Pope Leo XIV urges deeper prayer and urban evangelisation in August audience

Pope Leo XIV resumed his weekly general audience on 5 August 2026 after the summer break, holding the event inside St Peter’s Basilica because of Rome’s heat. In the address he highlighted the Liturgy of the Hours as the Church’s daily public prayer and warned that prayer is disappearing from many Christian families, describing it as “a fundamental dimension of our humanity” that is being lost to an “efficiency‑driven, consumerist mindset.” He cited the Second Vatican Council’s constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, noting that the Holy Spirit “teaches us to pray” and urging the faithful to integrate the Liturgy of the Hours into everyday life.

The Pope also announced the August prayer intention: “evangelisation in the city.” He asked that the Church pray for urban communities where “no one feels invisible,” urging Catholics to reach the peripheries of cities, combat anonymity and loneliness, and bring the Gospel to the “fertile ground” of urban life. The worldwide prayer network will promote the intention through its monthly “Pray with the Pope” campaign.