During his weekly General Audience, Pope Leo calls Europe to overcome tensions and rediscover unity, prays for the sick, remembers those suffering from severe flooding in Colombia, and offers advice on how to prepare for Lent.
By Vatican News
Saints Cyril and Methodius, apostles of the Slavs and Patrons of Europe, can help renew the spiritual vitality of the European continent, Pope Leo reflected as he greeted Polish pilgrims present at the General Audience on February 11, 2026.
He recalled how the two saints, whose liturgical memorial is observed on 14 February, are the “fathers of Christianity, of language and of the culture of the Slavic peoples.”
The Pope invited the faithful to return to their apostolic work, as encouraged by Saint John Paul II, in order to contribute to the building of a new unity in Europe, capable of overcoming religious and political tensions, divisions and antagonisms.
Prayer for the sick
The Pope’s appeal for European unity was express on the World Day of the Sick.
To mark the occasion, upon his arrival in the Paul VI Hall, Pope Leo lit a candle before the statue of the Blessed Virgin of Lourdes on the day of her liturgical memorial, as those present sang the Ave Maria of Lourdes. He then gathered in prayer at the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens.
“At the end of the Audience,” the Pope said, “I will go to the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens and light a candle, as a sign of my prayer for all the sick, whom today, on the World Day of the Sick, we remember with particular affection.”
Speaking in Spanish, Pope Leo recalled that this year the World Day of the Sick is being celebrated at the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace in Chiclayo, a place particularly dear to him.
“I unite myself spiritually,” he said, noting that he had sent Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, to Peru.
He entrusted the sick and their families to the care of Mary.
Severe flooding in Colombia
The Pope also entrusted to the Blesssed Mother all victims and all those impacted by the severe flooding in Colombia, while urging the entire community to support the affected families through charity and prayer.
In his greeting in Italian, on the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, Pope Leo entrusted young people, the sick and newly married couples to the Virgin Mary, asking that she intercede for them before God and obtain for them the graces needed to sustain them on their journey.
Time of prayer as Lent approaches
Looking ahead to the beginning of Lent, the Pope noted in English that the season will start next Wednesday. He described it as a time to deepen our knowledge and our love of the Lord, to examine our hearts and our lives, and to refocus our gaze on Jesus and His love for us.
Pope Leo XIV concluded by expressing the hope that the days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving would be a source of strength as Christians strive each day to take up their cross and follow Christ.