“Teach us to listen to you each day in the Scriptures, to let ourselves be challenged by your voice, and to discern our decisions from the closeness to your Heart,” Pope Leo prayed in the video. “May your Word be nourishment in weariness, hope in darkness, and strength in our communities.”

“Lord, may your Word never be absent from our lips or from our hearts—the Word that makes us sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, disciples and missionaries of your Kingdom,” the Pope added.

The video was the first in the new “Pray with the Pope” campaign and is longer (four minutes) and more meditative than the videos previously associated with the monthly prayer intentions. In this video, the Pope is filmed praying in the Church of San Pellegrino in Vaticano.

“No bishop will tell you who to vote for,” said Bishop Agapitus Nfon of Kumba. “During election periods, we provide criteria and guidance to help people choose the right leader.”

“We call attention to consciences so that citizens can make the right choice,” he added. “Therefore, we cannot afford to be partisan, because as shepherds, we have faithful who belong to different political parties. We are here to guide them all.”

The central African nation of 32 million (map) is 58% Christian (28% Catholic), 22% Muslim, and 19% ethnic religionist. The nation’s president, Paul Biya, is 92 and the oldest head of state in the world.

“This campaign builds on a fruitful initiative launched by Pope Francis ten years ago, known as ‘The Pope Video,’” said Father Fones. “The campaign we are presenting today moves us more decisively towards silence” and “more centered on supporting a spiritual experience, which often becomes difficult in the midst of our daily lives, so hectic and full of noise.”

Father Fones said that “this campaign can be followed on our landing page popesprayer.va in several languages, and can also be heard in audio format on Vatican Radio and on platforms associated with Pray with the Pope: Pray as You Go, RezandoVoy and Hallow.”

“When the image of the Pope appeared on the screen, there was an overwhelming surge of enthusiasm,” Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, said of the papal video message to SEEK 2026. “Many SEEK organizers and members of FOCUS later told me that the Pope summarized the meaning of SEEK better than they themselves could have.”

“He planted a seed in the hearts of many young people, helping them reflect on their own vocation and respond to the question, ‘What are you seeking?’—the question Jesus asks Andrew and the beloved disciple,” Bishop Fernandes added.

Meeting in the first extraordinary consistory of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, the members of the College of Cardinals voted last evening to discuss evangelization and synodality—thus effectively sidelining detailed discussion of the Roman Curia and the sacred liturgy.

The cardinals also heard a meditation by Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, OP, who said that Lord calls the Church to sail through the “storms” of “sexual abuse and ideological divisions.”

“If Peter’s boat were full of disciples who quarrel among themselves, we would be of no use to the Holy Father,” he said. “If instead we live among ourselves in peace and love, even when differences emerge, God will truly be present, even when he seems absent.”

Following the first evening of discussions, the Pope listened to summaries prepared by the secretaries of the nine groups of cardinals who govern dioceses (rather than serve in the Curia).

The Pope’s closing remarks were not published in full, but were excerpted by Vatican News. Referring to the “experience of collegiality,” the Pope said that “the journey is as important as the conclusion,” adding, “Time is very short,” and, “I feel the need to be able to count on you. You have called this servant to this mission; it is important that we discern together.”

Pope Leo XIV opened the first extraordinary consistory of his pontificate yesterday afternoon with a call to mutual love and listening.

Pope Leo XIV has begun a new series of Wednesday general audiences devoted to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and its documents.