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At 13.00 today, at the Holy See Press Office, Via della Conciliazione 54, a press conference was held to present the “ Pray with the Pope ” campaign, an initiative of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network .

The speakers were: Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, and Father Cristóbal Fones, S.J., international director fo the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.

The following are their interventions.

 

Intervention of Paolo Ruffini

Good morning.

I will not take up much of your time.

However, I would like to emphasize the importance of this project for the Dicastery for Communication, which involves our technology department, Vatican Media, the editorial department, the theological-pastoral department and, of course, the Press Office, which has brought us together here today.

Praying with the Pope represents a different way of understanding the network, of weaving the network, of rooting it in the territory, of making connection a tool of communion, and communion a tool of communication.

It also means escaping the frenzy of speed that forces us to limit our attention to just a few seconds; to find ourselves with the Successor of Peter online and with our own community offline in a protected space, in a slow time of prayer.

Thinking about what I could say today, I was reminded – with regard to the different types of networks – of the dialogue between the spider and the bee in a famous fable by Jonathan Swift.

The former remains still. Its network is a spider's web. It produces a poison for flies. The bee, on the other hand, builds a network of meaning and, through universal exploration, long research, true judgement and distinction of things, brings home honey and wax. Thus providing humanity with two of the most noble things, which are sweetness and light.

“Around us”, Pope Leo said yesterday, “a distorted economy tries to profit from everything. We see how the marketplace can turn human yearnings of seeking, travelling and beginning again into a mere business”.

And we are so used to other networks, constructed according to this paradigm, where everything is monetized, that the idea of working on a prayer network without any other purpose may seem strange to us. Yet praying together is building a network.

And even in our secularized age, as Pope Leo said yesterday in his homily, we are challenged by the spiritual quest of our contemporaries, which is much richer than we can perhaps understand.

The Church was a network before the World Wide Web. But what united it and unites it deeply does not come from us but from God. Connection alone is not enough.

Pope Francis wrote, in Evangelii gaudium :

“Today, when the networks and means of human communication have made unprecedented advances, we sense the challenge of finding and sharing a ‘mystique’ of living together… To go out of ourselves and to join others is healthy for us” ( EG 87).

And Pope Leo XIV has invited us all, missionary disciples in our digital time, to go and repair the networks, which also means rediscovering the beauty of praying together for the common good, of not cultivating delusions of grandeur or conquest, but of relearning to turn to God together, calling him “Abba”, “Father”, like children; thus revealing the mystery of the communion that unites us among ourselves and with Him.

“Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them ( Mt 18:20)”.

The Pope’s worldwide prayer network responds to a widespread desire, much more widespread than we think: to rediscover this different beauty in the network; finding in prayer the strength to nurture a different way of acting in the world. A different path, as the Pope told us again yesterday when he recalled the Magi.

Repairing the nets, building a different network, is missionary work.

And the close collaboration of the Dicastery with the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network is a concrete way for us to combine the communication of the Holy See with the communion of the whole Church around the successor of Peter, which is precisely the mission entrusted to the Dicastery: the construction, through communication, of that network of communion that makes us truly members of each other.

This network, which is not virtual but real, shows that it is still possible – it is always possible – to encounter each other, even in a time of divisions, bombs and wars. We just need to create opportunities to do so. And meeting to pray helps us to bring back unity to what is divided.

The Pope's personal and universal prayer is thus offered in a new, sober and powerful way, as a visible instrument of union and sharing in the Lord, a meeting point for millions of people, members of one another, fully present in the digital and physical spaces of their lives, starting from the inner spaces of each person's heart.

It is a simple and powerful way to reconnect with the right words, true words, words that heal amid the din of too many misguided words. I believe we can all be grateful to the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, to Father Cristóbal Fones and to all those who, through their service, bring these words to life in the world by weaving them into a network.

 

Intervention of Father Cristóbal Fones, S.J.

Good afternoon, everyone, and a very happy 2026.

We are delighted to gather here today to share with you the “Pray with the Pope” campaign, a global initiative that the Holy Father Leo XIV has entrusted to his Worldwide Prayer Network, in collaboration with the Dicastery for Communication, to build even deeper authentic networks of solidarity and apostolic availability. Through this campaign, the Pope wishes to share his monthly prayer intention as a genuine invitation to “pray with him” for the great challenges we face in the world.

This campaign builds on a fruitful initiative launched by Pope Francis ten years ago, known as “The Pope Video”. In it, the Pontiff has invited us each month to open our hearts to the difficult realities of humanity, in the manner of Jesus. Under the direction of my predecessor, Fr. Frederic Fornos, and in close collaboration with the production company La Machi , professionally guided by journalist Andrea Sarubbi, “The Pope Video” has reached millions of people around the world, conveying a clear and challenging message that has left no one indifferent.

