The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff published this Tuesday, October 27, the celebrations that Leo XIV will preside over during the months of November and December 2026. Among the main commitments announced are the commemoration of the faithful departed, the Mass for cardinals and bishops who died during the year, the fourth centenary of the dedication of St. Peter’s Basilica, and the traditional veneration of the Immaculate Conception in Rome.
The calendar, released through the Bulletin of the Holy See, also includes the apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, scheduled from November 6 to 17. The Christmas celebrations do not yet appear in the announced program.
The celebrations for the faithful departed
On Monday, November 2, on the occasion of the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, Leo XIV will preside over Holy Mass at 4:00 p.m. at the Verano Cemetery in Rome, one of the main cemeteries of the Italian capital.
Three days later, on Thursday, November 5, the Pontiff will celebrate at 9:00 a.m., in St. Peter’s Basilica, the traditional Mass in suffrage for the cardinals and bishops who died during the past year.
Apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru
From November 6 to 17, Leo XIV will undertake his apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, a visit that will mark his return to Latin America, the continent where he carried out a significant part of his priestly and episcopal ministry.
The Holy See confirmed this Monday that the Pope will be able to make the trip after his lung surgery, following the latest medical checks that ruled out any contraindications for travel.
The itinerary will begin in Uruguay, from November 6 to 8, continue through Argentina, from the 8th to the 11th, and conclude in Peru, where the Pontiff will remain until November 17. In this last country, he served as an Augustinian missionary and later as bishop of Chiclayo.
The Pontiff expressed his joy at returning to the continent and voiced his hope that the visit will help strengthen communion among the faithful and renew the commitment to proclaim the Gospel.
The fourth centenary of the dedication of St. Peter’s
On Wednesday, November 18, just one day after returning from Latin America, Leo XIV will preside over Holy Mass at 5:00 p.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica on the occasion of the solemnity of its dedication, which this year coincides with the fourth centenary of that celebration.
The present Vatican basilica was solemnly consecrated on November 18, 1626, by Pope Urban VIII, after more than a century of construction work on the site of the ancient Constantinian basilica.
The celebration will commemorate the four centuries of the dedication of one of the principal churches of Christendom, built on the site where tradition locates the tomb of the Apostle St. Peter.
The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
On Tuesday, December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Leo XIV will go to Piazza di Spagna in Rome for the traditional act of veneration of the Immaculate Conception, scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
The ceremony takes place before the column dedicated to the Virgin Mary, erected in 1857 to commemorate the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX, through the bull Ineffabilis Deus, of December 8, 1854.
With this act, the Pontiff will maintain one of the most deeply rooted Marian traditions of the Roman pontifical calendar.