Vatican City, May 25, 2025 / 09:10 am (CNA).
In his first Regina Caeli from the window of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Leo XIV thanked the faithful for the affection they have shown him while also asking them — as his predecessor Francis often did — to pray for him.
“Just a few days ago, I began my ministry among you, and above all, I wish to thank you for the affection you are showing me; at the same time, I ask you to sustain me with your prayer and closeness,” exclaimed the pontiff, who until this Sunday had prayed the Marian prayer from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Thousands had gathered in St. Peter’s Square, waving flags from various countries and holding signs that read “Long live Pope Leo XIV!”
In his address, the pope acknowledged that “in everything the Lord calls us to — in life and in faith — we sometimes feel inadequate.”
However, in light of this Sunday’s Gospel, he insisted that we must not focus on our own strength “but rather on the mercy of the Lord who has chosen us, confident that the Holy Spirit guides us and teaches us everything.”
He added: “It is beautiful that, when we consider our calling, the responsibilities and people entrusted to us, the commitments we take on, and our service in the Church, each one of us can confidently say: Although I am fragile, the Lord is not ashamed of my humanity; on the contrary, he comes to dwell within me.”
God reveals himself especially in the small
Pope Leo XIV also reflected on the apostles’ fear on the eve of the Master’s death: “They were troubled and anxious, wondering how they could be successors and witnesses of the kingdom of God.” But when Jesus appeared to them, he promised the gift of the Holy Spirit with these marvelous words: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him; we will come to him and make our home with him,” he noted.
“In this way, Jesus frees the disciples from all anxiety and fear and can say to them: Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid,” he said.
He went on to explain: “If we remain in his love, he himself dwells in us — our lives become a temple of God. His love enlightens us, it begins to shape how we think and make decisions, and it reaches others, illuminating every area of our lives.”
He emphasized that God “reveals himself especially in the small, the poor, and those who suffer, asking us to be attentive and compassionate Christians.”
He also urged the faithful to carry God’s love “everywhere,” entrusting this mission to the intercession of the Virgin Mary. “He accompanies me with His Spirit, enlightens me, and makes me an instrument of his love — for others, for society, and for the world. Dear friends, on the foundation of this promise, let us walk in the joy of faith, to be a holy temple of the Lord,” he said.
As has become his custom, rather than recite the Regina Caeli — the prayer that replaces the Angelus during Eastertide — Pope Leo XIV chose to sing it.
Father Streich’s ministry ‘enraged followers of communist ideology’
After praying the Regina Caeli, Pope Leo XIV remembered with emotion the Polish priest Stanisław Streich, who was beatified Saturday in Poznań, Poland, in a ceremony led by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
On Feb. 27, 1938, during a Sunday Mass for children, Streich was shot and killed by a communist activist during the consecration of the Eucharist. Witnesses say the assailant fired several times and then shouted from the pulpit: “Long live communism!” The Vatican recognized the act as martyrdom “in hatred of the faith” (“in odium fidei”), paving the way for his beatification.
The pope emphasized that “his work on behalf of the poor and workers enraged followers of communist ideology.” Inspired by his witness, the pontiff called on priests in particular to give themselves generously for the Gospel and their brothers and sisters.
Pope Leo XIV also noted the Day of Prayer for the Church in China, observed every May 24, which coincides with the liturgical memorial of Mary Help of Christians, especially venerated at the Shrine of Sheshan near Shanghai.
Instituted by Benedict XVI, the day sees “prayers rise to God in churches and shrines across China and the world, as a sign of affection for Chinese Catholics and of their communion with the universal Church,” the pope said. He prayed that the Virgin Mary “may obtain for them and for us the grace to be strong and joyful witnesses of the Gospel, even in trials, always promoting peace and harmony.”
Finally, Pope Leo remembered “all peoples suffering because of war” and praised the “courage and perseverance” of those committed to “dialogue and the sincere search for peace.”
Laudato Si’ at 10 years
Marking the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si’, the encyclical signed by Pope Francis on May 24, 2015, Pope Leo XIV recalled its global impact: “It has spread widely, inspiring countless initiatives and teaching us all to hear the dual cry of the earth and the poor.”
He expressed gratitude to those who continue to carry its legacy forward, including the Laudato Si’ Movement.
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We read that “Pope Leo XIV also noted the Day of Prayer for the Church in China…”
Prior to the ongoing and secret “Provisional Agreement” with China in 2018 (and which was opposed by Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong and reportedly influenced by the late Mr. McCarrick), Pope Benedict addressed a Letter in 2007 to all of the Church in China. Part of which reads:
“The Church, by reason of her role and competence, is not identified with any political community nor is she tied to any political system. She is at once the sign and the safeguard of the transcendental dimension of the human person” (Letter, n.4, citing Gaudium et Spes, n. 76). https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/letters/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20070527_china.html
In FUTURE years and hopefully decades under the Augustinian Pope Leo XIV, the (not merely provisional) “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic” Church (Letter, n. 5) is challenged in three equal and big-picture ways:
First, to do better by the Church in China; second, to re-evangelize the hyper-secularist West (notably der Synodal Weg) where separation of the interrelated Church and State is somewhat intact; and third, to exercise a more robust engagement with Islam which concedes only a provisional (!) distinction between Mosque and State. (Indeed, Islam faults the pre-Constantinian era as imposing only historically a distinction which is believed to be false and even blasphemous.).
St. Augustine had much to offer in his foundational “City of God”…BUT, about the actual terrain ever in front of us, he offers little:
“Midway between the two cities [love of God and love of the World], of which one is the negation of the other, there is situated a neutral zone where the men of our day hope to construct a third city, which would be temporal like the earthly city, yet just in a temporal way, that is striving toward a temporal justice obtainable by appropriate means. Such an idea seems never to have occurred to St. Augustine; at least he never spoke of it” (Vernon Bourke, Introduction to The City of God, Image 1958).