Pope Leo XIV has decided that the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day should be incorporated within the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, whose prefect is Cardinal Kevin Farrell.
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A rescript published by the Holy See Press Office on Aug. 13 announced the Holy Father’s recent decision, which he made after a meeting on Aug. 6 with Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute for general affairs of the Vatican Secretariat of State.
On Dec. 8, 2023, Pope Francis established World Children’s Day, organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, saying it would be celebrated worldwide May 25–26, 2024.
On May 25 last year, thousands of children from 77 countries around the world met with the Argentine pope at Rome’s Olympic Stadium. Together, they heard various testimonies and the youngest children also had the opportunity to ask the Holy Father questions.
In November 2024, Francis established the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day and appointed as its president Father Enzo Fortunato, who is also director of communications for St. Peter’s Basilica and head of the press office of St. Francis of Assisi Basilica.
The next World Children’s Day will be celebrated in Rome in September 2026.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú is a graduate in Journalism and Advertising from CEU San Pablo University in Madrid, with studies at LUMSA in Rome. Former Vatican correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN. Now Europe correspondent based in Madrid, covering major Catholic events and Church affairs.
