On August 15, Pope Leo XIV celebrated his one hundredth day as pope. He spent the day in Castel Gandolfo, with a morning packed with public and private events.
He began by celebrating Mass for the Solemnity of the Assumption in this parish. It is the parish of Saint Thomas of Villanova, a 15th-century Augustinian. It was a small space that only the authorities had access to.
But the square outside was like this: packed with people. It is estimated that there were about 2,500 people, who listened attentively to Pope Leo's words at noon during the Angelus prayer.
The Pope recalled the day Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption, which was on November 1, but whose solemnity was established every August 15.
He referred to the difficult times of Pope Pius XII, when remnants of the Second World War still lingered, and related them to the current context.
POPE LEO XIV
How timely these words are! Unfortunately, even today we feel helpless in the face of the spread of violence throughout the world, increasingly deaf and insensitive to every human impulse. Yet we must not lose hope: God is greater than human sin. We must not resign ourselves to the prevalence of the logic of conflict and weapons.
After the Angelus, and without any official planning, the Pope went to the parish office for lunch. These are the images of his departure. Hundreds of people were waiting, hoping to shake the Pope's hand.
CA
TR:GS
