Bulletins, Newsletters, and Flocknotes

The following is the Letter sent by the Holy Father Leo XIV to the Very Reverend Father Frank Donio, S.A.C., executive director of the “Conference of Major Superiors of Men” in the United States of America, on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of its founding:

 

Letter of the Holy Father

 

 

To the Very Reverend Frank Donio, S.A.C. Executive Director Conference of Major Superiors of Men in The United States Of America

I was pleased to be informed that the Conference of Major Superiors of Men is celebrating its seventieth anniversary during the 2026 National Assembly, taking place in Phoenix, Arizona, and I send cordial good wishes to all taking part. 

As you mark seven decades of fostering collaboration among male religious in the United States of America, it is an appropriate time to give thanks to God for the graces received during these years.  In your efforts to provide a space for dialogue and to support the leadership of your member communities, you have helped to reinforce the public witness of consecrated men who devote their lives to the service of the Gospel.

In reflecting on the theme for this year’s gathering, “One in Christ: Communal Life Today,” I would encourage you to consider community life “as a place of sanctification and a source of inspiration, witness and strength in your apostolate” ( Address to Four Religious Institutes , 18 September 2025).  Indeed, it is precisely through sharing everything in common, including material goods, spiritual experiences, apostolic ideals and charitable service that the hidden presence of the risen Lord is made manifest among you (cf. Saint John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata , 42).  I trust that these days of reflection, dialogue and prayer will allow you to discern ways to deepen the fraternal communion both within and among your Institutes, and in this way enable you to continue offering a united, joyful and authentic witness to Christ in the various communities and apostolates where you serve. 

With these sentiments, I assure you of my spiritual closeness and entrust the National Assembly to the loving intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.  To all present I impart my Apostolic Blessing, which I willingly extend to all in the Congregations which you represent.

From the Vatican, 16 July 2026

LEO PP. XIV

Consecration of bishop of Chifeng, China

Today, Wednesday 22 July 2026, the Reverend Joseph Chang Yanfeng received episcopal ordination. The Holy Father appointed him bishop of Chifeng (Province of Inner Mongolia, China) on 15 June 2026, having approved his candidature within the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.

Curriculum vitae

The Reverend Joseph Chang Yanfeng was born on 4 April 1984 in Beizhen (Province of Laioning). From 2000 to 2006 he attended the Theological Seminary of Shenyang, after which he carried out a period of pastoral training at the parish of Lindong from July 2006 to February 2007. From 2007 to 2010, he studied at the Catholic University of Daejeon in South Korea, where he was awarded a degree in biblical theology. He was ordained a priest on 18 November 2010 for the diocese of Chifeng. From 2010 to 2013, he worked in the diocesan curia and, at the same time, in various parishes within the same circumscription. From October 2013 to September 2019, he served as parish priest of Chifeng Cathedral and subsequently, from 2019 to 2021, as parish priest of Lindong. Since 15 October 2021, he has held the post of diocesan administrator of Chifeng.

At midday today, 16 th Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Holy Father Leo XIV appeared in Piazza della Libertà in Castel Gandolfo, to pray the Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in front of the Apostolic Palace of the Pontifical Villas.

The following are the Pope’s words of introduction to the Marian prayer:

 

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Following the parable of the sower, Jesus continues to address the crowds using a series of images: the good wheat and the weeds, the mustard seed and the yeast in the dough (cf. Mt 13:24–43).

These three short parables recall the coming of the Kingdom of God in history, its action in human lives, and the way it grows, expands and transforms the world from within.Through these images, Jesus warns us against the temptation of thinking that God is a powerful figure who imposes himself by force, who takes over and dominates, or who arrives triumphantly. Instead, God favors smallness, a sign of his discreet love, by which he leaves us free to accept or reject him. His love makes its presence felt even among the weeds, acts in a hidden and invisible way like the smallest of all seeds, and leavens the dough without making a sound.

Brothers and sisters, through these parables, Jesus reveals something important about the manner in which God works in our lives and in history. We sometimes expect God to do something spectacular; we want him to intervene from on high, immediately uprooting the weeds of evil. We imagine a strong and powerful God, and, unfortunately, we also model our way of being Christians and way of being the Church on this image. However, the Kingdom of God spreads even amidst the weeds, requiring us to train our vision so we can discern the good that sprouts despite the darkness of evil, and avoiding rash judgments. It comes like the smallest of seeds and thus calls for patience in accompanying these processes, so that we can recognize it in the little things of daily life and in the simplicity of ordinary existence. It grows invisibly like yeast in flour, and so we are freed from discouragement and invited to have faith even when it seems that God is absent. In fact, he is always with us, and his love is always ready to help us.

