Pope Leo’s prayer to St. Francis: a call to peace in a divided world March 2, 2026By OSV News OSV News Filed Under: Commentary, Conflict in the Middle East, Vatican As tensions escalate following the Feb. 28 U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, we share this prayer to St. Francis of Assisi — a timeless intercessor for peace — which Pope Leo XIV shared with leaders of the Franciscan order on the beginning of the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ death in January 2026.
Sorrow, shock, prayer for Catholics in Middle East as U.S. and Israel strike Iran amid negotiations March 2, 2026By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, World News Catholics across the Middle East are reeling with shock and sorrow, and responding with prayer, amid joint strikes Israeli and U.S. forces launched on Iran Feb. 28.
Pope Leo warns of ‘irreparable abyss,’ if diplomacy doesn’t take over violence in Iran, Middle East March 2, 2026By Paulina Guzik OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV issued a fervent appeal for return of diplomacy in “these dramatic hours” in the Middle East and Iran, condemning use of weapons that cause “destruction, pain, and death.”
USCCB president: Prayer, diplomacy needed in Middle East to avert ‘tragedy of immense proportions’ March 2, 2026By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Bishops, Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, World News The leader of the U.S. Catholic bishops has echoed Pope Leo XIV’s call for deescalation and dialogue in the Middle East, following the joint attacks on Iran launched Feb. 28 by the U.S. and Israel, which killed Iran’s longtime supreme leader, 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Inviting pilgrims back is more than business, it’s family history, Holy Land shop owners say February 27, 2026By Judith Sudilovsky OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Lent, News, World News As Lent begins in Jerusalem, the usually crowded streets of the Old City remain quiet, with only a small number of international pilgrims returning after years of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Israel-Hamas war.
Holy See will not join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza, Cardinal Parolin says February 18, 2026By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, Vatican, World News The Holy See “will not participate” in President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” for Gaza, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said Feb. 17, citing “points that leave us somewhat perplexed.”
U.S.-led Board of Peace a ‘colonialist operation,’ Cardinal Pizzaballa says February 17, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, News, Vatican, World News Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, strongly criticized the U.S.-led Board of Peace, an international body chaired by President Donald Trump to oversee the governance and reconstruction of Gaza.
Pope Leo: Let us raise our voices for peace January 28, 2026By OSV News Vatican News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, News, Vatican, World News “I’ll only say that we must pray very much for peace.” Those were the words of Pope Leo XIV given in a brief statement to Italian television as he left Villa Barberini, his residence in Castel Gandolfo, where, as usual, he had spent his Tuesday both resting and working.
Pope evaluating Trump’s invitation to join Board of Peace, Vatican’s secretary of state says January 21, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV is currently evaluating an invitation by U.S. President Donald Trump to join his “Board of Peace,” an international body chaired by the president to oversee the governance and reconstruction of Gaza, the Vatican secretary of state said.
Israel bans dozens of aid groups from Gaza, including Caritas, drawing condemnation January 2, 2026By Judith Sudilovsky OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Disaster Relief, News, World News Caritas Internationalis and Caritas Jerusalem are among the 37 international aid organizations that Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs has banned from operating in Gaza by March 1.
Cardinal Pizzaballa: Gaza’s Christians long to rebuild life after two years of war December 22, 2025By Judith Sudilovsky OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, News, World News People have a deep desire to return to their lives despite the dire and complex situation in Gaza following two years of war, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said at an annual Christmas press conference on Dec. 22.
Cardinal Pizzaballa visits Gaza City’s Holy Family Parish before Christmas December 19, 2025By OSV News OSV News Filed Under: Christmas, Conflict in the Middle East, News, World News In a sign of closeness as Christmas approaches, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, accompanied by the Latin Patriarchal Vicar Bishop William Shomali and a small delegation, arrived in Gaza Dec. 19 for a pastoral visit to the Holy Family Parish.
