Pope Leo XIV received the leaders of Chile’s episcopal conference and discussed “the Church’s journey in communion and synodality, the current situation of the country on the eve of the November elections and the priority of evangelization,” according to the conference.
“The Holy Father encouraged us to keep hope alive and to strengthen ecclesial communion, with particular attention to the most vulnerable people,” said Archbishop René Osvaldo Rebolledo Salinas, president of the bishops’ conference. “We feel in his words a great pastoral closeness and a sincere concern for our national reality.”
Chile, a South American nation of 18.7 million (map), is 87% Christian (61% Catholic).