reflections, updates and homilies from Deacon Mike Talbot inspired by the following words from my ordination: Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach...
Pope Leo XIV departs from France's northeastern city of Metz, bringing his fifth Apostolic Journey abroad to an end.
Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV has left France aboard an Air France flight, returning to Rome after his fifth international apostolic journey, which took him to Paris, Lourdes and Metz from 25 to 28 September 2026.
His plane took off from Metz-Nancy-Lorraine Airport on Monday just after 7:30 pm local time and is scheduled to land at Rome Fiumicino Airport shortly after 9.
He is expected to hold his usual in-flight press conference with journalists on board the papal plane.
The Pope's departure followed a private meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron inside the airport building, and then an official farewell ceremony on the tarmac with full military honors in the presence of civil and religious authorities.
After the Guard of Honour, a band played both the French national anthem and the Pontifical Anthem as is customary.
From migration to artificial intelligence, the Christian roots of Europe and pressing ethical concerns regarding the protection of life, as well as reiterated appeals to pray and work for peace in our fragmented world, Pope Leo ‘s discourses, homilies and presence at different events shone a light on some of the biggest challenges facing Europe, the Catholic Church and French society.
Pope: The future of Europe is not found in uniformity but in the harmony of differences
At the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Metz, Pope Leo celebrates Mass to close out his time in the city on the last day of his Apostolic Journey to France. In his homily, he stresses that choosing forgiveness and mercy over revenge and violence is not a path of weakness, but rather one of strength.
By Kielce Gussie
Pope Leo XIV’s last public event before heading to the airport to return to Rome was celebrating Mass in the Cathedral of Saint Stephen (Cathédrale Saint-Étienne) in Metz. Construction began in 1120 and three hundred years later, the current Cathedral was finished.
Pope Leo greeted crowds outside the Cathedral before celebrating Mass (@Vatican Media)
In this Eucharistic celebration, the Pope noted he was entrusting both the diocesan community of Metz and the entire world to the Lord. The Moselle region—where Metz is located—borders Luxembourg and Germany and he explained “has always been a crossroads for different peoples and has suffered as a result of its location on Europe’s frontier.”
Yet Pope Leo highlighted that God’s promise is still relevant here today.
A home is more than a building
Reflecting on the first reading, the Pope pointed to three images the Prophet Isaiah uses to look at the Kingdom of God in terms of righteousness, justice and peace: the desert, the garden, and the house.
First, “in the desert—a place of sobriety and silence—justice is established.” This image is a reminder of how important simplicity is and invites us to look at what is actually essential in life. It helps us assign appropriate value to objects and teaches us sacrifice and renunciation.
The second image is a garden where justice reigns. Opposite to the desert, the garden reveals beauty—with water, seeds, sprouts, and flowers. This, Pope Leo said, “is the effect of a righteous life, which enables a person to flourish fully by freely adhering to the Lord’s plans.”
Thirdly, there is the image of a house, which is a place of peace. In the desert and garden, God’s actions prevail, which leads to flowers and growth. Conversely, constructing a house demands “a more direct and significant contribution from human beings.” It is a “true ‘construction project’” through shared effort.
In the same way, peace—a gift from God—also needs a response from humans because, moreover, a home is more than a stone structure. It is also filled with human presence and love. “In a world marked by limitations," the Pope explained, “harmony can only be built through charity, a charity that knows how to share joys and sorrows, that knows how to encourage and forgive, without calculation or limit, just as in a family.”
Deserts into oases
The world today is scarred by violence, manipulation, and arrogance at various levels. Yet, in this context, Jesus shows us how to turn “deserts in oases, to plant gardens, and to build homes.” The path to this is marked by forgiveness, mercy, and magnanimity.
It is not a path of weakness. Rather, the Pope invited everyone to reflect on these questions: What do vengeance, retaliation, and rejection bring about, both in the world and within each of us? What will the future be like if these attitudes are the basis of our words and actions?
“Those of you, who are the children of this land torn apart in the past by fratricidal conflicts, know full well that it is not true that those who seek revenge are stronger than those who forgive,” Pope Leo stressed.
Metz and Moselle offer examples how reconciliation is only possible when someone breaks the chain of resentment. In the face of injustice, the only way forward to salvation is through a love that cares for others and looks to offer trust no matter the circumstances.
Therefore, the Pope highlighted, “law, justice and peace are stages on a path of conversion that begins as a personal journey and becomes increasingly communal, leading to a civilization that respects human beings and their Creator.”
