In his first address to the College of Cardinals, Pope Leo XIV invokes the legacy of both Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIII and explains choice of his regnal name.
Newsdesk (10/05/2025 08:23, Gaudium Press) In his first formal address to the College of Cardinals following his election, Pope Leo XIV has revealed the inspiration behind the name he chose – one which, in his own words, echoes the Church’s enduring commitment to human dignity and social justice.
The Pope continued ” In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour.”
Addressing the Cardinals, whom he called the “closest collaborators of the Pope,” on Saturday, Pope Leo XIV delivered his first official address as the Successor of Peter, expressing heartfelt gratitude and an awareness of the immense responsibility now entrusted to him. “This yoke,” he said, “is clearly far beyond my strength – as it would be for anyone.”
The new Bishop of Rome paid tribute to his predecessor, remembering Pope Francis’ with the following words “with his example of complete dedication to service and to sober simplicity of life, his abandonment to God throughout his ministry and his serene trust at the moment of his return to the Father’s house. Let us take up this precious legacy and continue on the journey, inspired by the same hope that is born of faith.”
Pope Leo then went on to speak of the Church as both “womb” and “flock,” as “field” and “temple,” – “We have seen the true grandeur of the Church, which is alive in the rich variety of her members in union with her one Head, Christ, “the shepherd and guardian” (1 Peter 2:25) of our souls. She is the womb from which we were born and at the same time the flock (cf. Jn 21:15-17), the field (cf. Mk 4:1-20) entrusted to us to protect and cultivate, to nourish with the sacraments of salvation and to make fruitful by our sowing the seed of the Word, so that, steadfast in one accord and enthusiastic in mission, she may press forward, like the Israelites in the desert, in the shadow of the cloud and in the light of God’s fire (cf. Ex 13:21).”
Looking ahead to the future, Pope Leo XIV reiterated the path set in motion by the Second Vatican Council and Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium and stressed a commitment to ” the return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation (cf. No. 11); the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community (cf. No. 9); growth in collegiality and synodality (cf. No. 33); attention to the sensus fidei (cf. Nos. 119-120), especially in its most authentic and inclusive forms, such as popular piety (cf. No. 123); loving care for the least and the rejected (cf. No. 53); courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities (cf. No. 84; Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 1-2).”
“These are evangelical principles that have always inspired and guided the life and activity of God’s Family. In these values, the merciful face of the Father has been revealed and continues to be revealed in his incarnate Son, the ultimate hope of all who sincerely seek truth, justice, peace and fraternity (cf. Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, 2; Francis, Spes Non Confundit, 3).” said Pope Leo.
Bringing his discourse to a close, Pope Leo XIV called his brother Cardinals and the wider Church to continue along this path with “prayer and commitment.” Finally, he quoted Saint Paul VI, at the dawn of his own pontificate, praying that “a great flame of faith and love” may once again spread across the world, lighting the way for all people of good will.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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