Looking ahead to the South American Journey of Pope Leo XIV

 

Pope Leo’s South American tour raises hopes across Uruguay, Argentina and Peru

by Eduardo Campos LimaNovember 2, 2026

Teachers and students at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Sep. 5, 2026. (Credit: Matilde Campodonico/AP.)

SÃO PAULO, Brazil – Pope Leo XIV’s South American tour, confirmed by the Vatican on Oct. 26 after his lung cancer surgery, is eagerly anticipated by Catholics across South America, especially those who knew then-Bishop Robert Prevost during his years in the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru.

The pontiff, who had the lower lobe of his right lung removed on Oct. 13 and has been recovering well since, will arrive in Montevideo, Uruguay, on the afternoon of Nov. 6, depart for Argentina on Nov. 8, and travel to Peru on Nov. 11. He will leave South America on Nov. 16 and return to Rome on Nov. 17.

The last time a pope visited Uruguay was nearly 40 years ago. In May 1988, Pope Saint John Paul II spent four days in the country, following a visit in March 1987. Since then, the share of Uruguayan Catholics has fallen from 60 percent in 1997 to just 33 percent today. More than 28 percent of the population now identifies as agnostic or atheist.

“The pope’s visit has been generating interest among Uruguayans. We hope it will represent a kind of springtime for the Church, bringing back people who have drifted away and renewing our missionary energy,” Bishop Milton Tróccoli of Maldonado-Punta del Este-Minas, who also serves as president of the Uruguayan Bishops’ Conference, told Crux Now.

The Uruguayan leg of the trip was planned by the Church to allow as many people as possible to participate. It will begin in the capital, Montevideo – home to half of the country’s population – where the pope will be welcomed in a central square shortly after his arrival and will meet with President Yamandú Orsi and other government officials.

That evening, he will celebrate Vespers with priests and men and women religious, delivering a homily.

“The following morning, the pope will travel to Paysandú, a city in northern Uruguay, where he will celebrate Mass. The city was selected because of its central location for people living north of the Río Negro,” Tróccoli explained.

In the afternoon, he will return to Montevideo, where he will visit the Casavalle neighborhood, a poor district where the Church has maintained 25 social programs over the past five decades.

“He will have an opportunity to meet vulnerable people and learn firsthand about the Church’s missionary work,” Tróccoli said.

Afterward, Pope Leo XIV will meet with Catholic school principals and teachers at the Catholic University of Uruguay and lead a prayer vigil at a stadium in Montevideo.

“His final event will be a Mass in Florida, where Uruguayans will celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Thirty-Three, the country’s patroness. After that, he will travel to Buenos Aires,” Tróccoli explained.

In Argentina, the pontiff will meet large crowds who have eagerly awaited a papal visit for years. Argentines, of course, had hoped that Pope Francis, their fellow countryman, would be the one to return – but Jorge Bergoglio never visited his homeland again after being elected pope in 2013.

Pope Leo XIV’s schedule includes religious celebrations and visits to places where he will learn about the hardships faced by vulnerable Argentines, exacerbated by the economic crisis the country has endured over the past several years.

“The bishops and the Holy See agreed on the selection of the most suitable locations, with input from the federal government regarding security arrangements,” Father Maximo Jurcinovic, head of the press office of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference, told Crux Now.

He said that the “pastoral agenda was designed to give ample space to the different realities of the Church in Argentina and throughout the country.”

The Argentine leg will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 8, when the pontiff arrives in Buenos Aires. He will meet with President Javier Milei and other government officials at the Casa Rosada presidential palace after visiting the Independence Monument and attending an official welcome ceremony.

The following morning, Leo will visit Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione, a Church-run home for people with disabilities in the city of Claypole, in Buenos Aires province. Its 400 residents receive not only therapeutic assistance but also educational opportunities and training to develop new skills.

