“In the Gospel, Jesus looks with truth and deep sorrow upon hearts that
have remained closed, “you did not repent” (Mt 21:32). Why does this wound
the heart of Christ? Because God does not
want his children to be lost”.
APOSTOLIC
JOURNEY OF POPE LEO XIV TO FRANCE
AND VISIT TO THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION
FOR EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND CULTURE (UNESCO)
25-28 SEPTEMBER 2026
HOMILY OF POPE LEO XIV
Prairie
of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes
Sunday, 27 September 2026
___________________________________
Brothers and sisters,
pilgrims from France and from throughout the world, in seeing you gathered here
this morning in our Mother’s home, I see the universal face of the Church.
Some of you have crossed continents, traveled far, and brought your joys
and burdens to this sacred grotto. What a joy it is to be together, as
one heart and one family.
I would especially
like to greet the pilgrims who have come from every province and diocese of
France. Today you stand on this blessed ground that has received so many
graces. May this pilgrimage rekindle the flame of faith in your homes and
parishes. Take the consolation of Lourdes back to your neighbors, your
loved ones and the whole French people.
This Sunday’s
readings touch on a central part of the message that the Virgin Mary entrusted
to Saint Bernadette: the call to conversion, both tender and urgent. In
the Gospel, Jesus looks with truth and deep sorrow upon hearts that have
remained closed, “you did not repent” (Mt 21:32). Why does
this wound the heart of Christ? Because God does not want his children to
be lost. The prophet Ezekiel reminds us, “When a righteous man turns away
from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die for it.”
However, since “he considered and turned away from all the transgressions
which he had committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die” (Ez 18:26,
28). This is why the call to repentance runs through Sacred Scripture and
the preaching of the Gospel down the centuries. Its gravity reminds us of
the urgency and necessity of conversion. It is today, not tomorrow, that
we must repent.
Indeed, now is the
acceptable time, now is the day of salvation (cf. 2 Cor 6:2).
God wants us to live, to open our eyes and return to him. To repent
is to leave the paths on which we lost our way, and to follow the way of life,
opening our hearts to the sole joy that never passes away.
Jesus himself is
quite direct in calling us to repentance. As Saint Luke tells us, “Unless
you repent, you will all perish” (Lk 13:5). But he also
extends our horizon beyond this earthly life to the horizon of eternal life.
For while happiness in this world is fleeting and relative, and sadly
sometimes out of reach for some, true happiness is promised to everyone in
hope, and this is what we should seek above all else, in all our efforts and
choices. Did not the Virgin Mary say to Saint Bernadette, “I do not
promise to make you happy in this world but in the next”?
This promise, made
right here, has a particular force in this land of France, and it challenges
the way we think today.
In an age and society
that seek progress and material wellbeing, but can sometimes forget the horizon
of eternity, Mary comes to remind us of the greatness and richness of our
calling to life, to eternal life. In the face of current trends that seek
to redefine the value of human life in illness, suffering and old age, the
grotto of Massabielle stands as a place of Christian hope. Here, no one
is turned away due to their frailty. Your crutches, your wheelchairs and
your hidden tears are not obstacles; instead, they are the very place where you
are fully respected and welcomed, and where you can experience a transforming
encounter with the infinite love of God. Lourdes is blessed as a place
for professing the beauty and sanctity of life, for life is welcomed here as a
precious gift from God, and is called to flourish for ever in the love of the
Father.
“I promise you!”
Indeed, eternal life is a firm and certain promise that the Lord makes to
us. He has already won it for us by his death on the cross and his
resurrection, and through the grace of baptism he is bringing it to fulfilment
in us each day. It is within our reach, but we must freely welcome it,
take hold of it and not stand in its way. For the obstacle to grace and
eternal life — the only obstacle to this love — is sin, whereby we turn in upon
ourselves, refusing God and shutting ourselves up in our own darkness.
Our personal responsibility therefore comes into play, and a great
responsibility it is. God has made us free, since freedom is necessary
for love; no one can be forced to love. We must therefore use our freedom
to say yes to Christ, relying on his grace, like Mary. This is a yes that
we renew until our final breath — “now and at the hour of our death” — as we
say in the Hail Mary.
We hear the same
urgent call to conversion in the words which Mary spoke right here, “Penance!
Penance! Penance!” She repeats the word three times. And she asks
Bernadette to perform certain acts of penance. Why? Are we slow to
understand? Do we too easily think of ourselves without sin? Do we
not practice penance enough? The Virgin asks us to do penance not only
for ourselves, because we too need it, but also “for sinners,” for a world that
is going astray. How can our hearts not be moved by the conflicts that
are spreading and destroying so many innocent lives? Yet the evil of our
time comes from the human heart. God is not responsible for it. As he
says to the Israelites, “Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not
just?” (Ez 18:25). It is therefore human hearts that must
change, beginning with our own.
Penance is an act of
love, carried out in solidarity with the human family. It is an act of love for
God, because we want to make amends for the wounds our sins have dealt to his
heart. It is also an act of love for those brothers and sisters of ours
who do not heed this call to conversion, and whose sins lead them towards
death. This call to conversion also concerns the Church herself as she
makes her earthly journey. She must have the courage to begin with
herself. In order to heal the deep wounds, infidelities and painful
errors that have occurred within her, we must humbly place ourselves under the
Lord’s purifying gaze. Recognizing our own faults is essential to our
spiritual growth. As Saint Augustine wrote, “Do not be content with what
you are, if you want to become what you are not yet” (Disc. 169,
15, 18). Our Mother’s reminder of our duty to pray and repent fills us with
great hope, because she shows us that the way to change the course of things is
by uniting ourselves to the passion of Christ.
Dear friends who are
sick, so many of you here in Lourdes are familiar with suffering. You can
live your trials and pains in this spirit of offering, and so take part in the
redemptive work that the world so greatly needs. In this way, you are
truly at the heart of the Church, and your role is irreplaceable.
Pilgrims, brothers
and sisters, you will not leave Lourdes as you arrived. You will leave as
missionaries of hope. Indeed, the miracle of Lourdes is that it can
awaken the joy of hope in the very midst of suffering and hardship. The
Virgin Mary heals our outlook and changes our hearts, giving them peace.
In your countries, dioceses and families, become living witnesses to this
divine strength and tenderness, which help us to persevere towards our goal.
Sustained by the prayers of the sick and the love of our Mother, walk
with confidence into the future. Do not be afraid of the storms of the
world, for the holy Mother of God watches over your journey, she shelters the
Church beneath her mantle of tenderness and, as the radiant Morning Star, guides
your steps, so that with joy she may bring you to new birth in the very life of
her Son Jesus. Amen.
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