Participants of the EGPA 2026 Conference are exclusively invited to attend a private audience with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Friday, 28 August.

This visit will offer a meaningful conclusion to four days of discussions in Rome around this year’s conference theme, “Public Governance for the Common Good: Human Intelligence Serving the Global Community.”

The theme resonates strongly with questions Pope Leo XIV has placed at the centre of his recent reflections: how institutions, leaders and societies can ensure that technological progress remains at the service of people and the common good. This connection is particularly timely following the publication of his recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, which reflects on safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence and addresses questions of human dignity, responsibility, accountability and the governance of AI.

These questions are increasingly central to contemporary public administration. As governments integrate artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies into public services and decision-making, the challenge is not only what technology can do, but how it should be governed, for whom, and according to which principles.

A historic connection

The audience also renews a historic connection between IIAS and the Vatican. In 1950, participants in the IIAS Congress were received in a private audience by Pope Pius XII at the Pontifical Palace of Castel Gandolfo.

On that occasion, Pope Pius XII addressed the congress participants on issues closely related to the Institute’s field of work, reflecting on the role of the State, the organisation of its functions, public administration and the responsibilities of those engaged in public service.

More than 75 years later, the audience with Pope Leo XIV offers an opportunity to renew this dialogue in a very different context, as public administration confronts new questions around artificial intelligence, human responsibility and governance for the common good.

Practical information

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV will address EGPA 2026 participants on Friday morning at the Aula della Benedizione. Those wishing to attend are asked to remain available for the full day.

Attendance is exclusively open to registered conference attendees, who are also asked to observe the Vatican’s dress requirements for papal audiences.