ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
Shrine of Our Lady of Peace (Chiclayo)
Friday, 13 November 2026
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Good afternoon to you all. Thank you for this warm welcome!
I would like to thank Bishop Edinson for the words he spoke on your behalf, as well as those who have shared their testimonies with us.
I warmly greet everyone present: priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, seminarians, members of the synodal teams and pastoral councils, and all our brothers and sisters who have come from the parishes of the Diocese of Chiclayo and different regions of Peru. And I think some people have come from Ecuador, a warm welcome to you as well! Welcome to this gathering. Thank you for your presence in this shrine dedicated to Mary, our Mother, under the title of Our Lady of Peace.
Dear brothers and sisters, as I come among you today as the Successor of the Peter, I feel even more strongly the bond that unites us in Christ and in his Body, which is the Church — a mystery of communion, and the people of God journeying through history. The richness of this community is fully reflected in all of you, through the variety of your charisms and ministries. One integral dimension of the Church, promoted with great enthusiasm by Pope Francis, is synodality, which means walking together, listening, discerning and participating as co-responsible members in the mission. We therefore ask ourselves: how can we become a more synodal and missionary Church?
At the foundation lies our bond with Christ, rooted in Baptism. We all know that Baptism is the foundation of our Christian identity. Through it, we are incorporated into Christ, made children of God, members of the Catholic Church and sharers in her mission. Before any service, office, profession or ministry, we are baptized. Our primary identity is that of sons and daughters of God and members of his chosen people. As baptized persons, we all share in the priesthood of Christ and in his prophetic mission; therefore, the entire community is co-responsible for evangelization. Baptism entails a permanent vocation to listen to the word, embrace the faith, live charitably, participate in the life of the community, proclaim the Gospel and serve others, especially the poor and the outcast.
The first witness that any Christian community must give is the fraternal love that exists among its members, thereby reflecting the Most Holy Trinity (cf. Jn 13:34-35; 17:22-23). For this reason, communion must precede mission.
The communion of the Church, which makes her a sign and instrument of union with God and of the unity of the human race (cf. Lumen Gentium, 1), is not uniformity. Authentic communion values the diversity of cultures, vocations, charisms and ministries as a richness, and promotes them. Along these lines, authority within the Church must be exercised in the forms of service, discernment and appreciation of charisms and initiatives, since the participation of the laity is not a concession but an expression of their baptismal dignity. A synodal Church, moreover, shares the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of humanity, especially of the poor and those who suffer, as the Second Vatican Council teaches (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 1). Listening to social and cultural realities; defending human dignity; accompanying families, young people, migrants, indigenous peoples and those living in poverty; and working for justice, peace and the common good are not optional tasks, they are requirements of our ecclesial mission.
“Synodality” expresses the idea of walking together. It is a fundamental dimension of the Church, which expresses the identity of the people of God as pilgrims and as an assembly called together by the risen Lord. Brothers and sisters, I encourage you to discover ever more fully the beauty of being synodal communities. How? By seeking to ensure that everyone plays a part, as living stones in a spiritual building (cf. 1 Pet 2:4-5), according to the different vocations and the many gifts and ministries inspired by the one Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 12:1-31).
This requires a spirituality founded on prayer, listening to the word, participation in the Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, fraternal dialogue and communal discernment. It is a communal and pastoral way of life that must be interiorized so that it can be coherently put into practice. Indeed, it is easy to speak about synodality, but putting it into practice is a challenge and requires everyone to examine their attitudes and conduct, beginning with the pastors, who are the primary servants of the community.
For dioceses and parishes to be able to adopt this synodal style of communion, participation and mission, it is worth revitalizing the role of pastoral councils, in which some of you here are involved. Although their input is consultative, their ecclesial importance is considerable: they help the community to listen, understand reality, discern priorities and formulate more appropriate responses. I therefore urge you to ensure that every community can have its own pastoral council, whose members should also commit themselves to receiving suitable formation.
Dear friends, to close, I would like to thank each one of you for your generous dedication to the cause of the Gospel. I encourage you to persevere in this task. May Our Lady of Peace bless your efforts to ensure that the Kingdom of God takes root in this northern land and bears abundant fruit for the glory of God and the good of souls. Thank you.
Let us now return to the spirit of prayer, which is so important in our lives.
Whether we are bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, or laypeople, we must cultivate a life of prayer so that we may always remain united to Christ. Let us now pray together using the words that Jesus himself taught us.