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 Angelus 08.03.26

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Since the first centuries of the Church’s history, the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, the healing of the man born blind and the resurrection of Lazarus illuminate the path of those who, at Easter, will receive Baptism and begin a new life. These great Gospel passages, which we read beginning this Sunday, are intended for the catechumens to help them on their journey to become Christians. At the same time, these passages are heard once again by the entire community of believers to help them to be more authentic and joyful Christians.

Indeed, Jesus is the response to our thirst. As he suggested to the Samaritan woman, the encounter with him stirs in the depths of each person “a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” ( Jn 4:14). How many people in the entire world are searching even today for this spiritual spring! “Sometimes I am there too,” writes the young Etty Hillesum in her diary. “But more often stones and grit block the well, and God is buried beneath. Then he must be dug out again.” [1] Dear friends, there is no energy better spent than that dedicated to freeing our heart. For this reason, Lent is a gift: we are starting the third week and now we are able to intensify the journey!

It is also written in the Gospel that: “His disciples came [and] they were astonished that he was speaking with a woman” (Jn 4:27). They are reluctant to accept his mission as their own, so the Master has to prompt them: “Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting” (Jn 4:35). The Lord still says to his Church: “Lift up your eyes and recognise God’s surprises!” In the fields, four months prior to the harvest, one sees practically nothing. But there, where we see nothing, grace is already at work and its fruits are ready to be gathered. The harvest is great: perhaps the workers are few because they are distracted by other activities. Jesus, on the other hand, is attentive. According to custom, he ought to have simply ignored that Samaritan woman; instead, Jesus speaks with her, listens to her, and shows her respect – without a hidden agenda and without disdain.

How many people seek in the Church this same sensitivity, this availability! And how beautiful it is when we lose track of time in order to give attention to the person we are encountering, as we see in this passage. Jesus was so spiritually nourished by God’s desire to reach people on the deepest levels that he even forgot to eat (cf. Jn 4:34). Thus, the Samaritan woman becomes the first of many female evangelisers. Because of her testimony, many from her village of despised and rejected people came to meet Jesus, and also in them faith bubbled forth like pure water.

Sisters and brothers, today let us ask Mary, Mother of the Church, to be able to serve, with Jesus and like Jesus, those men and women thirsting for truth and justice. This is not the time for opposition between one church and another, between “us” and “them”: those who worship God seek to be men and women of peace, who worship him in Spirit and in truth (cf. Jn 4:23-24).

[1] Etty Hillesum, Diary, London 1985, 58-59

Dear brothers and sisters,

Deeply disturbing news continues to arrive from Iran and the entire Middle East. In addition to the episodes of violence and devastation as well as the widespread climate of hatred and fear, there is also the concern that the conflict will spread and that other countries in the region, including beloved Lebanon, may again sink back into instability.

We lift up our humble prayer to the Lord, so that the thunderous sound of bombs may cease, weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open up in which the voice of the people can be heard. I entrust this intention to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, that she may intercede for those who suffer because of war and lead hearts along the paths of reconciliation and hope.

Today, 8 March, is International Women’s Day. We renew our commitment, which for us Christians is based on the Gospel, to recognise the equal dignity of man and woman. Unfortunately many women, from childhood onwards, are still discriminated against and suffer various forms of violence. In a special way, I offer to them my solidarity and my prayers.

I welcome the students from College Station in Texas, Kansas City in Missouri, and Fort Wayne in Indiana from the United States of America, and from Jerez and Cádiz in Spain, as well as groups of pilgrims from Peru, Panama, Honduras, Mexico and Chile.

I greet the faithful from Brescia, Castrolibero, Gravina di Puglia, Perugia, and from the parishes of San Clemente Papa and San Pio da Pietrelcina in Rome.

I greet the “Casa di Maria” community of Rome, the group of candidates for Confirmation in the Diocese of Orvieto-Todi, the children from Mantova and the rugby team from Rovigo.

I wish everyone a blessed Sunday.

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Pope Leo Angelus 08.03.26

Pope Leo General Audience 04.03.26

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

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

Today, we will continue our exploration of the Conciliar Constitution Lumen gentium, a dogmatic Constitution on the Church.

