Bishop Athanasius Schneider Shares Proposals for the Church in Private Audience with Pope Leo XIV

Exclusive comments from His Excellency on his first audience with Pope Leo XIV.

(Photo credit: Vatican Media)

ROME, 19 December 2025—Bishop Athanasius Schneider has expressed gratitude to Pope Leo XIV following a private audience with the Holy Father on Thursday.

In exclusive comments given on Dec. 18, Bishop Schneider, who wished that the substance of the meeting remain confidential, said:

“I am deeply grateful to Pope Leo XIV for granting me a private audience, during which I was able to share several proposals aimed at the spiritual good of the Church. I was impressed by the Holy Father’s attentiveness and understanding. Let us pray for Pope Leo XIV, that he may strengthen the faith, and promote justice and peace in the liturgical life of the Church.”

The audience, which lasted just over a half an hour, marked the first meeting between the two men, who, despite coming from very different backgrounds, share a common Augustinian spiritual heritage.

Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the United States, is a member of the Order of St. Augustine and previously served two terms as its Superior General.

Bishop Schneider, who grew up in the Soviet underground Church and currently serves as auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan, is a member of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra, an order which follows the Rule of St. Augustine. He earned his doctorate in patristics at the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome.

As religious, both men have also served the poor in South America—Pope Leo XIV in Peru and Bishop Schneider in Brazil.

His Excellency returned to Kazakhstan on Friday.

Official photos from the private audience may be viewed here.