Bulletins, Newsletters, and Flocknotes

This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience a delegation from the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul from the United States of America.

The following is the greeting addressed by the Pope to those present during the meeting:

 

Greeting 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, everyone. Welcome. Thank you for your patience.  

Your Excellency, Dear friends,

With great joy I extend my cordial greetings to all of you, and I hope that your time in Rome, in the Eternal City will strengthen your faith and deepen your desire to serve the Lord and to serve his Church. I thank you in particular for your devoted service to the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, and through it, to your brothers and sisters across the United States of America. Indeed, by freely offering your God-given gifts and talents, you give eloquent witness to your faith in service to the building up of the Kingdom of God.

At the same time, I encourage you to deepen your relationship with our Lord so that his grace may continue to guide and strengthen your service. Saint Vincent de Paul demonstrated that prayer and social justice are not merely complementary but are in fact inseparable. It is therefore my hope that you will continually turn to your heavenly patron in order to follow his example and seek his intercession.

Moreover, as I recalled in Dilexi Te , Saint Augustine taught the Christocentric nature of care for the poor and held that God will not be outdone in generosity to those who serve them. We therefore believe that caring for others, when motivated by love, not only helps those in need, but also opens the heart of the giver to God’s grace (cf. no. 46). Dear friends, I urge you, then, always to give of yourselves. In this way, the Lord’s grace will steadily purify your hearts and minds, and you will more readily recognize Christ in your neighbour, both in those you serve and in those with whom you work.

Finally, when you return to your homes, please know that you do so accompanied by my prayers. In a particular way, I ask you to bring my warm greetings to your colleagues and to the people for whom you care. With these thoughts, I entrust each of you to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church. And perhaps, today, in a special way, also to Saint Augustine on his feast day. Thank you.

So, please stand, and let us pray together as the Lord has taught us.

[Our Father]

And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, come down on you and remain with you for ever. Amen.

The following is the telegram of condolence on the death of His Majesty King Harald V of Norway, sent by the Holy Father Leo XIV to His Majesty King Haakon VIII:

 

Telegram of the Holy Father

HIS MAJESTY KING HAAKON VIII KING OF NORWAY THE ROYAL PALACE OSLO

I WAS SADDENED TO LEARN OF THE DEATH OF YOUR FATHER KING HARALD V, AND I SEND HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES TO YOUR MAJESTY, THE MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY AND ALL IN THE NATION. MINDFUL OF HIS MANY YEARS OF DEVOTED SERVICE TO THE REALM, WHICH I HOPE WILL CONTINUE TO BEAR FRUIT, I OFFER THE ASSURANCE OF MY PRAYERS FOR THE ETERNAL REST OF THE LATE KING. UPON THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE AND ALL WHO MOURN HIS LOSS, I CORDIALLY INVOKE ALMIGHTY GOD’S BLESSINGS OF CONSOLATION AND PEACE.

LEO PP. XIV

7 September Basilica Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel, Genazzano, 18.00 Holy Mass

25-28 September Apostolic Journey of the Holy Father in France and visit to the Headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO);

8 October Saint Peter’s Basilica, 18.00 Holy Mass for the Inauguration of the Academic Year of the Pontifical Universities

14 October Saint Peter’s Square, 10.00 Holy Mass at the conclusion of the meeting on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the publication of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris lætitia .

 

Vatican City, 28 August 2026

✠ Diego Ravelli Titular Archbishop of Recanati Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations

Resignation and appointment of archbishop of Damascus of the Maronites, Syria

Appointment of bishop of Syros with Milos, Santorini and apostolic administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of Candia

Appointment of auxiliary bishop of Asunción, Paraguay

 

Resignation and appointment of archbishop of Damascus of the Maronites, Syria

The Holy Father has granted his assent to the election by the Synod of Bishops of the Patriarchal Church of Antioch of the Maronites of the Reverend Chorbishop Sharbel (Ghattas) Maroun, until now protosyncellus of the eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles of the Maronites, United States of America, as archbishop of Damascus of the Maronites, Syria, following the acceptance by the same Synod of the resignation from the pastoral care of the aforementioned archeparchy presented by Archbishop Samir Nassar.

