Vatican Report | Friday evening, 30 October 2026

A day with a first: the Holy See Press Office announced that Pope Leo XIV has voted by mail in the U.S. midterm elections. In the morning came his address on artificial intelligence, and in the afternoon the Dicastery for Communication's farewell to Paolo Ruffini. The Bulletin stopped at B0854, with no new appointments after the midday ones. 🗳️ The Pope's vote The Pope, an American citizen, "has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so" and "has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago." He expressed his "belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes." He also confirmed that he voted in Peru during his years of residence there. Election Day in the U.S. is Tuesday, 3 November. 🤖 Artificial intelligence Receiving participants in the meeting of the Pontifical Academy for Life and the Future of Life Institute (B0851), the Pope said that "the future of artificial intelligence is not pre-determined" and that "machines are tools, not persons." He added: "I encourage the States meeting in Geneva in November to take concrete steps toward banning lethal autonomous weapons." 🎙️ Farewell to Ruffini The Dicastery for Communication bid farewell to Paolo Ruffini, who tomorrow concludes his eight-year term as prefect: he was the first layperson to head an institution of the Roman Curia. From 1 November he is succeeded by Montserrat Alvarado, the first laywoman to lead a Dicastery. 🇺🇦 The Pope's charity in Ukraine Today is the last day in Ukraine for the Almoner, Luis Marín de San Martín, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity. Yesterday in Zaporizhzhia and Poltava he brought the Pope's aid to the Albertine Fathers, who distribute bread to about ten thousand people a week, to an underground nursery and school, and to displaced people (Vatican News). ✈️ Ahead of the journey Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, told Vida Nueva he will not accompany the Pope to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru: the trip "is long and I have several pending matters that worry me" (our translation). In Montevideo, Archbishop Daniel Sturla describes a country that "has experienced intense secularization for over 100 years" and awaits a visit that will be "above all, a pastoral visit" (CNA/EWTN). 📌 To watch • Tomorrow, Saturday 31 October: no public events on the vatican.va calendar; Ruffini's last day as prefect • Sunday 1 November, 12 p.m.: Angelus • Monday 2 November, 4 p.m.: Mass for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed at Verano Cemetery • Tuesday 3 November, 1 p.m.: Matteo Bruni briefs the press on the journey's programme • 6–17 November: Apostolic Journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru