Pope Leo XIV said that holiness is a calling for everyone, not an achievement reserved for a select group, as he reflected on the Solemnity of All Saints during his Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square Nov. 1.
“The Solemnity of All Saints, which we celebrate today, invites us to share in the joy of that countless family of men and women who, following the Lord Jesus, have made their lives a gift to God and to their neighbors,” the pope said.
Quoting Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Spe Salvi,” Pope Leo said the saints, along their different paths to holiness, “have longed for ‘the ocean of infinite love.’ ”
The pope noted that the church celebrates not only canonized saints Nov. 1 but also “the countless others who have not been formally recognized but are known to God.”
“It is indeed true that it is impossible to count this multitude of brothers and sisters, and not just in numerical terms,” he said. “Holiness, in fact, cannot be reduced to any calculation, for such is the good that all the saints have spread around them in the world.”
Pope Leo said the saints brought forth “actions and choices of love that transcend the calculations of greed and the arrogance of evil, which at times seems to prevail.”
“The saints are the most beautiful and powerful sign of the kingdom of God that is coming — or rather, as Jesus teaches us, is already among us,” he said.
The pope emphasized that the multitude of saints includes people “from the most diverse backgrounds, cultures and walks of life.”
“Holiness is not a privilege reserved for a few, but a universal vocation that speaks to each of us where we live,” Pope Leo said.
“This is the hope-filled message of today’s feast: God sees the good that we do not see, knows stories that we do not know and reaches hearts to which we have no access.”
He entrusted the faithful to the Blessed Virgin Mary, praying that she would accompany them “along the path to holiness, so that we may never grow weary of fostering peace, both in the most important situations and in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life.”
After the Angelus, Pope Leo recalled the beatification the previous day in Savannah, Ga., of Pedro de Corpa and four companions, Franciscan friars killed in “odium fidei,” or “in hatred of the faith,” in 1597.
“Originally from Spain, they responded generously to the Lord’s call to evangelize the peoples of the Americas, even to the point of giving their lives,” the pope said. “Let us invoke the intercession of these martyrs for all missionaries of the Gospel.”
Pope Leo also spoke about a recent humanitarian operation to assist civilians in Oleshky, expressing hope that cooperation between the parties involved would lead to further steps toward peace.
“I hope that the cooperation between the parties, which made this necessary humanitarian act possible, will strengthen the desire for dialogue and lead to new concrete peace initiatives,” he said.
The pope then highlighted the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, calling the first Olympic event held on the African continent “a sign of hope coming from the world of sport.”
He also noted that the Friars Minor will hold a Mission with the Poor in Rome Nov. 8-15.
“I congratulate the sons of St. Francis who, through this initiative, are placing the poor at the center, as the Lord Jesus did and as St. Francis of Assisi did,” Pope Leo said.
Finally, ahead of the Nov. 2 Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, or All Souls’ Day, the pope announced that he would celebrate Mass at Rome’s Verano Cemetery.
“During these days, let us feel united in the communion of saints with the immense family of our brothers and sisters who have gone before us on our earthly pilgrimage,” he said, “and let us pray for the departed, especially those whom no one remembers.”
