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This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the participants in the Meeting organized by the National Transplant Centre, to whom he delivered the following address:

 

Address of the Holy Father

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

Your Excellency, Dear Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome, and thank you for your patience!

I am pleased to receive you on the occasion of the General Assembly of the National Transplant Network, and I thank the Pontifical Academy for Life for its work in this important field. Your presence here bears witness to the commitment of so many healthcare workers, professionals and volunteers who, with skill and dedication, serve human life in its moments of greatest fragility.

You are commemorating an important anniversary: indeed, seventy years ago the first Italian donation took place, when Blessed Don Carlo Gnocchi asked for his corneas to be removed after his death and transplanted into two very young patients cared for by his charity, enabling them to see again. That gesture, made in a context still lacking comprehensive legislation, sparked widespread reflection within Italian society and helped to set in motion a process of legislative clarification.

Just a few weeks after Don Gnocchi’s gesture, Pope Pius XII offered some initial moral guidance on these issues, recognizing the legitimacy of removal for therapeutic purposes, respecting the dignity of the human body and the rights of the people involved. [1] From the very beginning, then, the Church’s reflection has accompanied the development of transplantation medicine, recognizing its value and at the same time setting out the necessary ethical criteria.

Since then, a prolific development of scientific research and human dedication has led the Italian Transplant Network to achieve results of great significance, recognized at international level. Behind these results lies a wealth of expertise and also a culture of responsibility and trust that needs to be safeguarded and upheld.

Saint John Paul II, in the Encyclical Evangelium vitae , recalled that among the acts that foster the culture of life, “a particularly praiseworthy example … is the donation of organs, performed in an ethically acceptable manner” (no. 86). Indeed, it is an act that combines the generosity of giving with the moral responsibility that accompanies it. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, in turn, that “organ donation after death is a noble and meritorious act and is to be encouraged as an expression of generous solidarity” (no. 2296), at the same time recalling the need for consent and respect for the dignity of the person. Vigilance is always necessary to avoid any form of commodification of the human body and ensure that transplants are governed by fair and transparent criteria. [2]

Transplantation medicine reminds us that the relationship of care, trust and mutual responsibility constitutes an essential condition for a transplant to take place. The very possibility of saving lives through transplants depends, in fact, on the generosity of donors. [3]

Pope Francis has emphasized that donation is not limited to its social utility, however important that may be, but is an expression of universal fraternity. He also reiterated that it must remain a gratuitous act, capable of bearing witness to a culture of help, giving, hope and life. [4] This is a reminder that is more valuable than ever at a time when there is a risk of assessing everything according to the logic of price, efficiency or self-interest.

I, too, take this opportunity to encourage scientific research, which continues to open up important prospects for transplant medicine. It is called upon to develop ever more effective solutions to meet the need for organs and the needs of patients, in a context where demand still far exceeds supply. It is essential that this commitment always goes hand in hand with responsible reflection, so that scientific progress remains oriented towards the integral good of the person and respect for their dignity.

I wish to express my gratitude to all of you. Your work is demanding and often unseen, requiring skill and rigour and, at the same time, conscientiousness, balance and a keen sense of humanity. It involves clinical responsibilities, delicate decisions and relationships that touch people’s lives at their most difficult moments. Continue to carry it out with faithfulness and dedication, always keeping the well-being of the patient as your guiding principle.

Finally, I encourage institutions and the voluntary sector to continue their work of providing information and raising awareness, so that a culture of donation may grow that is ever more informed, free and shared, capable of recognizing in this gesture a sign of solidarity, fraternity and hope.

I wish you every success in your efforts as an association, and I invoke the Lord’s blessing upon you and your loved ones.

Thank you.

[Blessing]

Thank you once again, and all the best in your work!

 

_______________________________

 

[1] Pius XII, Address to the Association of Cornea Donors and the Italian Union of the Blind (14 May 1956).

[2] Cf. St. John Paul II, Address to the 18th International Congress of the Transplantation Society (29 August 2000).

[3] Benedict XVI, Address to participants in the International Congress on the theme “A gift for life. Considerations on organ donation”, promoted by the Pontifical Academy for Life (7 November 2008).

[4] Cf. Francis, Address to the Italian Association for the Donation of Organs, Tissues and Cells (AIDO) (13 April 2019).

Today, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV received in Audience Her Excellency Borjana Krišto, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She subsequently met with His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.

During the cordial discussions held at the Secretariat of State, the parties expressed their satisfaction with the good bilateral relations, and noted the contribution offered by the local Catholic Church to society. In this context, particular attention was given to the situation of the Catholic community and to certain outstanding matters in Church–State relations.

The conversation continued with an exchange of views on the enlargement of the European Union to include the countries of the Western Balkans.

