Pope Francis Homilies

Books of the Bible Index of Homilies

Matthew Mark Luke John The Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Tobit Judith Esther 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes The Song of Songs The Book of Wisdom Sirach Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Baruch Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

Pope Leo Visit to Montevideo, Uruguay 06.11.26

Apostolic Journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru

Arrival at “General Cesáreo L. Berisso” Montevideo-Carrasco International Airport

- OFFICIAL WELCOME

Watch Live from 20.30 Rome Time followed by

21:30 WELCOME CEREMONY at “Plaza Independencia”

21:45 MEETING WITH THE AUTHORITIES, CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS

22:15 VISIT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC at the “Edificio José Artigas”

23:10 CELEBRATION OF VESPERS WITH BISHOPS, PRIESTS, DEACONS, CONSECRATED MEN AND WOMEN, AND SEMINARIANS at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and Saints Philip and James

Pope Leo Holy Mass 05.11.26

For the Cardinals and Bishops who have died over the past year

“If anyone serves me, they must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also” (Jn 12:26). These words of Jesus speak directly to our hearts, calling us to follow him along the path that he himself has walked: the path to glory through the cross. Along this journey — on which trials and sufferings are not spared us — we are guided and sustained by a promise: that of a communion over which death has no power. Indeed, whoever follows Christ becomes his servant and will always be where he is, precisely because they have followed his path. Hence Saint Paul affirms: “If we have died with him, we will also live with him” (2 Tim 2:11). Dear friends, this certainty of faith and hope inspires our celebration for the repose of the souls of the Cardinals and Bishops who have left us during the past year. We wish to pray to the Lord for them, that he may reward his faithful servants.

Our prayerful remembrance invites us to reflect on the spiritual value of memory. As she was taking leave of her sons, Augustine and Navigius, shortly before her death, Saint Monica said: “One thing only I ask of you, that you remember me at the altar of the Lord, wherever you may be” (Saint Augustine, Confessions, IX, 11, 27). Here the mystery of death is linked to prayer for the dead, which the Church has practised from her earliest beginnings as one of her fundamental duties.

In the light of the word of God, then, we can briefly reflect on two truths that illuminate our prayer for the deceased: hope in the resurrection and the communion of saints.

The account of Judas Maccabeus that we heard in the first reading (2 Macc 12:43-46) helps us reflect on the resurrection. After some of his companions, who had been guilty of idolatry, fell in battle, Judas entrusted them to God’s mercy and arranged for a sin offering to be made on their behalf, so that they might be absolved of their sin. This action rests on the certainty that the communion we experience with one another on earth, despite its limitations and failings, does not come to an end when it is placed in God’s hands. The testimony of the Maccabees thus anticipates what is found in fulfilment in the Christian liturgy. For our remembrance of our departed brothers and sisters at the altar of the Lord is founded on the promise that our life, in Christ, is not lost, because it has been redeemed.

Judas’s action is first and foremost an act of faith, because he offered his sacrifice “in the firm hope that those who had died would rise again” (v. 44). In the light of Jesus, who is himself the author of the resurrection, we too pray for our departed in virtue of the great hope bestowed upon us in the Paschal Mystery. For, as Scripture emphasises, if there were no resurrection, it would be futile to pray for the dead (cf. v. 44). The Apostle Paul likewise issues this earnest declaration: “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain” (1 Cor 15:13-14).

Dear friends, to pray for the repose of the dead is to celebrate life — firstly the risen life of Christ the Lord, and then, by his grace, our own life, which rises again in him. The Eucharistic sacrifice is the memorial of his passover, through which he saved us by giving himself for us. Let us not, therefore, allow the remembrance of the dead to become mere nostalgia. In faith, let us contemplate the mystery of death without fear, because the Lord is alive, awaits us and has already prepared a place for us in his Father’s house (cf. Jn 14:2-3).

The Church celebrates this act of entrustment and hope within the communion of saints. When we pray for the dead, we do so not only for them, but also with them, drawn into a reciprocity that the Holy Spirit brings to life in our hearts. The Church is the mystery of communion between Christ, the head, and us, his members: from him we receive life. This communion unites the blessed spirits who already contemplate the face of God with all those who, in heaven or on earth, are journeying toward that radiant goal.

