Pope Leo XIV at Mass with 2.5 Million says Amid Hardships "God is our refuge" and Urges Families to Go to Mass and Pray Daily - FULL TEXT Homily in Argentina

At 10.00 am (2.00 pm Rome time), Pope Leo XIV left the Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione de Claypole and moved by car to the Monumento de los Españoles .
Upon arriving, the Pontiff toured the faithful in an open car and at 11:39 a.m. (3:39 p.m. Rome time) presided over the Eucharistic Celebration. According to local authorities, approximately 2.5 million faithful attended the Holy Mass.
At the end of the Holy Mass, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, His Excellency Monsignor Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, addressed a few words of greeting to the Holy Father.
FULL TEXT homily that Pope Leo XIV delivered during the Eucharistic Celebration after the proclamation of the Gospel:
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV
“Monumento de los Españoles” (Buenos Aires)
Monday, 9 November 2026
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Dear brothers and sisters,

It fills my heart with joy to celebrate this Holy Eucharist with you. “Come, behold the works of the Lord” (Ps 46:8), the psalmist invites us today. My visit to this land of Argentina has allowed me to see on your faces the enthusiasm of your faith, that great gift of the Holy Spirit within us. The most beautiful work the Lord has entrusted to us is his Church, made visible whenever the people of God gather around the same table to give him thanks.

The Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, which we celebrate today, brings us to the heart of what it means to be the Church. The Basilica of Saint John Lateran is the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, and as such is a sign of unity and communion for all the Churches throughout the world. For this very reason, it is called the “Mother of all Churches.”

The motherhood of the Church of Rome finds expression in her service of communion, so that all the baptized may recognize one another as brothers and sisters in one household. In the Church, we are all welcomed as “members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (Eph 2:19-21).

It is precisely the image of the temple that brings together the readings we have heard.

In this regard, the Gospel recounts a striking gesture by the Lord: Jesus drives the merchants out of the temple with a whip made of cords (cf. Jn 2:15). In doing so, he seeks to restore the Father’s house to its true purpose. Humanity has always been tempted to “bargain” with God. This is the pagan mentality of giving in order to receive — the illusion that we can win God’s favor by offering him something of our own in return. Christ uproots this way of thinking, for God is Father, always ready to give us every good thing. In this way, the temple, the dwelling place of his presence, becomes once again a house of prayer for all his children.

From this house, according to the vision of the prophet Ezekiel, a river flows beneath the threshold towards the east (cf. Ez 47:1). This image is rich in meaning: its waters purify everything they touch, bringing creation to life and making every kind of tree flourish with fruit that never fails. The waters flow toward the region of the Arabah. With this detail, the biblical text is referring to the desert region that descends towards the great Dead Sea depression, where nothing grows, as its name suggests. Yet these waters are made wholesome: fish abound, and every living creature comes to life again. Where there was death, now there is life; where there was sickness, now there is health; where there was barrenness, now there is fruitfulness.

The Psalm describes the earth shaking and mountains trembling in the depths of the sea. These images reflect the fragility and chaos that we so often encounter in human experience. Our families often face difficult circumstances: instability, social hardship, precarious employment, domestic violence, painful separations and addictions that destroy young people’s futures and damage family relationships. Amid all these hardships and crises, God’s word shines out as a source of hope: God is in our midst; we need not be afraid. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps 46:1). On the rock that is Christ, our families and society as a whole find the foundation that sustains the house and protects it from the storms that beat against it (cf. Mt 7:24-27).

As we celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica today, we call to mind the sign of God the Father’s saving presence in his Church. The Church, temple of the Spirit and mystical Body of Christ, offers us the living water that is Jesus himself, who cleanses and heals our wounds (cf. Jn 4:14). In the Lord’s presence, within his house, our families likewise find strength and healing, and never cease to bear fruit.

Dear brothers and sisters, through his resurrection, Christ has already made room for us in his heart. Welcome this grace into your families! With him and in him, every family can become a seed of genuine renewal for this country. Throughout Argentina’s history, culture and society, the family has been a source of the fundamental values of its people. In this land, where different cultures and ethnic groups have come together, the family is the place where faith, human virtues, a culture of work, respect for the elderly, the defense of life and fidelity to one’s word are handed on. Do not give in to those who dismiss the Christian family as outdated. On the contrary, today more than ever, it remains a pillar amid the many insecurities of our time.

Open the doors of your homes to Christ! Speak naturally to your children about Jesus, and remain united to him. In the intimacy of the home, faith is passed on along with life itself, through the simplest gestures: a blessing before meals, a prayer before going to bed, forgiveness and mutual listening, grandparents teaching their grandchildren to pray, going to Mass on Sundays, and preparing for a retreat or a pilgrimage. Indeed, the family is a privileged place for coming to know and encounter Christ. Our beloved Pope Francis, who was Bishop of this city, expressed with great conviction that “the family is called to join in daily prayer, to read the word of God and to share in Eucharistic communion, and thus to grow in love and become ever more fully a temple in which the Spirit dwells” (Amoris Laetitia, 29).

Dear families, I encourage you to take a leading role in evangelization! The Church in Argentina needs you. Support the bishops, parish priests, pastoral workers and catechists in their mission. This Church is renewed and filled with enthusiasm when families, animated by faith, pray together and live out their ministry of proclaiming the Good News. In this way, your families bear fruit anew as you fulfill your educational mission “as a true ministry through which the Gospel is transmitted and radiated, so that family life itself becomes an itinerary of faith and in some way a Christian initiation and a school of following Christ” (Saint John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 39).

We entrust all our families to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Luján, and to her spouse, Saint Joseph. In the Holy Family of Nazareth, the Son of God found a home in this world. May he bless us, so that our homes, too, may become temples of his presence.

Source: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2026/11/09/0890/01650.html