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...
Born at Montepulciano, Italy, October 4, 1542, St. Robert Bellarmine was the third of ten children. His mother, Cinzia Cervini, a niece of Pope Marcellus II, was dedicated to almsgiving, prayer, meditation, fasting, and mortification of the body.
Robert entered the newly formed Society of Jesus in 1560 and after his ordination went on to teach at Louvain (1570-1576) where he became famous for his Latin sermons. In 1576, he was appointed to the chair of controversial theology at the Roman College, becoming Rector in 1592; he went on to become Provincial of Naples in 1594 and Cardinal in 1598.
This outstanding scholar and devoted servant of God defended the Apostolic See against the anti-clericals in Venice and against the political tenets of James I of England. He composed an exhaustive apologetic work against the prevailing heretics of his day. In the field of church-state relations, he took a position based on principles now regarded as fundamentally democratic - authority originates with God, but is vested in the people, who entrust it to fit rulers.
This saint was the spiritual father of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, helped St. Francis de Sales obtain formal approval of the Visitation Order, and in his prudence opposed severe action in the case of Galileo. He has left us a host of important writings, including works of devotion and instruction, as well as controversy. He died in 1621.
St. Hildegard, also known as St. Hildegard of Bingen and Sibyl of the Rhine, is a Doctor of the Church. She was also a writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, and German Benedictine abbess. She was born around 1098 to a noble family as the youngest of ten children.
Her parents had promised their sick daughter to God, so they placed her in care of a Benedictine nun, Blessed Jutta, in the Diocese of Speyer at 8-years-old. She was taught how to read and sing the Latin psalms. Her holiness and strong piety made her adored by all who met her. It is said, from this young age, Hildegard began experiencing her visions.
When Hildegard turned 18, she became a Benedictine nun at the Monastery of St. Disibodenberg. After Jutta died in 1136, Hildegard was elected superior.
Her unique nature and strong devotion to the Holy Spirit attracted many novices to the convent. The rapid growth alarmed Hildegard. She soon moved on with eighteen other sisters to found a new Benedictine house near Bingen in 1148 and later establish a convent in Eibingen in 1165. She believed this was Divine command.
Hildegard quickly became recognized for her immense knowledge of all things faithful, music and natural science, with knowledge of herbs and medicinal arts, despite never having any formal education and not knowing how to write.
Much of her insight is believed to have been communicated by God himself through her frequent visions. At first, Hildegard did not want to make her visions public, but she would confide in her spiritual director. He passed on the knowledge to his abbot, who decided to assign a monk to document everything Hildegard saw.
Her accounts were later submitted to the bishop, who acknowledged them as being truly from God. Her visions were then brought to Pope Eugenius III with a favorable conclusion.
Hildegard's fame began to spread all throughout Europe. People traveled near and far to hear her speak and to seek help from her, even those who were not common people paid Hildegard a visit.
For remainder of her life, Hildegard continued her writings. Her principle work is called Scivias. Twenty-six of her visions and their meanings are recorded. Hildegarde wrote on many other subjects, too. Her works included commentaries on the Gospels, the Athanasian Creed, and the Rule of St. Benedict, as well as Lives of the Saints and a medical work on the well-being of the body.
Hildegard also became an important person in the history of music. There are more chant compositions surviving by St. Hildegard than any other medieval composer.
The last year of St. Hildegard's life was difficult for her and her convent. Going against the wishes of diocesan authorities, Hildegard refused to remove the body of a young man buried in the cemetery attached to her convent. The boy had previously been excommunicated, but since he received his last sacraments before dying, Hildegard felt he had been reconciled to the Church.
Her actions forced her convent to be placed under an interdict by the Bishop and chapter of Mainz. Months would pass before the interdict was lifted and Hildegard died on September 17, 1179, before the interdict was lifted. She was buried in the church of Rupertsburg. When the convent was destroyed in 1632, her relics were moved to Cologne and then to Eibingen.
After her death, she became even more venerated than she was in her life. According to her biographer, Theodoric, she was always a saint and through her intercession, many miracles occurred.
St. Hildegard became one of the first people the Roman canonization process was officially applied to. It took quite some time in the beginning stages, so she remained beatified.
