St. Mary Our Lady of the Rosary

The main altar at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, which was desecrated on Oct. 10, 2025. / Credit: Jorge Royan (CC BY-SA 3.0)

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 13, 2025 / 17:43 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica and vicar general of the pope for Vatican City, presided Oct. 13 over a penitential rite of reparation at the main altar of the church following a serious act of desecration that had taken place on Oct. 10.

After a penitential procession that began at 12:45 p.m. local time, Gambetti sprinkled the altar with holy water and incensed it to purify it.

The rite, attended by members of the chapter of the Vatican basilica, emphasized asking God for “forgiveness” for the desecration, Father Enzo Fortunato, director of communications for St. Peter’s Basilica, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

On Friday, Oct. 10, a man whose identity has not been revealed was arrested by security guards after he climbed onto the Altar of the Confession, located under Bernini’s baldachin, and urinated on it while tourists looked on in astonishment.

Pope Leo XIV expressed his consternation upon learning of the incident and asked Gambetti to perform an act of reparation to restore the sanctity of the place and ask forgiveness for what had happened.

This is the second instance of desecration in St. Peter’s Basilica in less than a year. In February, a man severely damaged part of the main altar, breaking several candelabras. In June 2023, an individual of Polish origin stripped naked in the same place as a form of protest against the war in Ukraine. 

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin greets the parents of St. Carlo Acutis before Mass at Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Assisi, Italy, on Oct. 12, 2025. / Credit: Diocese of Assisi

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 13, 2025 / 16:13 pm (CNA).

In a Mass marking the first liturgical memorial of St. Carlo Acutis, who was canonized by Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 7, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on Sunday said the saint spoke of Jesus with a “radiant” and “smiling” face.

“Many when they see his picture are touched by his smile: Carlo spoke of Jesus above all with his radiant, luminous, and smiling face. He taught us to live out St. Paul’s exhortation: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always,’” Parolin said in his homily at the Mass he celebrated Oct. 12.

The Mass took place in St. Mary Major Church in Assisi at the Shrine of the Renunciation (Santuario della Spogliazione). The body of St. Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006 of fulminant leukemia at the age of 15, rests in a glass case on the side of the nave of the church.

Before the Mass, which was attended by civil, military, and religious authorities — as well as the young saint’s parents, Antonia Salzano and Andrea Acutis — the Italian cardinal prayed for a few minutes before the saint’s final resting place.

“Carlo is a new pearl of this city of saints and a great gift for the Church: May his witness bear abundant fruits of holiness among young people,” Parolin said.

‘The word of God portrays Carlo’

“The word of God that we have just heard portrays Carlo and his spirituality almost photographically, and he in turn helps us understand it with the example of his life,” the cardinal noted, according to Vatican News. 

“From prison, Paul invites everyone to communion,” the cardinal said, citing the second Mass reading, in which St. Paul addresses the faithful of Philippi, the first evangelized European community.

He continued, saying that St. Paul recalled “the liturgical hymn in which it is said that Jesus emptied himself of all his divine glory to become one of us, even to death on the cross.”

“It’s beautiful to recall this here in this Shrine of the Spogliazione, which evokes not only St. Francis’ gesture of stripping himself of everything to make Christ his only treasure, but even more so the self-emptying of Christ, which St. Francis wished to imitate,” he explained, noting that the shrine bears the name of “Spogliazione” (“renunciation”) because it recalls the moment when St. Francis of Assisi renounced material goods to follow Christ.

His mother ‘misses most his jokes’

Parolin emphasized in this first liturgical memorial of St. Carlo Acutis that the Gospel contains a clear “call to joy.”

“The entire Gospel proclamation is oriented toward joy: The Son of God came down from heaven to make us happy. And who better than Carlo can explain this? His mother, Antonia, has often said that what she misses most about him are his jokes and his good humor, with which he knew how to make us laugh and smile,” the cardinal noted.

“Christianity is a message of salvation and Jesus our savior: How can we not rejoice?” he added, noting that “sad and complaining Christians are not good witnesses of the Gospel.”

“And although life knows suffering — just think of the many horrendous wars that are fought today with so much bloodshed — this invites us to also live out Paul’s other command: ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.’ But this weeping must be one of compassion and love, which doesn’t take away joy, peace, or hope,” he noted.

Carlo, ‘teacher of beauty and goodness’

The Vatican secretary of state also referred to St. Francis of Assisi, recalling a verse from the “Canticle of the Creatures: “Blessed are those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, shall they be crowned.”