Before lunch, the pontiff will celebrate Mass in Buenos Aires. In the afternoon, he will meet with labor union leaders and social movement organizers at the Catholic University of Argentina. Later, Leo will meet with leaders of Christian communities and celebrate Vespers with the country’s bishops.

The following morning, the pope will travel north to Córdoba, where he will celebrate Mass at 10 a.m. In the afternoon, he will meet with priests, men and women religious, and seminarians. He will then return to Buenos Aires to meet with young people that evening.

On his final day in Argentina, Leo will visit the Buenos Aires Federal Penitentiary Complex at 8 a.m. and then travel to Luján, where he will celebrate Mass at 10 a.m. at the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, Argentina’s patroness. At 2 p.m., he will depart for Lima.

The Peruvian leg, the tour’s final and longest stage, will be particularly significant. The pope lived in Peru for nearly 20 years, beginning in the 1980s, and acquired Peruvian citizenship upon becoming Bishop of Chiclayo, a position he held for eight years.

“Leo will meet with his beloved Peruvian people, especially those living in his former Diocese of Chiclayo. He will also visit Lima, Callao, Cusco, and Pucallpa,” Father Juan Bytton, secretary-general of the committee organizing the pope’s visit to Peru, told Crux Now.

Leo will arrive in Callao at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 11 and meet with President Keiko Fujimori and other government officials. He will also deliver a speech at Lima’s Gran Teatro Nacional. The following morning, he will meet with the Peruvian bishops and then address the challenges facing the country’s people at a gathering in the square in front of the cathedral.

In the afternoon, he will meet with young people at the National Stadium.

“That will be a remarkable moment, because young people are our hope for a better future, and the pope has always had a special relationship with them,” Bytton said.

On Nov. 13, the pontiff will travel to Chiclayo, where he will celebrate Mass at 10:30 a.m. He will then make a private visit to the San Oscar Romero Chapel and meet with clergy and missionaries in the afternoon. At 5:45 p.m., Leo will meet with university students and professors at the Catholic University of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo.

“Of course, he will also see old friends, priests, and pastoral agents. It will be an opportunity for him to rest among people he knows well,” Bytton said.

The following day, the pope will preside over the coronation of the image of the Immaculate Virgin at St. Mary’s Cathedral. He will then take a helicopter to the town of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, where he will celebrate Mass at 11 a.m. Later, he will travel to the Shrine of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo in the district of Zaña.

The following morning, Leo will travel to Cusco. At 10:30 a.m., he will meet with Catholics at the archaeological site of Saqsaywaman and pray the Angelus in front of the local basilica. At 1:05 p.m., he will fly to Pucallpa, in the Peruvian Amazon.

At 3 p.m., he will meet with clergy and leaders of Amazonian communities – 21 groups will be represented, according to Bytton – and deliver a speech. Later, he will celebrate Mass, “the very first Mass of the current pope in the Amazon – a land so ravaged by illegal mining and other evils –, a sign of his care for our common home,” Bytton said.

At 8 p.m., he will return to Callao. On the final day of the trip, Leo will visit a home run by nuns in Callao that houses 60 elderly people. Before heading to Callao Air Base for a farewell ceremony, he will celebrate Mass at Las Palmas Air Base in Lima.

“That celebration will be an opportunity for us to bring these days of grace, hope and love to a close. This visit will inspire us to promote justice and uphold human dignity,” Bytton said.

Leo will depart for Rome at 1:45 p.m, from Callao.

Bytton hopes the pontiff’s trip to Peru “will represent a turning point, allowing us all to be reborn in this new Pentecost of a synodal Church.”

Last week, the Vatican confirmed Pope Leo will have “several meetings” with victims of clergy abuse during the trip, after Peru’s survivors’ network said the schedule had left them out.