On May 10, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI gave St. Hildegard an equivalent canonization, and laid down the groundwork for naming her a Doctor of the Church. Five months later, she officially became a Doctor of the Church, making her the fourth woman of 35 saints to be given that title by the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI called Hildegard, "perennially relevant" and "an authentic teacher of theology and a profound scholar of natural science and music."
St. Hildegard’s feast day is celebrated on September 17.
Pope Leo XIV signs the Note 'A Journey of Peace' in the presence of the Cardinal Prefects of the Dicasteries for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the Promotion of Christian Unity, and for Interreligious Dialogue
Nostra aetate, 60 years on: Church renews dialogue against hatred and division
On the 60th anniversary of 'Nostra aetate', which opened a new chapter in relations between Catholics and believers of other faiths, three Vatican Dicasteries publish a Note entitled “A Journey of Hope,” renewing the call to counter fundamentalism, protect religious freedom, and build coexistence founded on fraternity.
By Salvatore Cernuzio
At the time, it was a turning point in relations between Catholics and Jews and with believers of other faiths, as well as a beacon of hope in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Today, sixty years later, the conciliar Declaration Nostra aetate remains a point of reference for rekindling “that hope in our world, devastated by war and our degraded natural environment.”
It also continues to offer a paradigm for guiding the Church’s pastoral and theological choices at a time when divisions prevail over dialogue, religious freedom is constantly violated, and the name of God is betrayed and used to legitimize violence and terrorism.
Condemning discrimination and persecution
For this reason, on the 60th anniversary of this “brief yet bold” conciliar Declaration, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue have published the Note “A Journey of Hope.”
The document retraces the essential stages of dialogue since Nostra aetate, assessing its challenges and achievements and outlining prospects for the future.
Its purpose is to renew a timeless message: “The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against people or persecution of them on account of race, color, social condition, or religion”.
“The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against people or persecution of them on account of race, color, social condition, or religion.”
Journey from the Second Vatican Council to the present day
The document’s reflection begins with a question of pressing relevance: “How can the call to universal fraternity be lived concretely in societies marked by increasing cultural and religious diversity, by war and violence, and by a growing trend toward secularization?”
The approximately twenty-page text is signed by the Prefects of the respective Dicasteries—Cardinals Víctor Manuel Fernández, Kurt Koch, and George Koovakad—and by their Secretaries, Fr. Armando Matteo, Archbishop Flavio Pace, and Fr. Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage, respectively.
The journey outlined by the document begins with the origins of Nostra aetate, which at the time was “a response to the tragic consequences of antisemitism, which culminated in the Shoah.”
Its publication on 28 October 1965 marked “a profound change,” because, for the first time, the Church explicitly declared that she “rejects nothing that is true and holy” in other religions and invited the faithful to regard their precepts and doctrines “with esteem and respect.”
The Note, recalling the Declaration Dignitatis humanae, affirms: “No respectful relationship with other religions can be sincere or feasible without a corresponding respect for the religious freedom of others.”
With the same “conviction,” the signatories call for “the same freedom for Christians in countries where they are a minority,” highlighting the “persecution” that Christians still suffer today “in various parts of the world at the hands of extremist religious groups.”
“Every persecution for religious reasons is always a violation of human dignity, to which a common response must urgently be found—one that, in the spirit of Nostra aetate, promotes respect, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence among all and towards all.”
Relations between Jews and Christians
The Vatican document devotes considerable attention to the distinctive relationship between Christians and Jews, beginning with their common roots in the Old Testament and extending to the Council’s recommendation of “mutual understanding and respect” and “fraternal” dialogue.
Along the same lines, “A Journey of Hope” reiterates that “God’s covenant with the Jewish people is irrevocable, and this continually challenges the Church.”
This does not mean that “the covenant with the Jewish people runs parallel to the Christian way of salvation”: for the Church, “Christ is the one and only Redeemer.”
Nevertheless, “this irrevocable covenant has theological significance”; consequently, “we cannot do without one another.”
Joint struggle against antisemitism
Solidarity with the Jewish people also includes “the shared struggle” against antisemitism.
Nostra aetate already deplored anti-Jewish hatred and persecution “at any time and by anyone,” including within the Church.
It also recalls the condemnations issued by the Popes, particularly those concerning the Holocaust.
