I will now read the homily prepared by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.

“The joy of love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church” (Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, 19 March 2016, 1).  With these words, ten years ago, Pope Francis began his Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia.

Today, as we celebrate the Eucharist, we offer to the Lord the fruits of the work we have carried out on this document, and we seek to take its riches to heart and put its pastoral guidance into practice.

In this regard, today’s liturgy offers us several points for reflection.  In the first reading, we heard Saint Paul’s “hymn to love” (cf. 1 Cor 12:31–13:13). In Chapter 4 of the Apostolic Exhortation, this same text provides the basis of a rich meditation on the virtues of Christian marriage, a union that is “affective… spiritual and sacrificial” (no. 120), and an icon of God’s love (cf. no. 121).  Through living out these values, and with the help of grace, spouses grow together day by day in the image of the Trinity.  Both spouses mature in their own distinctive ways, and at the same time grow to resemble one another through the “stable commitment to share and shape together the whole of life” (no. 123).  Thus, the true joy of love is a gradual deepening of union, in which each person’s uniqueness blossoms through the gift of self and the presence of the other.

Moreover, the Apostle was addressing a community rich in gifts and charisms (cf. 1 Cor 12:4-11), yet one that needed to mature in love.  He reminded the Corinthians that persons without love, despite all the talents they may have received, are like “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (13:1), like a voice without love, unable to speak to the heart, cut off from others, distant, cold and impenetrable.

We were not made to live that way.  The responsorial Psalm also calls this to mind by calling us the “people” and “flock” of a God whose “steadfast love endures for ever” and whose faithfulness extends “to all generations” (Ps 100:5). He is a Lord who loves without holding back, who never ceases to seek us, place his trust in us and renew his friendship with us.

This is the love that Amoris Laetitia invites us to make the foundation of our families.  This is the true love that, in a particular way, we are urged to teach to young people preparing for marriage, instructing them about “the importance of the virtues,” among which a special place is given to chastity, which is “invaluable for the genuine growth of love between persons” (no. 206). Marriage preparation programs conscientiously developed for this purpose in parishes and pastoral areas are commendable.  Yet such courses alone are insufficient, for they must be preceded and supported by an education in love that accompanies a person’s growth from childhood.  In this regard, Pope Francis observed that “learning to love someone does not happen automatically, nor can it be taught in a workshop just prior to the celebration of marriage” (no. 208).  He explained: “For every couple, marriage preparation begins at birth,” (ibid.) and everything a young person experiences within the family should help to make that person capable of “a full and definitive commitment” (ibid.).

In this way, love lived within the family — with its moments of struggle, mistakes and failures, yet also with the marvel of its unpredictable, everyday life — becomes the first school of human affection, the first precious and irreplaceable apprenticeship in the “joy of love.”  For this reason, we should recognise and support the efforts of so many families who live out their vocation and mission day by day, without fanfare, yet at times with heroic fidelity.  They offer a generous and compelling witness to the words of Jesus we heard in the Gospel: “you did not choose me but I chose you.  And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last” (Jn 15:16). Through the witness of parents, children, grandparents, young people and the elderly, the Gospel’s message of truth and the fullness of life reaches the world.

The Evangelist John handed down to us the simple and clear instruction that Jesus spoke at the end of his earthly life: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12).  Let us put it into practice, so that we may grow as a Church that is a “family of families” (Amoris Laetitia, no. 87), in an atmosphere of reciprocal care that will benefit us all. Thus, young couples will feel encouraged as they begin their married life; parents will find support as they face the demanding challenges of raising their children and managing family life; and older people will be recognized and valued in their role as witnesses to wisdom and virtue, even as their physical strength wanes.  Those who are more vulnerable, or who are experiencing difficult circumstances and moments of crisis, will also find support and encouragement, surrounded by affection and shielded from judgment and prejudice.  Let us remember that “as wounded as the family may be, it can always grow beginning with love” (XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Relatio Finalis, 10).

