Bulletins, Newsletters, and Flocknotes

This morning, in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the participants in the Third National Meeting of Catholic Religion Teachers, on the theme: “ The heart speaks to the heart ”, promoted by the Italian Episcopal Conference.

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!

Dear brother bishops,

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

I greet you warmly and I thank you for your presence and for your valuable service that you carry out in schools. Your work is demanding, often silent and inconspicuous, but nevertheless important for the growth of many children and young people. Indeed, the religious dimension “is a constitutive element of the human experience and cannot be marginalized in the educational process of the younger generations” (Italian Episcopal Conference, Pastoral Note: The Teaching of the Catholic Faith: A Workshop of Culture and Dialogue , 11 December 2025).

Saint Augustine wrote: “Man, being a part of Your creation, desires to praise You [O Lord]. You move us to delight in praising You; for You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You. … Let me seek You, Lord, in calling on You, and call on You in believing in You” ( Confessions , 1.1). He spoke of an inner search to which, in the human being, the great questions of life have always been linked: the relationship with God, with creation and with others; thus the thirst for the infinite, inherent in every person, can become an energy to promote peace, to renew society and to bridge its contradictions.

In this context, your service, an expression of the Church’s care for the new generations, is like a springboard from which children and young people can learn how to launch themselves into the fascinating adventure of inner dialogue, and in this way, it constitutes an indispensable element of that educational partnership which is so sorely needed today.

Furthermore, the teaching of the Catholic religion is a subject of great cultural significance, useful for understanding historical and social dynamics, as well as the expressions of thought, ingenuity and the arts that have shaped and continue to shape the face of Italy, Europe and so many countries around the world.

All this enters into your lessons, in the light of the ever-relevant teaching of the Church, in dialogue with other fields of knowledge and religious research and above all in the study of the inexhaustible pages of the Bible, from which we come to know Christ, the Son of God made man, the revelation of the Father’s face and the perfect model of humanity. In this way, you make accessible to the younger generations, with full respect for everyone’s freedom, what might otherwise remain incomprehensible and vague, showing how true secularism does not exclude the religious dimension, but rather knows how to treasure it as an educational resource. This is, moreover, part of a broader mindset that is essential for any dialogue, both in schools and in society: knowing and loving who we are, so that we may encounter others with respect and openness.

In the light of this, I would like to share with you some reflections that are close to my heart.

As the title for your third national meeting, you have chosen the expression “The heart speaks to the heart” ( Cor ad cor loquitur ), inspired by the motto of Saint John Henry Newman, Doctor of the Church and co-patron saint of the world of education. These words propose a journey in which truth is the goal and personal relationship the path to achieving it. They commit you, through teaching, to helping young people recognize a voice that is in fact already resonating within them, not to stifle it, nor to confuse it with the noise that surrounds them. In an age in which we live constantly besieged by stimuli of every kind, silencing that voice is all too easy. Therefore, teaching them to hear it or rediscover it is one of the greatest gifts we can give to the younger generations. Man cannot live without truth and authentic meaning, and the young, although they may at times seem apathetic or insensitive, behind a façade of apparent indifference they often actually conceal the restlessness and suffering of those who “feel too much” and too intensely, without being able to put a name to what they are experiencing.

Teaching, therefore, means forming people to listen to their hearts, and thereby to inner freedom and the capacity for critical thinking, according to dynamics in which faith and reason do not ignore one another, nor indeed oppose one another, but are travelling companions in the humble and sincere search for truth. For this reason, education requires the patience to sow without expecting immediate results, respecting the pace at which a person grows. And above all – as Newman teaches – it requires love.

Dear friends, the truth is conveyed through people, and for your students, you yourselves are those people: called to be credible teachers because you love God and your students, to pass on values without self-aggrandisement or moralizing, to offer a perspective that uplifts, and to bear witness to that humble and approachable consistency which makes even the most challenging subjects attractive and appealing. Your pupils do not need ready-made answers, but closeness and honesty from adults who stand by them with authority and responsibility as they grapple with life’s big questions. They will remember the eyes and words of those who recognized in them a unique gift, of those who took them seriously, of those who were not afraid to walk a stretch of the road with them, showing themselves in turn to be men and women who seek, think, live and believe. All this, of course, without detracting from the need for solid expertise, driven by a passion for study, cultural rigour and pedagogical preparation, because the teaching of the Catholic faith also requires continuous professional development, planning and the use of appropriate language.

Schools today – in Italy, but also elsewhere – face dramatic yet exhilarating challenges. For this reason, the Church, which walks with you, sends you forth as “servants of the world of education, choreographers of hope, tireless seekers of wisdom, credible creators of expressions of beauty” (Apostolic Letter Drawing new maps of hope , 11.3).

