News March 2026

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, the liturgy proclaims the Gospel of the raising of Lazarus (cf. Jn 11:1-45).

In the Lenten journey, this is a sign that speaks of Christ’s victory over death and of the gift of eternal life, which we receive through Baptism (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1265). Today Jesus also says to us, as he did to Martha, Lazarus’s sister: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (Jn 11:25-26).

The liturgy thus invites us, in light of the fact that Holy Week is drawing near, to relive the events of the Lord’s Passion — the entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the trial, the crucifixion, the burial — so that we may grasp their most authentic meaning and open ourselves to the gift of grace they contain.

These events are fulfilled in the risen Christ, who has conquered death and lives within us through Baptism, for our salvation and the fullness of life.

His grace illumines this world, which seems to constantly search for novelty and change, even at the cost of sacrificing important things — time, energy, values, affections — as if fame, material goods, entertainment and fleeting relationships could fill our hearts or make us immortal. It is a symptom of a longing for the infinite that each of us carries within us, a need that cannot be satisfied by passing things. Nothing finite can quench our inner thirst, for we are made for God, and we find no peace until we rest in him (cf. Confessions, I, 1.1).

The account of the resurrection of Lazarus, then, invites us to listen to this profound need and, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to free our hearts from habits, conditioning and ways of thinking which, like boulders, shut us away in the tomb of selfishness, materialism, violence and superficiality. In these places there is no life, but only confusion, dissatisfaction and loneliness.

Jesus also cries out to us: “Come out!” (Jn 11:43), urging us to emerge from these cramped spaces, renewed by his grace, to walk in the light of love, as new women and men, capable of hoping and loving, without calculation and without measure, according to the model of his infinite charity.

May the Virgin Mary help us to live these holy days with her faith, her trust and her fidelity, so that the glorious experience of encountering her risen Son may be renewed in us each day.

With dismay I continue to follow the situation in the Middle East, which like other regions of the world is torn apart by war and violence. We cannot remain silent in the face of the suffering of so many defenceless people who are victims of these conflicts. What hurts them hurts all of humanity. The death and pain caused by these wars is a scandal for the entire human family and a cry that rises to God! I strongly renew my appeal to persevere in prayer, so that hostilities may cease and paths to peace may finally open up, based on sincere dialogue and respect for the dignity of every human person.

Today the Rome Marathon is taking place, with countless athletes from all over the world. This is a sign of hope! May sport pave the way for peace, social inclusion, and spirituality.

I extend my heartfelt greetings to all of you, Romans and pilgrims from various countries, especially those who have come from the Diocese of Córdoba in Spain.

I joyfully welcome the faithful from Belluno and Pordenone, from Crotone and from the parish of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Rome. I greet the young people from Nave, the Diocese of Brescia, the group of Confirmation candidates from the Diocese of Florence and the representatives of the Associazione Direttori di Albergo. 

I wish everyone a happy Sunday!

22.03.26

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

Today I would like to revisit the second chapter of the Conciliar Constitution Lumen gentium (LG), devoted to the Church as the people of God.

The messianic people (LG, 9), receive from Christ the participation in the priestly, prophetic and kingly work office through which his salvific mission is carried out. The Council Fathers teach that the Lord Jesus, through the new and eternal Covenant, has established a kingdom of priests, constituting his disciples as a ‘royal priesthood’ (1 Pet 2:9; cf. 1 Pet 2:5; Rev 1:6). This common priesthood of the faithful is given with Baptism, which enables us to worship God in spirit and truth, and to “confess before men the faith which they have received from God through the Church” (LG, 11). Furthermore, through the sacrament of Confirmation, all the baptised “are more perfectly bound to the Church … and the Holy Spirit endows them with special strength so that they are more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith, both by word and by deed, as true witnesses of Christ” (ibid.). This consecration is at the root of the common mission that unites the ordained ministries and the lay faithful.

In this regard, Pope Francis observed that, “Looking at the People of God is remembering that we all enter the Church as lay people. The first sacrament, which seals our identity forever, and of which we should always be proud, is Baptism. Through Baptism and by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, (the faithful) ‘are consecrated as a spiritual house and a holy priesthood’ (LG, 10), [so that] everyone forms the faithful Holy People of God” (Letter to the President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, 19 March 2016).

The exercise of the royal priesthood takes place in many ways, all aimed at our sanctification, first and foremost through participation in the offering of the Eucharist. Through prayer, asceticism and active charity, we thus bear witness to a life renewed by God’s grace (cf. LG, 10). As the Council summaries, “it is through the sacraments and the exercise of the virtues that the sacred nature and organic structure of the priestly community is brought into operation” (LG, 11).

The Council Fathers then teach that the holy People of God also participate in the prophetic mission of Christ (cf. LG, 12). In this context, the important theme of the sense of the faith and the consensus of the faithful is introduced. The Doctrinal Commission of the Council specified that this sensus fidei “is like a faculty of the whole Church, by which she, in her faith, recognises the revelation handed down, distinguishing between true and false in matters of faith, and at the same time penetrates it more deeply and applies it more fully in life” (cf. Acta Synodalia, III/1, 199). The sense of faith therefore belongs to individual believers not in their own right, but as members of the People of God as a whole.

