Dear brothers in the episcopate, good morning!

Thank you, Your Eminence, for the words you addressed to me. I extend my warmest greetings to all those who have been elected to serve on the Episcopal Conference, in particular to the vice-president, and to every one of you. Through you, I wish to express my affection for all the Churches in Italy, for the priests, deacons, consecrated persons, families, catechists, educators, young people, the elderly, the poor, the sick, and for all those who live their faith in the simplicity of daily life, as well as for those who, perhaps unaware of it, carry a thirst for God in their hearts.

This is what we have been blessed to witness in various ways, even in a time like ours, marked by complexity. I experienced this first-hand during my recent visits to Pompeii, Naples and Acerra. Many signs speak to us of weariness, fragmentation and loneliness. In our communities we can sometimes feel the fatigue of passing on the faith, the difficulty of engaging the younger generations. But the Gospel urge us on. Jesus, looking at the crowd, does not see a problem to solve; He sees a harvest, He sees God’s field: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (Lk 10:2). A tireless sower, God goes out into the world every day and generously sows in hearts the desire for the infinite, for a life that is full, for a salvation that sets us free. Yes, thanks be to God, the harvest is plentiful. Our first task is this: to adopt the Lord’s perspective. Let us not merely lament the hardened ground, nor dwell simply on statistical data, but let us learn to see, through the eyes of the Risen One, the harvest that God Himself is preparing for us.

Dear brothers, may the Holy Spirit grant us hearts that burn with the zeal of Christ; and may He raise up many holy workers to labour alongside us.

So, from this perspective, the priority is the Gospel: this is what Saint Francis of Assisi tells us, eight hundred years after his passing into Heaven; this is what we are reminded of in Saint Paul VI’s Evangelii nuntiandi and Pope Francis’ Evangelii gaudium. For it is from the Gospel that faith is born, as a living encounter with Christ, who died and rose again, and is present in His Church. Today, in the context in which we are called to work, as we grapple with other perspectives on life and unprecedented anthropological challenges, bringing the Gospel back to the centre is the gift that gives enthusiasm to our lives as bishops and the urgency that drives us.

We are therefore required to ask ourselves: which face of God do we allow to show in our preaching, in catechesis, in the liturgy, in charity, in the life of our communities? In what way do we promote the encounter with Christ, and what does it mean today, for us and for our Churches, to initiate others into Christian life? They are questions that, as pastors, we must always ask ourselves, without ever taking them for granted.

Hence, then, the renewed focus on Christian initiation, which cannot be considered merely as preparation for the sacraments. It is the “womb” in which a community brings forth the faith and introduces people to the Paschal life, to communion with the Lord, and to ecclesia

l fraternity. It is a matter of rediscovering Baptism as a living and existential reality; and it is “understood more fully when placed in the context of Christian Initiation, that is, the journey throug which the Lord, through the ministry of the Church, introduces us to the Paschal faith and draws us into Trinitarian and ecclesial communion” (Final Document of the 16th Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 24). This is a very important point made by the most recent Synod of Bishops, because it places the journey that begins with Baptism within a Church that believes, celebrates, accompanies and gives life. A Church which, whilst rejoicing in wonder at the sight of young and adult catechumens, is then able to support their perseverance after the initial enthusiasm has faded.

Faith is transmitted and grows where there are lively and hospitable communities, capable of praying and listening; communities in which the Word of God does not stay at the margins, but enlightens decisions; where the Eucharist is truly the source and culmination, where the poor are not external recipients of a service, but brothers and sisters in which the Lord speaks to us; where the young are faces and voices and stories with whom to engage in dialogue; where families are not left by themselves and wounds are not concealed, but brought before the Lord with humility; where faith becomes an active commitment in society, in politics, in culture.

Precisely for this reason, we Bishops are called to a profound listening: to listen to the Word of God, to listen to the People of God, and thus to listen to the signs of the times, to listen also to what challenges our pastoral habits. Where listening is genuine, the community does not close in on itself, but becomes a place of discernment and mission and, to this end, knows how to renew itself.

This is the meaning of the synodal journey that you have brought to completion and which, as you have emphasized, must now become a permanent way of life. The Second Vatican Council reminded us that it pleased God to sanctify and save people not in isolation and without any bond between them, but by forming them into a people who would recognize Him in truth and serve Him in holiness (cf. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 9). A synodal Church is one in which everyone, in accordance with their own vocation, can offer the gift received from the Spirit for the common good. Participation, therefore, is not a concession: it is a requirement of communion and mission and, as such, must become a method, a responsibility and a means of assessment, involving the various charisms and ministries whilst respecting the specific role of the Bishop. The Summary Document of the Synodal Journey of the Churches in Italy highlights the value of participatory bodies as places where the discernment of communities can take shape. It is not enough, however, for these instruments to exist; we must ensure that they actually function.

In this process, the various structures of the CEI are called to continue to carry out their service of communion, coordination, discernment and support for the Churches in Italy. Precisely because it has this role, the organization of the Episcopal Conference must be tailored to the needs of the mission and to changing historical circumstances. It is not a matter of imitating external organizational models, nor of reducing everything to administrative efficiency, but of asking ourselves what form today helps Pastors and local Churches to proclaim the Gospel more effectively, to walk together, and to make effective, orderly and fruitful participation possible. When lived in the Spirit, this assessment does not weaken communion, but purifies it.

Dear brothers, the Lord does not ask us to measure the fruitfulness of the Church with the criteria of numbers, visibility or influence. “When we look with God’s eyes, we discover that He has chosen the way of littleness, descending into our midst … This logic of littleness is the Church’s true strength. It does not lie in her resources or structures, nor do the fruits of her mission depend on numbers, economic power or social influence. The Church instead lives by the light of the Lamb; gathered around Him, she is sent out into the world by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Address at the Prayer Meeting, Istanbul, 28 November 2025).

Let us have the courage of the essential! The courage of communities less concerned with preserving everything and freer to proclaim Christ. The courage of a catechesis that is a journey of initiation and ongoing formation in the Christian life. The courage of welcoming and missionary parishes, where families come together and are renewed by the life-giving force of the Gospel. The courage of vibrant participatory bodies. The courage to listen to young people without taming their questions. The courage to let ourselves be evangelized by the poor. The courage of a national structure increasingly at the service of the missionary communion of the Churches in Italy. A people is brought forth by mothers and fathers in the faith, by communities that know how to say, through their lives even before their words: “We have found the Messiah” (Jn 1:41). Italy needs this witness.

I entrust your journey to the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. She accepted the gift, she treasured the Word, she walked with the disciples, she awaited the Spirit in the Upper Room. May she help you to be “rooted and built up in him and established in the faith” (Col 2:7), to cherish what is essential, to bring forth new life in faith, to walk with the People of God, and to recognize the voice of the Lord who still calls, comforts and sends us forth.

I accompany you with my blessing. Thank you!

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Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 28 May April 2026