Pope Leo XIV offers mass at the Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals

 

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass with Cardinals at the opening of the Consistory  (@Vatican Media)

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Pope at Consistory Opening Mass: War is never blessed by God

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass to begin the Extraordinary Consistory and invites the Cardinals to reflect on the true freedom of faith and the gift of peace, stressing that "war is never worthy of humanity, and it is never blessed by God."

By Fr. Johan Pacheco 

The Extraordinary Consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV began on Friday, June 26, with the celebration of the Eucharist in St. Peter's Basilica.

Cardinals have gathered in the Vatican on June 26-27 to reflect on matters concerning the Church and the world today. The meeting opened with Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, entrusting the work of the Consistory, which will conclude with the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.

In his homily, the Pope reminded the Cardinals that the life-giving source of the Consistory is Christ Himself, as proclaimed in the Gospel: "I am the true vine" (Jn 15:1).

He explained that "the Gospel itself prepares the ground for it to bear fruit: 'Remain in me, and I in you' (Jn 15:4)." He then reflected on three guiding principles for discernment during these days: sharing in the true freedom of faith, asking for the gift of peace in unity, and embracing harmony through obedience.

"As we ask God to grant us strength and wisdom, it is significant that our Consistory takes place on the eve of the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Let us pause, then, to commemorate these two pillars of the Roman Catholic Church, the two missionary martyrs whose preaching became one with their lives, to the point of becoming part of Sacred Scripture," Pope Leo said.

The true freedom of faith

The Pope first invited the Cardinals to allow themselves to be guided by the example of Sts. Peter and Paul, who encourage believers to "share in the true freedom of faith."

He explained that "it is precisely our relationship with the Lord Jesus that frees us from sin and fear. As He calls us to follow Him, He sends us out into the world as successors of the Apostles."

"Faith is that virtue—never to be taken for granted—that gives life to the Church, for it is the grace that nourishes the branches of the one vine. The living Church is the Church that believes through the gift of the Holy Spirit poured into our hearts. And this Church bears much fruit," the Pope said.

The gift of peace in unity

Secondly, Pope Leo invited the Cardinals to ask for "the gift of peace in unity."

Reflecting on the many conflicts affecting humanity, he stressed that "war is never worthy of humanity, and it is never blessed by God, because, even if we are equipped with high-tech weapons, the Creator has endowed us with intelligence and free will to resolve conflicts as human beings and not as beasts."

The Pope then added that "peace is a duty of justice because we are one human family, a magnifica humanitas that finds its head and redeemer in Christ."

Referring to the path outlined in his first encyclical and recalling the teaching of Saint Paul VI, the Pope encouraged perseverance in building the "civilization of love," in which justice and charity are inseparably linked.

"As she proclaims the Gospel, amid both joys and persecutions, the Church is never partial, since she is for everyone, and to each she addresses the same message of conversion and salvation," said the Pope.

Harmony through obedience

Finally, Pope Leo invited the Cardinals to embrace "harmony through obedience," describing it as "a listening that recognizes the gift of the Word made flesh for us."

Through this attentive listening, he said, "the Holy Spirit guides us, pointing out pastoral challenges and opportunities, purifying our intentions, and correcting whatever strays from our shared path."

He highlighted in particular the ongoing implementation of the Synod, which "invites everyone to move forward in unity of faith, in promoting peace, and in obedience to Jesus, the living Word."

The Pope concluded by underlining that "our working together in a collegial way embodies the synodality in which all the baptized participate in the unity of the People of God. Synodality and collegiality are, in fact, forms of Christian fraternity, which binds us together as the baptized and as Bishops."

Pope Leo XIV opens the Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals

 

Pope Leo XIV opens the Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals in the Paul VI Hall  (@Vatican Media)

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Pope Leo opens Consistory, asks Cardinals for frankness, loyalty

Pope Leo XIV opens the Extraordinary Consistory and invites the Cardinals to help him discern the Holy Spirit’s action in the Church today through their explicit support and counsel.

By Devin Watkins

“I need your freedom, your frankness, and your loyalty. Sincere counsel is always an act of communion.”

Pope Leo XIV opened the Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals on Friday with that invitation to his brother Cardinals.

Held in the Paul VI Hall, the Consistory will last until Saturday evening and offers the Cardinals an opportunity to discern together with the Pope.

The Holy Father renewed his desire expressed in January that these encounters may help the Cardinals and the Pope learn better how to “work together in the service of the Church” and continue “a conversation that helps me in the service of the mission and of the whole Church.”