Lumen gentium focuses on this latter aspect, and places it in relation to the infallibility of the Church, to which that of the Roman Pontiff is inherent and by which it is served. “The entire body of the faithful, anointed as they are by the Holy One (c. 1 Jn 2:20,27), cannot err in matters of belief. They manifest this special property by means of the whole peoples’ supernatural discernment in matters of faith when from the Bishops down to the last of the lay faithful they show universal agreement in matters of faith and morals” (LG, 12). The Church, therefore, as the communion of the faithful – which naturally includes the pastors – cannot err in matters of faith: the organ through which this truth is preserved, founded on the anointing of the Holy Spirit, is the supernatural sense of faith of the entire People of God, which is manifested in the consensus of the faithful. From this unity, which the Magisterium of the Church safeguards, it follows that every baptized person is an active agent of evangelisation, called to bear consistent witness to Christ in accordance with the prophetic gift which the Lord bestows upon His whole Church.

Indeed, the Holy Spirit, who comes to us from the Risen Christ, “distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts He makes them fit and ready to undertake the various tasks and offices which contribute toward the renewal and building up of the Church” (LG, 12). A particular demonstration of this charismatic vitality is offered by consecrated life, which continually germinates and flourishes through the work of grace. Ecclesial associations, too, are a shining example of the variety and fruitfulness of spiritual fruits for the edification of the People of God.

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from Nigeria, Tanzania, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and the United States of America. With prayerful good wishes that this Lent will be a time of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Finally, my thoughts turn to the sick, newlyweds, and young people, especially those at the Cristo Re School in Rome and the San Giorgio Institute in Pavia. I entrust the resolutions and aspirations of each one to Saint Joseph, heavenly Patron of the Universal Church, whose liturgical solemnity we will celebrate tomorrow.

My blessing to everyone!

18.03.26

Dear brothers and sisters,

Our Eucharistic celebration today, more than ever, is filled with joy. Indeed, the beauty of our gathering today is set against the backdrop of the Sunday known as “Laetare”, meaning “rejoice”, taken from the words of Isaiah: “Rejoice with Jerusalem” (Entrance Antiphon, cf. Is 66:10).

This gives us cause to reflect. At present, many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world are suffering because of violent conflicts, caused by the absurd claim that problems and differences can be resolved through war, whereas we must engage in unceasing dialogue for peace. Some even go so far as to invoke God’s name in these choices of death, but God cannot be enlisted by darkness. Rather, He always comes to bestow light, hope and peace upon humanity, and it is peace that those who invoke Him must seek.

It is this Sunday’s message: no matter how deep the abyss into which a person may fall because of their sins, Christ comes to bring a brighter light, capable of freeing them from the blindness of evil, so that they may begin a new life.

The encounter between Jesus and the man born blind (cf. Jn 9:1-41) can, in fact, be likened to the scene of a birth, through which the man, like a child coming into the world, discovers a new world, seeing himself, others and life through the eyes of God (cf. 1 Sam 16:9).

Let us ask ourselves, then: what does this gaze consist of? What does it reveal? What does it mean to “look with the eyes of God”?

According to the Gospel of John, it means, first and foremost, overcoming the prejudices of those who, when faced with a suffering person, see only an outcast to be despised, or a problem to be avoided, retreating into the fortress of selfish individualism. So often we hear people say things like: “When things were going well, there were plenty of friends; but when the going got tough, many of them left, they vanished!” Jesus does not act in this way: He looks upon the blind man with love, not as an inferior being or a nuisance, but as a loved one in need of help. Thus their encounter becomes an opportunity for God’s work to be revealed in everyone.

In the “sign”, in the miracle, Jesus reveals His divine power and the man, as if retracing the gestures of creation – the mud, the saliva – once again fully reveals his beauty and dignity as a creature made in the image and likeness of God. Thus, having regained his sight, he becomes a witness to the light.

Of course, this involves a great deal of effort: he must get used to so many things previously unknown to him, learn to distinguish colours and shapes, and rebuild his relationships – and it is not easy. Indeed, the hostility surrounding him grows, provoking him, and not even his parents have the courage to defend him (cf. Jn 9:18–23). It almost seems, absurdly, as though those close to him wish to undo what has happened. Not only that: in the interrogation to which the blind man who can now see is subjected, it is above all Jesus who is put on trial, accused of having violated the Sabbath in order to heal him.

Thus, another form of blindness is revealed in those present, one that is different and even more serious: that of failing to see, right before their eyes, the face of God, for which they trade the possibility of a saving encounter for the sterile security afforded by the legalistic observance of a formal discipline. Faced with such obtuseness, Jesus does not stop, showing that no “Sabbath” can stand in the way of an act of love. After all, the meaning of the Sabbath rest for the people of Israel – and for us on Sunday, the Lord’s Day – is precisely to celebrate the mystery of life as a gift, in the face of which no one can ignore the cry for help from a brother or sister who is suffering.

Perhaps, at times, in this sense, we too can be blind, when we fail to notice others and their problems. Jesus, however, asks us to live differently, as the early Christian community well understood, where brothers and sisters, constant in prayer, shared everything with joy and simplicity of heart (cf. Acts 2:42–47). Not that tribulations and obstacles were absent, even in those days. But they did not give up: strengthened by the gift of Baptism, they strove nonetheless to live as new creatures, living in communion and peace with all, and finding in the community a family that accompanied and supported them.

Dear friends, these are the fruits we are called to bear as children of light (cf. 1 Thess 5:4–5); and for some ninety years your parish has faithfully lived out this mission, with special care for situations of poverty, marginalization and emergency, paying attention to the presence, within its territory, of the Rebibbia Prison, and through many other signs of sensitivity and solidarity.

