Pope Leo XIV has issued a historic apology for the Vatican’s past role in justifying and legitimising slavery.
In a major document titled “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity) released on Monday, the pontiff acknowledged that the Apostolic See intervened to regulate and legitimise forms of subjugation and enslavement in the early modern period.
“In the early modern period, the Apostolic See of Rome, responding to requests from sovereigns, intervened several times in order to regulate and legitimize forms of subjugation, and, in certain cases, the enslavement of ‘infidels’,” the Pope wrote.
He noted that a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery only came in the 19th century. “For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon,” Leo stated.
The Pope described the Church’s delayed condemnation as “a wound in Christian memory.” “This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached,” he added.
He also warned against “new forms of slavery” emerging in the digital economy while noting that Church institutions had owned slaves until the Middle Ages.
Previous popes, including John Paul II and Francis, had denounced slavery and apologised for Christian involvement in the slave trade. However, Leo XIV’s statement goes further by explicitly addressing the Vatican’s institutional role in legitimising the practice.
The apology forms part of a broader manifesto addressing contemporary global challenges.
