Pope Leo Holy Mass, Córdoba, Argentina  10.11.26 

Apostolic Journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru

Dear brothers and sisters,

Peter's profession of faith, which resounds throughout history in his successors, reveals to us the mystery of God revealed in Christ for our salvation. This message of salvation remains vital today, upheld by the intercession of so many of our brothers and sisters in the faith, who accompany us today from heaven. It is not surprising that the land that now welcomes us has borne rich fruits of holiness.  The example of those who have gone before us on this path continues to inspire us to follow in their footsteps and to give our lives as Christ gave his for us, just as they so faithfully imitated him.

The city of Córdoba, the natural heir to the first episcopal see established in Argentina, has indeed been a home of saints.  Through its convents and churches, streets and hospitals passed men and women who, filled with love for Jesus, gave their lives for the Gospel.  Argentina was home to men and women such as Father Brochero and Mama Antula, to name but two, who were called by the Lord and sent on mission, without even realising how extraordinary their evangelizing work would be.  Indeed, we too, like all Christians, are merely humble servants, and all we must do is fulfil our duty (cf. Lk 17:10).

It is, then, a joyful duty to fulfill the mission that the Lord entrusts to each of us.  Yes, dear brothers and sisters, we are all called to holiness.  This is our task here on earth: to attain perfect union with God.  Moreover, this calling is always missionary: we must make known to others the beauty that we have come to know in Christ (contemplata aliis tradere).  As Christians, we must “teach what is consistent with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1).  For this reason, I now make my own the exhortation of Saint Leo the Great, whose liturgical memorial we celebrate today and to whose protection I entrust myself: “Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning.  Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member.  Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God” (Sermon 1, in Nativitate Domini, PL 54, 192-193).

There is no better way to teach than by setting an example with one’s own life, for “the world expects from us a lifelong commitment and a witness of prayer” (Saint John Paul II, Homily, “Vélez Sarsfield” Stadium in Buenos Aires, 10 April 1987).  This demands unwavering, wholehearted commitment to Jesus Christ.  This is the example the saints have given us, and it is something that inspires us to live with hope, even amid difficulties.

Today, here in Córdoba, at the geographic heart of the country, we wish to give thanks to God for the diverse fruits of holiness borne by the men and women whom the Lord sent to this land of Argentina — whether they were born here or spent most of their lives here.  Just as Córdoba’s mountains are renowned for the beauty and harmony of their varied shapes and colours, so too are the Saints and Blesseds characterised by the different charisms and missions they received.  They offer a polyphonic witness to the universal call to holiness of every baptised person: the call to be conformed to Christ.  These saints, marked by their Argentinian identity, embody the unity between a passion for the Gospel and a commitment to building a fraternal and compassionate homeland.  All of them knew how to rise to the challenges of their time, transforming them into opportunities to proclaim the Good News — not theoretically, but by shaping their lives to become credible and effective witnesses to Christ’s love.

Let us begin by gratefully honoring the memory of Saint José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero.  This priest was truly in love with the Lord and knew how to draw strength for his life from prayer.  The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola changed his life forever and conformed him to Christ, making him a concrete example of what we prayed in the responsorial psalm: “Trust in the Lord, and do good” (Ps 37:3).  Only those who have experienced friendship with Jesus Christ are capable of undertaking the task of evangelization; only those who know they are loved by the Lord are capable of extending his kingdom of charity and justice, devoting all their energies to proclaiming the Gospel, armed with nothing but the crucifix and the holy rosary.

Similarly inspired by Ignatian spirituality, Saint María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, later known as Mama Antula, knew how to combine contemplation with service to neighbour. She recognised that the greatest act of fraternal charity is to bring others closer to God.  As my revered predecessor Pope Francis reminded us, the poor need God and people who express the power of Christian love in their lives (cf. Message for the Third World Day of the Poor, 13 June 2019, 8).  Following this same inspiration, Mama Antula tirelessly travelled the length and breadth of this country to show countless people the path to heaven.  Indeed, her guiding principle was to go wherever God was unknown, in order to make him known.

