Papal texts

Message of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV for the Tenth World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
(1 September 2025)

Released Wednesday, 2 July 2025

Seeds of peace and hope

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The theme of this World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, chosen by our beloved Pope Francis, is “Seeds of Peace and Hope”. On the tenth anniversary of the establishment of this Day of Prayer, which coincided with the publication of the Encyclical Laudato Si’, we find ourselves celebrating the present Jubilee as “Pilgrims of Hope”. This year’s theme thus appears most timely.

In proclaiming the Kingdom of God, Jesus often used the image of the seed. As the time of his Passion drew near, he applied that image to himself, comparing himself to the grain of wheat that must die in order to bear fruit (cf. Jn 12:24). Seeds are buried in the earth, and there, to our wonder, life springs up, even in the most unexpected places, pointing to the promise of new beginnings. We can think, for example, of flowers springing up on our roadsides from seeds that landed up there almost by chance. As those flowers grow, they brighten the gray tarmac and even manage to break through its hard surface.

In Christ, we too are seeds, and indeed, “seeds of peace and hope”. The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Spirit of God can make an arid and parched desert into a garden, a place of rest and serenity. In his words, “a spirit from on high will be poured out on us, and the wilderness will become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness will be peace, and the work of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places” (Is 32:15-18).

These words of the prophet will accompany the “Season of Creation,” an ecumenical initiative to be celebrated from 1 September to 4 October 2025. They remind us that, together with prayer, determination and concrete actions are necessary if this “caress of God” is to become visible to our world (cf. Laudato Si’, 84). The prophet contrasts justice and law with the desolation of the desert. His message is extraordinarily timely, given the evidence in various parts of the world that our earth is being ravaged. On all sides, injustice, violations of international law and the rights of peoples, grave inequalities and the greed that fuels them are spawning deforestation, pollution and the loss of biodiversity. Extreme natural phenomena caused by climate changes provoked by human activity are growing in intensity and frequency (cf. Laudato Deum, 5), to say nothing of the medium and long-term effects of the human and ecological devastation being wrought by armed conflicts.

As yet, we seem incapable of recognizing that the destruction of nature does not affect everyone in the same way. When justice and peace are trampled underfoot, those who are most hurt are the poor, the marginalized and the excluded. The suffering of indigenous communities is emblematic in this regard.

That is not all. Nature itself is reduced at times to a bargaining chip, a commodity to be bartered for economic or political gain. As a result, God’s creation turns into a battleground for the control of vital resources. We see this in agricultural areas and forests peppered with landmines, “scorched earth” policies (cf. Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Land and Food, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2015, 51-53), conflicts over water sources, and the unequal distribution of raw materials, which penalizes the poorer nations and undermines social stability itself.

These various wounds are the effect of sin. This is surely not what God had in mind when he entrusted the earth to the men and women whom he created in his image (cf. Gen 1:24-29). The Bible provides no justification for us to exercise “tyranny over creation” (Laudato Si’, 200). On the contrary, “the biblical texts are to be read in their context, with an appropriate hermeneutic, recognizing that they tell us to ‘till and keep’ the garden of the world [cf. Gen 2:15]. ‘Tilling’ refers to cultivating, ploughing or working, while ‘keeping’ means caring, protecting, overseeing and preserving. This implies a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature” (ibid., 67).

Environmental justice — implicitly proclaimed by the prophets — can no longer be regarded as an abstract concept or a distant goal. It is an urgent need that involves much more than simply protecting the environment. For it is a matter of justice — social, economic and human. For believers it is also a duty born of faith, since the universe reflects the face of Jesus Christ, in whom all things were created and redeemed. In a world where the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters are the first to suffer the devastating effects of climate change, deforestation and pollution, care for creation becomes an expression of our faith and humanity.

Now is the time to follow words with deeds. “Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience” (Laudato Si’, 217). By working with love and perseverance, we can sow many seeds of justice and thus contribute to the growth of peace and the renewal of hope. It may well take years for this plant to bear its first fruits, years that, for their part, involve an entire ecosystem made up of continuity, fidelity, cooperation and love, especially if that love mirrors the Lord’s own self-sacrificing Love.

Among the Church’s initiatives that are like seeds sown in this field, I would mention the Borgo Laudato Si’ project that Pope Francis bequeathed to us at Castel Gandolfo. It is a seed that promises to bear fruits of justice and peace, and an educational project in integral ecology that can serve as an example of how people can live, work and build community by applying the principles of the Encyclical Laudato Si’.

I pray that Almighty God will send us in abundance his “Spirit from on high” (Is 32:15), so that these seeds, and others like them, may bring forth an abundant harvest of peace and hope.

The Encyclical Laudato Si’ has now guided the Catholic Church and many people of good will for ten years. May it continue to inspire us and may integral ecology be increasingly accepted as the right path to follow. In this way, seeds of hope will multiply, to be “tilled and kept” by the grace of our great and unfailing Hope, who is the risen Christ. In his name, I offer all of you my blessing.

From the Vatican, 30 June 2025 Memorial of the First Martyrs of Holy Roman Church

Leo PP. XIV

Greeting to Pilgrims from
Denmark, Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland

Saturday, 5 July 2025

A history of pilgrimages

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you!

Good morning and welcome to the Vatican.

Your Excellencies,

Dear priests and young friends,

I am pleased to greet all of you on the occasion of your pilgrimage to Rome during this Jubilee Year, which as you know is focused on the theological virtue of hope. In particular, I welcome the young people from the Diocese of Copenhagen, which is this group, together with the teachers from Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland.

You are following in the footsteps of countless pilgrims from your various countries, who for centuries have been making this same pilgrimage to Rome, to the “Eternal City”. Indeed, Rome has always been a special home for Christians, since it is the place where the Apostles Peter and Paul gave the supreme witness to their love for Jesus by offering their lives as martyrs. As the Successor of Peter, I wish to express my gratitude for your presence here, and I pray that by visiting the various holy sites you may draw inspiration and hope from the profound example of how the saints and martyrs imitated Christ.

A pilgrimage has a vital part to play in our life of faith, for it removes us from our homes and our daily routines, and gives us time and space to encounter God more deeply. Such moments always help us to grow, for through them the Holy Spirit gently fashions us to be ever more closely conformed to the mind and the heart of Jesus Christ.

In a particular way, dear brothers and sisters, young people gathered with us this morning, remember that God has created each one of you with a purpose and a mission in this life. Use this opportunity for listening, for prayer, so that you may hear more clearly God’s voice calling you deep within your hearts. I would add that today, so often, we lose the ability to listen, to really listen. We listen to music, we have our ears flooded constantly with all kinds of digital input, but sometimes we forget to listen to our own hearts and it’s in our hearts that God speaks to us, that God calls us and invites us to know him better and to live in his love. And through that listening you might be open to allowing God’s grace to strengthen your faith in Jesus (cf. Col 2:7), so that you might more readily share that gift with others.

And addressing you, dear teachers: what I have just said to the young people applies equally to you, especially given your important role in the formation of today’s youth: children, teenagers, young adults. For they will look up to you as models: models in life, models of faith. They’ll look to you particularly as to how you teach and how you live. I hope that, each day, you will nurture your relationship with Christ, who gives us the pattern of all authentic teaching (cf. Mt 7:28), so that, in turn, you may guide and encourage those entrusted to your care to follow Christ in their own lives.

And finally, when all of you return home, please remember that a pilgrimage does not end, it shifts its focus to the daily “pilgrimage of discipleship”. We are all pilgrims and we are always pilgrims, walking as we seek to follow the Lord, and as we seek the path that is truly ours in life. That’s certainly not easy, but with the help of the Lord, the intercession of the saints, and by encouraging one another, you can be certain that, as long as you remain faithful, trusting always in God’s mercy, the experience of this pilgrimage will continue to bear fruit throughout your lives (cf. Jn 15:16).

Dear friends, with these few words, and entrusting you to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, I gladly impart to each of you my heartfelt blessing.

God bless you and thank you.

Homily — Mass
Borgo Laudato Si’

Castel Gandolfo: Wednesday, 9 July 2025

The world is in flames

but hope remains

On this beautiful day, I would begin by asking everyone, including myself, to take stock of what we are celebrating here amid the beauty of what might be called a “cathedral” of nature, with so many plants and elements of creation that have brought us together to celebrate the Eucharist, which means to give thanks to the Lord.

There are many reasons to thank the Lord in today’s Eucharist. This may well be the first celebration to use the new prayers of the Mass for the Care of Creation, which is the fruit of the work of several Dicasteries of the Holy See.

For my part, I express gratitude to all those people here who have had a part in producing these liturgical prayers. As you know, the liturgy represents life, and you are the life of this Laudato Si’ Center. I would also like to thank you on this occasion for all that you are doing to bring to life this fine idea of Pope Francis, who donated this small plot of land, these gardens and these walks, in order to continue the important work of caring for creation and our common home. The need to persevere in this mission has become all the more apparent in the ten years that have passed since the publication of Laudato Si’.

This setting [before a pool of water] in some way resembles the ancient churches of the early centuries, where there was a baptismal font that one had to pass before entering the church. I am not sure I would want to be baptized in the water here..., but the symbol of passing through water to be cleansed of all our sins and failings, and then to enter into the great mystery of the Church is something that still speaks to us today. At the beginning of Mass, we prayed for conversion, our own conversion. I would like to add that we should pray for the conversion of the many people, inside and outside the Church, who do not yet recognize the urgent need to care for our common home.

The many natural disasters we see occurring almost daily in our world, in so many places and countries, are also in part a result of the excesses of human beings and our lifestyles. We need to ask whether we ourselves are undergoing that conversion. How much we need it!

Having said this, I also have a homily that I prepared and will share with you, so please bear with me. A couple of its points will help to carry forward our reflection this morning. We are enjoying this fraternal and peaceful moment in the midst of a world that is in flames, as a result of both global warming and armed conflicts. The message of Pope Francis in his Encyclicals Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti continues to be timely. We can imagine ourselves in the Gospel we have just heard, as we reflect on the fear of the disciples amid the tempest, a fear shared by a large part of humanity today. At the same time, in the heart of this Jubilee Year, we believe and say over and over again: there is hope! We have encountered that hope in Jesus. He calms the storm. His power does not break down, but builds up. It does not destroy, but calls into being and bestows new life. We too should be asking ourselves: “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” (Mt 8:27).

The amazement expressed in this question is the first step towards freedom from fear. Jesus lived and prayed around the Sea of Galilee. That is where he called his first disciples in the setting of their daily lives and work. The parables with which he proclaimed the Kingdom of God reveal his deep connection with that land and those waters, with the rhythm of the seasons and with the life of creatures.

The evangelist Matthew describes the tempest as an upheaval of the earth (the Greek word he uses is seismos). Matthew uses the same term for the earthquake that took place at the moment of Jesus’ death and at the dawn of his resurrection. Christ rises above this upheaval, his feet firmly planted. Already here, the Gospel enables us to catch a glimpse of the Risen Lord, present in our confused history. Jesus’ rebuke to the wind and the sea demonstrates his power to give life and salvation, a power greater than those forces that cause creatures to tremble.

So, we can ask ourselves once more: “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” (Mt 8:27). The hymn from the Letter to the Colossians that we have heard seems to answer this very question: “He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created” (cf. Col 1:15-16). Buffeted by the storm that day, his disciples were overcome with fear; they were not yet able to profess this knowledge about Jesus. Today, however, in accordance with the faith handed down to us, we can go further and say: “He is the head of the Body, the Church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent” (v. 18). Those words, in every age, make us and commit us to be a living Body: the Body of which Christ is the Head. Our mission to care for creation, to foster peace and reconciliation, is Jesus’ own mission, the mission that the Lord entrusts to us. We hear the cry of the earth and we hear the cry of the poor, because this plea has reached the heart of God. Our indignation is his indignation; our work is his work.

In this regard, the psalmist’s song inspires us: “The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty” (Ps 29:3-4). That voice commits the Church to speak prophetically, even when it calls for the courage to oppose the destructive power of the princes of this world. The unbreakable covenant between Creator and his creatures inspires our minds and galvanizes our efforts to ensure that evil may turn into good, injustice into justice, and greed to sharing.

With infinite love, God has created all things and given them life. That is why Saint Francis of Assisi could call every creature his brother, his sister and his mother. Only a contemplative gaze can change our relationship with creation and bring us out of the ecological crisis brought on by the breakdown of our relationship with God, with our neighbors and with the earth that is the effect of sin (cf. Laudato Si’, 66).

Dear brothers and sisters, the Borgo Laudato Si’, where we now find ourselves, seeks to be, in line with the vision of Pope Francis, a kind of “laboratory” where we can experience that harmony with creation which brings healing and reconciliation, and to do so by developing new and effective ways of protecting the natural environment entrusted to our care. I want to assure all of you, who are working to realize this project, of my prayers and my encouragement.

The Eucharist we celebrate sustains and gives meaning to our work. As Pope Francis wrote, “it is in the Eucharist that all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation. Grace, which tends to manifest itself tangibly, found unsurpassable expression when God himself became man and gave himself as food for his creatures. The Lord, in the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter. He comes not from above, but from within; he comes that we might find him in this world of ours” (Laudato Si’, 236). I would like to conclude these thoughts by leaving you with the words with which Saint Augustine, in the last pages of his Confessions, brought together creation and humanity in a cosmic hymn of praise: Lord, “your works praise you, that we may love you; may we love you, that your works may praise you” (XIII, 33, 48). May this be the harmony that we spread throughout the world.

Message for the 5th World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly
(27 July 2025)

Released Thursday, 10 July 2025

Blessed are those who have not

lost hope (cf. Sir 14:2)

Dear brothers and sisters,

The Jubilee we are now celebrating helps us to realize that hope is a constant source of joy, whatever our age. When that hope has also been tempered by fire over the course of a long life, it proves a source of deep happiness.

Sacred Scripture offers us many examples of men and women whom the Lord called late in life to play a part in his saving plan. We can think of Abraham and Sarah, who, advanced in years, found it hard to believe when God promised them a child. Their childlessness seemed to prevent them from any hope for the future.

Zechariah’s reaction to the news of John the Baptist’s birth was no different: “How can this be? I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years” (Lk 1:18). Old age, barrenness and physical decline apparently blocked any hope for life and fertility in these men and women. The question that Nicodemus asked Jesus when the Master spoke to him of being “born again” also seems purely rhetorical: “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (Jn 3:4). Yet whenever we think that things cannot change, the Lord surprises us with an act of saving power.

The elderly as signs of hope

In the Bible, God repeatedly demonstrates his providential care by turning to people in their later years. This was the case not only with Abraham, Sarah, Zechariah and Elizabeth, but also with Moses, who was called to set his people free when he was already eighty years old (cf. Ex 7:7). God thus teaches us that, in his eyes, old age is a time of blessing and grace, and that the elderly are, for him, the first witnesses of hope. Augustine asks, “What do we mean by old age?” He tells us that God himself answers the question: “Let your strength fail, so that my strength may abide within you, and you can say with the Apostle, ‘When I am weak, then I am strong’” (Super Ps. 70,11). The increasing number of elderly people is a sign of the times that we are called to discern, in order to interpret properly this moment of history.

The life of the Church and the world can only be understood in light of the passage of generations. Embracing the elderly helps us to understand that life is more than just the present moment, and should not be wasted in superficial encounters and fleeting relationships. Instead, life is constantly pointing us toward the future. In the book of Genesis, we find the moving episode of the blessing given by the aged Jacob to his grandchildren, the sons of Joseph; his words are an appeal to look to the future with hope, as the time when God’s promises will be fulfilled (cf. Gen 48:8-20). If it is true that the weakness of the elderly needs the strength of the young, it is equally true that the inexperience of the young needs the witness of the elderly in order to build the future with wisdom. How often our grandparents have been for us examples of faith and devotion, civic virtue and social commitment, memory and perseverance amid trials! The precious legacy that they have handed down to us with hope and love will always be a source of gratitude and a summons to perseverance.

Signs of hope for the elderly

From biblical times, the Jubilee has been understood as a time of liberation. Slaves were freed, debts were forgiven and land was returned to its original owners. The Jubilee was a time when the social order willed by God was restored, and inequalities and injustices accumulated over the years were remedied. Jesus evoked those moments of liberation when, in the synagogue of Nazareth, he proclaimed good news to the poor, sight to the blind and freedom for prisoners and the oppressed (cf. Lk 4:16-21).

Looking at the elderly in the spirit of this Jubilee, we are called to help them experience liberation, especially from loneliness and abandonment. This year is a fitting time to do so. God’s fidelity to his promises teaches us that there is a blessedness in old age, an authentic evangelical joy inspiring us to break through the barriers of indifference in which the elderly often find themselves enclosed. Our societies, everywhere in the world, are growing all too accustomed to letting this significant and enriching part of their life be marginalized and forgotten.

Given this situation, a change of pace is needed that would be readily seen in an assumption of responsibility on the part of the whole Church. Every parish, association and ecclesial group is called to become a protagonist in a “revolution” of gratitude and care, to be brought about by regular visits to the elderly, the creation of networks of support and prayer for them and with them, and the forging of relationships that can restore hope and dignity to those who feel forgotten. Christian hope always urges us to be more daring, to think big, to be dissatisfied with things the way they are. In this case, it urges us to work for a change that can restore the esteem and affection to which the elderly are entitled.

That is why Pope Francis wanted the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly to be celebrated primarily through an effort to seek out elderly persons who are living alone. For this reason, those who are unable to come to Rome on pilgrimage during this Holy Year may “obtain the Jubilee Indulgence if they visit, for an appropriate amount of time, the elderly who are alone... making, in a sense, a pilgrimage to Christ present in them (cf. Mt 25:34-36)” (Apostolic Penitentiary, Norms for the Granting of the Jubilee Indulgence, III). Visiting an elderly person is a way of encountering Jesus, who frees us from indifference and loneliness.

As elderly persons, we can hope

The Book of Sirach calls blessed those who have not lost hope (cf. 14:2). Perhaps, especially if our lives are long, we may be tempted to look not to the future but to the past. Yet, as Pope Francis wrote during his last hospitalization, “our bodies are weak, but even so, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being there for one another, in faith, as shining signs of hope” (Angelus, 16 March 2025). We possess a freedom that no difficulty can rob us of: it is the freedom to love and to pray. Everyone, always, can love and pray.

