This is how the first general audience of the year 2026 began: due to the weather in Rome and the cold covering the city these days, the pilgrims moved inside the Paul VI Hall to hear a reflection from Pope Leo. It was the first of a new cycle of reflections dedicated to the Second Vatican Council:
POPE LEO XIV
Thanks to the Second Vatican Council, the Church becomes word; the Church becomes message; the Church becomes dialogue, committing itself to seek the truth through the path of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, and dialogue with people of good will. This spirit, this inner attitude, must characterize our spiritual life and the pastoral action of the Church.
In wake of closing the Holy Door, and therefore the end of the Jubilee Year, the Pope shared this message of prayer to all people:
POPE LEO XIV
With the closing of the Holy Door, we have concluded the Jubilee Year. May the doors of your hearts and your homes remain open to Christ. I unite in prayer with the priests who bring God’s blessing to your homes, to families, to the sick, and to those who are alone. To all, my blessing!
At the end of the audience, the Our Father was prayed in Latin. The Pope then imparted the apostolic blessing to those present, especially the sick, children, and newlyweds.
JPO
