Bishop James Ruggieri had an opportunity to meet with Pope Leo XIV when he traveled to Rome, Italy, in May as part of a delegation from Catholic Charities USA. Bishop Ruggieri serves as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ liaison to the organization, which represents 169 Catholic Charities agencies across the country.

The Catholic Charities USA representatives had a private audience with the pope at the Vatican, during which he praised them for their commitment to caring for the poor.

 “I encourage your worthy efforts, and I express gratitude for your willingness to carry on our Lord’s ministry of compassion, especially to the least among us. In doing so, you seek to find solutions to inhumane situations, to alleviate the suffering of individuals and families, and to relieve the burden of those who are weighed down by hardship and strife,” the pope said.

Bishop Ruggieri said despite the pope’s busy schedule, he was very attentive during the time he spent with them.

“I think of his schedule and the meetings that he has and the people that he’s meeting, but for those maybe 15 or 20 minutes that we had with him, he was very present to us. He took time to greet every person in the room. I thought his remarks were right on, remarks of encouragement and perseverance,” the bishop said. “The other thing that was notable about him was his presence. He was a very calming presence.”

During the visit, Catholic Charities leadership also met with the heads of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and they connected briefly with representatives from Caritas Internationalis, which is a network of Catholic agencies serving people around the world.