Pope Leo XIV

What is the connection between Pope Leo XIV and one of the great holy wonder-workers or miracle workers in the history of our faith,  St. Nicholas of Tolentino? He was was an Augustinian friar (like Pope Leo) and considered the patron of the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

The Sixth World Apostolic Congress on Mercy has just concluded in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Chris Sparks has been struck by the dense, thickly layered web of connections and meaning to it in this particular year, in that particular place. 

Pope Leo XIV has proclaimed a special Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi to mark the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death in 1226. We are encouraged to visit Franciscan sites for a plenary indulgence and to focus on peace. 

Happy New Year! But as we welcome 2026, we bid farewell to another year: the Jubilee Year of Hope! And what a year it was!

In one of the greatest Dad jokes of his early pontificate, the first American pope is going to Turkey today, Thanksgiving Day. 

Everything in Pope Leo XIV’s first major teaching document of his pontificate, Dilexit te, can also be found in the life of St. Francis of Assisi, who loved no one and nothing more than God and the poor. 

It’s natural for there to be a ton of interest and excitement about the new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, in the United States. At the same time, all the attention can sometimes distract us from the truly important thing we need to do in response to his election: Pray for him.