Pope Leo XIV today, May 14, met with participants in the “Jubilee of Eastern Churches” in the Paul VI Audience Hall. It was the 6th day of his pontificate, after his election on May 8, last Thursday. Also today, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin discussed the possibility that Pope Leo might soon go to Nicaea, in Turkey, to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the 1st Ecumenical Council in the history of the Church, held in 325 A.D.
The year 325 A.D. is accepted without hesitation as that of the First Council of Nicaea.
There is less agreement among our early authorities as to the month and day of the opening.
In order to reconcile the indications furnished by Socrates and by the Acts of the Council of Chalcedon, this date may, perhaps, be taken as 20 May, and that of the drawing up of the symbol (the Apostles’ Creed) as 19 June.
It may be assumed without too great hardihood that the synod, having been convoked for 20 May, in the absence of the emperor held meetings of a less solemn character until 14 June, when after the emperor’s arrival, the sessions properly so called began, the symbol being formulated on 19 June, after which various matters — the paschal controversy, etc. — were dealt with, and the sessions came to an end 25 August. (link)
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State (all Vatican officials have, for the moment, been restored to their offices, Pope Leo decided on May 9, link), speaking to journalists outside the Pontifical Gregorian University. He said Pope Leo may consider making his first international trip quite soon, to Nicaea in Turkey, to commemorate the 1st Ecumenical Council in 325 A.D., 1,700 years ago…
Pope Leo XIV receives world tennis champion Jannik Sinner, 23, an Italian born in northern Italy near Austria, in the Vatican today (@Vatican Media)
Letter #47, 2025, Wednesday, May 14: Nicaea
Six days ago, on Thursday, May 8, Pope Leo XIV, 69, stepped onto the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica — the first Pope from the United States of America.
Leo XIV was elected on the 4th ballot, receiving, it is being reported in Italy, more than 100 votes from the 133 voting cardinals.
Today the Pope received thousands of Eastern-rite Catholics, in Rome for the Jubilee of Hope.
And, as he has done on each of these days since he became Pope, he spoke of peace: “Christ’s peace is not the sepulchral silence that reigns after conflict; it is not the fruit of oppression, but rather a gift that is meant for all, a gift that brings new life. Let us pray for this peace, which is reconciliation, forgiveness, and the courage to turn the page and start anew. For my part, I will make every effort so that this peace may prevail.”
Here is a link to an informative Vatican News video, which interviews Deacon Daniel Galadza, standing in a crowded via della Conciliazione, about the Eastern-rite Churches and the liturgy celebrated this morning in St. Peter’s Basilica: link.
***
After the audience with the Eastern-rite Churches, Pope Leo met briefly, privately, with the Number 1 tennis player in the world Jannik Sinner, 23, and members of his family.
Here is a link to a video of their meeting.
As Deborah Castellano Lubov reported for Vatican News (link), the audience between the Pope and the 23-year-old athlete included Mr. Sinner’s family and the President of the Italian Tennis Federation, Alberto Binaghi. It took place in the rooms attached to the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.
Vatican press spokesman Mr. Bruni said Pope Leo’s passion for tennis is well-known.
During a meeting between the new American Pope and international media on Monday, two days ago, journalists offered to play doubles, or to organize a charity match. Leo seemed game “but we can’t invite Sinner,” he said, jokingly, in an apparent reference to the English meaning of Sinner’s last name. (link)
Sinner was asked in his post-match news conference that night about the Pope’s comment following his 6-4, 6-2 victory over Dutch qualifier Jesper De Jong at the Italian Open, which is being played just up the Tiber River from the Vatican.
Sinner took his time to respond and blushed as he said, “Why do you have to make things difficult for me?”
Then Sinner added: “Obviously, I heard that he played as a kid. I think it’s a good thing for us tennis players to have a pope who likes this sport that we’re playing.”
And what about a possible rallying session with Leo?
“For the future we’ll see,” Sinner said. “Who knows.”
