Pope Francis has addressed a letter to Opus Dei university students offering his spiritual encouragement as they gather in Rome for their annual International Congress which kicked off on Saturday running until April 20, Easter Sunday.

In the message written in Spanish, Pope notes that this year’s edition fall  at a significant moment, coinciding with both the Holy Year dedicated to hope and the 100th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer  which, he writes, is a “reason to give thanks to God."

 “I join in your joy,” the letter reads, “and accompanies you with my prayer, asking the Lord that this time of pilgrimage and fraternal encounter may inspire you to bring to everyone the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again, as a message of hope that fulfills promises, leads to glory, and, founded on love, does not disappoint.”

"May Jesus bless you and may the Holy Virgin protect you," the message concludes.

Founded in 1968 by Saint Josemaría Escrivá, the UNIV Congress serves as a platform for intellectual and spiritual exchange among students from around the world.

The 2025 edition, themed “Citizens of our World,” draws more than 2,000 students from 25 countries and 32 universities. During the Holy Week, the students will engage in academic sessions, cultural experiences, moments of prayer, and will also take part in the Easter liturgies at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Academic events are scheduled at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, with male students meeting on April 15th and female students on April 16th. Through this structure, the Congress promotes both intellectual formation and spiritual growth, encouraging young Catholics to reflect deeply on their roles as faithful and responsible members of a global community.

Pope prays at St. Mary Major ahead of Holy Week

On Saturday afternoon, April 12, on the eve of Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week, Pope Francis visited the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.

According to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office, the Pope entered the Basilica to pray before the icon of the Virgin Mary, Salus Populi Romani.

The Holy Father’s devotion to Salus Populi Romani (Our Lady Protectress of Rome) is well known. Upon being discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital three weeks ago, he had paused briefly outside the Basilica on his way back to his residence, Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican. On that occasion, he gave a bouquet of flowers to Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, Coadjutor Archpriest of the Basilica, to be placed before the sacred icon.

Saturday's visit marked the 126th time the Pope has visited the papal Basilica to pay tribute to the icon of Our Lady. Since the day after his election—14 March 2013—he has made it a point to pray before Salus Populi Romani before and after each Apostolic Journey.

Pope Francis’s most recent visit to the Basilica, the latest of more than one hundred such occasions, took place on 14 December 2024. On that occasion, he prayed before his 47th Apostolic Journey to Ajaccio, Corsica, where he was to close the Congress on “Popular Religiosity in the Mediterranean.”