Homily of Pope Leo XIV in the solemnity of Corpus Christi 2025

Pope Leo XIV presided this Sunday 22 the celebration of Mass for the Solemnity Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the Corpus Christi, in the atrium of the Basilica of San Juan de Letán.

Next, the full text of the homily of Pope Leo XIV:

Dear brothers and sisters, it is beautiful to be with Jesus. The gospel that we just heard witnesses him, telling that the crowds remained hours and hours with him, who spoke of the kingdom of God and cured the sick (cf. Lk 9,11). The compassion of Jesus for those who suffer manifests the loving closeness of God, who comes to the world to save us. When God reigns, man is released from all evil. However, even for those who receive the good news of Jesus, it is time for the test. In that desert, where the crowds have heard the teacher, the afternoon falls and there is nothing to eat (cf. v. 12). The hunger of the people and the sunset are signs of a limit that looms over the world, on each creature: the day ends, as well as the life of men. It is at this time, in the time of destitution and shadows, when Jesus remains among us.

Just when the sun gets and hunger grows, while the apostles themselves ask to say goodbye to people, Christ surprises us with his mercy. He has compassion for the hungry people and invites his disciples to take care of him, because hunger is not a need that has nothing to do with the announcement of the kingdom and the testimony of salvation. On the contrary, this hunger is linked to our relationship with God. However, five breads and two fish do not seem enough to feed the people, because the calculations of the disciples, apparently reasonable reveal, on the other hand, their little faith. Since, in reality, with Jesus we have everything we need to give strength and meaning to our life.

Indeed, to the urgency of hunger, he responds with the sign of sharing: he raises his eyes, pronounces the blessing, part of the bread and feed all those present (cf. v. 16). The gestures of the Lord do not inaugurate a complex magical ritual, but simply manifest the thanks to the Father, the filial prayer of Christ and the fraternal communion held by the Holy Spirit. To multiply the loaves and fish, Jesus divides those who exist: only then are there enough for everyone, moreover, there are plenty of. After having eaten – until he satiated -, with what was left over, they filled twelve baskets (cf. v. 17).

This is the logic that saves the hungry people: Jesus acts according to God’s style, teaching to do the same. Today, instead of the crowds that appear in the Gospel, there are whole peoples, humiliated by the greed even more than by hunger itself. Given the misery of many, the accumulation of a few is a sign of an indifferent pride, which produces pain and injustice. Instead of sharing, opulence wasted the fruits of the earth and the work of man. Especially in this jubilee year, the Lord’s example remains for us an urgent criterion of action and service: share bread, to multiply hope, proclaims the coming of the kingdom of God.

By saving the crowds from hunger, Jesus announces that he will save everyone from death. This is the mystery of faith, which we celebrate in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Just as hunger is a sign of our radical vital destitution, so the bread is also a sign of the divine gift of salvation.

Dear friends, Christ is God’s response to man’s hunger, because his body is the bread of eternal life: they take and eat all of Him! Jesus’ invitation covers our daily experience: to live, we need to feed ourselves from life, removing it to plants and animals.

However, eating something exanime reminds us that we also, no matter how much we eat, we will die. On the other hand, when we feed on Jesus, living and true bread, we live for Him. Offering without reservations, the resurrected crucified is given to us, and in this way we discover that we have been made to nurture ourselves from God. Our hungry nature carries the mark of destitution that is satisfied by the grace of the Eucharist. As Saint Augustine writes, Christ is really “The bread that refreshes and does not fail; The bread that can be taken to be consumed»(Sermo 130, 2), that is, a bread that nourishes and never is missing; A bread that can be eaten but never exhausted. The Eucharist, in effect, is the true, real and substantial presence of the Savior (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1413), which transforms bread into itself, to transform ourselves into Him. Live and vivifier, the Body of It makes us, that is, of the Church itself, the body of the Lord.

Therefore, according to the words of the apostle Paul (cf. 1 Cor 10,17), the Second Vatican Council teaches that «the unity of the faithful, which constitute a single body in Christ, is represented and is carried out by the sacrament of the Eucharistic bread (…). All men are called this union with Christ, Luz del Mundo, from whom we proceed, for whom we live and to whom we walk »(Const. Dogm. The light of the nations3). The procession that we will begin shortly is a sign of that path. Together, shepherds and flock, we feed on the Blessed Sacrament, we worship it and take it through the streets. In doing so, we offer it to the look and the heart of the people. To the heart of who believes, so that he creates more firmly, and to the heart of who does not believe, so that he is questioned about the hunger we have in the soul and about the bread that can satisfy it.

Strengthened by the food that God gives us, we take Jesus to the heart of all, because Jesus includes everyone in the work of salvation, inviting each one to participate in his table. Blessed guests, who become witnesses to this love!