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At the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens, Pope Leo XIV pays homage to the Immaculate Conception

A prayer for the sick and those who care for them

“Today, on this day dedicated to the sick, we wish to pray in communion with all those who suffer throughout the world. We pray for you. I sincerely thank you for making the effort to come and to accompany us in this moment of prayer, here before our Mother Mary, on her liturgical memorial, Our Lady of Lourdes.” These were the words of Pope Leo XIV, spoken in front of the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens on Wednesday morning, 11 February, after the General Audience.

In Conversation with Two Postal Workers for the Governorate in Vatican City

When the Recipient of Mail is the Holy Father

Responsibility, confidentiality, discretion. These are the essential qualities required when delivering correspondence to the Pope and to the various Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as well as to the offices of the Governorate. They are the defining traits of those entrusted each day with delivering mail within Vatican City.

February 11, 1858: First Apparition of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes

On this day dedicated to Mary, we commemorate the 97th Anniversary of the founding of the Vatican City State

It was Thursday, February 11, 1858, when the Virgin Mary appeared to fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous at the Grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes. It was the first of eighteen apparitions.

Pope Leo XIV greets managers and staff of the “Floreria” and the Constructions Office of the Governorate

A valuable service for the Pope’s apostolic mission

“The work you carry out each day certainly represents a discreet and precious service for the Pope’s apostolic mission. It is part of the complex activity of the Governorate and of the Directorate for Infrastructure and Services, which I commend for the diligent management of many responsibilities within the Vatican City State.”

A Conversation with Fr. Richard Anthony D’Souza, Director of the Vatican Observatory, on the 2026 Program

Scientific priorities

Completing the robotization process of the VATT (Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope) on Mount Graham in Arizona. Finishing the 3D scanning and documentation of the approximately 1,200 meteorites preserved in the laboratory and, in the observatory at Castel Gandolfo, introducing the first GPUs (Graphic Processing Units) to enhance computational capabilities and the theoretical program, also through a new series of theoretical seminars on physics. These are the priorities indicated for 2026 by its Director, Jesuit Fr. Richard Anthony D’Souza for the Vatican Observatory in this interview for the Governorate’s website www.vaticanstate.va.