The prelate of Opus Dei with Pope Leo XIV. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 11, 2025 / 16:41 pm (CNA).

Opus Dei presented its proposed statutes to the Holy See on June 11 following the guidelines from the Vatican in the 2022 motu proprio Ad Charisma Tuendum as announced by the apostolate’s prelate, Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz.

“I would like to inform you about the work of adapting the statutes. We had planned to complete this study at the general congress, but, as you know, due to the Holy See being vacant, it was deemed appropriate not to do so,” Ocáriz explained in a letter. “The congress participants gave their positive opinion so that, with the new [general] council and [central] advisory [board], we could conclude the revision of the statutes and submit them to the Holy See for approval, which we did today.”

“It has been a three-year journey, accompanied by everyone’s prayers, which I ask you to intensify in this final stage,” he added in the letter, in which he urged everyone to entrust their work and apostolic labors to the Most Holy Trinity and to St. Josemaría Escrivá, noting that this June marks the 50th anniversary of the founder of Opus Dei’s death.

Now the Holy See will have to review and determine whether it will accept the statutes proposed by the prelature. The time frame for the decision is unknown.

On May 14, just six days after his election, Pope Leo XIV discussed with Ocáriz the process of revising its statutes. This process had to be postponed following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, two days before the convening of the general congress from which the revisions proposed for approval were to be issued.

According to the Opus Dei communications office in Rome, “the Holy Father, among other things, inquired about the current study of the prelature’s statutes.”

“Leo XIV listened with great interest to the explanations given to him,” the official statement noted.

The Vatican did not provide an account of the meeting’s content and limited itself to reporting it in the pope’s agenda, which is distributed daily to the Vatican-accredited press.

Since the summer of 2022, Opus Dei has been in the process of revising its statutes to adapt them to Pope Francis’ motu proprio Ad Charisma Tuendum. In essence, the pontiff’s directive placed Opus Dei under the direction of the Dicastery for the Clergy rather than the Dicastery for Bishops, and ended the practice of elevating the prelate of Opus Dei to the rank of bishop.

The Argentine pontiff had also requested that Opus Dei revise its statutes to reflect this new structure, which was to be finalized during the general congress. This revision was to be presented as a proposal to the Holy See for approval, following its adoption by the assembly.

However, the general congress ultimately focused solely on the tasks of choosing a new general council and central advisory board, positions that are selected every eight years.

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

The Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank. / Credit: Andrea Gagliarducci/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 11, 2025 / 15:48 pm (CNA).

The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR, by its Italian acronym), popularly known as the Vatican Bank — a small financial institution with just over 100 employees founded by Pope Pius XII in 1942 — obtained a net profit of 32.8 million euros (about $37.7 million) in 2024, compared with 30.6 million euros (about $35.1 million) in 2023.

As indicated in the annual report published Wednesday by the Holy See Press Office, the net profit of 32.8 million euros represents a 7% increase compared with 2023.

This result, according to the report, is due to growth in interest income (+5.8%), commission income (+13.2%), and brokerage income (+3.6%), along with other measures implemented to ensure strict cost control.

The report also included information on the profits redistributed to the pope and to other Holy See budget items.

As required by the IOR statutes, the report was subsequently submitted to the Commission of Cardinals, which authorized the distribution of a dividend of 13.8 million euros (about $15.8 million) to the Holy Father.

It was a gesture that — according to the Vatican — reaffirms “the institute’s commitment to its mission of supporting religious and charitable works.”

According to the results for last year, the total volume of client assets managed by the IOR — which includes deposits, current accounts, assets under management, and securities in custody — rose to 5.7 billion euros (about $6.5 billion), compared with 5.4 billion euros (about $6.2 billion) the previous year. 

Furthermore, the institute’s net assets increased to 731.9 million euros (about $840.5 million), representing an increase of 64.3 million euros (about $73.8 million) compared with 2023.

One of the most notable figures is the Tier 1 capital ratio, a key financial indicator that measures a bank’s financial strength and ability to absorb losses while continuing to operate. According to the data presented, it reached 69.43%, representing a 16.1% improvement compared with the previous year. This figure was due, according to the Vatican, “to a general decrease in risks and an increase in equity.”

The performance of the institute’s asset management lines was also positive: 100% of them achieved positive gross returns, and 79% outperformed their respective benchmarks. All financial services and investments were carried out in full compliance with the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, according to the report.

The IOR’s financial statement, in which account ownership is limited to Catholic institutions, ecclesiastical bodies, Vatican entities, and embassies and ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, was unanimously approved by the Superintendency Council on April 29 and audited by Mazars Italia S.p.A.

The Vatican attributed this positive performance to the net income achieved and the “numerous improvements” made. During 2024, the IOR strengthened its key functions by adding specialized personnel and making strategic investments in digital and technological infrastructure, with the aim of improving customer service.

