Pope Leo XIV’s monthly prayer videos reflect a deeply consultative, synodal process rooted in listening, compassion, and shared intercession.
Newsroom (01/04/2026 Gaudium Press ) Every month, Pope Leo XIV appears in a simple yet powerful video inviting the faithful to “pray with the pope.” But behind the brief message seen by millions lies a long and carefully woven process of global discernment — one that embodies the very spirit of synodality that Pope Leo has championed since the start of his pontificate.
“They’re absolutely the pope’s intentions; however, he does it in a very synodal way,” said Father Cristóbal Fones, SJ, international director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (PWPN), in an interview with EWTN News. The process, he explained, is anything but casual. Each year, the PWPN engages in an international consultation involving national directors in 94 countries along with members of the Roman Curia.
“Last year, we received about 300 proposals in different languages,” Fones revealed. “We categorized them, we summarized them, and then the international office proposed 16 of them to the pope to facilitate his work.”
By December, those 16 intentions were presented to Pope Leo himself. Then, in a distinctly personal touch, the pope added one more of his own and even rearranged their order. “He’s quite involved in this process. For him it is critical,” said Fones.
Each month, Pope Leo records three versions of his message — in English, Italian, and Spanish — a small sign of his commitment to reach and resonate with a global Catholic audience. “It’s a lot of work,” Fones noted. “He’s committed to this because he knows it is important and because he wants to pray with people.”
Continuing a Tradition, Deepening a Relationship
The practice began in 2016 under Pope Francis, who recorded the first monthly prayer video that same year. Now, Pope Leo XIV not only continues this initiative but has infused it with his own personal approach. “[Pope Leo] wanted to invite people not only to pray for the intention but to pray with him,” Fones said. “So he wanted a video where he was praying and people could join him.”
This change reflects a deeper pastoral vision. In each video, viewers see not only a world leader but a man of prayer modeling simplicity and depth — pausing, greeting the Lord, and meaning every word. “He’s teaching us how to pray at the same time,” Fones added.
Pope Leo also asked the global network to help Catholics cultivate a “friendship” with God. “He said to me, ‘Please teach people how to pray,’” Fones shared. “He’s very conscious that we may be Catholics but not have this kind of relationship with Jesus.”
Prayer as Relationship, Not Recitation
At the heart of this mission lies a simple but profound conviction: prayer is not an action or recitation — it is a relationship. “Prayer is not something that we do or something that we say, but it’s a relationship that we build up — not with something — but with someone,” Fones emphasized.
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, recognized by Pope Francis as a Vatican entity in 2018, now works to make that relationship tangible through online platforms, prayer tools, and spiritual formation programs. Among them is “The Way of the Heart,” a nine-step program that guides believers through a journey of personal and communal spirituality.
Praying with the World, Not Just for It
Launched in January at Pope Leo’s request, the “Pray with the Pope” campaign highlights what Fones describes as “intercessory prayer” — one rooted in Christ and the real challenges of humanity. It is, as he puts it, prayer that connects compassion with contemplation.
“The closer we are to the heart of Jesus, the closer we are to the pains and sufferings of the world who are at the core of his heart,” Fones said. Compassion, he added, is the true measure of Christian prayer — the willingness to feel the world’s wounds and respond to them in faith.
For Pope Leo XIV, this ongoing effort is more than a monthly media moment; it is pastoral accompaniment in digital form — a way to draw the Church closer together, heart to heart, in prayer for the world’s most pressing needs.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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