Communion, said the Pope, is never achieved once and for all, but requires daily conversion, prayer, trusting relationships, and a willingness to listen to one another.

Pope Leo reminded the Cardinals of his invitations in recent months to build communion in the Church through synodality, with each member cooperating in her mission according to their own charism and ministry.

He then reflected on the four themes on which the Cardinals will focus during these two days.

First, they will reflect on the world in which the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel. This situational awareness will help them to recognize Jesus who walks in the streets of the world and goes before us in history.

Second, the Cardinals will examine the implications of the culture of power and the civilization of love.

Many of them come from lands marked by war, he noted, recalling however that none is untouched by the many forms of conflict, domination, and division that course through societies everywhere.

The Pope invited the Cardinals to take his encyclical Magnifica humanitas as a key to understanding their own local Churches.

In the third session, they will focus on examining what contribution the Church can make to the common good of humanity.

“The Church’s social doctrine reminds us that the common good does not arise spontaneously, but requires shared responsibility,” said the Pope. “For the Church, this takes on a very precise form: a synodal style at the service of the mission of the Kingdom.”

In the fourth session, the Cardinals will reflect on the continued implementation of the Synod on Synodality.

Pope Leo said this final session will gather the reflections of the previous three under the lens of synodality as an “attitude, an openness, and a willingness to understand.”

Rather than focusing on the internal life of the Church, the Pope invited the Cardinals to gaze upon the world and ask a single question: “How can we help our Churches today to proclaim the Gospel with greater fidelity, freedom, and credibility?

Mission, he noted, is not one of many tasks for the Church but her reason for existing, which thus requires the Cardinals to listen, bear their responsibilities, and discern the actions of the Holy Spirit together.

Pope Leo XIV concluded his opening address at the Extraordinary Consistory by thanking the Cardinals for their help.

“I count on you to help me discern what the Spirit is saying to the Church today. I need your support: strong, explicit, and public,” he said. “I need to feel sustained by you as brothers.”

Saint of the Day for Friday

 

St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer

Feastday: June 26
Death: June 26, 1975
Beatified: Pope John Paul II
Canonized: Pope John Paul II

Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer was born in Barbastro, Spain, on January 9, 1902, the second of six children of Jose and Dolores Escriva. Growing up in a devout family and attending Catholic schools, he learned the basic truths of the faith and practices such as frequent confession and communion, the rosary, and almsgiving. The death of three younger sisters, and his father's bankruptcy after business reverses, taught him the meaning of suffering and brought maturity to his outgoing and cheerful temperament. In 1915, the family moved to Logrono, where his father had found new employment.

Beginning in 1918, Josemaria sensed that God was asking something of him, although he didn't know exactly what it was. He decided to become a priest, in order to be available for whatever God wanted of him. He began studying for the priesthood, first in Logrono and later in Saragossa. At his father's suggestion and with the permission of his superiors at the seminary he also began to study civil law. He was ordained a priest and began his pastoral ministry in 1925.

In 1927, Fr. Josemaria moved to Madrid to study for a graduate degree in law. He was accompanied by his mother, sister, and brother, as his father had died in 1924 and he was now head of the family. They were not well-off, and he had to tutor law students to support them. At the same time he carried out a demanding pastoral work, especially among the poor and sick in Madrid, and with young children. He also undertook an apostolate with manual workers, professional people and university students who, by coming into contact with the poor and sick to whom Fr. Josemaria was ministering, learned the practical meaning of charity and their Christian responsibility to help out in the betterment of society.

On October 2, 1928, while making a retreat in Madrid, God showed him his specific mission: he was to found Opus Dei, an institution within the Catholic Church dedicated to helping people in all walks of life to follow Christ, to seek holiness in their daily life and grow in love for God and their fellow men and women. From that moment on, he dedicated all his strength to fulfilling this mission, certain that God had raised up Opus Dei to serve the Church. In 1930, responding to a new illumination from God, he started Opus Dei's apostolic work with women, making clear that they had the same responsibility as men to serve society and the Church.

The first edition of The Way, his most widely read work, was published in 1934 under the title Spiritual Considerations. Expanded and revised, it has gone through many editions since then; more than four million copies in many different languages are now in print. His other spiritual writings include Holy Rosary; The Way of the Cross; two collections of homilies, Christ Is Passing By and Friends of God; and Furrow and The Forge, which like The Way are made up of short points for prayer and reflection.