Our affection for our loved ones — for the wife or husband with whom we have spent so much of our lives, for our children, for our grandchildren who brighten our days — does not fade when our strength wanes. Indeed, their own affection often revives our energy and brings us hope and comfort.

These signs of living love, which have their roots in God himself, give us courage and remind us that “even if our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor 4:16). Especially as we grow older, let us press forward with confidence in the Lord. May we be renewed each day by our encounter with him in prayer and in Holy Mass. Let us lovingly pass on the faith we have lived for so many years, in our families and in our daily encounter with others. May we always praise God for his goodness, cultivate unity with our loved ones, open our hearts to those who are far away and, in particular, to all those in need. In this way, we will be signs of hope, whatever our age.

From the Vatican, 26 June 2025

Leo PP. XIV

Message on the Occasion of the AI for Good Summit 2025

Geneva: Thursday, 10 July 2025

AI must serve interests of

humanity as a whole

Message from the Holy Father, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, on the occasion of the AI for Good Summit 2025.

On behalf of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, I would like to extend my cordial greetings to all participants in the AI for Good Summit 2025, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (itu), in partnership with other UN agencies and co-hosted by the Swiss Government. As this summit coincides with the 160th anniversary of the ITU’s foundation, I would like to congratulate all the Members and staff for their work and constant efforts to foster global cooperation in order to bring the benefits of communication technologies to the people across the globe. Connecting the human family through telegraph, radio, telephone, digital and space communications presents challenges, particularly in rural and low-income areas, where approximately 2.6 billion persons still lack access to communication technologies.

Humanity is at a crossroads, facing the immense potential generated by the digital revolution driven by Artificial Intelligence. The impact of this revolution is far-reaching, transforming areas such as education, work, art, healthcare, governance, the military, and communication. This epochal transformation requires responsibility and discernment to ensure that AI is developed and utilized for the common good, building bridges of dialogue and fostering fraternity, and ensuring it serves the interests of humanity as a whole.

As AI becomes capable of adapting autonomously to many situations by making purely technical algorithmic choices, it is crucial to consider its anthropological and ethical implications, the values at stake and the duties and regulatory frameworks required to uphold those values. In fact, while AI can simulate aspects of human reasoning and perform specific tasks with incredible speed and efficiency, it cannot replicate moral discernment or the ability to form genuine relationships. Therefore, the development of such technological advancements must go hand in hand with respect for human and social values, the capacity to judge with a clear conscience, and growth in human responsibility. It is no coincidence that this era of profound innovation has prompted many to reflect on what it means to be human, and on humanity’s role in the world.

Although responsibility for the ethical use of AI systems begins with those who develop, manage and oversee them, those who use them also share in this responsibility. AI therefore requires proper ethical management and regulatory frameworks centered on the human person, and which go beyond the mere criteria of utility or efficiency. Ultimately, we must never lose sight of the common goal of contributing to that “tranquillitas ordinis — the tranquility of order”, as Saint Augustine called it (De Civitate Dei) and fostering a more humane order of social relations, and peaceful and just societies in the service of integral human development and the good of the human family.

On behalf of Pope Leo XIV, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to seek ethical clarity and to establish a coordinated local and global governance of AI, based on the shared recognition of the inherent dignity and fundamental freedoms of the human person. The Holy Father willingly assures you of his prayers in your efforts towards the common good.

Homily — Holy Mass

San Tommaso da Villanova Parish
Castel Gandolfo: Sunday, 13 July 2025

Moved with compassion

Brothers and sisters,

I have the joy of celebrating this Eucharist with you. I greet all those present, the parish community, the priests, and His Eminence, the Bishop of the Diocese, and the civil and military authorities.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we have heard one of Jesus’ most beautiful and moving parables. We all know the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37).

That parable constantly challenges us to think about our own lives. It troubles our dormant or distracted consciences, and warns us about the risk of a complacent faith that is satisfied with the outward observance of the law but incapable of feeling and acting with the same merciful compassion as God.

The parable is really about compassion. True, the Gospel story speaks of the compassion that moved the Samaritan to act, but it first speaks of how others regarded the wounded man lying on the roadside after being attacked by robbers. We are told that a priest and a Levite “saw him and passed by” (v. 32). Of the Samaritan, however, the Gospel says, “he saw him and had compassion on him” (v. 33).

Dear brothers and sisters, how we look at others is what counts, because it shows what is in our hearts. We can look and walk by, or we can look and be moved with compassion. There is a kind of seeing that is superficial, distracted and hasty, a way of seeing while pretending not to see. We can see without being touched or challenged by the sight. Then too, there is seeing with the eyes of the heart, looking more closely, empathizing with the other, sharing his or her experience, letting ourselves be touched and challenged. This way of seeing calls into question the way we live our life and the responsibility we feel towards others.

The parable speaks to us first about God’s way of seeing us, so that we in turn can learn how to see situations and people with his eyes, so full of love and compassion. The Good Samaritan is really a figure of Jesus, the eternal Son whom the Father sent into our history precisely because he regarded humanity with compassion and did not walk by. Like the man in the Gospel who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, humanity was descending to the depths of death; in our own day too, we have to confront the darkness of evil, suffering, poverty and the riddle of death. Yet God has looked upon us with compassion; he wanted to walk our same path and come down among us. In Jesus, the Good Samaritan, he came to heal our wounds and to pour out upon us the balm of his love and mercy.

Pope Francis, who often reminded us that God is mercy and compassion, once referred to Jesus as “the compassion of the Father toward us” (Angelus, 14 July 2029). Saint Augustine tells us that, as the Good Samaritan who came to our aid, Jesus “wanted to be known as our neighbor. Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ makes us realize that he is the one who cared for the half-dead man beaten by robbers and left on the side of the road (De Doctrina Christiana, I, 30.33).

We can understand, then, why this parable is so challenging for each of us. If Christ shows us the face of a compassionate God, then to believe in him and to be his disciples means allowing ourselves to be changed and to take on his same feelings. It means learning to have a heart that is moved, eyes that see and do not look away, hands that help others and soothe their wounds, shoulders that bear the burden of those in need.

In today’s first reading, we hear the words of Moses, who tells us that obeying the Lord’s commandments and turning our minds and hearts to him does not involve multiplying outward acts, but rather looking to our own hearts and discovering that there God has written his law of love. If we realize deep down that Christ, the Good Samaritan, loves us and cares for us, we too will be moved to love in the same way and to become compassionate as he is. Once we are healed and loved by Christ, we too can become witnesses of his love and compassion in our world.

Brothers and sisters, today we need this “revolution of love.” Today, the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Jericho is the road travelled by all those who descend into sin, suffering and poverty. It is the road travelled by all those weighed down by troubles or hurt by life. The road travelled by all who fall down, lose their bearings and hit rock bottom. The road travelled by all those peoples that are stripped, robbed and pillaged, victims of tyrannical political systems, of an economy that forces them into poverty, and of wars that kill their dreams and their very lives.

What do we do? Do we look and walk by, or do we open our hearts to others, like the Samaritan? Are we content at times merely to do our duty, or to regard as our neighbor only those who are part of our group, who think like us, who share our same nationality or religion? Jesus overturns this way of thinking by presenting us with a Samaritan, a foreigner or heretic, who acts as a neighbor to that wounded man. And he asks us to do the same.

The Samaritan, wrote Benedict XVI, “does not ask how far his obligations of solidarity extend. Nor does he ask about the merits required for eternal life. Something else happens: his heart is wrenched open... If the question had been ‘Is the Samaritan my neighbor, too?’ the answer would have been a pretty clear-cut no, given the situation at the time. But Jesus now turns the whole matter on its head: the Samaritan, the foreigner, makes himself the neighbor and shows me that I have to learn to be a neighbor deep within and that I already have the answer in myself. I have to become like someone in love, someone whose heart is open to being shaken up by another’s need” (Jesus of Nazareth, 197).

Looking without walking by, halting the frantic pace of our lives, allowing the lives of others, whoever they may be, with their needs and troubles, to touch our heart. That is what makes us neighbors to one another, what generates true fraternity and breaks down walls and barriers. In the end, love prevails, and proves more powerful than evil and death.

Dear friends, let us look to Christ, the Good Samaritan. Let us listen again today to his voice. For he says to each of us, “Go and do likewise” (v. 37).

Angelus Message

Castel Gandolfo: Sunday, 13 July 2025

Peace for all who suffer

because of war

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am pleased to be with you here in Castel Gandolfo. I greet the civil and military authorities present and thank all of you for your warm welcome.

Yesterday, in Barcelona, Lycarion May (whose secular name was François Benjamin), a friar of the Institute of the Marist Brothers of the Schools, who was killed in 1909 out of hatred for the faith, was beatified. In hostile circumstances, he lived his educational and pastoral mission with dedication and courage. May the heroic witness of this martyr be an inspiration to all of us, especially those who work for the education of young people.

I greet the participants in the summer course of the Liturgical Academy from Poland, and likewise think of the Polish pilgrims who are taking part in today’s annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Częstochowa.

Today marks the end of the Jubilee pilgrimage of the Diocese of Bergamo. I greet the pilgrims who, together with their Bishop, have come to Rome to pass through the Holy Door.

I greet the pastoral community of Blessed Augustine of Tarano from the Colegio S. Augustin in Chiclayo, Peru, also here in Rome to celebrate the Jubilee. I greet the pilgrims from the parish of San Pedro Apóstol in the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares, who are celebrating the 400th anniversary of the parish’s foundation; the Legionaries of Mary from Uribia-La Guajira, Colombia; the members of the Family of Merciful Love; the Agesci Alcamo 1st Scout Group; and, finally, the Augustinian nuns in formation here present.

We welcome the children’s choir of the Académie Musicale de Liesse, from France. Thank you for your presence and for your commitment to singing and music.

Here with us today are 100 cadets from the Carabinieri course at the Velletri School, named after Venerable Salvo D’Acquisto. I greet the Commander, together with the officers and non-commissioned officers, and encourage you to continue your training in the service of your country and civil society. Thank you! Let us applaud them enthusiastically for their service.

During the summer months, there are many initiatives involving children and young people, and I would like to thank the educators and animators who dedicate themselves to this service. In this context, I wish to mention the important initiative of the Giffoni Film Festival, which brings together young people from all over the world, and whose theme this year is “Becoming Human”.

Brothers and sisters, let us not forget to pray for peace and for all those who, because of violence or war, find themselves in a state of suffering and need.

I wish all of you a happy Sunday!

Address to the participants in
the Orthodox-Catholic Ecumenical Pilgrimage from
the United States of America

Castel Gandolfo: Thursday, 17 July 2025

Returning to the roots of faith

My dear brothers and sisters,

I offer a cordial greeting to all of you, especially to Metropolitan Elpidophoros, and Cardinal Tobin, and I thank them for arranging this meeting as part of your pilgrimage. You are all very welcome. I am sorry that I am a little bit late. Several meetings were scheduled this morning. But I am very happy to have this moment to spend with you in this beautiful place, Castel Gandolfo.

You have set out from the United States, which as you know, is also my native country, and this journey is meant to be a return to the roots, the sources, the places, the memorials of the Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, and of the Apostle Andrew in Constantinople. It is also a way to experience anew and in a concrete way the faith that comes from listening to the Gospel, hearing the Gospel handed down to us by the Apostles (cf. Rom 10:16). It is significant that your pilgrimage is taking place this year, in which we celebrate one thousand seven hundred years of the Council of Nicaea. The Symbol of Faith adopted by the assembled Fathers remains — together with the additions made at the Council of Constantinople in 381 — the common patrimony of all Christians, for many of whom the Creed is an integral part of their liturgical celebrations. Then too, by a providential coincidence, this year the two calendars in use in our Churches coincide, with the result that we were able to chant as one the Easter Alleluia: “Christ is risen! He is truly risen!”

Those words proclaim that the darkness of sin and death have been vanquished by the Lamb that was slain, Jesus Christ our Lord. This inspires us with great hope, for we know that no cry of the innocent victims of violence, no lament of mothers mourning their children will go unheard. Our hope is in God, yet precisely because we constantly draw from the inexhaustible source of his grace, we are called to be witnesses and bearers of hope. The Catholic Church is presently celebrating our Jubilee year whose motto, chosen by my predecessor Pope Francis, is “Peregrinantes in Spe”, that is, pilgrims in hope. Your Eminence, Metropolitan Elpidophoros, your very name tells us that you are a bearer of hope! It is my hope that your pilgrimage will confirm all of you in the hope born of our faith in the risen Lord!

Here in Rome, you have spent time in prayer at the tombs of Peter and Paul. As you now visit the See of Constantinople, I would ask you to bring greetings and my embrace, an embrace of peace, to my venerable brother Patriarch Bartholomew, who so kindly attended the Holy Mass for the inauguration of my pontificate. I hope to be able to meet you again, in a few months, to take part in the ecumenical commemoration of the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

Your pilgrimage is one of the abundant fruits of the ecumenical movement aimed at restoring full unity among all Christ’s disciples in accordance with the Lord’s prayer at the Last Supper, when Jesus said, “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21). At times, we take for granted these signs of sharing and fellowship that, albeit not yet signifying full unity, already manifest the theological progress and the dialogue of charity that have marked recent decades. On December 7th, 1965, on the eve of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, my predecessor Saint Paul VI and the Patriarch, Athenagoras signed a Joint Declaration removing from memory and the midst of the Church the sentences of excommunication that followed the events of the year 1054. Before then, a pilgrimage like your own would probably not even have been possible. The work of the Holy Spirit created in hearts the readiness to take those steps as a prophetic presage of full and visible unity. For our part, we too must continue to implore from the Paraclete, the Consoler, the grace to pursue the path of unity and fraternal charity.

Unity among those who believe in Christ is one of the signs of God’s gift of consolation; Scripture promises that “in Jerusalem you will be comforted” (Is 66:13). Rome, Constantinople and all the other Sees, are not called to vie for primacy, lest we risk finding ourselves like the disciples who along the way, even as Jesus was announcing his coming passion, argued about which of them was the greatest (cf. Mk 9:33-37).

In his Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis noted that “the Holy Year will also guide our steps towards yet another fundamental celebration for all Christians: 2033 will mark the two thousandth anniversary of the redemption won by the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus” (Spes Non Confundit, 6). Spiritually, all of us need to return to Jerusalem, the City of Peace, where Peter, Andrew and all the Apostles, after the days of the Lord’s passion and resurrection, received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and from there bore witness to Christ to the ends of the earth.

May our return to the roots of our faith make all of us experience the gift of God’s consolation and make us capable, like the Good Samaritan, of pouring out the oil of consolation and the wine of gladness on today’s humanity. Thank you.

Address to the Participants in
the Third Metropolitan Assembly of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh

Released Saturday, 19 July 2025

To grow in unity

I extend heartfelt greetings to all of you gathered for the Third Assembly of the Byzantine Catholic Church of Pittsburgh, convoked by Metropolitan Archbishop William Skurla and the Council of Hierarchs, taking place at the Church of Saint Mary in Whiting, Indiana.

Your Assembly, held under the theme Come, let us worship and bow before Christ, offers a precious opportunity to grow in unity and to reaffirm your commitment to the Lord. Through your liturgical celebrations, prayerful reflection and fraternal dialogue, you will surely renew your faithful witness to Christ and deepen your proclamation of the Gospel in the rich tradition of the Byzantine Catholic Churches.

The participation of clergy, religious, and lay faithful, along with representatives from the Exarchate of Toronto and the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, offers a visible sign of communion in the Church.

I give thanks for the witness of your forebears, who built vibrant Byzantine communities in North America amidst various challenges and uncertainty. Their legacy continues in your courageous embrace of pastoral renewal, which is rooted in fidelity to your heritage.

I assure you of my spiritual closeness and entrust your gathering to the intercession of Mary the Mother of God. To all participating in the Assembly, I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing, which I extend to all in the Archeparchy as a pledge of wisdom, joy and peace in the Lord.

From the Vatican, 12 July 2025

Leo PP. XIV

Homily — Holy Mass
XVI Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cathedral of Albano: Sunday, 20 July 2025

Listening and service

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am very happy to be here to celebrate today’s Eucharist in this beautiful Cathedral. As you know, I was supposed to be here on 12 May, but the Holy Spirit worked in a different way. But I am truly pleased to be with you and in the spirit of fraternity and Christian joy, I greet all of you here present, His Eminence, as well as the Bishop of the Diocese, and the authorities present.

In this Mass, both the first reading and the Gospel invite us to reflect on hospitality, service and listening (cf. Gen 18:1-10; Lk 10:38-42).

First, God visits Abraham in the figure of “three men” who arrive at his tent “in the heat of the day” (cf. Gen 18:1-2). The scene is easy to imagine: the blazing sun, the stillness of the desert, the intense heat, and the three strangers seeking shelter. Abraham is seated “at the entrance of his tent,” the position of the master of the house, and it is moving to see how he exercises this role. Recognizing the presence of God in the visitors, he gets up, runs to greet them, and prostrates himself on the ground imploring them to stay. Thus the whole scene comes to life. The afternoon’s stillness is filled with gestures of love which involve not only the Patriarch, but also his wife Sarah and the servants. Abraham is no longer seated, but stands “by them under the tree” (Gen 18:8), and it is there that God gives him the best news he could have hoped for: “your wife Sarah shall have a son” (Gen 18:10).

The dynamics of this encounter lead us to reflect on how God chooses the path of hospitality in order to enter into the lives of Sarah and Abraham and announce that they would have a child, which they had long desired but had given up hope of receiving. Having visited them before in many moments of grace, God returns to knock on their door, asking for hospitality and trust. The elderly couple respond positively, despite not yet understanding what will happen. They recognize God’s blessing and his presence in the mysterious visitors, and offer them what they have: food, company, service and the shade of a tree. In return, they receive the promise of new life and descendants.

While the circumstances are different, the Gospel also teaches us about God’s way of acting. Here too, Jesus appears as a guest at the house of Martha and Mary. This time, however, he is not a stranger: he comes to his friends’ house in the midst of a festive atmosphere. One of the sisters welcomes him by serving him, while the other sits at his feet, listening as a disciple would her teacher. As we know, Jesus responds to the first sister’s complaints that she would like some help with the tasks at hand by inviting her to recognize the value of listening (cf. Lk 10:41-42).