In the video, Mr. Sinner is seen offering the Pope a tennis ball and asking if he wanted to play.
The Pope, looking around at the precious antiques in the room, responded, “Here we’ll break something. Best not to!”
—RM
Pope Leo XIV to Eastern Catholics: “The Church needs you” (link)
Pope Leo XIV welcomes Eastern Catholics to the Vatican for the Jubilee of Eastern Churches, and highlights the need to preserve their traditions and pray for true peace, “which is reconciliation, forgiveness, and the courage to turn the page and start anew.”
By Christopher Wells
Pope Leo XIV welcomed Eastern Catholics to the Vatican with the traditional Easter greeting, “Christ is risen! He is truly risen!”
Addressing the faithful from the 23 sui iuris Churches in full communion with Rome, the Holy Father said, “You are precious in God’s eyes,” and expressed his happiness at being able to devote one of the first encounters of his pontificate to the Eastern faithful.
“Looking at you,” he said, “I think of the diversity of your origins, your glorious history, and the bitter sufferings that many of your communities have endured or continue to endure.”
At the same time, he reaffirmed “the conviction of Pope Francis that the Eastern Churches are to be ‘cherished and esteemed for the unique spiritual and sapiential traditions that they preserve, and for all that they have to say to us about the Christian life, synodality, and the liturgy’.”
Recalling the teachings of previous Popes, including Leo XIII and St. John Paul II, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of Eastern traditions, especially the liturgy.
He also expressed concern for “many of our Eastern brothers and sisters” who have been exiled from their homelands “and risk losing not only their native lands,” but also their religious identity.
Pope Leo insisted on the importance of preserving the Eastern rites and asked the Dicastery for Eastern Churches “to help define principles, norms, and guidelines” to help Latin Bishops support Eastern Catholics in the diaspora to preserve their heritage.
The Church needs the East
“The Church needs you!” Pope Leo said. “The contribution that the Christian East can offer us today is immense,” he continued, pointing to the need to recover the sense of mystery expressed in Eastern liturgies; the importance of rediscovering the sense of the primacy of God and of mystagogy; and the need for “penance, fasting, and weeping for one’s own sins and for those of all humanity.”
“It is vital then, that you preserve your traditions without attenuating them,” he said.
The Holy Father went on to highlight the “medicinal” value of eastern traditions of spirituality that combine “the drama of human misery with wonder at God’s mercy.”
“Who better than you,” he asked, “can sing a song of hope even amid the abyss of violence.”
Taking up Pope Francis’ recognition of eastern communities as “martyr Churches,” Pope Leo lamented the violence that continues to plague regions as diverse as the Holy Land, Ukraine, the Middle East, Tigray, and the Caucasus.”
“Rising up from this horror, from the slaughter of so many young people, which ought to provoke outrage because lives are being sacrificed in the name of military conquest, there resounds an appeal” for peace.
He made the appeal, he said, “not so much of the Pope, but of Christ Himself, who repeats, ‘Peace be with you!’”
“Let us pray for this peace,” the Pope said, “which is reconciliation, forgiveness, and the courage to turn the page and start anew.”
Commitment to peace
Pope Leo XIV forcefully expressed his commitment “to make every effort so that peace may prevail,” reaffirming the Holy See’s willingness to do everything possible “to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another,” to dialogue, “so that peoples everywhere may find hope and recover… the dignity of peace.”
Appealing directly to the people of the world and their leaders, Pope Leo made a heartfelt appeal: “Let us meet, let us talk, let us negotiate!”
He insisted that “war is never inevitable” and called for the silencing of weapons, “which do not resolve problems, but only increase them.”
He went on to thank God for all those who are “sowing peace,” while also expressing gratitude for those Christians, “who, above all in the Middle East, persevere and remain in their homelands, resisting the temptation to abandon them.”
The Pope affirmed the need for Eastern Christians to be given “the opportunity, and not just in words, to remain in their native lands with all the rights needed for a secure existence.”