Saint of the Day for Wednesday

 

St. Charles Borromeo

Feast Day: November 4
Patron: of bishops, catechists, cardinals, seminarians, spiritual leaders
Birth: October 2, 1538
Death: November 3, 1584
Beatified: May 12, 1602, by Pope Paul V
Canonized: November 1, 1610, by Pope Paul V

Saint Charles Borromeo was born on October 2, 1538, at the castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore near Milan. His father was the Count of Arona and his mother a member of the House of Medici. He was the third of six children born to the couple.

At the age of 12, the young Count Charles Borromeo dedicated himself to a life of service to the Church. His uncle gave to him the family income from the Benedictine abbey of Saints Gratinian and Felinus. Even as a youth, his integrity was obvious. He was explicit in telling his father that he could only keep the money required for his education and to prepare him for service to the Church. All other funds belonged to the poor of the Church and were to be passed along to them.

The young count suffered from a speech impediment that made him appear slow to those who did not know him. Despite this challenge, he performed well and impressed his teachers. He attended the University of Pavia and learned Latin. He was praised because he was hardworking and thorough.

In 1554 his father passed away and although Charles was a teenager, responsibility for his household fell to him. Charles continued in his studies and earned a doctorate in canon and civil law.

His responsibility for his household resulted in financial difficulties, and Charles earned a reputation for being short of funds.

Life sped up for the young count after his uncle, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Medici became Pope Pius IV on December 25, 1559. The new pope asked his nephew to come to Rome and appointed him as a cardinal-deacon. With the rank came the job of assisting and advising his uncle full-time. A month later, Pope Pius IV made his nephew a cardinal.

With the new rank came even more duties including the government of the Papal States, the supervision of the Knights of Malta, the Franciscans, and the Carmelites. He was only 23 years old.

The young Borromeo used his leadership role in the Vatican to promote learning, and he established a literary academy. He wrote of some of the lessons and lectures in the book, Noctes Vaticanae.

Borromeo was appointed administrator of the Archdiocese of Milan in 1560. Since he would become the ecclesiastical administrator of Milan, he decided that the Lord was calling him to the priesthood.

In 1561, he founded a college at Pavia dedicated to St. Justina of Padua.

In 1562 his brother died and his family urged him to leave the service of the church to preserve the family name. However, Borromeo refused. He became more insistent upon becoming a good bishop and in compelling others to lead exemplary lives of clerical service.

Borromeo was ordained first to the order of deacon. Then, he was ordained to the holy priesthood on September 4, 1563. Then, he was ordained as a bishop on December 7, 1563. He became Archbishop of Milan on May 12, 1564.

In 1566, Archbishop Borromeo’s benefactor and uncle, Pope Pius IV died. Borromeo had already developed a reputation as a young, idealistic reformer in Rome, and he continued that mission in Milan. Milan was the largest diocese in the Catholic Church at the time and corruption was rampant.

The driving out of corruption was a critical matter during Borromeo’s time. The Protestant Reformation was spreading throughout northern Europe and constantly threatened to move south. The greatest defense against Protestant doctrinal errors and claims against the hierarchy of the Catholic Church was reform and the restoration of integrity to the Catholic Church. Archbishop Borromeo saw this clearly and he made this his mission.

His strategy was to provide education to many clergy he saw as ignorant. He founded schools and seminaries and colleges for clergy.

He also ended the selling of indulgences, a form of simony (Catholic Catechism #2120 and ordered monasteries to reform themselves. He made a lot of visits to various locations to inspect for himself. He ordered the simplification of church interiors, which was a major point of contention between some Catholics and Protestants. The complex and busy interiors were claimed to be a distraction from the worship of God. This danger was acknowledged during the Council of Trent which Archbishop Borromeo enforced. Even tombs belonging to his own relatives were cleared of inappropriate ornaments and embellishments.

His work of cleaning up the Church also made him enemies. On one occasion a member of a small, decrepit order known as the “Humiliati” attempted to assassinate him with a pistol but missed.

