Just a few hours after Israel launched a major new ground offensive in Gaza City, Pope Leo XIV called the pastor of the city’s only Latin-rite parish to express his concern, his prayers and his closeness, the Vatican press office said.

Pain must never give rise to violence, and every Catholic needs to learn to safeguard with tenderness those who are vulnerable, Pope Leo XIV said during a prayer vigil dedicated to people experiencing pain and affliction due to illness, bereavement, violence or abuse.

Because “true knowledge of God is realized in a life transformed by love,” the Catholic Church needs theologians whose pursuit of understanding is framed by care for the real concerns of modern men and women, Pope Leo XIV said.

A series of excerpts was published Sept. 14, the pope’s 70th birthday, by the Catholic online news outlet, Crux, ahead of the Sept. 18 publication of the book, “Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the XXI Century,” in Spanish by Penguin Peru. English and Portuguese editions of the book will be released in early 2026.

The prayer service Sept. 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, commemorated 1,624 Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants who died for their faith between 2000 and 2025

Dozens of small handmade signs and large bold banners waved in the crowd of some 30,000 visitors in St. Peter’s Square wishing Pope Leo XIV a happy birthday Sept. 14. Two gold mylar balloons with the numbers “7” and “0” were held up high.

As Pope Leo XIV neared his 70th birthday Sept. 14, those closest to the American-born pontiff said they knew, very early on, that he was in for lifelong service to the church.

Catholics in the U.S. “like what they’ve seen so far” in Pope Leo XIV, with 8 in 10 viewing the new pope favorably — and significant numbers of non-Catholics agreeing, according to a new study from Pew Research Center.

At a time when people feel powerless to help migrants and refugees, Christians must continue to insist that “there is no justice without compassion, no legitimacy without listening to the pain of others,” Pope Leo XIV said.

Great spiritual traditions and mature critical thinking enable humanity to go beyond ethnicities, clans and cliques, which recognize only those who are similar and reject those who are different, Pope Leo XIV said.