“Pray with the Pope”: a real network of communion in a divided world

From the Chapel of Saint Peregrine in the Vatican to the wider world, Pray with the Pope invites the faithful to share in a common moment of prayer with the Pope. The initiative was presented on Wednesday, 7 January, shortly before the release of the first video message in which Pope Leo XIV shares his prayer intention for January 2026. The video, recorded in English, Italian, and Spanish, marks the official launch of the project.

Prayer as a source of hope

In his January prayer intention - For prayer with the Word of God - Pope Leo XIV calls on the faithful to rediscover prayer as a source of hope. The Pope inaugurates the initiative not with a speech, but with a moment of prayer, emphasising a quieter, more contemplative way of communicating in an age marked by noise and distraction.

According to Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, the initiative offers “the intimate and universal prayer of the Pope in a new, sober, and powerful form,” serving as a visible sign of unity and communion. It becomes a meeting place for millions of people, present both in digital spaces and in the concrete realities of daily life, beginning with the heart of each person.

This proposal, Ruffini explained, challenges the pace of modern life by creating “a protected space, a slow time, for prayer”. It is a reminder that genuine encounter remains possible even in a world marked by division, war, and violence. Prayer, he stressed, has the power to restore unity where it has been fractured.