Many of his subordinates and secular officials complained about the Archbishop throughout his career. However, the existence of these enemies only emboldened Borromeo and served as confirmation that his efforts to eradicate corruption were working.

In 1576 a famine struck Milan followed by the plague, and many of the wealthy and powerful fled the city. Archbishop Borromeo remained. He used his own fortune to feed the starving people. When that money was spent, he took loans and went deep into debt. He may have fed 70,000 people per day. Eventually, the Archbishop convinced the local governor to return to his post and care for the people.

In 1583, Archbishop Borromeo traveled to Switzerland and began work suppressing heresy there. Protestant heresies, along with witchcraft and sorcery had been widely reported. He founded the Collegium Helveticum to serve and educate Swiss Catholics.

Eventually, the Archbishop’s life of work and toil began to take its toll. In 1584, he became ill with a fever. He returned to Milan where his conditioned worsened. When it became obvious, he would die, he was given his last Sacraments. He died on November 3, at the age of 46.

He was beatified on May 12, 1602, by Pope Paul V. He was subsequently canonized by Pope Paul V on November 1, 1610.

St. Charles Borromeo’s feast day is celebrated on November 4. He is the patron of bishops, catechists, Lombardy, Italy, Monterey, California, cardinals, seminarians, spiritual leaders, and Sao Carlos in Brazil.

St. Charles Borromeo has a beautiful shrine in the Milan Cathedral and is often depicted in art wearing his robes, barefoot, carrying the cross with a rope around his neck and his arm raised in blessing.

Pope Leo XIV releases letter of thanksgiving to the Bishops of France for his "unforgettable" Visit

 

Pope Leo XIV met with the French Bishops in Lourdes on September 27, 2026 (VATICAN MEDIA)

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• Pope Leo XIV
• apostolic journey
• France
• abuse

Pope Leo thanks French Bishops for ‘unforgettable’ visit

In a letter to the Bishops of France, Pope Leo XIV expresses appreciation for his Apostolic Journey and urges the Church to support young people and victims of abuse.

By Olivier Bonnel

As France’s Bishops began their autumn plenary assembly in Lourdes on Tuesday, November 3, Pope Leo XIV thanked them for helping make his recent Apostolic Journey “an unforgettable experience.”

In a letter dated November 1, the Pope invited the Bishops to reflect on the pastoral fruits of his visit.

The assembly opened with an address by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Marseille and President of the French Bishops’ Conference, followed by the reading of the Pope’s letter.

“A little more than a month after my Apostolic Journey to France, I wish to express once again my gratitude for the remarkable organization of my visit,” Pope Leo wrote. “Bishops and faithful, as well as civil and religious authorities and believers and nonbelievers alike, all put their skills to use to make those days an unforgettable experience.”

Education and the common good

The Bishops are meeting in the same auditorium in Lourdes where they welcomed the Bishop of Rome on September 27. In his letter, Pope Leo addressed the themes on their agenda, beginning with education.

“Respect for everyone’s freedom of conscience holds the promise of great fruitfulness for society and for the Church herself,” the Pope explained, recalling a passage from his address. “Nevertheless, Catholic education cannot abandon its Christ-centered educational mission, which seeks the integral development of the human person in every dimension: spiritual, cultural, intellectual, moral, and social.”

Reflecting on the challenges he witnessed firsthand during his visit to France, Pope Leo recalled the need to form men and women in the values of the Gospel, “mindful of respect for the common good,” whom society needs “to confront the crises tearing it apart.”

“It is important to listen to younger generations, including their sense of unease, and to encourage them, through sound formation, to make a sincere commitment, including in politics,” he wrote.

His appeal comes as many young people, including high school and university students, have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest, in particular, their lack of prospects for the future.

Following in the footsteps of the saints

Echoing his words at the vigil with young people at the Stade de France on September 25, the Pope urged the French Bishops to follow in the footsteps of the saints, “those witnesses who have marked the history of France,” and to “allow yourselves to be shaped by their teachings.”

