Pope Francis Homilies

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Matthew Mark Luke John The Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Tobit Judith Esther 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes The Song of Songs The Book of Wisdom Sirach Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Baruch Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

Pope Leo Apostolic Journey to Angola 20.04.26

Departure by airplane from Luanda “4 de Fevereiro” Airport for Saurimo, Angola

Watch Live from 08.50 Rome Time

10:20 Arrivo all’Aeroporto di Saurimo “Deolinda Rodrigues”

10:45 Visit to the Nursing Home

12:15 Holy Mass at the Saurimo esplanade

14:45 Departure by plane from Saurimo “Deolinda Rodrigues” Airport for Luanda

16:15 Arrival at Luanda “4 de Fevereiro” International Airport, Angola

18:30 Meeting with Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Men and Women and Pastoral Workers, Parish of Our Lady of Fatima

Pope Leo Holy Mass, Kilamba 19.04.26

Apostolic Journey to Angola

Dear brothers and sisters,

I celebrate the Eucharist here among you with a grateful heart. Thanks be to God for this gift, and thank you for your warm welcome!

On this third Sunday of Easter, the Lord has spoken to us through the Gospel about the disciples on the road to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35). Let us allow ourselves to be illuminated by this word of life.

Two of the Lord’s disciples, with broken and sad hearts, set out from Jerusalem to return to the village of Emmaus. They had seen the death of Jesus, whom they had faithfully followed. They were returning home disappointed and disheartened. On the road, they were “talking with each other about all these things that had happened” (Lk 24:14). They were compelled to speak of it, to recount once more what they had seen and to share what they had experienced. In doing so, however, they risked becoming prisoners of their grief and closed off to hope.

Brothers and sisters, in this opening scene of the Gospel, I see a reflection of the history of Angola, of this beautiful yet wounded country, which hungers and thirsts for hope, peace and fraternity. Indeed, the conversation along the road between the two disciples, who reflected with sorrow on what had happened to their Master, brings to mind the pain that has marked your country: a long civil war with its aftermath of enmities and divisions, of squandered resources and poverty.

When one is long immersed in a history so characterized by pain, one can risk losing hope and remaining paralyzed by discouragement, just like the two disciples. Indeed, they were walking, yet they remained fixated on the events of three days earlier when they saw the death of Jesus. They conversed with each other, but without hope of a solution. They continued to speak of what had happened, with the weariness of those who do not know how to start afresh or whether it is even possible to do so.

Dear friends, the Good News of the Lord, even for us today, is precisely this: he is alive, he has risen, and he walks beside us as we journey along the path of suffering and bitterness, opening our eyes so that we may recognize his work and granting us the grace to start afresh and rebuild the future.

The Lord walks alongside the two disappointed disciples, who are running out of hope. As their travelling companion, he helps them to piece together the fragments of that story, to look beyond their pain, to discover that they are not alone on the journey and that a future, still inhabited by the God of love, awaits them. When he stops to dine with them, sits at the table and breaks the bread, then “their eyes were opened and they recognized him” (Lk 24:31).

Here, too, is the path laid out for us, for you, dear Angolan brothers and sisters, to begin anew. On the one hand, there is the certainty that the Lord accompanies us and has compassion on us, and on the other, the commitment that he asks from us.

We experience the Lord’s companionship above all in our relationship with him, in prayer, in listening to his word that sets our hearts ablaze like it did to the hearts of the two disciples. This takes place especially in the celebration of the Eucharist. It is here that we encounter God. For this reason, we must always be vigilant regarding those forms of traditional religiosity that certainly belong to the roots of your culture, but at the same time risk confusing and mixing magical and superstitious elements that do not aid your spiritual journey. Remain faithful to what the Church teaches, trust your pastors, and keep your gaze fixed on Jesus, who reveals himself in the word and in the Eucharist. In both we experience that the risen Lord walks beside us and, united to him, we too overcome the “deaths” that besiege us and live as those who have “risen.”

This certainty that we are not alone on the journey includes a generous commitment on our part to sooth wounds and rekindle hope. Indeed, if the two disciples on the road to Emmaus recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread, this means that we too must recognize him in this way: not only in the Eucharist, but wherever there is a life that becomes like broken bread, wherever someone offers himself or herself as a gift of compassion like him.

