Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV met June 4 with a delegation from the National Italian American Foundation, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
“As you well know, tens of millions of Americans proudly claim their Italian heritage, even if their ancestors arrived in the United States of America generations ago,” the Pope told the foundation’s board of directors at the meeting. “Your work to continue to educate young people regarding Italian culture and history, as well as providing scholarships and other charitable assistance in both countries, helps to maintain a mutually beneficial and concrete connection between the two nations.
“A hallmark of many who immigrated to the United States from Italy was their Catholic faith, with its rich traditions of popular piety and devotions that they continued to practice in their new nation. This faith sustained them in difficult moments, even as they arrived with a sense of hope for a prosperous future in their new country.”
Noting that the members’ visit to the Vatican falls during the Jubilee Year of Hope, Pope Leo expressed his wishes that their time in Rome deepens their own sense of hope.
“In an age beset by many challenges, may your time here, in a city marked by the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul as well as many saints who strengthened the Church throughout difficult periods of history, may this renew your sense of hope and trust in the future,” he concluded. “I pray that each of you and your families will always cherish the rich spiritual and cultural legacy that you have inherited from those who have gone before you.”
He then offered the members and their loved ones his Apostolic Blessing and provided them the opportunity to meet with him individually.