VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV celebrated Pentecost by highlighting the role of the Holy Spirit in his repeated calls for peace in recent months, saying the spirit also guides the Church to truth amid a world marked by war, division and ideological fragmentation.

During Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope said the Holy Spirit continues Christ’s work in the world by restoring peace through forgiveness and transforming fear and confusion into communion with God and others.

"Pentecost truly appears as the feast of the New Covenant, the Covenant between God and all the peoples of the world," the pope said May 24 in his homily marking the end of the Easter season.

Reflecting on the Gospel passage of Christ appearing to the apostles after the resurrection, Pope Leo said Jesus restored peace between God and humanity through his Paschal Mystery and poured that peace into the world through the Holy Spirit.

"This peace stems from forgiveness and leads us to forgiveness," he said, emphasizing that Jesus first offered forgiveness even after being "betrayed, condemned and crucified."

"God’s holy law is inscribed in our hearts, engraved by the spirit with letters of love in the flesh of Christ and in his body the Church," Pope Leo said. "This law is the rule of peace: It is the twofold commandment of love that the spirit reminds us of with every heartbeat."

Turning to the Church’s mission, the pope said Christians are called to continue proclaiming Christ through acts of mercy, virtue and witness in daily life. Calling the faithful "coworkers of the Gospel," he said the Holy Spirit transforms believers into agents of reconciliation and hope.

"The work of God, therefore, is each one of us, who came here today from all parts of the world, invited to the Lord’s table, gathered to listen to his word and called to bear witness to it everywhere," he said.

The pope also described the Holy Spirit as the source of unity and truth within the Church, warning against "partisanship, hypocrisy and fads that obscure the light of the Gospel."

While acknowledging that some changes in the modern world have brought "error and violence," Pope Leo said the Holy Spirit continues to renew humanity and introduce salvation.

"The Church’s mission bears witness to this offer, thereby transforming the world’s confusion into communion with God and among ourselves," he said.

Concluding his homily, the pope prayed for the Holy Spirit to free the world from war, misery and sin.

"Dear friends, with fervent hearts, let us pray today that the spirit of the Risen One may save us from the evil of war, which is overcome not by a superpower, but by the omnipotence of love," he said.

In his Regina Caeli address after Mass, Pope Leo said the Holy Spirit "opens doors," saying it gave the apostles the courage to leave the locked room following Jesus' death and proclaim Christ. 

The pope said the Holy Spirit opens three doors: the door to encountering God personally, the door of the Church so it can remain welcoming to all and engaged with the modern world, and the door of the human heart, overcoming "selfishness, mistrust and prejudice."

"We need to rediscover God as the father who loves us, so that we can form a Church where everyone feels at home, and build a fraternal world where peace reigns among all peoples," he said from the window of the Apostolic Palace, a day before releasing his first encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas" on the care of the human person in the time of artificial intelligence. 

After the Regina Caeli prayer, Pope Leo commemorated the Day of Prayer for the Church in China and prayed for victims of a mining accident in northern China that reportedly killed 82 people. He also prayed for Christian communities in the Holy Land, Lebanon and across the Middle East suffering due to the ongoing conflict.

Following the Regina Caeli prayer, Pope Leo XIV entrusts Chinese Christians to the Virgin Mary, praying that they might be witnesses of “hope and peace.” The Pope’s thoughts also turn to those suffering from the conflict in the Holy Land.

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At the Regina Caeli, the Pope urged everyone to invoke the Holy Spirit, who opens the doors to faith and encourages the Church to be “welcoming and hospitable to all.” And may the Holy Spirit help us overcome “resistance, selfishness, mistrust, and prejudice,” allowing fraternity to flourish.

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During his Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost, Pope Leo XIV reflected on how the Holy Spirit continues to work wonders in our lives, saying that by enlightening minds and instilling new vitality in our hearts, the Paraclete “transfigures history, opening it to salvation, which is the gift that the Lord offers to everyone.”

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The joy of the people of Acerra, in Italy's southern Campania region, for Pope Leo XIV's visit to their wounded land, was manifested throughout the morning as he met with clergy and residents who brought gifts, smiles and music wherever he went.

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St. John Baptist de de Rossi, also known as Giovanni Battista de' Rossi, was born on February 22, 1698 in Voltaggio, Italy. He was the fourth child of Charles de Rossi and Frances Anfossi, known to be a holy and faith filled couple. Though John's family was not financially wealthy, they were rich in faith. Through their guidance and a wonderful education, John learned to excel in his living faith, piety and gentleness. A pair of priests, Scipio Gaetano and Giuseppe Repetto, saw great ...

WASHINGTON - Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Alejandro D. Aclan, 75, from the Office of Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles.

The resignation was publicized in Washington, D.C. on May 22, 2026, by Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States. 

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is in the State of California.

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Saint Rita was born Margherita Lotti in Roccaporena, Italy in 1381. The day after her baptism, Rita was surrounded by a swarm of white bees, which went in and out of her infant mouth without hurting her. Rather than being alarmed, her family believed she was marked to be virtuous and devoted to God. At an early age, she begged her parents to allow her to enter a convent but was instead arranged to be married to a cruel man named Paolo Mancini. Young Rita became a wife and mother at only twelve ...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV knows an ethical approach to artificial intelligence and digital technologies is not enough, and he will stress the need for embracing the Christian vision of humanity and creation in his upcoming encyclical, the head of a papal academy said.

