This Lent, beginning February 15, Pope Leo XIV will step beyond the Vatican walls and into the neighborhoods of Rome. On each of the five Sundays of Lent, the Bishop of Rome will visit parish communities across the city\u2019s five pastoral regions\u2014bringing the papacy to places where daily life is lived with quiet faith, struggle, and hope.<\/p>\n
The Pope\u2019s itinerary includes five parishes: Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Castro Pretorio, Ascension of Our Lord in the East, Our Lady of the Presentation in the West, and the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ponte Mammolo. Many of these communities lie far from the center of Rome\u2019s tourist routes, yet they remain essential to the life of the Church in the Eternal City.<\/p>\n
Pope Leo’s Lenten Itinerary<\/p>\n
EWTN Vatican correspondent Valentina Di Donato spoke with Father Giulio Albanese at the Vicariate of Rome about why this kind of pastoral outreach matters\u2014especially during Lent.<\/p>\n
The Pope as Bishop of Rome<\/p>\n
For Fr. Albanese, the Pope\u2019s visits are not simply gestures of goodwill. They express the very meaning of the Roman pontificate itself. \u201cThe Bishop of Rome is the Pope because here in Rome, in this very city, 2,000 years ago, the apostles, Peter and Paul, preached the good news,\u201d he explains, recalling that both apostles were martyred in the city and that their tombs remain in Rome. For this reason, he says, Rome is the Church that\u2014\u201caccording to the teaching of St. Ignatius of Antioch\u201d\u2014\u201cpresides in charity.\u201d<\/p>\n
In other words, the Pope\u2019s universal role is inseparable from his local responsibility. As Fr. Albanese notes, from the earliest centuries \u201cthe Sea of Rome was relevant, important for the other churches,\u201d and over time \u201cthe Bishop of Rome became the Pope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pope Leo XIV\u2019s decision to spend Lent with Rome\u2019s parishes highlights this ancient reality: the papacy begins not in ceremonies, but in shepherding.<\/p>\n
A Lenten Focus on the Poor<\/p>\n
Fr. Albanese also points to a deeper reason why the Pope\u2019s parish visits carry weight today. The Gospel, he says, demands that the Church stay close to the poor, and he warns that modern society continues to widen the distance between those who have and those who do not. \u201cWe have to take into account that we are living in a society at the international level where there is a gap between the rich and the poor,\u201d he says, adding that poverty is now so severe in many places that people \u201ccannot make ends meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
That reality is often discussed in reference to the global peripheries\u2014but Fr. Albanese insists it is present in Rome as well. \u201cThis is true outside, in the peripheries of the world,\u201d he says, \u201cbut this is true also in the outskirts of Rome.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Ostia, one of the parishes on the Pope\u2019s itinerary, the local pastor, Fr. Giovanni Vincenzo Patan\u00e8, describes a neighborhood marked by both strength and hardship. While he says the area has \u201cits positive sides,\u201d he also notes that part of the community is \u201cmore run-down,\u201d where \u201cdrug dealing and some prostitution are fairly common.\u201d For him, Pope Leo\u2019s presence can serve as a kind of light, drawing attention to places \u201csomewhat in the shadows,\u201d while also challenging the stereotypes that reduce Ostia to headlines about crime.<\/p>\n
He stresses that \u201cOstia is not only what is often described in terms of crime and mafia organizations,\u201d and expresses hope that the Pope\u2019s visit will help people see what is too often ignored: \u201cThere is also a great deal of good here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caritas, Community, and the Strength of Faith<\/p>\n
That \u201cgood\u201d is visible most clearly in the daily work of charity. In Ostia, the local Caritas ministry has seen a dramatic increase in demand. Marco, a member of the Caritas association, says the number of meals served has risen sharply: \u201cWe\u2019re seeing now this month a 30% year-over-year increment, from 90 to more than 120 meals per day on average.\u201d He adds that on one recent day, they served 131 meals.<\/p>\n
For Marco, this increase reflects a broader reality: \u201cThis increase is happening because things aren’t going better, aren’t improving, generally speaking.\u201d At the same time, he says the Church\u2019s response is rooted in welcome. More and more people are coming because \u201cwe welcome everybody in the true spirit of the gospel with open arms,\u201d and Caritas tries to provide help that goes beyond \u201cmere food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among those who come regularly is Costantino, who says he is looking forward to Pope Leo XIV\u2019s visit. For him, faith is not an abstraction\u2014it is the only thing that makes endurance possible. \u201cThe more I go ahead, the more I have become illuminated,\u201d he says, describing faith as something that must be lived inwardly. If a person lives it, he explains, \u201cit illuminates you,\u201d and slowly brings the realization that \u201csomeone loves you, somewhere,\u201d and that \u201csomeone wants to hug you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Costantino\u2019s words reflect the spiritual heart of the Pope\u2019s Lenten outreach: faith as a source of strength, even when life is hard. \u201cYou must have faith,\u201d he insists. \u201cYou can\u2019t lose it\u2026 faith, gives you strength.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Pope Leo XIV prepares to visit these five parishes, the message is clear: Lent is not only a season of reflection, but a season of encounter. And in Rome, the Bishop of Rome is choosing to begin that encounter where the Church often burns brightest\u2014among the poor, the forgotten, and the faithful who keep hope alive on the city\u2019s edges.<\/p>\n
Adapted by Jacob Stein. Produced by Alexey Gotovskiy; Camera by Sergio Natoli.<\/p>\n