Our Lady of Guadalupe is the model of ‘perfect inculturation,’ Pope Leo says February 26, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Marian Devotion, News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV has pointed to Our Lady of Guadalupe as the model of “perfect inculturation” as Mexico prepares to mark the 500th anniversary of the apparition in 2031 with a jubilee year.
Pope Leo XIV to embark on 10-day Africa tour, trips to Spain, Monaco February 26, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV will travel to six countries over the next four months, including a 10-day tour of Africa and trips to Monaco and Spain, the Vatican announced Feb. 25.
Pope Leo XIV says he considered a vocation with the Salesians as a boy February 25, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: News, Vatican, Vocations, World News Pope Leo XIV has revealed that he considered joining the Salesians as a boy before ultimately discerning a vocation with the Augustinian order, joking that the congregation of Don Bosco “came in second place” in his spiritual journey.
St. Francis’ relics open to public for first extended veneration in 800 years February 23, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Saints, World News For the first time in eight centuries, the mortal remains of St. Francis of Assisi are being exposed for an extended period of public veneration, drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from around the world to pray before “the Little Poor Man of Assisi.”
Pope Leo XIV tells priests not to use AI to write homilies or seek likes on TikTok February 23, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, social media, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV has urged priests to not to use artificial intelligence to write their homilies or to seek “likes” on social media platforms like TikTok.
New Stations of the Cross unveiled at St. Peter’s Basilica for Lent 2026 February 23, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Lent, News, Vatican, World News St. Peter’s Basilica inaugurated a new Stations of the Cross Feb. 20, with paintings by a young Swiss artist who won the Vatican’s international art competition and said in an interview with OSV News that he was deeply moved by the experience of painting St. Veronica’s encounter with Christ.
For its 400th anniversary, St. Peter’s Basilica to get 21st-century upgrade, Vatican announces February 22, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Arts & Culture, News, Vatican, World News Four hundred years after its consecration, St. Peter’s Basilica is getting a 21st-century upgrade, with the Vatican unveiling plans for AI-powered translation services, expanded pilgrim access and high-tech structural monitoring as part of yearlong anniversary celebrations.
SSPX rejects Vatican dialogue, plans to consecrate bishops without papal mandate February 19, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Bishops, News, Vatican, World News The Society of St. Pius X has rejected a Vatican offer of dialogue and said it will move forward with plans to ordain bishops without a papal mandate this summer.
From Pompeii to Pavia: Pope Leo XIV to make 6 pastoral visits throughout Italy February 19, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV will travel to six destinations across Italy this year, the Vatican announced on Feb. 19, journeying from the shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii in the south to the tomb of St. Augustine in northern Italy.
Pope Leo XIV calls for ‘countercultural’ repentance on first Ash Wednesday of his pontificate February 18, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Feature, Lent, News, Vatican, World News Beneath the Roman pines of the Aventine Hill, Pope Leo XIV led a solemn penitential procession Feb. 18 to Rome’s oldest extant basilica, marking the first Ash Wednesday of his pontificate with a call for “countercultural” repentance for sins from individuals, institutions and the Church itself.
Pope Leo XIV on Ash Wednesday: Ask the Lord for the gift of true conversion this Lent February 18, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Feature, Lent, News, Vatican, World News On Ash Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV encouraged Catholics to ask the Lord for “the gift of true conversion” at the start of the 40-day penitential season of Lent.
Pope Leo XIV explains why Catholics fast during Lent February 13, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Feature, Lent, News, Vatican, World News The ancient practice of fasting from food during Lent can free us from complacency and lead us to “hunger” for God, Pope Leo XIV said in his 2026 Lenten message.