It would be incorrect, however, to see these two attitudes as mutually exclusive, or to compare the merits of the two women. Service and listening are, in fact, twin dimensions of hospitality.

Our relationship with God comes first. Although it is true that we must live out our faith through concrete actions, faithfully carrying out our duties according to our state of life and vocation, it is essential that we do so only after meditating on the Word of God and listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying to our hearts. To this end, we should set aside moments of silence, moments of prayer, times in which, quieting noise and distractions, we recollect ourselves before God in simplicity of heart. This is a dimension of the Christian life that we particularly need to recover today, both as a value for individuals and communities, and as a prophetic sign for our times. We must make room for silence, for listening to the Father who speaks and “sees in secret” (Mt 6:6). Summer can be a providential time to experience the beauty and importance of our relationship with God, and how much it can help us to be more open, more welcoming to others.

During the summer, we have more free time in which to gather our thoughts and reflect, and also to travel and spend time with each other. Let us make good use of this, by leaving behind the whirlwind of commitments and worries in order to savour a few moments of peace, of reflection, taking time as well to visit other places and share in the joy of seeing others — as I am doing here today. Let us make summer an opportunity to care for others, to get to know each other and to offer advice and a listening ear, for these are expressions of love, and that is something we all need. Let us do so with courage. In this way, through solidarity, in the sharing of faith and life, we will help to promote a culture of peace, helping those around us to overcome divisions and hostility and to build communion between individuals, peoples and religions.

Pope Francis said that “If we want to savour life with joy, we must associate these two approaches: on the one hand, ‘being at the feet’ of Jesus, in order to listen to him as he reveals to us the secret of everything; on the other, being attentive and ready in hospitality, when he passes and knocks at our door, with the face of a friend who needs a moment of rest and fraternity” (Angelus, 21 July 2019). These words were pronounced just a few months before the pandemic broke out; that long and difficult experience, which we still remember, taught us much about their truth.

Certainly all of this requires effort. Serving and listening do not always come easily; they require hard work and the ability to make sacrifices. For instance, it takes an effort in listening and serving in order to be faithful and loving mothers and fathers raising their family, just as it requires effort for children to respond to their parents’ hard work at home and at school. It also requires effort in order to understand each other when there are disagreements, to forgive when mistakes are made, to help when someone is sick, and to comfort one another in times of sadness. But it is precisely by making an effort that something worthwhile can be built in life; it is the only way to form and nurture strong and genuine relationships between people. Thus, with the foundations of everyday life, the Kingdom of God grows and manifests its presence (cf. Lk 7:18-22).

Saint Augustine, reflecting on the story of Martha and Mary in one of his homilies, said: “These two women symbolize two lives: the present and the future; a life lived in toil and a life of rest; one troubled and the other blessed; one temporary, the other eternal” (Serm. 104, 4). And considering Martha’s work, Augustine said: “Who is exempt from the duty of caring for others? Who can rest from these tasks? Let us try to carry them out with charity and in such a way that none will be able to find fault with us... The weariness will pass and rest will come, but rest will only come through the effort made. The ship will sail and reach its homeland; but the homeland will not be reached except by means of the ship” (ibid., 6-7).

Today, Abraham, Martha and Mary remind us that listening and service are two complementary attitudes that enable us to open ourselves and our lives to the blessings of the Lord. Their example invites us to reconcile contemplation and action, rest and hard work, silence and the bustle of our daily lives with wisdom and balance, always taking Jesus’ charity as our measure, his Word as our light, and his grace as our source of strength, which sustains us beyond our own capacity (cf. Phil 4:13).

Words spoken by Pope Leo XIV before the Blessing at the end of Holy Mass in Albano Cathedral in making a gift of a chasuble to H.E. Vincenzo Viva, Bishop of the Diocese.

We present this gift to Your Excellency as an expression of our closeness to your Diocesan Church, with the wish that the Lord’s Blessing may always accompany you. Thank you for your service and thanks to your people.

Angelus Message

Castel Gandolfo: Sunday, 20 July 2025

For an immediate halt to the

barbarism of the war

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today’s liturgy invites us to reflect on the hospitality shown by Abraham and his wife Sarah, and later by the sisters Martha and Mary, who were friends of Jesus (cf. Gen 18:1-10; Lk 10:38-42). Every time we are invited to the Lord’s Supper and share in the Eucharistic meal, it is God himself who “comes to serve us” (cf. Lk 12:37). Yet God first knew what it was to be a guest, and today as well, he stands at our door and knocks (cf. Rev 3:20). In Italian, the same word can mean both “guest” and “host.” On this summer Sunday, let us reflect on this interplay of giving and receiving hospitality, for without it our lives are impoverished.

Humility is needed to offer hospitality, but also to receive it. It also takes courtesy, attentiveness and openness. In the Gospel, Martha risks missing out on some of the joy of this exchange. She is so caught up in preparing to welcome Jesus that she nearly spoils a unique moment of encounter. Martha is a generous person, but our Lord calls her to something more than generosity alone. He calls her to leave her preparations behind and to come and spend time with him.

Dear brothers and sisters, our lives can only flourish if we learn to be open to something greater than ourselves, something that brings us happiness and fulfillment. Martha complains that her sister has left her alone to serve (cf. v. 40), but Mary is completely caught up in Jesus’ words. She is no less practical than her sister, nor less generous, but she recognized what was most important. That is why Jesus chides Martha. She was missing an opportunity to share in a moment that would have brought her great joy (cf. vv. 41-42).

The summer season can help us learn how to slow down and become more like Mary than Martha. Sometimes we too fail to choose the better part. We need to take time to rest and try to learn better the art of hospitality. The holiday industry wants to sell us all sorts of “experiences,” but perhaps not the ones we are really looking for. Every genuine encounter is free; it cannot be bought, whether it is an encounter with God, with others or with nature. We need only learn the art of hospitality, which includes both welcoming others and allowing ourselves to be welcomed. We have much to receive, not only to give. Abraham and Sarah, despite their advanced years, found themselves being parents after they welcomed the Lord himself in the three visitors. We too have so much life ahead of us, remaining to be welcomed and embraced.

Let us pray to Mary Most Holy, our Mother, who welcomed our Lord, bore him in her womb, and together with Joseph gave him a home. In her, we see the beauty of our own vocation, the vocation of the Church, to be a home open to all and in this way to welcome her Lord, who knocks at our door and asks our permission to enter.

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters,

This morning I celebrated the Eucharist in the Cathedral of Albano. It was a significant moment of ecclesial communion and encounter with the diocesan community. I thank His Excellency Bishop Viva who is present here and all those who worked to organise this beautiful celebration. I offer my best wishes to the entire diocesan community!

Tragic news continues to arrive in these days from the Middle East, especially from Gaza.

I express my profound sadness regarding last Thursday’s attack by the Israeli army on the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family in Gaza City, which as you know killed three Christians and gravely wounded others. I pray for the victims, Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud, and I am particularly close to their families and to all the parishioners. Sadly, this act adds to the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza.

I again call for an immediate halt to the barbarism of the war and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

I renew my appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and to respect the obligation to protect civilians, as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of the population.

To our beloved Middle Eastern Christians I say: I deeply sympathise with your feeling that you can do little in the face of this grave situation. You are in the heart of the Pope and of the whole Church. Thank you for your witness of faith. May the Virgin Mary, woman of the Levant, dawn of the new Sun that has risen in history, protect you always and accompany the world towards the dawn of peace.

I greet all of you, faithful of Castel Gandolfo and all of the pilgrims present here.

I greet the young participants of the pilgrimage organised by the Catholic Worldview Fellowship, who are visiting Rome after several weeks of prayer and formation.

I thank the International Forum of Catholic Action for promoting the “Prayer Marathon for Leaders”: the invitation, addressed to each one of us, is to pause today between 10 am to 10 pm to pray for just one minute, asking the Lord to enlighten our leaders and inspire in them projects for peace.

In these weeks, some families of the Focolare movement are in Loppiano for the “International School of New Families.” I pray that this experience of spirituality and fraternity will make you firm in the faith and joyful in the spiritual accompaniment of other families.

I greet the students, teachers and staff of the Catholic Institute of Technology, which has its headquarters here in Castel Gandolfo. I greet the Agesci Gela 3 Scout Group, engaged in the Jubilee pilgrimage that will end before the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis. I also greet the young people of Castello di Godego, who are engaged in a service experience with Caritas of Rome, and I greet the faithful of Palermo and those of Sarsina.

Also present are the members of the folkloristic group “O Stazzo,” as well as the musical band of Alba de Tormes.

In a few days I will return to the Vatican, after these two weeks that I have stayed here in Castel Gandolfo. I would like to thank all of you for your hospitality and wish all of you a happy Sunday!

Address to Participants in the
Course for Seminary Formators and to the Xaverian Missionaries

Friday, 25 July 2025

A journey of permanent

evangelical conversion

In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you!

Dear formators, dear Xaverian brothers,

I am pleased to meet you at the conclusion of two important events in which you have participated here in Rome: the Course for Seminary Formators, promoted for many years now by the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, and the General Chapter to which some of you were delegates.

These are certainly two different events, yet we can see a common thread that unites them because, in different ways, we are called to enter into the dynamism of mission and to face the challenges of evangelization. This call requires of us all, ordained ministers and lay faithful alike, a solid and integral formation, which is not limited to specialized knowledge, but must aim to transform our humanity and our spirituality so that they reflect the Gospel, and so that we have “the same mind” as Christ Jesus (cf. Phil 2:5).

To you who are responsible for the formation of formators, and to you Xaverian brothers who are particularly committed to the missio ad gentes, I would like to offer some thoughts for reflection. Recently, the Dicastery for the Clergy hosted an international gathering dedicated to priests on the theme, “Joyful Priests.” We can add that to be enthused by the joy of the Gospel is not just for priests, but for everyone, and so we can speak of happy Christians, happy disciples and happy missionaries.

If this hope is not to remain a mere slogan, formation is essential. Indeed, it is necessary that the “house” of our life and vocational journey, whether priestly or lay, be founded on “rock” (cf. Mt 7:24-25), that is, on solid foundations with which to face the human and spiritual storms from which even the lives of Christians, priests and missionaries are not exempt. How can we build our house on rock? In this regard, I would like to offer you three brief suggestions.

The first is to cultivate friendship with Jesus. This is the foundation of the house, which must lie at the heart of every vocation and apostolic mission. We need personally to experience the closeness of the Master; to know that we have been seen, loved and chosen by the Lord by pure grace and without merit on our part, because it is above all our own personal experience that we then exude in our ministry. Moreover, when we form others in the priestly life and, according to our specific vocation, proclaim the Gospel in mission lands, we first radiate our personal experience of friendship with Christ, which shines through in our way of living, in our attitude, in our humanity, and in how we are capable of living out healthy relationships.

Recalling the words of Evangelii Nuntiandi during a General Audience, Pope Francis said: “Evangelization is more than just simple doctrinal and moral transmission. It is, first and foremost, witness... witness of the personal encounter with Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word in which salvation is fulfilled... It is not transmitting an ideology or a “doctrine” on God, no. It is transmitting God who is living in me” (General Audience, 22 March 2023).

This entails a continuous journey of conversion. Formators, and those responsible for them, must not forget that they themselves are on a journey of permanent evangelical conversion. At the same time, missionaries must not forget that they are always the first recipients of the Gospel, the first to be evangelized. This means that we are constantly to work on ourselves. A concerted effort is needed to look into our hearts in order to see the shadows and wounds that mark us, and then to have the courage to abandon our masks and cultivate an intimate friendship with Christ. In this way, we will allow ourselves to be transformed by the life of the Gospel and become authentic missionary disciples.

The second suggestion is to live an effective and affective fraternity among ourselves. When Pope Francis spoke about priestly life and the crises to be prevented, he liked to emphasize four kinds of closeness: closeness to God, to the bishop, to fellow priests, and to the people (cf. Address to Participants in the Symposium “Towards a Fundamental Theology of the Priesthood,” 17 February 2022). In this sense, it is necessary to learn to live as brothers within the presbyterate, as well as in religious communities and with our bishops and superiors. We must work hard on ourselves in order to overcome individualism and the desire to overtake others, which makes us competitors, so that we learn gradually to build human and spiritual relationships that are both healthy and fraternal. In principle, I think everyone agrees on this, but in reality there is still a long way to go.

The third and final aspect is to share the mission with all the baptized. During the first centuries of the Church, it was usual for all the faithful to be like missionary disciples and to commit themselves personally to evangelization. The ordained ministry was at the service of this mission shared by all. Today, we feel strongly that we must return to this participation of all the baptized in witnessing to and proclaiming the Gospel. Brothers of the Society of Saint Xavier, in the lands where you carry out your mission, you will certainly have seen firsthand how important it is to work together with the sisters and brothers of those Christian communities. At the same time, I would like to say to the formators that priests must also be trained in this, not to think of themselves as lone leaders, nor to live out the ordained priesthood with a sense of superiority. We need priests who are able to discern and appreciate in lay people the grace of Baptism and the charisms that flow from it, perhaps even helping them to open up to these gifts and then to find the courage and enthusiasm to commit themselves to help the life of the Church and society. In concrete terms, this means that the preparation of future priests must be increasingly immersed in the reality of the People of God and carried out with the contribution of its members: priests, laity, and consecrated men and women.

Dear friends, I thank you for this opportunity to be together, but above all, I thank you for your service, for your care in carrying out priestly formation, and for your missionary work in evangelizing lands that are often wounded and in need of the hope of the Gospel. I encourage you to continue on your journeys.

May the Virgin Mary accompany you and intercede for you!

Thank you!

Message for the
111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees (4-5 October 2025)

Released Friday, 25 July 2025

Migrants, missionaries of hope

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which my predecessor chose to coincide with the Jubilees of Migrants and of the Missions, offers us an opportunity to reflect on the connections between hope, migration and mission.

The current global context is sadly marked by wars, violence, injustice and extreme weather events, which force millions of people to leave their homelands in search of refuge elsewhere. The widespread tendency to look after the interests of limited communities poses a serious threat to the sharing of responsibility, multilateral cooperation, the pursuit of the common good and global solidarity for the benefit of our entire human family. The prospect of a renewed arms race and the development of new armaments, including nuclear weapons, the lack of consideration for the harmful effects of the ongoing climate crisis, and the impact of profound economic inequalities make the challenges of the present and the future increasingly demanding.

Faced with frightening scenarios and the possibility of global devastation, it is important that there be a growing desire in people’s hearts for a future of peace and of respect for the dignity of all. Such a future is essential to God’s plan for humanity and the rest of creation. This is the messianic future anticipated by the prophets: “Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets... For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew” (Zech 8:4-5, 12). This future has already begun, since it was inaugurated by Jesus Christ (cf. Mk 1:15; Lk 17:21), and we believe and hope in its full realization, for the Lord is always faithful to his promises.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man and woman; it takes up the hopes that inspire human activities” (N. 1818). What is more, the search for happiness, and the prospect of finding it beyond one’s place of origin, is certainly one of the main motivations for the movement of people today.

This link between migration and hope is clearly evident in many contemporary experiences of migration. Many migrants, refugees and displaced persons are privileged witnesses of hope. Indeed, they demonstrate this daily through their resilience and trust in God, as they face adversity while seeking a future in which they glimpse that integral human development and happiness are possible. Moreover, we can see the itinerant experience of the people of Israel repeated in their own lives: “O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel. Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy” (Ps 68:7-10).

In a world darkened by war and injustice, even when all seems lost, migrants and refugees stand as messengers of hope. Their courage and tenacity bear heroic testimony to a faith that sees beyond what our eyes can see and gives them the strength to defy death on the various contemporary migration routes. Here too we can find a clear analogy with the experience of the people of Israel wandering in the desert, who faced every danger while trusting in the Lord’s protection: “he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday” (Ps 91:3-6).

Migrants and refugees remind the Church of her pilgrim dimension, perpetually journeying towards her final homeland, sustained by a hope that is a theological virtue. Each time the Church gives in to the temptation of “sedentarization” and ceases to be a civitas peregrine, God’s people journeying towards the heavenly homeland (cf. Augustine, De Civitate Dei, Books XIV-XVI), she ceases to be “in the world” and becomes “of the world” (cf. Jn 15:19). This temptation was already present in the early Christian communities, so much so that the Apostle Paul had to remind the Church of Philippi that “our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself” (Phil 3:20-21).

In a special way, Catholic migrants and refugees can become missionaries of hope in the countries that welcome them, forging new paths of faith where the message of Jesus Christ has not yet arrived or initiating interreligious dialogue based on everyday life and the search for common values. With their spiritual enthusiasm and vitality, they can help revitalize ecclesial communities that have become rigid and weighed down, where spiritual desertification is advancing at an alarming rate. Their presence, then, should be recognized and appreciated as a true divine blessing, an opportunity to open oneself to the grace of God, who gives new energy and hope to his Church: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb 13:2).

The first element of evangelization, as Saint Paul vi emphasized, is that of witness: “All Christians are called to this witness, and in this way they can be real evangelizers. We are thinking especially of the responsibility incumbent on migrants in the country that receives them” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 21). This is a true missio migrantium, a mission carried out by migrants, for which adequate preparation and ongoing support must be ensured through effective inter-ecclesial cooperation.

At the same time, the communities that welcome them can also be a living witness to hope, one that is understood as the promise of a present and a future where the dignity of all as children of God is recognized. In this way, migrants and refugees are recognized as brothers and sisters, part of a family in which they can express their talents and participate fully in community life.

On this Jubilee, when the Church prays for all migrants and refugees, I wish to entrust all those who are on the journey, as well as those who are working to accompany them, to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary, comfort of migrants, so that she may keep hope alive in their hearts and sustain them in their commitment to building a world that increasingly resembles the Kingdom of God, the true homeland that awaits us at the end of our journey.

From the Vatican, 25 July 2025
Feast of Saint James, Apostle

Leo PP. XIV

Video Message to Catechists of Vietnam on the 400th Anniversary of the Birth of Blessed Andrew Phú Yên

Friday, 25 July 2025

You are never alone

My dear friends,

It is with immense joy that I greet you today, catechists of Vietnam, gathered with His Excellency Archbishop Joseph Nguyễn Năng, the Metropolitan of Saigon and President of the Bishops’ Conference. I thank each of you who have logged in from every province of Vietnam — and beyond — just days before the Jubilee of Youth in Rome. I am especially grateful that we are united in prayer in the presence of the holy relic of Blessed Andrew Phú Yên. On this solemn occasion, the 400th anniversary of his birth, we celebrate a great son of Vietnam — a catechist and martyr whose witness still inspires us. May the Lord bless this moment of encounter and grace.