According to the Vatican, the institute’s liquidity ratios and Tier 1 capital ratio place it among the “most solid financial institutions in the world” in terms of capitalization and liquidity.

The institution remains the only entity authorized to offer financial services in Vatican City State.

The accounts, prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards, confirm another year of “sustained and solid growth,” according to the report.

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

Pope Leo XIV meets with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on June 11, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 11, 2025 / 13:57 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday received U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in an audience held in the study of the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican.

Guterres subsequently met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state of the Holy See, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for relations with states and international organizations.

Although the Vatican did not provide details about the private meeting with the pontiff, it indicated that during the conversation with the Secretariat of State the Holy See’s support for the United Nations’ commitment to world peace was expressed.

Some ongoing processes and upcoming summits organized by the United Nations were also discussed as well as the difficulties the organization faces in addressing current crises around the world.

During the course of the conversation, specific situations of conflict and instability were also discussed.

The United Nations was established in 1945 with the aim of fostering international peace and security. Currently 193 countries are members of the organization, which has its headquarters in New York.

Various initiatives promoted by the U.N. clash head-on with Christian values, such as the demand for the decriminalization of abortion under the euphemism of “sexual and reproductive health,” its explicit support for gender ideology, and the promotion of the 2030 Agenda, which clashes in essential aspects with the doctrine of the Catholic Church.

Since 1964, the Vatican has held the position of permanent observer to the U.N., which means the Holy See is not a full member of the organization but rather an observer state.

The current permanent observer, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, participates in its debates by contributing ideas but does not have the right to vote.

Guterres, 76, is the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations, a position he assumed on Jan. 1, 2017. He was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1949. In addition to being a politician and businessman, he is also an electrical engineer and professor.

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

Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl, the bishop of Graz-Seckau in Austria, expressed being “stunned and shaken” following a deadly shooting at a school in Graz on June 10, 2025. / Credit: Screenshot / YouTube / Katholische Kirche Steiermark

CNA Deutsch, Jun 11, 2025 / 13:01 pm (CNA).

The bishop of Graz-Seckau in Austria, Wilhelm Krautwaschl, expressed being “stunned and shaken” following a deadly shooting at a school in Graz that claimed 10 lives.

A group of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square. / Credit: EWTN News

Vatican City, Jun 11, 2025 / 11:32 am (CNA).

“Rome ’25-the Way of St. James ’27-Jerusalem ’33” is the name of an initiative led by young people who, through pilgrimages, evangelization, and healing, aim to “restore the soul of Europe.”

The initiative encourages young Christians from across the continent to open up a pathway to faith and hope for a new European generation in preparation for the Jubilee of Redemption, which will be celebrated in 2033.

“It’s not just about making the pilgrimage but about rediscovering God and our Christian identity, walking the pilgrim paths of Europe with a new, courageous, and joyful perspective,” the young people stated in a press release issued by the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, one of the promoters of the initiative.

Young Christians in Europe ‘raising their voices’

In this way, young Christians in Europe “are raising their voices” to tell the world that another Europe is possible and to reconnect it “with the beauty, truth, and love of Christ,” especially in a time of distractions, uprootedness, and “hidden wounds.”

Fernando Moscardó, a 22-year-old medical student, has been the architect of this “revolution of the youthful spirit” on the old continent. Speaking with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, he explained that the idea arose from seeing the pessimistic figures of an increasingly secularized Europe.

“Recent surveys tell us that more than 70% of young Europeans declare themselves nonreligious, an unprecedented figure. Furthermore, young people feel lonelier than ever, and we see that 42% of Europeans say they feel their lives lack meaning,” he noted.

“Fer,” as his friends know him, was clear that the answer to healing these wounds must be a spiritual one. He also pointed out that Bishop Mikel Garciandía, head of the Spanish bishops’ conference’s committee on pilgrimages and also in charge of the project, refers to this “lack of meaning” as “a spiritual orphanhood.”

Manifesto of the young Christians of Europe

They consequently decided to embark on this journey of renewal in preparation for the Jubilee of Redemption in 2033, the 2,000th anniversary of Christ’s redemption.

“We couldn’t wait until 2033 to get started, so we outlined a project consisting of three stages: The first is in Rome, with this year’s Jubilee of Hope, with which we kick off the event.” It will then take place in Santiago de Compostela (the Way of St. James pilgrimage route) in 2027 and, finally, in Jerusalem in 2033.

During this month of June, local pilgrimages are taking place throughout Europe, culminating on Aug. 1 with the proclamation of a manifesto of the Young Christians of Europe in St. Mary’s Basilica in Trastevere, Rome.

