What the Pope Said This Week

Jason Scott’s weekly review of Pope Leo XIV’s audiences

12 October — Angelus, Jubilee of Marian Spirituality

At the close of Holy Mass on the parvis of St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo addressed the crowd before praying the Angelus:

“In recent days, the agreement to begin the peace process has given a spark of hope in the Holy Land. I encourage the parties involved to continue courageously … towards a just and lasting peace … Two years of conflict have caused death and destruction … I am close to your immense pain. … even amidst the deepest darkness, he always remains with us: ‘Dilexi te, I have loved you.’ … to help us … to remember that the other is not an enemy, but a brother or sister … offered the hope of reconciliation.”

In those words, Leo marries global conflict with personal consolation. The Lord’s love becomes the lens through which we see wounds, not ignore them.

Later in his homily, he rooted Marian devotion in the Gospel:

“Marian spirituality is at the service of the Gospel: it reveals its simplicity … Our affection for Mary … leads us … to meditate and ponder the events of our lives in which the Risen One still comes to us and calls us.”

13 October — Audience with the Merry del Val Group

On Monday, Leo received participants in the Study Meeting on Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val. He reflected on service, humility and the temptation of recognition:

“The desire for recognition is a constant temptation for those in positions of responsibility … The only true triumph is to say every day: ‘Lord, I am where You want me to be, doing what You entrust to me today.’”

He held up Merry del Val’s life as a model — combining universal vision with pastoral closeness, diplomacy with humility.

14 October — Visit to the President of Italy

Tuesday’s highlight was Leo’s visit to the Quirinal Palace, where he met Italian President Sergio Mattarella and addressed civic and cultural themes. He opened by reaffirming the Church’s bond with the Italian people:

“As Bishop of Rome and Primate of Italy, it is meaningful for me to renew … the strong bond that unites the See of Peter with the Italian people …”

He then honoured Italy’s artistic, religious and moral heritage:

“These physical creations … are an expression of ‘the innate creativity of this people … united with their genuine and steadfast faith’ … a testimony of great beauty: artistic, certainly, but above all moral and human.”

He thanked the Italian authorities for welcoming pilgrims and aiding war-affected regions, especially for enabling care for Gaza’s children at the Vatican hospital. He exhorted Italians to rediscover their hidden richness and to support families facing demographic, social and moral challenges.

15 October — General Audience & Address to the Augustinian Recollects

On Wednesday, Pope Leo resumed his Jubilee catechesis “Jesus Christ our Hope.” He spoke of human longing, success deferred and the deep thirst that only Christ quenches:

“We live busy lives … awaiting success and recognition … we find ourselves experiencing a paradoxical situation: we would like to be happy, and yet it is very difficult to be happy …”

“This deep desire in our hearts can find its ultimate answer … in the certainty that this expectation will not be disappointed.”

Only Jesus “responds to the deepest questions of our heart: is there really a destination for us? Does our existence have any meaning? And the suffering of so many innocents, how can it be redeemed?” he said.

His theme: the Risen One is the living spring that does not fail, who walks with us through disappointment and restores meaning.

That same day he also addressed the Augustinian Recollects of Mexico, inviting them to unite mercy with truth in their ministries:

“To encounter the Lord … we must walk a path … Mercy and truth … Let us walk … serving like Martha in works of mercy or resting like Mary … to contemplate the truth.”

The Pope encouraged them to embody both the active and contemplative dimensions of faith — action born from prayer, and prayer proven in service.

16 October — FAO Visit: Hunger, Dignity & Collective Responsibility

On Thursday, Leo addressed the FAO on the 80th anniversary of its founding, marking World Food Day. His message was both lament and summons:

“Eighty years after the establishment of the FAO … our conscience must once again challenge us to face the ever-present tragedy of hunger and malnutrition … 673 million people worldwide go to bed without eating. Another 2.3 billion cannot afford a nutritionally adequate diet. … Behind each of these numbers there is a life cut short, a vulnerable community … There are mothers who cannot feed their children.”

He declared that hunger is not humanity’s destiny but its downfall, condemned the use of food as a weapon in war, and called every sector — states, institutions, civil society, individuals — to heed the suffering of the hungry, who are not strangers but brothers and sisters.

Take-Away Points:

– Pope Leo frames the Holy Land conflict through “Dilexi te” — God’s love as both consolation and call to reconciliation.

– Leadership, to him, is silent fidelity, not simply acclaim — as Merry del Val models.

– His visit to Italy combined cultural memory, civic engagement and moral exhortation.

– The General Audience returns to Christ as the only durable hope, beyond worldly success.

– His address to the Augustinian Recollects deepened this theme: mercy and truth walking hand-in-hand.

Sources

12 October – Angelus and Jubilee of Marian Spirituality: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/10/12/251012b.html

13 October – Audience with the “Merry del Val” Family: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/10/13/251013f.html

14 October – Visit to the President of Italy: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-10/pope-leo-xiv-visit-quirinal-palace-italy-president-mattarella.html

15 October – General Audience and Address to the Augustinian Recollects: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/10/15/251015a.html

https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/10/15/251015f.html

16 October – Address to FAO on World Food Day: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/10/16/251016f.html