St. Augustine defined true peace as a communion where people find joy in God and in each other through God. It also requires the recognition and respect for the unique and sacred dignity and role of others.
These are exactly the values on which Europe was built over the many centuries. Christian monasticism also helped hand down the moral principles that govern the world—primacy of the person, protection of individual freedom, welcoming the stranger, etc.
In the harmony of differences
The Cathedral of Saint Stephen is an example of perseverance and faithfulness to these principles.
“This cathedral teaches us that God’s light does not erase our unique identities but rather unites different histories and cultures into a single marvelous mosaic of peace — so necessary in our time, torn as it is by new divisions and conflicts,” Pope Leo said.
Its stained-glass windows invite us to contemplate how the future of Europe is not found in uniformity. Rather, in the “harmony of differences, where the wounds of the past become openings through which light shines.”
The Cathedral's stained-glass windows cover 6,500 square meters and make up the largest collection of Gothic stained-glass in Europe (@Vatican Media)
This is a symbol of the identity of the Church. Structures can help us bring light to the Gospel in the world. He argued the stained-glass windows are “‘books’ that bring us together to remember wonderful stories full of heroism, goodness, mercy, love and moral beauty, to which we, in turn, must be generous and courageous witnesses.”
The Pope closed by sharing his wish that the community in Metz, which “today more than ever is called to be a beacon of hope for the country, for Europe and for the world”, is entrusted to the intercession of Virgin Mary and France’s patron saints.
Pope: Europe must embrace its roots to build peace and unity
Pope Leo XIV addresses a meeting on “The Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity,” saying Europe’s Christian roots “help us understand more clearly that openness to the transcendent is always a constitutive part of the human person and a living source of civilization.”
By Christopher Wells
Pope Leo XIV described “an imaginary journey beginning from the roots of Europe” and looking to the present and the future in the quest for peace and unity.
European civilization built on tradition, encounter
Explaining that Europe must be understood more as a “cultural and historical reality” than a geographical one, the Pope noted that Europe “has flourished and progressed when it was able to draw on the best aspects of its past and reinvent them in new and creative ways through encounter with others,” including with other civilizations.
Among the deep roots of European civilization, Pope Leo highlighted a much earlier “founding father” of Europe, Saint Benedict, whose influence promoted care for the poor, the sick, and the elderly; the education of children and universities; hospitals and medicine; architecture and engineering; the development of the sciences; law and the organization of cities and States themselves.”
“Without this monastic influence,” Pope Leo asserted, “European civilization as we know it would not exist,” adding, “We cannot speak of Europe, then, without mentioning Christianity.”
Universal values promote peace and unity
The Holy Father went on to describe the influence of Robert Schuman and Alcide De Gasperi, who, along with many others, helped usher in the modern project of European unity and peace.
Schuman and De Gaspari drew from Europe’s Christian roots the values of equality, the dignity of work, the primacy of inner values, and fraternal charity; the value of the human person and their personal responsibility, respect for law, love of beauty, and a commitment to truth and justice.
These values do not stem solely from religious commitment, the Pope said; instead, recognizing Europe’s debt to Christianity helps us understand more clearly that openness to the transcendent is always a constitutive part of the human person and a living source of civilization.”
In his address Pope Leo highlighted the importance of respect for religious freedom and cooperation between church and state, while affirming that universal values – such as the rights and obligations of the human person, freedom, democracy, equality, and respect for the rule of law – offer a basis harmony in a multicultural society.
Welcome and integration of migrants
This is particularly important, he said, in view of the unprecedented migration into Europe, which requires society both to welcome immigrants and to integrate them into the community.
“The universal character of Europe’s founding values” he continued, “assures us that this dialogue is possible and can provide a solid foundation for our societies, enabling us to work more effectively for peace and a reconciled world.”
From Robert Schuman, Pope Leo said, we can learn a deep desire for peace, which is neither a “naïve pacifism” nor a surrender to the “illusion that rearmament is the answer.”
Harmony must be built on encounter, not conflict
He insisted that Europe must be based on respect for international law, and a commitment to keeping one’s word. “International law and multilateralism,” he said, “emphasize the genuine equality of States in their relations and constituted the best antidote to the desire for domination, which lies at the root of every conflict.”
Since the Second World War, Pope Leo said, Europe “has amply demonstrated that it is possible to articulate divergent opinions, claims, and interests through encounter rather than conflict.”
