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To be good economists, know the divine economy: papal message (Dicastery for Communication)

Pope Leo XIV sent a message of encouragement to the Economy of Francesco, a group of young adult economists and entrepreneurs inspired by St. Francis of Assisi and Pope Francis, as they gathered in Rome for a three-day conference, “Restarting the Economy.”

“I urge you, so that your tireless work is not just social action and linked to passing fads, to nourish your spirit and return to your heart: the Gospels and other books of the Bible are the landscape in which God still makes his voice heard and inspires our visions, putting us in dialogue with his friends, the protagonists of the history of salvation,” Pope Leo wrote in his message, dated November 26 and released two days later. “You will be good businesspeople and good economists if you know the divine economy in this way: it is the secret of so many witnesses who have gone before us and who still walk with us.”

Dec. 1 Monday of the First Week of Advent, Weekday

The Roman Martyrology commemorates today the St. Charles Eugène de Foucauld (1858-1916), a French Catholic religious and priest, who lived among the Tuareg in the Sahara in Algeria. He was assassinated in 1916 outside the door of the fort he built for the protection of the Tuareg, and is a martyr. His inspiration and writings led to the founding of the Little Brothers of Jesus among other religious congregations. He was beatified on November 13, 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI, and canonized by Pope Francis on May 15, 2022.

The Ancient Origins of the Advent Wreath & Its Profound Symbolic Meaning

What does the advent wreath represent? Here's the breakdown of its origin and symbolic meaning.

Ecumenism is not 'absorption or domination,' but sharing gifts, pope says

ISTANBUL (CNS) -- As he had done throughout his visit to Turkey, Pope Leo XIV spent his last morning in the country reaffirming the Catholic Church's commitment to the search for Christian unity.

The key symbol of that was the pope's presence at the Divine Liturgy celebrated by Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople Nov. 30, the feast of St. Andrew, patron of the patriarchate.

For decades the popes and patriarchs have sent delegations to each other's patronal feast celebrations -- the Vatican's celebration of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29 and the patriarchate's celebration of St. Andrew's feast Nov. 30.

St. Peter and St. Andrew were brothers and were the first of the 12 Apostles to be called by Jesus.

After the liturgy, the pope and patriarch went to a balcony where they jointly blessed the people gathered below. 

Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria at liturgy with pope
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria, Egypt, blesses Pope Leo XIV and members of the congregation with candles during the Divine Liturgy celebrated by Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in Istanbul Nov. 30, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Patriarch Bartholomew had been present at most of the events on Pope Leo's itinerary in Turkey, including the meeting in Ankara Nov. 27 with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and government and civic officials. The patriarch hosted the commemoration of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea Nov. 28, and he attended Pope Leo's Mass for the country's Catholic communities Nov. 29.

At the liturgy Nov. 30 in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George, Pope Leo spoke about how for 60 years Catholics and Orthodox have followed "a path of reconciliation, peace and growing communion." 

Pope Leo XIV at the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Divine Liturgy
Pope Leo XIV greets Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople during a Divine Liturgy celebrated in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in Istanbul Nov. 30, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

The increasingly cordial relations have been "fostered through frequent contact, fraternal meetings and promising theological dialogue," he said. "And today we are called even more to commit ourselves to the restoration of full communion."

Especially important work has been done by the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, the pope said, but he noted that tensions among the Orthodox churches have led some of them to suspend their participation.

The commission's last plenary session was held in Egypt in 2023; the most noticeable absence was that of the Russian Orthodox Church, which broke relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2018 when the patriarch recognized the autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Pope Leo used his greeting at the Divine Liturgy to confirm that, "in continuity with the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and my predecessors," the pursuit of full communion among Christians "is one of the priorities of the Catholic Church. In particular, it is one of the priorities of my ministry as Bishop of Rome, whose specific role in the universal Church is to be at the service of all, building and safeguarding communion and unity."

In his homily at the liturgy, Patriarch Bartholomew restated the Orthodox commitment to unity and called for common Christian efforts to protect the environment and to end wars.

"We cannot be complicit in the bloodshed taking place in Ukraine and other parts of the world and remain silent in the face of the exodus of Christians from the cradle of Christianity" in the Holy Land, the patriarch said. 

Pope Leo welcomed with bread and salt by Armenians in Turkey
Pope Leo XIV is welcomed to the cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Istanbul by young people making the traditional offering of bread and salt as Archbishop Sahak II Mashalian, the Armenian Apostolic patriarch of Constantinople, looks on Nov. 30, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Pope Leo's day had begun with a visit to Archbishop Sahak II Mashalian, the Armenian Apostolic patriarch of Constantinople, at his cathedral in Istanbul.

The celebrations of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and its statement of faith that formed the basis of the Nicene Creed, are an affirmation that "we must draw from this shared apostolic faith in order to recover the unity that existed in the early centuries between the Church of Rome and the ancient Oriental Churches," the pope said.

"We must also take inspiration from the experience of the early church in order to restore full communion," he said; the goal is "a communion which does not imply absorption or domination, but rather an exchange of the gifts received by our churches from the Holy Spirit for the glory of God the Father and the edification of the body of Christ."