“Knowledge of the saints of yesterday and today is a source of strength for the spiritual life,” he stressed.

“Do not hesitate to familiarize your faithful, especially catechumens and neophytes, with these friends in heaven,” the Pope urged.

Through the diversity of their backgrounds and their witness, these figures “make holiness accessible to everyone.”

Supporting victims of abuse

The final part of the letter focused on supporting victims of sexual abuse in the Church, whom Pope Leo took time to meet on the afternoon of September 26 during his Apostolic Visit to France.

The tragedy of abuse remains one of the issues being addressed at the Bishops’ plenary assembly.

“Because holiness entails charity in truth, I encourage you, guided by these two virtues, to continue your work of accompanying victims of sexual violence and coercive control. It is essential that the community of the faithful become ever more a place where men and women of all ages can find comfort and healing,” the Pope wrote.

He entrusted the Bishops’ work to the care of Our Lady of Lourdes: “May she accompany your pastoral mission among your diocesan communities, so that holiness may continue to blossom and flourish in France.”

Vatican releases Pope Leo XIV message for 2026 World Youth Day, to be celebrated on November 22 in dioceses across the globe

 

Pope Leo XIV at the Jubilee of Youth in August 2025 (VATICAN MEDIA)

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• wyd
• young people
• South Korea
• Seoul
• resurrection

Pope's WYD message: Bring Christ questions and wounds dividing world

In his message for the 2026 World Youth Day, celebrated in dioceses across the world on the Solemnity of Christ the King, Pope Leo XIV encourages young people to allow Christ into their lives and the divisions that afflict their communities.

By Isabella H. de Carvalho

Open your hearts to Christ and allow His courage, peace and love to win over the darkness and suffering that exists in our world, Pope Leo XIV told young people in a message released on November 3 for the 2026 World Youth Day, celebrated on November 22.

“Bring to Christ your questions and your wounds, but also the wounds that tear apart your societies and set your countries against one another,” the Pope wrote.

“Bring to Him this creation that groans and suffers, the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, which Pope Francis taught us to hear.  Share with Jesus your joys and hopes.”

“Do not settle for a life that falls short of the one to which Christ calls you,” he emphasized.

World Youth Day is celebrated annually at the diocesan level on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, which in 2026 falls on November 22. Every few years, it is celebrated internationally with a large gathering in a chosen city across the world, with the next edition scheduled from August 3 to 8, 2027, in Seoul, South Korea.

In this regard, Pope Leo’s message looked to next year’s event and reflected on its theme: “Take courage! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Signed on October 22, the feast day of St. John Paul II, Pope Leo's message quoted his predecessor by inviting young people not to be afraid and open wide the doors for Christ.

He encouraged them to not only make practical preparations to go to Seoul, but also to prepare their hearts and allow the theme of this event to accompany them in this coming year.  

“Do not wait until you are perfect before opening yourselves to Him. He comes to meet you just as you are. Open your lives to Christ. Open your communities to Christ. Open the paths that lead to the hearts of the people you will meet,” the Pope insisted.

Christ walks with us across life's troubled waters

The Pope acknowledged that taking courage is not always easy, as “uncertainty or fear” can prevail in us and many young people “carry questions and concerns that weigh heavily” on their hearts.

He reflected that many we may be anxious about the future, feel pressured to be perfect or succeed, compare ourselves to “unattainable, manufactured ideals” or “curated images on social media,” or experience “loneliness, disappointment or the fear of not being good enough.”

In this context, the Pope called on young people not to despair and reminded them that even the disciples were scared – in the Gospel of John from which the theme is taken – when they were in a small boat in the middle of a stormy lake.

“Even before you begin to seek Christ, He is already seeking you, walking across the troubled waters of life,” he explained, adding that Christian courage doesn’t come from oneself but from Christ’s presence in our lives.