'Be builders of community'
And he concluded his address with an appeal to young people “are called upon to build the Europe of today and tomorrow.” He called them to be courageous in promoting peace, to not give into the logic of violence and oppression; to not be afraid of the future; to start families and to defend human dignity from conception to death; and to work for the common good, even though political engagement.”
“Be builders of community,” Pope Leo told the young, “and with you, Europe, firmly rooted in its heritage, will continue to flourish and to inspire the whole world.”
Pope in Metz: God never inspires anything that disfigures human dignity
Meeting with representatives of various religions in the French city of Metz, Pope Leo XIV praises efforts to engage in interreligious dialogue, recalling that God’s name must never be invoked to justify violence or oppression.
By Devin Watkins
Pope Leo XIV held an interreligious meeting at the Robert Schuman Conference Center in Metz, on the final day of his Apostolic Journey to France.
In his address, the Pope recalled the legacy of Venerable Schuman, one of the founders of the European Union.
Calling him a “man of faith and conviction,” he said Venerable Schuman became an ambassador of unity in diversity and was able to turn divisions into “bridges of hope.”
“Following his example,” said the Pope, “our shared responsibility as men and women of faith is to bear witness that, beyond all borders, it is always possible to meet one another, forge friendships, and seek peace.”
Pope Leo recalled the late Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti and his call for dialogue among religions to establish friendship and peace.
“Dialogue does not diminish our identity, but expresses it with simplicity and truth by opening it to the diversity of the other,” said Pope Leo.
Dialogue, he added, is “an art of encounter” which our world greatly needs, as it is the opposite of aggression and violence.
“To invoke God’s name in order to justify violence or oppression is to profane His name,” he said. “Nothing that disfigures human dignity can claim to be inspired by God.”
The Pope appealed to the personal responsibility of all believers to engage in religious discourse that calls for “the disarmament of hearts and words.”
Religions are the guardians of life, since they affirm life’s sacred value, he said, noting that religions bear visible fruit when their adherents stand alongside those who are most vulnerable and fragile.
“The greatness of a civilization is not measured by its material achievements, but by the way it cares for, protects, and upholds the human person,” he said.
Serving life, he added, means surrounding it with “care, presence, and tenderness” until its natural end, especially in times of trial, building communion that respects the dignity of every human person.
Pope Leo XIV then assured the religious representatives gathered in Metz that the Catholic Church considers all who “sincerely seek truth, goodness, and beauty as companions on the journey.”
“May the infinite goodness and wisdom of God accompany us and teach us to live ever more fully as His children and as brothers and sisters to one another.”
Feastday: September 28 Patron: of Filipino youth, Chinese Filipinos, the Philippines, Overseas Filipino Workers, people living in poverty, Filipino altar servers Birth: 1600 Death: 1637
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz was born around the year 1600 in Binondo, Manila in the Philippines. He was the son of a Chinese father and a Filipino mother. Both were Christians and took care to raise Lorenzo as a Catholic. He served happily in his parish church as an altar boy and calligrapher.
As a young man, Lorenzo joined the Dominican Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary.
Later, he married a woman named Rosario. The happy couple had three children, two sons and one daughter. By all accounts, the family was ordinary and happy.
In 1636, Lorenzo was accused of murder. Allegedly he killed a Spaniard. However, to protect his safety at the time, he fled home and found refuge on board a ship with three Dominican priests and a leper. There are no details of this alleged crime other than a journal entry by two Dominican priests, that he joined their group to escape possible arrest. The ship departed the Philippines on June 10, 1636, bound for Okinawa.
A shock awaited the holy passengers when they arrived in Japan. At the time of their arrival, the rulers of Japan, the Tokugawa Shogunate, were persecuting Christians. Prior to this persecution, the Christian population of Japan was thought to number 50,000 souls.
Now Lorenzo was arrested by Japanese officials for the crime of being a Christian and ordered to recant his faith. When he refused he was imprisoned for two years. On September 27, 1637, Lorenzo and his companions were taken to Nagasaki to be tortured and killed if they would not recant their faith.
Lorenzo and his companions were tortured by water, which was forced into their mouths and down their throats and out their noses and ears. Despite the painful torture, the men refused to do so.
Following this, Lorenzo was hanged upside down, with a rope around his ankles. This method of torture was known as tsurushi, or "gallows and pit." The torture forces a person to be hanged upside down with a gash cut in their forehead to prevent too much blood from gathering in the head. The gash also causes the victim to bleed to death over an extended period of time.
Those who have survived the torture have said it is unbearable.
One hand is left free so the victim can offer an agreed symbol that will represent their desire to recant their faith. Those few who recant are spared and allowed to live. But few people ever recanted, choosing instead to die for their faith.
