What the Pope Said This Week

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

Sunday, 8 February: Angelus on Salt and Light

Pope  Leo XIV reflected on Jesus’ teaching that his disciples are “salt of  the earth” and “light of the world.” He emphasised that genuine joy  gives flavour to life and springs from a chosen way of living:

“After  encountering Jesus in his poverty of spirit, his meekness and  simplicity of heart, his hunger and thirst for justice, which unlocks  mercy and peace as powers of transformation and reconciliation, those  who would distance themselves from all this seem bland and dull.”

Drawing  on Isaiah, he noted that concrete gestures overcoming injustice,   sharing bread, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, cause our  light to “break forth like the dawn.” He warned against losing this  flavour, but proclaimed “a God who will never throw us away, a Father  who cares for our names and our uniqueness.”

After  the Angelus, on the memorial of St Josephine Bakhita, the Pope marked  the World Day of Prayer Against Human Trafficking, declaring: “Peace  begins with dignity!” He expressed sorrow over attacks in Nigeria,  prayed for flood victims in Portugal, Morocco, Spain and Sicily, and  urged: “History teaches us that strategies of economic and military power do not give humanity a future. The future lies in respect and  fraternity among peoples.”

Wednesday, 11 February: World Day of the Sick & General Audience

On  the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, Pope Leo visited the Lourdes  Grotto in the Vatican Gardens for the World Day of the Sick, praying in  communion with “all those who suffer in the world” and thanking those  who accompany them: doctors, nurses, and caregivers.

At  the General Audience, he concluded his catechesis on Dei Verbum by  exploring the bond between the Word of God and the Church. He quoted St  Jerome’s famous dictum: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of  Christ.” The Church, he explained, is Scripture’s “rightful home”:

“The  Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates  the body of the Lord, since especially in the sacred liturgy, she  unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from  the table both of God’s word and of Christ’s body.”

He  reminded pilgrims that Lent begins the following Wednesday,  “a time  for deepening our knowledge and love of the Lord, for examining our  hearts.”

Friday, 13 February: Lenten Message Released

The  Vatican released Pope Leo’s Message for Lent 2026, titled “Listening  and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion.” He called Lent a time to  “place the mystery of God back in the centre of our lives.” On  listening, he wrote that Scripture helps us recognise “the cry of those  who are anguished and suffering.”

On fasting, he proposed a practical form of abstinence:

“I  would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbour. Let us begin by disarming our language,  avoiding harsh words and rash judgment, refraining from slander… In  this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.”

Saturday, 14 February: Address to the Misericordie of Italy

Pope  Leo addressed the National Confederation of the Misericordie, a centuries-old Italian lay association combining spirituality, charity,  and service.

He praised their roots in  “Baptism” and their commitment to “walking with” rather than merely  “doing for” those in need. He encouraged them to “always be messengers  of hope, charity and peace” and noted that the Jubilee Icon, after  visiting many communities, was being handed over to “our brothers and  sisters in Ukraine.”

Take-Away Points:

• Encountering Jesus in his poverty, meekness and hunger for justice  makes us salt and light; without this, life becomes “bland and dull.”
• “Peace begins with dignity” – human trafficking must be combated; the future lies in fraternity, not military power.
• “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”  – The Church venerates Scripture as she venerates the Body of the Lord.
• Lent calls us to listen to God’s Word and the cry of the suffering, and to fast from hurtful words.
• “Disarm our language”,  abstain from harsh words, slander and rash judgment so words of hatred give way to peace.
• Authentic charity means “walking with” those in need, not merely “doing for” them.

Sources:

2026-02-08 – https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/angelus/2026/documents/20260208-angelus.html

2026-02-11  (World Day of the Sick) –  https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2026/february/documents/20260211-omaggio-immacolata.html

2026-02-11 (Audience) – https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/audiences/2026/documents/20260211-udienza-generale.html

2026-02-13  (Lenten Message) –  https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/messages/lent/documents/20260205-messaggio-quaresima.html

2026-02-14 – https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2026/february/documents/20260214-misericordie.html