Pope Leo XIV to John Paul II Institute: Your Mission is to Speak and Live the Truth

He added that our time is marked not just by tension and confusing ideologies but also by “a growing search for spirituality, truth, and justice, especially among young people.”

“Welcoming and caring for this desire is one of the most beautiful and urgent tasks for all of us,” Leo said.

In May, Pope Leo made one of his first personnel appointments as pope when he named Cardinal Baldassare Reina grand chancellor of the John Paul II Institute, replacing Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who turned 80 on April 20.

Reina, 54, has been vicar general of the Diocese of Rome since 2024. As part of that role, he is also grand chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University, the home of the John Paul II Institute.

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Pope Leo’s appointment of Reina as grand chancellor appeared to be a return to the former practice of linking the leadership of the institute to the vicar general of Rome. This practice had been changed under Pope Francis, who named Paglia to the role in 2016.

In his address to students and teachers on Friday, Leo pointed out the institute’s commitment to deepening the link between the family and the social doctrine of the Church and urged them to let their studies of family experiences and dynamics enrich their understanding of the Church’s social teaching.

“This focus would allow us to develop the insight, recalled by the Second Vatican Council and repeatedly reaffirmed by my predecessors, of seeing the family as the first cell of society, as the original and fundamental school of humanity,” he said.

He also recalled Pope Francis’ encouragement to women expecting a child in his 2016 apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia. 

“[Francis’] words contain a simple and profound truth: Human life is a gift and must always be welcomed with respect, care, and gratitude,” Leo said.

Recalling that many women face pregnancy in situations of loneliness or marginalization, the pontiff called on the civil and Church communities to “constantly strive to restore full dignity to motherhood” through concrete actions, including “policies that guarantee adequate living and working conditions; educational and cultural initiatives that recognize the beauty of creating life together; a pastoral approach that accompanies women and men with closeness and listening.”

“Motherhood and fatherhood, thus safeguarded, are not burdens on society but rather a hope that strengthens and renews it,” he said.

Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.