Pope: The new year is ‘a journey to be discovered’
Pope Leo XIV celebrates his first public Mass of 2026 on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, telling believers that Mary has revealed the ‘unarmed and disarming’ face of God.
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Pope Leo XIV celebrates his first public Mass of 2026 on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, telling believers that Mary has revealed the ‘unarmed and disarming’ face of God.
In a homily delivered at the final liturgy of the year, Pope Leo reflects on “the mystery of Christ, which points to a plan for human history” - a plan that stands in stark contrast to “armed strategies, concealed beneath hypocritical rhetoric.”
2025 was marked by the death of Pope Francis, the conclave, the election of Pope Leo XIV, and the beginning of a pontificate shaped by journeys, meetings, and calls for peace. All of this unfolds in the midst of the Jubilee Year of Hope, which is set to conclude on January 6. Let us take a look back at this Holy Year.
As 2026 approaches, Vatican News revisits some reflections by the Popes on this transitional period between the end of 2025 and the arrival of the new year.
On the third anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s death, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, celebrates Mass in the Vatican Grottoes and recalls the German Pope’s desire for Christians to seek the face of God throughout our earthly lives.
At the final General Audience of 2025, Pope Leo XIV invites the faithful to give thanks for the past, seek forgiveness, and entrust the journey ahead to God’s mercy.
As global conflict reaches levels unseen since the Second World War, Pope Leo XIV’s Message for the World Day of Peace challenges a war-centred understanding of security. Neil Thorns, CAFOD’s Director of Advocacy, reflects on why redefining “realism” is now essential.
Roberto Gualtieri, the mayor of Rome, speaks to Vatican News-Vatican Radio about the 2025 Holy Year, describing it as a time of "very rich content and very deep spiritual values".
Reflecting on Pope Leo XIV’s first World Day of Peace message, Marie Dennis, the director of Pax Christi’s Catholic Institute for Nonviolence, highlights a vision of peace that is unarmed, disarming, humble, and persevering. In a world marked by fear and conflict, she points to Gospel nonviolence as a concrete, hopeful path already being lived in communities across the globe.
The Vatican's Fides News Agency releases its annual report on missionaries and pastoral workers killed in the last year, recording 17 deaths across the globe, with the African continent, and Nigeria especially, the most affected.
Data released by the Prefecture of the Papal Household shows that over 250,000 people attended papal audiences and liturgical celebrations in the Vatican in the period to April. Following the election of Pope Leo XIV in early May, nearly three million faithful took part in Masses and ceremonies.
The Jubilee Year for the particular Churches concluded worldwide on Sunday, 28 December 2025. In Guinea, however, the Church anticipated this conclusion by one day due to the national electoral calendar. Between spiritual fervour, homage to the pioneers of faith in the country, and a call to civic responsibility, Archbishop Vincent Coulibaly alluded to a church continuing its mission for the next 25 years and beyond.