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Pope Leo XIV greets an elderly woman at the Vatican on Oct. 3, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 3, 2025 / 15:08 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Friday said that old age is both a gift and a challenge, and in response the Catholic Church is called to develop missionary pastoral care that involves the elderly as witnesses of hope.

On Oct. 3, the pontiff received at the Vatican Apostolic Palace participants in the Second International Congress on Pastoral Care of the Elderly, organized by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.

In his address, Leo XIV emphasized that the theme of the meeting, “Your Elders Shall Dream Dreams,” taken from the book of the prophet Joel, contains words dear to his predecessor, Pope Francis, who often spoke “of the need for an alliance between young and old.”

The pontiff explained that in this biblical passage, “the prophet announces the universal outpouring of the Holy Spirit, who creates unity among generations and distributes different gifts to each person.” He also lamented that today, “relationships between generations are often marked by divisions and conflicts that pit them against each other.”

Specifically, he referred to two criticisms: that the elderly “do not leave room for young people in the workforce” or that they are “consuming too many economic and social resources to the detriment of other generations, as if longevity were a fault.”

In this regard, Leo XIV expressed his conviction that “the elderly are a gift, a blessing to be welcomed,” and that longevity “is one of the signs of hope in our time, everywhere in the world.”

At the same time, the pontiff emphasized that this is “a challenge, because the growing number of elderly people is an unprecedented historical phenomenon that calls us to discern and understand the reality in new ways.”

In this sense, in the face of the current mentality that “tends to value existence if it produces wealth or success, if it exercises power or authority, forgetting that the human being is always a limited creature with needs,” Pope Leo XIV emphasized that the fragility that appears in the elderly is “hidden or removed by those who cultivate worldly illusions, so as not to have before their eyes the image of what we will inevitably become.”

However, he added, “it is healthy to realize that aging is part of the marvel of creation,” as he expressed during the Jubilee of Youth last August.

The pope invited people to stop being ashamed of human weakness so that “we will in fact be led to ask for help from our brothers and sisters and from God, who watches over all his creatures as a Father.”

“The Church is called to offer times and tools for understanding old age, so that we can live it in a Christian way, without pretending to remain forever young and without letting ourselves be overcome by discouragement,” continued the pope, who recommended the catechesis Pope Francis dedicated to this topic as “very valuable.”

Active participants in evangelization

Pope Leo XIV valued the presence of older people who, once their working life is over, “have the opportunity to enjoy an increasingly long period of good health, economic well-being and more free time” and who are often “the ones who attend Mass assiduously and lead parish activities, such as catechesis and various forms of pastoral service.”

“It is important to find an appropriate language and opportunities for them, involving them not as passive recipients of evangelization but as active subjects, and to respond together with them, and not in their place, to the questions that life and the Gospel pose to us,” he added.

Coming from different life experiences and relationships with the faith, the pontiff noted: “For all of them, the pastoral care of the elderly must be evangelizing and missionary, because the Church is always called to proclaim Jesus Christ the Savior to every man and woman, at every age and stage of life.”

This involves, first and foremost, bringing “them the good news of the Lord’s tenderness, to overcome, together with them, the darkness of loneliness, the great enemy of the lives of the elderly” in a missionary task that “challenges all of us, our parishes, and, in a particular way, young people, who can become witnesses of closeness and mutual listening to those who are further along in their lives.”

“In other cases, missionary evangelization will help older people to encounter the Lord and his word. With advancing age, in fact, many people begin to question the meaning of existence, creating an opportunity to seek an authentic relationship with God and to deepen their vocation to holiness,” the pontiff noted.

Finally, Leo XIV recalled that “proclaiming the Gospel is the primary task of our pastoral ministry: By involving older people in this missionary dynamic, they too will be witnesses of hope, especially through their wisdom, devotion, and experience.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Swiss Guards model the new military dress uniform in a courtyard of the Swiss Guards’ Vatican barracks during an Oct. 2, 2025, presentation. The uniform, an updated version of a historic uniform used from the late 1800s to 1976, will be used at important events. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Oct 3, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The Swiss Guards, who have protected popes for the last five centuries, now have a new uniform.