I thank you and encourage you to persevere in this commitment, whilst entrusting you to the intercession of the Virgin Mary and the holy educators. I remember you in my prayers and cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing, which I extend to your families, your pupils and all your loved ones. Thank you!

This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the members of the European People’s Party of the European Parliament, 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,

Distinguished Parliamentarians, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I warmly welcome all of you to this gathering.  In a particular way, I greet your Chairman, Mr Manfred Weber and Mrs Mairead McGuinness, the European Union Special Envoy responsible for promoting freedom of religion or belief outside the European Union.

Our meeting follows those that were held with my predecessors,  Saint John Paul II  and  Pope Benedict XVI , as well as the  Message that Pope Francis  sent to you in June 2023, when he was unable to receive you personally because of his hospitalization.  I am therefore pleased to continue this dialogue with the European People’s Party, which draws its political inspiration from figures such as Adenauer, De Gasperi and Schuman, who are widely regarded as the founding fathers of modern Europe.

Like Benedict XVI twenty years ago , I too “appreciate your Group’s recognition of Europe’s Christian heritage.”  [1]  The European project, which arose from the ashes of the Second World War, was certainly born out of the practical necessity to prevent such a conflict from ever happening again.  However, it is equally imbued with an ideal vision, namely the desire to foster a cooperation that would overcome centuries of division and enable the peoples of the continent to rediscover the human, cultural and religious heritage they share.  The founding fathers were inspired by their personal faith, and considered Christian principles to be a common and unifying element that could help bring an end to the spirit of revenge and conflict that had led to the Second World War.

Pope Francis coined a beautiful and simple expression that summarizes this idea: “unity is greater than conflict.”  [2]  Indeed, the search for unity has the courage to go beyond the surface of conflict and to see others in their deepest dignity.  [3]  In this way, it becomes possible to create something new and constructive, whereas conflict highlights differences, fosters the pursuit and assertion of power, and ultimately leads to destruction.

The primary task of any political action is to offer an ideal vision, for politics requires a broad view of the future, without fearing to make difficult and even unpopular choices when necessary for the common good.  In this sense, politics is the “highest form of charity”  [4] because it can be completely committed to the building up of the common good.

However, pursuing an ideal does not mean glorifying an ideology.  Indeed, ideology is always the result of a distortion of reality and a kind of violence imposed upon it.  Every ideology twists ideas and subjugates people to its own agenda, stifling their true aspirations, their desire for freedom, happiness and personal and social wellbeing.  Modern Europe itself arose from recognizing the failure of the ideological projects that had destroyed and divided it.

As De Gasperi noted, pursuing an ideal means placing the human person at the center, “with his spirit of evangelical brotherhood, with his reverence for the law inherited from antiquity, with his appreciation for beauty refined over the centuries and with his commitment to truth and justice, sharpened by millennia of experience.”  [5]

This is the framework within which politics can still be practiced today, and to which political activity must be brought back.  Your party is called the European People’s Party.  The people are at the heart of your commitment, and you cannot set them aside.  They are not merely passive recipients of political proposals and decisions; they are, above all, called to be active participants sharing responsibility for every political action.  Being present among the people and involving them in the political process is the best antidote to populism, which seeks only easy approval, and to elitism, which tends to act without consensus.  Both of these are widespread tendencies in today’s political landscape.  An authentically “popular” politics requires time, shared projects and a love of truth.

One of the main problems of politics in recent years has been the steady decline in harmony, cooperation and mutual engagement between the people and their representatives.  A genuine sense of “the people” needs to be recreated, involving personal contact between citizens and their representatives, so as to respond effectively to people’s concrete problems in light of an ideal vision.  We could metaphorically say that in the era of the “digital triumph,” political action that is truly oriented to the common good requires a return to the “analogue.”

Perhaps this is the real antidote to a politics that often shouts, consists only of slogans and is incapable of responding to people’s actual needs.  Moreover, to overcome a certain disaffection with politics, it is necessary to win people back by reaching out to them personally and rebuilding a network of relationships in the areas where they live, so that everyone can feel that they belong to a community and share in its future.

What does this mean in practical terms for those who base their actions on Christian-democratic values?  First and foremost, it means rediscovering and embracing the Christian heritage from which you come, while still maintaining the necessary distinction between prophetic religious witness – reserved to the ecclesial community – and Christian witness expressed through concrete political choices.  [6]  Being a Christian in politics does not mean being overtly confessional; instead, it means allowing the Gospel to guide the decisions that have to be made, even those that may not attract easy consensus.  It means working to preserve the connection between natural law and positive law, and between Christian roots and political action.