“Christ himself certainly did not live a life free from storms, nor does He promise us one. Yet no darkness or suffering is stronger than His love. He will never abandon you. He invites you into friendship with Him and asks you to entrust to Him your own journey and that of your communities,” the Pope assured.

Bring Christ’s gentle courage to wounded world

In this regard, the Pope recalled that Jesus comes to the disciples’ aid in the Gospel by walking on water and then encouraging them to take courage as He has overcome the world, meaning the “world of darkness,” or that “mysterious reality, present even in the human heart, that resists and opposes God.”

“This courage does not come from your own determination or strength of character. It comes from trusting in the One who goes before you; it is born of faith in Jesus Christ,” the Pope stressed, adding that His Resurrection brings life, truth, freedom, justice, and peace to humanity.

“Christ does not call you to flee from this world, but to see it through His eyes and touch it with His love, which heals all things. Allow yourselves to be moved and touched by the reality around you! Jesus did not love the world from a distance,” the Pope noted.

As we live in a world that is wounded, “marked by injustice, tensions and fears,” Pope Leo urged all Christians to follow Christ in His gentle courage, meaning showing love in the face of harshness, peace when confrontation seems more advantageous, and promoting hope when faced with cynicism.

Victory of giving oneself out of love

The Pope then reflected on what “victory” over the world means for Christians. It is not “being stronger than others, asserting ourselves or constantly having to prove our worth,” but rather loving freely “without counting the cost,” like Christ has done.

“By following the path opened by Jesus Christ, you too have no need to impose yourselves, to constantly prove your worth, to appear perfect or to conceal your weaknesses, doubts and limitations,” Pope Leo underlined.

“Have the courage to be your true selves before God and others. Your dignity does not come from the image you manage to create for yourselves. You are precious because you have been created in the image of God, known by Him and loved by Him.”

He insisted that once we discover this love, then we can give himself to others. The “freedom Christ offers” is “to move beyond an exclusive concern for yourselves and to open your hearts to the generous creativity of love.”

Courage of seeing our limitations

The Pope then focused on the “courage of humility,” allowing Christ to enter our lives and change them.

“A certain way of thinking tells us that we must do everything on our own, constantly working to improve ourselves and to develop a stronger personality and character. Yet this can ultimately lead us to believe that we are our own saviors,” the Pope emphasized.

Instead, he explained that the Gospel calls us to have the courage to accept help, acknowledge our limitations, pause and listen, and thus allow ourselves to be saved by Christ.

“Opening your hearts to Christ will not cause you to lose yourselves. On the contrary, you will discover more deeply who you are in God’s eyes and come to know yourselves as He sees you,” the Pope assured the young people.

“Turn, then, to the depths of your hearts. You will not lose your way, for it is there that God awaits you.”

The Pope stressed that when this occurs everything in one’s life is changed, even ordinary daily circumstances and one’s relationships with those around Him. 

“Everything is transformed by love. Many regard love as a form of weakness, but Christ shows us that it is a source of freedom and strength.”

Break down the doors of your hearts and communities

Lastly, the Pope recalled that faith does not “dispel the darkness” but it also does not “leave us alone in it,” as Christ appeared to the disciples even when they had abandoned Him and were scared, locked into the Upper Room.

“Perhaps there are doors in your own hearts, and in the communities to which you belong, that remain closed because of disappointments, wounds, resentments or feelings of guilt,” the Pope wrote. “Christ comes to offer you His peace and to reconcile you with one another.”

“The gift of His peace fills us with a courage that the world cannot give, a courage through which, despite our wounds, fear no longer has the final word.”

Here is the official release, with video, from the Vatican for Pope Leo's November Prayer Intention

 

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• Pope Leo XIV
• video message
• prayer

Pope's November prayer intention: 'For the proper use of wealth'

Pope Leo XIV releases his prayer intention for the month of November and invites Catholics to pray "for the proper use of wealth," so that we may recognize that true wealth lies not in accumulating or possessing, but in giving with love.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Pope Leo XIV has urged Catholics across the globe to join him this November in praying for the proper use of wealth.