Recalling once again that “Jesus, the Son of Justice, dawned” in their lands, he thanked Eastern Christians “for being ‘lights in the world’” and encouraged them to “be outstanding for your faith, hope, and charity, and nothing else.”
He called for the pastors of the Eastern Churches to promote “community with integrity,” so that their communities might be “places of fraternity and co-responsibility.”
“Today more than ever,” concluded Pope Leo XIV, “the splendour of the Christian East demands freedom from all worldly attachments, and from every tendency contrary to communion, in order to remain faithful in obedience and in evangelical witness.”
Cardinal Parolin: “We hope talks in Istanbul open paths to peace” (link)
On the sidelines of an event on Ukraine at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin speaks about the direct negotiations starting Thursday in Türkiye, saying, “We hope this is a serious starting point to end the war.”
By Salvatore Cernuzio
All eyes are on Türkiye, a possible destination for Pope Leo XIV’s first journey, marking 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea, as well as the setting beginning on Thursday 15 May of the Istanbul summit, which hopes to bring together the presidents of Russia and Ukraine for direct negotiations aimed at achieving a ceasefire.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, answered journalists’ questions on the sidelines of the event titled “Toward a Theology of Hope for and from Ukraine,” held at the Pontifical Gregorian University and organized under the patronage of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. He shares hopes for these U.S.-mediated direct talks, which could, for the first time, see Presidents Zelensky and Putin meet in person.
“We always hope there are openings for peace,” the Cardinal told various media outlets. “We are pleased that there is finally the possibility of a direct meeting. We hope that the existing issues can be resolved there and that a genuine peace process can begin.” According to the Secretary of State, it is “premature” to predict what will happen, but the hope is that the meeting in Istanbul will mark “a serious starting point” to end the war.
Too early to consider a papal visit to Kyiv
Cardinal Parolin also said it is “premature” to consider a possible visit by Pope Leo XIV to Ukraine, touching on President Zelensky’s invitation during a phone call with Pope Leo on Monday morning (May 12).
The Pope made impassioned appeals for the regions scarred by war during the Regina Caeli on Sunday and again in a speech earlier that day at the Jubilee of the Eastern Churches.
“He will continue, as he has done numerous times since the start of his pontificate, to call for an end to the war,” the Cardinal assured. “We remain ready to offer spaces as well. Talking about mediation might be excessive, but at the least we are willing to offer good offices to facilitate meetings.”
At the same time, the Vatican does not want “to interfere with other ongoing initiatives.”
Repatriation mechanism for children remains active
The Holy See’s position, said the Secretary of State, is one that “seeks to bring the parties closer rather than create further divisions.” He confirmed that the mechanism, initiated and supported by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi’s mission which has led to the repatriation of some Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia, remains “active.”
This mainly involves “exchanging names via the Nunciatures, then local verification and responses.”
The number of these children remains “highly disputed,” but the key, he says, is that “they are gradually being reunited with their families, homes, and loved ones.”
Ending the conflict in Gaza
Regarding the Middle East, the Pope and the Holy See will continue along the path set by Pope Francis: persistent appeals “to end the conflict in Gaza, achieve the release of hostages,” and “provide humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
On these issues, there was “a strong call for serious intervention” during the pre-Conclave general congregations, along with “concern about the dwindling Christian presence in the Middle East.”
“We will need to find responses to this serious problem,” Cardinal Parolin said.
Pope Leo XIV’s peace efforts
Avoiding questions about the content of discussions before and during the Conclave (saying with a smile, “don’t ask us questions we can’t answer” [due to the oath of secrecy the cardinals took]), Cardinal Parolin focused instead on the newly elected Pope, who has received “very positive” comments and reactions.
“He presented himself in a very calm manner. He is a man of peace, who desires peace, and who will build peace through the bridges he mentioned from the very first words of his greeting to the faithful.”