In light of the first reading, he explained, “we see how the Christian way of life described by Paul fits perfectly with Carlo’s life: His existence, marked by normality, makes him a young man of our time. He loved all the beautiful things in life, and Paul’s words resonate in him: ‘Whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.’”

‘Jesus takes nothing away from the beautiful things in life’

Parolin also noted that St. Carlo Acutis was “a teacher of beauty and goodness, because he used the things of the world with a pure heart, making Jesus the center of his life.”

“Today more than ever, young people must be reminded that Jesus takes nothing away from the beautiful things in life; everything comes from God and is good in itself. What makes things bad is sin,” he pointed out.

“This was his program,” the cardinal noted, “‘always be united to Jesus,’ and that was also the secret of his originality. When he said that we are all born as originals and die as photocopies, he was also speaking of himself: He did not want to be a copy or follow fashions, but to be fully himself, filled with the Lord Jesus.”

‘The Eucharist, his highway to heaven’

“To be filled with Jesus,” the Vatican secretary of state continued, “Carlo understood that we have it within our reach. Thanks to the Eucharistic presence, we don’t need to look for him elsewhere in the world. He said there is a way, or better yet, a special highway, free of tolls, traffic jams, and accidents: That highway is the Eucharist.”

Parolin noted that many people come to the shrine that holds Acutis’ remains, and others receive his relics because the first millennial saint “attracts many to the path of goodness.” 

“From this shrine, together with St. Francis, he speaks to the world and reminds us that we are all called to holiness. With the simplicity of his life, he teaches us that holiness is possible at any age and in any state of life,” Parolin said.

“Carlo,” he concluded, “is a new pearl of this city of saints and a great gift for the Church: May his witness bear abundant fruits of holiness among young people.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Bishop Sosthène Ayikuli Udjuwa is the apostolic administrator of the Congolese Wamba Diocese. / Credit: Radio Moto

ACI Africa, Oct 13, 2025 / 15:12 pm (CNA).

The Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization has suspended the formation of seminarians in the Diocese of Wamba in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), citing a “difficult ecclesial environment,” which it says undermines priestly training.

In a letter issued Oct. 7, the apostolic administrator of the Congolese episcopal see, Bishop Sosthène Ayikuli Udjuwa, informed the seminarians of the dicastery’s decision, alluding to the challenge of transition.

The Wamba Diocese has been experiencing a leadership crisis since the January 2024 appointment of Bishop Emmanuel Ngona Ngotsi as its local ordinary. Although he was ordained a bishop in the Congolese capital city, Kinshasa, Ngotsi has yet to take canonical possession of his episcopal see amid opposition from some members of the clergy and laity who insist that the diocese should be led by a native of the region.

In the Oct. 7 letter, Ayikuli, who also leads the Mahagi-Nioka Diocese, said the Dicastery for Evangelization has noted that the “formation of future priests in such a difficult ecclesial environment would be entirely inappropriate and has therefore ordered its suspension until further notice.”

“Therefore, the dicastery has decided that seminarians who wish to continue their priestly formation may contact other bishops who are willing to receive them after proper discernment,” Ayikuli said. 

He continued: “This means that the seminarians of the Diocese of Wamba will only be able to continue their priestly formation after fulfilling the above condition. Implicitly, this also means that if a seminarian wishes instead to pursue a vocation to religious life, he may request admission as a candidate in an institute of consecrated life or a society of apostolic life, continuing his formation according to the norms of that institute or society.”

The Vatican decision affects St. Leo Minor Seminary in Lingondo, one of the key formation centers in the diocese. Its operation has been deemed noncompliant with current ecclesial standards.

In his letter, the apostolic administrator reassured the seminarians of his support and said he is ready to facilitate their transitions.

“I am prepared to accompany the seminarians in their choices and in carrying them out, particularly concerning the written application to the local ordinary of the chosen diocese,” the bishop said.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

St. Carlo Acutis. / Credit: carloacutis.com

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 13, 2025 / 14:42 pm (CNA).

A fire this weekend severely damaged the 17th-century Bernaga Monastery outside of Milan in northern Italy, forcing 21 cloistered nuns to flee the blaze.

The fire broke out around 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 11 as the nuns — part of the Ambrosian hermitages of the Order of St. Ambrose ad Nemus — were watching a live television stream of Pope Leo XIV’s prayer vigil for peace in St. Peter’s Square. The women all escaped without harm, but the monastery, which was built in 1628, was nearly destroyed. Nine firefighting teams intervened to put out the blaze.