He released the monthly “Pray with the Pope” video on Tuesday, which is prepared by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.

In his prayer, Pope Leo recalls that everything we have comes from the Lord, including "fertile land, the talents we’ve received, the effort of those who came before us."

"Nothing is ours alone — everything is a shared gift," he said.

Yet, so often, the Holy Father observed, "we let the wealth we seek or attain harden our hearts, lock us in selfishness, and make us forget the most vulnerable."

"Forgive us for storing up"

"Forgive us for storing up instead of sharing," Pope Leo said, and "for using goods as power rather than as service."

The Pope recalled that Jesus reminds us "that true wealth is not found in what we keep, but in what we give with love."

He added that a heart detached from possessions "transforms the world," for it "opens paths of justice, tears down walls of indifference, and sows hope among the poor."

Therefore, he said, we ask you, Lord, that your Spirit teach us to use what we have, be it money, time, talents, or opportunities, as "instruments of fraternity."

"May each economic, family, or community decision," the Pope continued, "spring from a free heart, able to recognize that every good is meant for all, and that only by sharing we build the future."

Finally, the Holy Father prayed, "Make us witnesses of a wealth transformed into service and mercy, so that our lives, united to the lives of others, may be a sign of your Kingdom of justice and peace. Amen."

The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network

Founded in 1844 as the Apostleship of Prayer, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is a Pontifical Work entrusted to the Society of Jesus.

In December 2020, Pope Francis established this Pontifical Work as a Vatican Foundation and approved its final statutes in July 2024.

It is present in over 92 countries, forming a spiritual community of more than 22 million people who seek to live each day with availability to God’s mission.

At the center of its mission are the monthly prayer intentions of the Pope, inviting its members to focus on the pressing challenges facing humanity and the Church’s mission. 

For All Souls Day, Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass at Rome cemetery

 

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• Pope Leo XIV
• mass
• homily
• liturgical year
• death

On All Souls’ Day, Pope prays that mothers' tears may silence weapons

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass at the Verano Cemetery in Rome on the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, and recalls that our bond with the dead is not broken but transformed in our faith in Christ.

By Christopher Wells

Pope Leo XIV made his way across town on Monday to Rome’s Campo Verano Cemetery, where he celebrated Mass for the Commemoration of All Souls’ Day.

Pope Leo placed flowers on one of the oldest tombs in the cemetery (VATICAN MEDIA)

In his homily, the Holy Father noted the connection with the Solemnity of All Saints, observed on November 1, which he described as giving “direction to our prayer.”

“We turn to our Father in heaven,” he said, “asking that the life of holiness and beatitude—already enjoyed by so many of His sons and daughters—may enfold the souls of all those who sleep the sleep of peace.”

He recalled the “promise of salvation” made in Scripture, which assures us that “no torment shall ever touch” the souls of the just.

God’s “fatherly and steadfast hands hold them for eternity,” he continued, “so that they may fully enjoy that vital, mutual belonging which the Lord promies to His people” in the Bible.

Pope Leo said our prayer asks that those who have died might share in the “eternal communion of life” promised by God.

Turning to the Gospel, the Holy Father noted that the Beatitudes serve as “a self-portrait of Jesus, which He Himself offers to His disciples.” The Beatitudes, he explained, “are the path to a full and fulfilled life—both now and in eternity.”

Pope Leo highlighted especially the Beatitude that promises that those who mourn shall be comforted, saying we pray especially for those who have recently lost a loved one—“especially those from whom a loved one has been torn away by the senseless violence of war.”

He prayed that their tears “might touch the consciences of those who have the power to silence the weapons!”

Finally, Pope Leo recalled the “beatitude” added by St. Francis of Assisi to his Canticle of the Creatures: “Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, / from whom no living person can escape. / Woe to those who die in mortal sin; / blessed are those whom she finds doing Your most holy will, / for the second death shall do them no harm.”

