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Pope recalls how Eucharistic grace transforms and makes us protagonists of hope

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4 hours ago

June 7, 2026

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Pope recalls how Eucharistic grace transforms and makes us protagonists of hope

In the heart of Madrid, Pope Leo XIV leads Corpus Christi Sunday celebrations with over 1.2 million people participating, encouraging Spaniards “to ensure that the religiosity which has shaped and defined this country for centuries is not a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today.”

Vatican News

At the beginning of the second day of his pastoral visit to Spain, Pope Leo XIV presided over the Mass celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. With over 1.2 million people crowding the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid and surrounding avenues, the Pope expressed his joy in being with them, “gathered around the Eucharist, the gift of Christ’s living presence among us.”

Crowds of faithful gathered for the Corpus Christi Mass (@Vatican Media)

The Pope said on this day we remember in a special way how the Lord willingly offered us his life “so that we might enter into communion with the Father and become his children” and how He “is here as the living Bread come down from heaven, to nourish us with the very life of God, with a love stronger than death.”

Read the full homily of Pope Leo XIV

Living faith of Corpus Christi traditions

The Pope paid tribute to the rich history of Spain’s celebration of the Lord’s presence in the Eucharistic Bread where in Madrid and many parts of Spain, the feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated in a special way to return “to the heart of the faith to renew our love and fidelity to God.”

Pope Leo leading the Corpus Christi Eucharistic Procession (@Vatican Media)

He noted how these traditions marked by solemn processions down through the centuries have given unique and creative expressions of piety, art, music, architecture and life of the Spanish people. And they represent more than just folkore and art, but “a profession of faith in the presence of the risen Lord, who is alive and continues to walk among us, who becomes bread to satiate our hunger for life, and visits the recesses of our hearts and history, even those shrouded in darkness.”

Nourishing and accompanying us

The Eucharistic processions recall how Jesus as Christ nourishes us, but he also “comes out to meet us” and accompanies us our daily lives and activities, the Pope explained.

“He is a God who is close to us, who walks with his people, the Lord of history. He is comfort to the weak, light for families, hope for the sick and peace for those who suffer. The Christ who processes through the streets in the monstrance is the same one who identifies with the poor, the downtrodden, those who are alone and forsaken.”

The Pope explained how Corpus Christi calls on us “to be brought out of our selfishness and indifference, of a comfortable, private faith, so as to respond to his invitation to conversion, to change our perspective, and to welcome his presence which transforms us and makes us builders of a new world.”

A moment during the Corpus Christi Sunday liturgy (@Vatican Media)

And today’s celebration of Corpus Christi with special processions is an ever current invitation “in our daily lives, in our relationships, in society, and in the building of the future” to “remember” as we heard on the readings of the liturgy how God loves us, nourishes us, accompanies and saves us.

Religiosity alive today

Pope Leo then outlined “the task of Spain today and in the future” which is “to ensure that the religiosity which has shaped and defined this country for centuries is not a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today.”

This school calls on us “to kneel before God and before our neighbor” where “the gratuitousness of love that becomes a gift, so that it may flow among us and break the chains of all selfishness.” And just as God is “a real presence”, we also “are called to be present in the realities and challenges of society…personally committing ourselves to the building of the common good.”

A view of the Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid (@Vatican Media)

Drawing from the Eucharistic spring

In conclusion, the Pope encouraged everyone to return to the Lord “with sincere love”, to be open to encounter with him and to “allow him to quench the thirst of our hearts, so that we may then go forth into the paths of life and history, bringing to the people this stream of fresh water, a stream of love, peace, justice and joy.”

He prayed that we all “drink anew from this Eucharistic spring” that “sends us out to refresh our brothers and sisters, our families, the poor, the suffering, and those who have lost hope.”

“Eucharistic grace transforms us and makes us protagonists of the transformation of history, a sign of hope for those we meet. May the Lord Jesus, present in the Eucharist, transform you into bread that is broken, given, and offered, so that a life of fullness may spring forth for you, for your families, and for your country.”

The celebration concluded with a Eucharistic Procession and Benediction led by Pope Leo who carried the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament along pathways adorned with sixteen different flower pedal tapestries made up of over 30,000 flowers.