The history of your country, the ongoing difficult consequences you endure, the social and economic problems and the various forms of poverty call for the presence of a Church that knows how to walk alongside you and how to heed the cry of its children. A Church that, with the light of the word and the nourishment of the Eucharist, knows how to rekindle lost hope. A Church made up of people like you who give of themselves just as Jesus gave of himself in the breaking of the bread for the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Angola needs bishops, priests, missionaries, men and women religious, and lay people who carry in their hearts the desire to “break” their own lives and give them to others, to commit themselves to mutual love and forgiveness, to build spaces of fraternity and peace, and to perform acts of compassion and solidarity towards those most in need.

Through the grace of the risen Christ, we can become like this broken bread that transforms reality. Just as the Eucharist reminds us that we are one body and one spirit, united to the one Lord, so it is possible to build together a country where old divisions are overcome once and for all, where hatred and violence disappear, and where the scourge of corruption is healed by a new culture of justice and sharing. Only in this way will a promising future be possible, especially for the many young people who have lost hope.

Brothers and sisters, today we need to look to the future with hope and to build the hope of the future. Do not be afraid to do so! The risen Jesus, who walks the path with you and breaks himself as bread for you, encourages you to be witnesses of his Resurrection and protagonists of a new humanity and a new society.

On this journey, dear friends, you can count on the Pope’s closeness and prayers! But I too know I can count on you, and I thank you! I entrust you to the protection and intercession of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Muxima, that she may always sustain you in faith, hope and charity.

19.04.26 m

Pope Leo Holy Mass, Yaoundé 18.04.26

Apostolic Journey to Cameroon

Excerpt below for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Dear brothers and sisters, peace be with you! It is the peace of Christ, whose presence illuminates our path and calms life’s storms.

We celebrate this Holy Mass at the conclusion of my visit in Cameroon, and I am very grateful for how you have welcomed me and for the moments of joy and faith which we have experienced together.

As we heard in the Gospel, faith does not spare us from tumult and tribulations. At times, it can seem that fear has the upper hand. However, we know that even in these moments, Jesus does not abandon us, just like he did not abandon the disciples on the Sea of Galilee.

Three of the four evangelists recount the episode proclaimed today, each in their own way, with a message suited for their intended audience. Saint Mark (cf. 6:45-52) narrates that the Lord comes to the disciples while they are struggling to row against the strong wind, which ceases as soon as Jesus climbs into the boat with them. Saint Matthew (cf. 14:22-33) adds a detail: Peter wants to go to the Lord by walking on the waves. Once he steps out of the boat, however, he lets himself be overcome by fear and he begins to sink. Christ takes him by the hand, saves him and rebukes him for his incredulity.

In Saint John’s version, which was proclaimed today (cf. 6:16-21), the Saviour draws near to the disciples walking on the water and says: “It is I; do not be afraid” (v. 20). The evangelist emphasizes that “it was now dark” (v. 17). According to Jewish tradition, “water” with its depth and mystery, often calls to mind the netherworld, chaos, danger and death. Together with darkness, it evokes the forces of evil, which human beings by their own power are not able to dominate. At the same time, however, by remembering the miracles wrought in the exodus, water is understood as a place of passage, a crossing through which God powerfully frees his people from slavery.

18.04.26

FAMINE

Pope Francis

Hunger

Hunger is an injustice that destroys men and women because they have nothing to eat, even if there is a lot food available in the world. Human exploitation; different forms of slavery; recently I saw a film shot inside a prison where migrants are locked up and tortured to turn them into slaves. This is still happening 70 years after the Declaration of Human Rights. Cultural colonization. This is exactly what the Devil wants, to destroy human dignity – and that is why the Devil is behind all forms of persecution.

01.06.18

Pope Leo Apostolic Journey to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea

13–23 April 2026

Pope Leo Holy Mass, Kilamba 19.04.26

Apostolic Journey to Angola

Pope Leo Holy Mass, Doula 17.04.26

Apostolic Journey to Cameroon

Excerpt below for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Gospel we have heard (Jn 6:1-15) is the word of salvation for all humanity. This Good News is proclaimed today throughout the world; for the Church in Cameroon, it resounds as a providential proclamation of God’s love and of our communion.

The Apostle John describes a large crowd (cf. vv. 2-5), just as we are here now. For all those people, however, there is very little food: only “five barley loaves and two fish” (v. 9). Observing this disproportion, Jesus asks us today, just as he asked his disciples then: how will you solve this problem? Look at all these hungry people, weighed down by fatigue. What will you do?

