{"id":10723,"date":"2026-03-28T18:48:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T18:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/10723\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T18:48:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T18:48:07","slug":"pope-leo-in-monaco-christ-calls-the-church-to-communion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/10723\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo in Monaco: Christ calls the Church to communion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pope Leo XIV invites the Catholic community of Monaco to renew a faith capable of addressing secularism, promoting dignity, and proclaiming the Gospel with creativity and conviction.<\/p>\n

By Linda Bordoni<\/p>\n

In the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, at the heart of the Principality, Pope Leo XIV gathered with the Catholic community of Monaco on Saturday morning for the celebration of Midday Prayer, and offered a reflection<\/a> centred on Christ as \u201cour advocate before the Father.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing the faithful, the Pope began with the words of the Apostle John: \u201cWe have an advocate before God: Jesus Christ, the righteous one,\u201d and he invited all present to contemplate the mystery of salvation as God\u2019s initiative of mercy toward a humanity marked by weakness and sin.<\/p>\n

Christ, he said, \u201ctook upon himself the evil found in humanity and in the world (\u2026) \u00a0and has overcome this evil, transforming it and freeing us forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greeting Prince Albert II of Monaco, Archbishop Dominique-Marie David, and the clergy and faithful, the Pope expressed his joy at sharing in the life of a local Church distinguished by its diversity and openness.<\/p>\n

The gift of communion <\/p>\n

Reflecting on Jesus as our advocate, Pope Leo XIV first highlighted the gift of communion. Christ, he said, \u201creconciles us with the Father and with one another,\u201d not through condemnation, but through mercy that \u201cpurifies, heals, transforms and makes us part of the one family of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

This communion, he noted, is also social in its implications. Jesus\u2019 mission restores not only spiritual well-being but also human dignity, reintegrating individuals into the community. In this light, the Church is called to be \u201ca reflection in this world of the love of God which shows no favouritism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turning to the local context, the Pope observed that Monaco\u2019s social and cultural diversity is a richness, not a division. \u201cIn the Church,\u201d he said, \u201csuch variety should never become the occasion of division into social classes,\u201d but rather a sign that all are welcomed as \u201cpersons and children of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Meeting<\/p>\n

\n Meeting with Catholic community in Monaco \u00a0 (@Vatican Media)\n <\/p>\n

A Church that defends the human person <\/p>\n

The Pope then highlighted a second dimension of Christ\u2019s advocacy: the proclamation of the Gospel in defence of every human being. Jesus, he said, gives voice to those \u201cforgotten and marginalised,\u201d revealing a merciful God who \u201cworks vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this perspective, the Church herself is called to be an \u201cadvocate,\u201d committed to the integral development of the human person. The Gospel, he explained, must illuminate human identity, relationships, and the ultimate meaning of life.<\/p>\n

Encouraging renewed missionary zeal, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to \u201cproclaim the Gospel of life, hope and love,\u201d defending human dignity \u201cfrom conception until natural death.\u201d He also warned against the pressures of secularism, which risk reducing human life to individualism and economic productivity.<\/p>\n

A living and prophetic faith <\/p>\n

The Pope cautioned against allowing faith to become routine. \u201cA living faith is always prophetic,\u201d he said, capable of raising questions about justice, solidarity, and the ethical foundations of society.<\/p>\n

Questioning whether the current economic and social models truly promote the dignity of all, or whether they remain confined to \u201cthe logic of profit as an end in itself,\u201d the Pope concluded, inviting the faithful to fix their\u00a0gaze on Christ, which he said,\u00a0leads to a faith that transforms both personal life and society.<\/p>\n

Such faith, he exhorted, must be communicated \u201cthrough a fresh language and by new tools, including those that are digital,\u201d with particular attention to those rediscovering their faith.<\/p>\n

\"Pope<\/p>\n

\n Pope Leo during the meeting with the Catholic community \u00a0 (@Vatican Media)\n <\/p>\n

\n Pope Leo XIV in Monaco, Meeting with Catholic community\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV invites the Catholic community of Monaco to renew a faith capable of addressing secularism, promoting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7482,1277,7510,8,7511,9,2057,7483,7],"class_list":{"0":"post-10723","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-apostolic-journey","9":"tag-catholic-church","10":"tag-faith","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-homily","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-pope-leo-xiv","15":"tag-principality-of-monaco","16":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116308299137597462","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}