Image Credit: OSV News photo/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media.

Pope Leo’s February 2026 Prayer Intention

Each month, the Holy Father invites the faithful to pray for a specific intention, uniting Catholics around the world in a shared mission of intercession.

Vatican City, February 2026 — Pope Leo has released his monthly prayer intention, focusing this February on one of the Church’s most tender concerns: children who suffer from incurable illnesses. The Holy Father calls Catholics worldwide to pray, reflect, and act with compassion for these young lives marked by suffering.

 

Recognizing Christ in Suffering Children

Pope Leo invites the faithful to look upon these children as living reflections of Christ himself—innocent, fragile, yet radiant with divine presence. Echoing Jesus’ words, “Let the little children come to Me,” the Pope reminds us that every child’s smile, even when burdened by pain, reveals the Kingdom of God. Their resilience and faith become a quiet witness to hope that endures amid suffering.

A Prayer for Healing, Compassion, and Support

In his February prayer intention, Pope Leo asks that no suffering child be denied quality medical care or loving human attention. He prays that Christian communities stand by these children and their families with tangible acts of compassion—support, prayer, and presence.

The Pope also extends his prayer to the families who care for these children daily. He recognizes their exhaustion and uncertainty, entrusting them to the Lord’s strength so that their faith may not falter but grow deeper through trial.

Blessing Those Who Heal and Serve

Pope Leo’s message highlights the vital role of doctors, nurses, and caregivers who accompany these children. He prays that God may bless their work as a living expression of mercy, guided by the Holy Spirit with patience, discernment, and tenderness.

Pope Leo's Call to the Whole Church

Finally, Pope Leo turns his February prayer intention toward all believers, encouraging us to see the face of Christ in every suffering child. He invites every parish and household to respond with prayer and concrete love—through service, awareness, and solidarity with those who suffer silently.

This month’s prayer reminds us that the Church must mirror the Heart of Christ: compassionate, attentive, and life-giving. In the eyes of a suffering child, Pope Leo says, we can rediscover what it means to love as God loves.

Pope Leo's Prayer for Children with Incurable Diseases 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amén.

Lord Jesus, who welcomed the little ones in your arms and blessed them tenderly, today we bring before you the children living with incurable illnesses.

Their fragile bodies are a sign of your presence, and their smiles, even in the midst of pain, are a testimony of your Kingdom. We ask you, Lord, that they may never lack proper medical care, human and compassionate attention, and the support of a community that accompanies them with love.

Sustain their families in hope, in the midst of weariness and uncertainty, and make of them witnesses of a faith that grows stronger through trial.

Bless the hands of doctors, nurses, and caregivers, so that their work may always be an expression of active compassion. May your Spirit enlighten them in every difficult decision, and grant them patience and tenderness to serve with dignity.

 Lord, teach us to recognize your face in every suffering child. May their vulnerability awaken our compassion, and move us to care, accompany, and love with concrete gestures of solidarity.

Make of us a Church that, animated by the feelings of your Heart and moved by prayer and service, knows how to uphold fragility, and in the midst of suffering, becomes a source of comfort, a seed of hope, and a proclamation of new life.

 Amen.