The development of Opus Dei began among the young people with whom Fr. Josemaria had already been in contact before 1928. Its growth, however, was seriously impeded by the religious persecution inflicted on the Catholic Church during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The founder himself suffered severe hardships under this persecution but, unlike many other priests, he came out of the war alive. After the war, he traveled throughout the country giving retreats to hundreds of priests at the request of their bishops. Meanwhile Opus Dei spread from Madrid to several other Spanish cities, and as soon as World War II ended in 1945, began starting in other countries. This growth was not without pain; though the Work always had the approval of the local bishops, its then-unfamiliar message of sanctity in the world met with some misunderstandings and suspicions-which the founder bore with great patience and charity.

While celebrating Mass in 1943, Fr. Josemaria received a new foundational grace to establish the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, which made it possible for some of Opus Dei's lay faithful to be ordained as priests. The full incorporation of both lay faithful and priests in Opus Dei, which makes a seamless cooperation in the apostolic work possible, is an essential feature of the foundational charism of Opus Dei, affirmed by the Church in granting Opus Dei the canonical status of a personal Prelature. In addition, the Priestly Society conducts activities, in full harmony with the bishops of the local churches, for the spiritual development of diocesan priests and seminarians. Diocesan priests can also be part of the Priestly Society, while at the same time remaining clergy of their own dioceses.

Aware that God meant Opus Dei to be part of the mission of the universal Church, the founder moved to Rome in 1946 so as to be close to the Holy See. By 1950 the Work had received pontifical approvals affirming its main foundational features-spreading the message of holiness in daily life; service to the Pope, the universal church, and the particular churches; secularity and naturalness; fostering personal freedom and responsibility, and a pluralism consistent with Catholic moral, political, and social teachings.

Beginning in 1948, full membership in Opus Dei was open to married people. In 1950 the Holy See approved the idea of accepting non-Catholics and even non-Christians as cooperators-persons who assist Opus Dei in its projects and programs without being members. The next decade saw the launching of a wide range of undertakings: professional schools, agricultural training centers, universities, primary and secondary schools, hospitals and clinics, and other initiatives, open to people of all races, religions, and social backgrounds but of manifestly Christian inspiration.

During Vatican Council II (1962-1965), Monsignor Escriva worked closely with many of the council fathers, discussing key Council themes such as the universal call to holiness and the importance of laypersons in the mission of the Church. Deeply grateful for the Council's teachings, he did everything possible to implement them in the formative activities offered by Opus Dei throughout the world.

Between 1970 and 1975 the founder undertook catechetical trips throughout Europe and Latin America, speaking with many people, at times in large gatherings, about love of God, the sacraments, Christian dedication, and the need to sanctify work and family life. By the time of the founder's death, Opus Dei had spread to thirty nations on six continents. It now (2002) has more than 84,000 members in sixty countries.

Monsignor Escriva's death in Rome came suddenly on June 26, 1975, when he was 73. Large numbers of bishops and ordinary faithful petitioned the Vatican to begin the process for his beatification and canonization. On May 17, 1992, Pope John Paul II declared him Blessed before a huge crowd in St. Peter's Square. He is to be canonized-formally declared a saint-on October 6, 2002.

As our own Archbishop Checchio receives the Pallium next Monday; here is some good info on just what is the Pallium

 

The Pallium: A Special Sign of a Bishop’s Love

June 24, 2026

by Betty-Ann Hickey

In St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, on June 29, the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, Archbishop Checchio and the new metropolitan archbishops (that’s an archbishop who is the leader of an archdiocese) from around the world will receive a special garment called the pallium from Pope Leo XIV.

The pallium is a circular band made of soft white wool that is worn over an archbishop’s shoulders during important Masses. It has two woolen strips that hang down: one in the front and one in the back. Only an archbishop or the pope can wear a pallium.

The pallium is rich with meaning. Its shape looks like a yoke, the wooden beam that farm animals wear when pulling a plow in a field. A yoke usually connects two animals so they can work together. Jesus said that his yoke is easy and his burden is light, so when we work together with Jesus, he helps us even when the work seems too hard. This reminds the archbishops that God has called them to work with the pope and with Jesus to faithfully to care for the people in the part of the world given to them.

The six black crosses on the pallium remind us of the wounds Jesus received during his crucifixion. In three of those crosses there are metal pins, which represent the nails that held Jesus to the Cross. The ends of the hanging strips are covered in black cloth, making them look like the legs of a lamb. This helps us remember Jesus, the Lamb of God, and the gentle care a bishop should show to the people entrusted to him.