The Archdiocese of Milan reported that the fire destroyed documents, religious artifacts, and the nuns’ personal belongings, though the religious sisters managed to save some paintings and a relic of St. Carlo Acutis, who received his first holy Communion at the monastery on June 16, 1998.

Archbishop Mario Delpini of Milan expressed his closeness and prayers following the disaster: “I know that the nuns will continue to pray and that trust in God will be the most necessary encouragement.”

“We still don’t know what really caused the fire, and we will probably never know, since almost everything has been destroyed. Thank God the nuns were quick to call for help and get to safety in a matter of minutes... Unfortunately, when the fire department arrived, the monastery was already completely engulfed in flames,” Father Emanuele Colombo told the Archdiocese of Milan.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality on Oct. 12, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 13, 2025 / 14:12 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV called on Catholics to support missionaries on World Mission Day, which will be celebrated on Oct. 19.

In a video message released Oct. 13, the Holy Father — who served as a missionary bishop in the Peruvian Diocese of Chiclayo — stated that this day is an opportunity for the entire Catholic Church to unite in prayer for missionaries “and for the fruitfulness of their apostolic labors.”

He shared his experience as a missionary in Peru, where he saw firsthand “how the faith, the prayer, and the generosity shown on World Mission Sunday can transform entire communities.”

The pope invited every Catholic parish in the world to participate in World Mission Sunday, emphasizing that their prayers and support help proclaim the Gospel, “provide for pastoral and catechetical programs, help to build new churches, and care for the health and educational needs of our brothers and sisters in mission territories.”

The pontiff also urged the faithful to reflect on their baptismal call “to be missionaries of hope among the peoples” and to renew their commitment “to the sweet and joyful task of bringing Christ Jesus our hope to the ends of the earth.”

Pope Leo concluded his message by thanking the faithful for their support for Catholic missionaries around the world.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Father Marko Rupnik, SJ, in an interview with EWTN in 2020. / Credit: EWTN

Vatican City, Oct 13, 2025 / 12:23 pm (CNA).

The Vatican’s doctrine office announced Monday that a panel of five judges has been nominated to decide the disciplinary case against Father Marko Rupnik, accused of the sexual and psychological abuse of consecrated women under his spiritual care.

The judges, appointed Oct. 9, do not hold any position in the Roman Curia — the Vatican’s governing body — to ensure their autonomy and independence in the penal judicial procedure, according to an Oct. 13 press release from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF).

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, the head of the DDF, told journalists in July that the judges for the Rupnik case had been selected. The panel of judges includes both women and clerics.

Fernández had said in an interview at the end of January that the dicastery had finished gathering information in the disciplinary case, had conducted a first review, and was working to put together an independent tribunal for the penal judicial procedure.

Rupnik — a well-known artist with mosaics and paintings in hundreds of Catholic shrines and churches around the world — is accused of having committed sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse against dozens of women religious in the 1980s and early 1990s.

In May 2019, the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith launched a criminal administrative process against Rupnik after the Society of Jesus reported credible complaints of abuse by the priest to the Vatican.

One year later, the Vatican declared Rupnik to be in a state of “latae sententiae” excommunication for absolving an accomplice in a sin against the Sixth Commandment. His excommunication was lifted by Pope Francis after two weeks.

The Society of Jesus subsequently expelled Rupnik from the religious congregation in June 2023 for his “stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience.”

The DDF began to investigate the abuse accusations against Rupnik in October 2023, after Pope Francis lifted the statute of limitations.

A view of the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility, also known as the ADX or “Supermax” prison in Florence, Colorado. The facility has been dubbed the “Alcatraz of the Rockies” because of its remote location and harsh security measures. / Credit: JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Oct 13, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A foreign-born Muslim inmate currently incarcerated in the U.S.’s most severely restrictive prison complex is asking the government to require the prison to accommodate his religious practices under a key federal statute, highlighting the far-reaching and comprehensive nature of religious freedom rules in the United States. 

U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer in a Sept. 25 ruling agreed that Mostafa Kamel Mostafa had demonstrated that prison officials at the maximum facility had “substantially burdened the exercise of his religion” by failing to install a special cleaner in one of his cells.

The prison, a “supermax” facility in Colorado commonly known as ADX Florence and colloquially as the “Alcatraz of the Rockies,” is famous for its near-total state of lockdown. 

