Workers spent about two weeks planting and rearranging evergreens, flowers and plants to complete a gigantic botanical reproduction of Pope Leo’s shield on the sloped lawn in front of the Vatican’s governing office.

Pope Leo XIV spent several hours May 29 visiting the Borgo Laudato Si’ ecology project set up at the papal villa and farm in Castel Gandolfo, as well as the former papal summer residence there.

As civilian casualties from multiple conflicts have soared, the Holy See’s diplomat to the United Nations has called for a renewed respect for human dignity and international law, along with restrictions in armaments and a commitment to end the scourge of war.

The four years Robert F. Prevost spent at Villanova University in Philadelphia — from the fall of 1973 until May 1977, when he graduated with a degree in mathematics and began his novitiate with the Augustinian order — included the opening salvos of the pro-life movement.

Twenty days into his papacy, Pope Leo XIV’s appointment style remains largely unknown — but his years leading the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, may offer clues. There, he prioritized lay leadership, promoted synodality and worked across ecclesial factions.

Pope Leo XIV’s offer to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine — an offer Russia has turned down — was motivated by a conviction that the two sides must start negotiating and stop the killing, the Vatican secretary of state said.

Being religious does not automatically mean someone is compassionate, and yet for a Christian compassion is a clear sign of following Christ, Pope Leo XIV said.

After days of frenzied celebrations in Naples, members of Italy’s champion soccer team arrived at the Vatican for a papal audience but seemed unsure of the protocol.

Pope Leo XIV has named Father Renzo Pegoraro, a bioethicist who earned a medical degree before entering the seminary, to be the new president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The Vatican postal service began selling its first Pope Leo XIV stamps May 27 and offered a special cancellation of the postage featuring a line drawing of the new pope waving to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square.