Curriculum vitae

Archbishop-elect Sharbel (Ghattas) Maroun was born on 6 January 1962 in Kfarselwan, Lebanon.

After obtaining his secondary school diploma, he worked briefly at the Crédit Libanais bank. In 1983, following the war, his family relocated to the United States of America, where he carried out specialized studies in information technology.

In 1984 he entered the seminary of the eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles of the Maronites in Washington D.C., where he carried out his studies in philosophy and theology.

After receiving priestly ordination on 6 January 1989, he was appointed vicar of the Maronite parish of Saint Anthony in Danbury, Connecticut.

Since 2020 he has served as protosyncellus of the Maronite eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles , in which he also held the following offices: parish vicar of Saint Maron in Minneapolis, Minnesota; director of youth pastoral care; representative for ecumenism and interreligious dialogue; director of vocational pastoral care; protopresbyter of the deanery of Mid-America; administrator of the Saint Sharbel Mission in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; syncellus for the eparchal clergy; member of the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors; representative for New Evangelization; chair of the board of Télé Lumière International.

In 2015 he was invested with the dignity of Chorbishop.

 

Appointment of bishop of Syros with Milos, Santorini and apostolic administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of Candia

The Holy Father has appointed Archbishop Georgios Altouvas as bishop of Syros with Milos, Santorini and apostolic administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of Candia, transferring him from the archdiocese of Corfu, Zante and Cefalonia and from the apostolic vicariate of Saloniki, conserving ad personam the title of Archbishop.

 

Appointment of auxiliary bishop of Asunción, Paraguay

The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Gabriel Narciso Escobar Ayala, S.D.B., as auxiliary bishop of the metropolitan archdiocese of Asunción, Paraguay, transferring him from the apostolic vicariate of Chaco Paraguayo, conserving the titular see of Media.

Curriculum vitae

Bishop Gabriel Narciso Escobar Ayala, S.D.B., was born on 18 June 1971 in Asunción.

He was ordained a priest on 10 February 2001, in Asunción, and was incardinated into the Salesian Society of Saint John Bosco (S.D.B.).

After his formation in Paraguay, he continued his theological studies in Chile, obtaining a licentiate in religious sciences and in education.

He has held the following offices: bursar of the Salesian House of Concepción and of the “Salesianito” College of Asunción; director of the “Salesianito” College (2008-2013) and of the “San José” Salesian Institute of Concepción (2013).

He was appointed titular bishop of Media and apostolic vicar of Chaco Paraguayo on 18 June 2013, receiving episcopal ordination on the following 3 August.

Within the Episcopal Conference of Paraguay, he has held various roles: chair of the Episcopal Commission for Missionary Animation; coordinator of pastoral ministry for human mobility and of educational pastoral ministry; and to date, coordinator of consecrated life.

This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Holy See, Her Excellency Ms. Tarandip Kaur Sandhu, on the occasion of the presentation of her credential letters.

The following is a brief biography of the new Ambassador:

Her Excellency Ms. Tarandip Kaur Sandhu Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Holy See

Her Excellency Ms. Tarandip Kaur Sandhu was born on 6 March 1982 in Leicester, United Kingdom. She is married with one daughter.

She attended the Li Po Chun United World College in Hong Kong. She graduated in English literature from the University of Warwick, and was awarded a master’s degree in international public policy from University College London (UCL), England.

She entered the diplomatic service of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 2005, and served in the Department for Parliamentary Relations (FCO) from 2005 to 2007 and the Antiterrorism Department (FCO) from 2007-2008). She held the roles of Second Secretary in the Embassy in Morocco (2009-2012); deputy spokesperson at the Permanent Representation to the European Union, Brussels (2012-2014); deputy Mission head and Head of Department for International Trade, Chennai, India (2014-2017); service in the Directorate of Human Resources (FCO) (2017-2020); Director of the Race and Ethnicity Network of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) (2020); deputy Consul-General, San Francisco, United States of America (2021–2023); and Consul-General, San Francisco, United States of America (2023–2025).