Pope Francis Homilies

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Pope Leo Regina Caeli 24.05.26

Pentecost Sunday

Pope Leo Holy Mass 24.05.26

Pentecost Sunday

Dear brothers and sisters,

The Easter season reaches its fulfilment today on the Solemnity of Pentecost. To highlight the continuity of this salvific event, the Gospel takes us back to the “first day of the week” (Jn 20:19), that is, to that new day on which the risen Jesus appeared to the disciples, showing them “his hands and his side” (v. 20). The Lord reveals his glorious body, specifically his wounds, the marks of the crucifixion. These signs of the Passion, more eloquent than words, are now transfigured; he who was dead lives forever.

Upon seeing the Lord, the disciples too are restored back to life. They had shut themselves in the Upper Room, overcome by fear, but Jesus comes and stands among them, even though the doors were closed, and fills them with joy. He passes through our “death,” opening the tomb and throwing it wide open when there was no way out for us. Christ accompanies his actions with the words: “Peace be with you” (v. 19); and immediately afterward, he breathes the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. The risen One is full of life. After having proven that he was restored to life as true man, he bestows the life of God as the beloved Son of the Father who has become, for our sake, our brother and Redeemer. In the same Upper Room where he instituted the new and eternal covenant, Jesus pours out the Spirit. The place of the Last Supper and the betrayal is transformed; the tomb of the Apostles becomes, for the entire Church, the womb of the Resurrection. Pentecost is therefore a Paschal feast and a feast of the body of Christ, which by grace is all of us.

In celebrating this mystery, I would like to focus on three aspects.

First of all, the Spirit of the risen One is the Spirit of peace. Indeed, through his Paschal Mystery, Christ restores peace between God and humanity, and the Holy Spirit pours this peace into our hearts and spreads it throughout the world. This peace stems from forgiveness and leads us to forgiveness. It begins with the forgiveness given by Jesus himself, whom we betrayed, condemned and crucified. Surprising us with his love, the risen One himself says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven” (Jn 20:23). With these words, Jesus involves us in a divine work, for only God can forgive sins (cf. Mk 2:7). This authority is bestowed as a sign of universal reconciliation: the Lord pours out his Spirit of peace from one end of history to the other, for he who has redeemed everyone from death excludes no one. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is Lord and giver of life since the beginning of creation, when he hovered over the waters (cf. Gen 1:2); and now, in renewing creation, he transforms the history of the world. Pentecost truly appears as the feast of the New Covenant, the Covenant between God and all the peoples of the world. While the roaring sound from above, the wind and the tongues of fire in the Upper Room are reminiscent of the ancient signs at Sinai (cf. Acts 2:2–3; Ex 19:16–19), God’s holy law is inscribed in our hearts, engraved by the Spirit with letters of love in the flesh of Christ and in his body the Church.

This law is the rule of peace: It is the twofold commandment of love that the Spirit reminds us of with every heartbeat. With our heart, we can therefore pray “Veni Sancte Spiritus,” for he has already been given to us. We can long for him, for he has already been promised to us. We can welcome him, for he himself is the sweet guest of the soul.

A second point is that the Spirit of the risen One is the Spirit of mission: “As the Father has sent me,” says the Lord, “so I send you” (Jn 20:21). We are consequently drawn into Jesus’ mission, the mission of the one who proceeds from God and returns to God through the power of the Spirit — who in turn proceeds from the Father and the Son, and is worshiped and glorified with them as one God. The Holy Spirit is the living charity of Christ that fills us, spurs us on and sustains us in our mission (cf. 2 Cor 5:14). While bestowing on the Apostles the power to preach (cf. Acts 2:4), the same Spirit teaches humanity the word of salvation. Now that the Apostles have received the breath of the risen One within themselves, this proclamation pours from their lips, borne by the voice of Peter and of those who are with him. On the very day of Pentecost, the Apostles began to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen. In other words, the “mighty works of God” (Acts 2:11) are summed up in redemption, which begins with faith. Indeed, the first work of the Holy Spirit in us is the faith with which we profess: “Jesus is Lord!” (1 Cor 12:3). This faith lives and is expressed in every good deed, in every act of mercy and virtue. The work of God, therefore, is each one of us, who came here today from all parts of the world, invited to the Lord’s table, gathered to listen to his word and called to bear witness to it everywhere.

