Pope Leo XIV: Where the world sees threats, the Church sees children Celebrating Mass for the Jubilee of the Poor on the Ninth World Day of the Poor, Pope Leo XIV urged Christians not to retreat into a closed or \u201creligious\u201d world of their own, but to help make human society \u201ca space of fraternity and dignity for all, without exception.\u201d Presiding in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica on Sunday, the pope reflected on the \u201cday of the Lord\u201d and the upheavals of history, saying that Christ\u2019s promise remains secure even amid war, violence, and deep social wounds. Quoting the prophet Malachi, he described the \u201cday of the Lord\u201d as the dawn of a new era in which \u201cthe hopes of the poor and the humble will receive a final and definitive answer from the Lord,\u201d and recalled that Jesus himself is the \u201csun of righteousness\u201d who comes close to every person. In the Gospel, he said, Christ assures his disciples that \u201cNot a hair of your head will perish\u201d (Lk 21:18), anchoring Christian hope even \u201cwhen all human hope seems to be extinguished.\u201d \u201cIn the midst of persecution, suffering, struggles, and oppression in our personal lives and in society, God does not abandon us,\u201d the pope said, pointing to the \u201cgolden thread\u201d of Scripture, in which God always takes the side of \u201cthe little ones, orphans, strangers and widows.\u201d World Day of the Poor: \u2018Dilexi te \u2014 I have loved you\u2019 Marking his first World Day of the Poor as pope, Leo XIV addressed his homily in a special way to those experiencing poverty and exclusion. \u201cWhile the entire Church rejoices and exults, it is especially to you, dear brothers and sisters, that I want to proclaim the irrevocable words of the Lord Jesus himself: \u2018Dilexi te, I have loved you,\u2019\u201d he said, citing the title of his recent apostolic exhortation on love for the poor. \u201cYes, before our smallness and poverty, God looks at us like no one else and loves us with eternal love.\u201d In that spirit, he said, the Church today seeks to be \u201cmother of the poor, a place of welcome and justice,\u201d even as it continues to be \u201cwounded by old and new forms of poverty.\u201d The pope warned against living as \u201cdistracted wanderers,\u201d withdrawn into \u201ca life closed in on ourselves, in a religious seclusion that isolates us from others and from history.\u201d Seeking God\u2019s Kingdom, he insisted, \u201cimplies the desire to transform human coexistence into a space of fraternity and dignity for all, without exception.\u201d Many forms of poverty, one wound of loneliness Leo XIV noted that \u201cso many forms of poverty oppress our world,\u201d from material deprivation to moral and spiritual poverty that \u201coften affect young people in a particular way.\u201d \u201cThe tragedy that cuts across them all is loneliness,\u201d he said. This tragedy, he continued, \u201cchallenges us to look at poverty in an integral way,\u201d not limiting ourselves to emergency aid but developing \u201ca culture of attention, precisely in order to break down the walls of loneliness.\u201d \u201cLet us, then, be attentive to others, to each person, wherever we are, wherever we live,\u201d the pope said, inviting Christians to become \u201cwitnesses of God\u2019s tenderness\u201d in families, workplaces, schools, communities, and even the digital world. \u2018There can be no peace without justice\u2019 Looking to current conflicts, Leo XIV said that the proliferation of war \u201cseems especially to confirm that we are in a state of helplessness,\u201d but stressed that this resignation is rooted in a lie. \u201cThe globalization of helplessness arises from a lie, from believing that history has always been this way and cannot change,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Gospel, on the other hand, reminds us that it is precisely in the upheavals of history that the Lord comes to save us. And today, as a Christian community, together with the poor, we must become a living sign of this salvation.\u201d Poverty, he added, \u201cchallenges Christians, but it also challenges all those who have positions of responsibility in society.\u201d Addressing world leaders, he said: \u201cI urge Heads of State and the leaders of nations to listen to the cry of the poorest. There can be no peace without justice, and the poor remind us of this in many ways, through migration as well as through their cries, which are often stifled by the myth of well-being and progress that does not take everyone into account, and indeed forgets many individuals, leaving them to their fate.\u201d He thanked charity workers and volunteers who serve those in need and encouraged them \u201cto continue to be the critical conscience of society.\u201d \u201cYou know well that the question of the poor leads back to the essence of our faith, for they are the very flesh of Christ and not just a sociological category,\u201d he said, again citing Dilexi Te. \u201cThis is why, \u2018the Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking. Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges.\u2019\u201d The pope also invited the faithful to take inspiration from the saints who served Christ in the poor, highlighting Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, whose life as a \u201cvagabond of God\u201d makes him \u201cthe patron saint of the homeless.