From the Vatican, 26 March 2026

This morning, the Holy Father received in audience:

- His Eminence Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith;

- Her Excellency Ms. Borjana Krišto, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and entourage;

- Bishop José Ignacio Munilla Aguirre of Orihuela-Alicante, Spain;

- His Eminence Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches;

- Members of the Presidency of the “Leadership Conference of Women Religious”;

- Bishop Franco Lovignana of Aosta, Italy;

- The Reverend Fr. Youssef Faltas Makar, I.V.E.;

- Participants in the meeting organized by the National Transplant Centre.

Resignation and succession of bishop of Hpa-an, Myanmar

Appointment of bishop of Münster, Germany

Appointment of auxiliary bishop of Nairobi, Kenya

 

Resignation and succession of bishop of Hpa-An, Myanmar

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Hpa-An, Myanmar, presented by Bishop Justin Saw Min Thide.

He is succeeded by Bishop Stanislaus Min-Ko, until now coadjutor bishop of the same diocese.

 

Appointment of bishop of Münster, Germany

The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Heiner Wilmer, S.C.I., hitherto of Hildesheim, as bishop of Münster, Germany.

Curriculum vitae

Bishop Heiner Wilmer, S.C.I., was born on 9 April 1961 in Schapen, diocese of Osnabrück. He studied philosophy and theology in Freiburg and Paris. After joining the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians), he was ordained a priest in 1987.

After ordination, he studied philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and history in Freiburg, and was awarded a doctorate in theology from the University of Freiburg. He served as a teacher in various Catholic schools in Germany and New York, and held the offices of rector of the Gymnasium Leoninum a Handrup (1998), provincial of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Germany (2007-2015), superior general (2015-2018), and chair of the Commission for Social Issues of the Bishops’ Conference of Germany.

He was appointed bishop of Hildesheim on 6 April 2018, and received episcopal ordination the following 1 September. Since 2026 he has been president of the Bishops’ Conference of Germany.

 

Appointment of auxiliary bishop of Nairobi, Kenya

The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Fr. Obed Muriungi Karobia, O.F.M. Conv., until now supreme moderator of the Franciscan Servants of Mary Queen of Love public association of the faithful of the diocese of Ngong, assigning him the titular see of Timida.

Curriculum vitae

Msgr. Obed Muriungi Karobia, O.F.M. Conv., was born on 29 June 1979. He studied philosophy at Saint Bonaventure College in Lusaka, Zambia, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in theology from Tangaza College , Kenya.

He joined the Friars Minor Conventual, and was ordained a priest on 28 July 2012.

He has held the following roles: parish vicar (2012-2013) and parish priest (2013-2016) of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Nairobi; head of vocations in the Custody of the Friars Minor Conventual of Kenya (2012-2019), formator and bursar of the House of Formation of his Institute in Nairobi (2016-2019), provincial minister of the Kenyan Province of the Friars Minor Conventual (2019-2023), and president of the African Federation of Friars Minor Conventual (2020–2023). He is a PhD candidate in psychology at Daystar University, Nairobi, and since 2024, on appointment by the Dicastery for Evangelization, supreme moderator of the Franciscan Servants of Mary Queen of Love public association of the faithful in the diocese of Ngong.

The following is the telegram of condolence sent by the Holy Father Leo XIV to Archbishop Joseph Nguyên Nãng of Ho Chi Minh City, on the death on Sunday 22 March 2026 of His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Mân, archbishop emeritus of Thàn-Phô Hô Chí Minh, Hôchiminh Ville, Viêt Nam:

 

Telegram of the Holy Father

THE MOST REVEREND JOSEPH NGUYÊN NÃNG

ARCHBISHOP OF HO CHI MINH CITY

HAVING LEARNED WITH SADNESS OF THE DEATH OF CARDINAL JOHN BAPTIST PHAM MINH MÂN, ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS OF HO CHI MINH CITY, PLEASE ACCEPT MY HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES WHICH I EXTEND ALSO TO THE CLERGY, RELIGIOUS AND LAY FAITHFUL OF THE ARCHDIOCESE. JOINING YOU IN COMMENDING HIS NOBLE SOUL TO THE INFINITE MERCIES OF GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, I RECALL WITH IMMENSE GRATITUDE THE LATE CARDINAL’S MANY YEARS OF DEDICATED PRIESTLY AND EPISCOPAL MINISTRY TO THE LOCAL CHURCHES OF MY THO AND HO CHI MINH CITY, AS WELL AS HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WIDER CHURCH IN VIETNAM AND TO THE APOSTOLIC SEE. HIS MINISTRY WAS MARKED BY A PROFOUND COMMITMENT TO PASTORAL CARE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, THE STEADFAST PROMOTION OF DIALOGUE AND ECCLESIAL UNITY, AND THE WITNESS OF A LIFE LIVED IN EVANGELICAL SIMPLICITY AND HUMILITY. TO ALL WHO MOURN CARDINAL PHAM MINH MÂN’S PASSING IN THE SURE HOPE OF THE RESURRECTION, I CORDIALLY IMPART MY APOSTOLIC BLESSING AS A PLEDGE OF CONSOLATION AND PEACE IN THE LORD.

LEO PP. XIV