Bulletins, Newsletters, and Flocknotes

Appointment of bishop of Killala, Ireland, and union in persona Episcopi of the dioceses of Killala and Tuam

The Holy Father has appointed Archbishop Francis Duffy, metropolitan of Tuam and apostolic administrator of Killala, Ireland, as bishop of the diocese of Killala, uniting the dioceses of Killala and Tuam in persona Episcopi.

This morning, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the President of Hungary, His Excellency Mr. Tamás Sulyok, who subsequently went on to meet His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness, accompanied by the Reverend Monsignor Mihǎițǎ Blaj, Undersecretary for Relations with States.

During the talks held at the Secretariat of State, which took place in a cordial atmosphere, appreciation was expressed for the sound bilateral relations and the contribution of the Catholic Church to the life in the country in various social contexts, Mention was made of topics of mutual interest, with special reference to the role of the family and the protection of the most vulnerable Christian communities in the world.

The conversation continued with an exchange of opinions on current international affairs, especially regarding situations of conflict, expressing the hope for increasing efforts to promote peace.

From the Vatican, 21 February 2026

This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the participants in the “Progetto Policoro” of the Italian Episcopal Conference, to whom he delivered the following address:

 

Address of the Holy Father

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you!

Dear brother bishops, Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

The Progetto Policoro has reached its thirtieth anniversary: an occasion that should help us look ahead with gratitude and confidence. You, young people, are the beautiful face of Italy that does not give up, does not resign itself, rolls up its sleeves and gets up again. In thirty years, you have sown an immense amount of good that is worth recounting: young people who have committed themselves to social and political causes; lives that have been re-motivated thanks to the Gospel and the social doctrine of the Church.

Many “no’s” have been said to the shortcuts of corruption, labour exploitation and injustice; assets confiscated from the mafias have become investments in social projects; cooperatives have been established that have made cities and local areas flourish; many young people have been accompanied in setting up businesses. In addition, you have spent hours in schools and parishes to educate people about the meaning of work and justice, to teach about peace, to raise awareness to the common good. You have tended to the wounds of young people who have been marginalized, disappointed and disengaged. Thank you for all the good you have sown! Thank you, because you understand clearly that no young person in life can be left “on the sidelines”, but must be supported in realizing their dreams and improving the world.

The Progetto Policoro took its first steps in 1995, thanks to the pastoral creativity of the national directors of social pastoral care, Caritas, and the youth pastoral ministry of the Italian Episcopal Conference. The Ecclesial Convention in Palermo had asked for specific attention to the south of the country. The Project was a proposal, and with the passing of time it grew by trying to respond to new needs and, above all, to evangelize the world of work. Several people have taken on the responsibility of training and accompaniment, in a succession that continues today. Each of them has contributed to the growth of the Project in the territories. The coordinated work of many has multiplied the energies and results. It is a living and youthful image of what the Church can and must be in the service of the country. We give thanks to the Lord for everything, who with the power of the Holy Spirit has made you alive and generative in society, capable of loving life.

There is still a need for your commitment, especially in a season of demographic winter, of the depopulation of the most fragile areas of the country, of young people who risk being demotivated and shutting themselves away. No-one must feel neglected. The Progetto Policori was born as an ecclesial experience, and it is the fruit of the imagination of a Church that not only wants to do something for the young, but makes them the protagonists of her journey and of the future of every territory. With you, we are a Church at the service of the world, like leaven in dough.

One of the most beautiful attitudes you experience on a daily basis is that of accompaniment: the dioceses choose you and take you by the hand, and you support young people who are searching for a path in work, in the economy and in society. In this way, your commitment to responding to the employment and social crisis in southern Italy has been transformed into renewed involvement in other areas as well. It is always time to spread your enthusiasm and sensitivity to even the most resistant places and the most resigned people. Looking ahead, do not lose sight of the references that have brought you this far and that will allow you to continue your journey for a long time to come. At this moment, I would like to ideally give them back to all of you.

