Pope Leo XIV receives Leo XIV International Study Center

Pope Leo XIV met with members of the Leo XIV International Study Center on September 18, 2026, to encourage the center to help build a civilization of love. The center, which bears the pope's name, was established in December 2025 as an initiative of the Augustinian Order.

Based in the Santo Spirito monastery in Florence, the center focuses on research, training, and culture, specifically regarding international relations and public life. The pope encouraged the center to promote training in politics and public life as a way to serve the common good and build peace. He also urged the center to engage in dialogue with universities, academic institutions, public bodies, civil society organizations, and ecclesial networks.

The center collaborates with the Theological Faculty of Central Italy and the Augustinianum Pontifical Patristic Institute. The pope noted that the choice of Florence as a home for the center serves as an invitation to draw inspiration from humanism. He emphasized that critical thinking and the social doctrine of the Church are essential for building a civilization based on peace rather than war.