Pope Francis Homilies

Books of the Bible Index of Homilies

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 Angelus 05.07.26

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

In today’s Gospel reading (Mt 11:25–30) Jesus invites us to join him in praising the Father, “Lord of heaven and earth” (v. 25). The Son of God made man reveals his love by including all creatures in this act of thanksgiving.

The simplicity of such a spontaneous and joyful gesture reflects God’s way of acting: he delights in revealing himself “to infants,” while remaining hidden “from the wise and the intelligent” (v. 25). So filled are they with their own ideas that they fail to recognize the presence of Christ, the Messiah who comes to visit his people. Human wisdom thus becomes arrogance, and doctrine degenerates into pride. By contrast, God’s true wisdom is revealed in the humility of the Incarnation, and his teaching is addressed above all to those who struggle: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens” (v. 28), says the Lord. Going to Jesus means responding to his love and sharing in his life, even to the cross, as he himself teaches: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24). It is precisely this self-giving out of love that constitutes Jesus’ “yoke” (Mt 11:29), which is the essence of his teaching and the heart of his wisdom, ablaze with love for all.

Brothers and sisters, how can the weight of the cross be “easy” and “light” (v. 30)? For one reason alone: because the Lord himself carries it with us, never leaving us alone in what burdens us. As a true teacher, Jesus takes upon himself humanity wounded by evil in order to heal and care for it. The wisdom he gives us is therefore a proclamation of salvation, and his yoke lifts us up from every fall. For this reason, our journey of following Christ is not an asceticism that mortifies. Rather, it is a school of freedom that takes seriously the drama of history and continually sheds light on its meaning, especially in its darkest moments. Indeed, only in the cross of Jesus is evil overcome; only in his passion does our mortal weariness find consolation and redemption.

In slavery, Christ is liberation. Amid the scourge of war, Christ is hope. In the hour of sin, Christ is forgiveness. This is true wisdom and the path that we wish to walk together, united as disciples in his name. Jesus teaches us this as the Son, by becoming our brother. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he reveals to the Church the truth about God and about humanity, for “no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (v. 27).

Dear friends, as we thank the Lord for the loving trust he has placed in us, let us ask Mary, Queen of Peace, to intercede for the good of the Church and of the whole world.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Last Thursday, 2 July, Father Francis Xavier Tru’o’ng Bǚu was beatified at the Shrine of Tac Say in Vietnam. He was killed in 1946 in hatred of the faith (in odium fidei). Amid oppression and violence, he defended the rights of the people and did not abandon his parishioners. May his intercession and prayers strengthen all those who proclaim the Gospel in situations of persecution today.

I extend my warm greetings to all of you gathered today in Saint Peter’s Square.

I offer a cordial welcome to the pilgrims from Brazil and to the Choir of the University of Mérida in Venezuela. I continue to remember in my prayers the victims of the earthquake and all the Venezuelan people. May the Lord sustain them in this time of great hardship.

I greet in particular several groups from Poland: the newly ordained priests of the Capuchin Friars Minor of the Province of Kraków; the Children’s Choir of the Archdiocese of Łódź, accompanied by their Auxiliary Bishop; and the group from the Diocese of Legnica.

I also greet the young people from Bellagio and the Jubilaeum Choir from Augusta, Sicily, together with their mayor and their pastor.

I wish everyone a happy Sunday!

05.07.26 a

Pope Leo Angelus 05.07.26

Pope Leo Holy Mass 04.07.26

Pastoral Visit to Lampedusa

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

Dear brothers and sisters,

God always loves us first. The beauty of the sea, this island and your faces is a reflection of his gratuitous initiative: love precedes us, surrounds us and brings us together. I am grateful to the Lord for the opportunity to visit you, following in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who chose to travel to Lampedusa on 8 July 2013 for his first trip as the Successor of Peter.

The Apostles, as you know, sailed the Mediterranean and experienced the hospitality of the inhabitants of its islands and coasts, which have been a crossroads of civilizations for millennia. The Gospel resounds where peoples meet, people welcome one another, their lives intertwine and different cultures engage in dialogue. It falls silent, however, when each person makes him or herself an island, avoiding contact and cutting off exchange. In this sense, the parable of the Good Samaritan, which we just heard, describes a story that continues to speak to us (cf. Lk 10:25–37), and the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti has helped us re-examine it in light of the challenging historical circumstances in which we find ourselves. The word of God is always relevant for today and draws us into a conversation from which we emerge transformed. How, then, will we respond to the love of the One who loved us first?

