Impromptu Words of Greeting of the Holy Father in the Cloister of the Convent of the Augustinian Fathers'

Homily of the Holy Father

Impromptu Words of Greeting of the Holy Father outside Pavia’s Basilica of St Peter in Ciel d’Oro

____________________________

Impromptu Words of Greeting of the Holy Father in the Cloister of the Convent of the Augustinian Fathers'

Thank you, thank you! Good morning, everyone!

If I stay thirty seconds longer, I'll recognize so many of you.

Saint Augustine teaches us to live what Jesus Christ taught us: to love God and to love our brothers and sisters. When he was asked, "Which of the two is more important?" he replied: "In the order in which they are written, loving God comes first; but we cannot know whether we truly love God unless we love our brothers and sisters." Fraternal love, therefore, is of immense importance. Charity toward everyone is today, as it was for Saint Augustine and Jesus Christ, an essential message for the world. May we all truly become this sign of love and charity in the world. May we know how to live forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace!

May God bless each one of you. Thank you for being here. It is a joy to greet you, and now I impart my blessing.

Blessing.

Thank you, thank you! Best wishes to you all!

__________________________

Homily of the Holy Father

Your Eminence,
Your Excellencies, dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear Priests and Deacons,
Dear Religious men and women, dear Seminarians,
My Augustinian Brothers,
Brothers and Sisters,

I am happy to be here among you, and I thank the Bishop, H.E. Mons. Corrado Sanguineti and Father Joseph Farrell, Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine, for their words of welcome. I am pleased by what I have heard about the Church here in Pavia: it is a community of ancient tradition that remains alive and is present within the city and in the surrounding area. It is attentive to the signs of the times and to today's challenges, without being discouraged by difficulties, by the secularized context around it, or by the challenges involved in handing on the faith.

To avoid discouragement, we need a way of seeing that is inspired by the spirit of faith, that enables us to read reality in a way that goes deeper than what appears at first sight and prevents us from slipping into a negative and pessimistic attitude, incapable of generating new life. The gaze that is required of us - and given to us by the Holy Spirit - is the gaze of Jesus Himself. In the midst of difficulties and misunderstandings, He sees the provident hand of the Father in the lilies of the field and the birds of the air (cf. Mt 6:28–29). He nourishes hope through the tiny seed that grows (cf. Mk 4:30–33), and He invites us to lift up our eyes and look at the fields already ripe for harvest (cf. Jn 4:35). In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis encouraged precisely this spiritual reading of reality: "The eye of faith is able to recognize the light which the Holy Spirit always radiates in the midst of darkness... Our faith is challenged to discern the wine into which water can be changed, and to discover the grain growing amid the weeds" (No. 84).

Enlightened by the hope of the Gospel, and taking our inspiration from what the Apostle Peter tells us in today's reading (cf. 1 Pt 2:4–10), where he calls the disciples of the Lord "living stones," let us ask ourselves: how can we, here in Pavia today, be a living Church?

The Apostle's first indication is essential: remain united to Christ, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God. Christ is the foundation of the spiritual building. He is the cornerstone on which our ecclesial journey, our pastoral activity, and our evangelizing mission are built (cf. vv. 4–5).

This our being built on Christ and continually building in Him protects us from the danger of scattering our energies and exhausting ourselves over secondary matters, even good ones, that fail to address what is essential, however. Of course we are called to be realistic. We know that parish communities and diocesan life face countless urgent needs and responsibilities that require commitment and there are also many different activities. Yet, everything must continually be brought back to the centre. We must always build beginning from the cornerstone, ensuring that our efforts do not become fragmented or centred merely upon ourselves and our own efforts. Since Christ is the centre, all of us draw from this one source, and we submit our work to the discernment that comes from His light and His Word. In this way, we build a Church that journeys together, capable of renewal without division - a Church in which everyone recognizes one another as brothers and sisters and joyfully labours in service to the Kingdom of God.

This also implies what your Bishop mentioned at the beginning: we must learn to become Christian communities centred on what is essential, even if that means letting go of certain structures or securities inherited from the past. The essential thing is to live with Christ, and it is the proclamation of His Gospel that must remain our deepest concern. I recommend this first of all to priests, who at times may experience interior fragmentation or become weary under the weight of many responsibilities. Always return to the centre. Unify everything in your relationship with the Lord. In Him, rediscover both the joy of priestly fraternity and the shared pastoral mission carried out together with the lay faithful. I also recommend this to religious women and men, who often experience the challenge of actualising the charism to which they belong, but they too must always begin anew from Christ and generously share the gifts they have received, both with other religious communities and with the wider diocesan Church.

