Pope Leo XIV and a candlelight procession opened the mass in St. Peter's Basilica that celebrated the 30th World Day of Consecrated Life. The mass occurs on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord with the blessing of candles meant to symbolize the light of Christ coming into the new year.
Hence, the feast day gained the nickname, “Candlemas,” due to the traditional processions of thousands of blessed candles.
During this year’s homily, Pope Leo XIV highlighted the sanctity of all life, particularly in societies that fail to acknowledge the inherent dignity of every human being.
POPE LEO XIV
In a society where faith and life seem increasingly to drift apart, in the name of a false and reductive conception of the human person, you are called to bear witness that God is present in history as salvation for all peoples (cf. Lk 2:30–31). To bear witness that the young, the elderly, the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned above all have their sacred place on His Altar and in His Heart.
Pope Leo also spoke on the persistence of consecrated people, encouraging them to continue their work and maintain their faith, even amid in areas affected by conflict or violence.
POPE LEO XIV
These communities do not abandon their people, nor do they flee; they remain, often stripped of all security, as a living reminder — more eloquent than words — of the inviolable sacredness of life in its most vulnerable conditions. Even where weapons roar and arrogance, self-interest and violence seem to
prevail.
In his homily, Pope Leo then quoted Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XIV's reflections on the World Day for Consecrated Life, a day initiated by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1997.
Pope Leo then concluded by thanking all consecrated people for the dedication of their lives, before closing the mass with the blessing of the faithful in attendance.
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