SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD59thWORLD DAY FOR PEACE St Peter's SquareThursday, 1stJanuary 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, happy New Year! While the rhythm of passing months repeats itself, the Lord invites us to renew our times by finally ushering in an era of peace and friendship among all peoples. Without this desire for the good, there would be no point in turning the pages of the calendar and filling our diaries. The Jubilee, which is about to end, has taught us how to cultivate hope for a new world. We do this by converting our hearts to God, s…

Saint Peter's SquareWednesday, 3 June 2026 Catechesis. The Documents of the Second Vatican Council. III. Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium.3. Rite, sign and symbol As we continue our catechesis on the Conciliar ConstitutionSacrosanctum Concilium(SC), we wish to pause and reflect on some of the fundamental elements of the sacred liturgy, such as the rite, the sign and the symbol. The Second Vatican Council, building on the valuable work of the Liturgical Movement, has helped us to rediscover a truth that was very much alive in the consciousness of the early Church and in the teaching of th…

St Peter's Square2nd Sunday in the Season of Christmas, 4 January 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! On this Second Sunday after theNativity of the Lord, I wish first to renew my good wishes to all of you. The day after tomorrow,with the closing of the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica, we will conclude theJubilee of Hope. The very mystery of Christmas, in which we are still immersed, reminds us that the foundation of our hope is God’s Incarnation. The Prologue of John, which the Liturgy sets before us today, recalls this clearly: “The …

SOLEMNITY OF THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD Central Loggia of the Vatican BasilicaTuesday, 6 January 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, good afternoon! During this holy season we have celebrated several feast days. Today’sSolemnity of the Epiphany, as its name suggests, shows us what makes joy possible even in difficult times. As you know, the word “epiphany” means “manifestation,” and our joy indeed comes from a Mystery that is no longer hidden. The life of God has been revealed in many times and in different ways, yet with definitive clarity in Jesus,…

FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD St Peter's SquareSunday, 11 January 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! The feast of the Baptism of Jesus, which we celebrate today, anticipates the beginning of Ordinary Time. This liturgical season will invite us to follow the Lord together, to listen to his Word and to imitate his gestures of love towards others. In doing so, we confirm and renew our Baptism, the sacrament that makes us Christians, freeing us from sin and transforming us into children of God through the power of his Spirit of life. Today’s…

St Peter's SquareSunday, 18 January 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! Today’s Gospel reading (cf.Jn1:29-34) speaks to us about John the Baptist, who recognized Jesus as the Lamb of God, the Messiah, proclaiming: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (v. 29). He adds: “I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel” (v. 31). John recognized Jesus as the Savior; he proclaimed Jesus’ divinity and mission to the people of Israel and then stepped aside, having completed his task, as his words…

St Peter's SquareSunday, 25 January 2026 ___________________________________ Brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! After his baptism, Jesus began his preaching and called his first disciples: Simon, who is called Peter, his brother Andrew, and James and John (cf.Mt4:12-22). Reflecting more closely on this scene from today’s Gospel, we can ask ourselves two questions. The first concerns thetimingof Jesus’ mission, and the second regards theplacehe chose to preach and to call his apostles. We may ask:Whendid he begin? Andwheredid he begin? First of all, the Gospel tells us that Jesus began…

St Peter's SquareSunday, 1stFebruary 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! Today’s liturgy proclaims a beautiful passage from the Good News that Jesus announces to all humanity: the Gospel of the Beatitudes (Mt5:1-12). These are, in fact, lights that the Lord kindles in the darkness of history, revealing the plan of salvation that the Father accomplishes through the Son, with the power of the Holy Spirit. On the mountain, Christ gives his disciples the new law, no longer written on stone. It is a law that renews our lives and makes them good, e…

St Peter's SquareSunday, 8February 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! After proclaiming the Beatitudes, Jesus addresses those who put them into practice, saying that thanks to them the earth is no longer the same and the world is no longer in darkness. “You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world” (Mt5:13-14). Indeed, it is genuine joy that gives flavor to life and brings to light something that was not there before. This joy springs from a way of life, a way of inhabiting the earth and of living together that must be de…

St Peter's SquareSunday, 15February 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! Today we hear a part of the Gospel passage of the “Sermon on the Mount” (cf.Mt5:17-37). After having proclaimed the Beatitudes, Jesus invites us to enter into the newness of the Kingdom of God. In order to guide us on this journey, he reveals the true meaning of the precepts of the Law of Moses. They are not meant to satisfy an external religious need of feeling “righteous” before God, but to bring us into a relationship of love with God and with our brothers and sis…

