Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I welcome all of you cordially on the occasion of the presentation of the Letters accrediting you as Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Holy See on behalf of your respective countries: Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, Yemen, Rwanda, Namibia, Mauritius, Chad and Sri Lanka. I ask you kindly to convey my respectful greetings to your Heads of State, together with the assurance of my prayers for them and for your fellow citizens.

I am particularly pleased to receive you as the Church approaches the Solemnity of Pentecost, recalling how the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, transforming fear into courage and division into unity by enabling them to speak in the languages of all peoples. It is my hope that a similar vision of unity may inspire the world of diplomacy, where constructive relations among nations flourish through genuine openness, the fostering of mutual respect and a shared sense of responsibility.

In this regard, I wish to renew the appeal I made in my Address to the Members of the Diplomatic Corps this past January. In a time when “peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion,” there is an urgent need for a return to “a diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus” on all levels — bilateral, regional, and multilateral. Such dialogue, “motivated by a sincere search for ways leading to peace,” demands that words once again express clear realities without distortion or hostility. Only then can misunderstandings be overcome and trust be rebuilt in the context of international relations.

Yet courteous and clear dialogue, essential though it is, must be accompanied by a deeper conversion of heart: the willingness to set aside particular interests for the sake of the common good. No nation, no society and no international order can call itself just and humane if it measures its success solely by power or prosperity while neglecting those who live at the margins. Indeed, Christ’s love for the least and the forgotten compels us to reject every form of selfishness that leaves the poor and the vulnerable invisible (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te, 4 October 2025, 9).

It is precisely this spirit of self-giving solidarity that must animate the service of diplomats and strengthen the international organizations, in order to create spaces for encounter and mediation. These institutions remain indispensable instruments for resolving disputes and fostering cooperation. At a moment when geopolitical tensions continue to fragment our world further, it is necessary to make them more representative, effective and oriented toward the unity of the human family.

Your service as Ambassadors constitutes a valuable bridge of trust and cooperation between your countries and the Holy See. I pray that our shared efforts will contribute to a revitalized commitment to bilateral and multilateral engagement and help draw attention to those often forgotten at the margins of our societies. In this way, we can work together to lay firmer foundations for a more just, fraternal and peaceful world.

As you undertake your new responsibilities, I assure you of the Secretariat of State’s readiness to assist, together with the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia. May your mission strengthen dialogue, deepen mutual understanding and contribute to the peace so greatly needed in our world. Upon you, your loved ones and the Nations you represent, I invoke God’s abundant blessings, trusting that he will guide and sustain you in your noble service. Thank you!