«The past year was certainly marked by important events: some happy ones, such as the pilgrimage of many faithful on the occasion of the Holy Year; others painful, such as the passing of the late Pope Francis and the war scenarios that continue to shock the planet. At its conclusion, the Church invites us to put everything before the Lord, entrusting ourselves to his Providence and asking him that the wonders of his grace and mercy may be renewed, in us and around us, in the days to come.”
It is the “budget” of Pope Leo XIV in the catechesis of the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, the last one in 2025, which will go down in history as the year of the Jubilee and of the two Popes: Francis who opened it and Leo who will officially conclude it next January 6th with the closing of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.
«It is in this dynamic that the tradition of the solemn song of the Te Deum, with which this evening we will thank the Lord for the benefits received”, said the Pontiff who on Wednesday evening in St. Peter’s Basilica presides over the end-of-year rites with the First Vespers of the Solemnity of Mary Most Holy Mother of God and, indeed, the singing of the Te Deum, “and it is with these attitudes that today we are called to meditate on what the Lord has done for us in the past year, as well as to make an honest examination of conscience, to evaluate our response to his gifts and ask forgiveness for all the moments in which we were unable to capitalize on his inspirations and best invest the talents he entrusted to us.”
The Pontiff also invited «to reflect on another great sign that has accompanied us in recent months: that of the journey and the goal. Many pilgrims have come this year from all over the world to pray at Peter’s Tomb and to confirm their adherence to Christ.” According to Pope Leo, «this reminds us that our whole life is a journey, whose ultimate destination transcends space and time, to be fulfilled in the encounter with God and in full and eternal communion with Him. A third sign is framed in this eschatological light of encounter between the finite and the infinite: the passage of the Holy Door, which many of us did, praying and begging for indulgence for ourselves and our loved ones» added the Pope, concluding also in view of the closing of the Holy Year on January 6th: «It is our “yes” to a life lived with commitment in the present and oriented towards eternity».
The Pope then recalled that «we meditate on these signs in the light of Christmas». Saint Leo the Great, he further recalled, «saw in the feast of the Birth of Jesus the announcement of a joy that is for everyone: “Let the saint rejoice – he exclaimed – because he is approaching the prize; let the sinner rejoice, because forgiveness is offered to him; let the pagan take courage, because he is called to life”. His invitation today is addressed to all of us, saints by baptism, because God has become our companion on the journey towards true Life”, the papal exhortation: “To us sinners, because, forgiven, with his grace we can get up and get back on the road; finally to us, poor and fragile, because the Lord, making our weakness his own, has redeemed it and has shown us its beauty and strength in his perfect humanity”.
“God is love”. The Pope concluded his catechesis by quoting the words with which Saint Paul VI, at the end of the Jubilee of 1975described its fundamental message: «it, he said, is contained in one word: ‘love’. And he added: “God is Love!” This is the ineffable revelation, of which the Jubilee, with its pedagogy, with its indulgence, with its forgiveness and finally with its peace, full of tears and joy, he wanted to fill our spirit today, and always our life tomorrow: God is Love! God loves me! God was waiting for me and I found him! God is mercy! God is forgiveness! God is salvation! God, yes, God is life!’. May these thoughts accompany us in the transition between the old and the new year, and then always, in our lives.”
After the catechesis of the general audience, Pope Leo XIV also greeted the 35 young Palestinians, of Catholic religion, present in St. Peter’s Square and belonging to a group that left from Jerusalem and some villages in the West Bank, arrived in Italy on 28 December thanks to a twinning initiated by the Jesuit father Massimo Nevola, spiritual assistant of the Communities of Christian Life (Cvx) in Italy. During the greetings in English, the Pontiff mentioned among others the pilgrims coming “from Palestine”, while during the greeting to the Arabic-speaking faithful he remembered “in particular the young people of the Holy Land, coming from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem”. Accompanying the Palestinian boys and girls, Fr Elias Tabban, parish priest of Zababdeh, a village near Jenin, and the Franciscan Johnny Jallouf, parish priest in Beit Hanina, East Jerusalem. During their visits to various places in Rome, two days ago the young people from Palestine also had the opportunity to greet the President of the Republic at the Quirinale Sergio Mattarella.
Even for the last general audience of the year, thousands of faithful were present in the Square and the Pope greeted them before the catechesis as he passed between the sectors on board the Popemobile.
During this year, after the election last May 8, they have been in everything 1,069,000 faithful participated in the 36 general and jubilee audiences of Pope Leo XIV, according to data from the Prefecture of the Papal Household. Previously, in the months of January and February alone, there were 60,500 participants in the eight general and jubilee audiences of Pope Francis, before the Pontiff’s illness and his death on April 21st.