This question is posed to each one of us. It is posed to the fathers and mothers who care for their families. It is directed to the shepherds of the Church, who watch over the Lord’s flock, and also to those who bear social and political responsibility for the people and seek their well-being. Christ asks this question to the powerful and the weak, to the rich and the poor, to the young and the elderly, because we all hunger in the same way. Our necessity reminds us that we are creatures. We need to eat in order to live. We are not God: but where is God in the face of people’s hunger?

While awaiting our answers, Jesus gives his own: “Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted” (v. 11). A serious problem was solved by blessing the little food that was present and sharing it with all who were hungry. The multiplication of the loaves and the fish happened while sharing: that is the miracle! There is bread for everyone if it is given to everyone. There is bread for everyone if it is taken, not with a hand that snatches away, but with a hand that gives. Let us observe Jesus’ gesture closely: when the Son of God took the bread and the fish, he first gave thanks. He was grateful to the Father for that which would become a gift and a blessing for all the people.

In this way, the food was abundant. It was not rationed out of necessity. It was not stolen in strife. It was not wasted by those who gorge themselves in the presence of those who have nothing to eat. Passing from the hands of Christ to those of his disciples, the food increased for everyone; indeed, it was superabundant (cf. vv. 12-13). Amazed by what Jesus had done, the people exclaimed: “This is indeed the prophet!” (v. 14), that is, the one who speaks in God’s name, the Word of the Almighty. It was true! However, Jesus did not use those words for personal gain. He did not want to become king (cf. v. 15), because he had come to serve with love, not to dominate.

17.04.26

Pope Leo Holy Mass, Bamenda 16.04.26

Apostolic Journey to Cameroon

Excerpt below for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As a pilgrim of peace and unity, it is a joy for me to visit your region and, above all, to share in your journey, your struggles and your hopes.

The festive celebrations that accompany your liturgies and the joy that flows from the prayers you raise are signs of your trusting surrender to God, of your unshakeable hope and of your clinging, with all your strength, to the love of the Father who draws near and looks with compassion upon the sufferings of his children. In the Psalm, we sung together of our trust in the Lord, which we are called to renew today: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (Ps 34:18).

Brothers and sisters, there are many situations in life that break our hearts and plunge us into sorrow. Our hope for a future of peace and reconciliation, in which the dignity of every human person is respected and their fundamental rights guaranteed, is continually disappointed by the many problems afflicting this beautiful land. These include the numerous forms of poverty, which even recently have affected so many people amidst an ongoing food crisis. There is moral, social and political corruption, seen above all in the management of wealth, which hinders the development of institutions and infrastructure. We see also the serious problems affecting the education and healthcare systems, as well as large-scale migration to foreign countries, particularly of young people. Added to these internal problems, which are often fueled by hatred and violence, is the damage caused from outside, by those who, in the name of profit, continue to lay their hands on the African continent to exploit and plunder it.

All of this can make us feel powerless and diminish our confidence. Yet this is the moment to change, to transform the story of this country. The time has come, today and not tomorrow, now and not in the future, to restore the mosaic of unity by bringing together the diversity and riches of the country and the continent. In this way, it will be possible to create a society in which peace and reconciliation reign.

It is true that when a situation remains the same for some time, there is a risk of giving in to resignation and helplessness, because we expect nothing new. Yet the word of the Lord opens up new possibilities and brings about transformation and healing. It is capable of stirring our hearts, of challenging the normal course of events to which we so easily risk becoming accustomed, and of making us active agents of change. Let us remember this: God is newness, God creates new things, God makes us courageous people who, by confronting evil, build up the good.

We see this in the witness of the Apostles, as we heard in the first reading. While the authorities of the Sanhedrin interrogate the Apostles, rebuking and threatening them because they are publicly proclaiming Christ, they reply: “We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree” (Acts 5:29–30).

16.04.26 m

The Gospel in your pocket

How do we receive the Word of God? The response is clear: As one receives Jesus Christ. The Church tells us that Jesus is present in the Scripture, in His Word.

Always carry a small Gospel with you in your purse, in your pocket, and read a passage from the Gospel during the day. Not so much to learn something, but mostly to find Jesus, because Jesus actually is in His Word, in His Gospel. Every time I read the Gospel, I find Jesus. - Pope Francis 01.09.14

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Thank you, Francis

Every month, you have invited us to pray with you for the challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church, teaching us to learn compassion for others from the heart of Christ. Thank you, Francis, for your life and your witness.

Your Worldwide Prayer Network.

Pope Francis Easter Message and Urbi et Orbi Blessing 20.04.25

Easter Sunday