(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 27.08.2025) – On Monday morning, August 25, Pope Leo XIV received in audience — in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace –, numerous altar servers from France who were in Rome for their Holy Year pilgrimage. The Pope addressed them on topics such as who Jesus is, the Eucharist, the altar server at Mass, the liturgy, and even took the opportunity to discuss vocational work, inviting them to listen to a possible call to the priesthood.
Below is ZENIT’s translation in English of the Holy Father’s remarks.
* * *
In the Name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you! Dear altar boys from all over France, good morning! I welcome you to Rome and am very happy to meet you, along with all your companions — laity, priests, and Bishops — whom I cordially greet.
You know that this is a special year: it is a «Holy Year» — which takes place only every 25 years — during which the Lord Jesus offers us an exceptional opportunity. When we come to Rome and pass through the Holy Door, He helps us to «convert,» that is, to turn toward Him, to grow in faith and in His love, to become better disciples, so that our lives may be beautiful and good under His gaze, on the journey toward eternal life. It is, therefore, a great gift from Heaven that you are here this year! I invite you to welcome it by living intensely the activities proposed to you, but above all by taking time to speak with Jesus in the secret of your heart and to love Him more and more. His only desire is to be a part of your life in order to illuminate it from within, to be your best friend, the most faithful. Life becomes beautiful and happy with Jesus. But He awaits your answer. He knocks at the door and waits to enter: «Look, I stand at the door and I knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me» (Revelation 3:20). To be «near» Jesus, the Son of God, to enter into His friendship! What an unexpected destiny! What happiness! What consolation! What hope for the future!
Hope is precisely the theme of this Holy Year. Perhaps you sense how much we need to hope. Surely you feel that the world is not going well, that it must face ever more serious and disturbing challenges. Perhaps you, or those around you, are touched by suffering, illness or disability, failure, the loss of a loved one; and, in the face of trial, your hearts experience sadness and anguish. Who will come to our aid? Who will have compassion on us? Who will come to save us? Not only from our suffering, from our limitations and our errors, but also from death itself?
The answer is perfectly clear and has echoed in history for 2,000 years: only Jesus comes to save us, no one else. Because only He has the power to do so — for He is Almighty God in person — and because He loves us. Saint Peter said it forcefully: «And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved» (Acts 4:12). Never forget these words, dear friends, engrave them in your hearts, and place Jesus at the center of your lives. I hope you return to Rome closer to Him, more determined than ever to love Him and to follow Him, and thus, better armed with hope, to journey through the life that opens before you. This hope will always be, in difficult moments of doubt, discouragement and storm, like a sure and steady anchor, launched toward heaven (cf. Hebrews 6:19), which will allow you to continue forward on the path.
There is certain proof that Jesus loves us and saves us: He gave His life for us, offering it on the cross. Indeed, there is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for those one loves (cf. John 15:13). This is the greatest wonder of our Catholic faith, something no one could have imagined or expected: God, the Creator of heaven and earth, wanted to suffer and die for us, his creatures. God loved us to the point of dying for us! To do this, He came down from heaven, humbled Himself and became like men, and offered Himself as a sacrifice on the cross, the most important event in the history of the world. What can we fear from a God who has loved us to this extent? What more could we expect? What are we waiting for to repay Him as He deserves? Gloriously risen, Jesus lives with the Father, now caring for us and communicating to us His eternal life.
And the Church, from generation to generation, carefully guards the memory of the Lord’s Death and Resurrection, of which she is a witness, as her most precious treasure. She safeguards it and passes it on by celebrating the Eucharist, which you have the joy and honour of serving. The Eucharist is the treasure of the Church, the treasure of treasures. From the first day of her existence, and then throughout the centuries, the Church has celebrated Mass, Sunday after Sunday, to remember what her Lord did for her. In the hands of the priest, and with His words: «This is my Body, this is my Blood,» Jesus gives His life anew on the altar, he sheds His Blood for us even today. Dear altar servers, the celebration of Mass saves us today! It saves the world today! It is the most important event in the life of a Christian and in the life of the Church, because it is the encounter in which God gives Himself to us out of love, again and again. Christians do not go to Mass out of obligation, but because they absolutely need it; they need the life of God who gives Himself to us without asking anything in return.
Dear friends, I thank you for your commitment: it is a great and generous service you provide to your parish, and I encourage you to persevere with fidelity. When you approach the altar, always keep in mind the greatness and healing of what is being celebrated. The Mass is a moment of celebration and joy. Indeed, how can one fail to feel joy in one’s heart in the presence of Jesus? But the Mass is, at the same time, a serious, solemn moment, full of profundity. May your attitude, your silence, the dignity of your service, the liturgical beauty, the order and majesty of your gestures introduce the faithful to the sacred grandeur of the Mystery.
I also hope that you will be attentive to the call that Jesus may address to you to follow Him more closely in the priesthood. I address your young, enthusiastic, and generous consciences, and I will tell you something you must listen to, even if it may disturb you a little: the lack of priests in France, in the world, is a great misfortune! A misfortune for the Church! May you discover, little by little, Sunday after Sunday, the beauty, the happiness, and the necessity of such a vocation. What a marvellous life is that of the priest who, in the center of every day, encounters Jesus in an exceptional way and gives Him to the world!
Dear altar servers, I thank you again for your visit. Your number and the faith that inspires you is a great consolation, a sign of hope. Persevere with courage and bear witness to those around you of the pride and joy that serving at Mass gives you.
I heartily impart upon you, as well as your companions, your priests and your families, the Apostolic Blessing. Thank you!
Translation of the Italian original into Spanish by ZENIT’s Editorial Director and, into English, by Virginia M. Forrester.
