POPE LEO XIV TO VISIT THE PARISH OF SANTA MARIA REGINA PACIS AT OSTIA LIDO

The Holy Father will meet the various members of the community entrusted to the Pallottines
and will celebrate Holy Mass at 17.00

The parish of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido will be the first to receive the pastoral visit from Pope Leo XIV: in fact, next Sunday the Holy Father will be in the community at no. 13 of the square of the same name, entrusted to the Congregation of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottine Fathers). He will arrive at 16.00 and immediately meet with the children of the catechism class and young people, for a total of about 400 children, who will welcome him in the field behind the church. Then it will be the turn of the elderly, the sick, the poor, and Caritas volunteers (400 people in all), who will wait for him in the gym.

At 17.00 Pope Leo XIV will preside over Holy Mass, which will be concelebrated by the cardinal vicar Baldo Reina; Bishop Renato Tarantelli, vicegerent of the diocese and bishop of the South Sector; and by the parish priest, Don Giovanni Vincenzo Patanè. Among others, there will also be the parish priests of Ostia, the chaplain of the Financial Police Don Francesco Chiantera, and the prefects of the South Sector. At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, the Pontiff will meet with the pastoral council in a room in the parish. Then, before returning to the Vatican, he will stop to greet the faithful outside, who will have followed the Mass on the large screen set up for the occasion.

“It is significant that the first parish chosen by the Holy Father for his pastoral visits is dedicated to Mary Queen of Peace”, the parish priest observes. “Indeed, ever since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Leo has shown a lot of attention to the topic, and spoken about ‘unarmed and disarming peace’. Then, Ostia, despite being part of the diocese of Rome, has the distinction of having its own patron, Saint Augustine, who is very dear to our Pope, as an Augustinian”. The news of this pastoral visit, Don Patanè continues, was received with great emotion by the entire parish community. “In order to avoid any disparity, we distributed tickets by lottery”, he explains. “We consider it a privilege to be the first community that the Holy Father will visit. It is also a good opportunity to clean the spaces and tidy a few things!”, the priest jokes. “He is the Pope but for us he is first and foremost our bishop, the pastor who visits his church”.

Journalists and media operators who wish to attend must apply, by 12.00 on Saturday 14 February, exclusively via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system, at: press.vatican.va/accreditamenti.

12 February 2026

Giulia Rocchi
Press and Social Communications Office of the Vicariate of Rome, tel. +390669886343/150; +393393749085
e-mail stampa@diocesidiroma.it; giulia.rocchi@diocesidiroma.it