During today’s general audience in St Peter's Square, the pope delivered the catechesis on the final moments in the earthly life of Jesus, whose thirst is that of humanity: a "profound desire" for love. Salvation lies "in the art of asking without shame and offering without ulterior motives”. Leo also offered a prayer for the people of Sudan, devastated by war, famine, and now a devastating landslide that caused countless deaths.
At the general audience, Leo makes a new appeal for the release of Israeli hostages, a permanent ceasefire, and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. He expressed his support for yesterday's declaration by the Latin and Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Jerusalem. In his catechesis to the faithful, commenting on Jesus's attitude at the start of his Passion, he said that “even in the darkest hour, we can remain free to love to the very end.”
This morning, the pontiff asked for prayers at the Paul VI Hall for a "disarmed and disarming" peace in “Ukraine and the Middle East.” For 22 August, the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he called for a day of "fasting and prayer" for the Earth "wounded by war”. In the catechesis dedicated to forgiveness, Leo explained that “betrayal can become an opportunity for salvation”.
Continuing the jubilee cycle of audiences on the theme “Jesus Christ, our hope”, Pope Leo XIV commented on the Gospel episode of Judas' betrayal, “Jesus does not denounce in order to humiliate. He tells the truth because he wants to save”. The meeting was moved to the Paul VI Hall due to the extreme temperatures in Rome. In the afternoon, the Pope will travel to Castel Gandolfo.
At the end of Wednesday's audience, the pontiff recalls ‘the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing’, calling on the “contemporary world,” marked by “tensions and bloody conflicts,” to use the instruments of “justice, dialogue, and fraternity.” In his catechesis, he emphasizes that love is not the result of chance, but of a conscious choice. And the Eucharist is not celebrated “only on the altar, but also in everyday life.”
At the general audience, Leo XIV condemned the terrorist attack that killed 40 people in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday. The 50th anniversary of the agreements that reopened cooperation between East and West, relaunching the issue of human rights, a lesson to be ‘cherished today’. In his catechesis dedicated to the Gospel passage on the healing of the deaf and mute, he looked at incommunicability and withdrawal into oneself as a reaction to ‘social media bulimia’.
“May the wounds caused by the bloody actions” in “Iran, Israel and Palestine” be healed, said Leo XIV this morning from St Peter's, calling on the world to choose “the path of dialogue, diplomacy and peace”. In his Jubilee catechesis, the pontiff stressed that when “we perform an act of faith addressed to Jesus,” we come closer to “his grace”. The pope also wished young people to use summer as “an opportunity for useful social and religious experiences”.
In today’s audience in St Peter's Square, Leo XIV turned to the "cry of pain rising from places devastated by war” in Ukraine, Iran, Israel and Gaza. Citing Gaudium et Spes, he stressed that the use of "scientific weapons of all kinds" can lead to "barbarities" greater than those of times past. The pontiff appealed to those in power citing the words of Pius XII: “Nothing is lost with peace.”
The pope met with about 40,000 people in St Peter's Square. Continuing the Jubilee catechesis on the theme "Jesus Christ our hope", he commented on the episode of the healing of blind Bartimaeus in Jericho, saying that, “we must never give up hope, even when we feel lost.” The pontiff also offered his prayers for the victims of the mass shooting in a school in Graz, Austria. This morning he met with António Guterres, UN Secretary-General.
At today's audience, before 35,000 faithful in St Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV continued the Jubilee catechesis on “Jesus Christ our hope". The parable in the Gospel of Matthew is "a story that fosters our hope". Speaking to young people, he urged them “not [to] delay, roll up your sleeves, because the Lord is generous and you will not be disappointed!”
In St Peter's, in his second general audience, Pope Leo XIV spoke about Gaza. “The cry of mothers, of fathers,” he said, “rises ever more intensely to the sky.” On Ukraine, he called for action “to stop the war and to support every initiative of dialogue and peace.” In the parable of the Good Samaritan, he noted that the man was “simply a person.” With respect to others, people can either “take care of them or pretend nothing is wrong.”
40,000 welcome Pope Prevost in St Peter’s Square for his first public audience. Tour in the popemobile amid cheers and flags from Lebanon, Ukraine, and peace movements. Leo XIV continues the catechetical series “Jesus Our Hope”, begun by Francis for the Jubilee. A renewed appeal for “dignified humanitarian aid” to Gaza: “We are called to sow hope and build peace.”
In today's catechesis, released in written form, Francis began a new series of reflections on parables: "They provoke us." Speaking about the story of the father and his two sons, the pope notes that even if “we are lost, God comes looking for us!” His love welcomes, like the embrace depicted by Rembrandt. This morning Francis met with the staff of the Gemelli Hospital. His health is improving.
This week’s catechesis was centred on the encounter between Jesus and the "rich man". As it has done for weeks, the Holy See Press Office released the written text of the catechesis.
Today’s weekly general audience was dedicated to Jesus’s meeting with the Samaritan woman. While the pope recovers at Casa Santa Marta, his catechesis notes that Jesus is waiting for us “at the crossroads in our life” where we least expect him.