The document notes that the conflicts that have erupted in the Middle East have “left their mark” on dialogue between Jews and Christians.
“Many channels of communication have been strained and continue to be tested by differing interpretations of the events that have unfolded, interpretations that are often not unanimous even within the respective religious communities,” the Dicasteries state.
They urge that the “mutual knowledge and esteem” that has remained firm throughout sixty years of “common effort” be maintained and developed further.
Clear fruits of dialogue
It is precisely this common work, the document emphasizes, that has produced “evident” fruits in dialogue with Islam and other religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, and traditional African religions.
Lasting relationships of friendship have been established among religious leaders, joint educational and social projects have been launched, and common declarations have been published in response to humanitarian tragedies, wars, or environmental crises.
“Sono state instaurate relazioni durature di amicizia tra responsabili religiosi, sono stati avviati progetti educativi e sociali congiunti, sono state pubblicate dichiarazioni comuni di fronte a drammi umanitari, guerre o crisi ambientali”
Theological dialogue among experts and interreligious monastic dialogue have been fundamental in this regard. So too has the lived experience, carried out quietly and discreetly, of priests, religious, and laypeople in multi-religious neighborhoods, “where the simple fact of living in peace and being present for one another, as neighbors, is already a form of witness.”
All these achievements, “sometimes still embryonic, invisible yet fruitful,” embody the insight of Nostra aetate: “To live in the world as witnesses to the love of God, in dialogue with all.”
“To live in the world as witnesses to the love of God, in dialogue with all.”
Condemnation of Islamophobia
The three Dicasteries strongly criticize manifestations of “Islamophobia” that “fail to distinguish adequately between, on the one hand, cases of fundamentalism and violence and, on the other, the peaceful lives of other Muslim believers who integrate into and contribute to the countries that welcome them.”
“We should thank the Christian communities that have grown in a spirit of welcome and as well as in greater knowledge and esteem for Muslim believers,” it states.
The poor as ‘the compass’
Retracing the teaching of the Popes from Paul VI to Leo XIV, the Vatican document then focuses on the importance of dialogue in this period of history.
The “welcome or rejection” of the poor is presented as a “universal criterion of discernment” for understanding whether the right direction is being followed.
Calling the poor a compass, the document says “concrete concern for the most vulnerable is the essential measure by which the integrity of every project—whether political, economic, social academic, religious, or cultural—must be judged.”
Difficulties of dialogue
The document then highlights “the difficulties surrounding dialogue” today. Some fear “doctrinal relativism or a dilution of religious identity,” while relations that “have historically been marked by conflict” or the memory of “past wounds” make mutual trust difficult.
The very foundations of dialogue are undermined by “the increase of fundamentalism, the persistence of prejudice, the political manipulation of religious affiliation, and violence committed in the name of God.”
In secularized societies, this is compounded by the marginalization or instrumentalization of religious discourse, which is “reduced to folklore or subjective opinion, or obscured entirely.”
Behaving as brothers and sisters
The journey, therefore, remains “demanding” and “requires humility, courage, and discernment.”
Dialogue, the document reiterates, is neither a “strategy” nor a renunciation of one’s identity, but an “authentic evangelical path.” Indeed, it presupposes “a clear awareness of one’s own religious and cultural identity, together with a genuine openness to otherness.”
“Respect” and “esteem” are “indispensable foundations” for overcoming “attitudes of exclusion, contempt, or indifference that had long prevailed.”
“We cannot call upon God as the Father of all if we refuse to behave in a fraternal manner toward certain people who have been created in the image of God,” it states, quoting Nostra aetate.
“We cannot call upon God as the Father of all if we refuse to behave in a fraternal manner toward certain people who have been created in the image of God.”
Abandoning defensiveness, hostility, conquest
In the face of those who today “foment divisions and stir up conflicts,” believers of different traditions are called to “seek, with clarity and hope, the conditions necessary for peaceful coexistence.”
To achieve this goal, it is necessary to abandon “the logic of defensiveness, hostility, or conquest in order to adopt an attitude that is open, benevolent, and courageous.”
The new document concludes with an appeal addressed to all people. May we become “builders of bridges, not walls,” “artisans of peace and fraternity,” capable of “welcoming others in their diversity” and “collaborating in building a more just and humane society.”
