At his Wednesday morning general audience, Pope Leo’s face lit up with an unusually bright smile receiving a unique donation: Proton, a purebred Arabian horse from a prestigious Polish stable.

Power, possessions and rank do not satisfy the deep desire for real meaning in life, Pope Leo XIV said.

The Holy See’s diplomat to the United Nations has called for three key priorities in addressing the global crises of poverty, conflict and climate change.

Making the first state visit of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV met Italian President Sergio Mattarella and spoke of common concerns, including war, migration, ecology and Italy’s declining birthrate.

During a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva invited the pope to the upcoming U.N. Climate Change Conference, being held for the first time in the heart of the Amazon region.

Modern hermits seek solitude not to escape the world but to learn how to listen more closely to God, to their neighbors and to creation, Pope Leo XIV said as he met about 50 Italian hermits who came to the Vatican for the Jubilee of Consecrated Life.

In separate videos recorded in English, Spanish and Italian, Pope Leo XIV urged every Catholic parish around the globe to observe World Mission Sunday Oct. 19 and take up the annual collection that supports Catholic missionary work.

Three months after Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández said the Vatican had identified the judges who would form the tribunal in the canonical trial against Slovenian Father Marko Rupnik on charges of spiritual and sexual abuse, the judges were formally nominated.

Christians must avoid using their faith to label those who are different — often the poor — as enemies to be avoided and rejected, Pope Leo XIV said.

With the start of the first phase of a peace deal between Israel and Gaza, Pope Leo XIV prayed for a just and lasting peace that respects all people.