The following is the Message sent on behalf of the Holy Father by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin to the Fédération des Médias Catholiques on the occasion of the Saint François de Sales Meeting, taking place in Lourdes from 21 to 23 January 2026:

Message

To the participants in the Saint François de Sales Meeting
of the Fédération des Médias Catholiques

It is with pleasure that I send you this message on behalf of the Holy Father on the occasion of your meeting in Lourdes in memory of Saint Francis de Sales, patron saint of the Catholic press.

It is a beautiful tradition that you meet each year to discuss the major themes of information and the contribution that the Catholic media can make to the world of communication. It is even more significant that you gather together for moments of prayer and reflection, sharing your experiences, hopes and plans.

The Holy Father appreciated the choice of theme that you will be discussing over the next few days: ‘What responsibility do Catholic media have in a polarized world?’ As you know, since the beginning of his Petrine ministry, he has emphasized the need to promote unarmed and disarming communication that allows us to see without prejudice and with respect for the dignity of each person (cf. Address, 12 May 2025). We need words that mend the rifts in life, words that build communities where enmity separates people and peoples. “We must say ‘no’ to the war of words and images” (ibid.).

To face this era, characterized – including in the field of communication – by the emergence of artificial intelligence, it is urgent to return to the reasons of the heart, to the centrality of good relationships and to the ability to get closer to others, without excluding anyone. And this urgency finds an answer in the service of truth that Catholic media can offer to everyone, even those who do not believe.

As professionals in Catholic-inspired social communication, I encourage you to be sowers of good words, amplifiers of voices that courageously seek reconciliation by disarming hearts of hatred and fanaticism. In a fragmented and polarized world, be the antennas that pick up and retransmit what the weak, the marginalized, those who are alone and need to know the joy of feeling loved are experiencing.

In this endeavour, you have a source of inspiration in Father Jacques Hamel, to whom you have dedicated an award for journalists who are committed to promoting peace and interfaith dialogue. Father Hamel was a witness to the faith, to the point of giving his own life. He always believed in the value of dialogue and mutual, patient listening. Father Hamel was convinced that it is urgent to know how to show proximity to others, without exception. To know one another, we must meet without being frightened by differences, ready to fight for who we are and what we believe in. May his example encourage you to be seekers of truth in the love that explains everything, artisans of a word that embraces, of communication capable of reuniting what is broken, of a balm on the wounds of humanity.

Invoking upon each of you the protection of Saint Francis de Sales and the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Pope Leo XIV grants you the Apostolic Blessing.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State