In the first chapter, which is primarily intended to answer the question of what the Church is, she is described as a “complex reality” (no. 8). Now we ask ourselves: what does this complexity consist of? Some might answer that the Church is complex in that she is ‘complicated’ and therefore difficult to explain; others might think that her complexity derives from the fact that she is an institution steeped in two thousand years of history, with characteristics that differ from any other social or religious group. In Latin, however, the word ‘complex’ indicates rather the orderly union of different aspects or dimensions within the same reality. For this reason, Lumen gentium can affirm that the Church is a well-organised body, in which the human and divine dimensions coexist without separation and without confusion.

The first dimension is immediately perceptible, in that the Church is a community of men and women who share the joy and struggle of being Christians, with their strengths and weaknesses, proclaiming the Gospel and becoming a sign of the presence of Christ who accompanies us on our journey through life. Yet this aspect – which is also evident in its institutional organisation – is not sufficient to describe the true nature of the Church, because it also has a divine dimension. The latter does not consist in an ideal perfection or spiritual superiority of its members, but in the fact that the Church is generated by God’s plan for humanity, realised in Christ.

Therefore, the Church is at the same time an earthly community and the mystical body of Christ, a visible assembly and a spiritual mystery, a reality present in history and a people journeying towards heaven (LG, 8; CCC, 771).

The human and divine dimensions integrate harmoniously, without one overshadowing the other; thus, the Church lives in this paradox. She is a reality that is both human and divine, which welcomes the sinful man and leads him to God.

To illuminate this ecclesial condition, Lumen gentium refers to the life of Christ. In fact, those who met Jesus along the roads of Palestine experienced his humanity, his eyes, his hands, the sound of his voice. Those who decided to follow him were moved precisely by the experience of his welcoming gaze, the touch of his blessing hands, his words of liberation and healing. At the same time, however, by following that Man, the disciples opened themselves to an encounter with God. Indeed, Christ’s flesh, his face, his gestures and his words visibly manifest the invisible God.

In the light of the reality of Jesus, we can now return to the Church: when we look at her closely, we discover a human dimension made up of real people, who sometimes manifest the beauty of the Gospel and other times struggle and make mistakes like everyone else. However, it is precisely through her members and her limited earthly aspects that Christ’s presence and his saving action are manifested. As Benedict XVI said, there is no opposition between the Gospel and the institution; on the contrary, the structures of the Church serve precisely for the “realisation and concretization of the Gospel in our time” (Address to Swiss Bishops, 9 November 2006). An ideal and pure Church, separated from the earth, does not exist; only the one Church of Christ, embodied in history.

04.03.26

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

Message for Lent 2026

Excerpt below for the full transcript click on the link above

Listening and Fasting:

Lent as a Time of Conversion

Dear brothers and sisters,

Lent is a time in which the Church, guided by a sense of maternal care, invites us to place the mystery of God back in the centre of our lives, in order to find renewal in our faith and keep our hearts from being consumed by the anxieties and distractions of daily life.

Every path towards conversion begins by allowing the word of God to touch our hearts and welcoming it with a docile spirit. There is a relationship between the word, our acceptance of it and the transformation it brings about. For this reason, the Lenten journey is a welcome opportunity to heed the voice of the Lord and renew our commitment to following Christ, accompanying him on the road to Jerusalem, where the mystery of his passion, death and resurrection will be fulfilled.

13.02.26

Pope Leo Holy Mass 01.03.26

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

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am pleased to be with you and to be able to listen, together with you, to the Word of God with your entire parish community. This Sunday presents us with Abraham’s journey (cf. Gen 12:1-4) and the event of Jesus’ Transfiguration (cf. Mt 17:1-9).

Like Abraham, we can all recognise ourselves as being on a journey. Life is a journey that requires trust, it requires reliance on the Word of God who calls us and sometimes asks us to leave everything behind. We may then be tempted to flee from precariousness as though it were a vertigo that overwhelms us, whereas it is precisely from within it that we can appreciate a promise of unexpected greatness. Every day – because that is how the world reasons – we measure everything and strive to have everything under control. But in this way, we miss the opportunity to discover the real treasure, the precious pearl, as the Gospel teaches us, which God has unexpectedly hidden in our field (cf. Mt 13:44).

