Pope Leo XIV asks Catholics in Russia to be an example of love, brotherhood and respect

Pope Leo XIV received this Friday in audience a group of Catholic pilgrims from Russia, on the occasion of their jubilee pilgrimage in Rome, whom he asked to be an example of love and brotherhood upon returning to their homes.

In his speech, read in Italian, the Holy Father highlighted that the presence of the Russian pilgrims “is inserted in the path of so many generations” who have traveled to Rome.

In this city, the Pontiff specified, “the heart of the Christian soul beats” and it is where “the events of faith – received and transmitted since apostolic times, from which so many peoples and nations have drunk abundantly and from which they still live today – are intertwined with the concerns and commitments of daily life.”

Leo

For the Holy Father, “this city can be a symbol of human existence, in which the ‘ruins’ of past experiences, anxieties, uncertainties and concerns are intertwined, together with the faith that grows every day and becomes active in charity.”

“And with the hope that does not disappoint and encourages us,” he continued, “because even on the ruins, despite sin and enmities, the Lord can build a new world and renewed life.”

He then stressed that each Catholic “is a living stone in the building of the Church” that, although small, placed by the Lord in the right place, “plays an important role for the stability of the entire construction.”

The Holy Father also encouraged them to continue the path of Christian life upon returning to their homes, appealing to responsibility in their local Church.

“From your families, from your parish and diocesan communities may come an example of love, fraternity, solidarity and reciprocal respect towards all the people among whom you live, work and study,” he exhorted them.

In this way, he stated that “the fire of Christian love can be lit, capable of warming the coldness of hearts, even the most hardened.”

He also recalled that almost a year has passed since Pope Francis blessed the icon of the Salus Populi Romani and donated it to his local Church, so that it would become a sign of the Holy Year.

The Pontiff expressed his hope that the pilgrimage of this icon through the Catholic dioceses of Russia “will be a source of consolation for you, for your families, especially for sick and suffering people.”

“Let it also be an invitation to draw hope from the encounter with God through prayer, reading the Holy Scripture, helping those in need and words of comfort,” he added.

Bishop Joseph Werth, bishop of the Diocese of the Transfiguration in Novosibirsk (Russia), spoke with EWTN News at the end of the meeting.

Specifically, he highlighted the closeness of the Holy Father, who wanted to greet the hundred participants in the audience despite the fact that they had little time and that he was only scheduled to greet those who were in the first rows. “It is a sign that the Pope wanted to dedicate time to us,” commented Bishop Werth.