Dear friends, today Lampedusa and Linosa lie along a path as dangerous as the one that led down from Jerusalem to Jericho (cf. v. 30). Here you have seen not just one, but thousands of human beings fallen into the hands of robbers who have taken everything from them, beat them brutally and walked away, leaving them half-dead (cf. ibid.). The sea has claimed the lives of others — those who did not manage to reach their hoped-for destination. Yet we feel their presence, which challenges us no less than that of those who have landed in need of attention and aid. Indeed, before any intellectual consideration or ideological conviction, the encounter with those who lie before us, stripped of everything, calls us to be close to them. The Letter to the Hebrews tells us: “Remember […] those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (13:3). This is the heart of the Gospel parable: we become neighbors by acting as neighbors (cf. Lk 10:36–37)!

I have come to thank you, brothers and sisters of Lampedusa, for the solidarity that so many of you have shown. Once again, the miracle of compassion has taken place: “he saw them and had compassion on them” (v. 33). It is an inner revolution that brings forth within us God’s “heart” and broadens our thoughts, hearts and lives. I thank the volunteers, the organizations united in the “Forum Lampedusa Solidale,” the civil institutions, the Coast Guard, the mayors and local administrations that have served over the years. I also thank the deacons, priests, religious sisters, doctors, psychologists and educators, as well as the security forces and all those who, with or without the gift of faith, have chosen to love one another. Yes, it is love that has taken shape among you. Compassion, which recognizes a brother or sister in peril at sea, is its first stirring: a profound call to do what you might never have imagined possible. I greet the migrants who are here. They themselves have not only received solidarity but have often shown it on their journey, as the poor helping the poorest. Thank you, brothers and sisters, because there is nothing to be taken for granted in you reaching out to others; nothing happens automatically.

The parable tells us that love is always rooted in freedom, and freedom lies in the decisions we make. There are also those who choose not to be a neighbor and those who choose not to make a decision. Those who have lost their lives in this sea are victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made. Indifference to the common good and corruption in their countries of origin; a global economic system that generates poverty and exclusion; fear that fuels prejudice and contempt; the belief that such problems do not concern us; the criminal calculations of those who profit from the suffering of others; the slow and difficult transition from mere emergency management to the development of comprehensive and shared policies — all are present-day echoes of the haste to “pass by” (vv. 31-32) in the Gospel narrative.

In the parable, a priest happens to be there “by chance” (v. 31), followed by a Levite. Both see what is happening, but they continue on their way. Unfortunately, in every age there are those who fear being “contaminated” by contact with others, thus denying — even in the face of suffering and death — our common origin in God, the infinite dignity of every human being and the call to boundless love. It is time to recognize and affirm that religious affiliation must never become a reason for discrimination, as if faith had boundaries rather than being a universal call to salvation. Where there were walls of separation, Christ broke them down (cf. Eph 2:14). There is no love of God without love of neighbor, and there is no neighbor if I do not draw near. To pause, to be moved, to bend down, to weep before another’s pain — as Jesus did — means entering into the dynamic of love, the very movement in which God has revealed himself.

04.07.26 m

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 Angelus 29.06.26

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Dear brothers and sisters, good afternoon!

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the Patrons of Rome. This feast recalls the original bond that unites the Church in Rome with all the other Churches throughout the world in a communion of faith and charity.

The witness of these two Apostles is like a seal upon the New Testament. The blood they shed in this city reveals the depth of God’s love that the Lord Jesus has given us. Yes, it is by their word and their martyrdom that the Gospel of Christ has, so to speak, taken root in Rome, revealing right here, in the capital of the empire, its power to renew through a new knowledge of God and of the infinite dignity of every human being, a new understanding of power — not as dominion, but as service to human life.

Even today, the Lord, who died and rose again out of love, makes himself present through his witnesses, reaching the centres and the peripheries, the capitals and the most remote regions, through the voices, faces and courageous choices of those who have responded to his call to “Follow me!” Thus, this day of celebration draws us into the mission of Peter and Paul, that is, into the mission of Jesus himself. God places his trust in us, imperfect but forgiven sinners, so that his grace may shine through our lives, and his power that transforms evil into good may be revealed.

Dear friends, perhaps Peter and Paul could not have been more different from one another. They differed in background, upbringing and character, not only before but also after they were called, for the one Lord did not make them the same. Peter and Paul understood and proclaimed the Gospel, each with his own distinctive voice; and the Holy Spirit, in inspiring the biblical authors, did not want their differences to be hidden. Indeed, these differences are presented to us as good news. Within the College of the Apostles, Peter and Paul were not adversaries. On the contrary, in a sense they became the symbol of the many other diversities that the one Spirit unites into a single whole. In this way, the patron saints of the Church of Rome experienced the challenges of communion; they knew it, served it, and proclaimed it as a sacrament of divine life. Their witness has contributed decisively to ensuring that the Christian presence in history is directed not toward dominion, but toward service, unity and reconciliation.

