Pope Leo XIV highlights Our Lady of Guadalupe as a lasting model of inculturation, guiding the Church’s mission ahead of the 2031 Jubilee.
Newsroom (25/02/2026 Gaudium Press ) In a message to the Theological-Pastoral Congress on the Guadalupan Event, held in Mexico City from February 24 to 26, 2026, Pope Leo XIV presented Our Lady of Guadalupe as a “model of authentic inculturation” and a timeless guide for the Church’s mission of evangelisation.
The gathering—promoted by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, the Mexican Episcopal Conference, the Knights of Columbus, and the Pontifical International Marian Academy—seeks to deepen reflection on the significance of the Guadalupan event as the Church approaches the 2031 Jubilee, marking 500 years since the Virgin Mary’s apparitions to Saint Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill.
God’s Revelation Within Human History
Dated February 5, Pope Leo XIV’s message underscores how God reveals Himself not as an abstract concept but through history, entering into human experience and engaging the freedom of every person. Evangelisation, the Pope explains, is the act of “making Jesus Christ present” so as to foster a living, transformative relationship that shapes both personal and communal life.
By reflecting on Guadalupe, he presents faith as an invitation—not an imposition—rooted in dialogue and encounter. The Virgin’s message, he notes, continues to speak to peoples and cultures across centuries, embodying the Church’s call to proclaim the Gospel in ways that honour local identity while remaining faithful to Christ’s universal truth.
Guadalupe and the Path of Inculturation
Pope Leo XIV draws attention to the Guadalupan event as a paradigm for true inculturation, a process through which Christianity embraces different cultures without erasing them. True inculturation, he writes, “neither absolutises nor dismisses cultures,” but rather assumes and purifies them so they may become places of genuine encounter with Christ.
The apparition at Tepeyac thus stands as a sign of harmony between faith and culture, revealing that the Gospel does not destroy what is human but fulfils it. The Pope invites the Church to learn anew from Guadalupe’s delicate balance—proclaiming salvation without coercion and preserving the integrity and freshness of divine revelation.
A Demanding and Purifying Journey
Pope Leo XIV describes inculturation as “a demanding and purifying process.” It calls for discerning the “seeds of the Word” present in all nations and traditions, recognising that while every culture bears traces of divine truth, none can become the ultimate norm for the Christian faith. Each must be illumined and transformed by the light of Christ’s Paschal Mystery.
At the heart of this process is conversion—allowing the Gospel to reshape and renew human realities from within. For the Church, this task requires humility, patience, and fidelity to the mystery of Christ, who took on human flesh to redeem humanity in all its diversity.
Renewing Catechesis in Contemporary Contexts
Looking to the present, Pope Leo XIV acknowledges that “in today’s urban and pluralistic environments, the transmission of faith can no longer be presumed.” With societies marked by cultural complexity and fragmentation, he calls for a reinvigorated commitment to catechesis as an essential mission of evangelisation.
Drawing continuity with the 2007 Aparecida Document—a cornerstone of Latin American pastoral reflection—the Pope urges the Church to form “mature and conscious disciples” capable of engaging contemporary challenges with conviction and creativity.
Such renewal, he affirms, is the surest path to keeping the message of Tepeyac alive: a message of tenderness, encounter, and hope that continues to inspire the peoples of the Americas and the entire Catholic world.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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