A set of ethical guidelines by itself is just "a cold code of regulations" that are difficult to enforce, Bishop Antonio Staglianò, president of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, told reporters May 18, the day the Vatican announced Pope Leo's first encyclical would be titled "Magnifica Humanitas," ("Magnificent Humanity"), and would focus on the protection of the human person in the age of AI.

"It’s clear that if we were to organize a code of ethics," he said, then profit-driven tech giants "would manipulate it, bypass it and exploit it as they please." After all, "how many charters of fundamental human rights have been written? They’re beautiful. But then, who has abided by them?"

"We must change the human heart," which requires a "true great political and social revolution" of recognizing the earth as a gift and all human beings as children of God who deserve love, solidarity and protection, he said at a press conference held at the Vatican News' headquarters May 18. 

Bishop Staglianò and others spoke during the presentation of a new initiative the academy created of an "observatory" or "hub" dedicated to bringing multiple stakeholders together to monitor and propose concrete proposals for building a sustainable "digital" ecology that respects all of creation, including the mental and relational well-being of young people.

Pope Leo had told members of the papal academy Sept. 13, 2025, that the social doctrine of the Church must be at the service of all of humanity "in all its dimensions -- personal, social and political" -- as well as "provide wise answers to digital challenges."

"Theology must be directly involved because an exclusively ethical approach to the complex world of artificial intelligence is not enough," the pope had said. "Instead, we need to refer to an anthropological vision that underpins ethical action and, therefore, return to the age-old question: What is a human being? What is his or her inherent dignity, which is irreconcilable with a digital android?"

The Pontifical Academy of Theology then created an "observatory on the contribution of digital technologies to the environment," which quietly launched three months ago, well before the Vatican announced the creation of an inter-dicasterial commission on artificial intelligence.

That commission, which will be made up of representatives of four dicasteries and three papal academies -- for life, of sciences and of social sciences -- will engage in "activities and projects concerning artificial intelligence, including policies on its use within the Holy See, promoting dialogue, communion and participation," according to the Vatican announcement May 16. 

The Pontifical Academy of Theology operates independently under the "umbrella" of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, which is part of the new commission. Even though the academy did not receive a "direct invitation" or placement within the new commission, its work "will certainly be valuable" for this "synodal journey" of facing the new challenges of AI, Bishop Staglianò told Catholic News Service. 

"Today’s digital world is closely intertwined with the issue of conflict: there can be no true peace without technology that respects human beings, relationships and creation," he said in a written press release.

The observatory will offer "a space for dialogue and theological reflection capable of raising awareness in the world of business and the economy regarding a use of technology that is truly sustainable, ethically oriented and attentive to the dignity of the human person," he said in the statement. "Only in this way can innovation become an ally in the care of creation and a promoter of a truly peaceful, just and supportive coexistence."

Maria Vittoria Trussoni, head of sustainability and "green tech" at the Japanese-owned NTT Data in Italy, said sustainability and safeguarding must start at the design stage of technology and not be an afterthought, tacked on only after problems have emerged.

Carlo Simeone, secretary of the academy's council of higher studies, said the observatory wants to "build a bridge to those companies that demonstrate a certain sensitivity and are already developing products and solutions" that truly serve all people and care for creation.

The academy plans to hold an international forum in October, he said, "bringing together the key players in this sector to present the contributions that can alleviate and resolve the many problems we face today across the globe."

Maria Siclari, director general of Italy's public Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, emphasized the importance of the observatory including scientific study, as well as making that data comprehensible and publicly available.

Having an arsenal of accurate facts helps drive public engagement and gives people the "courage" needed to be vocal and active in the public sphere, both in regard to governance and accountability, she said. 

The observatory will seek to amplify the voices of those who have long been knowledgeable practitioners of sustainability, such as local farmers and Indigenous peoples, said Daniela Alba, secretary for social justice and ecology for the Society of Jesus in Rome.

"It's not that we don't have a voice; it's because we were silenced," she said. "We are at the table waiting for others to come talk with us."

Bishop Staglianò told CNS people must choose between a "Hobbesian," dystopian world made up of "wolves" or a civilization of love, "where humanity shows itself in the care to others, in the care of creation, in solidarity, in recreation, justice and peace in our human relationships,"

Christian ethics goes beyond a "rational" ethics dictated "from above," and instead is rooted in the heart, he said.

Theology is about feeling truly responsible and giving of oneself out of love to serve others as Christ did, he said.

"We welcome the new encyclical," which will be published May 25, he said. "Pope Leo will surely give us guidelines, not only ethical but theological guidelines for the future of our humanity in a new world ahead, a new world in times to come with a peace that's disarmed and disarming."

Eugene de Mazenod was born on August 1, 1782, at Aix-en-Provence in France. Early in life he experienced the upheaval of the French Revolution. None the less, he entered the seminary, and following ordination he returned to labor in Aix-en-Provence. That area had suffered greatly during the Revolution and was not really a safe place for a priest. Eugene directed his ministry toward the poorest of the poor. Others joined his labors, and became the nucleus of a religious community, the ...