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.

Pope Leo XIV told 192 new bishops from around the world that they must respond promptly to allegations of inappropriate or abusive behavior by priests.

Getting phone calls from the pope continues to bring “great joy” to the hundreds of people receiving shelter and support from the only Latin-rite Catholic church in Gaza, the parish priest said.

Close to 200 clerics who had been named bishops in the past year were not the only ones in the Vatican’s New Synod Hall to have been thrust into new ministries and leadership roles.

Pope Leo XIV has given permission for U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica during a pilgrimage in October.

Pope Leo XIV formally suppressed two dioceses in China and erected a new one, which already had been operating without the Vatican’s consent.