In St. Peter's Square, during the Sunday Angelus prayer , Pope Leo XIV called for a return to the essentials: the humility that liberates, the peace that builds, and the care of our common home. From the window of the Apostolic Palace, he offered a meditation on the day's Gospel reading and linked his message to concrete situations of suffering in the world, calling for actions that would change daily life.
Commenting on the passage from Luke 14:1, 7-14, the Pope emphasized that sharing a meal is a universal sign of communion, and warned against the “race for positions of power” that also creeps into our relationships. Therefore, he encouraged the Christian community to be a true “workshop of humility ,” where no one competes for positions and everyone learns to serve.
Evangelical reflection: humility and freedom
The Pope invited us to let Jesus “speak” in Sunday Mass and in life: looking at ourselves from his perspective helps us to review priorities that are sometimes disordered by the search for recognition or by sterile comparisons.
Along these lines, he recalled that humility is the fullest form of freedom: “to be free from oneself .” He said that those who exalt themselves reveal insecurity; those who know they are loved by God possess a dignity that shines without strategy and has no need to impose themselves.
Hence his call to build communities where positions are not won and where service takes precedence. In the Pope's words, when we stop taking advantage of situations and learn to serve like Christ , life finds its place.
The Pope also praised the family table and the Eucharist as spaces of peace. Recovering simple gestures of hospitality expands the heart and creates a genuine culture of encounter that brings people closer together.
Culture of encounter: being invited and welcoming
Jesus makes himself approachable and a genuine guest even when he is regarded with reserve; he doesn't remain in a place of formality that avoids mutual commitment. This closeness, the Pope emphasized, is what transforms encounters.
“Having guests expands the space of the heart,” and being invited requires the humility to enter the other person’s world . Within this framework, the Pope encouraged us to make our homes and communities spaces of genuine welcome, without labels or competition to stand out.
That is why he asked that the Church be a home for everyone where everyone is always welcome and where the Lord can educate us in his humility and his freedom , far from the logic of prestige and calculation.
Appeals after the Angelus prayer
Following the Marian prayer, the Pope renewed his plea for peace in Ukraine , lamenting that the war continues to sow death and destruction . He called for “the silence of weapons” and urged everyone not to succumb to indifference, insisting on a ceasefire and on the path of fraternity and justice.
The Pope remembered the victims of the shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota , as well as those suffering similar violence in other countries. In addition to his prayers, he expressed his closeness and encouragement to the affected communities through the usual channels of the Holy See.
He also remembered the migrants who died in the shipwreck of a vessel bound for the Canary Islands off the coast of Mauritania, and called for the promotion of a culture of welcome and shared responsibility that puts the person at the center.
As September approaches, he noted that the 1st is the Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and encouraged people to live the “Season of Creation” until October 4th with concrete initiatives: prayer, awareness and daily decisions that protect our common home.
The Angelus of Leo XIV left a clear roadmap: grow in humility to be free, cultivate encounters that humanize, support those who suffer with real gestures and pray while we commit ourselves to peace and the care of creation.
