Pope Leo XIV says "the Church impels us to proclaim the love of God...I urge all of you to keep the flame of this love alive" FULL TEXT Homily

At 10.25 am (4.25 pm Rome time), the Holy Father left the Archbishop's Palace and walked to the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist for the 10.30 am celebration of Midday Prayer with the Bishops, Priests, Men and Women Religious, Seminarians, Synod Teams and Pastoral Councils. At the entrance to the Cathedral, the Pope was welcomed by the Archbishop of Lima, His Eminence Cardinal Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasoglio, and by Monsignor Víctor Solís Alfageme, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Lima and Dean of the Metropolitan Chapter of the Cathedral of Lima. The Pontiff then crossed the central nave and took his place at the altar for the celebration. After the words of welcome from the Cardinal Archbishop of Lima, the celebration of Midday Prayer began, during which the Holy Father delivered his homily. At the end, Pope Leo XIV crossed the central nave and walked to the Plaza de Armas for the meeting on the Challenges and Hopes for the Future of the Peruvian People.

FULL TEXT HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV

Cathedral Basilica of St John the Apostle and Evangelist (Lima)
Thursday, 12 November 2026

[Multimedia]

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Dear Bishops, priests,
Consecrated men and women, seminarians,
Members of the pastoral councils and synodal teams,
Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,

It is a great joy for me to be once again on Peruvian soil, close to this Church which is so dear to me. I come as a father and brother in the faith, as a shepherd who loves his flock.

I first came to Peru many years ago, sent to serve the People of God and build up his Kingdom, and to promote peace through justice, with particular concern for the weakest. I return today to encourage you to continue the work of spreading the Gospel, attentive to people’s lives and needs. With this in mind, I would like us to reflect together on certain attitudes that are important for being the Church and for building a civilization of love truly grounded on the common good. The brief reading we have just heard, from the First Letter of Saint John, will guide our reflection (cf. 1 Jn 3:23-24).

The first idea it offers us is the invitation to believe “in the name of his Son Jesus Christ” (v. 23), that is, to look to him as the one foundation on which to build our temple of living stones (cf. Eph 2:19-22). Christ is the Light, the Word and the Bread, and the Church grows wherever people live united with one another through communion with him. This is confirmed by the constant search for God that has characterized the lives of countless saints, such as the bishop, Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo, a tireless, enterprising and creative apostle, a courageous defender of the poor and a generous shepherd, ready to pour himself out for his flock. If, however, we wish to reach the source of such energy and enthusiasm, we must look to his intimate relationship with the Lord. In following him even to the cross, Turibius found the meaning, the guiding principle and the strength of his entire mission. This is where we too must find inspiration for serving the community, learning to read our history in the light of the Paschal Mystery. By contemplating the crucified and risen One, the Lord of Miracles, we will find a sure guide for our journey in the “signs” of his goodness.

The second value I would like to recall is reconciliation. In his letter, John says that it is God’s will that “we love one another, just as he has commanded us” (1 Jn 3:23). Peru has great need of this. It needs a Church that sows love, capable of building bridges where others raise walls, capable of listening, healing and forgiving and, at the same time, ready to acknowledge its own infidelities and humbly ask forgiveness, accepting responsibility for the wounds it has caused both within the community and around it. Peru needs a Church that, clinging to the Cross, also knows how to face conflicts with charity and courage, confident that in Christ it is always possible to begin again and find unity. For, as Saint Paul says, all this is not our work alone, but “is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18).

Only in this way will we be, in an expression especially dear to Pope Francis, true peacemakers (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 225). And this is the third point on which I would like to reflect. You have often heard me speak of the need to promote throughout the world “a peace that is unarmed and disarming” (Message for the 59th World Day of Peace, 1 January 2026). This is a genuine and urgent need, to which we must respond by cultivating, in every circumstance and day after day, the values of dialogue and fraternity, while avoiding every form of polarization that causes division. Peace always begins “here and now” and depends on how we behave, how we look at one another, how we respect one another and how we listen to one another. If we wish to spread peace, we must first safeguard and nurture it before God, within ourselves and among those dear to us, and then spread it in our communities and in the various spheres of social and political life.

In this way, we will become authentic builders of that communion which the family of the baptized is called to embody, so as to become ever more, in Christ, “a sign and instrument… of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race” (Lumen Gentium, 1). For Christians, unity is a dimension of existence that cannot be renounced, and that requires a continual conversion of heart, both personally and communally. Through grace, Baptism makes us members of the one Body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 12:12-13), but it is up to us, in the dignity of our freedom, to accept or reject each day the gift we have been given. In this regard, at the Last Supper Jesus expressed the Father’s desire: “that they may all be one… so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21).

The question, then, is how to act and make our being one visible, using every appropriate means and even turning our differences and wounds into opportunities to grow together in mutual esteem and forgiveness. Communion is neither complete homogeneity nor necessarily immediate consensus. Rather, it is a space in which different voices, with the help of the Spirit and under the guidance of the pastors, learn to blend without being drowned out, thereby creating harmony. This requires us to listen openly even to what does not accord with our own perception, to welcome another person’s pain without judging it and to allow ourselves to be touched by that person’s story. Only in this way can a co-responsibility take shape in our communities which makes each of us a prophet of the Good News.

And this brings us to the final aspect of our reflection: mission. “The Church… is by its very nature missionary” (Ad Gentes, 2); by its very constitution, the Church impels us to proclaim the love of God which she has received and in which she believes (cf. 1 Jn 4:16). Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, I urge all of you to keep the flame of this love alive, so as to bear credible and joyful witness, each according to your vocation: bishops, by recognizing as shepherds the voice of God speaking through the life of the flock, especially by listening to priests and remaining close to them; priests, by cultivating an intense love for Christ, fidelity and obedience to the Church, and accompaniment of the brothers and sisters entrusted to your care; consecrated men and women, by daily renewing the profession of your “yes” through a truly evangelical life and asking the Holy Spirit for the grace to be “born from above” (cf. Jn 3:3); seminarians, by cultivating the beauty and freshness of your calling, keeping your relationship with Jesus alive and caring for your interior life. And now, to you, lay members of the pastoral councils and synodal teams, I ask you to remain committed to the work you have begun. The Church needs you, your contribution and your faith.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us all unite, today and always, in the great symphony of communion whose conductor is Christ. Let us sing of the Father’s love as we advance together, with hearts united and open to grace, and faithful to the commandment we have received: “that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another” (1 Jn 3:23). May this indeed be so, through the grace of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Mary, our Mother.
Source: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2026/11/12/0906/01674.html