Leo XIV spoke at the Angelus about developments in Latin America, calling for “Overcoming violence” and pursuing the “paths of justice and peace”. He urged respect for "human and civil rights." On the Jubilee of 2025, which ends in two days, he said that hope “is the incarnation of God," who calls for "the promotion of fraternity and communion.”

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Today, the first Sunday of 2026, two days before the close of the 2025 Jubilee, Pope Leo XIV appeared at 12 noon to recite the Angelus in a cloud-covered St Peter's Square.

In his commentary on the Word of the Day, the pontiff said that that “the foundation of our hope”, the theme that accompanied the Holy Year, “is God’s incarnation.”

Turning to some of the world's wounds, such as the US attack on Venezuela and the tragedy in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, he urged people "to have faith in the God of peace", and to pray and be "in solidarity with the peoples who suffer because of wars.”

Leo went on to say that he was following with "a heart full of concern" the latest developments in Venezuela in the aftermath of the US attack and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who are now in New York.

The pope emphasised that “the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration” in the current transition.

He added that this should mean "overcoming violence and [lead] to the pursuit of paths of justice and peace, guaranteeing the sovereignty of the country, ensuring the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution”.

The pontiff stressed that the paths to justice and peace include respect for "the human and civil rights of each and every person” and building “a peaceful future of cooperation, stability and harmony, with special attention to the poorest who are suffering because of the difficult economic situation.”

Leo called on the faithful to pray for the difficult situation through the intercession of Our Lady of Coromoto and Saints José Gregorio Hernández and Sister Carmen Rendiles, figures of great grassroots devotion in Venezuela.

In the wake of a major fire that engulfed a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana during New Year’s celebrations, killing 47 and injuring more than a hundred, the pope, before the Marian prayer, expressed his closeness "to those suffering”, and offered his “prayers for the young people who died, for the injured, and for their families”.

Before the Angelus, the pope renewed his best wishes for the Christmas season. He also noted that the Holy Door of St Peter's will close in two days, on the day of Epiphany, marking the end of the Jubilee, opened by Pope Francis on 24 December 2024, which will still be experienced "immersed" in the "Mystery of Christmas."

He said that the prologue to the Gospel of John (Jn 1:1-18) is also a reminder that hope is "the incarnation of God." Indeed, “Christian hope is not based on optimistic forecasts or human calculations, but on God’s decision to share our journey, so that we may never be alone as we travel through life”.

In his commentary on the Word of the Day, Leo stressed that God's sharing of the journey with humanity is his “work”, while Jesus “became one of us, chose to remain with us, and willed to be forever God-with-us”.

“The coming of Jesus in the weakness of human flesh rekindles our hope. At the same time, it entrusts us with a twofold commitment: one to God and the other to our fellow human beings,” he explained.

The first commitment relates to the call “to reconsider how we think about him, beginning with the flesh of Jesus, and not from an abstract doctrine.”

To this end, it is important to “examine our spirituality and the ways in which we express our faith, in order to ensure that they are truly incarnate. In other words, we must be capable of contemplating, proclaiming and praying to the God who meets us in Jesus.”

In fact, God “is not a distant deity in a perfect heaven above us, but a God who is nearby and inhabits our fragile earth, who becomes present in the faces of our brothers and sisters, and reveals himself in the circumstances of daily life.”

As for the second commitment, it “calls us to recognize the inviolable dignity of every person and to offer ourselves in mutual love for one another.” Since every “human creature” is a reflection of God, “the Incarnation demands a concrete commitment to the promotion of fraternity and communion,” the pope said.

“Through this commitment,” he added, “solidarity becomes the criterion of all human relationships, calling us to strive for justice and peace, to care for the most fragile, and to defend the weak. God has become flesh; therefore, there is no authentic worship of God without care for humanity.”

• vatican
• pope leo xiv
• jubilee
• conclusion
• angelus
• marian prayer
• crans-montana
• venezuela