Thousands of faithful from the Italian diocese of Tuscany—along with those of Camerino-San Severino, Fabriano-Matelica, Lanciano-Ortona and San Severo—met this October 11 with Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square.
In his speech to the crowd, Pope Leo referred especially to the Tuscans, since today the jubilee pilgrimage of the region was celebrated, which is going through “a certain crisis of faith” and a complicated economic situation.
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“Today, even in the face of the good will and generosity that characterize them as a people, problems abound that highlight a certain crisis of faith and religious practice, and that require a courageous investment in Christian formation and a renewed enthusiasm for evangelization,” he assured.
“In a region as hardworking as Tuscany, cradle of some of the best artisans and small and medium-sized industries, it is painful to see how the economic crisis that affects numerous companies is forcing the dismissal of so many workers,” the Pope added.
Many other workers, Leo XIV explained, fall into mechanisms that allow companies to temporarily reduce or suspend the working day but without firing them. These people are “waiting for institutional agreements that allow the resumption of activity.”
Faced with this reality, he invited the pilgrims to “adopt a close lifestyle,” one that truly cares about “the difficulties and tribulations” of people.
This, he continued, should not “seem out of place” because—in the words of Saint Paul VI regarding the world of work—the Christian community “must be fraternally and actively present in this world in a spirit of intelligent understanding, vigilant discernment and friendly dialogue.”
“For this reason, I urge you to be a Church close to the world of work, compassionate and incarnate, so that the announcement of the Gospel becomes a concrete presence of consolation and hope, but also a prophetic word that remembers the importance of guaranteeing employment for all, since it is an indispensable dimension of social life,” said the Pontiff.
The one Church of Christ is incarnated in particular realities
Addressing the pilgrims from all the dioceses present, the Pope recalled that “the one Church of Christ is incarnated in particular realities,” such as the dioceses, but that it also “calls us to catholicity, to feel like a single family of children of God beyond established borders, overcoming the temptation of a narrow identity and experiencing communion.”
Leo
“In some Italian regions, such as Tuscany and Marche, a process of unification of dioceses has also begun. This process, on the one hand, could reveal a certain pastoral potential, not so much in terms of number of members, but in the quality of the service provided,” the Pope explained.
“Walk together to question ourselves, initiate experiments and undertake a calm and frank discernment to highlight the possibilities and limitations of said process, thus verifying whether the conditions for moving forward are met,” he said.
Leo
Andres Henriquez
I was born in Caracas in 1996. I have been a writer for ACI Prensa and a correspondent for EWTN since 2023. Since then, I have covered events in the Catholic Church in Venezuela, Latin America and the world. I have more than 6 years of experience in bilingual media. Furthermore, in Venezuela I have worked in various areas in favor of freedom and respect for fundamental rights in the country. I have been a member of the Regnum Christi Federation since 2014.