\u201d Poor at the center of the celebration Several thousand people in situations of poverty or social exclusion, accompanied by Catholic organizations, were present for the Mass in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica and in St. Peter\u2019s Square, where others followed the liturgy on large screens. Among them, according to organizers, were some 1,500 people from France who have experienced life on the streets, prostitution, prison, or other forms of marginalization, and who traveled to Rome with volunteers and pastoral workers for the Jubilee of the Poor. Before Mass, the pope greeted those gathered in the square from the popemobile. Angelus: Persecuted Christians as witnesses of truth, justice, and hope Later, appearing at the window of the Apostolic Palace to pray the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter\u2019s Square, Leo XIV returned to the day\u2019s Gospel from Luke 21, which speaks of wars, uprisings, and persecutions. \u201cAs the liturgical year draws to a close, today\u2019s Gospel (Lk 21:5-19) invites us to reflect on the travails of history and the end times,\u201d he said. In the face of these upheavals, Jesus\u2019 appeal \u201cis very timely,\u201d the pope said: \u201cWhen you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified\u201d (v. 9). \u201cJesus\u2019 words proclaim that the attack of evil cannot destroy the hope of those who trust in him. The darker the hour, the more faith shines like the sun,\u201d he said. Twice in the Gospel, Christ says that \u201cbecause of my name\u201d many will suffer violence and betrayal, the pope continued, \u201cbut precisely then they will have the opportunity to bear witness.\u201d That witness, he stressed, belongs not only to those who face physical violence. \u201cIndeed, the persecution of Christians does not only happen through mistreatment and weapons, but also with words, that is, through lies and ideological manipulation,\u201d he said. \u201cEspecially when we are oppressed by these evils, both physical and moral, we are called to bear witness to the truth that saves the world; to the justice that redeems peoples from oppression; to the hope that shows everyone the way to peace.\u201d Quoting Jesus\u2019 promise, \u201cBy your endurance you will gain your souls\u201d (Lk 21:19), the pope said this assurance \u201cgives us the strength to resist the threatening events of history and every offense,\u201d because Christ himself gives believers \u201cwords and a wisdom\u201d to persevere in doing good. He pointed to the martyrs as a sign that \u201cGod\u2019s grace is capable of transforming even violence into a sign of redemption,\u201d and entrusted persecuted Christians throughout the world to the intercession of Mary, Help of Christians. Appeals for persecuted Christians, Ukraine, and Peru crash victims After praying the Angelus, Leo XIV turned to current situations of suffering, beginning with Christians who face discrimination and persecution. \u201cChristians today are still suffering from discrimination and persecution in various parts of the world,\u201d he said, mentioning in particular Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sudan, and other countries \u201cfrom which we often hear news of attacks on communities and places of worship.\u201d \u201cGod is a merciful Father, and he desires peace among all his children!\u201d the pope added, praying especially for families in Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a recent terrorist attack killed at least 20 civilians. He said he is following \u201cwith sorrow\u201d the reports of continuing attacks on numerous Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, which have caused deaths and injuries \u2014 \u201cchildren among them\u201d \u2014 and widespread damage to civilian infrastructure, leaving families homeless as winter approaches. \u201cWe must not become accustomed to war and destruction!\u201d he said, urging prayer \u201cfor a just and lasting peace in war-torn Ukraine.\u201d The pope also prayed for the victims of a serious bus accident in southern Peru\u2019s Arequipa region, in which at least 37 people died and many others were injured after a bus plunged into a ravine in the rural district of Oco\u00f1a. \u201cI would also like to offer my prayers for the victims of the serious road accident that occurred last Wednesday in southern Peru,\u201d he said. \u201cMay the Lord welcome the deceased, sustain the injured and comfort the bereaved families.” Road safety, new blessed, the poor, and abuse survivors In a wider appeal for road safety, Leo XIV noted that the Church was also remembering \u201call those who have died in road accidents, too often caused by irresponsible behavior. Let each of us examine our conscience on this matter,\u201d he said. The pope recalled the beatification on Saturday in Bari of Italian diocesan priest Carmelo De Palma, who died in 1961 after a life \u201cgenerously spent in the ministry of Confession and spiritual accompaniment,\u201d and prayed that his example would inspire priests to give themselves \u201cunreservedly\u201d in service to God\u2019s people. Marking the World Day of the Poor once more, Leo XIV thanked dioceses and parishes that organized initiatives of solidarity with those most in need, and invited the faithful to rediscover his exhortation Dilexi Te on love for the poor, \u201ca document that Pope Francis was preparing in the last months of his life and which I completed with great joy.\u201d Finally, he joined the Church in Italy in observing a day of prayer for victims and survivors of abuse, calling for \u201ca culture of respect\u201d that safeguards the dignity of every person, \u201cespecially minors and the most vulnerable.\u201d This story was first published in three parts by ACI Prensa, CNA\u2019s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA. Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. 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