people today, who choose cohabitation instead of Christian marriage, actually need someone who, in a concrete and understandable way—especially by the example of their life—shows them what the gift of sacramental grace is and what strength it brings; someone who helps them understand ‘the beauty and greatness of the vocation to love and to the service of life’ that God gives to spouses (St. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, 1).” Out of love and concern for His creatures, God has taught...

In his first prayer intention video of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV has asked the faithful to pray that the world might grow in compassion during the month of June. “Let us pray that each one of us might find consolation in a personal relationship with Jesus, and from his heart, learn to have compassion on the world,” the pope said in a video released June 3. The video also includes an original prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to which the month of June is dedicated. ---snip---Here is the full prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV corrects the Francis record on cohabitationPope Leo XIV called for the evangelization of young people to help them choose sacramental marriage, in stark contrast to Pope Francis’ scandalous comments about cohabitation.There is breaking news today from Rome where Pope Leo is correcting the Francis record on cohabitation. Pope Francis created worldwide scandal when on June 16, 2016, he said cohabitation is “real marriage” and has the grace of real marriage. I know that is hard to believe, so we have it for you on video and the Vatican transcript. “In Argentina’s northeast countryside … couples...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV: "Marriage is not an ideal but the measure of true love between a man and a woman: a love that is total, faithful and fruitful"As soon as we were born, we needed others in order to live; left to ourselves, we would not have survived. Someone else saved us by caring for us in body and spirit. All of us are alive today thanks to a relationship, a free and freeing relationship of human kindness and mutual care.That human kindness is sometimes betrayed. As for example, whenever freedom is invoked not to give life, but to...

[Catholic Caucus] Santa Marta is too expensive: Pope Leo returns to the Apostolic PalaceThe first steps taken by Pope Leo XIV at the helm of the Church are largely satisfying the expectations of the cardinals who elected him. The eminent prelates were looking for a good shepherd, but even more so they trusted that the new pontiff would be able to restore balance to a form of government that, under Pope Francis, had taken on authoritarian tendencies and destabilized the clergy and the faithful with numerous acts considered overly bold.Leone has first of all reestablished—with kindness but firmness—the dignity proper...

Yesterday, Pope Leo XIV gave the first sign that he is willing to take on the debacle left by Pope Francis regarding the plight of Catholics in China.As LifeSiteNews has reported, the secret Vatican-China deal – set up by disgraced Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and approved and perpetuated by Francis and his Secretary of State Pietro Parolin – has seen Catholics forced underground as the communist nation effectively controls Catholicism in the totalitarian regime. After praying the Regina Caeli on Sunday, Leo XIV proved himself quite the diplomat. He first spoke about a Polish martyr who died under the communists, and...

Russia does not see the Vatican as a serious venue for peace talks with Ukraine because the Holy See is the seat of Catholicism and is surrounded by Italy, a NATO and EU member, three senior Russian sources told Reuters. They also point out that many Russian officials cannot even fly there due to Western restrictions. The Vatican has so far been silent in public on the idea raised by U.S. President Donald Trump after a call with President Vladimir Putin that Pope Leo XIV could host talks aimed at ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. Italian Prime...

<p>My election has taken place during the year of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. That Council represents a milestone in the formulation of the Creed shared by all Churches and Ecclesial Communities. While we are on the journey to re-establishing full communion among all Christians, we recognise that this unity can only be unity in faith. As Bishop of Rome, I consider one of my priorities to be that of seeking the re-establishment of full and visible communion among all those who profess the same faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.</p>

Around noon on Thursday, as I walked along L Street in downtown Washington, my phone exploded with the news of white smoke in Vatican City. We all knew that it was coming. And in fact, the conclave that elected Pope Francis took about the same time as the most recent one that elected Pope Leo XIV. I wondered if holding the largest conclave in history—one hundred and thirty-three cardinals—might make for a longer one, but that was not the case. Cardinal Nichols of the UK told reporters this week that the entire experience was "immensely peaceful." To be elected to...

In these last few day many people have asked me what I think about the new Pope Leo XIV? As a priest and pastor, one of my most important priorities is to protect the sheep from the wolf, that is, to try to be a “good shepherd” ready to “lay down my life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11; 1Pt 5:1-4), and thus to warn the souls of the many dangers and traps today in this period of the great apostasy before the manifestation of the Antichrist (2Thess ch2) when “if possible, even the elect” (Mt 24:24) will be led astray....

Pope Leo XIV surprised the cardinals with the choice of his papal name and then did the same when he announced his intention to focus on the AI Revolution. When he addressed the College of Cardinals the day after his election, he explained these choices: “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...