On such an occasion it is important to reflect on Andrew Phú Yên’s life. Born in 1625, he became an invaluable assistant to the Jesuit missionaries who brought the Gospel to Vietnam after his baptism. Pope Francis reminded us in Christus Vivit that Andrew “was imprisoned for his faith, and since he refused to renounce it, he was killed. Andrew died uttering the name of Jesus” (Francis, Christus Vivit, 3 March 2019, 54). In giving his life at only 19 years of age, Andrew answered Christ’s call to return “love for love” to our Lord (John Paul II, Homily at the Beatification of 44 Servants of God, 5 March 2000, 6). His heroic witness earned him the title of Protomartyr of Vietnam, and he was beatified by Saint John Paul II in 2000. Today, we ask the Patron of Catechists to intercede for us, so that like him we may, with unshaken faith, invoke the name of Jesus, even when we find ourselves in difficulty.

In Vietnam, the Church is brimming with dedicated catechists — lay men and women, most of you young — who teach the faith to children and adolescents every week. Indeed, there are over 64,000 catechists in and outside your country. This vast group of faith-educators is a fundamental part of parish life. I am thankful for your generosity, each and every one of you. Never underestimate the gift you are: by your teaching and example, you draw children and youth into friendship with Jesus. You are sent by the Church to be living signs of God’s love: humble servants like Blessed Andrew, full of missionary zeal. The Church rejoices in you and encourages you to walk with joy in this noble mission.

It is said that while in prison, Andrew encouraged his fellow Christians to remain steadfast in their faith and asked them to pray that he might remain faithful to the end. Indeed, that profound moment reminds us that the Christian life, especially catechetical service, is never a solitary endeavour: we teach, and our community prays; we witness, and the Body of Christ sustains us in trial. This unity of prayer and service underscores the Church’s unity and the peace Christ gives us.

Furthermore, your ministry is deeply rooted in a strong family and cultural heritage. Pope Francis once spoke to you about the word “home” and all that it means (cf. Francis, Video Message of the Holy Father to young Vietnamese, 20 November 2019). Keep alive your love for your family and your native land. These treasures of culture and faith were passed on to you — especially the heroic faith of your parents and grandparents, who, like Blessed Andrew, bore witness in suffering and taught you to trust in God. Your roots and traditions are gifts from God; may they fill you with confidence and joy as you share the faith with others.

In a few days, the Church will celebrate the Jubilee of Youth in Rome as part of this year’s Jubilee of Hope. “In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come” (Spes Non Confundit, 9 May 2024, 1.). Let this hope encourage you in your service. I invite you to be united in spirit with the young pilgrims in Rome and with all your brothers and sisters in Vietnam. Share with them the joyful confidence that “Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive!” (Francis, Christus Vivit, 3 March 2019, 1.).

My dear catechists, you are beloved by God and treasured by his Church. May Blessed Andrew Phú Yên guide you by his example. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and “Mother of Hope” (Spes Non Confundit, 9 May 2024, 24.) accompany you. And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit come down on all of you and remain with you for ever. Amen.

Message to the Participants in
the National Assembly of
Pax Christi USA

Read aloud: Friday, 25 July 2025

Creators of peace and

reconciliation

I extend cordial greetings and good wishes to those participating in the semi-annual National Assembly of Pax Christi USA, taking place in Detroit, Michigan this July.

In the midst of the many challenges facing our world at this time, including widespread armed conflict, division among peoples, and the challenges of forced migration, efforts to promote nonviolence are all the more necessary. We do well to remember that after the violence of the Crucifixion, the risen Christ’s first words to the Apostles offered peace, one “that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering” (First Blessing “Urbi et Orbi”, 8 May 2025).

Jesus continues to send his followers into the world to become creators of peace in their daily lives. In parishes, neighborhoods, and especially on the peripheries, it is all the more important for a Church capable of reconciliation to be present and visible (cf. Address to the Italian Episcopal Conference, 17 June 2025).

I pray in a particular way that your gathering will inspire all in Pax Christi USA to work to make their local communities into “‘houses of peace’ where one learns how to defuse hostility through dialogue, where justice is practiced and forgiveness is cherished” (ibid.). In this way, you will enable many more people to embrace Saint Paul’s invitation to live at peace with their brothers and sisters (cf. Rom 12:18).

With these sentiments, I entrust the Assembly to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, and I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of abundant heavenly graces.

From the Vatican, 20 July 2025

Leo PP. XIV

Angelus Message

Sunday, 27 July 2025

Securing a future of peace

for all peoples

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today’s Gospel presents Jesus teaching his disciples the Our Father (cf. Lk 11:1-13). This is the prayer that unites all Christians, in which the Lord invites us to address God as “Abba,” “Father,” with childlike “simplicity, filial trust… boldness, the certainty of being loved” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2778).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church expresses this very well: “Thus the Lord’s Prayer reveals us to ourselves at the same time that it reveals the Father to us” (ibid., 2783). Indeed, how true this is, for the more we pray with confidence to our heavenly Father, the more we discover that we are beloved children and the more we come to know the greatness of his love (cf. Rom 8:14-17).

Today’s Gospel goes on to describe the characteristics of God’s fatherhood through vivid images: that of a man who gets up in the middle of the night to assist a friend in welcoming an unexpected visitor; and that of a parent who is concerned about giving good things to his children.

These images remind us that God never turns his back on us when we come to him, even if we arrive late to knock at his door, perhaps after mistakes, missed opportunities, failures, or even if, in order to welcome us, he has to “wake up” his children who are sleeping at home (cf. Lk 11:7). Indeed, in the great family of the Church, the Father does not hesitate to make us all participants in each of his loving gestures. The Lord always listens to us when we pray to him. If he sometimes responds in ways or at times that are difficult to understand, it is because he acts with wisdom and providence, which are beyond our understanding. Even in these moments, then, let us not cease to pray — and pray with confidence — for in him we will always find light and strength.

When we recite the Our Father, in addition to celebrating the grace of being children of God, we also express our commitment to responding to this gift by loving one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Reflecting on this, one of the Fathers of the Church wrote: “We must remember... and know that when we call God ‘our Father’ we ought to behave as children of God” (Saint Cyprian of Carthage, De Dom. orat., 11), and another adds: “You cannot call the God of all kindness your Father if you preserve a cruel and inhuman heart; for in this case you no longer have in you the mark of the heavenly Father’s kindness” (Saint John Chrysostom, De orat. Dom., 3). We cannot pray to God as “Father” and then be harsh and insensitive towards others. Instead, it is important to let ourselves be transformed by his goodness, his patience, his mercy, so that his face may be reflected in ours as in a mirror.

Dear brothers and sisters, today’s liturgy invites us, through prayer and charity, to feel loved and to love as God loves us: with openness, discretion, mutual concern, and without deceit. Let us ask Mary to help us respond to this call, so that we may manifest the sweetness of the Father’s face.

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today we celebrate the Fifth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, centred on the theme: “Blessed are those who have not lost hope.” Let us look to grandparents and the elderly as witnesses of hope, capable of showing the path for new generations. Let us not leave them alone, but instead, form a bond of love and prayer with them.

My heart is close to all those who are suffering due to conflict and violence throughout the world. In particular, I pray for those affected by the clashes along the border between Thailand and Cambodia, especially displaced children and families. May the Prince of Peace inspire everyone to seek dialogue and reconciliation.

I also pray for the victims of violence in southern Syria.

I am following with great concern the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the civilian population is suffering from severe hunger and remains exposed to violence and death. I renew my heartfelt appeal for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the full respect of humanitarian law.

Every human person possesses an inherent dignity, bestowed by God himself. I urge all parties involved in conflicts to recognize this dignity and to end every action that violates it. I call for negotiations aimed at securing a future of peace for all peoples, and for the rejection of anything that might jeopardize it.

I entrust to Mary, Queen of Peace, the innocent victims of conflicts and those leaders who have the power to resolve them.

I greet those from Vatican Radio/Vatican News, which, to be closer to the faithful and pilgrims during the Jubilee Year, has inaugurated a small station under Bernini’s colonnade together with L’Osservatore Romano. Thank you for your service in many languages, which brings the Pope’s voice to the world. And thank you to all journalists who contribute to the communication of peace and truth.

I greet all of you who have come from Italy and from many parts of the world, in particular the grandparents from San Cataldo, the young Capuchin friars of Europe, the Confirmation candidates from the parish cluster of Grantorto-Carturo, the youth from Montecarlo di Lucca, and the Scouts of Licata.

I greet with particular affection the young people from various countries who have gathered in Rome for the Jubilee of Youth. I hope that this will be an opportunity for each of you to encounter Christ, and to be strengthened by him in your faith and in your commitment to following Christ with integrity of life.

[In English:] I greet the faithful from Kearny (New Jersey), the Catholic Music Award group and the EWTN Summer Academy. I also greet with particular affection the young people from various countries who have gathered in Rome for the Jubilee of Youth, which begins tomorrow. I hope that this will be an opportunity for each of you to encounter Christ, and to be strengthened by him in your faith and in your commitment to following Christ with integrity of life.

[In Spanish:] I greet with particular affection the young people from various countries who have gathered in Rome for the Jubilee of Youth. I hope that this will be an opportunity for each of you to encounter Christ, and to be strengthened by him in your faith and in your commitment to following Christ with integrity of life.

This evening, the “Madonna Fiumarola” procession will take place on the Tiber River. May all who take part in this beautiful Marian tradition learn from the Mother of Jesus how to live the Gospel in their daily lives! I wish you all a blessed Sunday!

Address to Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers

Tuesday, 29 July 2025

Called to nourish Christian hope

in social networks

In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, peace be with you!

Dear brothers and sisters, we have begun with this greeting: peace be with you!

How much we need peace in these times marked by hostility and war, which in turn calls us to give witness to the greeting of the Risen Lord: “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:19). May his peace be with all of us, in our hearts and in our actions.

This is the mission of the Church: to proclaim peace to the world! The peace that comes from the Lord, who conquered death, brings us God’s forgiveness, gives us the life of the Father, and shows us the way of Love!

1. This is the mission that the Church entrusts to each of you who have come to Rome for your Jubilee. You are here to renew your commitment to nourish Christian hope in social networks and online spaces. Peace needs to be sought, proclaimed, and shared everywhere, both in the places where we see the tragedy of war and in the empty hearts of those who have lost the meaning of life and the desire for introspection and the spiritual life. Perhaps, today more than ever, we need missionary disciples who convey the gift of the Risen Lord to the world; who voice to the ends of the earth the hope that Jesus gives us (cf. Acts 1:3-8); and who go wherever there is a heart that waits, seeks, and is in need. Yes, to the ends of the earth, to the farthest reaches, where there is no hope.

2. There is a second challenge in this mission: always look for the “suffering flesh of Christ” in every brother and sister you encounter online. Today we find ourselves in a new culture, deeply characterized and formed by technology. It is up to us — it is up to each one of you — to ensure that this culture remains human.

Science and technology influence the way we live in the world, even affecting how we understand ourselves and how we relate to God, how we relate to one another. But nothing that comes from man and his creativity should be used to undermine the dignity of others. Our mission — your mission — is to nurture a culture of Christian humanism, and to do so together. This is the beauty of the “network” for all of us.

Faced with cultural changes throughout history, the Church has never remained passive; she has always sought to illuminate every age with the light and hope of Christ by discerning good from evil and what was good from what needed to be changed, transformed, and purified.

Today we are in a culture where the technological dimension is present in almost everything, especially as the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence will mark a new era in the lives of individuals and society as a whole. This is a challenge that we must face: reflecting on the authenticity of our witness, on our ability to listen and speak, and on our capacity to understand and to be understood. We have a duty to work together to develop a way of thinking, to develop a language, of our time, that gives voice to Love.

It is not simply a matter of generating content, but of creating an encounter of hearts. This will entail seeking out those who suffer, those who need to know the Lord, so that they may heal their wounds, get back on their feet and find meaning in their lives. Above all, this process begins with accepting our own poverty, letting go of all pretense and recognizing our own inherent need for the Gospel. And this process is a communal endeavor.

3. This brings us to the third invitation in this mission, which I extend to all of you: “go and mend the nets.” Jesus called his first apostles while they were mending their fishing nets (cf. Mt 4:21-22). He asks the same of us today. Indeed, he asks us to weave other nets: networks of relationships, of love, of gratuitous sharing where friendship is profound and authentic; networks where we can mend what has been broken, heal from loneliness, not focus on the number of followers, but experience the greatness of infinite Love in every encounter; networks that give space to others more than to ourselves, where no “bubble” can silence the voices of the weakest; networks that liberate and save; networks that help us rediscover the beauty of looking into each other’s eyes; networks of truth. In this way, every story of shared goodness will be a knot in a single, immense network: the network of networks, the network of God.

Be agents of communion, capable of breaking down the logic of division and polarization, of individualism and egocentrism. Centre yourselves on Christ, so as to overcome the logic of the world, of fake news, of frivolity, with the beauty and light of Truth (cf. Jn 8:31-32).

Before concluding with a blessing and commending your witness to the Lord, I would like to thank you for all the good you have done and continue to do in your lives: for pursuing your dreams, for your love for the Lord Jesus and your love for the Church, for the help you give to those who suffer, and for your journey along the virtual highways.

Greeting to young people

Tuesday, 29 July 2025

Signs of hope in the world

Greeting pronounced by Pope Leo XIV after his tour in the “popemobile”, following Holy Mass presided over by Archbishop Rino Fisichella.

Buonasera! Buenas tardes! Good evening!

[In English] Jesus tells us: “You are the salt of the earth […]. You are the light of the world.” (Mt. 5:13-14).

“Ustedes son la sal de la tierra […] la luz del mundo” (Mt 5,13-14). [In Spanish] And today your voices, your enthusiasm, your cries — which are all for Jesus Christ — will be heard to the ends of the earth.

Today marks the beginning of a new journey, a jubilee of hope, and the world needs messages of hope. You are that message, and you must continue to give hope to everyone.

[In Italian] We hope that all of you will always be signs of hope in the world! Today is the beginning. In the coming days, you will have the opportunity to be a force that can bring God’s grace, a message of hope, and a light to the city of Rome, to Italy, and to the whole world. Let us walk together with our faith in Jesus Christ.

We must also cry out for peace in the world. Let us all say, “We want peace in the world!”

[From the Square: “We want peace in the world!”]

Let us pray for peace.

[In Spanish] Let us pray for peace and be witnesses of the peace and reconciliation of Jesus Christ, the light that we are all seeking for today’s world.

[The Holy Father imparts his Blessing.]

See you soon. See you in Tor Vergata! Have a good week!

General Audience

Wednesday, 30 July 2025

The healing of a deaf man with a

speech impediment

Dear brothers and sisters,

With this catechesis, we conclude our journey through the public life of Jesus, marked by encounters, parables, and healings.

This time in which we live also needs healing. Our world is marked by a climate of violence and hatred that demeans human dignity. We live in a society that is becoming ill due to a kind of “bulimia” of social media connections: we are hyperconnected, bombarded by images, sometimes false or distorted. We are overwhelmed by countless messages that stir within us a storm of contradictory emotions.

In this scenario, it is possible that a desire to turn everything off may arise within us. We may come to prefer not to feel anything any more. Even our words risk being misunderstood, and we may be tempted to close ourselves in silence, into a lack of communication where, despite our closeness, we are no longer able to say to one another the most simple and profound things.

In this regard, today I would like to reflect on a passage from the Gospel of Mark that presents us with a man who cannot speak or hear (cf. Mk 7:31-37). Just as it can sometimes happen to us, perhaps this man chose not to speak any more because he did not feel understood; he chose to shut off every voice because he had been disappointed and wounded by what he had heard. In fact, it is not he who goes to Jesus to be healed, but others bring him. One may think that the people who take him to the Master are concerned about his isolation. The Christian community, however, has also seen in these people an image of the Church, which accompanies each person to Jesus so that they may listen to his word. The episode takes place in pagan territory, so we are in a context where other voices tend to drown out God’s voice.

Jesus’ behaviour may initially seem strange, because he takes this person aside (v. 33a). In this way, he seems to emphasize his isolation, but on closer look, it helps us to understand what lies behind the silence and closure of this man, as if Jesus had perceived his need for intimacy and closeness.

Firstly, Jesus offers him silent closeness, through gestures that speak of a profound encounter: he touches this man’s ears and tongue (cf. v. 33b). Jesus does not use many words; he says only what is necessary in that moment: “Be opened!” (v. 34). Mark uses the word in Aramaic — Eph’phatha — as though to let us hear, almost “in person”, its sound and breath. This simple and beautiful word contains the invitation that Jesus addresses to this man who had stopped listening and speaking. It is as if Jesus were saying to him: “Be opened to this world that frightens you! Be opened to the relationships that have disappointed you! Be opened to the life you have given up facing!”. Closing in on oneself, in fact, is never a solution.

After the encounter with Jesus, that person not only begins to speak again, but he does so “plainly” (v. 35). This adverb, inserted by the Evangelist, seems to suggest something deeper about the reasons for his silence. Perhaps this man had stopped speaking because he felt he was saying things the wrong way, perhaps he felt inadequate. All of us experience what it means to be misunderstood, to feel that we are not truly heard. All of us need to ask the Lord to heal our way of communicating, not only so that we may be more effective, but also so that we may avoid wounding others with our words.

To begin speaking correctly again is the start of a journey, it is not yet the destination. In fact, Jesus forbids that man from talking about what has happened to him (cf. v. 36). To truly know Jesus, one must complete a journey; one must remain with him and also pass through his Passion. When we have seen him humiliated and suffering, when we have experienced the saving power of his Cross, then we can say that we have truly come to know him. There are no shortcuts to becoming disciples of Jesus.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us ask the Lord that we may learn to communicate with honesty and prudence. Let us pray for all those who have been wounded by the words of others. Let us pray for the Church, that she may never fail in her mission to lead people to Jesus, so that they may hear his Word, be healed by it, and in turn become bearers of his message of salvation.

