At the end of a Jubilee Mass in a rainy St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo noted several world events before paying the midday Angelus. He spoke of an earthquake in the Philippines, the situation in Gaza and the peace plan, and the synagogue attack in Manchester.
Before getting into those topics, he made another comment about migrants, insisting above all: “Human dignity must always come first.”
At the end, he noted as well that today is the day for the special Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii. This occurs twice a year — on her feast day on May 8, and on the first Sunday of October, which is near the feast of Bartolo Longo, the great promoter of the shrine. In fact this year, the feast is today, coinciding exactly with the Sunday prayer.
Pompeii has a unique connection to Pope Leo, because he was elected on May 8, and made note of that in his very first words as Pope:
Today is the day of the Supplicatio [Plea] to Our Lady of Pompei.
Our blessed mother Mary always wants to walk with us, be close to us, she always wants to help us with her intercession and her love. So let us pray together for this mission, and for all of the Church, and for peace in the world.
We ask for this special grace from Mary, our Mother.
ANDREAS SOLARO | ANDREAS SOLARO
Dear brothers and sisters,
Before praying the Angelus together, I would like to greet and thank all of you who have taken part in this Jubilee celebration dedicated to missionaries and migrants. You are good missionaries because you came even in the rain! Thank you. The Church is entirely missionary and is one great people journeying towards the Kingdom of God. Today, our missionary and migrant brothers and sisters remind us of this. But no one should be forced to flee, nor exploited or mistreated because of their situation as foreigners or people in need! Human dignity must always come first.
I greet all the pilgrims present, especially those from the Diocese of Pavia, led by their Bishop, as well as the faithful, including some young people from Bethlehem, who are carrying the statue of Our Lady of Revelation.
On the evening of Tuesday, 30 September, a strong earthquake struck the central region of the Philippines, particularly the province of Cebu and its neighboring provinces. I express my closeness to the dear Filipino people, and in particular I pray for those who are most severely affected by the consequences of the earthquake. Faced with any danger, let us remain united and supportive in our trust in God and in the intercession of our Blessed Mother.
I express my concern about the rise of antisemitic hatred in the world, as unfortunately we saw with the terrorist attack in Manchester a few days ago. I continue to be saddened by the immense suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
In recent hours, in the dramatic situation in the Middle East, some significant steps forward have been taken in peace negotiations, which I hope will achieve the desired results as soon as possible. I ask all those in positions of responsibility to commit themselves to this path, to bring about a ceasefire and to release the hostages. At the same time, I urge everyone to remain united in prayer, so that the ongoing efforts may put an end to the war and lead us towards a just and lasting peace.
Let us join ourselves spiritually with those gathered at the Shrine in Pompeii for the Supplication to the Virgin of the Holy Rosary.
In this month of October, as we contemplate with Mary the mysteries of Christ our Savior, let us deepen our prayer for peace: a prayer that becomes concrete solidarity with those people tormented by war. Thank you to the many children around the world who have committed themselves to praying the Rosary for this intention. You have our heartfelt thanks!
