Pope Leo XIV blesses newlyweds, sharing marriage wisdom from his parents’ daily rosary, urging couples to find their own prayer style.
Newsroom (03 July 2025, Gaudium Press) Under the sweltering Roman sun on June 11, Pope Leo XIV offered heartfelt marriage advice to Cole and Anna Stevens, a young American couple who received his personal blessing just four days after their wedding at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Birmingham, Alabama.
During a general audience in St. Peter’s Square, the newlyweds, now residing in Pensacola, Florida, stood among 65 other recently married couples seeking the Vatican’s traditional sposi novelli blessing, offered weekly to Catholics within six months of their wedding. Dressed in their wedding attire, the Stevenses were unsure if they would even meet the pontiff. Yet, an intimate exchange unfolded when Cole asked how they could best pray together as a married couple.
“First of all, it is very important to go slowly and to find the style of prayer that works for you, we’re all different, many spiritualities,” Pope Leo responded in English, his voice steady and warm. “My parents prayed the rosary together their whole lives every day. And I found that I was always blessed, I’m sure because of it, their love for one another. They put their faith in God and in the intercession through Mary. It’s a wonderful thing.”
The moment, captured on video, resonated deeply with the couple. Anna described the pope’s focus as singular and unhurried. “There was no rush in his voice. There was no looking around… He was solely focused on the question that Cole asked and then how could he answer it to the best of his abilities,” she said.
Cole’s question stemmed from a rosary they prayed together while waiting in St. Peter’s Square at 8 a.m. that morning. “The question that really came to my heart while we were praying the rosary [was] how can we deepen our faith, our prayer life inside of our marriage?” he recalled.
After the exchange, the couple presented Pope Leo with a prayer card from their wedding. They then requested a personal blessing, which he graciously bestowed, laying hands on them and entrusting their marriage to the Holy Family. “He prayed over us that the Holy Family would watch over us, protect us, guide us, and lead us,” Anna said.
Unbeknownst to the pope, Cole carried a relic of the Holy Family—cloth touched to St. Joseph’s staff, Our Lady’s veil, and Jesus’ manger—during the blessing, adding a profound layer of significance to the encounter.
The Stevenses’ moment with Pope Leo XIV underscores his pastoral warmth and the enduring Catholic tradition of seeking divine guidance for married life, a message rooted in the simplicity and devotion of his own parents’ daily rosary.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA News
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