Vatican & World News 01.10.2026

Laudato a Jesus Christus, Vatican and World News.

In the headlines this Thursday, October 1st, Pope Leo XIV dedicates his October prayer intention to mental health ministry.

The Holy Father says the ecological challenge of our time is more urgent than ever.

and Pope Leo is to join hundreds of children in praying the rosary for peace. In the Vatican, I'm Debra Castellana-Lubov.

Pope Leo XIV has released the Pray with the Pope video accompanying his prayer intention for the month of October 2026 for mental health ministry.

In the video, produced by the Pope's worldwide prayer

network, The Pope prays that the Church may be an open house where people facing challenges to their mental health find welcome, dignity and hope.

In his prayer intention for the month of October, Pope Leo prays that the Church may be an open house where people facing challenges to their mental health may find welcome, dignity and hope.

Holding an image of Saint Dymphna, the patroness of people suffering from mental disorders and of mental health professionals,

Poplio addresses the God of life, who knows the innermost depths of our hearts and the silent wounds that sometimes no one sees.

Today we bring before you our brothers and sisters who struggle with challenges to their mental health, who suffer in solitude with anxiety, depression or any other mental illness, he prays.

Pope Leo asks forgiveness for the times when Christians have looked the other way, contributing to stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses.

He prays that the Church may become a safe space where everyone has a place, a community that accompanies and never excludes, that listens without judging and draws near without fear.

The Pope also remembers those who provide care, including professionals, family members and volunteers,

asking God to give them strength and compassion too. Send

your spirit upon us that we may learn to welcome and

integrate care for mental health into the life and ministry of our communities and of the whole Church, he concludes, and thus become a living sign of your mercy, which never abandons and always restores.

According to the press release accompanying the Pope's intention, more than one billion people worldwide live with a mental disorder, while public spending on mental health accounts for barely two percent of health budgets.

Fr. Cristobal Fones, international director of the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, notes that many people experiencing mental illnesses have felt unable to speak about them or have encountered judgment and misunderstanding.

That is why, he says, as a church we come together to open our hearts to this reality and to pray together throughout this entire month for all of them and also for those who accompany them.

The press release also highlights the work of Catholic mental health ministries, universities, parishes and support groups already accompanying people and their families.

I'm Francesca Merlo. Thank you, Francesca Merlo, for that report.

In a meeting with the HEDA Group, an Italian multi-utility

group that manages environmental services in the Vatican

on October 1st, Pope Leo XIV reiterated the importance of creating a culture of care to counter the throwaway culture that permeates our world and its resources.

Isabella Di Carvalho tells us more. The ecological challenge of our time is indeed more urgent than ever, Pope Leo XIV said in the meeting.

Rather than treating every used object as mere waste, we need

to change our behavior and commit ourselves to taking a different path, The Pope told the Hera Group, explaining that this means moving beyond the consumerist model and toward a production system capable of preserving the limited resources of our planet.

The Hera Group is an Italian multi-utility company that focuses on waste disposal and the distribution of gas, water, and energy.

Sustainability, a circular economy, and protecting the environment are major parts of their mission.

Since December 2025, they also managed environmental services in the Vatican after signing an agreement with the governorate.

The company handles the collection, transportation, recovery and disposal of waste using environmentally friendly vehicles, such as an electric vehicle that as of April 2026 is used for waste collection in St.

Peter's Square. In his address, Pope Leo said he was pleased to welcome the group as it gave the opportunity to once again emphasize the importance of our responsibility to protect creation.

He thanked them for their work in the field of recycling, including in the Vatican, and noted that it bears witness to the fact that the throwaway culture can be successfully countered by a culture of care.

This culture is not limited simply to objects and products, but extends from these to human work, and from work to people.

Indeed, it is we who inhabit the world and who, through our decisions and our actions, experience it as a gift from God.