Housing some of the most dangerous inmates in the U.S. penitentiary system, it features poured concrete cells in which prisoners are confined for most of the day as well as high-level security protocols that include motion detectors, pressure pads, and pits used for exercise. 

Mostafa was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 for his role in a deadly hostage-taking scheme in 1998 and other terrorist activities. He is incarcerated in the “H-unit” of ADX Florence, its most secure wing. 

Formerly an imam at a U.K. mosque, Mostafa follows Islamic rules regarding prayer, including a mandate to “make himself clean and presentable before praying.” With both his arms amputated above the elbow, he requires some accommodations to that end, including a bidet in his cell toilet. 

Mostafa has had two cells adapted for his disabilities; the prison has installed a bidet in one but not the other. Brimmer in his ruling found that “until [the prison] install[s] a bidet in both of Mr. Mostafa’s cells,” the prisoner has a claim to a burden on his religious exercise. 

‘Everybody has access to the fundamentals’

Though the dispute has made its way to U.S. district court, it may be moot before it goes any further, as prison officials have explicitly stated that they are “in the process” of installing a bidet in Mostafa’s second cell. 

Yet the case underscores just how extensively the principles of religious liberty have been applied in the United States, up to and including accommodating modifications to the prison cell toilet of a foreign-born terrorist.

Robert Destro, a professor of law at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law and the former federal assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor, said in an interview that religious liberty cases arise regularly within prison populations. 

Mostafa brought the case in part under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a Clinton-era law that restricts how and under what conditions the U.S. government can impose burdens upon U.S. religious liberty.

Destro said RFRA is similar in some ways to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a 1990 federal law that requires “reasonable accommodations” in hiring and business practices for disabled people. 

“In a way, RFRA is a little like the ADA,” he said. “It wants to make sure that everybody has access to the fundamentals. Just because you’ve been sentenced to prison because you did something bad, or stupid, or both, doesn’t mean that you lose your First Amendment rights.”

The dispute in prison cases, Destro said, is usually “how much the prison should defer to the warden and to prison policies” and to what extent it’s obligated to accommodate a religious belief. 

In Mostafa’s case, “it seems like a fairly simple answer,” he said.

“The guy has a disability,” he pointed out. “There’s no question about his faith. [And] there’s no way that somebody with no arms and access to a stream of water is going to, you know, burn down the prison. There’s no tangible security threat.”

The federal government explicitly states that neither the national nor state governments may “impose a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person residing in or confined to an institution,” barring concerns of a “compelling governmental interest” carried out in the “least restrictive means” possible. 

That language is virtually identical to the text of RFRA. Destro said the principle is “a lot less cosmic than it looks.” 

“The design of RFRA … was to shift the burden over to the government to say, why is this a big burden for you?” he said. The government only gets a “free pass,” he said, if it can show that an abrogation of religious liberty “has to do with health, safety, or some other very limited security issues.”

Further religious liberty expansions for prisoners could be on the horizon. The Supreme Court earlier this year said it would decide whether prisoners can sue individual prison workers — rather than merely the government itself — over violations of federal religious freedom law. 

Destro acknowledged that Mostafa’s fight at ADX Florence would likely be rendered moot by the government’s simply modifying his prison cell as requested. Still, he said, it often makes more sense for a government to quickly acquiesce to a prisoner’s reasonable request rather than fight it. 

“If you know you’re going to get sued on RFRA — just like getting sued under the ADA — why don’t you just make the accommodations and save the money on the lawsuit?” he said. “For the amount of money it’s going to cost you to put in a bidet, it’s cheaper than having a lawyer go to court.”

“For the money you’ve spent defending the suit, you could’ve put the thing in and been done with it!” he said with a laugh. “That’s not always the right answer. Sometimes there is a question of principle involved. But I don’t see one here.”

Christopher Columbus, by Sebastiano del Piombo, 1519. / Credit: Public domain

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 13, 2025 / 05:00 am (CNA).

President Donald Trump renewed the focus of Columbus Day to be celebrated on the second Monday of October, reclaiming the explorer’s “extraordinary legacy of faith, courage, perseverance, and virtue,” according to the president’s proclamation.

Since 1971, the second Monday in October has been federally recognized as Columbus Day to commemorate Columbus’ discovery of the Americas in 1492, celebrate Italian-American heritage, and acknowledge the 1891 lynchings of 11 Italian Americans. In 2021, former President Joe Biden issued the first presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples’ Day to be observed on the same day, following backlash toward Columbus.