In keeping with this mission of compassion for the world, and adding a new perspective, the campaign we are presenting today moves us more decisively towards silence, towards an intimate, serene experience; a shared inner experience that truly transforms life from within.

The focus of this new stage will be more centred on supporting a spiritual experience, which often becomes difficult in the midst of our daily lives, so hectic and full of noise. The Pope is very aware of this and wants to help us, inviting us to pray together for others. He knows how deeply we need to slow down in order to achieve greater depth in our decisions and relationships.

With a simple and accessible format, “Pray with the Pope” aims to be an open door so that anyone, wherever they are, can join in the prayer intention proposed by the Holy Father each month, praying with him in a synodal way, sustained by the same mission. It is a simple and universal invitation to which each of us can respond.

Pope Leo XIV, as we know, has invited us numerous times this year to pray for an “unarmed and disarming peace”. And that peace is a grace to be received, as well as a task to be built; it comes from a true disposition of the heart that we must learn to ask for in a deeper way. Is there a place where we can become more vulnerable, exposed, without masks, than in the presence of the One who loves us? Prayer is that space where what is authentic, simple, fundamental, what makes us who we are, can emerge. And we want to live it together in service to the needs of the world.

The Pope's prayer intentions for the year 2026 address some of the challenges of our time, the wounds of the world, the search for the human being, and the hope that the Church is called to safeguard. We want each video and each audio to help us unite in the same prayer, addressing issues that affect each of us directly or indirectly.

We will begin this year by asking to learn to pray with the most definitive Word, which is not our own, so full of empty promises, but Jesus Christ. This is the basis for a year in which we will also be invited to pray for children with incurable diseases, for effective disarmament—particularly nuclear disarmament— for priests in crisis, for universal access to quality food, the promotion of the values of sport, respect for human life, accompaniment for those who feel alone in big cities, care for water, the good use of wealth, and families experiencing the absence of a mother or father.

This campaign can be followed on our landing page popesprayer.va in several languages, and can also be heard in audio format on Vatican Radio and on platforms associated with Pray with the Pope : Pray as You Go , RezandoVoy and Hallow .

We invite you to share this good news and to participate in this prayer network, which supports Pope Leo's ministry from a perspective that is often silenced by a mercantile and noisy society, governed by algorithms and stimuli that distance us from what is most true in our hearts. Praying—and doing so together—awakens our capacity to be brothers and sisters, to care for the lives of others, to build solidarity and concrete love.

The Worldwide Prayer Network seeks precisely to help in this direction. It is present in more than 90 countries and some 22 million people actively participate in it. You can imagine the variety of stories, faces, cultures, languages and perspectives on life. By uniting in this common mission, we truly seek to highlight issues that are important and decisive for everyone, opening our hearts to urgent realities and transforming our environment to counteract the “globalization of indifference”.

We would now like to present two video messages from people who are part of communities of the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network in different parts of the world and who pray together for the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church. On the one hand, the testimony of Kédi Ogou Marianne Inès from Cote d’Ivoire reflects how intercessory prayer connects her deeply with the Lord and with others. On the other hand, Stella Vania from Indonesia tells us how prayer and attitudes for daily life help her to transform herself and have a more open view of others.

The following is the text of the video with the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of January, disseminated via the “Pray with the Pope” campaign, an initiative of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network , on the theme For prayer with the Word of God :

 

Video Message of the Holy Father

JANUARY: For the prayer with the Word of God

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amén.

Lord Jesus, living Word of the Father,

in You we find the light that guides our steps.

We know that the human heart lives restless, hungry for meaning,

and only your Gospel can give it peace and fullness.

Teach us to listen to you each day in the Scriptures,

to let ourselves be challenged by your voice,

and to discern our decisions

from the closeness to your Heart.

May your Word be nourishment in weariness,

hope in darkness,

and strength in our communities.

Lord, may your Word never be absent from our lips or from our hearts—

the Word that makes us sons and daughters, brothers and sisters,

disciples and missionaries of your Kingdom.

Make us a Church that prays with the Word,

that is built upon it and shares it with joy,

so that in every person the hope of a new world may be born again.

May our faith grow in the encounter with you through your Word,

moving us from the heart

to reach out to others,

to serve the most vulnerable,

to forgive, build bridges, and proclaim life.

Amen.

This morning’s General Audience took place at 10.00 in the Paul VI Hall, where the Holy Father Leo XIV met with groups of pilgrims and faithful from Italy and all over the world.