The mostly wool uniform is the recreation of a historic military dress for use at galas and other important dinners and will not replace the iconic red, orange, and blue “grand gala” uniforms for which the guards are famous.

The Swiss-made garments were paid for by a benefactor and cost 2,000 euros (around $2,300) apiece. According to Swiss Guard Commander Christoph Graf, they represent “a link between the present and the past.”

Examples of the 2015 version (left) and late 19th-century version (right) of the updated dress uniform presented by the Swiss Guards at the Vatican on Oct. 2, 2025. Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNA

The 135 guards in the world’s smallest but oldest army will don the new uniforms for the first time at a dinner the night before the Oct. 4 ceremony to swear in this year’s recruits.

The swearing-in ceremony, when the new guards promise to protect the pope, if necessary with their lives, was postponed from the traditional date of May 6 due to the timing of the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, who is expected to attend.

The May 6 date marks the 1527 battle known as the Sack of Rome, when 147 guards lost their lives defending Pope Clement VII from the army of the mutinous Holy Roman Empire. It is the most significant and deadly event in the history of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, which was established by Pope Julius II in 1506 and is responsible for Vatican security together with the Vatican gendarmes.

The new dress uniform presented Thursday is an update of one used from the late 1800s until 1976. In 2015, the Swiss Guards reintroduced a version of the same uniform, but the latest interpretation, according to Graf, “is more faithful to our tradition.”

Pope Leo thanks new recruits

The pope met the recruits and their families at the Apostolic Palace on Oct. 3, ahead of the swearing-in ceremony.

Pope Leo XIV meets the Swiss Guards' 27 new recruits and their families at the Apostolic Palace on Oct. 3, 2025, ahead of the Oct. 4 swearing-in ceremony. Credit: Vatican Media

“From the first steps of my pontificate, dear Swiss Guards, I have been able to count on your faithful service,” he said. “The successor of Peter can fulfill his mission in service to the Church and the world in the certainty that you are watching over his safety.”

He encouraged the new guards to draw inspiration from the stories of the first Christian martyrs in Rome to deepen their relationships with Jesus and to cultivate their interior lives “amid the frenzy of our society.”

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, who will attend the ceremony, also had a private audience with Pope Leo on the morning of Oct. 3.

Swearing-in ceremony

The ceremony in the San Damaso Courtyard of the Vatican on Oct. 4 will be preceded by Mass. The day before there will also be a prayer service and an award banquet. The two days’ events will be attended by representatives of the Swiss army, Swiss government, and Swiss bishops’ conference. Former guards, and family and friends of the new recruits, will also participate.

Press officer and guard Eliah Cinotti said 4,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony, during which recruits take an oath “to faithfully, loyally, and honorably serve the reigning pontiff and his legitimate successors, to devote myself to them with all my strength, sacrificing, if necessary, even my life in their defense.”

Press officer and guard Eliah Cinotti answers journalists' questions about the Swiss Guards in a room of the Swiss Guards' barracks on Oct. 2, 2025. He said the admission of women to the Swiss Guards is not up for discussion at the moment, but if it were, it would be the pope's decision. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

During the hourlong event, punctuated by music and drumming from the Pontifical Swiss Guard Band, each new guard places his left hand on the flag of the Swiss Guard while raising his right hand with three fingers open as a sign of his faith in the Holy Trinity.

He then proclaims in a loud voice: “I, Halberdier [name], swear to observe faithfully, loyally, and honorably all that at this moment was read to me. May God and our patron saints assist me!”

Cinotti told journalists this week that 27 new guards in 2025 is an “OK” number, but they are continuously working to recruit more — including by visiting Swiss military bases and attending job fairs.

When it comes to papal security, since the election of Pope Leo, the guards have noticed “an increase in objects being thrown” at the pope, he said, and “it bothers us a bit.”

But, Cinotti added, though it “is very difficult to anticipate the throwing of an object,” guards are trained to spot potentially dangerous items, most of which are confiscated at security before entering St. Peter’s Square.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has also been an increase in what he called “incivility,” including isolated security threats mostly from people under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“Our weapon is the word,” he said, emphasizing that guards work to avoid ever needing to use deadly force, though he acknowledged, “without giving away all our secrets,” that they are also armed.

