Walter Sanchez Silva

Walter Sánchez Silva is a senior writer for ACI Prensa (https://www.aciprensa.com). With more than 15 years of experience, he has reported from important ecclesial events in Europe, Asia and Latin America during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. E-mail: walter@aciprensa.com

Pope Leo XIV blesses a baby in St. Peter’s Square during his general audience on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

"The Sound of Music" and "It’s a Wonderful Life" among Pope Leo XIV’s Favorite Films

The Vatican has revealed the names of Pope Leo XIV’s favorite films upon announcing the Holy Father’s upcoming meeting with...

Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on November 5, 2025. / Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV Meets with 15 Abuse Survivors at the Vatican

The encounter, described as one of “closeness with the victims, of deep and painful listening and dialogue,” lasted nearly three...

On All Saints Day 2025, St. John Henry Newman was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIV. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV Declares St. John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church

Pope Leo XIV has declared St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the Church, recognizing the English cardinal and theologian...

Pope Leo XIV meets the president of the Italian Anti-Usury Council, Luciano Gualzetti, on Oct. 18, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV Condemns Usury, A Grave Sin That Speaks to the Corruption of the Human Heart

On Oct. 18, the Holy Father received the National Anti-Usury Council of Italy in the Vatican Apostolic Palace.

Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Sept. 11, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV Responds to Aspiring Doctor Who Asks "What does the future hold for us?"

Pope Leo XIV responded with a father’s heart to a 21-year-old Roman medical student who asked him “What does the...

Marian shrine in Mariamabad, Pakistan. / Credit: Agenzia Fides, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Catholic Father Murdered While on Pilgrimage to Marian Shrine in Pakistan

Men on motorcycles murdered a father and injured a 16-year-old boy while they were taking part in a pilgrimage to...

Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera Gutiérrez is president of Nicaragua’s bishops’ conference. / Credit: Alonso3215 (CC0 1.0)

Pope Leo XIV Receives Exiled President of Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference

Pope Leo XIV received the exiled president of the Nicaraguan bishops’ conference, Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera Gutiérrez, who was expelled...

Archbishop Guy de Kirimel of Toulouse, France. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Diocese of Toulouse

Catholic Archbishop in France Rescinds Appointment of Priest Convicted of Rape, Asks for Forgiveness

Archbishop Guy de Kirimel of Toulouse, France, has reversed his decision to appoint as chancellor of the archdiocese a priest...

Twenty-four-year-old Father Miguel Tovar of the Diocese of Cartagena, Spain. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Diocese of Cartagena

Pope Leo XIV Tells Newly Ordained 24-year-old Catholic Priest to "never lose your joy"

Pope Leo XIV told one of the youngest priests in Spain, recently-ordained Father Miguel Tovar, 24, to never lose “the...

Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family who was wounded in a recent strike on the church, stands before the altar during a Sunday morning Mass held by the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem at the church in Gaza City on July 20, 2025. / Credit: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images

"We are in God’s grace and we persevere in faith": Pastor of Gaza Church Hit by Israeli Fire

The pastor of the only Catholic church in Gaza, Argentine priest Father Gabriel Romanelli, posted a video on his YouTube...

Diogo Jota of the Liverpool soccer team. / Credit: Spanish-language edition of EWTN News

Funeral of Portuguese Soccer Star Diogo Jota of Liverpool Club: Catholic Background, Tributes, Mourning, Final Farewell

The funeral of Portuguese soccer players Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva, who died last Thursday in a traffic...

Pope Leo XIV with Peruvian registrars this Friday, May 30, at the Vatican. / Credit: Courtesy of Andina/Peru News Agency

Pope Leo XIV Set to Obtain New Peruvian Identity Document

Pope Leo XIV has updated his personal information for a new Peruvian national identity document.

Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Desilú León explains the route for “Paths of Pope Leo XIV,” which will cover four regions in the country: Lambayeque, Piura, La Libertad, and Callao, key locations in the pastoral life of Pope Leo XIV. / Credit: Courtesy of Ministry of Trade and Tourism of Peru

"Paths of Pope Leo XIV" Tourism Route Launches in Peru

A new Peruvian tourism route “Paths of Pope Leo XIV” highlights the places where the Holy Father exercised his fruitful...

Current Chiclayo Bishop Edinson Farfán at a press conference on Friday, May 9, 2025. / Credit: Diego López Marina/ACI Prensa

Successor of Pope Leo XIV in Peruvian Catholic Diocese Defends Him against Accusations of Sexual Abuse Cover-up

Bishop Edinson Farfán of Chiclayo, Peru, is publicly defending the actions of his predecessor, now Pope Leo XIV, in the...

Pope Leo XIV, when he was bishop of Chiclayo (Peru), recites the prayer of consecration before Our Lady of Fátima. / Credit: Courtesy of Fátima Mission Peru

Pope Leo XIV’s Prayer of Consecration to Our Lady of Fátima

Pope Leo XIV, when he was bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, offered a special prayer of consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary...

Pope Leo XIV, when he was a bishop, received the Gold Medal of St. Toribio de Mogrovejo from the Peruvian bishops in 2023. / Credit: Peruvian Bishops’ Conference YouTube/screenshot

“We weren’t always in agreement”: Pope Leo XIV Acknowledged, in 2023, Disagreeing with Pope Francis in Previous Meetings

In 2023, then-Bishop Robert Prevost recalled his early meetings with Pope Francis when the latter was archbishop of Buenos Aires...

Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful in St. Peter's Square shortly after his election to the papacy, Thursday, May 8, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Pope Leo XIV’s Missionary Work in Peru

The deputy secretary of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference said he is “sure that the heart of Pope Leo XIV ......

Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, Myanmar. / Credit: ACI Prensa/EWTN News

“More than anything, our people need peace": Cardinal in Myanmar after Earthquake, Highlights Other Needs

“The people need food, shelter, medicine, and all lifesaving materials,” Cardinal Charles Bo said, adding: “More than anything, our people...

The first photo of Pope Francis since he entered Gemelli Hospital on February 14, 2025. / Credit: Holy See Press Office

First Photo of Pope Francis since Admission to Hospital Released, Concelebrates Holy Mass at Chapel

The Vatican has released the first photo of Pope Francis since he entered the Gemelli Hospital in Rome on February...

Bernini’s famous baldacchino in St. Peter’s Basilica. / Credit: Ricardo André Frantz/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0

Man Desecrates Main Altar of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Throws Candelabras to the Ground

A man desecrated the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica on Friday by climbing on top of it and throwing...