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Pope to pilgrims in Lourdes: ‘You will leave as missionaries of hope’
In Lourdes, Pope Leo XIV calls pilgrims to conversion and penance, urges the Church to conversion, and invites the sick to see their suffering as part of Christ’s redemptive action.
Vatican News
Celebrating Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes on Sunday, the third day of his apostolic journey to France, Pope Leo XIV said the gathering of pilgrims from France and around the world revealed “the universal face of the Church,” and he encouraged them to bring “the consolation of Lourdes” back to their homes and communities.
Reflecting on the Sunday readings and the message entrusted by the Virgin Mary to Saint Bernadette, the Pope placed conversion at the heart of his homily.
Call to conversion
“Today, not tomorrow, that we must repent,” he said, explaining that God desires people to “open our eyes and return to him.” Conversion, he explained, means leaving behind paths on which we have lost our way and choosing “the way of life.”
Pope Leo recalled Mary’s words to Saint Bernadette: “I do not promise to make you happy in this world but in the next.” In a society focused on progress and material wellbeing, he said, Lourdes recalls the dignity of every human life and the hope of eternal life.
“In the face of current trends that seek to redefine the value of human life in illness, suffering and old age, the grotto of Massabielle stands as a place of Christian hope,” he said. At Lourdes, he added, crutches, wheelchairs and “hidden tears” are not obstacles but places where people can encounter God’s love.
“Penance! Penance! Penance!”
The Pope also recalled Mary’s repeated call at Lourdes: “Penance! Penance! Penance!”, noting that Mary asked Bernadette to undertake acts of penance not only for herself but also “for sinners.”
Linking this appeal to the conflicts and suffering present in the world today, he asked: “How can our hearts not be moved by the conflicts that are spreading and destroying so many innocent lives?”
Yet, he continued, the roots of evil are found in the human heart. “It is therefore human hearts that must change, beginning with our own.”
“It is therefore human hearts that must change, beginning with our own,” he said, stressing that penance is “an act of love, carried out in solidarity with the human family.”
A call to the Church to recognise its faults
That call to conversion, Pope Leo said, applies to the Church herself.
“She must have the courage to begin with herself,” he said, calling for humility in confronting the Church’s “deep wounds, infidelities and painful errors.” Recognising faults, he added, is essential to spiritual growth.
And citing Saint Augustine, he said, “Do not be content with what you are, if you want to become what you are not yet.”
The suffering of the sick at the heart of the Church
The Pope then turned particularly to those who are sick, telling them that their suffering can become a participation in Christ’s redemptive work.
“Dear friends who are sick, so many of you here in Lourdes are familiar with suffering,” he said. Their trials and pains, when lived in a spirit of offering, can contribute to “the redemptive work that the world so greatly needs.”
“In this way,” Pope Leo added, “you are truly at the heart of the Church, and your role is irreplaceable.”
Pope Leo concluded by telling pilgrims that they would leave Lourdes changed by their encounter with Mary and with one another.
“You will not leave Lourdes as you arrived. You will leave as missionaries of hope,” he said, adding that “The miracle of Lourdes” is that it can “awaken the joy of hope in the very midst of suffering and hardship.”
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