Appeal

I renew my deep sorrow for the brutal terrorist attack that occurred during the night between 26 and 27 July in Komanda, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where over 40 Christians were killed in a church during a prayer vigil, and in their own homes. As I entrust the victims to God’s loving Mercy, I pray for the injured and for Christians around the world who continue to suffer violence and persecution, urging all those with local and international responsibility, to collaborate in order to prevent such tragedies.

On 1 August, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act will be commemorated. Motivated by the desire to ensure security during the Cold War, 35 countries launched a new geopolitical chapter, fostering a rapprochement between East and West. This event also marked renewed interest in human rights, with special emphasis on religious freedom — regarded as one of the cornerstones of the then emerging architecture of cooperation “from Vancouver to Vladivostok”. The Holy See’s active participation in the Helsinki Conference — represented by Archbishop Agostino Casaroli — helped to promote political and moral commitment to peace. Today, more than ever, it is essential to safeguard the spirit of Helsinki: to persevere in dialogue, strengthen cooperation, and make diplomacy the preferred path to prevent and resolve conflicts.

To Young People from Egypt Mourning the Death of Fellow Jubilee Pilgrim Pascale Rafic

Saturday, 2 August 2025

Moving forward with Christ

Dear Brothers and sisters, peace be with you,

Early this morning I received the sad news of a companion of yours traveling with you on pilgrimage, your fellow pilgrim, your sister who passed away unexpectedly last night I believe. And of course, the sadness that death brings to all of us is something that is very human and very understandable, especially being so far away from home and on an occasion like this when we really come together to celebrate our faith with joy. And then all of a sudden, we are reminded in a very powerful way, that our life is not superficial nor do we have control over our own lives nor do we know as Jesus himself says, neither the day nor the hour when for some reason our earthy life ends. But as we also learn in the Gospel, what Martha and Mary discovered when their brother Lazarus had died, and when Jesus was not with them at first but then came several days after his death, and their understanding was that Jesus is life and resurrection.

And so in a certain way, as we celebrate this Jubilee year of hope, we are reminded in a very powerful way how much our faith in Jesus Christ needs to be part of who we are, of how we live, of how we appreciate and respect one another, and especially of how we continue to move forward in spite of such painful experiences.

Saint Augustine tells us that when someone dies of course it is very human and very natural to cry, to feel that pain, to feel the loss of someone who is dear to us, and yet he also says, do not mourn as pagans do, because we too have seen Jesus Christ die on the cross and rise from the dead. And it is our hope in the resurrection, that is the ultimate source of our hope, and we speak about a Jubilee Year of Hope, our hope is in Jesus Christ who is risen. And he calls all of us to renew our faith, calls all of us to be friends, brothers and sisters to one another, to support one another, and he says you too must be witnesses to that Gospel message. And for all of you it has touched your lives in a very personal and direct way today. So, we thought at least, in the midst of this pain, that you all experience for the loss of your friend, that at least to have this opportunity to come together to pray, to renew our faith, and to ask God both for the eternal rest of our sister but also for strengthening and consolation, strengthening of our faith and to be renewed in hope and as Church, as brothers and sisters, we therefore have gathered together for that reason.

So we ask the Lord to be with us, to be with all of you, as you live these days of the pilgrimage of the Jubilee Year of Hope and that you will all also be protected with God’s love and God’s grace.

The Lord be with you. May the blessing of almighty God come upon you all in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. May God be with you and give peace to your hearts.

Dialogue between
Pope Leo XIV and Young People during the Jubilee Vigil

Saturday, 2 August 2025

Friendship can truly change

the world

Question 1 — Friendship

[In Spanish] Holy Father, my name is Dulce María, I am 23 years old and I am from Mexico. I come to you as a spokesperson for a reality that young people experience in so many parts of the world. Holy Father, we are children of our time. We live in a culture that shapes us without our realizing it; it is a culture marked by technology, especially by social media. We often get excited about having lots of friends and creating close relationships, but at the same time we increasingly experience different forms of loneliness. We are close and connected to so many people, yet they are not true and lasting relationships, but rather fleeting and often illusory. Holy Father, my question is: how can we find true friendship and genuine love that will lead us to true hope? How can faith help us build our future?

Dear young people, human relationships, our relationships with others are essential for each of us, starting with the fact that all men and women in the world are born as someone’s children. Our life begins with a bond, and it is through relationships that we grow. In this process, culture plays a fundamental role: it is like the lens through which we understand ourselves and interpret the world. Just like a dictionary, every culture contains both words that are noble and words that are vulgar, values and also errors that we must learn to recognize. By passionately searching for the truth, we do not merely receive a culture, but also transform it through the choices we make. Truth, in fact, is a bond that connects words to things and names to faces. Lies, on the other hand, divide these elements and lead to confusion and misunderstanding.

Now, among the many cultural connections that characterize our lives, internet and social media have become “an extraordinary opportunity for dialogue, encounter and exchange between persons, as well as access to information and knowledge” (Francis, Christus Vivit, 87). However, these tools are misleading when they are controlled by commercialism and interests that fragment our relationships. In this regard, Pope Francis recalled that sometimes “the whole apparatus of communications, advertising and social networking can be used to lull us, to make us addicted to consumerism” (Christus Vivit, 105). It is then that our relationships become confused, restless or unstable. Furthermore, as you know, today there are algorithms that tell us what we should watch, what we should think, and who our friends should be. And so our relationships become confusing, sometimes anxious. When a tool controls someone, that person becomes a tool: a commodity on the market and, in turn, a piece of merchandise. Only genuine relationships and stable connections can build good lives.

Dear young people, every person naturally desires a good life, just as lungs long for air, but how difficult it is to find it! How difficult it is to find true friendship! Centuries ago, Saint Augustine understood the deepest desire of our hearts, the desire of every human heart, even without the technological developments of today. He too had a restless youth, but he did not settle for less, he did not silence the cry of his heart. Augustine sought the truth, the truth that does not disappoint and the beauty that does not fade. And how did he find it? How did he find true friendship and a love capable of giving hope? By finding the one who was already looking for him, by finding Jesus Christ. How did he build his future? By following the one who had always been his friend. In his own words, friendship is nowhere faithful but in Christ. Saint Augustine tells us there is no friendship that is authentic if that is not in Christ. And the true friendship is always in Jesus Christ with truth, love and respect. Only in him can it be eternal and happy (cf. Against Two Letters of the Pelagians I, I, 1). The one who loves God in his friend, truly loves his friend (cf. Sermon 336), Saint Augustine tells us. Friendship with Christ, which forms the basis of faith, is not just one aid among many others for building the future; it is our guiding star. According to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, to live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth, is not living, but existing (cf. Letters, 27 February 1925). It is when our friendships reflect this intense bond with Jesus that they really become sincere, generous and true.

Dear young people, love one another! Love one another in Christ! Know how to see Jesus in others. Friendship can truly change the world. Friendship is a path to peace.

Question 2 — The Courage to Choose

[In Italian] Holy Father, my name is Gaia. I am Italian and am 19 years old. Tonight, all of us young people here would like to talk to you about our dreams, hopes and doubts. Holy Father, our years are marked by important decisions as we are faced with choices that will shape our future. However, due to the climate of uncertainty surrounding us, we are tempted to procrastinate, and we are paralyzed by the fear of an uncertain future. We know that choosing means giving something else up and this becomes an obstacle for us. Despite everything, we sense that hope points to achievable goals, even if they are marked by the precariousness of the present moment. Holy Father, we ask you: where do we find the courage to choose? How can we be courageous and live the adventure of freedom, making radical and meaningful choices?

Thank you for this question. The question is, where can we find the courage to choose and to make wise decisions? To choose is a fundamental human act. Looking at it closely, we realize that it is not just a matter of choosing something, but of choosing someone. When we make a choice, in the strict sense, we decide who we want to become. The most important choice is the decision about the direction of our life: What kind of man do you want to be? What kind of woman do you want to be? Dear young people, we learn to choose through the trials of life, but above all by remembering that we have been chosen. This reality must be explored and fostered. We received life as a gift, without choosing it! Our existence did not originate from our decision, but from a love that wanted us. Throughout our lives, those who help us recognize and renew this grace through our choices prove themselves to be our true friends.

Dear young people, you said it well: “choosing means giving something else up and this becomes an obstacle for us.” To be free, we need to start from a stable foundation, from the rock that supports our steps. This rock is a love that precedes us, surprises us and is infinitely greater than us: the love of God. Therefore, before God, choice becomes a judgment that takes nothing away, but always leads to the greatest good.

The courage to choose comes from love, which God shows us in Christ. It is he who loved us with his whole self, saving the world and thus showing us that self-giving is the way to our fulfillment. For this reason, the encounter with Jesus corresponds to the deepest longings of our hearts, because Jesus is God’s love made man.

Twenty-five years ago, right here where we are now, Saint John Paul II spoke on this subject, saying: “It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle” (Prayer Vigil on the 15th World Youth Day, 19 August 2000). Fear then gives way to hope, because we are certain that God brings to completion what he begins.

We recognize his faithfulness in the words of those who truly love, because they have been truly loved. “You are my life, Lord”: this is what a priest and a consecrated sister say full of joy and in complete freedom, “You are my life, Lord.” “I take you to be my wife and I take you to be my husband”: this is the phrase that transforms the love of a man and a woman into an efficacious sign of God’s love in marriage. These are radical, meaningful choices: Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Consecrated Life. They express the free and liberating gift of self that makes us truly happy. That is where we find happiness, when we learn to give ourselves, to give our lives for others.

These choices give meaning to our lives, transforming them into the image of the perfect love that created them and redeemed them from all evil, even from death. I say this tonight, thinking of two young women, María, from Spain, who was 20 years old, and Pascale, from Egypt, who was 18 years old. Both chose to come to Rome for the Jubilee of Youth, and both have passed away in these days. Let us together pray for them; let us also pray for their families, friends and communities. May the Risen Jesus receive them into the peace and joy of his Kingdom. And I would also like to ask for your prayers for another friend, a young Spanish man, Ignacio Gonzalvez, who was admitted to the “Bambino Gesù” hospital. Let us pray for him and for his health.

Find the courage to make difficult choices and say to Jesus: “You are my life, Lord.” “Lord, You are my life.” Thank you.

Question 3 — The Call to do Good

[In English] Holy Father, my name is Will. I am 20 years old and I am from the United States. I would like to ask you a question on behalf of so many young people out there who yearn, in their hearts, for something deeper. We are drawn to the interior life even if at first glance we are judged as a superficial and thoughtless generation. Deep within ourselves, we feel drawn to the beautiful and the good as sources of truth. The value of silence, as in this Vigil, fascinates us, even if at times it instills fear because of a sense of emptiness. Holy Father, I would like to ask you: how can we truly encounter the Risen Lord in our lives and be sure of his presence even in the midst of trials and uncertainties?

To launch this Jubilee Year, Pope Francis released the document called Spes Non Confundit, which means “hope does not disappoint”. In that document, he wrote: “In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come” (Spes Non Confundit, 1). In the Bible, the word “heart” usually refers to a person’s innermost being, which includes our conscience. Our understanding of what is good, then, reflects how our conscience has been shaped by the people in our lives; those who were kind to us, those who listened to us with love, those who helped us. Those people helped to raise you in goodness and, therefore, to form your conscience to seek the good in your daily choices.

Dear young people, Jesus is the friend who always accompanies us in the formation of our conscience. If you truly want to encounter the Risen Lord, then listen to his word, which is the Gospel of salvation. Reflect on your way of living, and seek justice in order to build a more humane world. Serve the poor, and so bear witness to the good that we would always like to receive from our neighbours. Be united with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, the source of eternal life. Study, work and love according to the example of Jesus, the good Teacher who always walks beside us.

As we seek what is good, let us ask him at every step: stay with us, Lord (cf. Lk 24:29). Stay with us, because without you we cannot do the good we desire. You want our good; indeed Lord you are our good. Those who encounter you also want others to encounter you, because your word is a light brighter than any star, illuminating even the darkest night. Pope Benedict XVI liked to say that those who believe are never alone. In other words, we encounter Christ in the Church, that is, in the communion of those who sincerely seek him. The Lord himself gathers us together to form a community, not just any community, but a community of believers who support one another. How much the world needs missionaries of the Gospel who are witnesses of justice and peace! How much the future needs men and women who are witnesses of hope! Dear young people, this is the task that the Risen Lord entrusts to each one of us!

Saint Augustine wrote: “You stir us to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you… Lord, I would seek you… and calling upon you is an act of believing in you” (Confessions, I, 1). Following those words of Augustine, and in response to your questions, I would like to invite each of you, dear young people, to say to the Lord: “Thank you, Jesus, for calling me. My desire is to remain as one of your friends, so that, embracing you, I may also be a companion on the journey for anyone I meet. Grant, O Lord, that those who meet me may encounter you, even through my limitations and frailties.” Through praying these words, our dialogue will continue each time we look at the crucified Lord, for our hearts will be united in him. Each time we adore Christ in the Eucharist, our hearts will be united in him. Finally, my prayer for you is that you may persevere in faith, with joy and courage! And we can say, “Thank you Jesus for loving us.” Stay with us Lord.

Words spoken by the Holy Father at the end of the Vigil:

I would like to thank the choir and the musicians: thank you for accompanying us! Thank you all! Please get some rest. We will meet here tomorrow morning for Holy Mass. Best wishes to you all. Good night!

Greeting to Young People before Holy Mass — Jubilee of Youth

Tor Vergata: Sunday, 3 August 2025

Celebrating Christ’s presence

Good morning! Happy Sunday! I hope that all of you rested a little bit. We will shortly begin the greatest celebration that Christ left us, his very presence in the Eucharist. God bless you all. May this be a truly memorable occasion for each and every one of us when together, as Christ’s Church, we walk together and we live with Jesus Christ.

A blessed celebration to all!

The following is the Holy Father’s Homily for the Jubilee of Youth at Rome — Tor Vergata on Sunday, 3 August 2025.

Dear young people,

After last night’s Prayer Vigil, we gather again today to celebrate the Eucharist, the Sacrament of the Lord’s total gift of himself to us. We can imagine ourselves today retracing the journey made on Easter evening by the disciples on the road to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35): they set out from Jerusalem frightened and disappointed, convinced that, after Jesus’ death, there was nothing more to expect, nothing in which to place their hope. But they later found him along the way, welcomed him as a travelling companion, listened to him as he explained the Scriptures, and then recognized him in the breaking of the bread. Their eyes were opened, and the joyful news of Easter found a place in their hearts.

Today’s liturgy does not mention this episode directly, but it does invite us to reflect on what it recounts: the encounter with the risen Christ who transforms our lives and enlightens our affections, desires and thoughts.

The first reading, taken from the Book of Ecclesiastes, invites us, like the two disciples, to come to terms with the experience of our limitations and the fleeting nature of all things that pass away (cf. Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23). On a similar note, the Responsorial Psalm presents us with the image of “the grass that is renewed… in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers” (Ps 90:5-6). These are two strong reminders which may be a bit shocking, but which should not frighten us as if they were “taboo” issues to be avoided. The fragility they speak of is, in fact, part of the marvel of creation. Think of the image of grass: is not a field of flowers beautiful? Of course, it is delicate, made up of small, vulnerable stems, prone to drying out, to being bent and broken. Yet at the same time these flowers are immediately replaced by others that sprout up after them, generously nourished and fertilized by the first ones as they decay on the ground. This is how the field survives: through constant regeneration. Even during the cold months of winter, when everything seems silent, its energy stirs beneath the ground, preparing to blossom into a thousand colors when spring comes.

We too, dear friends, are made this way, we are made for this. We are not made for a life where everything is taken for granted and static, but for an existence that is constantly renewed through gift of self in love. This is why we continually aspire to something “more” that no created reality can give us; we feel a deep and burning thirst that no drink in this world can satisfy. Knowing this, let us not deceive our hearts by trying to satisfy them with cheap imitations! Let us rather listen to them! Let us turn this thirst into a step stool, like children who stand on tiptoe, in order to peer through the window of encounter with God. We will then find ourselves before him, who is waiting for us, knocking gently on the window of our soul (cf. Rev 3:20). It is truly beautiful, especially at a young age, to open wide your hearts, to allow him to enter, and to set out on this adventure with him towards eternity.

Saint Augustine, reflecting on his intense search for God, asked himself: “What, then, is the object of our hope [...]? Is it the earth? No. Is it something that comes from the earth, such as gold, silver, trees, crops, or water [...]? These things are pleasing, these things are beautiful, these things are good” (Sermo 313/F, 3). And the conclusion he reached was: “Seek the one who made them, he is your hope” (ibid.). Thinking of his own journey, he prayed, saying: “You [Lord] were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you […] You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you (cf. Ps 34:8; 1 Pt 2:3) now I hunger and thirst for more (cf. Mt 5:6; 1 Cor 4:11); you touched me, and I burned for your peace” (Confessions, 10, 27).

Sisters and brothers, these are beautiful words and they remind us of what Pope Francis said to young people like you in Lisbon during World Youth Day: “we find ourselves facing great questions that have no simple or immediate answers, but challenge us to continue the journey, to rise above ourselves and to press beyond the here and now. [...] We are called to something higher, and we will never be able to soar unless we first take flight. We should not be alarmed, then, if we sense an inner thirst, a restless, unfulfilled longing for meaning and a future [...] We should not be lethargic, but alive!” (Address to University Students, 3 August 2023).

There is a burning question in our hearts, a need for truth that we cannot ignore, which leads us to ask ourselves: what is true happiness? What is the true meaning of life? What can free us from being trapped in meaninglessness, boredom and mediocrity?

In recent days, you have had many beautiful experiences. You have met other young people from different parts of the world and from diverse cultures. You have exchanged knowledge, shared expectations and entered into dialogue with the city through art, music, technology and sport. At the Circus Maximus, you also approached the Sacrament of Penance and received God’s forgiveness, asking for his help to live a good life.

Through all this, you can grasp an important point: the fullness of our existence does not depend on what we store up or, as we heard in the Gospel, on what we possess (cf. Lk 12:13-21). Rather, fullness has to do with what we joyfully welcome and share (cf. Mt 10:8-10; Jn 6:1-13). Buying, hoarding and consuming are not enough. We need to lift our eyes, to look upwards, to the “things that are above” (Col 3:2), to realize that everything in the world has meaning only insofar as it serves to unite us to God and to our brothers and sisters in charity, helping us to grow in “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience” (Col 3:12), forgiveness (cf. ibid., v. 13) and peace (cf. Jn 14:27), all in imitation of Christ (cf. Phil 2:5). And in this way we will grow in an ever deeper understanding of what it means that hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (cf. Rom 5:5).

