Carmen Álvarez Cuadrado
Pope Leo XIV spent the fourth of July in Lampedusa, the Italian island that is 'ground zero' for immigration into Europe. The following day, he returned to Saint Peter's where he prayed the Angelus.
In a plaza full of pilgrims braving the extreme heat, the Pope once again mentioned the Venezuelan earthquake where countless families are still searching for their loved ones.
POPE LEO XIV
I always remember to keep the victims of the earthquake and all the Venezuelan people in my prayers: may the Lord sustain them during this
difficult time.
Leo also celebrated the beatification of a Vietnamese priest who was murdered in 1946 out of hatred for the faith. The ceremony took place in the homeland of the newly beatified priest.
POPE LEO XIV
In a context of oppression and violence, he stood up as a defender of the people’s rights and did not abandon his parishioners. May his intercession and his prayers sustain the workers of the Gospel who, even today, find themselves in situations of persecution.
This was the last Angelus in St. Peter's Square before Leo XIV begins his summer vacation. The pope will spend most of July in Castel Gandolfo, a few kilometers from Rome.