Adhering to Christ, the cornerstone, also enables us to face today's challenges regarding the transmission of the faith and religious practice. At a time when many people seem to have lost their spiritual sense or, for various reasons, no longer find the proposal which the Christian faith makes appealing for their lives, we are called first and foremost to proclaim the Gospel - the joyful and liberating announcing of Jesus Christ - in a way that reveals the beauty of faith for our lives and for society. There is an increasing need for people to be accompanied in discovering - or rediscovering - the faith. For this reason, we must proclaim the very heart of the Gospel: Jesus Christ, who through His Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection reveals both the mystery of God and at the same time the mystery that we ourselves are. "Pastoral ministry in a missionary style… has to concentrate on the essentials, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing and at the same time most necessary." (Evangelii Gaudium, 35).

Within this context, the figure of Saint Augustine shines with particular brilliance. His thought, the story of his conversion, and his spirituality remind us of the value and primacy of the interior life: "Do not go outside of yourself; Return into yourself. Truth dwells in the inner man.." (De vera religione, XXXIX, 72). The need to enter into ourselves, not to be distracted by outward distractions, and to seek and discover a meaning that gives direction to our lives and inspires our relationships is a need that is common to everyone. Today this need re-emerges in many different ways amid the haste and fragmentation of everyday life, especially in the questions and aspirations of young people.

When our witness to the faith is coherent and filled with conviction, we ourselves become the "living stones" that together form the spiritual house which is the Church. The Christian way of life, which appeared so new and astonishing in the earliest days when compared with both the Jewish and pagan worlds, must continue to appear just as new in today's world. United to Christ, we can truly exercise our holy priesthood by offering spiritual sacrifices every day (cf. 1 Peter 2:5). A life woven together by prayer and service to others becomes an act of worship that transforms our lives into a visible sign of the Gospel through our choices, our actions, and our relationships.

Dearest brothers and sisters, as living stones we are called to be a Church firmly rooted in the territory - a Church that walks alongside the struggles and hopes of the people, skilled in the art of listening and accompanying others, a Church that takes care of maintaining relationships with families, with those preparing to receive the Sacraments, and also with those who participate only occasionally or who have grown distant from the life of faith.

I know that you are already inspired by this pastoral passion, and I encourage you to cultivate it without being discouraged, striving to reach everyone with the joy of the Gospel. Promote the finest elements of your history, let us think, for example, of oratories, while also exploring new ways of encountering people. Particular attention should be given to make the networks of small communities that gather in homes around the Gospel a steadfast presence, remaining open to serving the wider parish or pastoral community. Listening to the Word of God generates spiritual vitality, inspires Christian witness in every sphere of life - including through ecclesial movements and associations - and encourages us to draw close to the poor. Here in Pavia especially, I wish to emphasize the importance of university ministry and of dialogue with culture. Study and scientific research challenge believers to think about ways to present the faith in ways that illuminate the search for truth, justice, and beauty that moves humanity. I know that you have already begun taking meaningful steps toward embracing a synodal style in community life, integrating the traditional life of the parishes with new initiatives of evangelization. I therefore encourage you to continue along this path, learning ever more fully how to walk together through shared discernment, developing common pastoral projects, nurturing fraternity, and fostering co-responsibility.

Dear brothers and sisters, May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, obtain for you a burning desire to live and bear witness to the Gospel through that fraternal charity which makes us one people journeying toward God. As we venerate the relics of our holy father Augustine, I pray that he, together with your patron Saint Syrus, may always intercede for this Church and for the city of Pavia.
Thank you!

________________________

Impromptu Words of Greeting of the Holy Father outside Pavia’s Basilica of St Peter in Ciel d’Oro

Good evening, everyone! Hello! Good evening!

Thank you for being here. You have followed the entire celebration here outside, praying. Now I also wish to give you my blessing, asking the Lord always to accompany you and keep you under His protection.

Blessing.

Best wishes to all of you! Thank you, thank you!

______________________________

Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 20 June 2026