Dear young people, Jesus is our hope. It is he, as Saint John Paul II said, “who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives [...] to commit… to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.” (XV World Youth Day, Prayer Vigil, 19 August 2000). Let us remain united to him, let us remain in his friendship, always, cultivating it through prayer, adoration, Eucharistic Communion, frequent Confession, and generous charity, following the examples of Blessed Piergiorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis who will soon be declared saints. Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less. You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you.

I entrust you to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Hope. With her help, as you return to your countries in the coming days, in every part of the world, continue to walk joyfully in the footsteps of the Savior, and spread your enthusiasm and the witness of your faith to everyone you meet! Have a good trip home!

Words of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to Young People following Holy Mass — Jubilee of Youth at Tor Vergata Sunday, 3 August 2025:

Dear young people, I would like to offer a few final words.

Thank you again to all of you! Thank you for the music, thank you to everyone who worked to prepare so many things during this week for this Jubilee.

We have already said that the next gathering will be in Korea. A round of applause to the many Koreans in attendance!

I ask you also to bring greetings to the many young people who could not be here with us, in so many countries where it was impossible to leave. There are places from where young people could not come here, for reasons that we know.

Bring this joy, this enthusiasm to the whole world. You are salt of the earth and the light of the world! Take this greeting to all of your friends, to all of the young people who need a message of hope.

Again, thank you to all of you! And have a safe trip home!

Angelus Message
Jubilee of Youth

Saint Peter’s Square: Sunday, 3 August 2025

We are with the young people of

every land bloodied by war

Dear friends,

The Lord Jesus is present among us and within us: all things and all people in the Eucharist. United with him, we wish to offer up a huge “thank you” to the Father for the gift of these days of your Jubilee. It has been an outpouring of grace for the Church and for the whole world! This has been possible through the participation of each one of you. For this, I wish to thank each of you, with all my heart. In particular I am thinking of the two young pilgrims, Maria and Pascale, one Spanish and the other Egyptian, who have passed away in these days. I entrust them to the Lord. I thank the bishops, priests, religious men and women, and educators who accompanied you and all those who prayed for this event and participated spiritually.

In communion with Christ, our peace and hope for the world, we are closer than ever to young people who suffer the most serious evils, which are caused by other human beings. We are with the young people of Gaza, we are with the young people of Ukraine, with those of every land bloodied by war. My young brothers and sisters, you are the sign that a different world is possible: a world of fraternity and friendship, where conflicts are not resolved with weapons but with dialogue.

Yes, with Christ it is possible! With his love, with his forgiveness, and with the power of his Spirit. My dear friends, united to Jesus, like branches to the vine, you will bear much fruit. You will be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. You will be seeds of hope where you live, in your families, among your friends, at school, at work, and in sports. You will be seeds of hope with Christ, our hope.

After this Jubilee, the “pilgrimage of hope” of young people continues and will take us to Asia! I renew the invitation that Pope Francis extended in Lisbon two years ago. Young people from all over the world will gather together with the Successor of Peter to celebrate World Youth Day in Seoul, Korea, from 3 to 8 August 2027. The theme will be “Take courage! I have overcome the world!” (Jn 16:33). It is precisely the hope that dwells in our hearts that gives us the strength to proclaim the victory of the risen Christ over evil and death; and you, young pilgrims of hope, will be witnesses of this to the ends of the earth! I look forward to seeing you in Seoul: let us continue to dream together and to hope together.

Let us entrust ourselves to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary.

Message to the Bishop of
Hiroshima, on the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Read aloud: Tuesday, 5 August 2025

An Affront to Humanity

“Nuclear arms offend our shared humanity and also betray the dignity of creation”, Pope Leo XIV wrote in his message to the Bishop of Hiroshima, Alexis M. Shirahama, on the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hirsohima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945. The message was read out by the Apostolic Nuncio in Japan, Mons. Leo Boccardi, on Tuesday, 5 August. For the Pope’s message read page 13.

Video Message to the Pan-African Catholic Theology and
Pastoral Network on the Occasion of their Third Congress

Wednesday, 6 August 2025

Journeying together in hope

Dear friends,

I send cordial greetings to all of you who are participating in the third Pan-African Catholic Congress on Theology, Society and Pastoral Life. I thank the organizers for their hard work in arranging this significant meeting. I also offer my prayers to the bishops, theologians, pastoral leaders, young people and all the lay faithful who have gathered to reflect on the future of the Church in Africa.

Three years ago, on the occasion of the second Congress, Pope Francis spoke about the importance of faith. Now, as part of this year’s Jubilee, we celebrate another theological virtue: hope. Perhaps at times more prominence is given to the virtues of faith and charity; yet, hope has a vital role on our earthly pilgrimage. Indeed, it can be seen as the virtue that connects the other two. In one sense, faith and theology provide the basis for knowing God, while charity is the life of love we enjoy with him. Yet, it is by the virtue of hope that we desire to attain the fullness of this happiness in Heaven. Thus, it inspires and sustains us to grow closer to God even when confronted by the hardships of life.

As you well know, Africa, like every other part of the world, faces its own set of particular difficulties. When faced with these challenges and the perception that things do not change, it is easy to become despondent. However, it is precisely the role of the Church to be the light of the world and a city set on a hill (cf. Mt 5:14), so as to be a beacon of hope for the nations.

In this regard, the theme of your Congress is particularly relevant: “Journeying together in hope as Church Family of God in Africa.” While each of us is called to nurture our own personal relationship with God, at the same time, through our baptism we are united as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Therefore, we have a certain responsibility to look after each other. Indeed, a family is usually the first place where we receive the love and support we need to move forward and overcome the trials we face in life. For this reason, I encourage you to keep building up the family of the local Churches in your various countries and areas, so that there are networks of support available to all our brothers and sisters in Christ, and also to the wider society, especially those on the peripheries.

Finally, dear friends, I would like to emphasize the importance of seeing the unity between theology and pastoral work. We have to live what we believe. Christ told us that he came not simply to give us life but to give it to the full (cf.Jn 10:10). Hence, it is your task to work together to implement pastoral programs that demonstrate how the teachings of the Church help to open people’s hearts and minds to the truth and love of God.

I commend you and your work to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, that she may guide and inspire your efforts. And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit come down on you and remain with you for ever. Amen.

Video Message for the
143rd Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus

Wednesday, 6 August 2025

Called to be signs of hope

Dear friends,

I am pleased to greet all of you gathered in Washington, DC, for the 143rd Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus. I also greet those who are participating virtually in these opening ceremonies.

You are meeting during the Jubilee Year of Hope, which encourages the Universal Church, and indeed the entire world, to reflect on this essential virtue, which Pope Francis described as “the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring” (Spes Non Confundit, 1). I’d like to reflect briefly with you on this important virtue.

As Catholics, we know that the source of our hope is Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Tim 1:1) and he has sent his followers in every age to bring the good news of his saving Paschal Mystery to the entire world. The Church has always been called to be a sign of hope through the proclamation of the Gospel in words as well as in actions. In a particular way during this Holy Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind (cf. Spes Non Confundit, 10).

Your founder, Blessed Michael McGivney, understood this well. He saw the many needs of immigrant Catholics and sought to bring relief to the poor and suffering through his faithful celebration of the sacraments as well as through fraternal assistance, fraternal assistance which continues on to this day.

This year’s Convention has the timely theme of “Heralds of Hope,” reminding all Knights of Columbus of the invitation to be signs of hope in your local communities, parishes, and families. In this regard, I commend your efforts to bring together men in your communities for prayer, formation, and fraternity, as well as the many charitable efforts of your local Councils throughout the world. In particular, your generous service to vulnerable populations, including the unborn, pregnant mothers, children, those who are less fortunate, and those affected by the scourge of war, brings hope and healing to many and continues the noble legacy of your founder.

With these brief words, I offer my good wishes for the work of the Supreme Convention, which I entrust to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, and to the intercession of Blessed Michael McGivney. And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit come down on you and remain with you for ever. Amen.

General Audience

Wednesday, 6 August 2025

Where love has been prepared

life can truly flourish

Dear brothers and sisters,

Let us continue our Jubilee journey in the discovery of the face of Christ, in whom our hope takes shape and consistency. Today we will start to reflect on the mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Let us begin by meditating on a word that seems simple but holds a precious secret of Christian life: to prepare.

The Gospel of Mark narrates that “on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the passover lamb, his disciples said to him, ‘Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the passover?’” (Mk 14:12). It is a practical question, but also filled with anticipation. The disciples perceive that something important is about to happen, but they do not know the details. Jesus’ answer seems almost to be a riddle: “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you” (v. 13). The details become symbolic: a man carrying a jar, a typically feminine gesture at that time; an upstairs room already prepared; an unknown host. It is as if everything has been arranged in advance. In fact, this is precisely the case. In this episode, the Gospel tells us that love is not the product of chance, but of a conscious choice. It is not a simple reaction, but a decision that requires preparation. Jesus does not face his passion out of fatalism, but out of fidelity to a path freely and carefully accepted and followed. This is what comforts us: knowing that the gift of his life stems from profound intention, not a sudden impulse.

That “upper room furnished and ready” tells us that God always precedes us. Even before we realize we are in need of welcome, the Lord has already prepared a space for us where we can see and feel that we are his friends. This place is, fundamentally, our heart: a “room” that may seem empty, but which awaits only to be recognized, filled and cherished. The Passover that the disciples have to prepare, is actually already present in Jesus’ heart. He has already thought of everything, arranged everything, decided everything. However, he asks his friends to do their part. This teaches us something essential for our spiritual life: grace does not eliminate our freedom, but rather reawakens it. God’s gift does not eliminate our responsibility, but makes it fruitful.

Today too, like then, there is a supper to prepare. It is not only a matter of the liturgy, but of our readiness to enter into a gesture that transcends us. The Eucharist is not celebrated only at the altar, but also in daily life, where it is possible to experience everything as an offering and giving of thanks. To prepare to celebrate this thanksgiving does not mean doing more, but leaving room. It means removing what encumbers us, reducing our demands and ceasing to hold unrealistic expectations. Indeed, too often we confuse preparations with illusions. Illusions distract us; preparations guide us. Illusions seek a result; preparations make an encounter possible. True love, the Gospel reminds us, is given before it is reciprocated. It is a gift given in advance. It is not based on what it receives, but on what it wishes to offer. It is what Jesus experienced with his disciples: while they still did not understand, while one of them was about to betray him and another to deny him, he was preparing a communion supper for all.

Dear brothers and sisters, we too are invited to “prepare the Passover” of the Lord. Not only the liturgical one: that of our life too. Every gesture of availability, every gratuitous act, every act of forgiveness made in advance, every struggle patiently accepted, is a way to prepare a place where God can dwell. We can ask ourselves, then: what spaces in my life do I need to put in order so that they are ready to receive the Lord? What does it mean for me today to “prepare”? Perhaps giving up on a claim, not waiting for others to change, or taking the first step. Perhaps listening more, taking less actions, or learning how to trust in what has already been prepared.

If we accept the invitation to prepare the place of communion with God and among ourselves, we will discover that we are surrounded by signs, encounters and words that guide us towards that room, spacious and already prepared, in which the mystery of an infinite love, which sustains us and always precedes us, is celebrated unceasingly. May the Lord grant us to be humble ‘preparers’ of his presence. And, in this daily readiness, may that serene trust also grow in us, allowing us to face everything with a free heart. Because where love has been prepared, life can truly flourish.

Appeal

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima, and in three days’ time we will remember that of Nagasaki. I wish to assure my prayers for all those who have suffered its physical, psychological and social effects. Despite the passing of the years, those tragic events constitute a universal warning against the devastation caused by wars and, in particular, by nuclear weapons. I hope that in the contemporary world, marked by strong tensions and bloody conflicts, the illusory security based on the threat of mutual destruction may give way to the tools of justice, to the practice of dialogue, and to trust in fraternity.

Angelus Message

Sunday, 10 August 2025

The necessity to reject war

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

In today’s Gospel Jesus invites us to consider how we will invest the treasure that is our life (cf. Lk 12:32-48). He says: “Sell your possessions and give alms” (v. 33).

He exhorts us not to keep to ourselves the gifts that God has given us, but rather to use them generously for the good of others, especially those most in need of our help. It is not simply a matter of sharing the material goods we have, but putting our skills, time, love, presence and compassion at the service of others. In short, everything in God’s plan that makes each of us a priceless and unrepeatable good, a living and breathing asset, must be cultivated and invested in order to grow. Otherwise, these gifts dry up and diminish in value, or they end up being taken away by those, who like thieves, snatch them up as something simply to be consumed.

The gift of God that we are is not made to be used in such a manner. We need space, freedom and relationships in order to come to fulfilment and express ourselves. We need love, which alone transforms and ennobles every aspect of our existence, making us more and more like God. It is not by chance that Jesus pronounces these words while he is on the road to Jerusalem, where he will offer himself on the cross for our salvation.

The works of mercy are the most secure and profitable bank where we can entrust the treasure of our existence, because there, as the Gospel teaches us, with “two small copper coins” even the poor widow becomes the richest person in the world (cf. Mk 12:41-44).

In this regard, Saint Augustine says: “If you gave a pound of coppers and received a pound of silver, or a pound of silver and received one of gold, you would be delighted at your luck. What you give will certainly be transformed; it isn’t gold, it isn’t silver, but eternal life that will come your way” (Sermon 390, 2, PL 39, 1706). And he explains why: “It will be transformed, because you yourself will be transformed” (ibid).

To understand what he means by this, we can think of a mother who embraces her children: is she not the most beautiful and richest person in the world? Or a boyfriend and girlfriend, when they are together: do they not feel like king and queen? We could think of many other examples.

Therefore, wherever we are, in the family, parish, school or workplace, we should try not to miss any opportunity to act with love. This is the type of vigilance that Jesus asks of us: to grow in the habit of being attentive, ready and sensitive to one another, just as he is with us in every moment.

Sisters and brothers, let us entrust to Mary this desire and responsibility: may she, the Morning Star, help us to be the “watchmen” of mercy and peace in a world marked by many divisions. Saint John Paul II taught us this (cf. Vigil of Prayer for the 15th World Youth Day, 19 August 2000). And in a beautiful way, so did the young people who came to Rome for the Jubilee.

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters, let us continue to pray for an end to wars. The 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has reinforced throughout the world the necessity to reject war as a means of resolving conflicts. May those in power always keep in mind their responsibility for the consequences of their decisions, and not ignore the needs of the weakest and the universal desire for peace.

In this regard, I congratulate Armenia and Azerbaijan on signing the Joint Declaration of Peace. I hope that this will contribute to a stable and lasting peace in the South Caucasus.

The situation of the people of Haiti, however, is increasingly desperate. Reports of murders, violence of all kinds, human trafficking, forced exile and kidnappings continue to pour in. I make a heartfelt appeal to all those responsible to release the hostages immediately, and I ask for the firm support of the international community to create the social and institutional conditions that will allow the Haitian people to live in peace.

I greet all of you, the faithful of Rome and pilgrims from various countries, especially those from Woodstock, Georgia, in the United States of America, and those from the Diocese of Down and Connor in Ireland.

I greet the members of Operazione Mato Grosso from various Italian cities and the parish groups from Stezzano, Medole and Villastellone.

Thank you all for your presence and your prayers. Have a good Sunday, everyone!

General Audience

Wednesday, 13 August 2025

‘Is it I?’

The Pope’s off-the-cuff remarks before the Audience:

Buongiorno, Good morning everyone! Buenos días!

[In English] This morning we will have the audience in several places, in different moments to stay a little bit out of the sun and the extreme heat. We thank you for your patience and we thank God for the wonderful gift of life, of good weather and all his blessings.

[In Spanish] So, we will hold the audience this morning in two parts, because there are people on the side here, people in the Basilica, and also in the Square. Welcome, everyone. We will do our best to make our way little by little to greet all the groups.

[In Italian] Today we will celebrate this audience in different parts, to protect ourselves a bit from the sun, from the extreme heat. Thank you for coming! Welcome, everyone!

The Holy Father’s catechesis:

Dear brothers and sisters,

Let us continue our journey in the school of the Gospel, following Jesus’ steps in the final days of his life. Today we will reflect on an intimate, dramatic but also profoundly true scene: the moment during the Passover supper when Jesus reveals that one of the Twelve is about to betray him: “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me” (Mk 14:18).

Strong words. Jesus does not utter them to condemn, but to show that when love is real, it cannot do without the truth. The room on the upper floor, where everything had been carefully prepared shortly earlier, is suddenly filled with a silent pain, made of questions, suspicions and vulnerability. It is a pain we too know well, when the shadow of betrayal is cast over the closest relationships.

And yet, the way in which Jesus speaks about what is about to happen is surprising. He does not raise his voice, he does not point fingers and he does not utter Judas’ name. He speaks in such a way that allows each of them to question themselves. And this is exactly what happens. Saint Mark tells us: “They began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one after another, ‘Is it I?’” (Mk 14:19).

Dear friends, this question — “Is it I?” — is perhaps among the sincerest that we can ask ourselves. It is not the question of the innocent, but of the disciple who discovers himself to be fragile. It is not the cry of the guilty, but the whisper of one who, while wanting to love, is aware of being able to do harm. It is in this awareness that the journey of salvation begins.

Jesus does not denounce in order to humiliate. He tells the truth because he wants to save. And in order to be saved, it is necessary to feel: to feel that one is involved, to feel that one is loved despite everything, to feel that evil is real but that it does not have the last word. Only those who have known the truth of a deep love can also accept the wound of betrayal.

The disciples’ reaction is not anger, but sadness. They are not indignant, they are sorrowful. It is a pain that arises from the real possibility of being involved. And precisely this sorrow, if welcomed with sincerity, becomes a place for conversion. The Gospel does not teach us to deny evil, but to recognize it as a painful opportunity for rebirth.

Jesus then adds a phrase that troubles us and makes us think. “But woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born” (Mk 14:21). They are harsh words, certainly, but they must be understood well: it is not a curse, but rather a cry of pain. In Greek, that “woe” sounds like a lamentation, an “alas”, an exclamation of sincere and deep compassion.

