Press Release

Diocesan Assembly with Pope Leo XIV

Friday 19 September at Saint John Lateran

Pope Leo XIV will officially open the new pastoral year of the diocese of Rome, with the diocesan assembly. The appointment is for the afternoon of Friday 19 September in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. In particular, at 17.15 the participants will arrive and be welcomed; at 17.45 the Holy Father will arrive and, at 18.00, he will lead the liturgy of the Word and provide the pastoral guidelines, followed by the conclusions at 19.30.

As a diocesan event, and with 2,000 seats available, aside from the parish priests, parish vicars, rectors, chaplains and deacons, the following will be present: three laypeople for each parish, some representatives of the Council of Lay Associations and some representatives from male and female religious institutes. Passes can be collected from the Vicariate, at the Liturgical Office, starting on Monday 8 September (in accordance with to the offices' opening hours).

The official announcement of the event was given by Cardinal Vicar Baldo Reina, with a letter addressed to all the faithful of the diocese of Rome. “We have lived days of grace on the occasion of the Jubilee of Youth”, he recalled. “We still cherish the memory and we hope, above all, to treasure what we have experienced with the presence and the words of our Bishop and with the affection of the young people who came in large numbers from all over the world”. Again, a reflection on the diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes, which concludes today, during which “the pastoral year that is about to begin was placed in the hands of Mary, and the journey of our Church entrusted to her”.

Accreditation procedure: the journalists and media operators who wish to participate must apply no later than 24 hours before the event, via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system, at press-vatican.va/accreditamenti.

1 September 2025