Pope Leo XIV

Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion. This is what Pope Leo XIV’s first message for Lent 2026 says

Message from Pope Leo XIV for Lent 2026

Feb 13, 2026 17:22

ZENIT Staff

Pope Francis•Vatican City

Epstein’s documents, Pope Francis, and what they say about the Vatican

Taken together, the correspondence portrays the Vatican as more than a spiritual authority in the eyes of Epstein and his associates. It appears as a pressure point in global politics: influential in debates over migration, environmental stewardship, populism and relations with China

Feb 13, 2026 17:01

ZENIT Staff

Persecuted Christians

Mass Abductions, Empty Villages and a New U.S. Military Footprint in Nigeria

Nigeria’s security emergency is often described in abstract terms: insurgency, extremism, instability. In Kadarko, it is experienced as a village 98 percent deserted and a list of names that grows longer with each passing week

Feb 13, 2026 16:43

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV

The leader of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the largest church in communion with Rome, is received by the Pope

One of the most concrete moments of the audience came when the archbishop presented updated lists of prisoners of war and missing persons. These names, he explained, were gathered directly from families—an act that transforms abstract geopolitics into a ledger of human anguish

Feb 13, 2026 16:32

ZENIT Staff

Local Church•Persecuted Christians

The persecution continues: more than 50 people kidnapped in Christian districts of Nigeria

The attacks have not spared religious leaders. In Kajuru Local Government Area, gunmen stormed the residence of Father Nathaniel Asuwaye, parish priest of Holy Trinity Church in Karku, during the night between Friday and Saturday, February 6. According to the Archdiocese of Kafanchan, which confirmed the incident, the raid left three people dead and ended with the priest taken captive alongside 10 others

Feb 12, 2026 17:54

ZENIT Staff

Analysis Opinion•Ecumenism

Russia Calls Patriarch Bartholomew “Antichrist in a Cassock”

Russian Intelligence now presents itself as the ultimate arbiter of orthodoxy and theology

Feb 12, 2026 16:32

ZENIT Staff

Dicasteries•Rome

Lefebvrists at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican: This Is How the Meeting Went Towards a Canonical Statute for the Fraternity

After clarifying some points raised by the FSSPX in various letters, sent especially between 2017 and 2019, among others, the discussion focused on the question of the Divine Will regarding the plurality of religions.

Feb 12, 2026 08:37

ZENIT Staff

General Audience•Pope Leo XIV

What is the relationship between the Word of God and the Church? Pope Leo XIV responds

Pope’s general audience, February 11, 2026, on “the profound and vital relationship between the Word of God and the Church.”

Feb 11, 2026 16:50

ZENIT Staff

Documents•Local Church•Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV’s Beautiful Letter To Priests of Madrid (That Every Priest or Future Priest Should Read)

Letter from the Holy Father to the Presbytery of the Archdiocese of Madrid on the occasion of the Presbyteral Assembly «Convivium»

Feb 11, 2026 16:43

ZENIT Staff

Local Church•Pope Leo XIV

Monaco will be the second destination for a trip by Pope Leo XIV at the end of March 2026: here is what is known

A stop in Monaco would fit coherently within the Pope’s broader vision. The principality may be small, but its international profile, historic Catholic roots and proximity to a secularized Europe give it outsized relevance

Feb 10, 2026 17:58

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV sends heaters to Ukrainian population ravaged by Russian bombs and very low temperatures

The urgency behind the initiative is stark. Nighttime temperatures in Ukraine are dropping to around –15°C, while daytime temperatures hover between –10°C and –12°C

Feb 10, 2026 17:31

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV

This is how Venezuela finds itself after a month and a half without Maduro: Venezuelan bishops interpret the crisis and publish an exhortation

Published on 9 February 2026 by the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV), the message acknowledges that the political and social landscape of the country has been profoundly altered by the events of 3 January

Feb 10, 2026 17:10

ZENIT Staff