Pope calls clergy, religious of France to missionary conversion

By Christopher Wells

Speaking at the Cathedral Basilica of Notre Dame de Paris seven years after a devastating fire destroyed much of the church, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the clergy and religious of France to be inspired by the vision of missionary conversion set out by Pope Francis in his encyclical Evangelii gaudii.

Rebuilt church an opportunity for encounter

The Holy Father said the beauty of the newly rebuilt church “speaks to our restless hearts and calls them to peace,” and highlighted the public, private, and ecclesial contributions to “rewaking the cultural, existential, and spiritual journeys the Cathedral opens up before us.”

That rebuilding, he said, is an opportunity for encounter with all, especially those on the peripheries, who may at times seem far away, but are in some ways already near to Christ and the Church.

The renewal of the Cathedral of Paris can serve as an inspiration not only for the city, but also for all cities and regions of France, which can be transformed by “a simple and welcoming missionary presence,” that can harmonize cultural differences and bring healing to our divided and wounded societies.

Read the full text of the Pope’s homily

Without liturgy, a church ‘loses its soul’

At the same time, Pope Leo reminded those present that Notre Dame, like all churches, is intended primarily to be a place of prayer and worship of God, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist. “Without the liturgy,” he said, the church would “lose its soul.”

Instead, it is here in a thriving community, “the Church appears for what she is, namely a living organism, a believing community that gathers into its praise everything that culture and tradition have handed down to her. She is a body that, through her celebration, tells each person the reason for her existence.”

Reflecting on the liturgy, Pope Leo described it as a place of hope and peace, while the observance of the liturgical year makes us “companions of Christ” as it celebrates the events of His life—and at the same time, helps us to recognize the “signs” of our own times.

The Supreme Pontiff called for those charged with care of the liturgy to offer the celebrations with dignity and reverence, “even when smaller communities gather.” He invited them to be “conscious heirs of the Church Fathers and saints who, over the centuries, have handed down to us the profound meaning and beauty of the liturgy, always giving an example of great humility before the Mystery that is celebrated.”

He also emphasized the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council, and exhorted clergy and religious “to cultivate an authentic love for the liturgy” and to be “witnesses and servants of the prophetic, priestly, and royal vocation of the entire People of God.”

And he called them to “place communion with the Successor of Peter and with the Church before your personal preferences, so as to foster the unity of God’s people.”

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‘A new impetus to holiness and daily mission’

Finally, Pope Leo thanked all those present for their response to God’s call, and their fidelity to the Lord, and encouraged them to remain close to God in prayer.

Recalling the vision of an “open” Cathedral, he said the Basilica of Notre Dame “has been reborn so that you too may be reborn with it in a new impetus towards holiness and daily mission.”

“In the midst of your people,” he said, “be a clear expression of the divine motherhood of the Church, who, by bearing witness to God’s love, restores and heals the human family.”

He concluded his message with a prayer that Mary might keep them faithful, and “be the star that guides the mission of the Church in France.”