The Pope reflected on the profound gift of gathering in faith, emphasizing that each person “is a gift to others” within a Church united in service.
Newsroom (18/08/2025, Gaudium Press) Pope Leo XIV presided over Mass at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Rotonda in Albano, delivering a powerful homily on the transformative power of Christ’s love and the call to serve others. Having returned to Castel Gandolfo in the Castelli Romani, the Pope reflected on the profound gift of gathering in faith, emphasizing that each person “is a gift to others” within a Church united in service.
Drawing on the significance of Sunday as a celebration of Christ’s victory over death, Pope Leo reminded the faithful that gathering for Mass dispels fear and isolation. “Immediately we are less alone,” he said, as the Word and Body of Christ unite the community. The Pope highlighted the ancient Sanctuary’s circular “Rotonda” design, noting it symbolizes being “welcomed into the womb of God.” While the Church may appear “rough-edged” externally, its interior reveals a divine reality where struggles, poverty, and vulnerabilities are enveloped by God’s unconditional love.
The Pope pointed to Mary as “a sign and foretaste of God’s motherhood,” through whom the Church becomes a nurturing force, renewing the world through charity rather than power. He challenged the congregation to reject the worldly tendency to equate peace with comfort or goodness with passivity. Quoting Jesus’ declaration of bringing “fire upon the earth,” Pope Leo explained that Christ’s baptism on the Cross was a “total immersion into the risks that love demands.” This fire of love, he said, “lowers itself and serves, responds to indifference with care,” and though it may invite misunderstanding or persecution, it brings unparalleled peace when it burns within.
Expressing gratitude to the Diocese of Albano for its commitment to service, Pope Leo urged the faithful to erase distinctions between those who serve and those who are served. “Each one is a gift to the others,” he affirmed, calling for a “Church of the poor” where unity transcends political, social, and emotional divides. This unity, he noted, is forged when “the fire Jesus came to bring burns away the prejudices, fears, and false cautions that still marginalize those who carry Christ’s poverty in their lives.”
In a final exhortation, the Pope called on the faithful to welcome Christ through the poor, rather than leaving Him outside their churches, homes, and lives. By doing so, he said, “we will also make peace with our own poverty — the poverty we fear and deny when we chase comfort and security at any cost.” The homily resonated as a call to embrace the radical love and service that define the Church’s mission, leaving the congregation inspired to live out their faith with courage and compassion.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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