In a plenary meeting at Lourdes, Leo XIV framed France’s Catholic past and present as the basis for bold, missionary action: lean on Marian devotion, confront secular constraints, admit failings honestly, and keep speaking in the public square.
Anchor renewal in France’s Marian heritage and historical evangelization, using Lourdes as a concrete symbol for pastoral direction.
Adopt courageous, creative missionary approaches while candidly acknowledging past failings and tending wounded people with pastoral charity.
Affirm the Church’s right to speak in public life despite laïcité, urging bishops to persist in prophetic engagement on moral and social questions.
Pope Leo XIV addressed the French episcopate at the Saint Bernadette Hall in Lourdes, a site chosen intentionally because of its proximity to the grotto where Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette. The Pope presented Lourdes as both a spiritual anchor and a practical starting point for pastoral and missionary renewal across France.
Marian devotion as a pastoral foundation
Leo XIV asked bishops to place the Church under Mary's protection, arguing that Marian devotion naturally leads to Christ. He tied that recommendation to concrete history: France's long-standing devotion to the Mother of God, the 1638 consecration, and Pius XI's declaration of Our Lady of the Assumption as Patroness of France. The Pope framed this continuity as a resource bishops can draw on when rebuilding parish life and supporting pilgrimage sites, sanctuaries, and cathedrals.
Facing failures honestly, then acting with charity
The Pope urged episcopal courage in confessing errors, inconsistencies, and failures. He asked bishops to pair truthful acknowledgement of wounds with the charity of the Good Shepherd—meaning concrete pastoral outreach to those who suffer and a determined focus on healing rather than defensiveness.
Missionary creativity and pastoral boldness
Leo XIV called for "courage, boldness and missionary creativity." He framed this as a response to the "immense challenges" France faces today, urging bishops to rise with hope and not grow weary of proclaiming the Gospel. The message moves beyond general encouragement: it links creative mission to concrete pastoral practices such as renewed evangelization, formation, and pilgrimage-centered ministry.
France's particular form of secularity, laïcité, calling it born of turbulent history yet in need of space that allows the Church to carry out its mission. He affirmed that the Church retains a prophetic voice in the public square and has every right to be heard, especially on foundational moral questions. Leo XIV cited recent public debates—explicitly referencing end-of-life discussions—as instances where bishops showed steadiness and urged continued perseverance alongside people of goodwill.
The address was pastoral and directive, aimed at the country's bishops as shepherds responsible for both internal healing and external witness. Lourdes as setting reinforced both the spiritual and the practical thrust of the message: renewal rooted in prayerful tradition that directly informs missionary action.
Pope Leo XIV asked the French episcopate to combine historical memory and Marian devotion with frank self-examination and bold missionary practice. He insists the Church should continue to engage publicly on moral and social issues even within the constraints of laïcité, and that pastoral charity must guide responses to past and present wounds.
The pope closed the Paris leg of his trip with enthusiasm, praying that faith and charity "blossom throughout France."
In a letter dated Sept. 8 and addressed to the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, the pope cited the example of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, the Spanish missionary bishop who evangelized Peru in the 16th century, and urged them to place the good of the faithful above all else.
Words of Pope Leo XIV to the Members of the Provincial Synodal Assembly, Catechumens and Newly Baptized The post What should we do to support those who convert? 3 guidelines from Leo XIV in France appeared first on ZENIT - English .
Remarks by the Holy Father to the bishops who are friends of the Focolare Movement The post More committees and projects? The path proposed by Pope Leo XIV as a response to divisions appeared first on ZENIT - English .
Loading more related stories...
Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.