Fr Ben meets Pope Leo

Originally published by catholicweekly.com.au

Fr Ben Saliba, master of ceremonies for Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, was stunned when his boss invited him to accompany him to the Vatican to meet Pope Leo XVI during the recent Jubilee of Youth.

Archbishop Fisher was in Rome with group of pilgrims attending the festival from the Archdiocese of Sydney, and asked if Fr Saliba would come along to his scheduled 28 July meeting with the pope in the Apostolic Palace.

On the day, the Australians gave Pope Leo a framed print of a painting by local artist Paul Newton depicting an early Catholic community in Sydney adoring the Blessed Sacrament.

They also gave him two books—Unity in Christ: Bishops, Synodality, and Communion, written by the archbishop, and A Belief in Humanity: The untold story of conciliar humanism by Sans Souci parish priest Rev Dr Thomas Carroll.

“It was a surreal experience. Pope Leo was very calm; there was a stillness to him as we introduced ourselves. He acknowledged me and gifted me with a set of rosary beads,” Fr Saliba told The Catholic Weekly.

“He asked if I’d like a photo with him and like a kid on Christmas morning I accepted with great excitement. I told him that I’m praying for him every day.”

“The archbishop didn’t have to ask me to accompany him to the meeting. It was a beautiful gesture, one that I will forever be thankful for.”

The former priest at St John the Baptist, Bonnyrigg Heights in southwest Sydney, and former host of the Against The Grain Podcast, Fr Saliba is now an assistant priest at the cathedral, having served there since January 2024.

At Australia’s ‘Mother Church’ there is “a standard of service and expectation that is to be met for the people of God to be exposed to goodness, truth and beauty,” he says.

Sun 10th Aug 2025 By Marilyn Rodrigues