STORY: Pope Leo on Sunday (May 24) in his weekly address from the Apostolic Palace remembered the victims of the Shanxi coal mine explosion in northern China and the Christian communities affected by war in the Middle East.

According to local officials, at least 82 people died in a gas explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine in China's northern province of Shanxi late on Friday (May 22). The incident represents China's deadliest mining accident since 2009, when a gas explosion at the Xinxing Mine in Heilongjiang province killed 108 people.

He invoked the “eternal peace” for the victims of the accident and remembered Christian communities in the Middle East and Lebanon “who are suffering because of the war”.

Leo will issue his first encyclical, a major text, to the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, on Monday. It is expected to address the rise of AI and how the technology is being used in warfare and challenging workers' rights.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: VATICAN CITY (MAY 24, 2026) (VATICAN MEDIA - Access all)

1. POPE LEO APPEARING AT WINDOW OF APOSTOLIC PALACE

2. CROWD IN ST. PETER’S SQUARE (AUDIO OF POPE WISHING A HAPPY SUNDAY)

3. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE LEO SAYING (SOUNDBITE BEGINS WITH SHOT OF PEOPLE LISTENING):

“I invoke in particular the eternal peace for the victims of the accident occurred recently in a coal mine in the North of China”

4. PEOPLE IN SQUARE

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE LEO SAYING:

"To the most holy Virgin Mary, Helper of Christians, we entrust also the Christian communities of the Holy Land, of Lebanon, and of the whole Middle East, who are suffering because of the war."

6. PEOPLE IN SQUARE

7. MAN IN SQUARE

8. NUNS LISTENING

9. POPE LEAVING