Even the wool used to make the pallium is special. It comes from lambs that are blessed by the pope each year on the Feast of Saint Agnes, January 21. The lambs are later shorn, and their wool is woven into the pallia. This reminds us that just like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, lovingly carries his sheep on his shoulders, our archbishop loves and cares for us too.

The night before they are given to the new archbishops, the pallia are placed near the tomb of Saint Peter beneath the main altar of Saint Peter’s Basilica. They stay there all night until it is time for the Mass.

The pallium is much more than a piece of clothing. It is a sign that bishops are called to be loving shepherds who care for God’s people. It also shows their unity with the Pope and their mission to help others grow closer to Jesus Christ.

When you see the pallium, you can remember that Jesus loves us very much and has given us an archbishop to love, teach and guide us.

God Bless the Permanent Deacons of the Catholic Church

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Deacons Continue to Bring a Spirit of Renewal and Encouragement to the Missionary Ministry of the Church, Says Archbishop Hicks   June 22, 2026   WASHINGTON – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations has released its annual survey, A Portrait of the Permanent Diaconate in 2025: A Study for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Since 2005, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University has conducted this survey, which provides important statistics and forecasting trends on the state of the permanent diaconate in the Church in the United States.   “Deacons continue to bring a spirit of renewal and encouragement to the missionary ministry of the Church through their service in the liturgy and works of charity expressed in everyday life,” said Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. “With nearly 15,000 active deacons in ministry in 2025, the permanent diaconate plays a vital role in bringing the Gospel to life through their witness as icons of Christ the Servant. With their primary duty of service in the Church being to proclaim the Gospel, preach, and perform charitable works, deacons serve a unique and vital ministry in the life of the Church. This annual survey is an opportunity for our faithful to recognize the work of the diaconate, pray for our deacons, and also discern if they are called to such ministry themselves.”    The survey utilized contact information from the National Association of Diaconate Directors (NADD) and was sent to the Office of the Permanent Diaconate in the Latin and Eastern Rite (arch)dioceses and eparchies. In total, CARA received responses from 143 of the 185 (arch)dioceses/eparchies whose bishops are members of the USCCB and have an active Office of Deacons, for a 77% response rate.

General Audience with Pope Leo XIV on 06.24.2026

 

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Pope at Audience: Let us be transformed by the Eucharistic mystery

During his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Leo XIV focuses on the Eucharist as he continues reflecting on Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, underscoring that the sacred mystery enables us 'to adopt the very way of the Lord.'

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

“Let us draw with faith from this source of divine life and allow ourselves to be transformed by the mystery we celebrate.”

Pope Leo XIV made this observation about the Eucharist during his weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, as he continued his catechesis series on the Second Vatican Council and its 1963 Dogmatic Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium.

READ POPE LEO XIV'S FULL ADDRESS

The Holy Father this week reflected on the celebration of the Eucharist as presented by the Constitution, noting that this “sacred mystery” is described in the text’s Second Chapter as “a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, ‘a paschal banquet in which Christ is received, the soul is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.’” 

He also recalled the Constitution’s emphasis on the faithful not being passive spectators at Mass but being encouraged to offer themselves in union with Jesus Christ.

Pope Leo XIV at General Audience (@Vatican Media)

The Pope observed that when we participate in the Eucharist, we are invited to listen to the Word of God and to be nourished at the Lord’s table, where He Himself offers Himself to the Father.

In this perspective, he underscored, the Eucharist is the form of the spiritual sacrifice of Christians, insofar as it is the way of union with God and of mutual union.

“By participating in it,” the Holy Father noted, “they learn to offer themselves and, day by day, to be consumed, through Christ, in unity with God and among themselves.”

He also recalled, quoting the Constitution, that during Mass, the Liturgy of the Word and the Eucharistic Liturgy “are so closely connected with each other that they form but one single act of worship.”

With this sentiment, the Pope noted that “by incorporating us into Christ, the Eucharist teaches us to adopt the very way of life of the Lord Jesus, marked by the free gift of self.”

“This gift,” he said, “introduces us into the dynamic of unity, which offers a powerful antidote to the forces of division that undermine our world, our communities, our families, and our hearts.”

Finally, the Holy Father prayed that all the faithful, as they seek nourishment from this abundant source of divine life, may allow themselves to be transformed by the mystery we celebrate.