The compass of your commitment is the Gospel: in it lies the true power that transforms hearts and the world. Don Mario Operti, one of the creators of the Project together with Monsignor Giuseppe Pasini, wrote: “If we were so poor that we could give nothing to others, perhaps we would be more aware of the richness of the Gospel, which can truly change people’s lives and help them to walk”. [1]

A second point of reference is the social teaching of the Church . The study of social doctrine enables you to love this time, and it offers you the tools to interpret reality. Do not let yourselves be beguiled by prophets of doom who see everything as negative, but do not be so naive as to think that everything is fine. As Saint Paul teaches us: “Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesying, but test everything; hold fast to what is good” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21). The centrality of the human person, the common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, the common destination of goods, participation, integral ecology and peace guide us in building a society in accordance with God’s plan of love for humanity.

The third resource is the community as an incubator for the future. Current culture tends to think of us as isolated and in competition with one another. However, work, the economy, politics and communication are not sustained by the genius of solitary leaders, but by experts in social relations. When community life grows, both in society and in the Church, then we have created the conditions for life to flourish. You will be generative whenever you care for community networks. Intelligence, talent, knowledge, social organization and hard work develop thanks to good relationships. If you dream together, if you devote time to developing shared paths, if you love your cities, you will become like the salt that gives flavour to everything (cf. Mt 5:13).

Finally, remember that you have many fathers and mothers in the Spirit , which have been points of reference for cities and territories throughout the country: they are the saints and witnesses whose social commitment has been a source of civic and charitable renewal. How can we fail to remember figures such as Francis of Assisi, on the eighth centenary of his death, Catherine of Siena, John Bosco, Bartolo Longo, Francesca Cabrini, Armida Barelli, Luigi Sturzo, Piergiorgio Frassati, Alberto Marvelli, Giorgio La Pira, Lorenzo Milani, Primo Mazzolari, Maria di Campello, Aldo Moro, Tina Anselmi, Pino Puglisi, Tonino Bello, and Annalena Tonelli? The list could go on, and this is wonderful. It is an exercise that I invite you to do: to get to know the life stories marked by the presence of the Spirit in the places where you live. Get to know them, and tell them. It is a concrete sign that God never leaves us by ourselves. He loved us, continues to love us, and does not tire of making himself present with people in flesh and blood, capable of transforming social life and of evangelizing the world of work. From them, learn courage and daily openness to Grace.

Dear friends, go forward together with confidence. Italy and Europe need you and your enthusiasm. Never cease to dream and to forge bonds with other young Europeans and with other continents who love the Church and work on her behalf in society. I follow you with hope, I remember you in my prayers, and I cordially impart my apostolic blessing to you and your families. Thank you!

_______________________

 

 

[1] M. Operti, In cammino ogni giorno. Vangelo, giovani, lavoro (“Walking every day. Gospel, youth, work”) Teramo 2020, 178.

 

 

On Saturday 21 February, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience His Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

During the audience, the Supreme Pontiff authorized the same Dicastery to promulgate the Decree on the heroic virtues and confirmation of the cult since time immemorial (equipollent beatification) of the Servant of God Gabriele Maria (born Gilberto Nicolas), a professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor and co-founder of the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, born around 1460 near Riom, France, and died on 27 August 1532 in Rodez, France.

In the same audience, the Holy Father Leo XIV authorized the promulgation of the Decrees regarding:

- the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Béchara Abou-Mourad (né Selim), professed priest of the Basilian Order of the Most Holy Saviour of the Melkites, born on 19 May 1853 in Zahlé, Lebanon, and died on 22 February 1930 in Säidā, Lebanon;

- the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Francesco Lombardi, diocesan priest, born on 24 February 1851 in Terzorio, Italy, and died on 12 February 1922 in Bussana, Italy;

- the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Theophane (né Michael Koodalloor), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, born on 20 July 1913 in Kottapuram, India, and died on 4 April 1968 in Ponnurunni, India;

- the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Fausto Gei, lay faithful, member of the Silent Workers of the Cross Association, born on 24 March 1927 in Brescia, Italy, and died there on 28 March 1968.

