The Church in Slovakia

Pope Leo XIV received President Laura Fernández Delgado of the Republic of Costa Rica for an audience at the Apostolic Palace on October 29, 2026.

Following the audience, the President met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.

During talks at the Secretariat of State, officials expressed satisfaction with the relations between the Holy See and Costa Rica, and between the state and the local Church. The conversation addressed socio-political issues in the country and the region, specifically regarding security and migration.

The Pomoc trpiacej Cirkvi foundation will hold Red Week from November 15 to 22 to highlight the experiences of more than 220 million Christians facing persecution and discrimination.

Bishop Vitālijs Krivickis of Kijivas-Žitomiras addressed the "Lūgšana sargā pasauli" forum in Asīzē, organized by the Svētā Egīdija community. The bishop urged participants not to remain silent even if the world grows weary of hearing about war.

Pope Leo XIV received Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar for a private audience on October 26. The president also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.

Pope Leo XIV received Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, for a private audience at the Apostolic Palace on Friday, October 23.

Shevchuk thanked the Pope for his prayers and for the Vatican's humanitarian diplomacy. He also provided the Pope with a new list of prisoners of war to assist the Church's efforts to secure the release of prisoners and illegally detained hostages.

The Pope thanked the bishops, priests, monastics, and faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church for their witness of faith during the war. Shevchuk offered the Pope the prayers of Ukrainian Greek Catholics as the Pope continues to recover from thoracic surgery.