Vatican City (AsiaNews) – “We are part of a people, a body established by the Lord,” said Pope Leo XIV this morning when he met for the first time in the Clementine Hall with moderators and leaders of movements, associations and communities recognised by the Holy See.
The meeting is a prelude to the Jubilee celebrations that will see over 70,000 pilgrims from 100 countries around the world converge in Rome this weekend united by this type of experience.
The high points will be the Pentecost vigil tomorrow evening and the solemn Mass that Pope Leo XIV will preside over on Sunday in the parvis of St Peter's Basilica with representatives of groups that range from Azione Cattolica and Comunione e Liberazione to the Neocatechumenal Way, the Community of Sant'Egidio, and the Charismatic Renewal.
For Pope Leo, all these different experiences should be looked at through the strong idea that unites them. “Christian life is not lived in isolation,” he said, “as a kind of intellectual or sentimental experience, confined to the mind and the heart. It is lived with others, in a group and in community, because the risen Christ is present wherever disciples gather in his name.”
The pontiff noted that “The lay apostolate was strongly encouraged by the Second Vatican Council”. But other groups “were born of a charism: the charism of a founder or a founding group, or a charism inspired by that of a religious Institute. This too is an essential dimension of the Church’s life.”
“Without charisms, there is a risk that Christ’s grace, offered in abundance, may not find good soil to receive it. That is the reason why God raises up charisms: to awaken in hearts a desire to encounter Christ and a thirst for the divine life that he offers us. In a word, grace!”
The Pope urged everyone to heed two words in particular: unity and mission.
“Seek to spread everywhere this unity that you yourselves experience in your groups and communities, always in communion with the Church’s Pastors and in solidarity with other ecclesial realities. Draw close to all those whom you meet, so that your charisms may ever be at the service of the unity of the Church, and be “a leaven of unity, communion, and fraternity” (cf. Homily, 18 May 2025) in our world, so torn by discord and violence.”
A missionary élan is also crucial. The “movements have a fundamental role in the work of evangelization. [. . .] Place your talents at the service of the Church’s mission, whether in places of first evangelization or in your parishes and local ecclesial communities, in order to reach those who, albeit distant, are often waiting, without being aware of it, to hear God’s word of life.” And “Always keep the Lord Jesus at the centre!” he said.
“[C]harisms are meant to serve this purpose. [. . .] all of us are called to imitate Christ, who emptied himself to enrich us (cf. Phil 2:7). Those who join with others in pursuing an apostolic goal and those who enjoy a charism are called alike to enrich others through the emptying of self. It is a source of freedom and great joy.”