To be a Christian engaged in politics requires a realistic perspective that starts with people’s concrete concerns.  This perspective should seek, above all, to foster dignified working conditions that will encourage people’s ingenuity and creativity in the face of a market that is increasingly dehumanizing and unfulfilling.  Such an outlook must enable people to overcome the fear of starting a family, of having children, a fear that seems to be particularly prevalent in Europe.  It also needs to address the root causes of migration, caring for those who suffer, while also taking into account the real capacities for welcoming and integrating migrants into society.  It likewise requires confronting in a non-ideological way the great challenges of our time, such as care for creation and artificial intelligence.  The latter offers great opportunities, but it is also fraught with danger.

Being a Christian engaged in politics also means investing in freedom – not a trivialized freedom reduced to mere personal preferences, but one rooted in the truth, which safeguards religious freedom as well as freedom of thought and of conscience in every place and circumstance.  At the same time, fostering a “‘short-circuit’ of human rights”  [7] must be avoided, for it ends up giving way to force and to oppression.

I leave you with these brief points, hoping that they will form a starting point for reflection in your work.  In expressing my good wishes for your service to the people of Europe, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.

Thank you.

______________________

 

[1] BENEDICT XVI,  Address to the Members of the European People’s Party on the Occasion of the Study Days on Europe  (30 March 2006),  AAS 98 (2006), 344.

[2] FRANCIS, Apostolic Exhortation  Evangelii Gaudium , 228:  AAS  105 (2013), 1113.

[3] Cf.  ibid .

[4] PIUS XI,  Audience with the Leaders of the Catholic University Federation  (18 December 1927).

[5] A. DE GASPERI,  Europe, Our Homeland. Address to the European Parliamentary Conference , 21 April 1954 in:  Alcide De Gasperi e la politica internazionale,  Rome 1990, vol. III, 437-440.

[6] Cf. MARIALUISA L. SERGIO in: ALCIDE DE GASPERI,  Diario 1930-1943,  Bologna 2018, 24.

[7]  Address to Members of the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Holy See  (9 January 2026).

The Prefecture of the Papal Household announces the following programme:

 

8.00 Departure from the Vatican heliport

8.50 Arrival in the meeting area of the Sanctuary of Pompeii

The Holy Father will be welcomed by:

1. Archbishop Tommaso Caputo, Prelate of Pompeii, Pontifical Delegate for the Sanctuary;

2. The Honourable Roberto Fico, President of the Campania Region;

3. Dr. Michele Di Bari, Prefect of Naples;

4. Dr. Gaetano Manfredi, Mayor of the Metropolitan City of Naples;

5. Dr. Andreina Esposito, Acting Mayor of Pompeii.

9.00 The Holy Father will proceed on foot to the Luisa Trapani Hall, where he will meet the “Temple of Charity”: people from disadvantaged situations, welcomed in the various Centres of the Sanctuary of Pompeii.

- Greeting from Archbishop Tommaso Caputo

- Greetings of three guests.

*words of the Holy Father

9.30 The Holy Father will leave the Luisa Trapani Hall, and pass through the streets and the square adjacent to the Sanctuary.

9.45 At the entrance to the Sanctuary, the Holy Father will be welcomed by the Rector, Msgr. Pasquale Mocerino, who will give him the Crucifix to venerate and the water for aspersion.

Some ill and disabled people will be present in the Sanctuary; they will follow the Mass on the screens.

*Blessing and words of greeting of the Holy Father

10.00 Chapel of Saint Bartolo Longo; veneration of the relics of the Saint Founder of the Sanctuary; greeting to the bishops present.

Chapel of the Reconciliation: greeting to the Priests of the Sanctuary.

The Holy Father will put on his liturgical vestments in the sacristy.

10.30 Piazza Bartolo Longo: Eucharistic concelebration.

* Homily * Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii

Before the final Blessing, words of gratitude to Archbishop Tommaso Caputo, and the exchange of gifts.

12.30 After removing his vestments, the Holy Father will greet the Collaborators of the Pontifical Delegation.

13.00 Marianna De Fusco Hall: lunch.

15.00 Departure from the meeting area of the Sanctuary of Pompeii.

____________________

15.15 Arrival at the Rotonda Diaz in Naples.

The Holy Father will be welcomed by:

1. Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, Archbishop of Naples;

2. The Honourable Roberto Fico, President of the Campania Region;

3. Dr. Michele Di Bari, Prefect of Naples;

4. Dr. Gaetano Manfredi, Mayor of Naples.

Immediate transfer by car to the Cathedral of Naples.

