In the south of Bogotá, in what was once a middle-class Colombian neighborhood, lies the “Barrio San Bernardo.” Today, this area bears the marks of marginalization and despair, but within it, seeds of hope are being planted by a young parish priest, Fr. Juan Felipe Quevedo.

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In a new Apostlic Letter issued “motu proprio,” Pope Leo XIV provides new guidance on the financial investment activities of the Holy See.

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Pope Leo XIV thanks the Knights of Columbus for their charitable activity to support the work of the Holy Father, as well as for their efforts to uphold the sanctity of human life in all its stages.

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Pope Leo holds a private audience with the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.

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Thousands of the faithful converge at the Subukia National Marian Shrine in Nakuru, Kenya, for the annual National Prayer Day, marked this year under the theme "Pilgrims of Hope: Renewing Our Nation," which included the dedication of the country to the protection of Mary, Mother of the Church.

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Pope Leo XIV presides at Mass on the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of the Vatican Gendarmerie Corps, and invites members of the police force to live their mission as “witnesses of peace”.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The joint celebration of the Jubilee of Migrants and the Jubilee of the Missions is an opportunity to remind all Catholics that the duty to welcome and assist migrants is also part of each person's obligation to share God's love, Pope Leo XIV said.

"Brothers and sisters, today a new missionary age opens up in the history of the church," the pope said Oct. 5 during a Jubilee Mass in St. Peter's Square with tens of thousands of migrants and of missionaries from around the world.

For centuries Catholics have thought of missionaries as people who leave their homelands and set off for distant lands to minister with people who live in poverty and do not know Jesus, said the U.S.-born pope who served for decades as a missionary in Peru.

"Today the frontiers of the missions are no longer geographical, because poverty, suffering and the desire for a greater hope have made their way to us," Pope Leo said. 

"The story of so many of our migrant brothers and sisters bears witness to this: the tragedy of their flight from violence, the suffering which accompanies it, the fear of not succeeding, the perilous risk of traveling along the coastline, their cry of sorrow and desperation," he said. "Those boats which hope to catch sight of a safe port, and those eyes filled with anguish and hope seeking to reach the shore, cannot and must not find the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination!"

A few days earlier, speaking to reporters, Pope Leo appeared to criticize Catholic supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration raids. "Someone who says that I am against abortion, but I am in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants who are in the United States, I don't know if that's pro-life," he said.

Leading the recitation of the Angelus after Mass, Pope Leo said that "no one should be forced to flee, nor exploited or mistreated because of their situation as foreigners or people in need! Human dignity must always come first."

Today, the pope had said in his homily, "mission is not so much about 'departing,' but instead 'remaining' in order to proclaim Christ through hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity."

Being missionaries at home, he said, means not hiding in the comforts of one's own life and turning a blind eye to "those who arrive from lands that are distant and violent," but rather opening "our arms and hearts to them, welcoming them as brothers and sisters, and being for them a presence of consolation and hope." 

Pope Leo praised the "many missionary men and women, but also believers and people of good will, who work in the service of migrants, and promote a new culture of fraternity on the theme of migration, beyond stereotypes and prejudices."

However, he said, Catholics cannot leave the work to others. "This precious service involves each one of us, within the limits of our own means."

In its efforts to fulfill Jesus' mandate to share the Gospel with all people, the Catholic Church has relied on "missionary cooperation" with people in traditionally Christian lands supporting the foreign missions with prayer, donations and personnel.

Pope Leo called for a new form of missionary cooperation that taps into lively faith of many migrants and refugees.

"In the communities of ancient Christian tradition, such as those of the West," he said, "the presence of many brothers and sisters from the world's South should be welcomed as an opportunity, through an exchange that renews the face of the church and sustains a Christianity that is more open, more alive and more dynamic."

He also asked missionaries called to depart for foreign lands "to live with respect within the culture they encounter, directing to the good all that is found true and worthy, and bringing there the prophetic message of the Gospel."
 

Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament was born as Helena Kowalska, in Glogowiec, Leczyca County, north-west of LĂ?Âłdz in Poland on August 25, 1905. She was the third of 10 children to a poor and religious family. Faustina first felt a calling to the religious life when she was just seven-years-old and attended the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. After finishing her schooling, Faustina wanted to immediately join a convent. However, her parents refused to let her. ...

Speaking at the close of Mass in St Peter’s Square, Pope Leo condemns both the “immense suffering” of Gazans and the rise of “antisemitic hatred” worldwide, and expresses his hope that an Israel-Hamas peace deal will be finalised “as soon as possible”.

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Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continued overnight despite growing optimism that a peace deal could be reached soon. Late on Saturday, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Natanyahu said he hoped to announce the release of all remaining hostages in the coming days.

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