‘That’s our job’

The biggest challenge for a recruit, Cinotti said, is to “set aside his life and dedicate himself to a cause greater than himself.”

Dario, one of the new guards who will take the oath to protect the pope on Oct. 4, 2025, told journalists what surprised him the most in his first six months on the job is “the effect of the pope on the people.” Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNA

Dario, 25, is one of the new guards who will take the oath to protect the pope on Oct. 4. The Swiss Guards declined to give the full name of the recruit citing security reasons.

Now, six months into his service, he called it an “amazing experience.”

Dario, who started just a few weeks before Pope Francis’ death, said that with the conclave and a jubilee year, it has been a very intense time for the Pontifical Swiss Guard.

“What we have experienced this year, other guards haven’t experienced in their whole service time,” he said.

“What surprised me the most was the effect of the pope on the people, seeing people overwhelmed with feelings when they see him,” Dario, whose father also served as a Swiss Guard, told CNA. “And you just stand there, protect the pope, but you see how much respect he gets from the people.”

You can watch a livestream of the Swiss Guards swearing-in ceremony at the Vatican on Oct. 4 at 11 a.m. ET here.

Pope Leo XIV greets participants attending the Oct. 1-3 Migrants and Refugees in Our Common Home summit in Rome on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 2, 2025 / 11:10 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV said a “culture of reconciliation” is necessary to support more than 100 million people affected by migration and displacement across the world during his Thursday meeting with participants attending the Oct. 1–3 Migrants and Refugees in Our Common Home summit in Rome.

“Just as Pope Francis spoke of the culture of encounter as the antidote for the globalization of indifference, we must work to confront the globalization of powerlessness by fostering a culture of reconciliation,” Leo told summit participants gathered inside the Vatican’s Clementine Hall.

Pope Leo XIV meets with participants attending the Oct. 1-3 Migrants and Refugees in Our Common Home summit in Rome on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media

“In this particular way of encountering others, we ‘meet one another by healing our wounds, forgiving each other for the evil we have done and also that we have not done, but whose effects we bear,’” he said, quoting his predecessor.

“This requires patience, a willingness to listen, the ability to identify with the pain of others and the recognition that we have the same dreams and the same hopes,” he continued.

Speaking to approximately 200 people from 40 countries taking part in the three-day conference, the Holy Father encouraged participants to create “action plans” based on the four core pillars of “teaching, research, service, and advocacy” to alleviate the sufferings of those impacted by migration and displacement.

Pope Leo XIV views a painting while meeting with participants attending the Oct. 1-3 Migrants and Refugees in Our Common Home summit in Rome on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media

During the meeting, the Holy Father emphasized the need for concrete “gestures and policies of reconciliation,” particularly in “lands where there are deep-seated wounds from long-standing conflicts.”

“I pray that your efforts may bring about new ideas and approaches in this regard, seeking always to put the dignity of every human person at the center of any solution,” he said. 

The international summit, organized by Villanova University’s Mother Cabrini Institute on Immigration, aims to bring together educational institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and local groups through a three-year initiative to sustainably respond to the needs of vulnerable communities.     

In light of the Jubilee of Migrants and the Jubilee of Missions taking place over the Oct. 4-5 weekend, the Holy Father asked summit participants to integrate two themes in their action plans: “reconciliation and hope.”

“In formulating your action plans, it is also important to remember that migrants and refugees can be privileged witnesses of hope through their resilience and through their trust in God,” he said.

“I encourage you to lift up such examples of hope in the communities of those whom you serve,” he added. “In this way, they can be an inspiration for others and assist in developing ways to address the challenges that they have faced in their own lives.”

The Migrants and Refugees in Our Common Home summit is supported by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and Dicastery for Culture and Education.

Pope Leo XIV answers questions during an impromptu Q&A with journalists outside Castel Gandolfo on Sept. 30, 2025. / Credit: EWTN News

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 1, 2025 / 16:05 pm (CNA).

Late Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV answered several questions from journalists at Villa Barberini, the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, where he addressed various issues.