In his address in Italian, the Pope focused his catechesis on the theme “ Vatican Council II through its Documents” (Reading Heb 13:7.9).

After summarizing his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed special greetings to the faithful present.

The General Audience concluded with the recitation of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.

 

Catechesis: Vatican Council II through its Documents. Introductory catechesis

Brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

After the Jubilee Year, during which we focused on the mysteries of the life of Jesus, we will begin a new cycle of catechesis which will be dedicated to Vatican Council II and a rereading of its Documents. It is a valuable opportunity to rediscover the beauty and the importance of this ecclesial event. Saint John Paul II, at the end of the Jubilee 2000, stated: “I feel more than ever in duty bound to point to the Council as the great grace bestowed on the Church in the twentieth century ” (Apostolic Letter Novo millennio ineunte , 57).

Together with the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, in 2025 we remembered the seventieth anniversary of Vatican Council II. Although the time that separates us from this event is not so long, it is equally true that the generation of bishops, theologians and believers of Vatican II is no longer with us. Therefore, while we hear the call not to let its prophecy fade, and to continue to seek ways and means to implement its insights, it will be important to get to know it again closely, and to do so not through “hearsay” or interpretations that have been given, but by rereading its documents and reflecting on their content. Indeed, it is the Magisterium that still constitutes the guiding star of the Church’s journey today. As Benedict XVI taught, “as the years have passed, the Conciliar Documents have lost none of their timeliness; indeed, their teachings are proving particularly relevant to the new situation of the Church and the current globalized society” ( First Message at the end of the Eucharistic Concelebration with the Members of the College of Cardinals , 20 April 2005).

When Pope Saint John XXIII opened the Council on 11 October 1962, he spoke of it as the dawn of a day of light for the whole Church. The work of the numerous Fathers convened from the Churches of all continents did indeed pave the way for a new ecclesial season. After a rich biblical, theological and liturgical reflection spanning the twentieth century, Vatican Council II rediscovered the face of God as the Father who, in Christ, calls us to be his children; it looked at the Church in the light of Christ, light of nations, as a mystery of communion and sacrament of unity between God and his people; it initiated important liturgical reform, placing at its centre the mystery of salvation and the active and conscious participation of the entire People of God. At the same time, it helped us to open up to the world and to embrace the changes and challenges of the modern age in dialogue and co-responsibility, as a Church that wishes to open her arms to humanity, to echo the hopes and anxieties of peoples, and to collaborate in building a more just and fraternal society.

Thanks to Vatican Council II, the Church “has something to say, a message to give, a communication to make” (Saint Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Ecclesiam suam , 65), striving to seek the truth by way of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue and dialogue with people of good will.

This spirit, this inner disposition, must characterize our spiritual life and the pastoral action of the Church, because we have yet to achieve ecclesial reform more fully in a ministerial sense and, in the face of today’s challenges, we are called to continue to be vigilant interpreters of the signs of the times, joyful proclaimers of the Gospel, courageous witnesses of justice and peace. At the beginning of the Council, Monsignor Albino Luciani, the future Pope John Paul I, as Bishop of Vittorio Veneto, wrote prophetically, “As always, there is a need to achieve not so much organizations or methods or structures, but a deeper and more widespread holiness. ... It may be that the excellent and abundant fruits of a Council will be seen after centuries and will mature by laboriously overcoming conflicts and adverse situations”. [1] Rediscovering the Council, then, as Pope Francis remarked, helps us to “restore primacy to God, to what is essential: to a Church madly in love with its Lord and with all the men and women whom he loves” ( Homily on the sixtieth anniversary of the beginning of Vatican Council II , 11 October 2022).

Brothers and sisters, Saint Paul VI’s words to the Council Fathers at the end of its work remain a guiding principle for us today. He affirmed that the time had come to leave the Council assembly and go out towards humanity to bring it the good news of the Gospel, in the awareness that they had experienced a time of grace in which the past, present and future were condensed: “The past: for here, gathered in this spot, we have the Church of Christ with her tradition, her history, her councils, her doctors, her saints; the present, for we are taking leave of one another to go out towards the world of today with its miseries, its sufferings, its sins, but also with its prodigious accomplishments, its values, its virtues; and lastly the future is here in the urgent appeal of the peoples of the world for more justice, in their will for peace, in their conscious or unconscious thirst for a higher life, that life precisely which the Church of Christ can and wishes to give them” (Saint Paul VI, Message to the Council Fathers , 8 December 1965).

This is also true for us. As we approach the documents of Vatican Council II and rediscover their prophetic and contemporary relevance, we welcome the rich tradition of the life of the Church and, at the same time, we question ourselves about the present and renew our joy in running towards the world to bring it the Gospel of the kingdom of God, a kingdom of love, justice and peace.

