During the Angelus of this Sunday, October 4, 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 testimony of fraternal love”.
Leo XIV departed from the Gospel of the parable of the murderous vineyards to remember 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 a cornerstone.
After the Marian prayer, the Pope again asked for prayers for peace, especially for the Holy Land, and also referred to the next meeting convened 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 around the world.
We offer below the Holy Father's full words:
Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!
The evangelical parable proclaimed in this Sunday’s Liturgy speaks of the life of Jesus and illuminates 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. Whoever came to bring salvation receives a condemnation; whoever wants to give his life is led to death. While making us reflect on the numerous cruelties that ruin the world and the history of peoples, Christ’s teaching reveals the ever greater mercy of his Father.
Indeed, that violent rejection does not break the will of God, which in its infinite justice transforms evil into redemption: “The stone that the builders rejected is now the cornerstone” (Mt 21:42; cf. Sal 118,22). Jesus himself remembers these words of the psalm, which celebrates the wonderful work done 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 throws away 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, in the eighth centenary of his death, I wish to remember a worker who worked with great fruit in the vineyard of the Lord: St. Francis of Assisi, whom Jesus himself asked to repair his Church. Inspired by the Crucified, Francis built first of all his own life on the foundation of Christ, sharing his poverty, his joy and his sufferings, to the mystical sign of stigmata. A man of burning prayer, full of charity towards all, was an example for the first friars, who shared his asceticism as a true condition for the reform of the Church. St. Francis repaired it by virtue of faith in the Lord Jesus, healing the cracks of discord with the testimony of brotherly love.
Dear brothers, the charism of St. Francis continues to bear fruit today, after eight centuries: it is witnessed not only by the great and living Franciscan family, but also by the numerous gifts that their spiritual heritage spreads in the People of God. As we celebrate, therefore, the Franciscan Jubilee Year, we persistently ask for the gift of peace and let us sincerely commit ourselves to build concord among peoples.
May in this work always accompany us the intercession of Mary Most Holy, our Mother, to whom we now address, spiritually united to 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 to pray the Rosary during this month of October, with the special intention of ceasing wars and building peace. Among the first to do so have been children, and they are doing so: from October 1 to 7, the Foundation “Aid to the Church in Need” promotes the initiative “One million children pray the Holy Rosary”, for peace and unity in the world. I sincerely thank all the children who, in so many parts of the world, join this prayer; and let us all follow their example, invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary so that the 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 convened the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches and the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences around the world. It will be a moment of synodal discernment to determine the steps that must be taken to proclaim the Gospel today with families and young generations. I entrust to your prayer this commitment and, above all, to families, which, with the help of God, are a sign of hope and inestimable wealth for the Church and for society.
I am pleased with the many initiatives that celebrate the eighth centenary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi. I remember, in particular, those that took 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 St. Francis.
I now address my greetings to all of you, who are present today in St. 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 of Puente Alto, in Santiago de Chile; and the teachers and students of the Gymnasium Sankt Bonaventura de Dillingen, in Germany.
I greet the confirmants of Pinerolo; the faithful of Fasana Polesine; the young people of the Brembana Valley who have traveled the Via Francigena from Viterbo to Rome; to the FIABA Association, which promotes campaigns to improve the accessibility of public places; the group «Mamme che regalano un sorriso», by Tarento; and to the association “Studenti con le Stellette”, of Lurago d’E
I bless from the heart the faithful who today, from this Square, will go on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Revelation, on the Via Laurentina, continuing the tradition initiated by Pope Pius XII.
I wish you all a happy Sunday.