Possible trip to Nicaea
Finally, in response to a question about the Pope’s first journey, the Cardinal said: “I’m thinking of Nicaea. It’s an important moment for the Catholic Church and for ecumenism. It was definitely planned that Pope Francis would go. I imagine Pope Leo will follow the same path.”
And here is the full text of the Pope’s address today to the representatives of the Eastern-rite Catholic Churches:
Udienza ai Partecipanti al Giubileo delle Chiese Orientali, 14.05.2025 (link)
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you.
Your Beatitudes, Your Eminence, Your Excellencies,
Dear priests, consecrated men and women,
Dear brothers and sisters,
Christ is risen. He is truly risen!
I greet you in these words that Eastern Christians in many lands never tire of repeating during the Easter season, as they profess the very heart of our faith and hope.
It is very moving for me to see you here during the Jubilee of Hope, a hope unshakably grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Welcome to Rome!
I am happy to be with you and to devote one of the first audiences of my pontificate to the Eastern faithful.
You are precious in God’s eyes.
Looking at you, I think of the diversity of your origins, your glorious history and the bitter sufferings that many of your communities have endured or continue to endure.
I would like to reaffirm the conviction of Pope Francis that the Eastern Churches are to be “cherished and esteemed for the unique spiritual and sapiential traditions that they preserve, and for all that they have to say to us about the Christian life, synodality, and the liturgy. We think of early Fathers, the Councils, and monasticism… inestimable treasures for the Church (Address to Participants in the Meeting of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches [ROACO], 27 June 2024).
I would also like to mention Pope Leo XIII, the first Pope to devote a specific document to the dignity of your Churches, inspired above all by the fact that, in his words, “the work of human redemption began in the East” (cf. Apostolic Letter Orientalium Dignitas, 30 November 1894).
Truly, you have “a unique and privileged role as the original setting where the Church was born” (SAINT JOHN PAUL II, Orientale Lumen, 5).
It is significant that several of your liturgies – which you are now solemnly celebrating in Rome in accordance with your various traditions – continue to use the language of the Lord Jesus.
Indeed, Pope Leo XIII made a heartfelt appeal that the “legitimate variety of Eastern liturgy and discipline… may redound to the great honor and benefit of the Church” (Orientalium Dignitas).
His desire remains ever timely.
In our own day too, many of our Eastern brothers and sisters, including some of you, have been forced to flee their homelands because of war and persecution, instability and poverty, and risk losing not only their native lands, but also, when they reach the West, their religious identity.
As a result, with the passing of generations, the priceless heritage of the Eastern Churches is being lost.
Over a century ago, Leo XIII pointed out that “preserving the Eastern rites is more important than is generally realized”.
He went so far as to decree that “any Latin-Rite missionary, whether a member of the secular or regular clergy, who by advice or support draws any Eastern-Rite Catholic to the Latin Rite” ought to be “dismissed and removed from his office” (ibid).
We willingly reiterate this appeal to preserve and promote the Christian East, especially in the diaspora.
In addition to establishing Eastern circumscriptions wherever possible and opportune, there is a need to promote greater awareness among Latin Christians.
In this regard, I ask the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches – which I thank for its work – to help me to define principles, norms, and guidelines whereby Latin Bishops can concretely support Eastern Catholics in the diaspora in their efforts to preserve their living traditions and thus, by their distinctive witness, to enrich the communities in which they live.
The Church needs you.
The contribution that the Christian East can offer us today is immense!
We have great need to recover the sense of mystery that remains alive in your liturgies, liturgies that engage the human person in his or her entirety, that sing of the beauty of salvation and evoke a sense of wonder at how God’s majesty embraces our human frailty!
It is likewise important to rediscover, especially in the Christian West, a sense of the primacy of God, the importance of mystagogy and the values so typical of Eastern spirituality: constant intercession, penance, fasting, and weeping for one’s own sins and for those of all humanity (penthos)!
It is vital, then, that you preserve your traditions without attenuating them, for the sake perhaps of practicality or convenience, lest they be corrupted by the mentality of consumerism and utilitarianism.