I know that you help many brothers and sisters from other countries to settle here: to learn the language, to find decent housing and to find honest and secure work. There is no shortage of difficulties, unfortunately sometimes exacerbated by those who, without scruples, take advantage of the destitute condition of the most vulnerable to further their own interests. I am, however, aware of how committed you all are to facing these challenges, through the services of Caritas, the family homes providing shelter for women and mothers in difficulty, and many other initiatives. I am also aware of the vitality and generosity with which you devote yourselves to the education of young people and children, through the oratory and other educational programmes.

Saint Augustine, speaking about the face of God, of which we are called to be a mirror in the world, said to the Christians of his time: “What sort of face hath love? What form hath it? What stature? What feet? What hands hath it? … It hath feet, for these carry men to church: it hath hands; for these reach forth to the poor: it hath eyes; for thereby we consider the needy” (In Epistolam Joannis ad Parthos, 7, 10), and added, referring to charity: “Take it, clasp it; there is nothing sweeter” (ibid.).

Dearest brothers and sisters, here is the gift of light entrusted to you, so that you may nurture it within yourselves and amongst yourselves in all its sweetness, and spread it throughout the world through prayer, frequent reception of the sacraments, and charity. Continue to commit yourselves in this way on your journey.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom your parish is dedicated, continue to shape and protect this beautiful community, so that, with the same sentiments as Christ (cf. Phil 2:5), you may live out and bear witness with joy and dedication to the treasure of grace you have received.

Many thanks for this beautiful gift: here is a photo of the parish, to serve as a constant reminder, but here we can see the life of the parish, which is so important! Thank you to all of you!

And we present this chalice as a small gift to the parish, representing what we celebrate in the Eucharist: the body and blood of Christ, the communion among all of you. Best wishes to you all, and thank you!

15.03.26 m

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

The Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent narrates the healing of a man blind from birth (cf. Jn 9:1–41). Through the symbolism of this account, John the Evangelist speaks to us of the mystery of salvation: while we were in darkness, while humanity walked in gloom (cf. Is 9:2), God sent his Son as the light of the world, to open the eyes of the blind and illuminate our lives.

The prophets had announced that the Messiah would open the eyes of the blind (cf. Is 29:18; 35:5; Ps 146:8). Jesus himself confirmed the authenticity of his mission by showing that “the blind receive their sight” (Mt 11:5), and he presented himself with the words: “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12). Certainly, all of us can say that we are “blind from birth,” for by ourselves we cannot see the mystery of life in all its depth. That is why God became flesh in Jesus, so that the clay of our humanity, shaped by the breath of his grace, might receive a new light, one capable of helping us to see ourselves, others and God in truth.

It is striking that, over the centuries, the opinion has spread and persists to this day that faith is a kind of “leap in the dark,” a renunciation of thought, such that having faith would mean believing “blindly.” However, the Gospel shows us that through contact with Christ, our eyes are opened. Indeed, the religious authorities ask the healed blind man with insistence: “Then how were your eyes opened?” (Jn 9:10); and again: “How did he open your eyes?” (v. 26).

Brothers and sisters, we too are healed by the love of Christ and are called to live our faith with “open eyes.” Faith is not a blind act, a forsaking of reason or a retreat into some sort of religious certainty that causes us to turn our gaze away from the world. On the contrary, faith helps us to see things “as Jesus himself sees them, with his own eyes: it is a participation in his way of seeing” (Lumen Fidei, 18). In this sense, faith is an invitation to “open our eyes,” as the Lord did, especially towards the suffering of others and the afflictions of the world.

Today, in a particular way, in the face of the many questions of the human heart, as well as the tragic situations of injustice, violence and suffering that mark our time, it is essential that our faith be alert, attentive and prophetic. It should likewise open our eyes to the darkness of the world, and bring to others the light of the Gospel through our commitment to peace, justice and solidarity.

Let us ask the Virgin Mary to intercede for us, so that the light of Christ may open the eyes of our hearts and enable us to bear witness to him with simplicity and courage.

Dear brothers and sisters,

For two weeks now, the peoples of the Middle East have been suffering the horrific violence of war. Thousands of innocent people have been killed, and countless others have been forced to flee their homes. I renew my prayerful closeness to all who have lost loved ones in the attacks, which have struck schools, hospitals and residential areas.

The situation in Lebanon is a cause for great concern. I hope that avenues for dialogue will emerge to support the country’s Authorities in implementing lasting solutions to the serious crisis currently unfolding, for the common good of all the Lebanese people.

On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East, and of all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict: cease fire! May paths of dialogue be reopened! Violence can never lead to the justice, stability and peace for which the peoples are waiting.

I welcome all of you gathered here today in Saint Peter’s Square.

I greet the faithful who have come from Valencia and Barcelona in Spain, as well as those from Palermo.

With joy, I welcome several groups of young people preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation: from Berceto, Diocese of Parma; from Tuto, Diocese of Florence; from Torre Maina and Gorzano, Diocese of Modena-Nonantola. I also greet the young people from the parish of Saint Gregory the Great in Rome, and from Capriano del Colle and Azzano Mella, Diocese of Brescia.

I wish all of you a happy Sunday.

15.03.26 a

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

Continuing in our reflection on the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium (LG), today we will look at the second chapter, dedicated to the People of God.

God, who created the world and humanity, and who wishes to save every man, carries out his work of salvation in history, choosing a real people and dwelling among them. For this reason, He calls Abraham and promises him descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore (cf. Gen 22:17-18). With Abraham’s children, after freeing them from slavery, God makes a covenant with them, accompanies them, cares for them, and gathers them together whenever they stray. Therefore, the identity of this people is given by God’s action and by faith in Him. They are called to become a light for other nations, like a beacon that will draw all peoples, the whole of humanity, to itself (cf. Is 2:1-5).

The Council affirms that “All these things, however, were done by way of preparation and as a figure of that new and perfect covenant, which was to be ratified in Christ, and of that fuller revelation which was to be given through the Word of God Himself made flesh” ( LG, 9). Indeed, it is Christ who, in giving His Body and His Blood, unites this people in Himself and in a definitive way. It is a people now made up of members of every nation; it is united by faith in Him, by adherence to Him, by living the same life as Him, animated by the Spirit of the Risen One. This is the Church: the people of God who draw their existence from the body of Christ [1] and who are themselves the body of Christ; [2] not a people like any other, but the People of God, called together by Him and made up of women and men from all the peoples of the earth. Its unifying principle is not a language, a culture, an ethnicity, but faith in Christ: the Church is therefore – according to a splendid expression of the Council – the assembly of “all those who in faith look upon Jesus” ( LG, 9).

It is a messianic people, precisely because it has Christ, the Messiah, as its head. Those who belong to it do not pride themselves on merits or titles, but only on the gift of being, in Christ and through Him, daughters and sons of God. Above any task or function, therefore, what really matters in the Church is to be grafted onto Christ, to be children of God by grace. This is also the only honorary title we should seek as Christians. We are in the Church in order to receive life from the Father unceasingly and to live as His children and brothers and sisters among ourselves. Consequently, the law that animates relationships in the Church is love, as we receive and experience it in Jesus; and her goal is the Kingdom of God, towards which she walks together with all humanity.

Unified in Christ, Lord and Saviour of every man and woman, the Church can never turn inwards on herself, but is open to everyone and is for everyone. If believers in Christ belong to it, the Council reminds us that “All men are called to belong to the new people of God. Wherefore this people, remaining one and unique, must extend to the whole world and to all ages, so that the intention of God’s will may be fulfilled, who in the beginning created human nature as one and wants to gather together his children who were scattered” (LG, 13). Even those who have not yet received the Gospel are therefore, in some way, oriented towards the people of God, and the Church, cooperating in Christ’s mission, is called upon to spread the Gospel everywhere and to everyone (cf. LG 17), so that every person may enter into contact with Christ. This means that in the Church there is, and there must be, a place for everyone, and that every Christian is called to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness in every environment in which he or she lives and works. Thus, this people shows its catholicity, welcoming the wealth and resources of different cultures and, at the same time, offering them the newness of the Gospel to purify them and to raise them up (cf. LG, 13).

In this regard, the Church is one but includes everyone. A great theologian described it thus: “The unique Ark of Salvation must welcome all human diversity into its vast nave. The only banquet hall, the food it distributes is drawn from all of creation. The seamless garment of Christ, it is also – and it is the same thing – the garment of Joseph, with its many colours”. [3]

It is a great sign of hope – especially in our times, traversed by so many conflicts and wars – to know that the Church is a people in which women and men of different nationalities, languages and cultures live together in faith: it is a sign placed in the very heart of humanity, a reminder and prophecy of that unity and peace to which God the Father calls all his children.

[1] Cf. J. Ratzinger, The New People of God, Brescia 1992, 97.

[2] Cf. Y. M.-J. Congar, A Messianic People, Brescia 1976, 75.

[3] Cf. H. de Lubac, Catholicism: A study of dogma in relation to the corporate destiny of mankind (Catholicisme: Les aspects sociaux du dogme).

Today in Qlayaa, Lebanon, the funeral of Father Pierre El Raii, Maronite parish priest of one of the Christian villages in southern Lebanon, is being celebrated. These villages are once again experiencing the tragedy of war. I am close to all the Lebanese people at this time of grave trial.

In Arabic, “El Raii” means “the shepherd”. Father Pierre was a true shepherd, who always stayed beside his people, with the love and sacrifice of Jesus the Good Shepherd. As soon as he heard that some parishioners had been wounded in a bombing, he rushed to help them without hesitation. May the Lord grant that the blood he shed be a seed of peace for beloved Lebanon.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us continue to pray for peace in Iran and throughout the Middle East, especially for the many civilian victims, including many innocent children. May our prayer be a comfort to those who suffer and a seed of hope for the future.

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today's Audience, particularly the groups from Denmark, Australia and the United States of America. With prayerful good wishes that this Lent will be a time of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Finally, my thoughts turn to the sick, newlyweds, and young people, especially the students of the Galileo High School in Siena, the San Leone IX Institute in Sessa Aurunca, and the Gadda Institute in Quarto. In this time of Lent, let us continue with commitment on the journey toward Easter, the central mystery of our faith.

11.03.26

Dear brothers and sisters!

I am happy to be with you on this third Sunday of Lent. It is an important stage in our following of Jesus, leading up to His Passion, death and Resurrection at Easter.

On this journey, God’s proximity and our life of faith are deeply intertwined: by renewing in each of us the grace of Baptism, the Lord calls us to conversion, even as He purifies our hearts with His love and with the works of charity He asks us to perform. In this regard, the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman engages us with great intensity. Today’s Gospel, in fact, not only speaks to us, but also speaks about us and helps us to review our relationship with God.

The Samaritan woman’s thirst for life and love is our thirst: that of the Church and of all humanity, wounded by sin but even more intimately inhabited by the desire for God. We seek Him like water, even when we are not aware of this, every time we ask ourselves the meaning of events, every time we feel how much we lack the good that we want for ourselves and for those beside us.

In this search, we encounter Jesus. He is already there, at the well, where the Samaritan woman finds Him alone, under the midday sun, tired from His journey. The woman goes to the well at that unusual time, perhaps to avoid the prejudiced glances of the other women. Jesus reads in her heart the reason for this marginalisation: her failed marriages and her current cohabitation make her unworthy of accompanying the daughters, wives and mothers of the village. Yet Jesus sits by the well as if waiting for her. This surprising encounter is one of the ways with which, as Pope Francis liked to repeat, Christ reveals the God of surprises: the most beautiful, the ones that change our lives, wherever we encounter them and however they present themselves before the Lord.

This man loves the Samaritan woman as no-one has ever done before. While she was looking for her daily water, He wants to give her new, living water, capable of quenching every thirst and calming every anxiety, because this water flows from the heart of God, the inexhaustible fullness of every expectation.

Jesus’ initiative thus inaugurates the search for a good greater than water itself: “If you knew the gift of God”, says the Lord to the woman. It is not a reproach, but a promise: “I am here to make you know God, who gives Himself as a gift to you”. Yes, really for you, who did not know Him, who considered yourself estranged and condemned. This gift will transform you: you yourself will become a spring gushing forth for eternal life. In exchange for your former thirst, filled with bitterness and spiritual dryness, the Son of God offers you the gift of a life renewed by the water that wells from the Father’s mercy. Everything is transformed in the encounter with the Lord: the woman who thirsts becomes a wellspring, the outcast becomes a confidante. The woman full of shame is now filled with joy; she who was silent in the village becomes a missionary to all its inhabitants.

She would never have imagined that she, so disoriented and defeated by life, would one day be able to taste fresh water, a pure gift from God, becoming in turn a gift for others. How does this happen? By encountering Jesus, by dialoguing with Him, the living Word of God made man for our salvation.

The Gospel account accurately shows the woman’s journey of growth, as she gradually recognizes the fundamental characteristics of Jesus’ identity: man, prophet, Messiah and Saviour. By staying close to Him and enjoying His company, the Samaritan woman herself becomes a source of truth. The new water of God’s gift has begun to flow in her heart, and she immediately feels compelled to run back to her village, finally free from shame and eager to tell everyone about her Liberator, Jesus, the One who made all this wonder possible. She runs to those who had previously condemned her, while God has forgiven her, and she tells them, announces, and bears witness. The need for water, which had prompted her to go to the well, now gives way to the desire to communicate the overwhelming newness that has transformed her.

Dear friends, with Baptism we have all received the grace of a new water, which washes away all sin and quenches all thirst. Like the Samaritan woman, we are given today in Lent a time to rediscover the gift of this Sacrament which, like a door, has introduced us to faith and to Christian life. As a good and caring Shepherd, the Lord awaits us and accompanies us always, wherever we live and however we are. He mercifully heals our wounds and gives Himself to us, enabling us to become in turn a gift to our brothers and sisters.

I am well aware that your parish community lives in an area with numerous challenges. There is no lack of troubling situations of marginalisation, material and moral poverty. Even adolescents and young people risk growing up deceived by those who would peddle death, or disillusioned about the future. Many are waiting for a home, a job that will ensure a dignified life, safe environments where they can meet, play and plan something beautiful together.

As at the well in the Gospel, men and women arrive at this parish wounded in their soul, offended in their dignity, and thirsting for hope. You have the urgent and liberating task of showing the closeness of Jesus, His desire to redeem our existence from the ills that threaten it with a proposal for a just, true and full life. Starting from the Eucharist, the beating heart of every Christian community, I encourage you to ensure that the parish activities are a sign of a Church that, like a mother, takes care of her children, without condemning them, but rather welcoming them, listening to them and supporting them in the face of danger. May the word of the Gospel, which flows in us as a source of truth, help each one of us to open our eyes, to know how to evaluate wisely what is good and what is bad, thus forming free and mature consciences.

Dear brothers and sisters, go forward with confidence! In every situation, the Lord walks with us and sustains us along the way. May the Holy Virgin always accompany your steps in faith, and give you the joy of being humble and courageous proclaimers of the Gospel.

08.03.26 m

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Since the first centuries of the Church’s history, the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, the healing of the man born blind and the resurrection of Lazarus illuminate the path of those who, at Easter, will receive Baptism and begin a new life. These great Gospel passages, which we read beginning this Sunday, are intended for the catechumens to help them on their journey to become Christians. At the same time, these passages are heard once again by the entire community of believers to help them to be more authentic and joyful Christians.

Indeed, Jesus is the response to our thirst. As he suggested to the Samaritan woman, the encounter with him stirs in the depths of each person “a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” ( Jn 4:14). How many people in the entire world are searching even today for this spiritual spring!  “Sometimes I am there too,” writes the young Etty Hillesum in her diary. “But more often stones and grit block the well, and God is buried beneath. Then he must be dug out again.” [1]  Dear friends, there is no energy better spent than that dedicated to freeing our heart. For this reason, Lent is a gift: we are starting the third week and now we are able to intensify the journey!

It is also written in the Gospel that: “His disciples came [and] they were astonished that he was speaking with a woman” (Jn 4:27). They are reluctant to accept his mission as their own, so the Master has to prompt them: “Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting” (Jn 4:35). The Lord still says to his Church: “Lift up your eyes and recognise God’s surprises!” In the fields, four months prior to the harvest, one sees practically nothing. But there, where we see nothing, grace is already at work and its fruits are ready to be gathered. The harvest is great: perhaps the workers are few because they are distracted by other activities. Jesus, on the other hand, is attentive. According to custom, he ought to have simply ignored that Samaritan woman; instead, Jesus speaks with her, listens to her, and shows her respect – without a hidden agenda and without disdain.

How many people seek in the Church this same sensitivity, this availability! And how beautiful it is when we lose track of time in order to give attention to the person we are encountering, as we see in this passage.  Jesus was so spiritually nourished by God’s desire to reach people on the deepest levels that he even forgot to eat (cf. Jn 4:34). Thus, the Samaritan woman becomes the first of many female evangelisers. Because of her testimony, many from her village of despised and rejected people came to meet Jesus, and also in them faith bubbled forth like pure water.

Sisters and brothers, today let us ask Mary, Mother of the Church, to be able to serve, with Jesus and like Jesus, those men and women thirsting for truth and justice. This is not the time for opposition between one church and another, between “us” and “them”: those who worship God seek to be men and women of peace, who worship him in Spirit and in truth (cf. Jn 4:23-24).

[1] Etty Hillesum, Diary, London 1985, 58-59

Dear brothers and sisters,

Deeply disturbing news continues to arrive from Iran and the entire Middle East.  In addition to the episodes of violence and devastation as well as the widespread climate of hatred and fear, there is also the concern that the conflict will spread and that other countries in the region, including beloved Lebanon, may again sink back into instability.

We lift up our humble prayer to the Lord, so that the thunderous sound of bombs may cease, weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open up in which the voice of the people can be heard.  I entrust this intention to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, that she may intercede for those who suffer because of war and lead hearts along the paths of reconciliation and hope.

Today, 8 March, is International Women’s Day.  We renew our commitment, which for us Christians is based on the Gospel, to recognise the equal dignity of man and woman.  Unfortunately many women, from childhood onwards, are still discriminated against and suffer various forms of violence.  In a special way, I offer to them my solidarity and my prayers.

I welcome the students from College Station in Texas, Kansas City in Missouri, and Fort Wayne in Indiana from the United States of America, and from Jerez and Cádiz in Spain, as well as groups of pilgrims from Peru, Panama, Honduras, Mexico and Chile.

I greet the faithful from Brescia, Castrolibero, Gravina di Puglia, Perugia, and from the parishes of San Clemente Papa and San Pio da Pietrelcina in Rome.

I greet the “Casa di Maria” community of Rome, the group of candidates for Confirmation in the Diocese of Orvieto-Todi, the children from Mantova and the rugby team from Rovigo.

I wish everyone a blessed Sunday.

08.03.26 a

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

Today, we will continue our exploration of the Conciliar Constitution Lumen gentium, a dogmatic Constitution on the Church.

In the first chapter, which is primarily intended to answer the question of what the Church is, she is described as a “complex reality” (no. 8). Now we ask ourselves: what does this complexity consist of? Some might answer that the Church is complex in that she is ‘complicated’ and therefore difficult to explain; others might think that her complexity derives from the fact that she is an institution steeped in two thousand years of history, with characteristics that differ from any other social or religious group. In Latin, however, the word ‘complex’ indicates rather the orderly union of different aspects or dimensions within the same reality. For this reason, Lumen gentium can affirm that the Church is a well-organised body, in which the human and divine dimensions coexist without separation and without confusion.

The first dimension is immediately perceptible, in that the Church is a community of men and women who share the joy and struggle of being Christians, with their strengths and weaknesses, proclaiming the Gospel and becoming a sign of the presence of Christ who accompanies us on our journey through life. Yet this aspect – which is also evident in its institutional organisation – is not sufficient to describe the true nature of the Church, because it also has a divine dimension. The latter does not consist in an ideal perfection or spiritual superiority of its members, but in the fact that the Church is generated by God’s plan for humanity, realised in Christ.

Therefore, the Church is at the same time an earthly community and the mystical body of Christ, a visible assembly and a spiritual mystery, a reality present in history and a people journeying towards heaven (LG, 8; CCC, 771).

The human and divine dimensions integrate harmoniously, without one overshadowing the other; thus, the Church lives in this paradox. She is a reality that is both human and divine, which welcomes the sinful man and leads him to God.

To illuminate this ecclesial condition, Lumen gentium refers to the life of Christ. In fact, those who met Jesus along the roads of Palestine experienced his humanity, his eyes, his hands, the sound of his voice. Those who decided to follow him were moved precisely by the experience of his welcoming gaze, the touch of his blessing hands, his words of liberation and healing. At the same time, however, by following that Man, the disciples opened themselves to an encounter with God. Indeed, Christ’s flesh, his face, his gestures and his words visibly manifest the invisible God.

In the light of the reality of Jesus, we can now return to the Church: when we look at her closely, we discover a human dimension made up of real people, who sometimes manifest the beauty of the Gospel and other times struggle and make mistakes like everyone else. However, it is precisely through her members and her limited earthly aspects that Christ’s presence and his saving action are manifested. As Benedict XVI said, there is no opposition between the Gospel and the institution; on the contrary, the structures of the Church serve precisely for the “realisation and concretization of the Gospel in our time” (Address to Swiss Bishops, 9 November 2006). An ideal and pure Church, separated from the earth, does not exist; only the one Church of Christ, embodied in history.

This is what constitutes the holiness of the Church: the fact that Christ dwells in her and continues to give himself through the smallness and fragility of her members. Contemplating this perennial miracle that takes place in her, we understand ‘God's method’: He makes himself visible through the weakness of creatures, continuing to manifest himself and to act. For this reason, Pope Francis, in Evangelii gaudium, exhorts us all to learn “to remove our sandals before the sacred ground of the other (cf. Ex 3:5)” (no. 169). This enables us still today to build up the Church: not only by organising its visible forms, but by building that spiritual edifice which is the body of Christ, through communion and charity among ourselves.

Indeed, charity constantly generates the presence of the Risen One. “If only we could all just let our thoughts dwell on the one thing, charity! It’s the only thing, you see, which both surpasses all things, and without which all things worth nothing, and which draws all things to itself, wherever it may be” (Sermon 354, 6, 6).

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from England, India, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States of America. With prayerful good wishes that this Lent will be a time of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Finally, my thoughts turn to the sick, newlyweds, and young people. Lent exhorts us to recognise Christ as humanity's supreme hope. I invite you, dear young people, to be courageous witnesses of the Gospel, to have a positive impact in the various spheres of life. To you, dear sick people, I commend the virtue of patience, so that your suffering, united with that of Christ, may be a pleasing offering to the Father. And I encourage you, dear newlyweds, to discover the value of prayer in the "domestic church" you have formed. My blessing to all!

04.03.26

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am pleased to be with you and to be able to listen, together with you, to the Word of God with your entire parish community. This Sunday presents us with Abraham’s journey (cf. Gen 12:1-4) and the event of Jesus’ Transfiguration (cf. Mt 17:1-9).

Like Abraham, we can all recognise ourselves as being on a journey. Life is a journey that requires trust, it requires reliance on the Word of God who calls us and sometimes asks us to leave everything behind. We may then be tempted to flee from precariousness as though it were a vertigo that overwhelms us, whereas it is precisely from within it that we can appreciate a promise of unexpected greatness. Every day – because that is how the world reasons – we measure everything and strive to have everything under control. But in this way, we miss the opportunity to discover the real treasure, the precious pearl, as the Gospel teaches us, which God has unexpectedly hidden in our field (cf. Mt 13:44).

Abraham’s journey begins with a loss: the land and the home that hold the memories of his past. However, it will be completed in a new land and with an immense lineage, in which everything becomes a blessing. We too, if we allow ourselves to be called by faith on a journey, to risk new decisions of life and love, will cease to fear losing something, because we will feel that we are growing in a wealth that no-one can take away from us.

Jesus’ disciples also happened to face a journey, the one which would take them to Jerusalem (cfr. Lk 9:51). There, in the holy City, the Master fulfilled his mission, giving his life on the cross and becoming a blessing for all and forever. We know how much resistance Peter and all the others put up to following him. But they had to understand that one can only be a blessing by overcoming the instinct to defend oneself and by accepting what Jesus entrusts to the Eucharistic gesture: the willingness to offer his own body as bread to be eaten, to live and die in order to give life. This is what Sunday is, brothers and sisters: it is the pause along the journey in which we gather around Jesus. Jesus encourages us not to stop and not to change direction. There is no greater promise, no treasure more precious than living in order to give life!

Shortly before the day of the Transfiguration, Jesus had confided in his disciples what the destination of their journey would be, namely, his passion, death and resurrection. You will remember Peter's opposition and Jesus’ reaction when he said to him, “You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men” (Mt 16:23). And now, six days later, Jesus asks Peter, James and John to accompany him up the mountain. Those difficult words still ring in their ears; the unacceptable image of the Messiah condemned to death is still in their minds.

It is this inner darkness of the disciples that Jesus breaks when, on the mountaintop, he shows himself to them transfigured in a dazzling, unimaginable light. And in this glorious vision, Moses and Elijah also appear beside him, witnesses to the fact that in Jesus all the Scriptures are fulfilled (cf. Mt 17:2-3).

Once again, Peter becomes the spokesman of our old world and its desperate need to stop things, to control them. Rather like when we do not want a dream that we take refuge in to end. Here, however, it is not a dream, but a new world to enter: the destination of our journey, a place full of light and which has the human and divine contours of Jesus. By pitching the tents, Peter would like to stop this journey, which instead must continue to Jerusalem (cf. v. 4).

The voice that comes out of the clouds is that of the Father, and it seems to be an imploration: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (v. 5). That voice resounds today for us: “Listen to Jesus!”. And I, dear friends, in your midst, want to echo that appeal, and to say to you: Please, sisters and brothers, listen to him! He journeys with us, even today, to teach us in this city the logic of unconditional love, of the abandonment of any defence that becomes an offence. Let us listen to him, let us enter into his light so as to become the light of the world, starting with the neighbourhood where we live. The whole life of the parish and its groups exists for this reason: it is a service to light, a service to joy.

After the Transfiguration on the mount, Jesus’ journey does not stop (cf. v. 9). And the Church, too, your parish, receives a mission from this Gospel. In the face of the numerous and complex problems of this territory, which loom over your days here, you are entrusted with the pedagogy of the gaze of faith, which transfigures everything with hope, putting passion, sharing and creativity into circulation as a cure for the many wounds of this neighbourhood.

I am very glad to learn that this parish community is a lively and vibrant community and, despite the grave problems of the local context, bears witness to the Gospel courageously. Under the programmatic motto “Let’s Build Community” this parish has embarked on a journey to strengthen the sense of belonging and welcome, with open arms, this parish has embarked on a journey to strengthen the sense of belonging and to welcome everyone, truly everyone with open arms! I am happy and I encourage you: continue on this path of openness to the local area and care for its wounds. And I hope that others will join you in being a leaven of goodness and justice here in Quarticciolo.

The commitment of you young people also deserves to be encouraged. In the “Magis” programme, which you presented to me a few minutes ago and which has been offered here for several years, reference is made to the “more” of which Saint Ignatius of Loyola speaks in his Spiritual Exercises. It is a stimulus for teenagers to overcome mediocrity by choosing a courageous, authentic and good life, which finds its “Magis” par excellence in Jesus Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters, you are a sign of hope. The light of the Transfiguration is already present in this community, because the Lord works here and because many of you believe in his gentle power that transforms everything. When we realise that many things around us are not right, we sometimes wonder: will what we are doing mean anything? We can succumb to the temptation of discouragement, losing our motivation and enthusiasm. Instead, it is precisely in the face of the mystery of evil that we must bear witness to our identity as Christians, as people who want to make the Kingdom of God perceptible in the places and times in which they live. This is my wish for all of you, for this parish community and for the many brothers and sisters who have not yet recognised in Jesus the true light and true joy.

Faced with everything that disfigures man and life, we continue to proclaim and bear witness to the Gospel, which transfigures and gives life. May the Holy Virgin, Mother of the Church, accompany us always and intercede for us.

01.03.26 m

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today’s Gospel paints a radiant picture for all of us as it recounts the Transfiguration of the Lord (cf. Mt 17:1-9).  In this depiction, the Evangelist draws on the Apostles’ memories, portraying Christ between Moses and Elijah.  The Word made flesh stands between the Law and the Prophets: he is living Wisdom, who brings every divine word to fulfilment.  Everything that God has commanded to and inspired in human beings finds its full and definitive expression in Jesus.

Just as on the day of his baptism in the Jordan, so too today on the mountain we hear the voice of the Father proclaiming, “This is my beloved Son,” while the Holy Spirit envelops Jesus in a “bright cloud” (Mt 17:5).  The Gospel uses this unique expression to describe how God reveals himself.  When he manifests himself, the Lord makes his abundance visible to our gaze: standing before Jesus, whose face shines “like the sun” and whose clothes become “as white as light” (cf. v. 2), the disciples behold the human splendour of God.  Peter, James and John contemplate a humble glory, which is not displayed as a spectacle for the crowds to see, but in solemn intimacy.

The Transfiguration foreshadows the light of Easter: an event of death and resurrection, of darkness and new light that Christ radiates on all bodies scourged by violence, crucified by pain, or abandoned in misery.  Indeed, while evil reduces our flesh to a commodity or an anonymous mass, this same flesh shines with the glory of God.  The Redeemer thus transfigures the wounds of history, enlightening our minds and hearts: his revelation is a gift of salvation!  Does this captivate us?  Do we see the true face of God with a gaze of wonder and love?

The Father’s reply to the despair of atheism is the gift of his Son, the Saviour; the Holy Spirit redeems us from the loneliness of agnosticism by offering us an everlasting communion of life and grace; and in response to our weak faith, the promise of the future resurrection is announced.  This is what the disciples saw in Christ’s splendour, but it took time for them to understand (cf. Mt 17:9), time in silence to listen to the word, time for conversion in order to enjoy the Lord’s company.

As we experience this during Lent, let us ask Mary, teacher of prayer and Morning Star, to guide us in faith.

Dear brothers and sisters!

I am following with deep concern what is happening in the Middle East and in Iran during this tumultuous time. Stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through the use of weapons, which sow destruction, suffering, and death, but only through reasonable, sincere, and responsible dialogue.

Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions, I make a heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm. May diplomacy regain its proper role, and may the well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice, be upheld. And let us continue to pray for peace.

In these days, troubling news has also arrived of clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan. I urgently appeal for a return to dialogue. Let us pray together that harmony may prevail in all conflicts throughout the world. Only peace, a gift of God, can heal the wounds between peoples.

I wish to express my closeness to those who have been severely affected by flooding in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. I pray for the victims, for the families who have lost their homes, and for all those involved in rescue efforts.

I extend a warm greeting to all of you, Romans and pilgrims from various countries, in particular the group of Cameroonians living in Rome, accompanied by the President of their Episcopal Conference, whom, God willing, I will have the joy of visiting in the month of April.

I welcome the faithful from the Diocese of Iași in Romania, from Budimir in Košice, Slovakia, from Massachusetts in the United States of America, and from the Confraternity of the Santísimo Cristo de la Buena Muerte from Jaén, Spain.

I greet the faithful from Naples, Torre del Greco, and Afragola; from Caraglio and Valle Grana; from Comitini, Crotone, Silvi Marina, and the parish of Saint Luigi Gonzaga in Rome; as well as the scout leaders of the “Val d’Illasi” group near Verona, and the young people from Faenza who have received the Sacrament of Confirmation.

I wish everyone a happy Sunday.

01.03.26 a