[1] A. Luciani – John Paul I, Note sul Concilio , in Opera omnia , vol. II, Vittorio Veneto 1959-1962. Discorsi, scritti, articoli , Padua 1988, 451-453.

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Greeting in English

I extend a warm welcome this morning to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from England, Ireland, Australia, Canada and the United States of America. To all of you and your families, I offer my prayerful good wishes for a blessed Christmas season and a new year filled with joy and peace. God bless you all! 

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Summary of the Holy Father's words

Dear brothers and sisters, we begin today a new series of catecheses dedicated to the  Second Vatican Council  and to reflecting on its documents. The work of the Council Fathers paved the way for a new ecclesial season, placing at its center the mystery of salvation and the unity between God and his people. At the same time, it opened the Church to seek dialogue with the people of good will for a more just and fraternal world. We see that the documents have lost none of their relevance and are pertinent to the demands and challenges of today. Closely studying the Council documents will help us to be attentive interpreters of the signs of the times, and to proclaim the Gospel to all. As we make our journey of rediscovering the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, let us welcome the past with its rich tradition; let us consider the present with its joys and sorrows; and let’s look towards the future with an urgent appeal for greater justice, love and peace. 

Resignation of auxiliary bishop of Cascavel, Brazil

Resignation and appointment of bishop of Ballarat, Australia

Resignation and appointment of bishop of Rochester, U.S.A.

Appointment of bishop of Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria

 

Resignation of auxiliary bishop of Cascavel, Brazil

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the metropolitan archdiocese of Cascavel, Brazil, presented by Bishop Aparecido Donizeti de Souza, titular of Macriana minor.

 

Resignation and appointment of bishop of Ballarat, Australia

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Ballarat, Australia, presented by Bishop Paul Bernard Bird, C.SS.R.

The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Mark Freeman, of the clergy of the archdiocese of Hobart, until now chancellor of the same archdiocese, as bishop of the diocese of Ballarat, Australia.

Curriculum vitae

Bishop Mark Freeman was born on 13 September 1959 in Launceston, Tasmania. He carried out his ecclesiastical studies at the regional seminary of Melbourne, Corpus Christi College, and was ordained a priest on 24 August 1984 for the archdiocese of Hobart.

Following ordination, he held the following offices: parish vicar of Bellerive (1984-1988), parish vicar of Launceston (1988-1991), diocesan director of vocations (1990-1993) and parish priest of West Coast (1991-1993). After his studies in Rome (1993-1996), he went on to serve as parish priest of South Hobart (1996-1998), parish priest of Ulverstone (1998-2003), parish priest of Mersey-Leven (2003-2009), vicar general (2005-2010), parish priest of Huon Valley (2009-2010), parish priest of Launceston (2010-2022) and chancellor (since 2023).

 

Resignation and appointment of bishop of Rochester, U.S.A.

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Rochester, United States of America, presented by Bishop Salvatore Ronald Matano.

The Holy Father has appointed Bishop John S. Bonnici as bishop of the diocese of Rochester, United States of America, transferring him from the titular see of Arindela and the office of auxiliary of New York.

Curriculum vitae

Bishop John S. Bonnici was born on 17 February 1965 in New York, in the metropolitan see of the same name. He was awarded a bachelor’s degree in biology and philosophy from Saint John’s University in New York, and carried out his ecclesiastical studies at the Pontifical North American College, obtaining a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences. He was subsequently awarded a doctorate from the same institute in Washington, United States of America.

He was ordained a priest on 22 June 1991 for the metropolitan archdiocese of New York.

He has held the following offices: parish vicar of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Elmsford (1992-1994), adjunct professor of theology at Saint Joseph’s Seminary and College in Dunwoodie (1995), deputy director (1995-1996) and director (1996-1999) of the Family Life/Respect Life Office, parish priest of Saint Philip Neri in the Bronx (2002-2008), parish priest of Saint Columba in Chester (2008-2021), administrator of Saint Mary in Washingtonville (2020-2021), parish priest of Saint Augustine and Saints John and Paul in Larchmont (2021-2022).

He was appointed titular bishop of Arindela and auxiliary of New York on 25 January 2022, and received priestly consecration on the following 1 March.

 

Appointment of bishop of Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria

The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Rumen Ivanov Stanev, until now auxiliary bishop and diocesan administrator of the diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria, as bishop of the same ecclesiastical circumscription.

This morning, the Holy Father received in audience:

- His Eminence Cardinal Vicente Bokalic Iglic, C.M., archbishop of Santiago del Estero, Argentina;

- His Eminence Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, S.D.B., bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, China.