Pope Leo meets with EU Bishops

27 May, 2025 | Bishops, Church, News, Pope, World

On Friday, 23 May 2025, the members of the Presidency of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) were received in audience by the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, at the Vatican.

The COMECE delegation was composed of:

  • Monsignor Mariano Crociata (President)

  • Monsignor Bernardito Cleopas Auza (Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union)

  • Monsignor Antoine Hérouard (First Vice-President)

  • Monsignor Rimantas Norvila (Vice-President)

  • Monsignor Nuno Brás da Silva Martins (Vice-President)

  • Monsignor Czeslaw Kozon (Vice-President)

  • Father Manuel Barrios Prieto (General Secretary of COMECE)

  • Alessandro Calcagno (Assistant General Secretary of COMECE)

This audience with Pope Leo XIV marked the first meeting between the new Pontiff and the Presidency of COMECE, as well as the first official engagement of Monsignor Bernardito Cleopas Auza in his role as Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union.  Although not formally a member of COMECE, the Apostolic Nuncio participates in meetings of the COMECE Standing Committee.

The encounter provided an opportunity to reflect on the current state of the European integration process and to discuss the EU’s role in promoting peace and integral development in an uncertain and rapidly changing world.  Topics addressed included migration, environmental sustainability, and artificial intelligence.

On the day of Pope Leo XIV’s election, in a statement released by COMECE, Monsignor Crociata wrote:

“We look forward with hope and confidence to the opportunity to meet the Holy Father, to receive from him encouragement and guidance in our mission of dialogue with the institutions of the European Union. In an international context marked by a plurality of crises and common challenges, our desire is to walk a common path, to journey together, supporting the Pontiff in his work.”

ENDS

Source: https://www.comece.eu/ 

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