He assured the faithful that “faith in Christ tells us that our bond with the faithful departed is not broken but transformed.”

Saint of the Day for Tuesday

 

St. Martin de Porres

Feast Day: November 3
Patron: of Mixed Race, Barbers, Public Health Workers, Innkeepers
Death: 1639
Beatified: in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI
Canonized: in 1962 by Pope John XXIII

St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru on December 9, 1579. Martin was the illegitimate son to a Spanish gentleman and a freed slave from Panama, of African or possibly Native American descent. At a young age, Martin's father abandoned him, his mother and his younger sister, leaving Martin to grow up in deep poverty. After spending just two years in primary school, Martin was placed with a barber/surgeon where he would learn to cut hair and the medical arts.

As Martin grew older, he experienced a great deal of ridicule for being of mixed-race. In Peru, by law, all descendants of African or Indians were not allowed to become full members of religious orders. Martin, who spent long hours in prayer, found his only way into the community he longed for was to ask the Dominicans of Holy Rosary Priory in Lima to accept him as a volunteer who performed the most menial tasks in the monastery. In return, he would be allowed to wear the habit and live within the religious community. When Martin was 15, he asked for admission into the Dominican Convent of the Rosary in Lima and was received as a servant boy and eventually was moved up to the church officer in charge of distributing money to deserving poor.

During his time in the Convent, Martin took on his old trades of barbering and healing. He also worked in the kitchen, did laundry and cleaned. After eight more years with the Holy Rosary, Martin was granted the privilege to take his vows as a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic by the prior Juan de Lorenzana who decided to disregard the law restricting Martin based on race.

However, not all of the members in the Holy Rosary were as open-minded as Lorenzana; Martin was called horrible names and mocked for being illegitimate and descending from slaves.

Martin grew to become a Dominican lay brother in 1603 at the age of 24. Ten years later, after he had been presented with the religious habit of a lay brother, Martin was assigned to the infirmary where he would remain in charge until his death. He became known for encompassing the virtues need to carefully and patiently care for the sick, even in the most difficult situations.

Martin was praised for his unconditional care of all people, regardless of race or wealth. He took care of everyone from the Spanish nobles to the African slaves. Martin didn't care if the person was diseased or dirty, he would welcome them into his own home.

Martin's life reflected his great love for God and all of God's gifts. It is said he had many extraordinary abilities, including aerial flights, bilocation, instant cures, miraculous knowledge, spiritual knowledge and an excellent relationship with animals. Martin also founded an orphanage for abandoned children and slaves and is known for raising dowry for young girls in short amounts of time.

During an epidemic in Lima, many of the friars in the Convent of the Rosary became very ill. Locked away in a distant section of the convent, they were kept away from the professed. However, on more than one occasion, Martin passed through the locked doors to care for the sick. However, he became disciplined for not following the rules of the Convent, but after replying, "Forgive my error, and please instruct me, for I did not know that the precept of obedience took precedence over that of charity," he was given full liberty to follow his heart in mercy.

Martin was great friends with both St. Juan Macías, a fellow Dominican lay brother, and St. Rose of Lima, a lay Dominican.

In January of 1639, when Martin was 60 years old, he became very ill with chills, fevers and tremors causing him agonizing pain. He would experience almost a year full of illness until he passed away on November 3, 1639.

By the time he died, he was widely known and accepted. Talks of his miracles in medicine and caring for the sick were everywhere. After his death, the miracles received when he was invoked in such greatness that when he was exhumed 25 years later, his body exhaled a splendid fragrance and he was still intact.

St. Martin de Porres was beatified by Pope Gregory XVI on October 29, 1837, and canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 6, 1962.

He has become the patron saint of people of mixed race, innkeepers, barbers, public health workers and more. His feast day is November 3.