While Pope Leo paid tribute to "the courageous Christian witness of the Armenian people throughout history, often amid tragic circumstances," he was not more explicit about the politically sensitive subject of what many call the "Armenian genocide," when an estimated 1.5 million Armenians killed by Ottoman Turks in 1915-18.

Mardik Evadian, a local business owner who was present for the pope's visit, told reporters that for Armenians in Turkey "it is not important" that the pope use the word "genocide."

Armenians know what happened and remember their loved ones who were killed, he said, "but we are living in this country; maybe in old times there were pogroms, but now it is peacetime."
 

Leo XIV, Ecumenical Patriarch sign joint declaration; Pontiff calls for 2033 gathering in Jerusalem (CWN)

Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches, signed a joint declaration yesterday, the third day of the first international trip of Pope Leo’s pontificate.

Nov. 30 First Sunday of Advent, Sunday

For Catholics, the new Liturgical Year commences with the First Sunday of Advent, opening the Advent season. In this new Liturgical Year, the Church not only wishes to indicate the beginning of a period, but the beginning of a renewed commitment to the faith by all those who follow Christ, the Lord. This time of prayer and path of penance that is so powerful, rich and intense, endeavors to give us a renewed impetus to truly welcome the message of the One who was incarnated for us. In fact, the entire Liturgy of the Advent season, will spur us to an awakening in our Christian life and will put us in a ‘vigilant' disposition, to wait for Our Lord Jesus who is coming:

Need a Christmas Miracle? How to Pray the Never-Failing Saint Andrew Christmas Novena

Are you praying the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena this year? It is so powerful, and a great way to prepare your heart for Christmas!

Pope visits famous Istanbul mosque but does not pause to pray

ISTANBUL (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV, like his two immediate predecessors, visited the so-called Blue Mosque in Turkey's capital; he spent about 20 minutes inside but did not appear to pause for prayer as Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis had done.

Instead, he listened to Askin Musa Tunca, the mosque's muezzin who calls people to prayer five times a day, explain the building, its construction and how Muslims pray. And the pope asked questions. 

Pope Leo looks at the ceiling of the Blue Mosque
Pope Leo XIV looks up at the ceiling of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, more commonly called the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul during a visit Nov. 29, 2025. Kurra Hafiz Fatih Kaya, the imam of the mosque, is to the right of the pope; Emrullah Tuncel, the mufti of Istanbul, is to the left of the pope; and Askin Musa Tunca, the mosque's muezzin, wearing a suit and tie, is guiding the visit. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Tunca told reporters afterward that the mosque is "the house of Allah -- it's not my house; it's not your house," and so he told Pope Leo he could pray if he wanted. "'That's OK,' he said, he wanted to see the mosque."

Reporters pressed Tunca, asking again if the pope prayed. "Maybe to himself, I don't know," he responded.

The Vatican press office said afterward that Pope Leo visited the mosque "in a spirit of reflection and attentive listening, with deep respect for the place and for the faith of those who gather there in prayer."

As is customary, Pope Leo removed his shoes in the courtyard before entering the mosque in white socks. 

A minaret of the Blue Mosque at sunrise
One of the six minarets of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, more commonly called the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul is seen shortly after sunrise before Pope Leo XIV visits Nov. 29, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Formally called the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the Muslim house of prayer was complete in 1617 and is known as the Blue Mosque because of the more than 21,000 blue tiles that decorate its walls, arches and domes. The tiles come from Iznik, site of the ancient Nicaea, which Pope Leo had visited the day before.

Leaving the mosque, Pope Leo noted to Tunca that they were going through a doorway with a sign that said, "No exit." The muezzin replied that the sign was for tourists but, if the pope preferred, "you do not have to go out. You can stay here."

Pope Benedict XVI had visited the Blue Mosque in 2006, and Pope Francis toured it in 2015. Both had paused for a moment of silence facing the mihrab, which indicates the direction of the Islamic holy city of Mecca. St. John Paul II was the first pontiff to visit a mosque when he went to the Umayyad mosque in Damascus, Syria, in 2001. 

Pope Leo visits the Blue Mosque in Istanbul
Pope Leo XIV walks with Turkish Muslim leaders and aides as they exit the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, after a private visit in Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 29, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

In late October Pope Leo had led Vatican celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council's document on relations with other world religions. The bishops at Vatican II said Catholics have esteem for their Muslim brothers and sisters, who "adore the one God, living and subsisting in himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth," and "they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even his inscrutable decrees."
 

Pope, in Turkey, commemorates 1700th anniversary of Council of Nicaea, warns of 'new Arianism' (CWN)

On the second day of the first international trip of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV made a pilgrimage to İznik, Turkey (historically Nicaea), where he commemorated the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, the first of the 21 ecumenical councils in the Church’s history. Earlier in the day, in Istanbul, the Pope warned of “a ‘new Arianism,’ present in today’s culture and sometimes even among believers.”

Nov. 29 Saturday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, Weekday

It is the Liturgical New Year's Eve: today is the last day of Ordinary Time and the current Liturgical Year. Evening marks the beginning of Advent and the New Liturgical Year..