Pope Leo XIV attends the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on September 10, 2025. Illustrative image. PHOTO: ABACA / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
A little girl from Bucharest wrote to Pope Leon in September, when she also sent him a drawing. The response of the Sovereign Pontiff came on the very night of Christmas.
The Pope's letter left the Vatican on December 5 and arrived in the mailbox of Isabella's family on Christmas, when the parents were leaving the house to go to Holy Mass, VaticanNews wrote.
“Dear Isabela, Pope Leo XIV received your letter and the drawing you sent him, and for these he thanks you from the bottom of his heart”, the Sovereign Pontiff sent him in the letter.
“It is very beautiful,” says the Pope, “that you pray for peace and for the children who suffer because of the war. Your prayers are a precious gift, and this makes Jesus very happy, who always listens to the little ones and always listens to what they say to Him sincerely. His Holiness greatly appreciates the drawing made with such care and sensitivity.”
The letter is sent on behalf of the Pope and is signed by Monsignor Anthony Ekpo.
“The Holy Father will continue to carry you in his prayers, together with your family and all the children of the world, and sends you His Blessing, which he also extends with love to your parents,” the Sovereign Pontiff also said to the girl from Romania.
Isabela's drawing
Contacted by Vatican News, Isabela's parents said that the whole family came on a pilgrimage to Rome, on the occasion of the Jubilee dedicated to hope, and that their youngest daughter had been preparing a drawing for a long time that she wanted to personally hand to the Holy Father.
Because of the particularly large crowd that attended that general audience in early September, Isabela's wish was no longer fulfilled, but she did not give up.
Together with her parents, but also with her older sister, Isabela sent the drawing she had made to the Holy Father, as well as a short letter in which she told the Pope how she saw it in Saint Peter's Square and what she wanted to express through her drawing.
