As you gather to commemorate 500 years of the Anabaptist movement, I cordially greet all of you, dear friends, in the first words spoken by the risen Jesus: “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:19).

In the joy of our celebration of Easter, how can we fail to reflect on Christ’s appearance on the evening of that “first day of the week” (ibid.), when Jesus not only entered through walls and closed doors, but through the fearful hearts of his disciples. Moreover, in imparting his great gift of peace, Christ was sensitive to the experience of the disciples, his friends, and did not hide the marks of his Passion still visible in his glorious body.

By receiving the Lord’s peace, and accepting his call, which includes being open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, all the followers of Jesus can immerse themselves in the radical newness of Christian faith and life. Indeed, such a desire for renewal characterises the Anabaptist movement itself.

The motto chosen for your celebration, “The Courage to Love”, reminds us, above all, of the need for Catholics and Mennonites to make every effort to live out the commandment of love, the call to Christian unity, and the mandate to serve others. It likewise points to the need for honesty and kindness in reflecting on our common history, which includes painful wounds and narratives that affect Catholic-Mennonite relationships and perceptions up to the present day. How important, then, is that purification of memories and common re-reading of history that can enable us to heal past wounds and build a new future through the “courage to love”. What is more, only in such a way can theological and pastoral dialogue bear fruit, fruit that will last (cf. Jn 15:16).

This is certainly no easy task! Yet, it was precisely at particular moments of trial that Christ revealed the Father’s will: it was when challenged by the Pharisees that he taught us that the two greatest commandments are to love God and our neighbour (cf. Mt 22:34-40). It was on the eve of his Passion that he spoke of the need for unity, “that all may be one… so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). My wish for each of us, then, is that we can say with Saint Augustine: “My entire hope is exclusively in your very great mercy. Grant what you command, and command what you will” (Confessions, X: 29, 40).

Finally, in the context of our war-torn world, our ongoing journey of healing, and of deepening fraternity, has a vital role to play, for the more united Christians are the more effective will be our witness to Christ the Prince of Peace in building up a civilization of loving encounter.

With these sentiments, I assure you of my prayers that our fraternal relations will deepen and grow. Upon all of you, I invoke the joy and serenity that come from the risen Lord.

From the Vatican, 23 May 2025

LEO P.P. XIV