The Holy Father received this December 18, 2025 in audience Msgr. Athanasius Schneider, titular bishop of Celerina and auxiliary of Most Holy Mary in Astana, Kazakhstan, as reported by the Holy See Press Office in the official bulletin.
The audience is of special interest due to the profile of Msgr. Schneider, one of the prelates best known internationally for his public defense of Catholic doctrine, traditional liturgy, and the centrality of Eucharistic worship.
Other audiences of the day
In addition to Msgr. Schneider, the Pope received in audience several personalities from the Roman Curia and from other ecclesiastical and civil spheres. Among them are Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints; Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising and coordinator of the Council for the Economy; and Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches.
Likewise, Msgr. Giuseppe Laterza, apostolic nuncio in the Central African Republic and in Chad; Father Gerard Francisco Timoner III, O.P., master of the Order of Preachers; Dr. Mouna Maroun, rector of the University of Haifa; and a group of work consultants were received.