Pope Leo XIV is making his annual Lenten retreat this week, which is why his regular public schedule (including today’s Wednesday general audience) is reduced or suspended. This retreat is a long-standing tradition in the Catholic Church, typically held in the first full week of Lent, at which the Pope and members of the Roman Curia withdraw from most public obligations to pray, meditate, and reflect together.

🕯️ Retreat Details

• The Lenten spiritual exercises began on

• During these days, Pope Leo XIV and the Curia participate in daily prayer, meditation, the Liturgy of the Hours, and Eucharistic adoration in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican.

• Because the retreat is meant to be a time of silence and spiritual focus, most public audiences and events — including the Wednesday general audience — are set aside for the week.

The retreat is being preached by Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, the Cistercian (Trappist) Bishop of Trondheim, Norway. He has been invited by the Pope to guide the meditations and reflections during this retreat.

• Bishop Varden is a monastic spiritual writer and thinker known for his emphasis on prayer, silence, and contemplative depth.

• His meditations this week draw on the thought and spirituality of saints like St. Bernard of Clairvaux and explore themes such as inner freedom, truth, and Christian transformation during Lent.

Please Pray that he makes a good retreat.