This morning Leo XIV received at the Apostolic Palace a group of Russian Catholics in Rome for their Jubilee pilgrimage. He invited them to light “the fire of Christian love" and warm the “most hardened hearts” in a world brutalised by war. With charity and hope, a "new world" can be built from the “ruins”. The icon of the Salus Populi Romani is "the sign of the Holy Year”.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Leo XIV met with a group of Russian Catholic pilgrims this morning at the Apostolic Palace for the Jubilee pilgrimage.

In his address, he told them: “May your families, your parish and diocesan communities provide an example of love, fraternity, solidarity and mutual respect for all the people among whom you live, work and study. In this way, the fire of Christian love can be kindled, capable of warming even the most hardened hearts.”

For the pontiff, the eternal city is "a symbol of human existence in which the ‘ruins’ of past experiences, anxieties, uncertainties and worries are intertwined with the faith that grows every day and becomes active in charity, and with the hope that does not disappoint and encourages us because even on ruins, despite sin and enmity, the Lord can build a new world and renewed life.”

From this perspective, basilicas, churches, and monasteries become “tangible signs of a living faith, rooted in people’s hearts, capable of transforming consciences and motivating them to do good.”

For Leo, words of hope, love, brotherhood, and solidarity to the Russian pilgrims, are “capable of transforming consciences and motivating them to do good” and “build a new world” on “the ‘ruins’ of past experiences”:

The pontiff did not directly mention the war that the Kremlin launched against Ukraine over three years ago, even if his words resonate as a call for peace, to work for good, to rediscover the "tangible signs of a living faith" that can be a source of transformation.

The signs include “The sacred buildings of Rome [ that] evoke the spiritual reality: that through the sacrament of Baptism we too are ‘like living stones … built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’ (1 Pt 2:5).”

These timely reminders come while diplomats are working toward a new meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, following a two-hour phone call the two had yesterday.

The date of the summit is still uncertain, but it will be held in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, following the one in Alaska on 15 August, which failed to put a stop to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

During the meeting with Russian pilgrims, the pontiff also noted that “thousands of people walk[. . .] the streets of the Eternal City to cross the Holy Door, to pause at the tombs of the Apostles and the Martyrs, and to fill their hearts with hope along the many paths of faith that cross Rome.

“Your presence is part of the journey of the many generations who have wanted to visit these places, where the heart of the Christian soul beats, where the events of faith [. . .] are intertwined with the concerns and commitments of daily life.”

“[E]ach one of us is a living stone in the edifice of the Church,” he told the Russian pilgrims, adding that “almost a year has passed since Pope Francis blessed the icon of the Salus Populi Romani and gave it to your local Church”. This gift has become the “sign of the Holy Year.”

“May the pilgrimage of this Icon in the Catholic dioceses of Russia be a source of comfort for you and for your families, especially the sick and the suffering. May it also be an invitation to draw hope from that encounter with God through prayer, the reading of the Holy Scripture, help for those in need and words of consolation. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Queen of Peace, who always goes before us in the pilgrimage of faith and hope, sustain you on the journey of your vocation and of Christian life!”

“After this Jubilee pilgrimage, you will return to your country and you will be called upon to continue the journey of Christian life, pastors and faithful together,” said Leo, who invited those present to recite the Our Father in Russian.

In Russia the Catholic Church represents a small minority with an estimated 800,000 members,  0.1-0.6 per cent of the total population, while 90 per cent of the 350-strong clergy come from abroad with six ecclesiastical districts.

The four Latin dioceses (Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, Diocese of St Clement in Saratov, Diocese of the Transfiguration in Novosibirsk, Diocese of St Joseph in Irkutsk) are the largest in the world in terms of landmass, with two in Europe and two in Siberia.

The other two sees, a Latin Apostolic Prefecture and a Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate, have been vacant since the 1950s and are run by apostolic administrators.

Since 2007, Mgr Paolo Pezzi, from Italy, has been the Archbishop of Moscow.

(Pictures from Vatican media)

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