General Audiences

Pope at Audience: Let’s imitate St. Joseph’s holy example and faith

29/01/2025

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today we will continue to contemplate Jesus our hope in the mystery of His origins, as narrated by the infancy Gospels.

Whereas Luke lets us do so from the perspective of the mother, the Virgin Mary, instead Matthew takes the perspective of Joseph, the man who assumes the legal paternity of Jesus, grafting him onto the trunk of Jesse and linking him to the promise made to David… Read more »

Pope at Audience: Mary’s service reveals depths of hope in God

22/01/2025

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today we will resume the catecheses of the Jubilee cycle on Jesus Christ our hope.

At the beginning of his Gospel, Luke shows the effects of the transforming power of the Word of God, which reaches not only the halls of the Temple, but also the poor dwelling of a young woman, Mary, who, betrothed to Joseph, still lives with her family… Read more »

Pope at Audience: We must protect all little ones and never tolerate abuse

15/01/2025

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

In the last audience we spoke about children, and today too we will talk about children. Last week we focused on how, in his work, Jesus repeatedly spoke of the importance of protecting, welcoming and loving the little ones.

Yet, even today in the world, hundreds of millions of minors, despite not being of the minimum age to undergo the obligations of adulthood, are forced to work and many of them are exposed to particularly dangerous work; not to mention the boys and girls who are slaves to trafficking for prostitution or pornography, and forced marriages… Read more »

Pope at Audience: Protect childhood and nurture hope

08/01/2025

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

I wish to dedicate this and the next catechesis to children, and to reflect in particular on the scourge of child labour.

Nowadays we want to turn our gaze towards Mars or towards virtual worlds, but we struggle to look in the eyes of a child who has been left at the margins and who is exploited or abused… Read more »

Pope at Audience: “Jesus Christ, our hope”

18/12/2024   Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City

Catechesis of the Holy Father: Cycle – Jubilee 2025. Jesus Christ our hope. 1. The infancy of Jesus – Genealogy of Jesus (Mt 1:1-17). The entry of the Son of God in history

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today we will begin the cycle of catechesis that will continue throughout the Jubilee Year. The theme is “Jesus Christ our Hope”: for He is the aim of our pilgrimage, and He Himself is the way, the path to follow… Read more »

Pope at Audience: May the Spirit help us ‘abound in hope’

11/12/2024   Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

We have arrived at the end of our catecheses on the Holy Spirit and the Church. We will devote this final reflection to the title we gave to the entire cycle, namely: “The Holy Spirit and the Bride. The Holy Spirit guides the People of God towards Jesus our hope”. This title refers to one of the last verses of the Bible, in the Book of Revelation, which says: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come’” (Rev 22:17)… Read more »

Pope at Audience: Homilies should be focused and no longer than 10 minutes

04/12/2024

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

After having reflected on the sanctifying and charismatic action of the Spirit, we will dedicate this catechesis to another aspect: the evangelizing work of the Holy Spirit, that is, on the role of preaching in the Church.

The First Letter of Peter defines the apostles as “those who preached the good news to you [through] the holy Spirit” (cf… Read more »

Pope at Audience: May witness to “joy of the Gospel” bring peace and hope

27/11/2024   Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

After speaking about sanctifying grace and charisms, today I would like to take a look at a third reality linked to the action of the Holy Spirit: the “fruits of the Spirit”. Saint Paul offers a list of them in the Letter to the Galatians. He writes: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (5:22)… Read more »

Pope at Audience: Charisms are gifts of the Spirit for unity and service

20/11/2024

Pope Francis continues his cycle of catechesis and highlights the Holy Spirit’s diverse gifts, or charisms, as vital tools for unity and service in the Church, emphasising their purpose for the common good and their rootedness in love.

As he continued his cycle of catechesis on “The Spirit and the Bride”, Pope Francis opened his reflection during his General Audience on Wednesday, November 20th, by inviting the faithful to reflect on the charisms: the diverse and unique gifts of the Spirit… Read more »

Pope at Audience: Mary takes us by the hand to Jesus

13/11/2024   Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Among the various means by which the Holy Spirit implements His work of sanctification in the Church – the Word of God, the Sacraments, prayer – there is one in entirely particular, and it is  Marian piety. In the Catholic tradition there is this motto, this saying: “ Ad Iesum per Mariam”, that is, “to Jesus by means of Mary”… Read more »