The Pope’s appeal during the Angelus: ‘May there be consolation in the Holy Land, Ukraine and Russia’
Leone expressed his sympathy for the people suffering as a result of the war
Key points
During the Angelus, recited from Castel Gandolfo on the Catholic feast day of the Assumption of Mary, the Pope offered a prayer for the peoples suffering from war. Leone prayed to Mary for ‘those communities that are in particular need of consolation and of continued hope’. ‘I am thinking of our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land, which is also, par excellence, the land of Mary. I am thinking of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples, both bound by filial devotion to the Holy Mother of God. I am thinking of Christians who suffer discrimination or even persecution.’ “I continue to pray these days for the people of Colombia who are suffering as a result of the earthquake,” he added.
The Pope: ‘Let us look to the young people who go against the tide and grow up to be honest’
The mystery of Mary’s greatness, which the Church celebrates today, can be found in everyday life. ‘We need not, then, look far afield for the sublimity of the Mystery we are celebrating. We can encounter it,” said the Pope in his homily during Mass at Castel Gandolfo, “wherever there is true charity: in the eyes of a father and mother returning home after a day’s work, tired but happy to be with their children; in the faces of grandfathers and grandmothers who, despite the aches and pains of old age, are filled with unexpected energy when looking after their grandchildren; or again in the commitment of young people who strive to grow up pure and honest – emphasised Leo XIV – ready even to go against the grain of ‘what everyone else is doing’; finally, in the work of so many men and women who, day after day, with faith and dedication, help to bring a little of Heaven to earth and the earth towards Heaven’.