15.45 In the Cathedral: Meeting with the Clergy and Consecrated Persons

- adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

- greeting from Cardinal Domenico Battaglia

- prayer and reading of a passage from the Gospel

* Address of the Holy Father

At the end, in the sacristy, the Holy Father will greet some collaborators of the diocesan Curia.

16.30 The Holy Father will leave the Cathedral and transfer by car to Piazza del Plebiscito

17.00 Palazzo del Plebiscito: Meeting with the Citizenry

The Holy Father will enter the Basilica of Saint Francis of Paola and greet the Community of Minim Fathers and some authorities.

The Holy Father will take his place on the steps of the Basilica:

- greeting from Cardinal Domenico Battaglia

- greeting from the Mayor of Naples, Dr. Gaetano Manfredi

- performance by youth ministry workers.

* Address of the Holy Father

- Act of Entrustment to the Virgin Mary, and Blessing.

18.30 Transfer by car to the Rotondo Diaz.

The Holy Father will take leave of the authorities who greeted him on arrival.

19.30 Arrival at the Vatican heliport.

On  Monday 27 April 2026 , at  12.15 , a  press conference  will be held at the Holy See Press Office to present the  Holy See Pavilion  L’Orecchio è l’Occhio dell’Anima  (“The Ear is the Eye of the Soul”)  at the  61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale , to be held from 9 May to 22 November 2026:

 

The speakers will be:

-  His Eminence Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça , prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education;

-  Hans Ulrich Obrist , curator;

-  Ben Vickers , curator;

-  Soundwalk Collective , artist;

-  Fr. Ermanno Barucco, O.C.D. , Discalced Carmelite Mystical Garden of Venice;

-  Michele Coppola , executive director for Art, Culture and Historical Heritage, Intesa San Paolo;

-  Teresa Teixeira , group representative.

The press conference will be livestreamed in the original language on the  Vatican News  YouTube channel, at  https://www.youtube.com/c/VaticanNews

Remote participation

Journalists and media operators who wish to participate in the press conference remotely must apply, no later than two hours before the event, via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system, at  https://press.vatican.va/accreditamenti , selecting the event:  CS presentazione Padiglione Santa Sede Biennale di Venezia 2026 .

During the request phase, select the option “Sì” in the box “Partecipazione da remoto”.

Journalists and media operators who are admitted will receive confirmation of participation via the online accreditation system and, at the same time, a link to access the virtual platform and to participate actively in the press conference, with the possibility to ask questions.

 

Participation in person

Journalists and media operators who wish to participate in the press conference in person must apply, no later than 24 hours before the event, via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system, at  https://press.vatican.va/accreditamenti , selecting the event:  CS presentazione Padiglione Santa Sede Biennale di Venezia 2026 .

Journalists and media operators who are admitted will receive confirmation of participation via the online accreditation system.

 

Simultaneous translation

It is possible to access the simultaneous translation channels and listen to the press conference in Italian, English and Portuguese, both via the YouTube  Vatican News  channels in the respective languages, and by using the virtual participation platform indicated in the paragraph “Remote participation”.

Simultaneous translation is also available for those attending the press conference in person at the Holy See Press Office.

* * *

Journalists and media operators accredited for the press conference are advised to arrive 30 minutes before the start time.

Appointment of special envoy to the ceremony for the centenary of the canonical erection of the Lithuanian Ecclesiastical Province

Appointment of apostolic nuncio in El Salvador

Appointment of apostolic nuncio in Libya

Erection of the ecclesiastical province of Berbérati, Central African Republic, and appointment of metropolitan archdiocese

Appointment of archbishop coadjutor of Bangui, Central African Republic

Appointment of apostolic administrator of Southern Albania

Appointment of bishop of Guasdualito, Venezuela

 

Appointment of special envoy to the ceremony for the centenary of the canonical erection of the Lithuanian Ecclesiastical Province

The Holy Father has appointed Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Secretariat of State, as his special envoy to the ceremony for the centenary of the canonical erection of the Lithuanian Ecclesiastical Province, scheduled to take place on 27 June at the Cathedral of the archdiocese of Kaunas.

 

Appointment of apostolic nuncio in El Salvador

The Holy Father has appointed Archbishop Giancarlo Dellagiovanna, titular of Sistroniana, as apostolic nuncio in El Salvador.

 

Appointment of apostolic nuncio in Libya

The Holy Father has appointed Archbishop Wojciech Załuski, titular of Diocletiana, as apostolic nuncio in El Libya.

