Pope Leo Urges 9 Honduran Bishops to Teach Peace
HONDURAS · SOCIETY
Key Facts
- —The country Honduras is a Central American country between Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, long marked by violent crime, poverty and migration toward the United States.
- —What happened Pope Leo XIV received the Honduran bishops at the Vatican on the morning of Friday, 9 October, the Holy See Press Office said.
- —The message He urged them to answer violence with peace education in families, schools, neighbourhoods and villages, and to defend every person’s dignity, one bishop said.
- —The meeting Planned for one hour, the private audience with the nine bishops of the Honduran Episcopal Conference ran past two hours, Vatican News reported.
- —Why it matters in the US Leo XIV was born in Chicago, and Honduras says deportations of Hondurans could reach 50,000 in 2026, mostly from the US.
- —Still open The Vatican has not released a text of the pope’s words; they reach the public through the account of Bishop Jenry Ruiz of Trujillo.
Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born pope, met nine Honduran bishops privately at the Vatican on Friday, 9 October, for more than two hours. He urged them to answer their country’s violence with education for peace, one of the bishops said.
The stakes reach the United States. Honduras’ National Migration Institute says deportations of Hondurans could reach 50,000 by the end of 2026, mostly from the US, El Heraldo reported.
What Pope Leo Told the Honduran Bishops
The Holy See Press Office, the Vatican’s official news office, listed the audience among the pope’s meetings on Friday morning. It named the guests simply as “bishops of Honduras” on their ad limina visit.
Bishop Jenry Orlando Ruiz of Trujillo, a diocese on Honduras’ Caribbean coast, described the talk to Vatican News, the Holy See’s media service. He said the pope asked for a culture of peace that starts in families and spreads to schools, neighbourhoods and villages.
“Every Honduran needs to become an educator for peace,” Ruiz said, summing up the pope’s request. He called the encounter “very relaxed, very family-like” and full of closeness.
According to Ruiz, the pope also asked for values education in Catholic schools, public schools and universities. He tied that to respect for the dignity of every person and to Catholic social teaching on justice and the common good.
Who Came to Rome and Why
An ad limina visit is a trip that Catholic bishops ordinarily make every five years to report to the pope on their dioceses. Under the church’s Code of Canon Law, they also pray at the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul in Rome.
The Honduran bishops belong to the Honduran Episcopal Conference, known by its Spanish initials CEH, the body that groups the country’s Catholic bishops.
They met the pope in the Apostolic Palace, El Heraldo reported. Vatican News said the visit ended that day.
One bishop was missing. Bishop Teodoro Gómez of Choluteca, the conference’s vice-president, died on 28 September at Madrid’s Barajas airport while travelling to Rome, Vatican News reported.
The pope offered his condolences to the Honduran church. Gómez, 63, was buried on Thursday, 8 October, in a crypt of Choluteca’s cathedral in southern Honduras, La Prensa reported.
Gómez also chaired Cáritas Honduras, the church’s charity network, the paper said. During the visit, the bishops sang to the Virgin of Suyapa, patron of Honduras, in the Vatican Gardens, La Prensa reported.
Why Violence Is the Theme
Vatican News named violence, poverty and migration among the hardships Honduras is going through. Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, has led the church since May 2025, the Vatican says.
The US State Department rates Honduras at Level 3, “Reconsider travel”, citing crime. Its advisory says violent crime such as homicide, armed robbery and kidnapping is common.
The same advisory rates Gracias a Dios, a department on the eastern Caribbean coast, at Level 4, “Do not travel”. For the latest numbers, see the September homicide count for Honduras.
According to Ruiz, the pope listened as the Honduran bishops laid out the joys, hopes and worries of Hondurans. The pope also asked that the church’s national mission lead to a personal encounter with Christ, not just a calendar of events.
What It Means for You
For Americans with family, business or church ties in Honduras, the message changes no law or policy. Ruiz said he would carry the pope’s greeting and blessing home to his diocese and to all Hondurans, Proceso Digital reported.
Migration remains the closest link to the United States. The US Embassy in Tegucigalpa again warned Hondurans on social media that caravans will fail, El Heraldo reported on Friday.
Its post told people not to waste their money or risk their lives, saying smugglers lie. A caravan of hundreds of Hondurans left San Pedro Sula for the US on 20 September, the paper said.
Travellers should read the State Department advisory before any trip. The pope’s appeal does not change the security picture on the ground.
What Is Not Known
By Saturday morning, the Vatican had not published a speech or transcript of the audience. The pope’s words reach the public mainly through Ruiz’s account to Vatican News.
It is not known whether President Nasry Asfura’s government will take up the Honduran bishops’ call for peace education in public schools. It is also not known whether the pope plans to visit Honduras.
More: Honduras news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Pope Leo XIV tell the Honduran bishops?
According to Bishop Jenry Ruiz of Trujillo, the pope asked the Honduran bishops to answer violence with peace education in families, schools and communities. He also stressed the dignity of every person and Catholic social teaching on justice.
When and where did the meeting take place?
The pope received the Honduran bishops at the Vatican on the morning of Friday, 9 October, according to the Holy See Press Office. The private audience in the Apostolic Palace ran past two hours.
What is an ad limina visit?
It is a visit that Catholic bishops ordinarily make every five years under church law. They pray at the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul and report to the pope on their dioceses.
Why does this matter to people in the United States?
Leo XIV is the first pope born in the United States, and Honduras is closely tied to the US through migration. Honduras’ migration institute says deportations of Hondurans could reach 50,000 by the end of 2026, mostly from the US.
Sources: Holy See Press Office, Audiencias, 9 October 2026, 9 October 2026; Vatican News, León XIV pide a la Iglesia hondureña educar para la paz (Patricia Ynestroza), 9 October 2026; The Holy See, Leo XIV, 10 October 2026; Code of Canon Law, canons 399-400, 10 October 2026; El Heraldo, León XIV pide defender la dignidad humana en Honduras, 9 October 2026; La Prensa, Papa León XIV recibe a obispos hondureños, 9 October 2026; La Prensa, Dan cristiana sepultura a monseñor Teodoro Gómez, 8 October 2026; Proceso Digital, Papa pide a Honduras educar para la paz, 9 October 2026; El Heraldo, Todas las caravanas de inmigrantes fracasarán, 9 October 2026; US Department of State, Honduras Travel Advisory, 10 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief