Pope Leo: a united and missionary Church which becomes a 'leaven' for a reconciled world

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you”, said Pope Leo XIV,
addressing the many people gathered in St. Peter's Square, the pilgrims who have come from all over the world to be close to him at the Mass marking the beginning of his Petrine ministry as Bishop of Rome. He looked out at the people, the representatives of the official delegations, the sister Churches, and other faith communities, and began his homily by quoting St. Augustine.
Before the solemn Eucharistic celebration, which took place in the parvis of the Vatican Basilica, Pope Leo prayed at the tomb of St. Peter together with the Patriarchs of the Eastern Churches.
During the Eucharistic celebration, the solemn presentation of the insignia marking the beginning of the pontificate took place. Cardinal Mario Zenari placed the pallium around the Pope's neck. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presented him with the Fisherman's Ring.
In his homily, Pope Leo spoke about the task that awaits him and the entire Church in a torn and wounded world.

The "intense emotions" in these days

The death of Pope Francis, according to the Bishop of Rome, and the "intense emotions" in these days, "has filled our hearts with sadness." These were "difficult hours" in which "we felt like the crowds that the Gospel says were “like sheep without a shepherd”. Then, on Easter Sunday, we received his final blessing and, in the light of the resurrection, we experienced the days that followed in the certainty that the Lord never abandons his people, but gathers them when they are scattered and guards them “as a shepherd guards his flock”."
In the Conclave, the Cardinals, "from different backgrounds and experiences," placed in God's hands "the desire to elect the new Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, a shepherd capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, looking to the future, in order to confront the questions, concerns and challenges of today’s world."

The Love of God comes first

"I was chosen, without any merit of my own," Pope Leo said, "and I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family." For "love and unity" are "the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus."
The mission that Christ entrusted to Peter and the first disciples, Pope Leo said, referring to the Gospel, "is the mission he received from the Father: to be a “fisher” of humanity in order to draw it up from the waters of evil and death." And Peter, according to the Bishop of Rome, his successor, can only fulfill this task "because his own life was touched by the infinite and unconditional love of God, even in the hour of his failure and denial." Only "if you have known and experienced this love of God, which never fails, will you be able to feed my lambs. Only in the love of God the Father will you be able to love your brothers and sisters with that same ‘more’, that is, by offering your life for your brothers and sisters."
Peter is thus "entrusted with the task of “loving more” and giving his life for the flock." His successors are also called to this task, "because," Pope Leo continues, "the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ." Therefore, it is never a question of "capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did."
"Christ himself," says Pope Leo, quoting the Apostle Peter in the Acts of the Apostles, "is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, and has become the cornerstone" on which the Church is built. And if "the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him." "On the contrary," the new Bishop of Rome continued, "he is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them."

A united Church for a reconciled world

"I would like," Pope Leo addressed his brothers and sisters, "that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world." In our time, Pope Leo admits, we still see "too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest." Christians are called to be "a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one," the Pope exhorts, referring to the words of St. Augustine, which he has chosen as his episcopal motto. He thus points to the path "to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!"

A "missionary Church" that allows itself to be made restless by history

This is the "missionary spirit," Pope Leo continued, "that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people." The missionary Church, which can grow "in the light and power of the Holy Spirit," is "a Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity." "Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another", Pope Leo urges at the conclusion of his homily.
Before the Regina Coeli prayer, Pope Leo emphasized that during the Mass he "strongly felt the spiritual presence of Pope Francis accompanying us from heaven." "Reflecting on our participation in the communion of saints, I recall that yesterday in Chambéry, France, the priest Camille Costa de Beauregard, was beatified. He lived from the end of the 1800s to the beginning of the 1900s, and was a witness of great pastoral charity."
The Bishop of Rome also turned his thoughts to the brothers and sisters "who are suffering because of war. In Gaza, the surviving children, families and elderly are reduced to starvation. In Myanmar, new hostilities have cut short innocent young lives. Finally, war-torn Ukraine awaits negotiations for a just and lasting peace," Pope Leo XIV said. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 18/5/2025)

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