This Tuesday, December 31, 2024, Pope Francis presided over the first vespers of the Solemnity of Saint Mary, Mother of God, and the Te Deum of gratitude for the year that is ending, in St. Peter’s Basilica.
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Below is the full homily of Pope Francis:
This is the hour of gratitude, and we have the joy of living it celebrating the Holy Mother of God. She, who keeps the mystery of Jesus in her heart, also teaches us to read the signs of the times in the light of this mystery.
The year that is ending has been a demanding year for the city of Rome. Citizens, pilgrims, tourists and everyone who passed by have experienced the typical phase that precedes a Jubilee, with the multiplication of large and small projects. Tonight is the time for wise reflection, to consider that all this work, in addition to the value it has in itself, has had a meaning that corresponds to Rome’s own vocation, its universal vocation. In the light of the Word of God that we have just heard, this vocation could be expressed like this: Rome is called to welcome everyone so that everyone can recognize themselves as children of God and brothers among themselves.
Therefore, at this moment we want to express our gratitude to the Lord because he has allowed us to work, and work hard, and above all because he has given us the grace to do so with this great meaning, with this broad horizon that is the hope of fraternity.
The motto of the Jubilee, “Pilgrims of hope”, is full of meanings, according to the different possible perspectives, which are like so many “ways” of the pilgrimage. And one of these great routes of hope to walk is fraternity: it is the path that I proposed in the Encyclical Brothers all. Yes, the hope of the world is in brotherhood! And it is beautiful to think that our City, in recent months, has become a workshop for this purpose, with this global sense: to prepare to welcome men and women from all over the world, Catholics and Christians of other confessions, believers of all religions, seekers of truth, freedom, justice and peace, all pilgrims of hope and brotherhood.
But we must ask ourselves: does this perspective have a basis? Is the hope of a fraternal humanity just a rhetorical slogan or does it have a “rock” foundation on which something stable and lasting can be built?
The answer is given to us by the Holy Mother of God showing us Jesus. The hope of a fraternal world is not an ideology, it is not an economic system, it is not technological progress. The hope of a fraternal world is He, the incarnate Son, sent by the Father so that we can all become what we are, that is, children of the Father who is in heaven, and therefore, brothers and sisters among us .
So, while we gratefully admire the results of the work carried out in the city, we are grateful for the work of so many men and women who have done it, and we thank the Lord Mayor for this work of moving the city forward, let us become aware of which It is the decisive workshop, the workshop that involves each one of us: this workshop is the one in which, every day, I will allow God to change in me what is not worthy of a child — change! — what is not human, and in which I will commit myself, every day, to live as brother and sister of my neighbor.
May our Holy Mother help us walk together, as pilgrims of hope, along the path of fraternity. The Lord bless us, all of us; forgive us our sins and give us the strength to continue forward on our pilgrimage in the coming year. Thank you.
Papa Francisco
Pope Francis, born on December 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires (Argentina), is the first Latin American Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, assuming the papacy on March 13, 2013. His approachable style and his emphasis on mercy They have left a distinctive mark on his pontificate.