Pope: Humanity’s future depends on collaboration in building a more humane world
Continuing his catechesis on “Gaudium et spes", Pope Leo highlights how recognizing the interconnectedness of people challenges us to “evaluate today’s social and political projects based on the criteria of the dignity of the human person” with the goal of building a better world.
By Kielce Gussie
In St. Peter’s Square for his weekly General Audience, Pope Leo XIV continued his catechesis cycle on the Constitution Gaudium et spes (GS), whose second chapter is dedicated to the “human community.”
Gaudium et spes highlights the “the growing interdependence of men one on the other” as “one of the salient features of the modern world”. Yet, the Pope pointed out that this must find fulfilment “on the deeper level … of this communion between persons”, for which “a mutual respect for the full spiritual dignity of the person” is essential.
Turning to algorithms rather than people
In today’s world, Pope Leo stressed that these two statements from the Constitution are ever more urgent. Technological advancement, the spread of mass and social media, and the growing use of AI, on the one hand, create new opportunities, break down barriers, and bridge gaps.
However, on the other hand, these developments have also led to more virtual, less personal relationships. There is also the risk that people grow used to turning to algorithms for choices that should be reserved only for the human conscience.
“Ensuring that social relationships have real substance and personal depth is, in this regard, the contribution that the Christian community seeks to offer,” the Pope explained.
Pope Leo continued his cycle of catechesis on Gaudium et spes (@Vatican Media)
Everyone, he said, should be part of one family and treat each other as brothers and sisters. For this reason, “‘love for God and neighbor is the first and greatest commandment’ which found its full revelation and complete fulfilment in Christ”.
One family
The perfection of the human person and society’s development must be held as “closely interdependent.” Pope Leo warned that if they are set “against one another” or if they are separated, it “would be to render them meaningless.”
This can be seen throughout in history. That is why, as the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council stated, all social institutions must have the human person as their subject and goal.
Gaudium et spes, in this regard, highlights the diversity of people around the world as “a resource for enrichment and growth” rather than “as a danger or a threat”. Conflict, which can turn into violence, stems from the power of sin and the way “it conditions mindsets and actions at every level, causing destruction and death.”
To contrast this, the Pope encouraged everyone to be even more open to “the logic of reciprocity, sharing, and care”.
In Gaudium et spes, the common good is made of “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfilment”.
This goes hand-in-hand with recognizing the “interdependence between peoples”, as each social group needs to take into consideration every group’s needs and goals as well as the general wellbeing of the entire human family.
Practical and urgent consequences
With this in mind, the Council Fathers laid out “practical and particularly urgent consequences”. First, respect for the human person. Anything opposed to life itself, violates the integrity of a person and insults human dignity: “all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed” (ibid).
The second consequence is the fundamental equality of each and every human being, “which demands social justice.” Discrimination of any kind must be overcome and “eradicated as contrary to God’s intent”.
Pope Leo pointed out that the Council Fathers challenge us to “overcome the individualistic mindset and to adopt an attitude of responsibility and participation”.
He concluded that this vision of humanity as a “community of people” is “a valuable legacy that the Second Vatican Council has left us.” It calls us to make personal and communal discernment in order to evaluate current political and social events with the criteria of human dignity in mind.
“For the future of humanity depends on each person’s commitment to collaborate with God and with their brothers and sisters in building a more humane world.”
Cornelius whose feast day is September 16th. A Roman priest, Cornelius was elected Pope to succeed Fabian in an election delayed fourteen months by Decius' persecution of the Christians. The main issue of his pontificate was the treatment to be accorded Christians who had been apostasized during the persecution. He condemned those confessors who were lax in not demanding penance of these Christians and supported St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, against Novatus and his dupe, Felicissimus, whom he had set up as an antibishop to Cyprian, when Novatus came to Rome. On the other hand, he also denounced the Rigorists, headed by Novatian, a Roman priest, who declared that the Church could not pardon the lapsi (the lapsed Christians), and declared himself Pope. However, his declaration was illegitimate, making him an antipope. The two extremes eventually joined forces, and the Novatian movement had quite a vogue in the East. Meanwhile, Cornelius proclaimed that the Church had the authority and the power to forgive repentant lapsi and could readmit them to the sacraments and the Church after they had performed proper penances. A synod of Western bishops in Rome in October 251 upheld Cornelius, condemned the teachings of Novatian, and excommunicated him and his followers. When persecutions of the Christians started up again in 253 under Emperor Gallus, Cornelius was exiled to Centum Cellae (Civita Vecchia), where he died a martyr probably of hardships he was forced to endure.