Two saints, two examples, two ways of identifying oneself with Christ, were inspired by the Lord himself in this region where we gather today to worship him.

Together with them, we also give thanks to God for the martyrs who confessed their faith even to the point of laying down their own lives.  Among them, we remember Saint Héctor Valdivielso Sáez and the Argentinian Blesseds who suffered martyrdom during the Spanish Civil War and in the Argentine provinces of La Rioja and Salta.

We thank the Lord for the gift he has given to the Church of shepherds after his own heart, such as Blessed Friar Mamerto Esquiú and Blessed Cardinal Eduardo Pironio.

We are particularly grateful for consecrated life, remembering the foundresses of religious congregations, such as Saint Nazaria Ignacia, Blessed María del Tránsito Cabanillas and Blessed Catalina de María Rodríguez.  We also remember the many other religious women, such as Blessed María Ludovica de Angelis and Blessed Crescencia Pérez, who, moved by ardent charity, dedicated their lives to the education of children and the care of the sick.

Lastly, the faithful People of God rejoice in the laypeople who, having received the proclamation of the Gospel, lived out their baptismal vocation to the fullest, loving God and their brothers and sisters in the simplicity of daily life.  Among them are Saint Artémides Zatti, Blessed Ceferino Namuncurá and Blessed Laura Vicuña.

Dear brothers and sisters, these Saints and Blesseds have already fulfilled their mission on earth.  Today, it is our turn to follow the radiant example of holiness they have left with us.  We celebrate this Holy Mass for the sanctification of the people of Argentina, for the sanctification of all of you.  Open your hearts, and with God’s grace, go forth and be holy (cf. 1 Thess 4:3): at school and in the town square, in family life and with friends, in the countryside and in the city, on the farm and in the office.  Go and evangelize!

Presiding over this celebration is the image of the poor Christ.  Father Brochero himself had it carved while lying on his sickbed, and the features of the people of this land are artistically reflected in Christ’s face.  Let his gaze challenge us, for in the shadow of his cross, we will find salvation and life, and the path to our own sanctification.  Through the intercession of Saint Leo the Great, I ask God to continue to bless us and to give us the grace to always proclaim: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16).

10.11.26

Pope Leo Holy Mass, Córdoba, Argentina  10.11.26 

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 Holy Mass, Buenos Aires, Argentina  09.11.26 

Apostolic Journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru

Dear brothers and sisters,

It fills my heart with joy to celebrate this Holy Eucharist with you. “Come, behold the works of the Lord” (Ps 46:8), the psalmist invites us today.  My visit to this land of Argentina has allowed me to see on your faces the enthusiasm of your faith, that great gift of the Holy Spirit within us. The most beautiful work the Lord has entrusted to us is his Church, made visible whenever the people of God gather around the same table to give him thanks.

The Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, which we celebrate today, brings us to the heart of what it means to be the Church. The Basilica of Saint John Lateran is the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, and as such is a sign of unity and communion for all the Churches throughout the world. For this very reason, it is called the “Mother of all Churches.”

The motherhood of the Church of Rome finds expression in her service of communion, so that all the baptised may recognise one another as brothers and sisters in one household. In the Church, we are all welcomed as “members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (Eph 2:19-21).

It is precisely the image of the temple that brings together the readings we have heard.

In this regard, the Gospel recounts a striking gesture by the Lord: Jesus drives the merchants out of the temple with a whip made of cords (cf. Jn 2:15).  In doing so, he seeks to restore the Father’s house to its true purpose. Humanity has always been tempted to “bargain” with God. This is the pagan mentality of giving in order to receive — the illusion that we can win God’s favour by offering him something of our own in return. Christ uproots this way of thinking, for God is Father, always ready to give us every good thing. In this way, the temple, the dwelling place of his presence, becomes once again a house of prayer for all his children.