This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate on the 200th anniversary of the approval of the Regulations and Constitutions, and the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles on the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation.

The following is the Pope’s address to those present at the meeting:

 

Address of the Holy Father

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you.  

Good morning and welcome to all of you!

I am very happy to greet the Superiors General who are present, as well as all of you here today. I am delighted to meet with you on the occasion of two significant milestones for your Congregations: the 200th anniversary of the Papal approval of the  Rules and Constitutions  of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles.

Although your histories are different, your religious institutes have many things in common: the period of their foundation, their land of origin and above all the missionary vocation.

“He has sent me to evangelize the poor” (cf.  Is  61:1;  Lk  4:18) was the motto chosen by Saint Eugene de Mazenod for the Oblates, whose foundation he courageously undertook at a time when Europe was shaken by complex and dramatic events that heightened the urgency of proclaiming the Gospel to those most in need. He powerfully spoke and acted in defense of the dignity of the poor, workers and peasants who were exploited as a mere source of labor with their deepest human needs neglected. Equally powerful and striking was the audacity with which, even as Bishop of Marseille, he did not hesitate in responding to his brother in the episcopate, Archbishop Bourget of Montreal, who requested help. He sent religious first to Canada and then to Europe, Africa and Asia. This generosity was rewarded, in fact, by an impressive flowering of missionary vocations, which testifies to how docility to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and attention to the demands of charity are sources of fruitfulness and a leaven of growth for every foundation.

Even today, with more than three thousand religious spread across seventy countries, you continue to carry out your ministry with the same preferential openness to the least among us, enriched by the precious gift of an extended charismatic family and a growing appreciation of individual cultures. You welcome this vitality as a gift and as a sign that prompt you to preserve and renew the spirit of your origins. As  Pope Francis  pointed out to you not many years ago, your Founder taught you to love the Church as a mother, and you offer her “your missionary zeal and your life, participating in her exodus towards the peripheries of the world beloved by God, and living a charism that leads you towards the furthest, the poorest, those whom no one reaches” ( Address to Participants in the General Chapter of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate , 3 October 2022). And you do all this under the protection of Mary and with her maternal support.

 In this regard, we are also encouraged by the presence of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles, whose motto is inspired by the words of Saint Luke in the Acts of the Apostles: “With Mary, the Mother of Jesus” (1:14).

This phrase refers to the presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary among the Apostles, in the Upper Room and in the first Christian community. Father Augustine Planque entrusted these words to you a century and a half ago, when he founded your Congregation to ensure the indispensable presence of women in the work of the Society of African Missions. Many women from France and other countries responded to his invitation to be “with Mary” so that they might be like her, who bore witness to Christ among the apostles and in the world. For many of them, that “yes” cost them their lives, given the harshness of missionary work, exposure to disease, and, in recent times, martyrdom. Even now, you are present in difficult situations, where you offer your service with faith and respect for all. I encourage you, dear sisters, to continue this mission, wherever you serve, becoming ever more authentic witnesses of fraternity and of peace (cf. Saint John Paul II,  Homily at Holy Mass on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord , 2 February 2002, 4).

I would like to conclude by recalling one last aspect of the charism that unites the inspiration of your Founders: a family spirit. In this regard, both of them encouraged their spiritual sons and daughters to foster a sincere and generous family spirit within their communities. For consecrated men and women, as well as for truly committed Christian laypeople, this arises first and foremost from their encounter with God, from the Eucharist, from prayer, from adoration, from listening to the word and from the celebration of the sacraments. From there, from the altar and the tabernacle, this spirit grows in our hearts, filling them with those feelings of communion and affection, of solicitude and patient closeness, which must always distinguish us and which makes us a reflection of God’s love in the world.

Dear friends, thank you for all the good that you do. I assure you of my support in prayer and I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to you and your Congregations.

Let us pray together …

Our Father …

The Lord be with you …