Pope Leo XIV Names Trappist Bishop to Lead Roman Curia’s Lenten Retreat

Sources describe Bishop Erik Varden as a “dynamic” preacher supportive of the traditional liturgy and keenly interested in contemporary issues.

(Bishop Erik Varden)

ROME, 4 February 2026 — Pope Leo XIV has turned to the monastic tradition for the first Lenten retreat of his pontificate, naming Bishop Erik Varden, a Trappist monk and prelate of Trondheim, Norway, to lead the Roman Curia in a week of meditations.

The retreat will take place from Feb. 22-27, in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, marking a return of the traditional Lenten retreat to the Vatican’s central residence after recent years in alternative venues or non‑chapel locations.

Entitled “Illuminated by a Hidden Glory: A Lenten Itinerary,” the meditations will explore themes central to Christian contemplation, including silence, hope, freedom, truth, and the integration of desire with spiritual life. Several sessions draw inspiration from St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the twelfth-century Cistercian reformer whose writings and spiritual example shaped the order that later gave rise to the Trappists.

Bishop Erik Varden is one of the most prominent voices in contemporary monastic spirituality. Born in Sarpsborg, Norway, on May 13, 1974, he converted to Catholicism as a young adult and earned advanced theological degrees at Cambridge University, followed by further studies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome.

Varden’s engagement with Gregorian chant has been a formative part of his spiritual and academic formation. He studied chant under Dr. Mary Berry, the renowned British canoness and musicologist, whose work emphasized both technical mastery and the spiritual resonance of plainsong in monastic prayer. Varden has cited these studies, along with later work co‑founding the Chant Forum with the British chant scholar and Benedictine nun, Sr. Margaret Truran, as deepening his appreciation of chant as a contemplative expression of the Church’s prayer and a central element of monastic liturgical life.

Varden entered the Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists) at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey in England in 2002 and was ordained a priest in 2011. In 2015, he was elected abbot of Mount Saint Bernard, becoming the first non‑British abbot in the abbey’s history.

In 2019, Pope Francis appointed him bishop-prelate of Trondheim, a rare instance of a Trappist monk assuming episcopal ministry in the modern era.

In a 21 December 2023 letter to priests, issued just three days after the publication of Fiducia Supplicans, Bishop Varden responded to requests for clarification about the declaration. He emphasized that it addressed the pastoral meaning of blessings without introducing new doctrine, and he explained that such blessings were given pastorally to accompany people, noting that “the blessing stands as a call to conversion.” He urged priests to read the document carefully and apply it with both pastoral sensitivity and fidelity to the Church’s teaching.

In Sept. 2024, he was elected president of the Nordic Bishops Conference, which includes Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Varden is also a widely read author, known for works such as The Shattering of Loneliness, Entering the Twofold Mystery, and Chastity: Reconciliation of the Senses, which frames celibacy and chastity as paths toward interior freedom, spiritual integration, and authentic joy (watch his interview on the latter work here). He also has a personal website in English, where he shares homilies and personal reflections.

He’s a very good choice,” said a source who has known Bishop Varden for years. “His monks were very upset when he was appointed bishop because they lost an excellent abbot who was full of the spirit of his order and was bringing the monastery back to life,” he said.

Another source from the Nordic countries described Bishop Varden as “positively disposed” to the traditional Roman liturgy, a “dynamic” preacher who loves the faith, is keenly interested in contemporary issues, and is generally respected and liked.

Restoring the Curial Lenten Retreat

Pope Leo XIV’s 2026 retreat returns the Curia’s Lenten spiritual exercises to their historic communal format within the Apostolic Palace, after several years in which the retreat took place in alternative venues or individually.

Since 2020, the Lenten spiritual exercises have been affected by both pandemic-related disruptions and controversy surrounding past preachers.

In March 2020, Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, a Slovenian priest and mosaic artist, was invited to deliver the retreat meditations in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. Earlier that year, he had incurred automatic excommunication for absolving a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual relations, though he was not informed of the penalty until May 2020. Subsequently, multiple women came forward with credible allegations of psychological, spiritual, and sexual abuse spanning decades.

Rupnik was dismissed from the Society of Jesus in 2023 after failing to comply with restrictions and refusing to cooperate with investigations, and his case was reopened by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, with a tribunal of five judges appointed in October 2025; the canonical process remains pending.

From 2021 through 2024, the traditional Lenten retreat format was changed. Vatican announcements indicated that cardinals and heads of dicasteries were invited to undertake the spiritual exercises individually, with official statements pointing to continuing pandemic health concerns and pastoral considerations as reasons for the adapted format.

The communal format resumed in 2025, when Father Roberto Pasolini, OFM Cap., the newly appointed Preacher of the Papal Household, led the meditations in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, while Pope Francis observed the retreat remotely during a hospital stay at the Gemelli.

A Symbolic Shift

The 2026 retreat will also mark a quiet but significant break with recent custom. For decades, the Roman Curia’s annual Lenten spiritual exercises were ordinarily held in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, a chapel within the papal residence later covered with Fr. Rupnik’s mosaics.

Pope Leo XIV’s decision not to return to that chapel, and instead to gather in the Pauline Chapel, is significant in light of the serious and ongoing canonical case involving Rupnik. While no official explanation has been offered by the Vatican, the change of venue implicitly acknowledges the gravity of that case.

The 2026 retreat begins on the First Sunday of Lent. Here below is an English translation of the retreat program, released today in Italian by the Vatican.

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PREFECTURE OF THE PAPAL HOUSE

SPIRITUAL EXERCISES 2026

ILLUMINATED BY A HIDDEN GLORY
A Lenten Itinerary

The meditations will be held in the Pauline Chapel and will be delivered by His Excellency, Bishop Erik Varden, of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists) and Prelate of Trondheim, Norway. Cardinals resident in Rome and the heads of the dicasteries are invited to participate.

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PROGRAM AND MEDITATIONS

Sunday, 22 February
5:00 PM – Vespers
Meditation: Entering Lent

Monday, 23 February
9:00 AM – Midday Prayer
Meditation: St. Bernard, the Idealist
5:00 PM – Meditation: God’s Help
Eucharistic Adoration and Vespers

Tuesday, 24 February
9:00 AM – Midday Prayer
Meditation: Becoming Free
5:00 PM – Meditation: The Splendor of Truth
Eucharistic Adoration and Vespers

Wednesday, 25 February
9:00 AM – Midday Prayer
Meditation: A Thousand Will Fall
5:00 PM – Meditation: “I Will Glorify Him”
Eucharistic Adoration and Vespers

Thursday, 26 February
9:00 AM – Midday Prayer
Meditation: The Angels of God
5:00 PM – Meditation: St. Bernard, the Realist
Eucharistic Adoration and Vespers

Friday, 27 February
9:00 AM – Midday Prayer
Meditation: On Consideration
5:00 PM – Meditation: Sharing Hope
Eucharistic Adoration and Vespers

[Original text: Italian]