“On that day, together we will tell the world what we believe, what we dream, and what we are ready to live out. Every step we take is for those who no longer believe they have hope. This revolution of the spirit aims to make the invisible visible and give a voice to those who unknowingly seek God,” he said.

So that this declaration, drawn up on the basis of pilgrimages, truly serves as the voice of a generation, it will be published digitally during the month of July so that young people around the world can read and sign it.

“We want this to be the most widely supported youth declaration in the history of Europe, and only then will the words we speak on Aug. 1 have the weight of a multitude that believes, dreams, and journeys together.”

Furthermore, the project is also organized around a large network of Christian pilgrimage routes, including the historic Michaelmas Axis, which links shrines of St. Michael the Archangel from Ireland to Jerusalem.

This “spiritual sword” symbolizes a Europe that is once again turning heavenward. Monasteries, cathedrals, and parishes will become points of light, welcoming those who go through life in search of meaning.

Three pillars of the project

Moscardó also explained that the initiative is based on three pillars: pilgrimage, healing, and evangelization. “These are the three pillars we are taking as turning points to bring about change in this lost Europe,” he emphasized.

The young man reiterated that this is “a project of young people and for young people” and said that it has had “a very beautiful start,” with work teams throughout Europe supported by the bishops’ conferences.

“We thought that people today were going on pilgrimage for tourism, for social interaction, and we were forgetting that the most important thing when going on pilgrimage is to be aware that we do not walk alone, that we walk with Christ, and that we can pave the way for that personal relationship with him,” he explained.

He also noted that more than 600 people participated in the first pilgrimage, which was to Mont Saint-Michel in France. “We’re having a very beautiful and quite large response.”

On June 11, the project’s promoters are scheduled to be received by Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. He also explained that they are already working on a website to provide all the necessary information about the activities as well as on their social media channels, which will be called J2R2033 (Journey to Redemption 2033).

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

null / Credit: Korawat photo shoot/Shutterstock

Rome, Italy, Jun 11, 2025 / 10:46 am (CNA).

Chiara Griffini, president of the Italian bishops’ conference’s Office for the Protection of Minors, said the increase in cases was concerning.

Pope Leo XIV speaks at a Wednesday audience with the public on June 11, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 11, 2025 / 09:12 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Fuzhou in China, the Holy See announced on Wednesday.

The Vatican credited the Sino-Vatican deal, signed in September 2019 and renewed for a third time in October 2024, for Lin Yuntuan’s June 5 appointment.

The Vatican announced “the recognition of the civil effects and the taking of possession of the office of Monsignor Joseph Lin Yuntuan.” The announcement said the Holy Father made the appointment “in the framework of the dialogue regarding the application of the provisional agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.”

Lin Yuntuan, 73, was ordained a priest for the Fuzhou Archdiocese, located in China’s Fujian Province, in 1984 after completing four years of studies in the local seminary. He was clandestinely consecrated a bishop in 2017. 

From 1984 to 1994 and 1996 to 2002, Lin Yuntuan was appointed parish priest for several parishes spread across the Fuzhou Archdiocese.

Other roles he held include a teaching role at the Fuzhou seminary in 1985, two terms as deputy director of the diocesan economic commission from 1994 to 1996 and 2000 to 2003, and as diocesan administrator from 2003 and 2007.

Prior to his clandestine consecration as bishop in 2017, Lin Yuntuan served as apostolic administrator of Fuzhou from 2013 to 2016.

Archbishop Joseph Cai Bing-rui currently leads the metropolitan Archdiocese of Fuzhou, which was erected in 1946. 

Globally, 84 new bishops have been elected in 2025. To date, Pope Leo XIV has appointed 15 new bishops in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the U.S. 

The city of Birmingham in the United Kingdom is the site of the WeBelieve festival from July 25–28, 2025. / Credit: Alexey Fedorenko/Shutterstock

London, England, Jun 11, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The historic Catholic festival in the U.K. will blend tradition and worship with a focus on unity.

Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims from the back of a pickup style popemobile before his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 11, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Jun 11, 2025 / 05:50 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV reflected on Christian hope — one of the three theological virtues, along with faith and charity — during his general audience on Wednesday. 

“There is no cry that God does not hear, even when we are unaware that we are addressing him,” the pope said, illustrating this idea with the story of Bartimaeus, described in the Gospel of Mark as a blind beggar who encountered Jesus as he was leaving Jericho. 

Pope Leo explained that this story helps us understand that “we must never abandon hope, even when we feel lost.” 

The Holy Father today spoke on the healings performed by Jesus and invited Catholics to bring before the heart of Christ their “most wounded or fragile parts” or those areas of life where they “feel paralyzed or stuck.” 

“Let us ask the Lord with trust to hear our cry and heal us!” the pope said. 

