Pope thanks Cologne archdiocese for its worldwide charitable assistance
May 01, 2026
Pope Leo XIV received officials of the Archdiocese of Cologne’s Office for the Universal Church and Dialogue and thanked them for the office’s fifty-year legacy of charitable assistance to Christians around the world, including oxygen machines for the Pope’s former Peruvian diocese during the COVID pandemic.
“In light of Christ’s Resurrection, the Church recognizes herself as being sent to all peoples—not by imposing herself, but by bearing witness to the truth in charity,” Pope Leo said during the April 30 audience in Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace. “Dialogue, in turn, strengthens communion, opens paths of understanding and serves the cause of peace. In this way, Christ draws all things to himself and makes the Church a sign of unity and hope for the world.”
“Through your generous service, the universal dimension of the Church is made visible and concrete, fostering solidarity, strengthening bonds of unity, and bearing witness to the Gospel of peace in a world so often marked by division and distress,” Pope Leo continued. “Such a witness is all the more necessary today.”
Emphasizing the plight of Christians in the Middle East, the Pontiff added:
Many of our Christian brothers and sisters have been forced to leave their homelands because of war, violence and poverty, and many depend directly on your commitment and kindness for their survival.
I therefore encourage you to persevere in this mission of charity, so that they may still experience the closeness of the universal Church. In a particular way, I ask you to continue supporting the presence of Christians in the Middle East, in order to ensure that these venerable traditions of the Eastern Churches are preserved, safeguarded and more widely known.
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