The pontiff released his weekly catechesis from the Gemelli Hospital, with a commentary on the Gospel passage about Nicodemus, opening a new chapter in his reflections on Jesus Christ our hope. In his message for World Day of Prayer for Vocation, he urges young people to make their life a “gift of love”.
The pope’s health conditions remain stationary at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. The text for his general audience was released today, from the Gospel passage about the presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the figures of Simeon and Anna, two elderly people who were able to “rekindle hope”.
The pontiff spoke this morning at the end of the Wednesday general audience, despite a bronchitis. “May paths of peace be found,” he said, in Ukraine, Palestine, Myanmar, South Sudan and in the “many countries that are at war”. The catechesis, read by a Vatican official, focused on the visit by the “malodorous” shepherds to the manger, men who “practice the occupation by which God himself makes himself known to his people.”
Francis, who appeared chilled in the Paul VI Hall, again turned his thoughts to the countries ‘suffering from war’, also mentioning Jordan. To the Polish pilgrims, he invited them to pray for consecrated people in poor and conflicted countries: for many people they are ‘proof that God always remembers them’. The catechesis - read by an official of the secretariat of state - on the Visitation: ‘The Magnificat: praise of faith, hope and joy’.
At the general audience in the Paul VI Hall the appeal for the region of North Kivu, the region of the Democratic Republic of Congo occupied by the M23 rebels supported by Rwanda: ‘Let the violence to people and their property cease’. In the catechesis the example of St Joseph: ‘Let us ask with him the grace to dream God's dreams and responsibly welcome Christ’.
At the audience in the Paul VI Hall, Pope Francis recalled the days - Jan. 18-25 - dedicated to prayer for ecumenism. Again a call for peace in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel and Mynamar. Relief for Gaza's Holy Family parish: “I called yesterday, they were happy. There are 600 people in there." Los Angeles community entrusted to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Catechesis on the Annunciation: 'Mary does not seek outside but inside'.
Meeting pilgrims in the Paul VI Hall he recalled the millions of children exposed to dangerous activities despite their young age or kidnapped for organ transplants. Proximity to the populations of Kachin State in Myanmar where landslides have sown death and destruction. ‘We pray for the conversion of the hearts of arms manufacturers’.
At today's audience in Paul VI Hall, Bergoglio began 2025 with the first of two catechesis dedicated to the youngest. He condemned the scourge of child labour, exploitation and abuse: ‘May every boy and girl grow up receiving and giving love’. After Epiphany the invitation to ‘reflect light with one's life’.
At the Wednesday audience, the pontiff began his reflection on Christ's childhood. The meanings related to genealogy are explained with women's names at the start of the Gospel of Matthew. "No one gives life to himself, but receives it as a gift from others,” he said. For Christmas, the pontiff is encouraging the faithful to put up a nativity scene at home. “This,” Francis said, “is an important element of our spirituality and culture”. He also called for prayers for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Myanmar.
From the Paul VI Hall, the appeal for the country after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime: "May the Syrian people live in peace and security in their beloved land," and may the religions "walk together in mutual respect". This morning, there was also a meeting with the non-profit organization ResQ - People Saving People: "Migrants should be welcomed and integrated". The cycle of catechesis on the Holy Spirit was concluded: "If the Church is a boat, the Spirit is the sail that drives it".
Pope Francis again expresses sorrow over conflicts: ‘So many dead children, so many dead innocents’. Thoughts for Ukraine, Palestine, Israel and Myanmar. The catechesis on the Holy Spirit and the Church - for the first time translated into Chinese - dedicated to preaching: ‘Beyond 8 minutes no-one understands anything. Preach Jesus, not yourself’.
As of next week, a summary of the catechesis will be presented every Wednesday in St. Peter's Square in the most widely spoken language in the world. The announcement, personally made today by the pontiff, is part of the new climate between the Vatican and China. To the faithful, Francis, mentioned the harsh winter in Ukraine, and appealed for more peacemakers, not wars. In the catechesis on the "fruits of the Spirit", he said that the Gospel must be proclaimed without a long face.
The pontiff read a letter from a young Ukrainian university student at the general audience. In it, the young man laments “too many deaths”, noting that “only love, faith, and hope give real meaning to our wounds.” The Vatican will host the World Meeting on Children's Rights on 3 February 2025. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati will be proclaimed saints in next year’s jubilee. The pontiff met with an Iranian delegation for interreligious dialogue. He said that the Church in the Mideastern country is “a small flock”, stressing that religious freedom is the “cornerstone of the entire edifice of human rights.”
At the general audience, the pontiff continued the cycle of catechesis on the Holy Spirit and his ‘bride’, the Church. The meditation dedicated to ‘Marian piety’: Our Lady is ‘a letter written with the Spirit of the living God’, which can be ‘read’ by all. The ‘yes’ to the Angel is an example of ‘availability combined with active readiness’, he said. At the end the invitation not to forget the countries at war.
In Wednesday's general audience in St Peter's Square, Francis shared the pain for the civilians "gunned down" in Gaza and Valencia, invaded by mud. He laid a flower in front of the “Virgin of the Forsaken,” patroness of the Spanish city, reciting the Hail Mary with the faithful. Today’s catechesis was centred on prayer, "sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit", advocate before God.
