Pope Leo XIV recalled this Sunday Saint Francis of Assisi, on the eighth centenary of his death, and presented his life as an example of an authentic reform of the Church founded on Christ, prayer, asceticism and fraternal charity.
During the Angelus of this Sunday, 4 October, from the window of the Apostolic Palace, the Pontiff affirmed that the saint of Assisi “repaired” the Church through “faith in the Lord Jesus”, healing “the cracks of discord with the witness of fraternal love”.
Leo XIV began with the Gospel of the parable of the murderous tenants to recall that Christ, sent by the Father to bring salvation, was rejected and condemned. In the face of evil, he explained, God does not abandon his work, but turns the rejected stone into the cornerstone.
After the Marian prayer, the Pope again asked for prayers for peace, especially for the Holy Land, and also referred to the upcoming meeting called in the Vatican on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Amoris laetitia, which will bring together the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences from around the world.
We offer below the full words of the Holy Father:
Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!
The Gospel parable proclaimed in the Liturgy of this Sunday speaks of the life of Jesus and sheds light on the meaning of his mission (cf. Mt 21:33-43). He is the Son of God sent into the world, but he is rejected precisely by those who should have welcomed him with open arms. He who came to bring salvation receives condemnation; he who wants to give life is led to death. While it makes us reflect on the many cruelties that ruin the world and the history of peoples, the teaching of Christ reveals the ever-greater mercy of his Father.
Indeed, that violent rejection does not break the will of God, who in his infinite justice transforms evil into redemption: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Mt 21:42; cf. Ps 118:22). Jesus himself recalls these words of the psalm, which celebrate the wonderful work accomplished by the Lord: precisely what was rejected becomes the foundation that sustains everything. This is how the Almighty guides history, helping us in all our falls: God never rejects our life!
According to the image used in the parable, the vineyard that must be cultivated with justice is the Church, which we build or damage with our decisions. In this regard, precisely today, on the eighth centenary of his death, I wish to recall a worker who laboured with great fruit in the Lord’s vineyard: Saint Francis of Assisi, whom Jesus himself asked to repair his Church. Inspired by the Crucified One, Francis first built his own life on the foundation of Christ, sharing his poverty, his joy and his sufferings, even to the mystical sign of the stigmata. A man of ardent prayer, full of charity towards all, he was an example for the first friars, who shared his asceticism as an authentic condition for the reform of the Church. Saint Francis repaired it by virtue of faith in the Lord Jesus, healing the cracks of discord with the witness of fraternal love.
Dear brothers, the charism of Saint Francis continues to bear fruit today, after eight centuries: this is testified not only by the large and living Franciscan family, but also by the numerous gifts that his spiritual heritage spreads among the People of God. While we therefore celebrate the Franciscan Jubilee Year, let us persistently ask for the gift of peace and sincerely commit ourselves to building harmony among peoples.
May the intercession of the Most Holy Mary, our Mother, always accompany us in this work, to whom we now turn, spiritually united with the faithful gathered in the Shrine of Pompeii to raise the Supplication to the Virgin of the Holy Rosary.
After the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters:
Last Sunday, in Lourdes, I invited people to pray the Rosary during this month of October, with the special intention that wars may cease and peace may be built. Among the first to do so have been children, and they are doing it: from 1 to 7 October, the Foundation “Aid to the Church in Need” promotes the initiative “A Million Children Pray the Holy Rosary”, for peace and unity in the world. I wholeheartedly thank all the boys and girls who, in so many parts of the world, join in this prayer; and let us all follow their example, invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary so that peoples may be freed from the scourge of war. In particular, let us pray for the Holy Land and for the innocent victims of violence.
In the coming days, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, a meeting will take place in the Vatican to which I have called the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences from around the world. It will be a moment of synodal discernment to determine the steps to be taken to proclaim the Gospel today with families and young generations. I entrust this commitment to your prayer and, above all, families, who, with the help of God, are a sign of hope and an invaluable treasure for the Church and for society.
I am pleased with the numerous initiatives celebrating the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. I recall, in particular, those that have taken place in Assisi, with the presence of the highest authorities of the Italian State. I also greet the radio amateurs of Assisi and Foligno, who spread the message of peace of Saint Francis.
I now address my greeting to all of you who are present today in Saint Peter’s Square.
I welcome the participants in the International Week of Sacred Music, organized by the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music; as well as the faithful from Puente Alto, in Santiago de Chile; and the teachers and students of the Gymnasium Sankt Bonaventura of Dillingen, in Germany.
I greet the confirmands of Pinerolo; the faithful of Fasana Polesine; the young people of the Brembana Valley who have walked the Via Francigena from Viterbo to Rome; the FIABA Association, which promotes campaigns to improve the accessibility of public places; the group “Mamme che regalano un sorriso”, from Taranto; and the association “Studenti con le Stellette”, from Lurago d’Erba.
I wholeheartedly bless the faithful who today, from this Square, will set out on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Revelation, on the Via Laurentina, continuing the tradition begun by Pope Pius XII.
I wish you all a happy Sunday.