As Pope Leo prepares to visit France, can its 'Catholic moment’ become a lasting revival?
(RNS) — Record numbers of young people are seeking baptism in France. As Pope Leo arrives to greet 80,000 of them later this month, the country's diminished Catholic Church is faced with the challenge of turning the burst of enthusiasm into a lasting renewal.
A banner on the Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire basilica announces the upcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV in Lourdes, southwestern France, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026, as part of his official visit to France from Sept. 26 to 28. (AP Photo/Fred Scheiber)
(RNS) – Audrey Bourgès said she had to remind herself to breathe as she walked toward the priest in the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris to be baptized during the Easter Vigil last year.
After a nearly three-hour ceremony, tears filled her eyes as she embraced her mother, a practicing Catholic, and her father, an atheist. Her parents had allowed their children to choose their own religious beliefs as adults. Bourgès chose Catholicism.
“It was the best day of my life,” the 26-year-old said.
Her journey began after a “bad breakup” left her crying on a Paris street, she said. A stranger suggested she seek help at the nearby church of Sainte-Anne de la Butte-aux-Cailles, where she met a 90-year-old nun who listened to her grief.
Audrey Bourgès is baptized during the Easter Vigil, April 19, 2025, at the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. (Photo courtesy of Audrey Bourgès)
Between 2022 and 2024, Bourgès would visit the sister every Wednesday to discuss life and faith. Eventually, she started attending Mass. “I felt like, this is my place,” she said. “These are the answers to my questions.”
Bourgès entered the catechumenate, or the instruction period ahead of baptism into the Catholic Church, in 2024. She became the first person to be baptized at Notre-Dame after its reconstruction following the blaze that nearly destroyed the gothic cathedral in 2019.
The restored cathedral offers a powerful setting for another apparent rebirth: After decades of Catholicism receding in France, Bourgès is among record numbers of adolescents and adults now seeking baptism into the church, prompting talk of a Catholic revival among the country’s young people.
That shift in one of Europe’s most secularized countries will be on display for the world to see as 80,000 young people are expected to greet Pope Leo XIV at the sold-out Stade de France on Sept. 25 during his scheduled France trip.
At the same time, the record baptisms come among a broader decline of Catholic faithful and a shortage of priests and catechists, leaving the French church to figure out if it can turn a moment of youthful enthusiasm into lasting renewal.
France registered over 21,380 adolescent and adult baptisms in 2026, including 8,100 between the ages of 11 and 17, according to Conference of Bishops of Francedata. Compared to the previous year, baptisms have grown 28% among adults and 10% among youth. Adult baptisms have more than tripled over the last decade, the report shows.
But talk of a Catholic revival in France — and in other Western countries — might be an overstatement. While the country recorded roughly 400,000 adult and child baptisms in 2000, that number halved by 2022, signaling a faith that struggled to be passed down to younger generations. Official data shows that only 30% of children are baptized in France today — a decline that cannot be offset by the surge in adult baptisms.
“It is far from certain that the overall number of Catholics is actually increasing,” said Charles Mercier, a historian and sociologist of Catholicism at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris.
At the same time, he said, France is experiencing something of a “Catholic moment,” marked by greater visibility in popular culture, media and social networks. “In a sense, being Catholic has almost become culturally ‘trendy,’” he said.
According to the French bishops’ conference data, a majority of the catechumens are from working class backgrounds and increasingly from urban areas. Among adult catechumens, 62% are female.
Mercier said the new Catholics tend to be more liturgically and politically conservative, as many seek “structure and clear frameworks in a society they perceive as increasingly fluid.” But, he added that his research suggests that these political leanings may change in the future.
“What is clear, however, is that this minority of young Catholics tends to be more committed, more fervent and more visible than the average Catholic from older generations, who grew up at a time when Catholicism was still culturally dominant,” Mercier said.
