Mother: Pope’s blessing of special needs daughter recognizes ‘segment of humanity often set aside’ October 1, 2026By Caroline de Sury OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News A photograph of Pope Leo XIV blessing Marie-Garance, a 10-year-old girl in a blue dress who has multiple disabilities, went viral after the pope encountered her in Paris Sept. 26.
800 years after St. Francis’ death, Franciscans to mark his ‘Transitus’ — so what is it? October 1, 2026By Kimberly Heatherington OSV News Filed Under: News, Saints, Vatican, World News Each year on Oct. 3, the followers of St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) — friars; nuns; laypeople — mark the globally popular saint’s own journey from life to death, his “Transitus” as it is known in Latin, through special community commemorations.
Universal health care a ‘moral imperative,’ Vatican’s top diplomat tells UN September 30, 2026By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Feature, Health Care, News, Vatican, World News Universal health care is “a moral imperative,” as “the Holy See has consistently reiterated,” the Vatican’s top diplomat told the United Nations.
Pope’s communications day theme targets pitfalls of the ‘attention economy’ September 30, 2026By Carol Glatz OSV News Filed Under: News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV will address the risks of today’s “attention economy,” in which media platforms compete for and monetize people’s limited, valuable attention as the theme for the Catholic Church’s celebration of World Communications Day in 2027.
Pope Leo XIV says he’s not losing sleep over AI apocalypse fears September 29, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: AI, Feature, News, Vatican, World News On the return flight to Rome from his four-day visit to France Sept. 28, Pope Leo XIV said that the prospect of artificial intelligence destroying humanity does not keep him up at night.
Vatican’s top diplomat pushes 2-state solution, ‘limits’ on AI at UN General Assembly September 29, 2026By Simone Orendain OSV News Filed Under: AI, Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, Vatican, World News The Vatican secretary of state on Sept. 24 reiterated the Holy See’s support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East and also called for limits on the fast pace of the development of artificial intelligence, or AI.
Wrapping up France visit, Pope Leo calls on Europe to choose reconciliation over division September 28, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Invoking the memory of a region marked by war and division, Pope Leo XIV called on humanity to let go of revenge and retaliation, and instead seek the path of reconciliation and peace.
At Lourdes, a refuge for the ill, Pope Leo stands against assisted dying laws September 28, 2026By Josephine Peterson OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News At a shrine where the sick and disabled are prioritized, Pope Leo XIV said human frailty can never diminish a person’s dignity, bringing one of the central messages of his visit to France, where the government recently legalized assisted dying.
Pope Leo XIV leads thousands in candlelight rosary procession in Lourdes September 28, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV led tens of thousands of people in a candlelight rosary procession Sept. 27 in the Marian shrine of Lourdes, saying that he had come as “a pilgrim among pilgrims.”
Pope encourages French youth to seek holiness during visually rich stadium vigil September 28, 2026By Caroline de Sury OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV urged 80,000 young people gathered at the Stade de France Sept. 25 to pursue holiness, peace and a “living relationship with Jesus” during an evening prayer vigil that showcased the diversity of France’s Catholic youth.
Pope Leo prays for the sick and suffering in the Lourdes grotto in France September 28, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News In the Marian shrine of Lourdes, Pope Leo XIV prayed for the sick and the suffering and drank from healing spring water in the grotto where the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858.
Moved by Pope Leo’s empathy, French abuse survivors urged action on ‘systemic’ failures September 28, 2026By Junno Arocho Esteves OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News French survivors of clergy sexual abuse who met with Pope Leo XIV in Lourdes said they were struck by the pontiff’s deep personal empathy and his frank acknowledgment of the institutional failures that allowed the crisis to fester within the Church.
