Pope Leo exhorts Latin American bishops to visit parishes, be prayerful, teach clearly

September 21, 2026

In a letter for the third centenary of the canonization of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo (1538-1606), Pope Leo XIV offered advice to Latin American bishops, Pope Leo XIV wrote that “the best way to honor his memory will be to allow ourselves to be challenged by the way he lived out the ministry that we also have received, and to imitate him.”

To that end, Pope Leo offered eleven exhortations in the letter, dated September 8 and released September 19:

• pastoral visits: “We must ensure that pastoral visits retain their vitality: let us personally go out to meet our communities, listen to our flock and seek out those who seldom have the opportunity to approach the bishop”
• “the school of the Cross”: “Abandoning the flock can begin long before any visible flight, when comfort, fear or self-interest take precedence over the good of the faithful.”
• discipleship: “Those who have been entrusted with the task of sanctifying others still need to be sanctified themselves; those who proclaim mercy also live by it. Let us, then, nurture our interior life and remain aware that we are disciples in need of conversion.”
• Eucharistic adoration: “ Let us offer our faithful the time and the space to remain before him, and encourage prolonged adoration. I am convinced that the Lord’s holy presence, faithfully welcomed and adored, sustains what our own strength cannot achieve and opens paths that no plan can conceive.”
• unity in Christ: “It is also our responsibility to ensure that the diversity of our dioceses finds its unity in Christ. The altar reminds us that communion lies at the very heart of our mission.”
• “clear teaching”: The saint’s “reception of the Council of Trent, the provincial councils, the diocesan synods and his catechetical work bear witness to his desire to transmit the faith in its entirety and to make it accessible to those before him. At a time when so many voices claim authority over the consciences of the faithful, it is the bishop’s duty to offer a clear teaching that is patient and rooted in this communion, in order to help his people recognize the voice of the one Shepherd.”
• episcopal fatherhood: “Dear brothers, let us stand by our priests. Let us take particular care of the seminary and the first years of ministry; let us foster genuine brotherhood and ensure that no priest feels that he can only approach his bishop when there is a problem to be resolved.”
• the centrality of prayer: “May no urgency or pastoral task, however necessary it may be, cause us to neglect prayer, which is a necessary preparation for preaching. Let us always set aside the time we need to listen to the word and carefully consider how to present it to our people.”
• entrustment of ministry to the Lord: “There will be moments when he sees the path clearly, and others in which he will experience his own smallness: all of this can be placed upon the paten. It is the bishop’s duty to give himself faithfully; the fruit, in the end, belongs to God “
• extension of the Mass into life: “From this Holy Sacrifice flows the grace by which the Church lives and through which Christ continues to gather and sanctify her throughout history. The bishop, like every priest, lends his voice and his hands to Christ, the Eternal High Priest, who acts through his ministry. What he celebrates must also be extended into his own life, which is ever more united to the Lord’s offering, until his entire existence becomes, in Christ, an offering to the Father.”
• learn from saintly Latin American bishops: “Let us delve deeper into the ministry and writings of these shepherds and make them known in our local Churches. Their witness can help us better understand the mission of the bishop, and is of particular interest for the formation of seminarians and priests.”

“Let us entrust to Our Lady of Guadalupe our desire to live out the mission we have received with renewed fidelity,” the Pontiff concluded. “Through the intercession of the Mother of God, let us ask for the grace to know, serve and love the churches entrusted to us, so that, when the time comes to give an account to the Lord of our ministry, we may hear: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant […] enter into the joy of your master’” (Mt 25:21).

 

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Further information:

• Letter of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean on the occasion of the Third Centenary of the Canonization of Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 9/19/26)
• Pontifical Letter to the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean on the occasion of the third centenary of the canonization of Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo (Holy See Press Office, 9/19/26)
• Pope Leo: Bishops should offer clear teaching (Vatican News, 9/19/26)