From this house, according to the vision of the prophet Ezekiel, a river flows beneath the threshold towards the east (cf. Ez 47:1). This image is rich in meaning: its waters purify everything they touch, bringing creation to life and making every kind of tree flourish with fruit that never fails. The waters flow toward the region of the Arabah. With this detail, the biblical text is referring to the desert region that descends towards the great Dead Sea depression, where nothing grows, as its name suggests. Yet these waters are made wholesome: fish abound, and every living creature comes to life again.  Where there was death, now there is life; where there was sickness, now there is health; where there was barrenness, now there is fruitfulness.

The Psalm describes the earth shaking and mountains trembling in the depths of the sea. These images reflect the fragility and chaos that we so often encounter in human experience. Our families often face difficult circumstances: instability, social hardship, precarious employment, domestic violence, painful separations and addictions that destroy young people’s futures and damage family relationships. Amid all these hardships and crises, God’s word shines out as a source of hope: God is in our midst; we need not be afraid. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps 46:1). On the rock that is Christ, our families and society as a whole find the foundation that sustains the house and protects it from the storms that beat against it (cf. Mt 7:24-27).

As we celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica today, we call to mind the sign of God the Father’s saving presence in his Church. The Church, temple of the Spirit and mystical Body of Christ, offers us the living water that is Jesus himself, who cleanses and heals our wounds (cf. Jn 4:14). In the Lord’s presence, within his house, our families likewise find strength and healing, and never cease to bear fruit.

Dear brothers and sisters, through his resurrection, Christ has already made room for us in his heart. Welcome this grace into your families! With him and in him, every family can become a seed of genuine renewal for this country.  Throughout Argentina’s history, culture and society, the family has been a source of the fundamental values of its people. In this land, where different cultures and ethnic groups have come together, the family is the place where faith, human virtues, a culture of work, respect for the elderly, the defence of life and fidelity to one’s word are handed on. Do not give in to those who dismiss the Christian family as outdated. On the contrary, today more than ever, it remains a pillar amid the many insecurities of our time.

Open the doors of your homes to Christ! Speak naturally to your children about Jesus, and remain united to him. In the intimacy of the home, faith is passed on along with life itself, through the simplest gestures: a blessing before meals, a prayer before going to bed, forgiveness and mutual listening, grandparents teaching their grandchildren to pray, going to Mass on Sundays, and preparing for a retreat or a pilgrimage. Indeed, the family is a privileged place for coming to know and encounter Christ. Our beloved Pope Francis, who was Bishop of this city, expressed with great conviction that “the family is called to join in daily prayer, to read the word of God and to share in Eucharistic communion, and thus to grow in love and become ever more fully a temple in which the Spirit dwells” (Amoris Laetitia, 29).

Dear families, I encourage you to take a leading role in evangelization! The Church in Argentina needs you. Support the bishops, parish priests, pastoral workers and catechists in their mission. This Church is renewed and filled with enthusiasm when families, animated by faith, pray together and live out their ministry of proclaiming the Good News. In this way, your families bear fruit anew as you fulfill your educational mission “as a true ministry through which the Gospel is transmitted and radiated, so that family life itself becomes an itinerary of faith and in some way a Christian initiation and a school of following Christ” (Saint John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 39).

We entrust all our families to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Luján, and to her spouse, Saint Joseph. In the Holy Family of Nazareth, the Son of God found a home in this world. May he bless us, so that our homes, too, may become temples of his presence.

09.11.26

Pope Leo Holy Mass, Florida, Uruguay  08.11.26 

Apostolic Journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru

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

for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Pope Francis

Care for Our Common Home 

- Laudato Si'

Pope Francis 

Refugees and Migrants

Pope Francis

 Marriage

Pope Francis - The ‘foreverness’ and beauty of Love 

Pope Francis - The Family in the Light of the Word of God

Pope Francis 

Fraternity

Pope Francis

Compassion

Pope Francis

Happiness

Pope Leo Holy Mass, Buenos Aires, Argentina  09.11.26

Pope Francis Message for the 58th World Day of Peace 01.01.25