After Germany’s 7–1 win over Curaçao, something even more beautiful happened. While everyone else celebrated, players from both teams formed a small circle together, put their arms around each other, and prayed. Germany’s Felix Nmecha later explained: “On the pitch we’re opponents. After the game, we’re all Christians and brothers. We simply prayed together because we’re grateful.” In a world constantly trying to divide people, moments like this remind us what really matters. ❤️

Today, Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus - my most recent of several tributes I have painted. Blessings of healing, love, peace, prosperity…& constant Trust in the eternal Mercy of Jesus. #SacredHeart #painting #SacredHeartofJesus #modernart

🚨BREAKING: Atheist Artemis II astronaut Reid Wiseman says he has CONVERTED to Christianity after his trip to moon: "There is no other explanation for what I saw and experienced. When we landed back on earth, I saw the cross and just wept."

The World Cup begins tomorrow, and many will watch the matches. Soccer reminds us of something we must not forget: life is not a race to show off on our own, but a path we learn to walk together. Anyone who does not know how to pass the ball, even if they have talent, has not yet understood the game. Anyone who does not know how to live with and for others has not yet understood life. #ApostolicJourney

I just play it on repeat since yesterday: "Hello Pope Leo XIV, I'm Renzo, I'm six years old. I'd like to ask you a few questions." Renzo, a little a boy from the poor neighborhood of Barcelona, stole the show yesterday at St. Augustine's parish, a place where Pope Leo admitted he "feels at home." Renzo in the sweetest way ever asked those questions to the pope: Do you like soccer? When you were little, did you want to be Pope? Why are my mom and dad worried? Why does my dad have so many jobs? Why do bad things happen to some people and not to others? Whose fault is it? Why are there so many people living on the streets? Does no one see them? Does no one help them? How can we help if the world is so big? Does God want there to be poor and rich? Why are there so many lonely grandparents, if they are so important? And one last question ... Must we always forgive? What pope Leo answered the boy was really moving. "Regarding whether I like football, I confess that I play tennis and I enjoy it very much, but I also appreciate football; in fact, during my years as bishop in Peru, I liked to follow how some local teams were doing; and now, as Pope, I have also received football clubs and sports groups," the pope said, adding that "sport is important because it helps us grow up healthy in body and mind." He said that as World Cup unfolds, "many will be watching the matches. Football reminds us of something we must not forget: life is not a race to show off alone, but a path we learn to travel together." "Whoever doesn't know how to pass the ball, even if they have talent, hasn't yet understood the game. And whoever doesn't know how to live with others and for others hasn't yet understood life." Answering whether he wanted to be Pope when he was little, the pope said: "Well, Renzo, I don't think so. I don't think I ever thought about it." "But I can tell you something: from a young age, I felt the desire to dedicate my life to God. I didn't yet know exactly how or where the Lord would lead me. Over time, I discovered that Jesus was calling me to follow him as a priest, and that this path led through the Order of Saint Augustine." "But this isn't just true for me," he said. "Every child is a dream of God. You are too. God desires the happiness of all and wants us, from childhood and throughout our lives, to have a heart like that of children (cf. Mt 18:3): capable of trusting, full of kindness; he wants us to be his friends and not turn away from him. Therefore, more important than asking oneself whether one will be a priest, doctor, teacher, parent, or anything else, is asking oneself whether one wants to be a friend of Jesus. Because friendship with Jesus gives us joy, sets us free, and helps us to see, step by step, the vocation and the path that God has planned for each of us." Answering the point on injustices in the world, Pope Leo told the boy that "through the life of Jesus Christ, God shows us that, although there is suffering, he never abandons any of his children, because he has prepared for us an eternal joy where there will be no more sadness or pain. Let us have confidence, Jesus is with us, he helps us and accompanies us, and gives us strength to go through the difficult moments we may encounter in life." Stressing that grandparents play a crucial role in families, the pope said: "Let us not allow loneliness and abandonment to become normalized in the lives of older adults. That is a very sad thing. Let's have our hearts open to all of them." On forgiveness, he told Renzo and those gathered: "It does not mean forgetting by force, as if nothing had happened. Forgiveness means not letting hatred become the master of our hearts ... our willingness to forgive is a condition for the forgiveness we receive from God." Video: Vatican Media

Andrea Bocelli, a Catholic and Italian tenor, who performed the official anthem at the opening of the FIFA World Cup 2026, was once a baby doctors advised should be aborted. When Bocelli's mother was pregnant with him, doctors warned that her baby would be born with a congenital condition that could lead to blindness and recommended an abortion. However, she refused and chose to give birth to her son. Bocelli was born with congenital glaucoma and later lost his sight completely at the age of 12 following a head injury during a soccer game. Despite this profound challenge, he went on to become one of the world's most celebrated and influential singers, inspiring millions through his music and testimony to the dignity and value of every human life.

Como jurista, me quedo con una frase del discurso del @Pontifex_es en el @Congreso_Es que debería enmarcarse en cada parlamento: "Una ley no alcanza su verdadera grandeza por el mero hecho de haber sido formalmente aprobada; la alcanza cuando puede comparecer ante la dignidad de la persona y salir de ese examen sin avergonzarse".