Dear friends, in Christ, death does not dissolve our bonds. Rather, it transfigures them into a new dimension, which can be understood only in the mystery of his love, given to the very end on the cross and poured out after his paschal victory. By welcoming the charity of the risen Lord in the holy Eucharist, let us therefore preserve and nurture this communion throughout our journey, so that when our own hour comes, we too may receive the prayers of our brothers and sisters still on pilgrimage and rejoice with all the saints in the joy of our heavenly homeland.

05.11.26

Pope Leo Holy Mass 05.11.26

For the Cardinals and Bishops who have died over the past year

Pope Leo General Audience 04.11.26

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

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

The social dimension is an integral part not only of human nature, but also of our faith in Christ Jesus, as the precious legacy we receive from the Incarnation of the Son of God. The Constitution Gaudium et Spes (GS) recalls this in Chapters III and IV of Part II, dedicated to economic and social life and to the life of the political community. In these areas too, the Christian faith offers criteria for discernment.

The Council Fathers highlight, first of all, the threat to world peace deriving from the imbalances linked to an economic development that is neither equitable nor respectful of creation (cf. GS, 63). This is a far-sighted vision, which was unfortunately borne out towards the end of the last century and which we see even more clearly today. To correct this course, the Document warns, technical progress alone is not enough: “many reforms in the socioeconomic realm and a change of mentality and attitude are required of all” (ibid.).

Therefore, Gaudium et Spes summarises the Christian vision of economic development, which must always be at the service of humankind and under human control (cf. GS, 64–65). The concept of integral development is already clearly evident here, a concept which Saint Paul VI would later place at the heart of his Encyclical Populorum Progressio (1967). More relevant than ever are the appeals to commit to eliminating discrimination against the most vulnerable social groups and migrants (cf. GS, 66).

The heart of the economy is work. Through it, one develops as a person, provides for family needs, expresses one’s own talent, participates in social life and builds a better world by collaborating in God’s creative work. Work must never be distorted to the detriment of people, the common good or creation. The real challenge is to offer everyone opportunities to make the most of their abilities: unemployment, exploitation and working conditions that endanger health and life itself are unacceptable (cf. GS, 67). Workers have the right and the duty to participate in decisions affecting their work, including through trade unions, resolving conflicts through dialogue and non-violent action (cf. GS, 68).

In this context, the Council recalls one of the fundamental principles of social teaching, namely the universal destination of earthly goods (cf. GS, 69) and applies it to the financial sphere, stating that “whoever makes decisions concerning these investments and the planning of the economy – whether they be individuals or groups of public authorities – are bound … to recognise their serious obligation of watching, on the one hand, that provision be made for the necessities required for a decent life both of individuals and of the whole community and, on the other, of looking out for the future and of establishing a right balance between the needs of present-day consumption, both individual and collective, and the demands of investing for the generation to come” (GS, 70).

04.11.26

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 Angelus 01.11.26

The Solemnity of All Saints

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

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

The Solemnity of All Saints, which we celebrate today, invites us to share in the joy of that countless family of men and women who, following the Lord Jesus, have made their lives a gift to God and to their neighbours. Along their different paths to holiness, they have longed for “the ocean of infinite love,” to use a beautiful expression of Pope Benedict XVI (Spe Salvi, 12).

The Liturgy of the Word describes this family as “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev 7:9). Today, in fact, we celebrate all the saints: those whom the Church has recognised as such as well as the countless others who have not been formally recognised but are known to God. As today’s Gospel reminds us (Mt 5:1-12), they are poor in spirit, yet rich in God’s love. Their faces are streaked with tears, yet they find consolation in prayer. They are meek in the face of violence and rewarded by the Father. They hunger for justice, yet are filled in the depths of their consciences. They are ready to forgive and embraced by mercy. They are disarmed in heart, yet protected by God. They are peacemakers, called by name by God. They are persecuted and insulted, yet strong in faith and charity.