Dear friends, we are truly co-workers of the Gospel: the whole Church is its protagonist, not merely its guardian. Through the power of the Spirit, our proclamation is filled with joy and hope, for we — yes, we ourselves — are the newness of the world, the light and the salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5:13–14). Certainly not because of our own merit or privilege, but because of the word of the Lord, who sanctifies the sinner, heals the leper and transforms the one who denied him into an apostle. As we can clearly see, there are changes that do not bring new life to the world, but make it grow old through error and violence. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit enlightens minds and instils new vitality in our hearts. This is how he transfigures history, opening it to salvation, which is the gift that the Lord offers to everyone. The Church’s mission bears witness to this offer, thereby transforming the world’s confusion into communion with God and among ourselves.

This mission begins by proclaiming the truth about God and man, for the Spirit of the risen One is the “Spirit of truth” (Jn 14:17), whom the Lord himself promised us, asking for the unity of his Church — a unity founded on the love of God, the source of our love. The Spirit, who has spoken through the prophets, always promotes unity in truth, for he imbues in us understanding, harmony and coherency of life. As Saint Augustine teaches, “the Holy Spirit willed that this should be the sign of his presence” (Discourse 269, 1): The gift of tongues that are understood within the one faith. The Paraclete protects us from everything that hinders this understanding, including partisanship, hypocrisy and fads that obscure the light of the Gospel. The truth that God gives us thus stands as a liberating word for all peoples, a message that transforms every culture from within.

Indeed, the Spirit of the risen One is not poured out once and for all, but constantly. Just as the Eucharist is the living presence of Christ, who nourishes us unceasingly, so too does the Holy Spirit imprint his character upon us in Baptism, which makes us Christians; in Confirmation, which establishes us as witnesses; and in Holy Orders, which constitutes ministers and shepherds for God’s people. In every sacrament, he is the dator munerum, the source of holiness who multiplies gifts and charisms through prayer, works of mercy and the study of the word of God. As the Apostle teaches: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor 12:7). It is precisely for this reason that we are the Church, the one body that lives in God and serves the world. Thanks to the Spirit, we can bring true peace to all, the truth that saves — the same Christ our Lord.

Dear friends, with fervent hearts, let us pray today that the Spirit of the risen One may save us from the evil of war, which is overcome not by a superpower, but by the omnipotence of love. Let us pray that he free humanity from misery, which is redeemed not by immeasurable wealth, but by an inexhaustible gift. Let us pray that he heal us from the scourge of sin through the salvation proclaimed to all peoples in the name of Jesus. This is the grace that instils courage in the Apostles; may he similarly instil it in us, today and always, through the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church.

24.05.26 m

Pope Leo Holy Mass 24.05.26

Pentecost Sunday

Pope Leo General Audience 20.05.26

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

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

Today we are beginning a new series of catecheses on the first Document issued by the Second Vatican Council: the Constitution on the sacred liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC).

In drafting this Constitution, the Council Fathers sought not only to undertake a reform of the rites, but to lead the Church to contemplate and deepen that living bond which constitutes and unites her: the mystery of Christ. Indeed, the liturgy touches the very heart of this mystery: it is at once the space, the time and the context in which the Church receives her very life from Christ. For in the liturgy, “the work of our redemption is accomplished” (SC, 2), which makes us a chosen lineage, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people whom God has acquired for Himself (cf. 1 Pet 2:9).

20.05.26

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 20.05.26

Pope Leo Regina Caeli 17.05.26

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

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

In many countries throughout the world, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated today.

The image of Jesus –– lifted up from the earth and ascending toward heaven, as the Bible states (cf. Acts 1:1-11) –– may cause us to think about this Mystery as a distant event from long ago. Yet this is not so, for we are united to Jesus as the members of one body united to the head. By ascending into heaven, then, he draws us with him toward full communion with the Father. In this regard, Saint Augustine said, “the head’s advance is the hope of the members” (Sermon 265, 1.2).

Indeed, Christ’s entire life is a movement of ascent. Through his humanity, he embraces and involves the whole world, elevating and redeeming human beings from their sinful condition. He thus brings light, forgiveness and hope where previously there was darkness, injustice and desperation, in order that men and women may attain the definitive Easter victory, in which the Son of God, by dying “has destroyed our death, and by rising, restored our life” (Preface I of Easter).

The Ascension, therefore, does not speak to us of a distant promise, but of a living bond, which draws us also toward heavenly glory, already elevating and expanding our horizon in this life and directing our way of thinking, feeling and acting more closely to the measure of God’s heart.

