Pope Leo XIV surprised 13 priests from southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, by joining a video call from Rome on Wednesday, telling them they were in his prayers and that he hoped peace would soon prevail along the tense frontier. The Lebanese Catholic and Maronite priests were asked to attend an online morning…
For decades, the unspoken assumption at the Vatican was that there could never be a pope from the United States. With Americans as both Holy Father and leader of the free world, the thinking went, the United States would wield too much influence in both the geopolitical and spiritual realms. The cardinals who elected new…
Pope Leo XIV issued decrees advancing the sainthood causes of five candidates, including a Dutch nun who served in St. Louis in the early 20th century. During a meeting April 27, with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the pope signed a decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Carmelite Sr. Teresia of the…
When Pope Leo XIV visits the African nation of Angola on Saturday, he will encounter one of the Roman Catholic Church’s enduring challenges on the continent. Angola has more than 20 million Catholics, but not a single cardinal, making the country a stark example of Africa’s lack of representation in Vatican leadership. Only 14 of…
Shorouk Express “He’s like a dual passport holder, he’s the perfect pontiff for the present moment,” said Miles Pattenden, papal historian and lecturer at Oxford University. Prevost’s predecessor Pope Francis, née Jorge Mario Bergoglio, wrestled with widening divisions in a Church split along geographical and ideological lines. Traditionalists who continued to see the institution as…
Shorouk Express On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Robert Prevost has become the first US leader of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church – taking the name Pope Leo XIV and telling the world: “Peace be…