Pope Leo focused on the attitude of Jesus, who does not immediately approach Bartimaeus but instead asks him what he wants. “It is not obvious that we truly want to be healed of our illnesses — sometimes we prefer to remain as we are so as not to take on new responsibilities,” he said. 

“It may seem strange that, faced with a blind man, Jesus does not immediately approach him. But if we think about it, this is how he helps reactivate Bartimaeus’ life: He prompts him to rise and entrusts him with the ability to walk,” the pope added. 

Indeed, the pope said that Bartimaeus does not only wish to see again — he also “wants to regain his dignity.” 

“To look upward, one must lift one’s head. Sometimes people feel stuck because life has humiliated them, and they simply want to regain their worth,” the Holy Father said. 

For this reason, he called on the faithful to do everything they can to obtain what they seek, “even when others scold you, humiliate you, or tell you to give up.”

“If you truly desire it, keep crying out!” he said. 

The pope stressed that what saves Bartimaeus is faith. “Jesus heals us so that we may be free,” he said. 

Exposing ourselves to Jesus with all our vulnerabilities 

Leo XIV also reflected on Bartimaeus’ gesture of casting off his cloak in order to stand up.

“For a beggar, the cloak is everything: It is security, it is home, it is the protection that shields him. In fact, the law protected a beggar’s cloak and required that it be returned by evening if it had been taken as a pledge,” he explained.

The pope compared the beggar’s cloak to the illusion of security that people often cling to.

“Often what holds us back are precisely these apparent securities — the things we have wrapped around ourselves for protection, which in reality prevent us from moving forward,” he said.

Pope Leo noted that, in order to go to Jesus and be healed, Bartimaeus “must expose himself to him in all his vulnerability” — a fundamental step on any path to healing.

Finally, the pope called on the faithful to trustingly bring to Jesus “our illnesses, as well as those of our loved ones,” and “the pain of those who feel lost and without a way out.”

“Let us cry out for them as well, and let us be certain that the Lord will hear us and will stop for us,” he said.

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

Pope Leo XIV address papal representatives on June 10, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 10, 2025 / 14:11 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV received papal representatives at the Vatican on Tuesday, reminding them that the Church “will always defend the sacrosanct right to believe in God” and that this life “is not at the mercy of the powers of this world.”

In the June 10 speech delivered in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, he thanked the papal nuncios and international organizations around the world for their work.

The pontiff noted that “there is no country in the world” with a diplomatic corps as universal and united as that of the Holy See: “We are united in Christ and we are united in the Church.”

“I say this thinking certainly of the dedication and organization, but, even more so, of the motivations that guide you, the pastoral style that should characterize you, the spirit of faith that inspires us,” he added.

He particularly thanked them for being able to rely on the documentation, reflections, and summaries prepared by the diplomats when faced with a situation that concerns the Church in a particular country. “This is for me a cause for great appreciation and gratitude,” he reiterated.

‘Always be the eyes of Peter!’

Pope Leo XIV then shared with those present the account from the Acts of the Apostles (3:1-10) of the healing of the paralytic, a scene that, in his opinion, “describes the ministry of Peter well.”

For the pontiff, the man who begs for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple represents “the image of a humanity that has lost hope and is resigned.”

“Even today, the Church often encounters men and women who no longer have any joy, whom society has sidelined, or whom life has in a certain sense forced into begging for their existence,” he lamented.

After looking into his eyes, the pope recounted, Peter said to the paralytic: “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, [rise and] walk.”

After quoting this passage, Pope Leo noted that “to look into one’s eyes means to build a relationship. The ministry of Peter is to create relationships, bridges: and a representative of the pope, first and foremost, serves this invitation to look into the eyes.”

“Always be the eyes of Peter! Be men capable of building relationships where it is hardest to do,” the pope exhorted them, asking them to do so with humility and realism.

The Holy Father also placed his trust in the diplomatic corps of the Holy See so that “everyone may know that the Church is always ready for everything out of love, that she is always on the side of the last, the poor, and that she will always defend the sacrosanct right to believe in God, to believe that this life is not at the mercy of the powers of this world but rather is traversed by a mysterious meaning.”

He also encouraged them to “always have a blessing gaze, because the ministry of Peter is to bless, that is, always to know how to see the good, even that which is hidden.”

“Feel that you are missionaries, sent by the pope to be tools of communion, unity, serving the dignity of the human person, promoting sincere and constructive relations everywhere with the authorities with whom you are required to cooperate,” he urged.

In conclusion, he reiterated that their work “always be enlightened by the sound decision for holiness.”

After the speech, the papal representatives received a ring bearing the inscription “sub umbra Petri” (“under the shadow of Peter,” cf. Acts 5:15) from the pope as a sign of communion.

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