We are used to judging. Instead, God accepts suffering. When he sees evil, he does not take revenge, but grieves. And that “better if he had not been born” is not a condemnation imposed a priori, but a truth that any of us can recognize: if we deny the love that has generated us, if by betraying we become unfaithful to ourselves, then we truly lose the meaning of our coming into the world, and we exclude ourselves from salvation.

And yet, precisely there, at the darkest point, the light is not extinguished. On the contrary, it starts to shine. Because if we recognize our limit, if we let ourselves be touched by Christ’s pain, then we can finally be born again. Faith does not spare us from the possibility of sin, but it always offers us a way out of it: that of mercy.

Jesus is not scandalized by our fragility. He knows well that no friendship is immune to the risk of betrayal. But Jesus continues to trust. He continues to sit at the table with his friends. He does not give up breaking bread, even for the one who will betray him. This is the silent power of God: he never abandons the table of love, even when he knows he will be left alone.

Dear brothers and sisters, we too can ask ourselves today, with sincerity: “Is it I?”. Not to feel accused, but to open a space for truth in our hearts. Salvation begins here: with the awareness that we may be the ones who break our trust in God, but that we can also be the ones who gather it, protect it and renew it.

Ultimately, this is hope: knowing that even if we fail, God will never fail us. Even if we betray him, he does not stop loving us. And if we allow ourselves to be touched by this love — humble, wounded, but always faithful — then we can truly be reborn. And we can begin to live no longer as traitors, but as children who are always loved.

The Pope then walked to the Petrine courtyard and then proceeded to Saint Peter’s Basilica to greet in Italian, Spanish and English the pilgrims who had not found a place in the Hall and had followed the audience on the maxiscreens. To the English faithful he said:

Buongiorno a tutti! Buenos días! Good morning!

May God bless you all. May you have safe travels. May the Lord’s grace accompany you, fulfilling in your hearts that desire that we all share to live an authentic conversion, to walk united in the Church, to renew our faith and to be authentic witnesses of Jesus Christ and his Gospel throughout the word.

Homily — Holy Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Pontifical Parish of Saint Thomas of Villanova, Castel Gandolfo: Friday, 15 August 2025

A wondrous union of

grace and freedom

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today is not Sunday, yet we celebrate in another way the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, which changed the course of history. In Mary of Nazareth, we recognize our own history: the history of the Church, immersed in the common lot of humanity. By taking flesh in her, the God of life — the God of freedom — has conquered death. Yes, today we contemplate how God overcomes death — yet never without us. His is the Kingdom, but ours is the “yes” to his love that can change everything. On the Cross, Jesus freely uttered that “yes” which would strip death of its power — the death that still spreads wherever our hands crucify and our hearts remain imprisoned by fear and mistrust. On the Cross, trust prevailed; so did love, which sees what is yet to come; and forgiveness triumphed.

Mary was there, united with her Son. In our day, we are like Mary whenever we do not flee, whenever we make Jesus’ “yes” our own. That “yes” still lives and resists death in the martyrs of our time, in witnesses of faith and justice, of gentleness and peace. Thus this day of joy becomes also a day that calls us to choose — howand for whom we shall live.

The liturgy of this feast of the Assumption offers us the Gospel passage on the Visitation. Saint Luke recorded in this passage a decisive moment in Mary’s vocation. It is beautiful to recall that day, as we celebrate the crowning moment of her life. Every human story, even that of the Mother of God, is brief on this earth and comes to an end. Yet nothing is lost. When a life ends, its uniqueness shines even more clearly. The Magnificat, which the Gospel places on the lips of the young Mary, now radiates the light of all her days. One single day — the day she met her cousin Elizabeth — contains the seed of every other day, of every other season. And words are not enough; a song is needed, one that continues to be sung in the Church “from generation to generation” (Lk 1:50), at the close of every day. The surprising fruitfulness of barren Elizabeth confirmed Mary in her trust; it anticipated the fruitfulness of her “yes,” which extends to the fruitfulness of the Church and of all humanity whenever God’s renewing Word is welcomed. That day, two women met in faith, then stayed together for three months to support each other, not just in practical matters but in a new way of reading history.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, the Resurrection enters our world even today. The words and choices of death may seem to prevail, but the life of God breaks through our despair through concrete experiences of fraternity and new gestures of solidarity. Prior to being our final destiny, the Resurrection transforms — in soul and body — our dwelling on earth. Mary’s song, Magnificat, strengthens the hope of the humble, the hungry, the faithful servants of God. These are the men and women of the Beatitudes who, even in tribulation, already see the invisible: the mighty cast down from their thrones, the rich sent away empty, the promises of God fulfilled. Such experiences should be found in every Christian community. They may seem impossible, but God’s Word continues to be brought to light. When bonds are born, with which we confront evil with good and death with life, we see that nothing is impossible with God (cf. Lk 1:37).

Sometimes, unfortunately, where human self-reliance prevails, where material comfort and a certain complacency dull the conscience, this faith can grow old. Then death enters in the form of resignation and complaint, of nostalgia and fear. Instead of letting the old world pass away, one clings to it still, seeking the help of the rich and powerful, which often comes with contempt for the poor and lowly. The Church, however, lives in her fragile members, and she is renewed by their Magnificat. Even in our own day, the poor and persecuted Christian communities, the witnesses of tenderness and forgiveness in places of conflict, and the peacemakers and bridge-builders in a broken world, are the joy of the Church. They are her enduring fruitfulness, the first fruits of the Kingdom to come. Many of them are women, like the elderly Elizabeth and the young Mary — Paschal women, apostles of the Resurrection. Let us be converted by their witness!

Brothers and sisters, when in this life we “choose life” (Dt 30:19), we are right to see in Mary, assumed into heaven, our own destiny. She is given to us as the sign that the Resurrection of Jesus was no isolated event, no mere exception. In Christ, we, too, can “swallow up death” (cf. 1 Cor 15:54). To be sure, it is God’s work, not ours. Yet Mary is that wondrous union of grace and freedom, which urges each of us to have trust, courage and participation in the life of God’s people. “He who is mighty has done great things for me” (Lk 1:49): may each of us know this joy and proclaim it with a new song. Let us not be afraid to choose life! It may seem risky and imprudent. Many voices whisper: “Why bother? Let it go. Think of your own interests.” These are voices of death. But we are disciples of Christ. It is his love that drives us — soul and body — in our time. As individuals and as the Church, we no longer live for ourselves. This — and only this — spreads life and lets life prevail. Our victory over death begins here and now.

Angelus Message

Castel Gandolfo: Friday, 15 August 2025

Mary, an icon of hope for her pilgrim children

Dear brothers and sisters, happy feast day!

The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council left us a marvellous text on the Virgin Mary, a part of which I would like to read to you today as we celebrate the Solemnity of her Assumption to the glory of heaven. At the end of the document on the Church, the Council says: “the Mother of Jesus in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven is the image and beginning of the church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise, she shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come (cf. 2 Pt 3:10), a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim people of God” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 68).

Mary, who the risen Christ carried body and soul into the glory, shines as an icon of hope for her pilgrim children throughout history.

How can we not think of Dante’s verses in the last canto of the Paradiso? Through the prayer put on Saint Bernard’s lips, which begins “Virgin Mother, daughter of thy Son” (XXXIII, 1), the poet lauds Mary because here among us mortals she is “the living fountain-head of hope” (ibid., 12), that is the living spring, gushing with hope.

Sisters and brothers, this truth of our faith is perfectly in line with the theme of the present Jubilee: “Pilgrims of hope.” Pilgrims need a goal that orients their journey: a beautiful and attractive goal that guides their steps and revives them when they are tired, that always rekindles in their heart a desire and hope. On the path of life, our goal is God, infinite and eternal Love, fullness of life, peace, joy and every good thing. The human heart is drawn to such beauty and it is not happy until it finds it; and indeed it risks not finding it if it gets lost in the middle of the “dark forest” of evil and sin.

Let us consider this grace: God came to meet us, he assumed our flesh fashioned from the earth, and has carried it with him into the presence of God, or as we commonly say “into heaven.” It is the mystery of Jesus Christ, who became flesh, died and rose for our salvation. Inseparable from him, is also the mystery of Mary, the woman from whom the Son of God has taken flesh, and of the Church, the mystical body of Christ. It concerns a unique mystery of love, and thus of freedom. Just as Jesus said “yes,” so also Mary said “yes;” she believed in the word of the Lord. All of her life has been a pilgrimage of hope together with her son, the Son of God, a pilgrimage which, through the Cross and Resurrection, has reached the heavenly homeland, in the embrace of God.

For this reason, while we journey forward, as individuals, families and communities, especially when the clouds come and the road seems difficult and uncertain, let us lift our gaze, let us look at her, our Mother, and we will rediscover the hope that does not disappoint (cf. Rm 5:5).

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today we wish to entrust our prayer for peace to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, assumed into heaven. As a Mother, she suffers for the evils that afflict her children, especially the little ones and the weak. So many times throughout the centuries, she has confirmed this through messages and apparitions.

In proclaiming the dogma of the Assumption, while the tragic experience of the Second World War was still painfully present, Pius XII wrote, “We may hope that those who meditate upon the glorious example Mary offers us may be more and more convinced of the value of a human life.” He expressed the wish that never again might any ideology “ruin the lives of men by exciting discord among them” (Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus).

How timely these words remain! Even today, sadly, we feel powerless before the spread of violence in the world — a violence increasingly deaf and insensitive to any stirring of humanity. Yet we must not cease to hope: God is greater than the sin of human beings. We must not resign ourselves to the prevalence of the logic of conflict and of arms. With Mary, we believe that the Lord continues to come to the aid of his children, remembering his mercy. Only in this mercy can we return to the way of peace.

Now, I extend my greeting to you, pilgrims from Italy and from various countries.

I greet the university evangelization community from Honduras; the families of the Family Love Movement, who have just concluded their spiritual exercises; and the group of spouses and engaged couples, “Santa Rita.”

My best wishes and a joyful feast to all!

Angelus Message

Castel Gandolfo: Sunday, 17 August 2025

Remaining faithful to the
truth in love

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today’s Gospel presents us with a demanding text (cf. Lk 12:49-53), in which Jesus uses strong images and great frankness to teach his disciples that his mission, and even that of his followers, is not a “bed of roses”, but a “sign of contradiction” (cf. Lk 2:34).

In this way, the Lord anticipates what he will have to face in Jerusalem when he will be opposed, arrested, insulted, beaten, crucified; when his message of love and justice will be rejected; when the leaders of the people will react with viciousness at his preaching. Moreover, many of the communities to which the evangelist Luke was writing were also experiencing the same thing. As the Acts of the Apostles tells us, they were peaceful communities that, despite their own limitations, sought to live the best they could the Master’s message of love (cf. Acts 4:32-33). Yet they were suffering persecutions.

All of this reminds us that being or doing good does not always receive a positive response. On the contrary, because its beauty at times annoys those who do not welcome it, one can end up encountering harsh opposition, even insolence and oppression. Acting in truth has its cost, because there are those in the world who choose lies, and the devil, who takes advantage of the situation, often seeks to block the actions of good people.

Jesus, however, invites us with his help not to give in and conform ourselves to this mentality, but to continue to act for our good and the good of all, even those who make us suffer. He invites us not to respond to insolence with vengeance, but to remain faithful to the truth in love. The martyrs witnessed to this by shedding their blood for their faith. We, too, can imitate their example even in different circumstances and ways.

Let us think, for example, of the price that good parents must pay if they want to educate their children according to sound principles. Eventually they will have to say “no” and correct their children; this will cause them pain. The same is true for a teacher who desires to form students properly, or for a professional, religious, or politician, who desires to carry out their mission honestly. It is true for anyone who strives to exercise his or her responsibilities consistently according to the teachings of the Gospel.

In this regard, Saint Ignatius of Antioch, while travelling toward Rome to undergo martyrdom, wrote to the Christians of that city: “I do not want you to please men, but to please God” (Letter to the Romans 2:1). He added, “It is better for me to die in Jesus Christ than reign over the ends of the earth” (ibid., 6:1).

Brothers and sisters, let us together ask Mary, Queen of Martyrs, to help us be faithful and courageous witnesses of her Son in every circumstance, and to sustain our brothers and sisters who suffer for the faith today.

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am close to the peoples of Pakistan, India, and Nepal who have been struck by violent floods. I pray for the victims, for their families, and for all those who suffer because of this calamity.

Let us pray that efforts to bring wars to an end and to promote peace may bear fruit, and that in negotiations the common good of peoples may always be placed first.

In this summer season, I have received news of many different initiatives of cultural outreach and evangelization, often organized in holiday destinations. It is beautiful to see how zeal for the Gospel inspires the creativity and commitment of groups and associations of all ages. For example, I think of the youth mission that took place recently in Riccione. I thank the organizers and everyone who in various ways participated in such events.

I greet with affection all of you present here today in Castel Gandolfo.

In particular, I am pleased to welcome the AIDO group of Coccaglio, celebrating fifty years of commitment to life; the AVIS blood donors who came by bicycle from Gavardo (Brescia); the young people of Casarano; and the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Anthony.

I also bless the great pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine of Piekary in Poland.

I wish you all a blessed Sunday!

General Audience

Paul VI Hall: Wednesday, 20 August 2025

The Lord’s forgiving love

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today we will look at one of the most striking and luminous gestures in the Gospel: the moment at the Last Supper when Jesus offers a morsel to the one who is about to betray him. It is not only a gesture of sharing. It is much more. It is love’s last attempt not to give up.

With his profound spiritual sensibility, Saint John tells us about this moment as follows: [during supper, when] “the devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over… Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass … he loved them to the end” (Jn 13:1-2). To love until the end: here is the key to understanding Christ’s heart. A love that does not cease in the face of rejection, disappointment, or ingratitude.

Jesus knows the time, but he does not submit to it: he chooses it. It is he who recognizes the moment in which his love must pass through the most painful wound, that of betrayal. And instead of withdrawing, accusing, defending himself… he continues to love: he washes the feet, dips the bread and offers it.

“It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it” (Jn 13:26). With this simple and humble gesture, Jesus carries his love forward and to its depths, not because he is ignoring what is happening, but precisely because he sees it clearly. He has understood that the freedom of the other, even when it is lost in evil, can still be reached by the light of a meek gesture, because he knows that true forgiveness does not wait for repentance, but offers itself first, as a free gift, even before it is accepted.

Unfortunately, Judas does not understand. After the morsel — the Gospel says — “Satan entered him” (v. 27). This passage strikes us: as if evil, hidden until then, manifested itself after love showed its most defenceless face. And precisely for this reason, brothers and sisters, that morsel is our salvation: because it tells us that God does everything — absolutely everything — to reach us, even in the hour when we reject him.

It is here that forgiveness reveals all its power and manifests the true face of hope. It is not forgetfulness; it is not weakness. It is the ability to set the other free, while loving him to the end. Jesus’ love does not deny the truth of pain, but it does not allow evil to have the last word. This is the mystery Jesus accomplishes for us, in which we too, at times, are called to participate.

How many relationships are broken, how many stories become complicated, how many unspoken words remain suspended. And yet the Gospel shows us that there is always a way to continue to love, even when everything seems irredeemably compromised. To forgive does not mean to deny evil, but to prevent it from generating further evil. It is not to say that nothing has happened, but to do everything possible to ensure that resentment does not determine the future.

When Judas leaves the room, “it was night” (v. 30). But immediately afterwards, Jesus says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified” (v. 31). The night is still there, but a light has already begun to shine. And it shines because Christ remains faithful to the end, and so his love is stronger than hatred.

Dear brothers and sisters, we too experience painful and difficult nights. Nights of the soul, nights of disappointment, nights in which someone has hurt or betrayed us. In those moments, the temptation is to close ourselves up, to protect ourselves, to return the blow. But the Lord shows us the hope that exists — there is always another way. He teaches us that one can offer a morsel even to someone who turns their back on us. That one can respond with the silence of trust. And that we can move forward with dignity, without renouncing love.

Let us ask today for the grace to be able to forgive, even when we do not feel understood, even when we feel abandoned. Because it is precisely in those hours that love can reach its pinnacle. As Jesus teaches us, to love means to leave the other free — even to betray — without ever ceasing to believe that even that freedom, wounded and lost, can be snatched from the deception of darkness and returned to the light of goodness.

When the light of forgiveness succeeds in filtering through the deepest crevices of the heart, we understand that it is never futile. Even if the other does not accept it, even if it seems to be in vain, forgiveness frees those who give it: it dispels resentment, restores peace and returns us to ourselves.

With the simple gesture of offering bread, Jesus shows that every betrayal can become an opportunity for salvation, if it is chosen as a space for greater love. It does not give in to evil, but conquers it with good, preventing it from extinguishing what is truest in us: the capacity to love.

After delivering his catechesis to the pilgrims gathered inside the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall, the Holy Father urged his listeners to ask Mary “Queen of Peace” to intercede for those suffering due to war and violence. He then walked to the Petrine courtyard and Saint Peter’s Basilica to meet with the pilgrims and share an impromptu greeting in Italian, Spanish, and English. To the English faithful he said:

[In Saint Peter’s] Let us all learn to pardon, because to pardon one another is to build a bridge of peace. And we must pray for peace, which is so necessary in our world today, the peace that only Jesus Christ can give us. Thank you for being here this morning, and thank you for your patience. And we ask the Lord’s blessing upon all of you.

Message to the Participants
in the Ecumenical Week in Stockholm on the Centenary of the 1925 Ecumenical Meeting

18-24 August 2025

Hope for unity

Dear brothers and sisters,

I extend heartfelt greetings to all gathered in Stockholm for the 2025 Ecumenical Week marking the centenary of the 1925 Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work, as well as the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, a profound event in the history of Christianity.

In the year 325, bishops from across the known world gathered in Nicaea. In affirming the divinity of Jesus Christ, they formulated our creedal statements that he is “true God from true God” and “consubstantial (homoousios) with the Father.” Thus, they articulated the faith that continues to bind Christians together. That Council stood as a courageous sign of unity amidst difference — an early witness to the conviction that our shared confession can overcome division and foster communion.

