During the week of August 22-24, 2026, Pope Leo XIV carried out an intense schedule of meetings, celebrations, and messages that ranged from a pastoral visit to San Marino and Rimini to audiences with legislators, military personnel, and people with disabilities. Each activity reflected the pillars of his pontificate: closeness to the weakest, defense of human dignity, and the call to a living and personal faith.
Main event: visit to San Marino and Rimini
On Saturday, the Pope traveled to the Italian cities of San Marino and Rimini. In San Marino, he met with civil authorities and representatives of society, as well as with priests, religious, and members of the ecclesial community. In that context, he encouraged them to respond to the challenges of a world marked by violence, isolation, and fear of the other with the strength of the Gospel, closeness to the weakest, forgiveness, and communion.
In Rimini, the Pontiff participated in the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples, organized by the Communion and Liberation movement. There he proposed the love of God and mercy as forces capable of transforming a history marked by wars, inequalities, and polarization. He also met with the sick, people with disabilities, and poor people assisted by Caritas, and celebrated Mass at the city’s port, where he invited them to rediscover the true rest that comes from encountering God and others, and reminded them that authority must be expressed through service and attention to those most in need.
Confirmed facts: audiences and messages
In another of his meetings, addressed to Catholic legislators, Leo XIV discussed the development of artificial intelligence and the need for it to always remain at the service of human dignity and the common good. He stressed the urgency of legislation that safeguards human rights and freedoms and proposed following the Church’s social doctrine as a path.
On Sunday, during the Angelus prayer, the Holy Father invited the faithful not to live a faith of mere habit, but to constantly ask themselves who Jesus is for each one and to allow themselves to be transformed by the personal encounter with Him. He urged them to continually renew their faith, without locking themselves into their own certainties, and to remain open to what Christ asks at every moment of life.
He also received the Military Ordinariate of Portugal, reminding its members of their mission to spiritually accompany military personnel, police, and their families, encouraging them to live their service guided by truth, justice, and peace. To deepen this idea, the Pope proposed the figure of the centurion of Capernaum, a character who, as he highlighted, brings together many of the qualities associated with military life: obedience, discipline, responsibility, and the ability to exercise authority.
Context and relevance
Finally, the Pontiff received the members of the Marsodeto Federation of Toledo, which for 45 years has worked with people with intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy and their families. The Pope thanked this work, often silent, and highlighted solidarity, inclusion, and the defense of the dignity of each person as concrete expressions of faith.
These meetings show a pontificate attentive to social and pastoral realities, with an emphasis on justice, charity, and accompaniment of the most vulnerable. Pope Leo XIV’s agenda reflects a vision of the Church that seeks to be present in contemporary debates, such as artificial intelligence, while at the same time strengthening the spiritual life of the faithful.
Original source: www.vaticannews.va (published on August 27, 2026)