Lorenzo refused to recant. According to the record of his death, his last words were, "I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for God. Had I a thousand lives, all these to Him I shall offer. Do with me as you please."
His traveling companions were all killed, steadfast until the end.
Lorenzo was beatified by Pope John Paul II on February 18, 1981. The beatification ceremony was held in the Philippines making it the first beatification ceremony ever held outside the Vatican.
A miracle attributed to his intercession occurred in 1983. A two-year-old girl, Alegria Policarpio, suffering from hydrocephaly, a condition she had since birth, was miraculously cured.
His canonization took place at the Vatican on October 18, 1987.
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz is the patron saint of Filipino youth, the Philippines, people working overseas, and altar servers.
Feastday: September 28 Patron: of Bohemia, Czech state, Prague Birth: 907 Death: 935
Patron saint of Bohemia, parts of Czech Republic, and duke of Bohemia frorn 924-929. Also called Wenceslas, he was born near Prague and raised by his grandmother, St. Ludmilla, until her murder by his mother, the pagan Drahomira.
Wenceslaus's mother assumed the regency over Bohemia about 920 after her husband's death, but her rule was so arbitrary and cruel in Wenceslaus' name that he was compelled on behalf of his subjects to overthrow her and assume power for himself in 924 or 925.
A devout Christian, he proved a gifted ruler and a genuine friend of the Church.
German missionaries were encouraged, churches were built, and Wenceslaus perhaps took a personal vow of poverty. Unfortunately, domestic events proved fatal, for in 929 the German king Heinrich I the Fowler (r. 919-936) invaded Bohemia and forced Wenceslaus to make an act of submission.
This defeat, combined with his pro-Christian policies, led a group of non-Christian nobles to conspire against him. On September 28, 935, a group of knights under the leadership of Wenceslaus' brother, Boreslav, assassinated the saint on the doorstep of a church.
Virtually from the moment of his death, Wenceslaus was considered a martyr and venerated as a saint.
Miracles were reported at his tomb, and his remains were translated to the church of St. Vitus in Prague which became a major pilgrimage site.
The feast has been celebrated at least since 985 in Bohemia, and he is best known from the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslaus."
Pope Leo XIV prays the rosary with thousands of pilgrims in Lourdes and participates in a torchlit procession that illuminates the night sky.
By Isabella H. de Carvalho - Lourdes
Every evening from April to November, the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes comes to life with a torchlit rosary and procession.
On September 27 a special pilgrim participated in this devotion. Pope Leo solemnly walked in the footsteps of the millions of faithful that have done so before him, carrying in their hearts their hopes, sorrows and struggles, in this beloved Marian shrine known for being a place of healing.
And as the Successor of Peter, the leader of the Catholic Church, the Pope carried with him the worries, tensions, divisions and conflicts touching our world today.
“How moving it is to see the faithful, from one generation to the next, respond with love and trust to the tender invitation of the Virgin Mary. How consoling it is to hear Christians sing hymns filled with fervor and faith, and to see them walk, with a light in their hands, towards their Mother in Heaven, the Mother whom Jesus gave us from the Cross,” he said in his address. “I give thanks to the Lord that I, too, may respond this evening to the call of our Mother, becoming a pilgrim among pilgrims.”
Shortly after the clocks of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception chimed at 9pm, he started the procession from the Grotto of Massabielle, where the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette, followed by the papal delegation and then a large crowd made up of bishops, priests, shrine volunteers, families and more.
He slowly made his way around the Shrine and down the long esplanade that faces it to the forecourt of the Shrine. Leading the way was the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes which is always used in this torchlit procession.
Thousands of pilgrims accompanied him, reciting Our Fathers and Hail Mary's, rosary and candles in hand, from behind the metal barriers that had been set up. Some knelt on the ground, others stood or sat on foldable chairs they had brought from home. Many were in wheelchairs with blankets wrapped around them.
From above the crowd, one could only see the twinkle of the flames. The rosary was alternated with sung hymns and those gathered would at times lift up their candles all together. “The light that guides us and draws us onward is the light of hope," the Pope said, "which never abandons us even as we journey through this life."
If the “miracle of finding serenity and joy amidst suffering” is possible, he added, “it is because God grants us the grace to perceive the life-giving presence of the risen Christ among us.”
“He enables us to look beyond our earthly horizon towards a more distant future,” the Pope emphasized, and, citing St. Paul, he reminded all those present that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us”