God’s way of acting must also become the way in which we live, both as individuals and as the Church, amidst the reality that surrounds us. We are called to adopt a Gospel-centered approach, without hastily opposing others through arrogant judgments, without imposing ourselves through power and force, and without losing trust in God’s work. As the then-Cardinal Ratzinger said, it is a matter of submitting ourselves to the logic of the seed — which is not that of success and greatness, but that of making ourselves small and serving others (cf. Address to Catechists and Religion Teachers , 10 December 2000). In this way, we will become like small seeds of the Gospel that sprout, and leavens of love that transform the dough of the world.

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, who knew how to welcome the seed of the Word in her smallness, to sustain us on our journey and intercede for us.

________________________

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters,

While I am taking a few days for rest, I once again extend my greetings and gratitude to all of you, residents of Castel Gandolfo, and I joyfully welcome the pilgrims arriving from every part of the world!

We continue to follow with concern the events unfolding in various countries torn apart by war and violence.  Let us not forget those who are suffering and dying because of these conflicts, and let us add our constant prayers to the generous efforts for peace.

I greet Mother Elvira’s Cenacolo Community, gathered in Saluzzo for the Festival of Life; the New Families Movement of the Focolari gathered for the International School; the Mexican students participating in the APRA Summer School; and the group from the Catholic Worldview Fellowship.

I extend my greetings to the young adult Regnum Christi members who are participating in the International Formators Course, and I also greet those taking part in “The Lion Pilgrimage,” accompanied by Bishop Anthony Percy, the Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Australia.

I also greet the families and the children assisted by Sisters of Charity of the Assumption of Rome, the young people from the parish of Holy Savior in Jerusalem, the children’s group from the parish of Saint Augustine of Bovolenta and the pilgrims from the Liturgical Academy of Rzeszów.

I wish all of you a peaceful Sunday!

The following are the Holy Father Leo XIV’s words of greeting yesterday evening at the end of the concert organized in his honour by the suburbicarian diocese of Albano, in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo:

 

Greeting of the Holy Father

Good evening, everyone: welcome!

Too many words at this moment would really be something of an “anti-climax”; it is better to say two or three short but heartfelt words.

First of all, a big thank you to the performers, who deserve yet another round of applause – they were truly brilliant. Thank you, thank you! To the diocese of Albano, which organized this concert – what a wonderful gift! Thank you to the benefactors, and to all of you here today, because in these few minutes of beauty we have truly been able to experience something great: namely, to enter in so many ways into what God intended in Creation, which is, quite simply, beauty. We live in a world, today, where beauty is very often missing: so many problems, wars, conflicts, hatred, violence, unemployment and many other things. To have the opportunity to gather together for an occasion such as this is truly a great gift, because it reminds us that there is something better, and that men and women, when they want, all together, can offer beauty, which, springing from the heart, helps us to rise up towards God.

You know that just over a month ago I made an Apostolic Journey to Spain: the motto of the journey was “ Alzad la mirada ”. Let us raise our eyes, our gaze, towards Heaven. Music, art, and beauty are indeed tools that help us to look towards God, through a movement that is truly one of the finest aspects of being human. So, once again, I sincerely thank you for giving us this opportunity, this evening, to experience beauty and truly to find ourselves in what God has chosen to bestow upon us all.

Thank you all, have a good evening!

Well then, let us bring the evening to a close by asking God to bless each and every one of you and all your loved ones, knowing in our hearts and in the Spirit that the Lord is truly always with us.

[Blessing]

Appointment of Special Envoy to the celebrations for the 7th centenary of the arrival in Praia a Mare (diocese of San Marco Argentano – Scalea, Cosenza in Calabria) of the primitive effigy of the “All Holy Mother of God”

The Holy Father has appointed His Eminence Cardinal Francesco Montenegro, archbishop emeritus of Agrigento, as his Special Envoy to the celebrations for the seventh centenary of the arrival in Praia a Mare (diocese of San Marco Argentano – Scalea, Cosenza in Calabria) of the primitive effigy of the Tutta Santa Madre di Dio (“All Holy Mother of God”), to take place at the “Santa Maria della Grotta” diocesan shrine on 14 and 15 August 2026.