Entertainment
Pope Leo XIV renews appeal for peace in Ukraine
Pope Leo XIV renews his appeal for peace in Ukraine, and recalls the effects of its reduced grain exports on poor countries around the world.
Vatican News
Speaking at the Sunday Angelus, Pope Leo XIV appealed for peace in Ukraine, as the war continues to cause suffering around the world due to reliance on its grain exports.
“The war in war-torn Ukraine continues to cause suffering far beyond its borders, especially in the poorest countries, where so many people depend on grain imports,” he said. “I make a heartfelt appeal to the parties to the conflict to allow the safe transport of grain across the Black Sea. The daily bread of millions of people cannot be held hostage by war.”
Ukraine has historically produced around 10 percent of the world’s wheat supply, 15 percent of the corn market, and 13 percent of the barley supply.
Beatification of Maria Ignazia Isacchi
At the Angelus, Pope Leo also recalled the beatification on Saturday of Italian Blessed Maria Ignazia Isacchi (1857–1934) and her “courageous charity to those in need and hardship.”
He prayed that her example may renew our desire to “bear witness in the world to Gospel love for everyone.
Mother Maria Ignazia Isacchi, founder of the Ursuline Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Asola, was beatified in the Italian city of Mantua on October 10.
Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, presided at the Mass in the Co-Cathedral of Saint Andrew the Apostle.
In his homily, the Cardinal described her as a radiant witness to Christ who allowed the Gospel to transform her daily life.
Her religious vocation took shape within her family and developed among the Ursuline Sisters of Somasca, where she nurtured the faith of girls through education.
Tensions within the institute led her to found a new religious congregation, where she continued her mission despite difficulties and misunderstandings.
Cardinal Semeraro highlighted her trust in Providence and fidelity to her vocation, sustained by encouragement from her superiors, Pope Benedict XV, and the Congregation for Religious.
He identified poverty of spirit as a defining feature of her holiness, explaining that her recognition of everything as God’s gift gave her strength to love and serve others.
Source link