VICARIATE OF ROME

PRESS AND SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE

PRESS RELEASE

Visit of Pope Leo XIV to the parish of Sacro Cuore di Gesù a Castro Pretorio

The Holy Father will meet the various members of the community entrusted to the Salesians of Don Bosco and will celebrate Holy Mass at 9.00

Everything is ready in the parish basilica of Sacro Cuore di Gesù a Castro Pretorio for POPE LEO XIV’s visit. The Holy Father will visit the community of Via Marsala 42, entrusted to the Salesians of Don Bosco, on Sunday 22 Friday. He will arrive at 8.15 and will be welcomed immediately in the courtyard, where he will be awaited by a thousand people, representing the various parish grops: there will be, among others, the Listening Centre, the Talent Bank, young people, the children attending catechism classes, the poor assisted by the parish, and five catechumens who will receive the sacraments during the Easter Vigil.

Then, at 9.00, LEO XIV will preside over Mass in the parish basilica. The concelebrants will include Cardinal BALDO REINA, the Pope’s vicar for the diocese of Rome; the titular Cardinal GIUSEPPE VERSALDI, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Catholic Education; the Rector Major of the Salesians, Don FABIO ATTARD; the superior of the Central Italy Salesian Circumscription, Don ROBERTO COLAMEO; the parish priest Don JAVIER ORTIZ RODRIGUEZ; and many other priests. Three groups of religious sisters who attend the community will also be present: the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the Franciscan Missionary Clarissians of the Blessed Sacrament, and the Missionaries of the Risen Christ. In the Church there will mostly be faithful from the neighbourhood, a lot of elderly people, and representatives of institutions.

At the end of the celebration, the Pontiff “will go to the chapel, where he will meet with the Salesian community, and then in another room he will have a meeting with the pastoral council, the young and then us, priests”, says the parish priest, who defines next Sunday’s visit as “a very great grace, a gift to us from the Holy Father”. He adds that the Holy Father “is coming to us, who are in the centre but in reality we are like a periphery; it is good to feel the proximity of out pastor and our bishop of Rome. We hope that this can serve to relaunch the entire pastoral ministry and, above all, to reach out to people who are alone, because we have many elderly people, and also to bring closer those who are far away”.

The parish, explains Don ORTIZ RODRIGUEZ, because of its location on Via Marsala, close to Termini Station, in a neighborhood that, in addition to housing residents, is full of offices and hotels, in a multi-ethnic and multicultural context. “Many people attend Mass before going to the office. In fact, on weekdays, the first Eucharistic celebration is at 6:30”, emphasizes the parish priest. “Even those who leave often stop by to pray. We are also always open for confessions, with many confessors”. The listening center, divided into three different sectors, is very active and also offers psychological support “thanks to the help of volunteer professionals”. says the priest. With regard to charity, there is also the Banca dei talenti (Talent Bank), a group which every Friday evening takes an evening meal to the homeless who sleep near the station. “The youth centre offers a school of Italian for foreigners”, says Don ORTIZ RODRIGUEZ, “and we have two rooms for young people, intended in particular for university students who sometimes cannot find a place to study. We also have another group of young people who have an experience of community life and for a certain period live here with us; there are two apartments, one for boys and one for girls, also accompanied by a religious sister and the director of the Youth Centre”.

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

19 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