Pope Leo XIV Urges Catholics to Pray 4 Daily Hours as Technology and Consumerism Reshape Life
Updated
Updated · Diocese of Raleigh · Aug 11
Pope Leo XIV Urges Catholics to Pray 4 Daily Hours as Technology and Consumerism Reshape Life
3 articles · Updated · Diocese of Raleigh · Aug 11
Summary
Aug. 5 marked Pope Leo XIV’s return to weekly general audiences after a monthlong summer break, where he called the Liturgy of the Hours an essential daily practice for Catholics.
The pope said the church’s public prayer counters an efficiency-driven, consumerist culture and a world where science and technology seem to offer all the answers, making prayer look pointless or escapist.
Morning, midday, evening and night prayer sanctify the day’s rhythm, he said, linking the Liturgy of the Hours to the Eucharist and calling each hour “an act of hope.”
November 2025 brought Vatican approval for a new English edition after a 13-year U.S. bishops’ translation effort, with the first volume due before Lent 2027.
At the Vatican audience in St. Peter’s Basilica—moved indoors because of Rome’s summer heat—Leo also urged vacationing pilgrims to use summer rest to deepen their interior life.