St Peter's Square1stSunday of Lent, 22February 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! Today, on the First Sunday of Lent, the Gospel tells us about Jesus who, led by the Spirit, enters the desert and is tempted by the devil (cf.Mt4:1–11). After fasting for forty days, he feels the weight of his humanity: physically, through hunger, and morally, through the devil’s temptations. In this, he experiences the same struggle we all face on our journey. By resisting the evil one, he demonstrates how we, too, can overcome the devil’s deception and sna…

St Peter's SquareSunday, 1stMarch 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! Today’s Gospel paints a radiant picture for all of us as it recounts the Transfiguration of the Lord (cf.Mt17:1-9). In this depiction, the Evangelist draws on the Apostles’ memories, portraying Christ between Moses and Elijah. The Word made flesh stands between the Law and the Prophecy: he is living Wisdom, who brings every divine word to fulfillment. Everything that God has commanded to and inspired in human beings finds its full and definitive expression in Jesus. Just …

St Peter's SquareSunday, 8 March 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! Since the first centuries of the Church’s history, the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, the healing of the man born blind and the resurrection of Lazarus illuminate the path of those who, at Easter, will receive Baptism and begin a new life. These great Gospel passages, which we read beginning this Sunday, are intended for the catechumens to help them on their journey to become Christians. At the same time, these passages are heard once again by the entire comm…

St Peter's SquareSunday, 15 March 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! The Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent narrates the healing of a man blind from birth (cf.Jn9:1–41). Through the symbolism of this account, John the Evangelist speaks to us of the mystery of salvation: while we were in darkness, while humanity walked in gloom (cf.Is9:2), God sent his Son as the light of the world, to open the eyes of the blind and illuminate our lives. The prophets had announced that the Messiah would open the eyes of the blind (cf.Is29:18; 35:5;P…

St. Peter's SquareSunday, 22 March 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, the liturgy proclaims the Gospel of the raising of Lazarus (cf.Jn11:1-45). In the Lenten journey, this is a sign that speaks of Christ’s victory over death and of the gift of eternal life, which we receive through Baptism (cf.Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1265). Today Jesus also says to us, as he did to Martha, Lazarus’s sister: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone …

St Peter's SquareSunday, 12 April 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday and happy Easter once again! Today, on the Second Sunday of Easter, dedicated to Divine Mercy by Saint John Paul II, the Gospel recounts the appearance of the risen Jesus to the Apostle Thomas (cf.Jn20:19–31).  This event took place eight days after Easter, while the community was gathered together.  There, Thomas encountered the Master, who invited him to look at the marks of the nails and to put his hand into the wound in his side, and to believe (cf. v. 27).  This scene in…

St. Peter's SquareEaster Monday, 6 April 2026 ___________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is risen! Happy Easter! This greeting, filled with wonder and joy, will accompany us throughout this week. As we celebrate the new day the Lord has made for us, the liturgy proclaims the entry of all creation into the time of salvation: in the name of Jesus, the despair of death is swept away forever. Today’s Gospel (Mt28:8–15) calls us to choose between two accounts: that of the women who encountered the risen Lord (vv. 9–11), and that of the guards who were bribed by …

St Peter's SquarePalm Sunday, 29 March 2026 ___________________________________ At the beginning ofHoly Week, our prayers are more than ever with the Christians of the Middle East, who are suffering the consequences of a brutal conflict and, in many cases, are unable to observe fully the liturgies of these holy days. Just as the Church contemplates the mystery of the Lord’s Passion, we cannot forget those who today are truly sharing in his suffering. Their ordeal challenges all our consciences. Let us raise our prayer to the Prince of Peace that he may sustain the peoples wounded by war an…

St Peter's Square4th Sunday of Easter, 26 April 2026 ___________________________________ Brothers and sisters, good afternoon and happy Sunday! As we continue our journey through the Easter season, today’s Gospel presents us with Jesus’ comparison of himself to a shepherd and also to the gate of the sheepfold (cf.Jn10:1–10). Jesus draws a contrast between the shepherd and the thief. Indeed, he says that “anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit” (v. 1). He goes on to make this even clearer: “The thief comes only to…

APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF POPE LEO XIVTO ALGERIA, CAMEROON, ANGOLA AND EQUATORIAL GUINEA(13–23 April 2026) Kilamba (Angola)Sunday, 19 April 2026 ___________________________________ We will now join in prayer to Mary,Regina Caeli, Queen of Heaven, sharing with her – our Mother and companion on our journey – the joy of the Resurrection. With this joyful song, we do not wish to erase or stifle the cries of those who suffer, but instead to embrace and unite them with our own voices in a new harmony, so that even in pain the light of faith may remain alive, and with it, hope for a better world…