Rev. Patrick J. McDevitt, CM, PhD, President & CEO encourages all the members of the Saint Luke Institute (SLI) community and our supporters to join in prayer with Pope Leo XIV this October for mental health ministry. The intention, part of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, reflects the importance of the work of SLI and our mission to provide best-practice psychological treatment with integrated spiritual care for clergy, religious and all who serve the Church. A video of the prayer and text are provided below.
The specific intention is available on the free app for the Pope’s Prayer Network, ClicktoPray, and reads as follows:
There are wounds that often remain invisible and are lived in the deepest solitude. Those experiencing a mental illness usually face, in addition to their own suffering, the weight of stigma and the indifference of those who look the other way. Faced with this reality, the Church is called to be an open home, a community that listens without judging and that accompanies.
Pope Leo, in his prayer intention for this month, invites us to pray for mental health ministry, so that we may know how to welcome those who suffer in silence, support those who care for them, and learn to integrate mental health care into our community life as a living sign of mercy.
Prayer Intention of Pope Leo XIV for October 2026: For Mental Health Ministry
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
God of life,
You know the innermost depths of our hearts—
the light and shadows within us,
the silent wounds that sometimes no one sees.
Today we bring before you our brothers and sisters
who struggle with challenges to their mental health,
who suffer in solitude with anxiety, depression, or any other mental illness.
You call them by name, with tenderness,
and in You they find dignity and hope.
Forgive us for the times we have looked the other way,
feeding the stigma and discrimination of persons with mental illnesses.
May your Church be an open house,
a safe space where everyone has a place—
a community that accompanies and never excludes,
that listens without judging and draws near without fear.
We pray to you, Lord, for those who care:
professionals, family members, volunteers—
men and women who, with patience and love,
build bridges of understanding and comfort.
Give them strength and compassion to sustain others.
Send your Spirit upon us,
that we may learn to welcome and integrate care for mental health
into the life and ministry of our communities and of the whole Church,
and thus become a living sign of your mercy,
which never abandons and always restores.
Amen.