 

Erection of the ecclesiastical province of Berbérati, Central African Republic, and appointment of metropolitan archdiocese

The Holy Father has erected the ecclesiastical province of Berbérati, with the suffragan dioceses of Bouar, Mbaïki, and Bossangoa, and has appointed Bishop Dennis Kofi Agbenyadzi, S.M.A., until now bishop of Berbérati, as metropolitan archbishop of the same province.

Curriculum vitae

Archbishop-elect Dennis Kofi Agbenyadzi, S.M.A., was born on 9 October 1964 in Kadjebi-Akan, diocese of Jasikan, Volta Region, Ghana. After carrying out his national civil service, he entered the Society of African Missions. He then studied philosophy in the diocesan seminary of Accra, Ghana, and carried out the year of spirituality in Cavali, Benin, and his pastoral apprenticeship in Bèlèmboké in the diocese of Berbérati. He went on to complete his studies in theology at the interdiocesan major seminary of Anyama, Cote d’Ivoire, and gave his perpetual vows on 29 June 1996.

He was ordained a priest on 12 July 1997.

He has held the following offices: parish vicar in Berbérati (1997-1999), parish priest in Berbérati and director of development projects for the Pygmy People; member of the Episcopal Council and head of the management of pharmaceutical products, and assistant to the regional superior (1999–2005); superior of the Formation House in Bangui and member of the diocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants, as well as regional superior of the Fathers of the Society of African Missions, re-elected in 2010 for a second term (2007–2012). He was appointed bishop of Berbérati on 14 May 2012 and received episcopal consecration on the following 22 July.

 

Appointment of coadjutor archbishop of Bangui, Central African Republic

The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Father Joseph Samedi, S.J., until now director of the Pope Francis School Complex and superior of the Society of Jesus in Bangui, as coadjutor archbishop of Bangui, Central African Republic.

Curriculum vitae

Msgr. Joseph Samedi, S.J., was born on 20 December 1971 in Mongoumba, in the diocese of M’Baiki, Central African Republic. After his novitiate in Bafoussam, Cameroon, he studied philosophy in the Saint-Pierre Canisius Faculty of Philosophy in Kinshasa, he continued his Jesuit formation in Chad and, finally, studied theology in Brussels, Belgium. He was then awarded a licentiate in Church history at the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome.

He was ordained a priest on 6 August 2006.

He has held the following offices: head of the Library and vicar of the French-speaking parish of Bangui (2008-2009), formator at the Saint-Marc National Major Seminary of Bangui (2009-2018), superior ad tempus of the Society of Jesus in Bangui and head of ongoing formation of the clergy of the archdiocese of Bangui (2011-2018), director of the Saint-Charles Lwanga College in Sarh, Chad (2018-2024), and to date, director of the Pope Francis School Complex and superior of the Society of Jesus in Bangui (since 2024).

 

Appointment of apostolic administrator of Southern Albania

The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Father Flavio Cavallini, O.F.M., until now parish priest of Saint Anthony in Tirana, as apostolic administrator of Southern Albania, without episcopal rank.

Curriculum vitae

The Reverend Father Flavio Cavallini, O.F.M., was born on 12 August 1957 in Verona. After carrying out his studies in philosophy and theology at the San Bernardino Inter-Provincial Theological Studium in Verona, he continued his intellectual formation in Jerusalem, obtaining a licentiate in biblical theology.

He was ordained a priest on 16 June 1984.

He has held the following offices: vicar general of the diocese of Pult (1993-1995), provincial minister (1995-2004), parish priest of Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary in Shköder (2000-2001), parish priest of Blessed Virgin Mary of the Annunciation in Kodër Marlekaj, Lezhë (2004-2016), and episcopal chancellor in Lezhë (2007).

 

Appointment of bishop of Guasdualito, Venezuela

The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend José Magdaleno Álvarez Briceño, of the clergy of the diocese of Trujillo, until now episcopal vicar for the clergy, rector of the Shrine of Niño Jesús and parish priest of Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Isnotú, as bishop of the diocese of Guasdualito, Venezuela.

Curriculum vitae

Msgr. Álvarez Briceño was born on 2 July 1971 in Carache, diocese of Trujillo. He was awarded a licentiate in theology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, a licentiate in philosophy from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Santa Rosa in Lima and a degree in social communications from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas.

He was ordained a priest on 15 August 1996 for the diocese of Trujillo.

He has held the following offices: spiritual director of the minor seminary of Trujillo, parish priest of various parishes, diretor of the Institute of Religious Sciences, professor of the major seminary, episcopal vicar for communication and pro vicar general, and to date, parish priest of Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Isnotú, rector of the Shrine of Niño Jesús and episcopal vicar for the clergy.