Previous barriers to Catholic affiliation, including cultural taboos and the clerical abuse crisis, appear less divisive for younger generations, Mercier said. Growing up alongside a rising population of Muslims, for whom belief is assumed, can also encourage young people from Christian backgrounds to reconsider their religious identity. “It can raise questions,” he said, “and help normalize religious faith.”
Guests watch clergy members leaving the inaugural Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral, hosting its first Mass since the catastrophic fire in 2019, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool)
The French Catholic Church attempted to capture why so many young people were gravitating toward the faith by conducting a national survey of catechumens in 60 French dioceses this year. It found 40% connected their entry to Catholicism and baptism to a crisis in their life, like illness or loss. One-third said they had a powerful spiritual experience, while 11% said they were prompted by religious social media influencers.
“Religion is less and less understood as an inheritance that one simply receives and increasingly as a choice that one makes for oneself, often in adulthood,” Mercier said.
Bishop Matthieu Rougé has witnessed record numbers of catechumens in his Diocese of Nanterre this year. The diocese recorded 300 adolescent baptisms and 340 adult baptisms, double the amount recorded in the previous year.
In letters Rougé received that he described as “deeply moving,” catechumens told him they were drawn to Catholicism by reading the Gospel, encountering Christians or entering a church. Many seek meaning, peace and community amid rapid social change, he said, while some are looking for ways to “express their identity in a multicultural society.” Social media plays a role, but young people ultimately desire encounters in the real world, he added.
The increase “emerged somewhat unexpectedly,” Rougé said. He also cautioned that the sudden influx of young Catholics “remains limited and fragile, and should not give rise to any pride or misplaced triumphalism.” He noted data collected by the French bishops suggesting that many believers today struggle to continue in their Catholic faith.
For this reason, the bishops of the eight dioceses surrounding Paris, together with the French military ordinariate, have convened a yearlong Île-de-France Ecclesial Provincial Assembly to consider how the church should welcome, form and retain the growing number of catechumens and newly baptized Catholics.
Launched in May and scheduled to end in the summer of 2027, Rougé said the assembly was inspired by an October 2024 speech made by then-Cardinal Robert Prevost during a synodal gathering in Rome, where he urged local bishops to initiate dialogue among clergy and lay people to address the challenges and opportunities emerging in their dioceses.
The assembly’s working document, drawn from questionnaires representing roughly 46,000 people, identified shortages of trained mentors, inconsistent formation and isolation some converts experience after baptism among the principal challenges. It also addressed “baptism blues,” referring to the feeling some have after baptism as they approach ordinary church life, where parishes are sometimes non-welcoming to outsiders.
Among its suggestions, the report considers whether structured catechumen groups should remain active one year after baptism or dissolve to promote integration within parish life.
“The catechumenate and the integration of new believers should be seen as a mission for the entire parish, not just for a small group of ‘specialists,’” said Rougé, who is also chair of the French Bishops’ Conference Council for Catholic Education.
The bishop said he has “high expectations” for Leo’s visit, especially for young people. “To all of them struggling with a society that is often fraught with tension and at times marked by violence, Leo XIV will issue a salutary appeal, as he has done since the day of his election, to cultivate the peace that comes from Christ — ‘the unarmed and disarming peace’ that gives life,” Rougé said.
Mercier added that large religious gatherings such as the pope’s visit “can generate tremendous religious fervor,” including conversions, vocations or dedicating oneself to humanitarian work. But while such events may lead to more religious practice in the short term, they may lose momentum without structures that help sustain it, he said.
He also voiced his hope “that Pope Leo XIV’s message will encourage young Catholics to take a more critical view of attempts to appropriate Christianity for identity-based political purposes, which are currently very powerful in France as elsewhere.”
Pope Leo will meet with the assembly, catechumens and the newly baptized on Sept. 26 at the Institut Catholique de Paris, where he is expected to deliver brief remarks and listen to the testimony of those who will be baptized next Easter.
A year after her baptism, Bourgès will attend the meeting with the pope, whom she credits with promoting a message of unity and peace. In the Gospel, she said, young people discover “joy” and “peace” — and a community in which to live out those values.