Moreover, in this path of ascent, we recognize the way (cf. Jn 14:1-6). Indeed, we find it in Jesus –– in the gift of his life, his example and his teachings. We also see it marked out for us by the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints: those whom the Church offers as universal role models. Pope Francis also liked to speak of the saints “next door” (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Guadete et Exsultate, 7), with whom we live in our daily lives: fathers, mothers, grandparents, people of every age and condition, who, with joy and commitment, make the effort to live sincerely according to the Gospel.

With them, with their support and thanks to their prayer, we too can learn to ascend day by day toward heaven. As Saint Paul says, we must focus on whatever is true, just and loveable (cf. Phil 4:8), and put into practice, with God’s help, all that we have “heard and seen” (v. 9). In this way, the divine life, which we received in Baptism and which constantly draws us to the heights, toward the Father, can grow in and around us and spread the precious fruits of communion and peace in the world.

May Mary, the Queen of Heaven, who illuminates and guides us in every moment, support us on our path.

17.05.26

Pope Leo General Audience 13.05.26

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

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

The Second Vatican Council chose to dedicate the last chapter of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church to the Virgin Mary (cf. Lumen gentium, 52-69). She “is hailed as a pre-eminent and singular member of the Church, and as its type and excellent example in faith and charity” (LG, 53). These words invite us to understand how in Mary, who under the action of the Holy Spirit welcomed and brought forth the Son of God made flesh, we can recognise both the model and the pre-eminent member and mother of the entire ecclesial community.

By allowing Herself to be shaped by the work of Grace, which came to fulfilment in Her, and by welcoming the gift of the Most High with Her faith and Her virginal love, Mary is the perfect model of what the whole Church is called to be: a creature of the Word of the Lord and mother of the children of God, begotten in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, as She is the believer par excellence, in whom we are offered the perfect form of unconditional openness to the divine mystery within the communion of God’s holy people, Mary is an excellent member of the ecclesial community. Finally, inasmuch as She brings forth children in the Son, loved in the eternal Beloved who came among us, Mary is the mother of the whole Church, which can turn to her with filial confidence, in the certainty of being heard, protected and loved.

On might express the sum of these characteristics of the Virgin Mary by referring to Her as a woman who is the icon of the Mystery. The word woman highlights the historical reality of this young daughter of Israel, to whom it was granted to live the extraordinary experience of becoming the mother of the Messiah. The expression icon emphasizes that, in Her, the twofold movement of descent and ascent is fulfilled: in Her, both God’s gratuitous election and Her free consent of faith in Him shine forth. Mary is therefore the woman who is the icon of the Mystery, that is, of the divine plan of salvation, once hidden and now revealed in its fullness in Jesus Christ.

The Council has left us clear teaching on the unique place reserved to the Virgin Mary in the work of Redemption (cf. Lumen gentium, 60-62). It recalls that the sole Mediator of salvation is Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Tm 2:5-6), and that his Mother Most Holy “in no way impedes, but rather fosters the immediate union of the faithful with Christ (cf. LG, 60). At the same time, “predestined from eternity by that decree of divine providence which determined the incarnation of the Word to be the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin … in this singular way … cooperated by Her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Saviour in giving back supernatural life to souls. Wherefore She is our mother in the order of grace” (ibid., 61).

The mystery of the Church is also reflected in the Virgin Mary: in Her, the people of God find the representation of their origin, their model and their homeland. In the Mother of the Lord, the Church contemplates her own mystery, not only because she finds in Her the model of virginal faith, maternal charity and the spousal covenant to which she is called, but also and above all because in Her she recognizes her own archetype, the ideal figure of what she is called to be.

As we can see, the reflections on the Virgin Mother collected in Lumen gentium teach us to love the Church and to serve within her the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God, which is coming and which will be fully realized in glory.

Let us then allow ourselves to be questioned by the sublime model given to us by Mary, Virgin and Mother, and let us ask Her to help us, through Her intercession, to respond to what is asked of us through Her example: do I live my participation of the Church with humble and active faith? Do I recognize in her the community of the covenant that God has given me to respond to His infinite love? Do I feel that I am a living part of the Church, in obedience to the pastors given by God? Do I look to Mary as a model, an outstanding member and Mother of the Church, and ask Her to help me be a faithful disciple of her Son?

Sisters and brothers, may the Holy Spirit, who descended upon Mary and is invoked by us humbly and trustfully, grant us the grace to live these wonderful realities to the full. And, having reflected deeply on the Constitution Lumen gentium, let us ask the Virgin to obtain this gift for us: that love for the Holy Mother Church may grow in all of us. So be it!

13.05.26

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