Pope Leo XIV Tells Religious "As baptized Christians, we all share in the priesthood of Christ and his prophetic mission; therefore, the entire community is jointly responsible for evangelization" FULL TEXT + Video

At 4.15 pm, the Holy Father Leo XIV left the Episcopal House and traveled by car to the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace for the meeting, at 4.30 pm, with the Bishops, Priests, Men and Women Religious, Seminarians, Synod Teams and Pastoral Councils. Upon his arrival, the Pope was greeted by the Rector, Father José Antonio Jacinto Fiestas, and together they crossed the square in front of the Shrine. He then entered the Shrine for a brief moment of reflection before the Blessed Sacrament, during which the Golden Rose was presented. He then proceeded to the stage set up outside for the meeting. After words of welcome from the Bishop of Chiclayo, His Excellency Monsignor Edinson Edgardo Farfán Córdova, and testimonies from a priest, a nun from the Archdiocese of Trujillo, and a lay woman from the Archdiocese of Piura, the Holy Father delivered his address. The meeting concluded with the recitation of the Lord's Prayer, the blessing, and the presentation of a gift to the Pontiff. Afterwards, Pope Leo XIV greeted a group and blessed a liturgical bell made in France on the occasion of the Apostolic Visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Saint Joseph. At the end, the Holy Father got into his car and traveled to the Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo Catholic University for the meeting with the University World.

FULL TEXT ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Peace (Chiclayo)
Friday, November 13, 2026
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Good afternoon everyone! Thank you for this welcome!

I thank Monsignor Edinson for the words he has addressed to me on behalf of everyone, as well as for the testimonies we have heard.

My warmest greetings to all present: priests, deacons, religious men and women, seminarians, synodal teams, pastoral councils, and all our brothers and sisters from the parishes of the Diocese of Chiclayo and from various regions of Peru. I believe some have also come from Ecuador. Welcome! Welcome to this gathering. Thank you for your presence in this sanctuary dedicated to Mary, our Mother, under the title of Our Lady of Peace.

Dear brothers and sisters, as I come among you today as the Successor of the Apostle Saint Peter, I feel even more strongly the bond that unites us in Christ and in his Body, which is the Church, a mystery of communion, the People of God journeying through history. You yourselves represent so well the richness of this People, in the variety of charisms and ministries. One integral dimension of the Church, promoted with great enthusiasm by Pope Francis , is synodality, which means walking together, listening, discerning, and participating co-responsibly in the mission. So we ask ourselves: how can we be a more synodal and missionary Church?

At the heart of it all is our bond with Christ, rooted in Baptism. We all know that the foundation of Christian identity is Baptism. Through it, we were incorporated into Christ, made children of God, members of the Catholic Church, and sharers in his mission. Before any service, office, profession, or ministry, we are baptized. Our primary identity is that of sons and daughters of God and members of his People. As baptized Christians, we all share in the priesthood of Christ and his prophetic mission; therefore, the entire community is jointly responsible for evangelization. Baptism is a permanent vocation to listen to the Word, celebrate the faith, live charity, participate in the community, proclaim the Gospel, and serve especially the poor and excluded.

The first witness that Christian communities must give is fraternal love among their members, a reflection of the Holy Trinity (cf. Jn 13:34-35; 17:22-23). ​​There is no mission without communion.

The communion of the Church, which makes her a sign and instrument of union with God and of the unity of humankind (cf. Second Vatican Council , Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium , 1), is not uniformity. Authentic communion values ​​the diversity of cultures, vocations, charisms, and ministries as a richness and promotes them. In this vein, authority within the Church must be exercised as service, discernment, and appreciation of charisms and initiatives, since the participation of the laity is not a concession but an expression of their baptismal dignity. A synodal Church, moreover, shares the joys, hopes, sorrows, and anxieties of humanity, especially the poor and suffering, as the Second Vatican Council teaches (cf. Second Vatican Council , Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes , 1). Listening to social and cultural realities, defending human dignity, accompanying families, young people, migrants, indigenous peoples, people in situations of poverty, and committing to justice, peace, and the common good are not optional tasks; they are demands of our ecclesial mission.

“Synodality” expresses the idea of ​​walking together. It is a constitutive dimension of the Church, revealing the People of God on their journey and the assembly called together by the Risen Lord. Brothers and sisters, I encourage you to discover more and more the beauty of being synodal communities. And how? By each of you offering your own contribution, like living stones in a spiritual building (cf. 1 Pet 2:4-5), according to the various vocations and the many gifts and ministries enlivened by the one Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 12:1-31).

This requires a spirituality grounded in prayer, listening to the Word, participation in Holy Mass, Eucharistic adoration, fraternal dialogue, and communal discernment. It is a communal and pastoral lifestyle that must be internalized so that it can be put into practice coherently. Indeed, it is easy to talk about synodality, but putting it into practice is a challenge and requires everyone to examine their attitudes and behaviors, beginning with the pastors, the primary servants of the community.

For dioceses and parishes to adopt this synodal style of communion, participation, and mission, it is worthwhile to revitalize the role of pastoral councils, in which some of you here present are involved. Although your vote is consultative, your ecclesial importance is great: you help to listen to the community, to understand the reality, to discern priorities, and to formulate more appropriate responses. Therefore, I urge you to ensure that every community has its own pastoral council, whose members are also committed to receiving adequate formation.

Dear friends, I would like to express my gratitude to each of you for your generous dedication to the cause of the Gospel. I encourage you to persevere in this endeavor. May Our Lady of Peace bless your efforts to establish the Kingdom of God in this northern land and bear much fruit for the glory of God and the good of souls. Thank you very much.

Now let us enter again into the spirit of prayer, so important in our lives.

Whether we are bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, or lay people, we must live this dimension of prayer to remain always united to Christ. Therefore, let us pray together with the words that Jesus himself taught us.

Source: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2026/11/13/0913/01683.html