The values of openness to life and respect for life, from conception to natural death, are also rooted in this charity, which is fundamental to our existence and to our life together as human beings.  The family is the foremost guardian of these values, a beacon for the good of humanity.  In this regard, Pope Francis stressed that “no union that is temporary or closed to the transmission of life can ensure the future of society” (Amoris Laetitia, 52).  The world has no future without strong families open to the gift of children and attentive to their education and growth.

I would like to recall another important invitation from Jesus, in the readings we have heard, that we ask the Father “in my name” (Jn 15:16).  These words remind us that the family is a privileged place of prayer.  Sadly, in many parts of the world today, the practice of praying together at home — before meals, at the beginning and end of the day, or on special occasions — has fallen away. Amoris Laetitia reminds us that “emphasis should also be given to the importance of family spirituality, prayer and participation in the Sunday Eucharist” (no. 223).  It likewise recommends that families gather “regularly to promote growth in their spiritual life and solidarity in the concrete demands of life” (ibid.).  Common prayer and the Sacraments play a vital role in family life because they open hearts to the action of God, enabling families to reach together places that they could never reach on their own.  Indeed, they are a solid nourishment and a healing medicine.  I therefore strongly urge everyone to rediscover and encourage these practices.

Dear brothers and sisters, I myself have the honour of presiding over this celebration by special mandate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, in order to manifest publicly the ecclesiastical communion he has granted to His Beatitude Paul III Nona, Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans, who is participating in this Eucharist.

A Patriarch’s communion with the Successor of Peter recalls an ancient practice that affirmed the unity in faith and charity between a patriarchal Church and the See of Rome — and, at that time, among the Churches themselves. This is, therefore not a mere formality, but a living reality that draws its very reason from Eucharistic communion, the source and summit of the Church’s unity in Christ.

Your Beatitude, your presence helps us better understand our identity as the Church, which is a communion in Christ the Lord of the Churches of various rites and traditions, in a unity that is expressed tangibly with the Successor of Peter.  We assure you of the affection and prayers of the entire Catholic Church for the faithful entrusted to your pastoral care, who have long been tested but remain steadfast and often heroic in bearing witness to their faith in Jesus amid many adversities.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us entrust all families and the whole Church to the Holy Family of Nazareth, taking up once more the prayer with which Pope Francis concluded Amoris Laetitia (no. 325):

Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that our families too may be places of communion and prayer, authentic schools of the Gospel and small domestic churches…

May families never again experience violence, rejection and division; may all who have been hurt or scandalised find ready comfort and healing… 

make us once more mindful of the sacredness and inviolability of the family, and its beauty in God’s plan. Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

Graciously hear our prayer.  Amen.

14.10.26

Pope Leo Angelus 11.10.26 

FAMINE

Pope Francis

Hunger

Hunger is an injustice that destroys men and women because they have nothing to eat, even if there is a lot food available in the world. Human exploitation; different forms of slavery; recently I saw a film shot inside a prison where migrants are locked up and tortured to turn them into slaves. This is still happening 70 years after the Declaration of Human Rights. Cultural colonization. This is exactly what the Devil wants, to destroy human dignity – and that is why the Devil is behind all forms of persecution.

01.06.18

Pope Leo General Audience 07.10.26  

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

Resuming our reflection on the Conciliar Constitution Gaudium et Spes (GS), today we will consider the fourth chapter of the first part, dedicated to the Church’s mission in the contemporary world.

First of all, the Council recalls that the Church is not “above” or “beside” the world, but is, as it were, grafted into it. “Mundus reconciliatus Ecclesia”, wrote Saint Augustine (Sermon 96): the Church is the world already reconciled with God; we are pilgrims on earth and share in this world’s fragility and beauty (cf. GS, 40).