What a blessing to arrive in New York on the feast of The Immaculate Heart of Mary with my darlings and be able to visit St Patrick’s Cathedral. An opportunity to thank God for his many graces in front of the tabernacle 🙏 #theimmaculateheart #newyork #stpatricks

No, this isn’t a Real Madrid match in Bernabéu stadium It’s 80,000 Catholics with Pope Leo XIV

In what will certainly become one of the most fundamental speeches of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV told the Spanish Parliament, before receiving a 7-minute standing ovation: "The defense of human life is neither a partisan issue nor a confessional interest: it is a goal of civilization." "If life ceases to be recognized as a fundamental value, what future can our societies have?" he said, speaking to a gathering of politicians, many supporting abortion and euthanasia. "Can a community that casts into the shadows the unborn child, the elderly, the sick, those who suffer in silence, or those who depend entirely on the care of others be called fully just?" "Every human life must be recognized and safeguarded from conception to its natural end, in every circumstance of its existence. When this certainty is obscured, the most vulnerable are the first victims, and the law loses its deepest meaning: to serve and protect every person." "For this reason, the moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile," he said, repeating what John Paul II emphasized decades ago. Starting his speech he commented that Church's is the "message offered in the spirit of service to the human person." "When the Church addresses anything concerning public life, she does so while respecting the proper mission of institutions and the legitimate responsibility of those who have received the mandate to legislate," Pope Leo said, emphasizing "the Church offers a reflection born of the desire to serve the common good." He hailed Spain as country that "has known how to view the human being as more than just a cog in the social, economic or political order. It has recognized the human being as a creature open to truth, endowed with freedom, and driven by a thirst for eternity that no temporal reality can quench -- in a word, as someone whose dignity takes precedence over all utility and to whose service legislative action is subject." He said it was Catholic orders that "helped to shape a legal and moral consciousness capable of remembering that authority always entails responsibility and that every human being must be recognized as a subject of rights and duties." "That aspiration continues to resonate today: that dignity, justice and the common good should be the measure of social relations, both at the national and international levels." Referring multiple times to his "Magnifica Humanitas" encyclical, he said: "When the common good ceases to be a shared horizon, public action runs the risk of fragmenting into partial interests, incapable of safeguarding what belongs to all." "In this context, the family — the primary human reality and the natural foundation of the community — takes on particular importance," Pope Leo said. "The family will always be the first school of humanity, where one learns, before anywhere else, the basic grammar of living together: welcoming life, caring for others, forgiving, serving and belonging." "Human life can never be treated as a commodity," the pope said. "A law does not attain its true greatness merely by having been formally enacted; it attains it when, in addition to being valid in form, it can stand before the dignity of the person and pass that test without shame." "I invite you, then, to lift your gaze to the world around you, not to turn away from reality, but to remember that every decision by public authorities affects real people, especially those who have less power to make their voices heard." "The expanse of one’s vision consists precisely in looking more deeply at what is at stake in every public decision. This is why, alongside technical solutions and legal reforms, a moral renewal is also needed." Video: Vatican Media (fragment of speech follows)

Madrid witnessed something extraordinary today: Pope Leo XIV carrying our Eucharistic Lord through its streets on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. As thousands followed in prayer and adoration, the scene reflected the beauty of this ancient feast. But Madrid was not alone. Across the world, Catholics gathered to carry Jesus in the Eucharist through their streets, publicly proclaiming their faith in His Real Presence. Corpus Christi is more than a tradition—it is living faith made visible. Wherever the Eucharistic Lord was carried in procession today, in Madrid, throughout Spain, throughout the world, there beat the heart of the Church.

🇪🇸 Bad Bunny is expected to draw 600,000 people in total to his 10 shows in Madrid Pope Leo XIV drew 600,000 young people in one night to the Youth Vigil in Madrid

Pope Leo blesses half a million young Catholics with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in Madrid. Video: Vatican Media

Sometimes I have to walk away from the “internet” for awhile. At age 19 I had an abortion. It was horrific for me but I can only imagine how horrific for my beautiful child. If it wasn’t for Jesus rescuing me years later, it’s quite possible I would have killed myself or become an addict like most in my family growing up. But God rescued me. He rescued me with a purpose to not only glorify Him but to expose the deeds of darkness. To speak up. Yes I’m forgiven for my abortion. But if you read about David all through the OT in the Bible. Sin has consequences. There isn’t one day that passes that I don’t see that empty chair at the dinner table. Wondering who she would be 😭😭😭😭 Abortion is murder. It’s a stain on this country and on this world. The blood of the innocent cry out. And trust me. Justice is coming FULL!

"If we accept that a mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill each other? Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence to get what they want." Saint Theresa of Calcutta, pray for @McJuggerNuggets his wife and child.

"I am a man. See me as a human being—not a birth defect, not a syndrome. I don’t need to be eradicated." Frank Stephens pleads for the humanization of people with Down syndrome, studies suggest 67-90% are aborted in the United States due to faulty prenatal screenings.

I will forever look up to my grandma who not only birthed 15 kids, but since her second youngest had down syndrome and died as a small child, she chose to adopt a baby with down syndrome and cared for him until she passed away last year. My uncle Abel is about 40 now and is so kind and loving. He is now enjoying his time in a group home. I’m so blessed to have been raised in a family that values life. 🤍

In a world that destroys children with Down syndrome, listen to this brave girl: “You can try to kill off everyone with Down syndrome by using abortion, but you won’t be any closer to a perfect society. You will just be closer to a cruel, heartless one."   Charlotte Helene Fien speaks before the United Nations

Every single child with Down syndrome is a gift from God, who deserves life. These children have just as much value, and deserve life just as much as a child without DS. Down syndrome children aren’t a curse to parents. Pass it on.

I’ve had a hard time focusing today. I just can’t quite put down that despicable post from the man that aborted his daughter because her test results indicated she likely had Down Syndrome. As the father of a daughter with DS, I know the statistics (I also know how the conversation goes with the Geneticist…), but to see someone publicly announce the murder of their child, and with such egocentric disdain, just has me very upset today. Lord, have mercy Christ, have mercy Lord, have mercy God in heaven, thank you for the gift of my Ellie.