The celebration brought to a close the gathering that, since October 7, has brought together at the Vatican the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches, the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences, and married couples and experts from around the world. Thousands of faithful attended in the square. It was to have been presided over by Leo XIV, who entrusted it to Tagle after his admission to the Gemelli Polyclinic. The Filipino cardinal, the first Asian to head the College of Cardinals, thus made his debut as dean just six days after the Pope approved his election.
On Tuesday, surgeons removed the Pontiff’s lower lobe of the right lung using video-assisted technique, and histological examination confirmed an adenocarcinoma. According to the Holy See, the procedure concluded without complications and the Pope spent a peaceful night. Faithful from various countries prayed during the celebration for his recovery. After the proclamation of the Gospel, Tagle announced that he would read “the homily prepared by the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.”
Chastity, openness to life, and family prayer
The text began with the opening phrase of the exhortation: “The joy of love lived in families is also the joy of the Church.” Drawing on the hymn to charity in the First Letter to the Corinthians, the Pope described marriage as “a slow merging together, in which the uniqueness of one flourishes, in the gift, through the presence of the other.”
A large part of the homily focused on marriage preparation. Leo XIV recalled that Amoris laetitia calls for teaching young people “the importance of the virtues” and reserves a special place for chastity. He also warned that parish programs “by themselves are not enough” unless they are preceded and sustained by an education in love from childhood. He called domestic charity “the first school of the affections” and praised families who live their vocation “without fanfare, but with a fidelity that is sometimes heroic.”
The homily defended openness to life “from conception to its natural end.” Recalling number 52 of the exhortation, he noted that no precarious union or one closed to the transmission of life guarantees the future of society. Regarding difficult situations, he called for welcoming those going through moments of crisis, “surrounded by affection and protected from judgments and prejudices,” and cited the Relatio finalis of the 2015 Synod: “however wounded a family may be, it can always grow from love.” In its final section, the Pope lamented that the custom of praying together at home “has greatly weakened,” recalled the importance of Sunday Eucharist, and “warmly” exhorted the rediscovery of family prayer. The text made no reference to chapter VIII.
Public communion with the Chaldean patriarch
By special mandate of the Pope, Tagle publicly expressed the ecclesiastical communion granted to His Beatitude Polis III Nona, Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans, who was present at the celebration. Leo XIV had granted it by letter on April 24, in accordance with canon 76 § 2 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The homily emphasized that this bond “does not therefore represent a mere formality, but a living reality,” rooted in eucharistic communion. The text concluded by entrusting families to the Holy Family of Nazareth with the prayer that closes the exhortation.
The Pope’s absence also marks the final session, scheduled for this afternoon in the Paul VI Hall. Cardinals Mario Grech and Kevin Farrell announced on Monday that a concluding address from Leo XIV is not to be expected and that the synthesis report will be presented and debated, but will not be made public. When his convalescence ends, the Pope will receive the texts of the interventions, the reports of the 16 working groups, the synthesis, and the