Purple vestments, stripped altars, and the scent of incense mark the Church\u2019s entrance into Lent. Inside the Vatican, the season brings a noticeable change in rhythm: the pace slows, public activity eases, and attention turns inward.<\/p>\n
Pope Leo’s Lent in the Vatican<\/p>\n
As Fr. Wojciech Giertych, Theologian of the Papal Household, explains, Lent is reflected even in the Holy Father\u2019s schedule. \u201cThe work load then is reduced because this is a special time for prayer,\u201d he says. \u201cThe Pope has less audiences, less meetings with people, because this is a time specially given to God\u2026 that we need, in a very concrete way, a sign of time for God.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Pope\u2019s Spiritual Exercises: A Week Set Apart<\/p>\n
At the heart of the Vatican\u2019s Lenten observance are the Pope\u2019s annual Spiritual Exercises\u2014a retreat not focused on diplomacy or governance, but on prayer, silence, and listening.<\/p>\n
Fr. Giertych describes it as a Vatican version of what many Catholics experience in their own parishes during Lent. \u201cParishes often arrange a retreat during Lent\u2026 and so the same thing happens here in the Vatican,\u201d he says. \u201cThe Holy Father invites a preacher to preach to the members of the Roman Curia who are invited to listen to these conferences.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s retreat will take place once again inside the Apostolic Palace, marking Pope Leo XIV\u2019s first Lent as pontiff. In recent years, Pope Francis had chosen to hold the exercises outside the Vatican, at the Casa Divin Maestro retreat house in Ariccia, overlooking Castel Gandolfo\u2014a setting more in line with the Jesuit tradition of making the Spiritual Exercises away from one\u2019s daily place of work.<\/p>\n
A Trappist Bishop Chosen to Preach<\/p>\n
Contrary to expectations, the retreat will not be preached by the official Preacher of the Papal Household, Fr. Roberto Pasolini. Instead, as Fr. Giertych confirms, \u201cAnd now this Lenten retreat will be preached by Bishop Erik Varden from Norway.\u201d<\/p>\n
The theme of the 2026 Spiritual Exercises will be \u201cIlluminated by a Hidden Glory. The Lenten Itinerary,\u201d and the retreat will run from February 22 to February 27.<\/p>\n
Bishop Erik Varden, Bishop of Trondheim since 2020, is a 51-year-old Cistercian monk of Strict Observance\u2014commonly known as a Trappist\u2014widely recognized for his spiritual writing and emphasis on interior life. Baptized Lutheran and raised by non-practicing parents, he studied philosophy and theology at Cambridge before converting to Catholicism. After further theological studies in Rome, he entered the Trappist monastery in 2002 and later became Abbot of Mount St. Bernard in 2015.<\/p>\n
His approach is shaped deeply by monastic tradition, especially the Desert Fathers\u2014whose writings he believes still speak powerfully to modern life. In one reflection, Bishop Varden describes how those early monastic texts first struck him personally:<\/p>\n
\u201cI’d read about the Desert Fathers, and I’d read a short collection of sayings before I joined the monastery. But it was when I was in the novitiate that I realized just how important this body of literature is\u2026 a young monk coming to an older monk, having a problem\u2026 and asking, \u2018Father, how can I live with this? What can I do about this?\u2019 And I found the answers to be so penetrating and so true and so timeless\u2026 that I found them tremendously helpful. I still find them helpful, and I think they’ll be helpful to others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Varden is currently leading a related initiative titled \u201cDesert Fathers in a Year,\u201d in collaboration with EWTN and Exodus 90, aimed at applying early Christian monastic wisdom to what he calls today\u2019s \u201cdesert\u201d of distraction.<\/p>\n
The Spiritual Exercises in the Vatican will follow a monastic rhythm, with twice-daily conferences, Eucharistic adoration, and the Liturgy of the Hours. The first meditation is scheduled for Sunday, February 22 at 5 p.m. Each day will begin at 9 a.m. with the Liturgy of the Hours, followed by a second meditation at 5 p.m. The retreat will conclude on Friday, February 27 with afternoon Eucharistic adoration.<\/p>\n
Adapted by Jacob Stein. Produced by Alexey Gotovskiy; Video Edited by Alessio Di Cintio.<\/p>\n