The “current hostility to him is ill informed,” Felipe Fernández-Armesto, professor of history at the University of Notre Dame and author of “Columbus on Himself,” told CNA. “He was understandably conflicted about the people he encountered on this side of the ocean, but, by the standards of his contemporaries, his most characteristic judgments about them were highly positive.”

“Columbus Day is commendable — instituted in expiation of the worst lynching in U.S. history ... Columbus suited a project of national reconciliation because he was, for most of the history of the U.S., a unifying figure.” Fernández-Armesto added: “He should remain so today.” 

“He was not guilty of most of the excesses of cruelty that interested enemies at the time and ignorant critics today ascribe to him. His history was uniquely significant: He was genuinely the discoverer of viable routes to and fro across the Atlantic — reconnecting, for good and ill, formerly sundered cultures and enabling the world-transforming exchange of ideas and people, commerce and life-forms,” he said.

“It’s hard to think of anyone whose impact on the hemisphere has been greater,” Fernández-Armesto said. 

Presidential proclamation

In an Oct. 9 proclamation, Trump wrote the previous years have been a “campaign to erase our history … and attack our heritage.” To combat this, Trump formally declared the day will be recognized as Columbus Day in honor of “the great Christopher Columbus and all who have contributed to building our nation.”

As a “titan of the Age of Exploration,” Columbus was “guided by a noble mission: to discover a new trade route to Asia, bring glory to Spain, and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to distant lands,” the proclamation said. 

Upon Columbus’ arrival in the Americas, “he planted a majestic cross in a mighty act of devotion, dedicating the land to God and setting in motion America’s proud birthright of faith.”

The president noted that Columbus was guided by “steadfast prayer and unwavering fortitude and resolve” and his journey “carried thousands of years of wisdom, philosophy, reason, and culture across the Atlantic into the Americas.” 

“As we celebrate his legacy, we also acknowledge the contributions of the countless Italian-Americans who, like him, have endlessly contributed to our culture and our way of life,” the presidential proclamation said. “To this day, the United States and Italy share a special bond rooted in the timeless values of faith, family, and freedom. My administration looks forward to strengthening our long and storied friendship in the years to come.”

Under the administration, “our nation will now abide by a simple truth: Christopher Columbus was a true American hero, and every citizen is eternally indebted to his relentless determination.”

The president called on the American people to observe the day “with appropriate ceremonies and activities” and directed that U.S. flags be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day.

Crowds look at the Miracle of the Sun that occurred during the Our Lady of Fátima apparitions in 1917. / Credit: Public domain

CNA Staff, Oct 13, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Oct. 13, 1917, marked the last Marian apparition in Fátima and the day on which thousands of people bore witness to the miracle of the dancing sun — a miracle that shattered the prevalent belief at the time that God was no longer relevant.

Marco Daniel Duarte, a theologian and director of the Fátima Shrine museums, shared with CNA the impact that the miracle of the sun made during those days in Portugal.

If one were to open philosophy books during that period, he or she would likely read something akin to the concept conceived by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who boldly asserted in the late 1800s that “God is dead.”

Also, in 1917 Portugal, the majority of the world was embroiled in war. As World War I raged throughout Europe, Portugal found itself unable to maintain its initial neutrality and joined forces with the Allies. More than 220,000 Portuguese civilians died during the war, thousands due to food shortages and thousands more from the Spanish flu.

A few years before, a revolution had led to the establishment of the First Portuguese Republic in 1910 and a new liberal constitution was drafted under the influence of Freemasonry, which sought to suppress the faith from public life. Catholic churches and schools were seized by the government, and the wearing of clerics in public, the ringing of church bells, and the celebration of public religious festivals were banned. Between 1911 and 1916, nearly 2,000 priests, monks, and nuns were killed by anti-Christian groups.

This was the backdrop against which, in 1917, a lady believed to be the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children — Lucia dos Santos, 10, and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, 9 and 7 — in a field in Fátima, Portugal, bringing with her requests for the recitation of the rosary, for sacrifices on behalf of sinners, and a secret regarding the fate of the world.

To prove that the apparitions were true, the lady promised the children that during the last of her six appearances, she would provide a sign so people would believe in the apparitions and in her message. What happened on that day — Oct. 13, 1917 — has come to be known as the “Miracle of the Sun,” or “the day the sun danced.”

