Vatican & World News 30.09.2026

Laudator Jesus Christus, Vatican and World News.

In the headlines today, September 30th, the Feast of Saint Jerome,

Pope Leo reflects on his recently concluded absolute journey to France during the general audience.

In an appeal at the conclusion of the audience, the Holy Father calls for dialogue amid renewed violence in Tigray.

And Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher highlights the role religions can play in the search for peace.

In the Vatican, I'm Christopher Wells.

During his weekly general audience, Pope Leo XIV today

recalled various highlights from his recent absolute journey to France, which concluded on Monday and pointed to the theme of rebirth as a guiding thread to understand the visit.

Isabelle de Carvalho tells us more. The

Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris and the tragedy it has endured can symbolically shed light on this entire apostolic journey to France,

offering a perspective that I would summarize in one word, rebirth, Poplio XIV said during the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square on September 30th.

30th. During his apostolic journey to France, Pope Leo visited Paris, Lourdes, and the northeastern city of Metz.

The trip was a gift not only for the people of France, but also for me.

For this, I thank the Lord and all those who helped organize it.

During his catechesis, he retraced the different stops of his journey and how they show the strength and renaissance of the French church.

The motto of the journey was that the world may have life.

And these words characterize the gospel-centered nature of my meetings throughout the visit.

For God alone, through his grace, can restore the church and renew humanity.

And it was evident to me that this is precisely what is occurring in Paris, Lourdes, and Metz.

He, for example, pointed to the collaboration between the church, the state, public institutions, and civil society to rebuild Notre Dame.

He insisted how the synergy for the common good should become the norm for institutions, political and social forces, and all those with civil and economic responsibilities, and that collaboration should be based on human dignity.

The Pope then also mentioned the unforgettable prayer vigil in Paris with 80,000 young people, and the encouraging increasing number of baptisms in France, which he defined as a beautiful surprise from God.

He then also turned to the second leg of his visit, Lourdes and its Marian Shrine.

I was especially pleased to make my pilgrimage to Lourdes in order to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary

and to ask for her continued intercession for her children, not only in France, but throughout the world.

May we learn from her how to establish a civilization of love that upholds human dignity and is marked by lasting peace.

In Lourdes, he also made a strong appeal to defend life and reaffirmed it in his catechesis, saying that every human life retains inviolable dignity and deserves to be cared for and accompanied.

Lastly, the Pope also mentioned his time in Metz, a northeastern city that was strongly affected by the first and Second World War.

In his catechesis, he reiterated for the European project that was based on peace to be renewed. I'm Isabella de Carvalho.

At the conclusion of the audience on Wednesday, Pope Leo made an appeal for an end to renewed violence in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia.

I am following with deep concern the situation in Tigray

and in the neighboring regions of Afar and Amara, where hostilities have once again broken out.

I extend my heartfelt plea to all parties to choose the path of dialogue.

Armed conflict never solves problems, but only worsens them,

leaving in its wake a trail of death, destruction, and resentment.

Only honest engagement can lay the foundations for lasting peace.

It is my fervent hope that the international community will offer its generous and timely contribution

to ensuring that all humanitarian aid be provided to those in need.

With more on the current situation in Tigray, here's Thaddeus Jones.

The situation in Tigray has become increasingly tense in recent hours.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front, the region's main political force, which fought against the federal government during the 2020-2022 Tigray War,

and the Tigray Defense Forces, as well as the Tigrayan military forces that fought the Ethiopian army during that same war, have intensified conflict with Ethiopian military forces.

Numerous clashes have been reported along the Tekeze River west of Tigray in the Lokite area on the border with the Afar region and in various parts of Amhara.