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Today, 5 March 2026, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV received in Audience, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the President of the Republic of Singapore, His Excellency Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who subsequently met with His Eminence Pietro Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness, accompanied by His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.

During the cordial talks held at the Secretariat of State, the good relations between the Holy See and Singapore were highlighted, and appreciation was expressed for the harmonious coexistence of the various cultures and religions present in the country, including the Catholic Church’s contribution to the common good.

In the course of the discussion, there was also an exchange of views on the international and regional situation, and the importance of supporting and renewing the existing mechanisms of the multilateral system.

From the Vatican, March 5, 2026

This morning, the Holy Father received in audience:

- Bishop Pedro Daniel Martínez Perea, emeritus of San Luis, Argentina;

- His Excellency Mr. Alexander Van der Bellen, President of the Republic of Austria, with his wife and entourage;

- Mr. Ajay Banga, President of the “World Bank Group”, with his wife;

- Archbishop Alfred Xuereb, titular of Amantea, apostolic nuncio in Morocco;

- Professor Stephen Bullivant, with Professor Stephen Cranney;

- His Excellency Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of the Republic of Singapore, and entourage;

- Archbishop Peter Soon-Taick Chung, O.C.D., metropolitan of Seoul, Korea;

- Her Excellency Ms. Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, and entourage.

This morning, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the President of the Republic of Austria, His Excellency Mr. Alexander Van der Bellen, who subsequently met with His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness, accompanied by His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.

During the cordial talks held at the Secretariat of State, appreciation was expressed for the good relations between the Holy See and Austria, emphasizing the positive contribution of the Catholic Church in the promotion of the common good of society. Mention was also made of some particularly topical issues, such as migration and interreligious relations.

The conversation then moved on to current international issues, especially regarding situations of conflict, expressing the hope for a greater role to be played by the international community in the search for peaceful solutions.

From the Vatican, 5 March 2026

This morning, the Holy Father received in audience:

- Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti, S.D.B., titular of Gradisca, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See;

- His Eminence Cardinal Blase Joseph Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, United States of America; with His Eminence Nathanael, Greek-Orthodox metropolitan of Chicago.

This morning’s General Audience took place at 10.00 in Saint Peter’s Square, 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 continued his cycle of catechesis on “The Documents of the Second Vatican Council”, focusing on the theme: Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium. The Church, a visible and spiritual reality (Reading: Eph 4:15-16).

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. The Documents of the Second Vatican Council. II. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium .  2. The Church, a Visible and Spiritual Reality

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and wecome!

Today, we will continue our exploration of the Conciliar Constitution  Lumen gentium , a dogmatic Constitution on the Church.

In the first chapter, which is primarily intended to answer the question of what the Church is, she is described as a “complex reality” ( no. 8 ). Now we ask ourselves: what does this complexity consist of? Some might answer that the Church is complex in that she is ‘complicated’ and therefore difficult to explain; others might think that her complexity derives from the fact that she is an institution steeped in two thousand years of history, with characteristics that differ from any other social or religious group. In Latin, however, the word ‘complex’ indicates rather the orderly union of different aspects or dimensions within the same reality. For this reason,  Lumen gentium  can affirm that the Church is a well-organized body, in which the human and divine dimensions coexist without separation and without confusion.

The first dimension is immediately perceptible, in that the Church is a community of men and women who share the joy and struggle of being Christians, with their strengths and weaknesses, proclaiming the Gospel and becoming a sign of the presence of Christ who accompanies us on our journey through life. Yet this aspect – which is also evident in its institutional organization – is not sufficient to describe the true nature of the Church, because it also has a divine dimension. The latter does not consist in an ideal perfection or spiritual superiority of its members, but in the fact that the Church is generated by God’s plan for humanity, realized in Christ.

Therefore, the Church is at the same time an earthly community and the mystical body of Christ, a visible assembly and a spiritual mystery, a reality present in history and a people journeying towards heaven ( LG , 8;  CCC , 771).

The human and divine dimensions integrate harmoniously, without one overshadowing the other; thus, the Church lives in this paradox. She is a reality that is both human and divine, which welcomes the sinful man and leads him to God.

To illuminate this ecclesial condition,  Lumen gentium  refers to the life of Christ. In fact, those who met Jesus along the roads of Palestine experienced his humanity, his eyes, his hands, the sound of his voice. Those who decided to follow him were moved precisely by the experience of his welcoming gaze, the touch of his blessing hands, his words of liberation and healing. At the same time, however, by following that Man, the disciples opened themselves to an encounter with God. Indeed, Christ’s flesh, his face, his gestures and his words visibly manifest the invisible God.

In the light of the reality of Jesus, we can now return to the Church: when we look at her closely, we discover a human dimension made up of real people, who sometimes manifest the beauty of the Gospel and other times struggle and make mistakes like everyone else. However, it is precisely through her members and her limited earthly aspects that Christ’s presence and his saving action are manifested. As  Benedict XVI  said, there is no opposition between the Gospel and the institution; on the contrary, the structures of the Church serve precisely for the “realization and concretization of the Gospel in our time” ( Address to Swiss Bishops , 9 November 2006). An ideal and pure Church, separated from the earth, does not exist; only the one Church of Christ, embodied in history.

This is what constitutes the holiness of the Church: the fact that Christ dwells in her and continues to give himself through the smallness and fragility of her members. Contemplating this perennial miracle that takes place in her, we understand ‘God's method’: He makes himself visible through the weakness of creatures, continuing to manifest himself and to act. For this reason,  Pope Francis , in  Evangelii gaudium , exhorts us all to learn “to remove our sandals before the sacred ground of the other (cf.  Ex  3:5)” ( no. 169 ). This enables us still today to build up the Church: not only by organizing its visible forms, but by building that spiritual edifice which is the body of Christ, through communion and charity among ourselves.

Indeed, charity constantly generates the presence of the Risen One. “If only we could all just let our thoughts dwell on the one thing, charity! It’s the only thing, you see, which both surpasses all things, and without which all things worth nothing, and which draws all things to itself, wherever it may be” ( Sermon  354, 6, 6).

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Greeting in English

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from England, India, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States of America. With prayerful good wishes that this Lent will be a time of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

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Summary of the Holy Father's words

Dear brothers and sisters, in our continuing catechesis on the  Second Vatican Council , today we consider the mystery of the human and divine dimensions of the Church as presented by the Dogmatic Constitution  Lumen gentium . Just as Jesus’ humanity was immediately apparent to those who walked by his side, so too the human dimension of the Church is easy to perceive: it is a community of men and women who, with their gifts and their flaws, seek to proclaim the Gospel within a visible structure. Those who followed Jesus more closely, however, recognized that his humanity — his loving gaze, his merciful gestures and his powerful word — manifested his divinity, which led them to salvation. In a similar way, through the visible and human dimension of the Church, the spirit of Christ and his saving action are present and active in the world. Let us strive to be authentic witnesses of the love of Christ so that all can recognize in us and among us the charity that characterizes true Christians and builds up the Church.