May the Lord, through the intercession of Saints Peter and Paul, grant us the grace to appreciate ever more deeply the catholicity of the Church, to recognise its value in fostering fraternal encounter among individuals and peoples, to avoid whatever erodes or harms communion, to persevere on the ecumenical path and in attentive and honest dialogue with all.

May Mary, Queen of the Apostles, always protect the People of God, in Rome and throughout the world.

Dear brothers and sisters,

On this day when the Peter’s Pence collection is held, I profoundly thank all those who, through their gifts, support my ministry as the Successor of Saint Peter. Let us continue to walk together in faith and communion.

As we celebrate the feast of our Patron Saints, I extend my good wishes to the people of Rome and to all who live in this city. I offer a special thought, accompanied by prayer, to the sick, the lonely and those in prison. I thank the parish priests and all the priests, as well as the men and women religious working in Rome, for through their presence and daily service they keep the city’s great Christian heart beating.

I greet the volunteers from the Pro Loco associations of Italy who created the flower displays in the Via della Conciliazione and Piazza Pio XII. Thank you and congratulations! I also thank the organizers of the “Girandola di Castel Sant’Angelo,” which this year will be dedicated to Saint Francis and his Canticle of the Creatures. I am also pleased to welcome two confraternities: the Spanish confraternity of Nuestra Señora del Carmen del Camino de Zamora, and the Confraternity of the Agonizzanti of Artena.

I greet the homeless people who are in Saint Peter’s Square today to distribute “L’Osservatore di strada,” a supplement to “L’Osservatore Romano.” Thank you and good wishes to those who keep this newspaper going!

I wish everyone a happy feast day!

29.06.26 a

Pope Leo Holy Mass 29.06.26

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

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

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today, in a single Solemnity, we commemorate Saints Peter and Paul, the patron saints of the city and Diocese of Rome. One was chosen by Jesus as shepherd of his flock, and the other as apostle to the Gentiles. In them, we venerate two pillars of the Church.

Peter, guardian of the People of God, is often portrayed in the New Testament as striving to preserve communion among the brothers. It is he who, after a night of seemingly fruitless labour on the Sea of Galilee, says to the Master, “we caught nothing. But on your word, I will release the net” (Lk 5:5). He then sets sail, taking the others with him. Again, while many are turning away from the Lord after the difficult discourse on the Bread of Life, it is he who says to the Messiah, “To whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68), and remains together with the other eleven. It is he who, at Caesarea, recognizes Jesus as the Son of God and, as we heard in the Gospel (cf. Mt 16:13–19), speaks for all in professing the one faith. Even after the Resurrection, on the shore of the lake, Peter is the first to reach Christ, jumping into the water and swimming ahead of the others to humbly renew his love and receive confirmation of his mission (cf. Jn 21:1-17).

Peter remains faithful to this mission even when, for example, in Jerusalem, the question of admitting uncircumcised Gentiles to Baptism threatens to divide the community. He gathers the brothers together, listens to them and in the end, guided by the Holy Spirit, makes a decision that preserves communion and ushers in a new era for the entire People of God. Indeed, he declares, “We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will” (Acts 15:11).

This magnanimity does not mean that Peter is perfect. During the Passion, he denies the Master, only later to shed sincere tears of repentance (cf. Lk 22:54–62); and Paul himself, in different circumstances, rebukes him for the inconsistency of some of his actions (cf. Gal 2:11–14). Yet Peter knows how to acknowledge his mistakes and repent, without becoming discouraged and without failing in his mission to proclaim the Gospel and gather Christ’s flock, even unto martyrdom — a fate which he suffered here in Rome, not far from where we are gathered.

This faithful and patient concern for unity is well expressed by the symbol of the keys, with which we often identify Peter (cf. Mt 16:19). A key does not break down doors; rather, it opens and closes them by finding the proper levers within and guiding their movements, so that locks may release, bolts withdraw, and doors turn freely on their hinges, thereby joining rooms together and transforming many isolated spaces into one welcoming home. In the same way, communion within the Church is not built by clinging rigidly to one’s own position, but by seeking, in all hearts, points of encounter in the Truth, in whose light alone each person becomes a means of growth for another.

29.06.26 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

Daily Readings - read the entire New Testament over a 2 year period (reading plan courtesy of Gideon International)

The Bible Online

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