Just as the Son of God was incarnated to give life to the world and to reconcile it with the Father, so the Church dwells in the world as a sign of the incarnation of God, in order to manifest His plan to make us all His children in one great human family. Therefore, the Church journeys through history in the midst of peoples and cultures, and “this involvement in people’s lives helps the Church understand ever more clearly that her mission has a historical scope and entails a responsibility for the way in which social relations are built” (Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas, 19).

The first mission of the Church is to help people be attentive to the profound questions of life: those concerning our origin and our destiny, as well as those concerning the meaning of love and suffering (cf. GS, 41). The logic of profit at all costs and the manipulation of information risk exerting undue pressure on people to conform to a lifestyle centred on the consumption of material goods, but our hearts are made to look upwards.

The Council Fathers remind us that the Church’s mission is fulfilled also in contributing to the construction of the earthly city. However, her methods and aims are not primarily of a political order; rather, they consist in bearing witness to faith and charity, together with commitment for justice, peace, and fraternity. By worshipping Christ, the Righteous One who died for the unrighteous, the believer cannot accept the oppression of the weak and the poor, nor the unjust structures that perpetuate conditions of dependence and injustice. The social doctrine of the Church guides the actions of Christians, who collaborate with all people of good will in promoting the common good. The Church, therefore, “has no fiercer desire than that in pursuit of the welfare of all she may be able to develop herself freely under any kind of government which grants recognition to the basic rights of person and family, to the demands of the common good” (GS, 42).

To fulfil the Gospel mission effectively, it is necessary for every baptised person to commit to cooperating with the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that their faith may be living and expressed in consistent behaviour. Indeed, as the Council Fathers reiterate, the discrepancy between professed faith and daily life “deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age” (GS, 43).

Gaudium et Spes reserves special mention (cf. ibid.) for the mission of the lay faithful who, by virtue of their Baptism, are called to enliven the world with the Christian spirit and the vision of the Gospel. The principal settings for this activity, which may well be described as priestly, are undoubtedly the family and the workplace, but it extends to every sphere of life.

Finally, the Church is always attentive to what is taking place and developing in society (cf. GS, 44). It is the task of the whole People of God, especially pastors and theologians, to discern what in the cultures of our time is worthy of consideration, always taking the Word of God and the Tradition of the Church as the supreme criteria for discernment. This requires a balanced mind, free from cultural trends, capable of viewing the world in a positive light whilst remaining steadfast in preserving and presenting the Gospel message in its entirety. Indeed, “it is certainly not by watering down the content or softening the demands that Christianity can be made attractive” (Address to the Plenary Assembly of the Dicastery for Evangelization – Section on Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the World, 28 May 2026).

07.10.26

Pope Leo Angelus 04.10.26 

How do we receive the Word of God? The response is clear: As one receives Jesus Christ. The Church tells us that Jesus is present in the Scripture, in His Word.

Always carry a small Gospel with you in your purse, in your pocket, and read a passage from the Gospel during the day. Not so much to learn something, but mostly to find Jesus, because Jesus actually is in His Word, in His Gospel.  Every time I read the Gospel, I find Jesus.  - Pope Francis 01.09.14

Daily Readings - read the entire New Testament over a 2 year period (reading plan courtesy of Gideon International)

The Bible Online

Thank you, Francis

Every month, you have invited us to pray with you for the challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church, teaching us to learn compassion for others from the heart of Christ. Thank you, Francis, for your life and your witness.

Your Worldwide Prayer Network.

Pope Francis Easter Message and Urbi et Orbi Blessing   20.04.25

Easter Sunday

for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Pope Francis

Care for Our Common Home 

- Laudato Si'

Pope Francis 

Refugees and Migrants

Pope Francis

 Marriage

Pope Francis - The ‘foreverness’ and beauty of Love 

Pope Francis - The Family in the Light of the Word of God

Pope Francis 

Fraternity

Pope Francis

Compassion

Pope Francis

Happiness

Pope Leo Holy Mass, Paris 26.09.26  

Apostolic Journey to France 

Pope Francis Message for the 58th World Day of Peace 01.01.25