Pope Leo XIV says "the Church acts as a welcoming home for all, generating a new humanity" FULL TEXT to Citizens in Pavia

Pope Leo XIV, in Pavia, Italy, traveled by popemobile to the Cathedral, following the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word and the veneration of the relics of Saint Augustine in the Basilica of Saint Peter in Ciel d'Oro. Many crowded along the barriers to greet him. In the square in front of the Cathedral of Saint Stephen and Saint Mary of the Assumption many young people from Pavia's parishes, oratories, and summer camps shouting: "Papa Leone, Leone, Leone!" Around 1,500 people were happy to see him, especially children, and there was also a representation of the South American community living in Pavia. Many of the children wrote messages to the Pope on white and yellow cards, placed next to the main entrance of the cathedral: "Dear Pope Leo, I love you, I couldn't wait for you to arrive"; "End the war"; "Thank you for everything."

MEETING WITH THE CITIZENS
FULL ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER
Piazza Vittoria (Pavia)
Saturday, June 20, 2026
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Impromptu remarks outside the Duomo

Good evening everyone!
Thank you! Thank you all for being here.
Greetings to Peruvians, to all Latin Americans.
A big hello to all of you!
Long live Pavia! Long live!

We heard a moment ago about the importance of hope and peace. We all want to live in peace. It's crucial that we never lose hope, because as Saint Augustine told us: "If we want to change the times, if we want the world to live in peace, we must begin with ourselves." This means: enough with hateful words, enough with insults, enough with bullying, enough with all those things that wage war between people, between communities, between countries. We must all learn to be peacemakers and promoters of reconciliation.

To all the animators here: thank you for your work, for your service!

And to all the young people: persevere, participate, strive to build authentic friendships, not just friendships made on screens or cell phones. Authentic friendships, in person! Be present! Everyone be present! And so we will find that Jesus truly lives among us. Jesus will be present.

So, thank you all. I bless you and truly encourage you to live your faith, to experience the joy of being disciples of Jesus.

Blessing

May you always be a living community of faith, hope, and love.

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Speech of the Holy Father

Your Excellency,
Mr. Mayor,
Distinguished Authorities,
dear brothers and sisters!

I thank you for your warm welcome and your kind words of welcome. Through the Bishop and the Mayor, Pavia itself presents itself, giving voice to the beauty of your city. It is a demanding beauty, as it represents the precious legacy of a past that becomes a commitment for the present. The city is indeed a gift and a duty for those who live there: from this square we all realize this, seeing how the lives of its citizens are reflected in the surrounding buildings and stones.

We find ourselves among monuments that speak of you , and therefore speak to you . I am referring not only to the ancient ones, but to homes, schools, universities, hospitals, and parish centers. They are all significant places, structures with their own meaning, which testify to hospitality, education, and culture. In their different forms, they attest to the same care for the individual in the community, with their dignity and values, those that unite you as one people and which are also the foundation of the Italian Constitution.

Walking through Pavia's historic center, the streets and squares exude a beauty steeped in history, not superficial. This is a hallmark of European cities: while we recognize the ingenuity and civic spirit of those who built them, we realize how the value of the urban fabric sustains their daily life and the unique role each plays nationally and internationally.

The name "city," from the Latin civitas , indicates not only a place but also a human condition: the city is one for all, both singular and plural. The people who inhabit it constitute a society, that is, an organism that must be well-ordered in its relationships and laws. Being social means being supportive, acting as true partners: motivated by the common good and not by partisan interests. Citizens are always fellow citizens! In fact, the democratic body that cares for the city, promoting the well-being of its inhabitants, is called the "Municipality."

Since the people are responsible for public space, in the face of current challenges, let us ask ourselves what strengthens and what erodes our homes: let us ask ourselves what stabilizes and what harms our society. Otherwise, what belongs to everyone risks becoming no one's: when indifference seems to be disintegrating our community, we must renew everyone's active participation in city life. Faced with forms of degradation and civic illiteracy, we are called to share languages ​​of dedication and service, which preserve squares, parks, and streets as meeting places par excellence. This good citizenship knows how to cultivate harmony through dialogue and constructive encounters between the people and cultures that animate Pavia.

Today I invite each of you to repeat to yourself: I care about our city! I care about the health of those around me, I care about the beauty of the place I live, I care about the quality of life in the places where I work and spend my free time. I care about this fertile plain, where every field and every ditch bears the marks of the patient toil of those who for centuries have listened to the rhythm of creation, feeling in harmony with nature.

Cultivating the land reflects the promotion of culture, which finds a particularly fitting model in Pavia. Recalling your illustrious academic tradition, I think especially of the young people and students who attend the city's university. In this cultural hub, they experience not a mere accumulation of knowledge, but a system capable of shaping individuals without exploiting their work. Promoting the sciences, in fact, means promoting humanity, which must always remain the protagonist of its own research.

From this perspective, every form of knowledge corresponds to a form of care: just as medical science provides for the human body, so jurisprudence concerns itself with the social body, and philosophy considers thought, from which man develops all his arts. Everything we learn about the world helps us understand ourselves and makes us question our existence anew, thirsting for truth and justice. St. Augustine's soul was filled with this thirst, an example of the healthy restlessness that stirs in those who research, those who study, and those who educate. His figure, while embodying the arduous and constant dialogue between faith and reason, testifies to their mutual belonging.

Indeed, one cannot believe without thinking, nor is it possible to illuminate the highest questions of reason without faith. With this trusting openness, human reason questions and plans: it does not lock itself into the logic of profit or domination, but discovers new ways to care for itself and the world. To the extent that it believes, human beings do not resign themselves to the end, to a historical fragment that ends with death: faith itself reminds us that we are not subjects of an anonymous fate, upholding instead the certainty that God is the creator and savior of life.

In this regard, even in the city of Pavia, the Church acts as a welcoming home for all, generating a new humanity. Even today, the city's oldest institution is called to evangelize, first and foremost as a hearth of faith and a house of charity serving the youngest, the poorest, the lonely, or the elderly. This commitment involves all volunteers, to whom I extend my esteem and gratitude, in this care for humanity. Thanks to your commitment, Pavia is prosperous, not only in wealth but also in virtue: always honor the dignity of every human life! The cross, which features in your city's coat of arms, is much more than a heraldic symbol; it is a cultural synthesis: it reminds us that Pavia's history is anchored in the universal value of Christian love; and it is a history to be written together, exercising creative memory in the understanding between citizens and associations, between the Church and public bodies, between generations and cultures.

Dear sisters and brothers, as I invite each of you to give your best for the good of all, I cordially impart my blessing upon you, your homes, and your families. Thank you!

Translation from the Vatican News Bulletin