An avid horseback-riding Pope Leo XIV has appointed a bishop who shares his passion as the new leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Bishop Richard Moth of Arundel and Brighton was named Dec. 19 as the 12th archbishop of Westminster.

Meeting with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV recognized the miracle needed for the beatification of Enrique Ernesto Shaw, a 20th-century businessman from Argentina.

The “confrontational” tone dominating both global and national politics is “deepening instability and unpredictability day by day,” Pope Leo XIV wrote in his message for World Peace Day.

In one of the most anticipated U.S. episcopal appointments of his pontificate so far, Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York and named as his successor Bishop Ronald A. Hicks of Joliet, Illinois.

In today’s fast-paced world with pressures for results and efficiency, Pope Leo XIV said many have been stripped of their serenity and ability to live.

Pope Leo XIV and Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke by telephone Dec. 17, just days after a terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia led to the deaths of 15 people.

At the end of his one day off each week, Pope Leo XIV went to the local school in Castel Gandolfo and joined hundreds of excited parents in watching the children’s Christmas concert.

Christmas is a reminder that people can encounter God in ordinary, everyday places, Pope Leo XIV said.

The Nativity scene and the Christmas tree are signs of faith and hope, Pope Leo XIV said.

Even in difficult situations and harsh places, like prisons, when people focus on caring for one another, respecting each other and offering forgiveness, “beautiful flowers spring forth from the ‘hard ground’ of sin and suffering,” Pope Leo XIV said.