Asked about the plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump to resolve the crisis in Gaza, the pontiff stated: “We hope they accept it. So far, it seems to be a realistic proposal.”

“It’s important, nonetheless, that there be a ceasefire and the release of the hostages. But there are elements there that I think are very interesting, and I hope Hamas will accept it within the established time frame,” he added.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sept. 29 that they have agreed on a plan to end the war, although it is unknown whether Hamas will accept the terms. The 20-point plan seeks to halt the war between Israel and Hamas through a temporary governing body in Gaza, headed by Trump and also including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The plan does not require population displacement and calls for an immediate end to hostilities if both sides agree. It also demands that the remaining hostages be released within 72 hours of Israel’s acceptance of the agreement. Trump assured that Israel would have the “full support” of the United States to defeat Hamas if the armed group rejects the proposal.

The Holy Father also referred to the arrival on the coast of Gaza of vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla, sent with humanitarian aid and with the purpose of breaking the naval blockade imposed by Israel, despite warnings from the Israeli government, which has demanded the suspension of the mission.

“It’s very difficult. There’s a desire to respond to a true humanitarian emergency, but there are many elements [involved] there, and all sides are saying that we hope there will be no violence and that people will be respected. That’s very important,” he noted.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Vatican aecretary for eelations with atates. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Oct 1, 2025 / 15:05 pm (CNA).

The Holy See’s secretary for relations with states, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, decried that attacks on Christians have intensified in recent years and accused the international community of “turning a blind eye.”

“The data show that Christians are the most persecuted religious group worldwide, and yet the international community seems to be turning a blind eye to their plight,” the English archbishop declared during his Sept. 29 address to the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly.

“Christians across the world are subjected to severe persecution, including physical violence, imprisonment, forced displacement, and martyrdom,” he added.

The Vatican diplomat noted that more than 360 million Christians live in areas where they experience high levels of persecution or discrimination, “with attacks on churches, homes, and communities intensifying in recent years.”

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the archbishop emphasized defending life from practices such as abortion and euthanasia.

In his speech, he insisted that the right to life, from conception to its natural end, is a “fundamental prerequisite for the exercise of all other rights” and condemned “the illegitimacy of every form of procured abortion and of euthanasia.”

‘Culture of death’

The Vatican diplomat criticized what he called a “culture of death” and called for international resources to be allocated to protecting life and supporting those in difficult situations so they can make life-affirming choices.

In particular, he emphasized the need to “enable those mothers to give birth to the child in their womb” and to “ease the burden of human suffering during illness through adequate health and palliative care.”

The archbishop also warned of the risks of a conception of freedom disconnected from objective and universal truth: “When freedom shuts out even the most obvious evidence of an objective and universal truth, which is the foundation of personal and social life, then the person ends up by his subjective and changeable opinion or interest.”

Gallagher stated that this vision of freedom leads to a “serious distortion” of life in society. “At that point, everything becomes negotiable and open to bargaining, even the first of the fundamental rights, the right to life,” he stated.

‘Deplorable practice’ of surrogacy

The representative of the Holy See also addressed the practice of surrogacy, highlighting it as another threat to human dignity: “Another issue that endangers the inviolable dignity of human beings by reducing them to mere products is the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child. The Holy See renews its call for an international ban of this deplorable practice.”

Gallagher also denounced the fact that in a world marked by “unprecedented wealth and technological advancement,” millions of people “still lack access to basic necessities.”

“The persistence of extreme poverty, particularly in regions afflicted by conflict, climate change, and systemic inequality, demands immediate and collective action,” he stated.

Foreign debt cancellation

Similarly, Gallagher called for the cancellation of the foreign debt of the poorest countries, emphasizing that these financial burdens “trap nations in poverty and must be canceled as a matter of justice.”

In this context, he said the Holy See urges the international community to “prioritize integral human development in a spirit of solidarity, ensuring that economic policies and development programs place the human person at their core and foster not only material well-being but also spiritual and social growth.”

In the words of the Vatican diplomat, the poor must be seen “not as a problem but as people who can become the principal builders of a new and more human future for everyone.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.