According to various accounts, a crowd of some 70,000 people — believers and skeptics alike —gathered to see the miracle that was promised: The rainy sky cleared up, the clouds dispersed, and the ground, which had been wet and muddy from the rain, dried up. A transparent veil came over the sun, making it easy to look at, and multicolored lights were strewn across the landscape. The sun then began to spin, twirling in the sky, and at one point appeared to veer toward the earth before jumping back to its place in the sky.

The stunning event was a direct and very convincing contradiction to the atheistic regimes at the time, which is evidenced by the fact that the first newspaper to report on the miracle on a full front page was an anti-Catholic, Masonic newspaper in Lisbon called O Seculo.

The miracle of the sun was understood by the people to be “the seal, the guarantee, that in fact those three children were telling the truth,” Duarte said.

Even today, “Fátima makes people change their perception of God,” since “one of the most important messages of the apparitions is that even if someone has separated from God, God is present in human history and doesn’t abandon humanity.”

This story was first published on CNA on Oct. 12, 2017, and has been updated.

Through the example of Mary, Pope Leo on Oct. 12, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square said the Church can see the “revolutionary nature of love and tenderness” and its impact on the events of history as well as the everyday lives of each individual. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 12, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV’s Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square was attended by 30,000 pilgrims in Rome for the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality and thousands more people who gathered in neighboring streets outside the Vatican for the liturgical celebration.

During the Mass, the Holy Father expressed his great appreciation and gratitude to the members of movements, confraternities, prayer groups, and shrines — dedicated to the Blessed Virgin — for coming to Rome to participate in the Church’s holy year dedicated to hope.  

Leo said their spirituality, anchored in sacred Scripture and Church tradition, reveals the profound beauty of God’s personal love for each person.

“Mary’s path follows that of Jesus, which leads us to encounter every human being, especially the poor, the wounded, and sinners,” he said in his Oct. 12 homily. “Because of this, authentic Marian spirituality brings God’s tenderness, his way of ‘being a mother,’ to light in the Church.”

According to the pontiff, devotion to the Mother of God has “changed the face of the earth forever” and should be revived through “popular devotion,” particularly in a world seeking peace and justice. 

“Let us use [Marian devotions] as a driving force for renewal and transformation,” he said on Sunday. “Indeed, the jubilee we are celebrating calls for a time of conversion and restitution, of reflection and liberation.”

Since becoming pope in May, Leo XIV has frequently spoken about the significance of the Canticle of Mary in the life of the Church throughout its 2,000-year history.  

“Some forms of worship do not foster communion with others and can numb our hearts … We fail to contribute, as Mary did, to changing the world, and to share in the joy of the Magnificat,” he said. 

“Let us take care to avoid any exploitation of the faith that could lead to labeling those who are different — often the poor — as enemies, ‘lepers’ to be avoided and rejected,” he added.

Through the example of Mary, the Holy Father said the Church can see the “revolutionary nature of love and tenderness” and its impact on the events of history as well as the everyday lives of each individual.

“In her, we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong who need not treat others poorly in order to feel important themselves,” the pope said. 

“Contemplating Mary, we realize that she who praised God for ‘bringing down the mighty from their thrones’ and ‘sending the rich away empty’ is also the one who brings a homely warmth to our pursuit of justice,” he continued.

After delivering his homily, Leo XIV stood before the original statue of Our Lady of Fátima brought to St. Peter’s Square from Portugal and dedicated the Church and the world to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He prayed particularly for those “tormented by the scourges of war.”

“Obtain for us the gift of peace that we earnestly implore,” he prayed. “Mother of the Church, welcome us kindly so that under your mantle we may find refuge and be helped by your maternal aid in the trials of life.”

‘With the entire Church, I am close to your immense pain’    

Before leading the congregation in the Angelus prayer before the conclusion of Mass, the Holy Father delivered a brief Sunday address and asked the Church to especially pray for people in Israel and Palestine.

“In recent days, the agreement to begin the peace process has given a spark of hope in the Holy Land,” he said, referring to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal brokered Friday. 

“I encourage the parties involved to continue courageously on the path they have chosen, towards a just and lasting peace that respects the legitimate aspirations of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples,” he said.

The Holy Father concluded his short address with petitions for prayer for the people of Ukraine, following recent fatal attacks in Kyiv; the people of Peru, who are undergoing a time of  “political transition”; and for victims of workplace accidents in Italy.