Pope Leo XIV has chosen Norwegian Trappist Bishop Erik Varden to preach the first papal Lenten retreat of his pontificate with the Roman Curia later this month. Source: OSV News.
Bishop Varden, a former abbot of Mount Saint Bernard Abbey in England and the Catholic bishop of Trondheim in central Norway, will deliver a series of reflections titled “Illuminated by a Hidden Glory.”
He is known for his spiritual writing, notably his books, Chastity (2024), The Shattering of Loneliness: On Christian Remembrance (2018) and Healing Wounds: The 2025 Lent Book (2024).
The retreat, which runs from February 22 to 27, will be Bishop Varden’s first time preaching the meditations for the Pope and cardinals residing in Rome.
Bishop Varden’s meditations will draw on the life and thought of St Bernard of Clairvaux and other themes, including the splendour of truth, the angels of God and the communication of hope. The retreat will include daily meditations, vespers and Eucharistic adoration.
Pope Leo has chosen to hold his first Lenten retreat as Pope in the Apostolic Palace, restoring the retreat as a communal gathering for the prefects of Vatican dicasteries and other cardinals residing in Rome.
The meditations will take place in the Pauline Chapel, surrounded by Michelangelo’s frescoes The Crucifixion of St Peter and The Conversion of Saul.
The tradition of a weeklong papal retreat dates back to Pope Pius XI and was first held in 1925 during Advent. Pope Paul VI moved the retreat to the week following Ash Wednesday in 1964. During the retreat, papal events are typically suspended, including the general audience scheduled this year for Wednesday, February 25.
Under Pope Francis, the Lenten retreats were held from 2014 to 2020 at a retreat house in Ariccia, in the Alban Hills southeast of Rome. Francis was unable to participate in the 2020 retreat because of health issues, and in subsequent years he asked cardinals to make the retreat privately, in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year’s meditations were led by Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini, whom Francis appointed in 2024 as preacher of the papal household. Pope Francis followed the retreat by videolink from the hospital in what would be his final Lent.
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Pope Leo XIV taps Trappist Bishop Varden to preach papal Lenten retreat (By Courtney Mares, OSV News)