Your traditions of spirituality, ancient yet ever new, are medicinal.
In them, the drama of human misery is combined with wonder at God’s mercy, so that our sinfulness does not lead to despair, but opens us to accepting the gracious gift of becoming creatures who are healed, divinized and raised to the heights of heaven.
For this, we ought to give endless praise and thanks to the Lord.
Together, we can pray with Saint Ephrem the Syrian and say to the Lord Jesus: “Glory to you, who laid your cross as a bridge over death… Glory to you who clothed yourself in the body of mortal man, and made it the source of life for all mortals” (Homily on our Lord, 9).
We must ask, then, for the grace to see the certainty of Easter in every trial of life and not to lose heart, remembering, as another great Eastern Father wrote, that “the greatest sin is not to believe in the power of the Resurrection” (SAINT ISAAC OF NINEVEH, Sermones ascetici, I, 5).
Who, better than you, can sing a song of hope even amid the abyss of violence?
Who, better than you, who have experienced the horrors of war so closely that Pope Francis referred to you as “martyr Churches” (Address to ROACO, ibid.)?
From the Holy Land to Ukraine, from Lebanon to Syria, from the Middle East to Tigray and the Caucasus, how much violence do we see!
Rising up from this horror, from the slaughter of so many young people, which ought to provoke outrage because lives are being sacrificed in the name of military conquest, there resounds an appeal: the appeal not so much of the Pope, but of Christ himself, who repeats: “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:19, 21, 26).
And he adds: “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you. I do not give it to you as the world gives it” (Jn 14:27).
Christ’s peace is not the sepulchral silence that reigns after conflict; it is not the fruit of oppression, but rather a gift that is meant for all, a gift that brings new life.
Let us pray for this peace, which is reconciliation, forgiveness, and the courage to turn the page and start anew.
For my part, I will make every effort so that this peace may prevail.
The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace.
The peoples of our world desire peace, and to their leaders I appeal with all my heart: Let us meet, let us talk, let us negotiate!
War is never inevitable.
Weapons can and must be silenced, for they do not resolve problems but only increase them.
Those who make history are the peacemakers, not those who sow seeds of suffering.
Our neighbours are not first our enemies, but our fellow human beings; not criminals to be hated, but other men and women with whom we can speak.
Let us reject the Manichean notions so typical of that mindset of violence that divides the world into those who are good and those who are evil.
The Church will never tire of repeating: let weapons be silenced.
I would like to thank God for all those who, in silence, prayer and self-sacrifice, are sowing seeds of peace.
I thank God for those Christians – Eastern and Latin alike – who, above all in the Middle East, persevere and remain in their homelands, resisting the temptation to abandon them.
Christians must be given the opportunity, and not just in words, to remain in their native lands with all the rights needed for a secure existence.
Please, let us strive for this!
Thank you, dear brothers and sisters of the East, the lands where Jesus, the Sun of Justice, dawned, for being “lights in our world” (cf. Mt 5:14).
Continue to be outstanding for your faith, hope, and charity, and nothing else.
May your Churches be exemplary, and may your Pastors promote communion with integrity, especially in the Synods of Bishops, that they may be places of fraternity and authentic co-responsibility.
Ensure transparency in the administration of goods and be signs of humble and complete dedication to the holy people of God, without regard for honors, worldly power or appearance.
Saint Symeon the New Theologian used an eloquent image in this regard: “Just as one who throws dust on the flame of a burning furnace extinguishes it, so the cares of this life and every kind of attachment to petty and worthless things destroy the warmth of the heart that was initially kindled” (Practical and Theological Chapters, 63).
Today more than ever, the splendor of the Christian East demands freedom from all worldly attachments and from every tendency contrary to communion, in order to remain faithful in obedience and in evangelical witness.
I thank you for this, and in cordially giving you my blessing, I ask you to pray for the Church and to raise your powerful prayers of intercession for my ministry.
Thank you!
[00539-EN.01] [Original text: Italian]
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