Pope Leo XIV celebrating Mass 5 October 2025 | Screeenshot Vatican Media
Addressing the over forty thousand pilgrims present in Saint Peter’s Square for the Mass for the Jubilee of the Missions and of Migrants, Pope Leo XIV in his homily focused on the two themes of the missionary vocation to which we are called and reaching out in solidarity and friendship to “our migrant brothers and sisters.”
Missionary outreach, charity and fraternity are all interrelated and part of the duty and desire within us to “bring the joy and consolation of the Gospel to everyone,” especially those in difficulty, he recalled. In remembering migrants, he pointed out how so many are forced to leave their homelands due to extreme circumstances, “often leaving their loved ones behind, enduring nights of fear and loneliness, experiencing discrimination and violence firsthand.”
Missionary role of Church
Quoting the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium of Pope Francis, he underscored that “the entire Church is missionary, and it is urgent that we “go forth and preach the Gospel to all: to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear.” And this is especially important to reach our brothers and sisters in the world’s peripheries where war, injustice, and suffering, are often widespread, but hearing and experiencing the hope of the Gospel can offer consolation and help strengthen faith.
Salvation from a lived faith
The Gospel hope of salvation and new life that springs from faith can transform lives, making us living instruments of “the salvation that even today God wishes to bring about in the world” the Pope stressed. Salvation is fulfilled he said when we go out of ourselves and care for others who are suffering, and in so doing, bring God’s love to the world, he added.
A missionary age
Pope Leo explained how today a new missionary age is upon us today, as the frontiers are no longer necessarily tied to geography or departing for distant lands, “because poverty, suffering and the desire for a greater hope have made their way to us.” We see this in the reality of “our migrant brothers and sisters” and the tragedy of their fleeing violence, suffering, with fear of not succeeding in perilous sea journeys, and “their cry of sorrow and desperation.”
“Brothers and sisters, those boats which hope to catch sight of a safe port, and those eyes filled with anguish and hope seeking to reach the shore, cannot and must not find the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination!”
So, mission is also about “remaining”, proclaiming and manifesting “Christ through hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity,” looking beyond ourselves, “to remain and open our arms and hearts to them, welcoming them as brothers and sisters, and being for them a presence of consolation and hope.”
Missionary cooperation and vocations
The Pope concluded by describing two necessary tasks – promoting a renewed missionary cooperation among the Churches and appreciating the “beauty and importance” of missionary vocations. The presence and encounter with brothers and sisters from the world’s South offer an “opportunity” we should welcome, he said, since this fraternal exchange can renew the Church and sustain “a Christianity that is more open, more alive and more dynamic.” The Pope then underscored the importance of missionary vocations, especially in Europe, involving the laity, religious and priests who can serve in missionary lands. New ideas are needed here, he pointed out, and vocational experiences that draw and inspire young people.
“Beloved friends, I willingly give my blessing to the local clergy of the particular Churches, to missionaries and those discerning a vocation. Whereas, to migrants I say: know that you are always welcome! The seas and deserts that you have crossed, Scripture calls “places of salvation”, in which God makes himself present to save his people. I hope that you find this face of God in the missionaries that you encounter…May Mary sustain us, so that each of us can become co-workers for the Kingdom of Christ, the Kingdom of love, justice and peace”
Source: Vatican News