Abraham’s journey begins with a loss: the land and the home that hold the memories of his past. However, it will be completed in a new land and with an immense lineage, in which everything becomes a blessing. We too, if we allow ourselves to be called by faith on a journey, to risk new decisions of life and love, will cease to fear losing something, because we will feel that we are growing in a wealth that no-one can take away from us.

Jesus’ disciples also happened to face a journey, the one which would take them to Jerusalem (cfr. Lk 9:51). There, in the holy City, the Master fulfilled his mission, giving his life on the cross and becoming a blessing for all and forever. We know how much resistance Peter and all the others put up to following him. But they had to understand that one can only be a blessing by overcoming the instinct to defend oneself and by accepting what Jesus entrusts to the Eucharistic gesture: the willingness to offer his own body as bread to be eaten, to live and die in order to give life. This is what Sunday is, brothers and sisters: it is the pause along the journey in which we gather around Jesus. Jesus encourages us not to stop and not to change direction. There is no greater promise, no treasure more precious than living in order to give life!

Shortly before the day of the Transfiguration, Jesus had confided in his disciples what the destination of their journey would be, namely, his passion, death and resurrection. You will remember Peter's opposition and Jesus’ reaction when he said to him, “You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men” (Mt 16:23). And now, six days later, Jesus asks Peter, James and John to accompany him up the mountain. Those difficult words still ring in their ears; the unacceptable image of the Messiah condemned to death is still in their minds.

It is this inner darkness of the disciples that Jesus breaks when, on the mountaintop, he shows himself to them transfigured in a dazzling, unimaginable light. And in this glorious vision, Moses and Elijah also appear beside him, witnesses to the fact that in Jesus all the Scriptures are fulfilled (cf. Mt 17:2-3).

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Pope Leo Angelus 01.03.26

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today’s Gospel paints a radiant picture for all of us as it recounts the Transfiguration of the Lord (cf. Mt 17:1-9). In this depiction, the Evangelist draws on the Apostles’ memories, portraying Christ between Moses and Elijah. The Word made flesh stands between the Law and the Prophets: he is living Wisdom, who brings every divine word to fulfilment. Everything that God has commanded to and inspired in human beings finds its full and definitive expression in Jesus.

Just as on the day of his baptism in the Jordan, so too today on the mountain we hear the voice of the Father proclaiming, “This is my beloved Son,” while the Holy Spirit envelops Jesus in a “bright cloud” (Mt 17:5). The Gospel uses this unique expression to describe how God reveals himself. When he manifests himself, the Lord makes his abundance visible to our gaze: standing before Jesus, whose face shines “like the sun” and whose clothes become “as white as light” (cf. v. 2), the disciples behold the human splendour of God. Peter, James and John contemplate a humble glory, which is not displayed as a spectacle for the crowds to see, but in solemn intimacy.

The Transfiguration foreshadows the light of Easter: an event of death and resurrection, of darkness and new light that Christ radiates on all bodies scourged by violence, crucified by pain, or abandoned in misery. Indeed, while evil reduces our flesh to a commodity or an anonymous mass, this same flesh shines with the glory of God. The Redeemer thus transfigures the wounds of history, enlightening our minds and hearts: his revelation is a gift of salvation! Does this captivate us? Do we see the true face of God with a gaze of wonder and love?

The Father’s reply to the despair of atheism is the gift of his Son, the Saviour; the Holy Spirit redeems us from the loneliness of agnosticism by offering us an everlasting communion of life and grace; and in response to our weak faith, the promise of the future resurrection is announced. This is what the disciples saw in Christ’s splendour, but it took time for them to understand (cf. Mt 17:9), time in silence to listen to the word, time for conversion in order to enjoy the Lord’s company.

As we experience this during Lent, let us ask Mary, teacher of prayer and Morning Star, to guide us in faith.

Dear brothers and sisters!

I am following with deep concern what is happening in the Middle East and in Iran during this tumultuous time. Stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through the use of weapons, which sow destruction, suffering, and death, but only through reasonable, sincere, and responsible dialogue.

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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