It is indeed true that it is impossible to count this multitude of brothers and sisters, and not just in numerical terms. Holiness, in fact, cannot be reduced to any calculation, for such is the good that all the saints have spread around them in the world. As we admire them, we ask ourselves: what have these people, with God’s grace, brought forth? Essentially, actions and choices of love that transcend the calculations of greed and the arrogance of evil, which at times seems to prevail. The saints are the most beautiful and powerful sign of the Kingdom of God that is coming — or rather, as Jesus teaches us, is already among us (cf. Lk 17:20-21). Moreover, this blessed multitude embraces people from the most diverse backgrounds, cultures and walks of life. Holiness is not a privilege reserved for a few, but a universal vocation that speaks to each of us where we live. This is the hope-filled message of today’s feast: God sees the good that we do not see, knows stories that we do not know and reaches hearts to which we have no access.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, blessed because she believed the word of the Lord, accompany us along the path to holiness, so that we may never grow weary of fostering peace, both in the most important situations and in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Yesterday, in Savannah, Georgia, in the United States of America, Pedro de Corpa and four companions, religious of the Order of Friars Minor, who were killed in odium fidei in 1597, were beatified. Originally from Spain, they responded generously to the Lord's call to evangelize the peoples of the Americas, even to the point of giving their lives. Let us invoke the intercession of these martyrs for all missionaries of the Gospel.

01.11.26

Pope Leo General Audience 28.10.26

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

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

The Second Vatican Council could not fail to address the subject of culture and its relationship with the Christian faith. It does so in the second chapter of the second part of the Constitution Gaudium et Spes (GS).

The Catholic Church has always been concerned with accompanying the preaching of the Gospel with the establishment of schools of every kind, aimed at advancing the human, cultural and spiritual formation of men and women across the five continents. Medieval universities, as we know, were born from the heart of the Church, making a decisive contribution to the development of Western civilization. At the same time, the progress of culture and knowledge raises ever new and deeper questions, prompting believers to give an account of their faith (cf. 1 Pet 3:15–17). Finally, as expressions of the spiritual dimension of the human being, the various manifestations of culture contribute to opening minds to the perennial questions on the meaning of the world and of human existence, thus preparing people to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The relationship between faith and culture finds its primary foundation in the Incarnation: if the divine Word became flesh and came to dwell among us (cf. Jn 1:14), then faith too is an incarnate reality, interwoven with the culture in which it is immersed. It is also required to become culture, that is, to reach the person in their living environment, made up of human words, traditions, religious meaning, art and poetry, thought and science. As Saint John Paul II loved to repeat, “a faith that does not become culture is a faith not fully accepted, not entirely thought out, not faithfully lived”. [1]

Faith can be embodied in all cultures, because it does not identify itself with any of them in a specific one. It dwells within them, shaping them from within according to the “form” of Jesus Christ; that is, through charity, service and the filial recognition of God’s fatherhood. In this way, the Church draws from the various cultures all that is good, beautiful and true, in order to embody and transmit the message of the Gospel. At the same time, “the Church, sent to all peoples of every time and place, is not bound exclusively and indissolubly to any race or nation, any particular way of life or any customary way of life recent or ancient. Faithful to her own tradition and at the same time conscious of her universal mission, she can enter into communion with the various civilizations, to their enrichment and the enrichment of the Church herself” (GS, 58).

The Church promotes culture because it is a good in itself, a service to the human being and to the fulfilment of her vocation on earth. For this reason, Gaudium et Spes exhorts the international community to ensure that everyone has access to fundamental cultural goods, by overcoming illiteracy and the lack of education. All those who are capable of accessing higher education – the Council boldly states – must be placed in a position to do so in practice. Furthermore, “it will belong to all to acknowledge and favour the proper and necessary participation of women in the cultural life” (GS, 60).

In addition, Gaudium et Spes upholds the need to direct teaching towards a certain unity of knowledge, even though changing living conditions may make this more difficult (cf. GS, 61). Christians are the first who must strive to bring about this unity of wisdom, first and foremost within themselves. Although they have received from Revelation the answers to the great questions of existence, they are not thereby exempt from patient intellectual and cultural formation; on the contrary, their human and scientific knowledge must go hand in hand with the substance of their faith, which must be continually deepened with age and in accordance with their level of study. The Council addresses a particular appeal to theologians: “Let those who teach theology … strive to collaborate with men versed in the other sciences through a sharing of their resources and points of view. Theological inquiry should pursue a profound understanding of revealed truth; at the same time it should not neglect close contact with its own time that it may be able to help these men skilled in various disciplines to attain to a better understanding of the faith” (GS, 62).

28.10.26

The Gospel in your pocket

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

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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