A similar desire animated the 1925 Conference in Stockholm, convened by the pioneer of the early ecumenical movement, Archbishop Nathan Söderblom, then Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala. The gathering brought together around 600 Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant leaders. Söderblom’s conviction was that “service unites.” He therefore called on his Christian brothers and sisters not to wait for agreement on every point of theology, but to unite in “practical Christianity” — to serve the world together in the pursuit of peace, justice and human dignity.

While the Catholic Church was not represented at that first gathering, I can affirm, with humility and joy, that we stand with you today as fellow disciples of Christ, recognizing that what unites us is far greater than what divides us.

Since the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church has wholeheartedly embraced the ecumenical path. Indeed, Unitatis Redintegratio, the Council’s decree on ecumenism, called us to dialogue in humble and loving fraternity, grounded in our common baptism and our shared mission in the world. We believe that the unity Christ wills for his Church must be visible, and that such unity grows through theological dialogue, common worship where possible, and shared witness in the face of humanity’s suffering.

This call to shared witness finds powerful expression in the theme chosen for this Ecumenical Week: “Time for God’s peace.” This message could not be more timely. Our world bears the deep scars of conflict, inequality, environmental degradation and a growing sense of spiritual disconnection. Yet amid these challenges, we recall that peace is not merely a human achievement, but a sign of the Lord’s presence with us. This is both a promise and a task, for the followers of Christ are summoned to become artisans of reconciliation: to confront division with courage, indifference with compassion, and to bring healing where there has been hurt.

This mission has grown stronger through recent ecumenical milestones. In 1989, Pope John Paul II became the first Roman Pontiff to visit Sweden and was warmly welcomed at the Uppsala Cathedral by Archbishop Bertil Werkström, Primate of the Church of Sweden. That moment signaled a new chapter in Catholic-Lutheran relations. It was followed by the joint commemoration of the Reformation in Lund in 2016, when Pope Francis joined Lutheran leaders in common prayer and repentance. There, we affirmed our shared journey “from conflict to communion.” This week, as you dialogue and celebrate together, I am pleased that my Delegation is able to be present as a sign of the Catholic Church’s commitment to continuing the journey of praying and working together, wherever we can, for peace, justice and the good of all.

May the Holy Spirit, who inspired the Council of Nicaea, and who continues to guide us all, deepen your fellowship this week, and awaken fresh hope for the unity which the Lord so ardently desires among his followers.

With these sentiments, I pray that the peace of Christ be with you all.

Leo PP. XIV

Address to the Participants
in the Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the International Catholic
Legislators Network

Saturday, 23 August 2025

Blessing and encouragement

We begin with the same sign with which the Lord has given us life in Baptism: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you.

Good morning to all of you. Welcome to Rome and to the Vatican, and thank you for your patience.

Your Eminences, Your Excellency,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am pleased to greet you, members of the International Catholic Legislators Network. And I thank you for your visit, here to the Vatican and to Rome, during this Jubilee year, the Jubilee of Hope.

You have gathered for your sixteenth annual meeting which has a thought-provoking theme this year: “The New World Order: Major Power Politics, Corporate Dominions and the Future of Human Flourishing.” In these words, I sense both a concern and a longing. We are all concerned about the direction our world is taking, and yet, we long for authentic human flourishing. We long for a world where every person can live in peace, freedom and fulfilment according to God’s plan.

To find our footing in the present circumstances — especially you as Catholic legislators and political leaders — I suggest that we might look to the past, to that towering figure of Saint Augustine of Hippo. As a leading voice of the Church in the late Roman era, he witnessed immense upheavals and social disintegration. In response, he penned The City of God, a work that offers a vision of hope, a vision of meaning that can still speak to us today.

This Church Father taught that within human history, two “cities” are intertwined: the City of Man and the City of God. These signify spiritual realities — two orientations of the human heart and, therefore, of human civilization. The City of Man, built on pride and love of oneself, is marked by the pursuit of power, prestige and pleasure; the City of God, built on love of God unto selflessness, is characterized by justice, charity and humility. In these terms, Augustine encouraged Christians to infuse the earthly society with the values of God’s Kingdom, thereby directing history toward its ultimate fulfilment in God, while also allowing for authentic human flourishing in this life. This theological vision can anchor us in the face of today’s changing currents: the emergence of new centers of gravity, the shifting of old alliances and the unprecedented influence of global corporations and technologies, not to mention numerous violent conflicts. The crucial question before us believers, therefore, is this: how can we accomplish this task?

To answer this question, we must clarify the meaning of human flourishing. Today, a flourishing life is often confused with a materially wealthy life or a life of unrestricted individual autonomy and pleasure. The so-called ideal future presented to us is often one of technological convenience and consumer satisfaction. Yet we know that this is not enough. We see this in affluent societies where many people struggle with loneliness, with despair and a sense of meaninglessness.

Authentic human flourishing stems from what the Church calls integral human development, or the full development of a person in all dimensions: physical, social, cultural, moral, and spiritual. This vision for the human person is rooted in natural law, the moral order that God has written on the human heart, whose deeper truths are illuminated by the Gospel of Christ. In this regard, authentic human flourishing is seen when individuals live virtuously, when they live in healthy communities, enjoying not only what they have, what they possess, but also who they are as children of God. It ensures the freedom to seek truth, to worship God and to raise families in peace. It also includes a harmony with creation and a sense of solidarity across social classes and nations. Indeed, the Lord came that we “may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10).

The future of human flourishing depends on which “love” we choose to organize our society around — a selfish love, the love of self, or the love of God and neighbor. We, of course, already know the answer. In your vocation as Catholic lawmakers and public servants, you are called to be bridge-builders between the City of God and the City of Man. I would like to urge you this morning to continue to work for a world where power is tamed by conscience, and law is at the service of human dignity. I also encourage you to reject the dangerous and self-defeating mind-set that says nothing will ever change.

I know the challenges are immense, but God’s grace at work in human hearts is more powerful still. My venerable predecessor noted the necessity for what he called a “diplomacy of hope” (Address to Members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, 9 January 2025). I would add that we also need a “politics of hope”, an “economics of hope,” anchored in the conviction that even now, through the grace of Christ, we can reflect his light in the earthly city.

Thank you. Thanks to all of you for your dedication to bringing the Gospel message into the public arena. Be assured of my prayers for you, your loved ones, your families, your friends, and especially today for those whom you serve. May the Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace, bless and guide your efforts for the true flourishing of the human family.

Angelus Message

Sunday, 24 August 2025

The ‘narrow gate’

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

At the heart of today’s Gospel (Lk 13:22-30), we find the image of the “narrow gate”, which Jesus uses in his answer to someone who asks him if only a few will be saved. Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able” (v 24).

At first glance, this image can make us think: if God is the Father of love and mercy, who always stands with open arms to welcome us, why does Jesus say that the gate of salvation is narrow?

Certainly, the Lord does not want to discourage us. Rather, his words are meant primarily to challenge the presumption of those people who think they are already saved, who perform religious acts and feel that is all that is needed. They have not realized that it is not enough to perform religious acts unless they change hearts. The Lord does not want worship detached from life. He is not pleased with sacrifices and prayers, unless they lead to greater love for others and justice for our brothers and sisters. For this reason, when such people come before the Lord boasting that they ate and drank with him and heard him teaching in their streets, they will hear him reply: “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!” (v 28).

Brothers and sisters, the challenge presented to us in today’s Gospel is worth considering. While we may sometimes be judgmental towards those distant from the faith, Jesus calls into question “the security of believers”. He tells us that it is not enough to profess the faith with words, to eat and drink with him by celebrating the Eucharist or to have a good knowledge of Christian doctrine. Our faith is authentic when it embraces our whole life, when it becomes a criterion for our decisions, when it makes us women and men committed to doing what is right and who take risks out of love, even as Jesus did. He did not choose the easy path of success or power; instead, in order to save us, he loved us to the point of walking through the “narrow gate” of the Cross. Jesus is the true measure of our faith; he is the gate through which we must pass in order to be saved (cf. Jn 10:9) by experiencing his love and by working, in our daily lives, to promote justice and peace.

There are times when this involves making difficult and unpopular decisions, resisting our selfish inclinations, placing ourselves at the service of others, and persevering in doing what is right when the logic of evil seems to prevail, and so on. Once we cross that threshold, however, we will discover that life flourishes anew. From that moment on, we will enter into the immense heart of God and the joy of the eternal banquet that he has prepared for us.

Let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us find the courage to pass through the “narrow gate” of the Gospel, so that we may open ourselves with joy to the wide embrace of God our loving Father.

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters,

I express my closeness to the people of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, who have become victims of an unsecure and violent situation that continues to cause death and displacement. In asking you not to forget these brothers and sisters of ours, I invite you to pray for them, and I express my hope that the efforts of the country’s leaders will succeed in restoring security and peace in that territory.

This past Friday, 22 August, we accompanied with our prayers and fasting our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of wars. Today, we join our Ukrainian brothers and sisters who, with the spiritual initiative “World Prayer for Ukraine”, are asking the Lord to grant peace to their tormented country.

I greet all of you, the faithful of Rome and pilgrims from various countries, especially those from Karaganda (Kazakhstan), Budapest and the seminarians and faculty of the Pontifical North American College. I am pleased to welcome the Gozzano Music Band and the parish groups from Bellagio, Vidigulfo, Carbonia, Corlo and Val Cavallina. I also greet the faithful who have come by bicycle from Rovato and Manerbio, and the itinerate Via Lucis group.

I wish everyone a happy Sunday.

General Audience

Wednesday, 27 August 2025

Christian hope is not evasion

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today we will focus on a scene that marks the beginning of the Passion of Jesus: the moment of his arrest in the Garden of Olives. The evangelist John, with his usual depth, does not present a frightened Jesus who flees or hides. On the contrary, he shows us a free man, who comes forward and speaks, openly facing the hour in which the light of the greatest love can be revealed.

“Jesus, knowing all that was to befall him, came forward and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’” (Jn 18:4). Jesus knows. However, he decides not to retreat. He gives himself up. Not out of weakness, but out of love. A love so full, so mature, that it does not fear rejection. Jesus is not seized: he lets himself be taken. He is not the victim of an arrest, but the giver of a gift. In this gesture, he embodies a hope of salvation for our humanity: to know that, even in the darkest hour, one can remain free to love to the end.

When Jesus replies, “I am he”, the soldiers fall to the ground. It is a mysterious passage, since this expression, in biblical revelation, recalls the very name of God: “I am”. Jesus reveals that God’s presence is manifested precisely where humanity experiences injustice, fear, loneliness. Right there, the true light is ready to shine without fear of being overcome by the advancing darkness.

In the middle of the night, when everything seems to be falling apart, Jesus shows that Christian hope is not evasion, but decision. This attitude is the result of profound prayer in which God is not asked to spare us from suffering, but rather to give us the strength to persevere in love, knowing that life offered freely for love cannot be taken away by anyone.

“If you seek me, let these men go” (Jn 18:8). At the time of his arrest, Jesus does not worry about saving himself: he wishes only for his friends to go free. This shows that his sacrifice is a true act of love. Jesus lets himself be taken and imprisoned by the guards only so that his disciples may be set free.

Jesus lived every day of his life as preparation for this dramatic and sublime hour. This is why when it comes, he has the strength not to seek an escape route. His heart knows well that to lose one’s life for love is not a failure, but rather a mysterious fruitfulness, like a grain of wheat that falls to the ground and does not remain alone, but dies and becomes fruitful.

.Jesus too is troubled when faced with a path that seems to lead only to death and to the end. But he is equally persuaded that only a life lost for love, at the end, is found again. This is what true hope consists of: not in trying to avoid pain, but in believing that the seed of new life is hidden, even in the heart of the most unjust suffering.

And us? How often do we defend our lives, our plans, our certainties, without realizing that, by doing so, we remain alone? The logic of the Gospel is different: only what is given flourishes; only the love that becomes free can restore trust even where everything seems lost.

The Gospel of Mark also tells us about a young man who runs away naked when Jesus is arrested, (cf. Mk 14:51). It is an enigmatic image, but profoundly evocative. We too, in the attempt to follow Jesus, experience moments in which we are caught off guard and stripped of our certainties. Those are the most difficult moments, in which we are tempted to abandon the way of the Gospel because love seems to be an impossible journey to us. And yet, at the end of the Gospel, it is a young man who announces the resurrection to the women. He is no longer naked, but clothed in a white robe.

This is the hope of our faith: our sins and our hesitations do not prevent God from forgiving us and from restoring to us the desire to resume following, to make us capable of giving our life for others.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us also learn how to deliver ourselves to the Father’s good will, letting our life be a response to the good we have received. In life, it is not necessary to have everything under control. It is enough to choose to love freely every day. This is true hope: knowing that, even in the darkness of trial, God’s love sustains us and ripens the fruit of eternal life in us.

Appeal

Last Friday we accompanied our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of wars, with prayer and fasting. I once again issue a strong appeal to the parties involved as well as to the international community, so that an end may be put to the conflict in the Holy Land, which has caused so much terror, destruction, and death.

I implore that all the hostages be freed, that a permanent ceasefire be reached, that the safe entry of humanitarian aid be facilitated, and that humanitarian law be fully respected, especially the obligation to protect civilians as well as prohibitions of collective punishment, indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of the population. I join the joint Declaration of the Greek-Orthodox Patriarch and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who yesterday asked “to put an end to this spiral of violence, to end the war, and to prioritize people’s common good”.

Let us implore Mary, Queen of Peace, source of consolation and hope: may her intercession obtain reconciliation and peace in that land which is so dear to us all!

After delivering his catechesis and greetings to the pilgrims gathered inside the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall, the Holy Father walked to the Petrine courtyard and Saint Peter’s Basilica to meet with the faithful and share an impromptu greeting in Italian, Spanish, and English.

Angelus Message

Sunday, 31 August 2025

True act of love

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

In every culture, sitting at table together, especially on days of rest and celebration, is a sign of peace and communion. In this Sunday’s Gospel (Lk 14:1, 7-14), Jesus is invited to a meal by one of the leaders of the Pharisees. Inviting others to one’s table is a sign of openness of heart, while accepting such an invitation entails having the humility to be open to others and their world. These gestures that bring people together help foster a culture of encounter.

Encounter is not always easy. The Evangelist notes that the other guests “observed” Jesus closely; indeed, he was watched with some suspicion by the stricter interpreters of tradition. Yet the encounter takes place because Jesus makes himself genuinely present; as a good guest, he acts with respect and sincerity, avoiding merely polite formalities that preclude authentic encounter. Consequently, as was his wont, he employs a parable to describe what he sees happening and invites those watching him to reflect on it. For he saw people rushing to sit in the places of honour, something that also happens today, not in families but on occasions when people consider it important to “be noticed”, whereby a moment for being together ends up as a competition.

Sisters and brothers, when we sit together at the table of the Eucharist on the Lord’s Day, we too should be willing to let Jesus speak. He becomes our guest and he can tell us how he sees us. It is very important that we see ourselves through his eyes: to see how frequently we reduce life to a competition, how anxious we become to obtain some sort of recognition, and how pointlessly we compare ourselves to others. Stopping to reflect, letting ourselves be taken aback by a word that challenges our hearts’ priorities, is to experience freedom, the freedom to which Jesus calls us.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of “humility” in describing perfect freedom (cf. Lk 14:11). Humility is really freedom from ourselves. It is born when the Kingdom of God and its righteousness become our real concern and we allow ourselves to lift up our eyes and look ahead: not down at our feet, but at what lies ahead! Those who exalt themselves generally think that nothing is more interesting than themselves; yet deep down, they are quite insecure. Whereas those who know that they are precious in God’s eyes, who know they are God’s children, have greater things to be worried about; they possess a sublime dignity all their own. Once we learn to take the last places, rather than striving for the first, that dignity will appear, and we will come to the fore simply and effortlessly.

Dear friends, today let us pray that the Church will always be a school of humility for everyone, a home where all are welcome, a place where rivalries are set aside and where Jesus still speaks to us and teaches us to imitate his own humility and freedom. Mary is truly the Mother of that home; it is to her that we now pray.

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters,

Sadly, the war in Ukraine continues to sow death and destruction. Even in recent days, bombings have struck several cities, including the capital Kyiv, causing numerous casualties. I renew my closeness to the Ukrainian people and to all the injured families. I ask everyone not to give in to indifference, but to draw close to them through prayer and concrete gestures of charity. I strongly reiterate my urgent appeal for an immediate ceasefire and a serious commitment to dialogue. Now is the time for those responsible to renounce the logic of weapons and take the path of negotiation and peace, with the support of the international community. The voice of weapons must be silenced, while the voice of fraternity and justice must be raised.

Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American State of Minnesota include the countless children killed and injured every day around the world. Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world. May our Mother Mary, the Queen of Peace, help us to fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah: “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4).

Our hearts are also wounded by the more than fifty people who died and the one hundred or so still missing following the shipwreck of a boat carrying migrants attempting the 1100 km journey towards the Canary Islands, that capsized off the Atlantic coast of Mauritania. This deadly tragedy is repeated every day all over the world. Let us pray that the Lord will teach us, as individuals and societies, fully to put into practice his words: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt 25:35).

We entrust all our injured, missing and dead, everywhere, to our Savior’s loving embrace.

Tomorrow, 1 September, is the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Ten years ago, in harmony with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Pope Francis established this Day for the Catholic Church. This is more important and urgent than ever, and this year’s theme is “Seeds of Peace and Hope.” Together with all Christians, we celebrate it throughout this “Season of Creation”, which lasts until 4 October, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. In the spirit of the Canticle of Brother Sun, which he composed 800 years ago, we praise God and renew our commitment not to ruin his gift but to care for our common home.

I extend my affectionate greeting to all of you, the faithful of Rome and pilgrims from Italy and various countries. In particular, I greet the parish groups from Quartu Sant’Elena, Morigerati, Venegono, Rezzato, Brescello, Boretto and Gualtieri, Val di Gresta, Valmadrera, Stiatico, Sortino and Casadio; together with the group of families from Lucca who traveled along the Via Francigena.

I also greet the Lay Fraternity of the Dimesse Sisters of Padua, the young people of Catholic Action and agesci of Reggio Calabria, the young people of Gorla Maggiore and the confirmandi of Castel San Pietro Terme; as well as the Shalom Movement of San Miniato with the Angiolo del Bravo Philharmonic, the “Note libere” Association of Taviano, and the “Genitori Orsenigo” group.

I wish all of you a happy Sunday!