Daniel del Castillo González
Just 48 hours after returning from France, following four days on the road, Pope Leo XIV uses his audience to paint a picture of a France getting back on its feet.
The pope uses Notre-Dame as the key to understanding his trip: a cathedral that represents much more than a restored monument.
POPE LEO XIV
Notre-Dame is a symbol of the Church as a living stone, of God’s holy people. It is interesting to draw a parallel between the celebration of Vespers in the Cathedral and the Youth Vigil that took place that same evening at the large Stade de France in Paris. Two completely different places, yet two complementary events, almost spiritually united.
For the pope, that renewal is found in the younger generation. And he points to a concrete sign that, he says, has been growing in France for several years.
POPE LEO XIV
The stadium was filled with the new generation of France: new, I would say, not only in age, but even more so in spirit, in the freedom of heart and faith. Young people who sang and shouted, but who also remained silent, listening. Their attentive and moved faces revealed hearts longing for truth and love. To them I said with joy: “You are the saints of France!” That Vigil was a great sign of hope.
The pope also recalls his meeting with pilgrims and the sick, presenting Lourdes as a place where human dignity is expressed through care, support and hope.
POPE LEO XIV
Every human life, regardless of its condition, even in the most severe state of fragility, retains its inviolable dignity and deserves to be cared for, supported, and relieved of suffering with human compassion and with the help of the means offered by science.
Looking at Metz, the pope connects the reconstruction of Notre-Dame with Europe’s revival after World War II, recalling a Europe born of democracy and the Christian roots that are part of that history.
As the audience comes to a close, Pope Leo XIV calls on the faithful to make October, the month of the Rosary, a time to pray especially for an end to war and for peace.
