Christ the King, Solemnity 2025

On the last Sunday of the liturgical year we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe. We offer the text and audio of the homily that St. Josemaría preached on November 22, 1970, and a brief historical review of the origin of the feast.

Text and audio of the homily: on the feast of Christ the King, pronounced on November 22, 1970 by St. Josemaría.

History of the Solemnity of Christ the King

In 325, the first ecumenical council was held in the city of Nicaea, in Asia Minor. On this occasion, the divinity of Christ was defined against the heresies of Arius: «Christ is God, Light from Light, true God from true God». The council was convened by the Roman emperor Constantine I.

His main achievements were the settlement of the Christological question of the nature of the Son of God and his relationship to God the Father, the construction of the first part of the Nicene Symbol (the first uniform Christian doctrine), the establishment of the uniform observance of the date of Easter, and the promulgation of the first code of canon law.

In 1925, 1600 years later, Pope Pius XI proclaimed that the best way for civil society to obtain «just liberty, tranquility and discipline, peace and concord» is for men to recognize, publicly and privately, the kingship of Christ:

«For in instructing the people in the things of the faith,» he wrote, "the annual feasts of the sacred mysteries are much more effective than any teachings, however authoritative, of the ecclesiastical magisterium (...) and they instruct all the faithful (...) every year and perpetually; (...) they penetrate not only the mind, but also the heart, the whole man. (Encyclical Quas primas, December 11, 1925). 

The original date of the feast was the last Sunday in October, i.e., the Sunday immediately preceding the All Saints' Day; But with the reform of 1969, it was moved to the last Sunday of the liturgical year, to emphasize that Jesus Christ, the King, is the goal of our earthly pilgrimage. 

The biblical texts change in the three liturgical cycles, allowing us to fully grasp the figure of Jesus.

icono de nicea cristo rey solemnidad noviembre

Christ the King, climax and end of the liturgical year

The Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe, which closes the liturgical year, is a proclamation of the kingship of Jesus Christ. Instituted by Pius XI, this feast responds to the need to remember that, although his kingdom is not of this world, Christ possesses universal authority over all creation and over every human heart.

Jesus is King not by earthly power or political domination, but by his redemptive love and his surrender on the cross. His Kingdom is a kingdom of truth, justice, holiness and grace; a kingdom of love, peace and charity. As the liturgy teaches us, he is the "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Rev 19:16), whose throne is the cross and its crown of thorns.

To celebrate Christ the King is to recognize his sovereignty in our personal lives and in society, committing ourselves to building a world according to the values of his Gospel. It is to look towards the end of time, when "Christ will be all in all" (Col 3:11), and his Kingdom will be manifested in fullness.

Full text of St. Josemaria's homily Christ the King

The liturgical year comes to an end, and in the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar we renew to the Father the offering of the Victim, Christ, King of holiness and grace, King of justice, love and peace, as we will soon read in the Preface. All of you perceive in your souls an immense joy when you consider the holy humanity of Our Lord: a King with a heart of flesh, like ours; who is the author of the universe and of every creature, and who does not impose himself by dominating: he begs for a little love, showing us, in silence, his wounded hands.

Why, then, do so many ignore it? Why is that cruel protest still heard? nolumus hunc regnare super nos, Do we not want him to reign over us? On earth there are millions of men who face Jesus Christ in this way, or rather, with the shadow of Jesus Christ, because they do not know Christ, nor have they seen the beauty of his face, nor do they know the wonder of his doctrine.

Faced with this sad spectacle, I feel inclined to make amends to the Lord. Listening to this clamor that does not cease and that, more than voices, is made up of ignoble deeds, I feel the need to cry out loudly: oportet illum regnare!, it is fitting that He should reign.

Opposition to Christ

Many do not support Christ They oppose Him in a thousand ways: in the general designs of the world and of human coexistence; in customs, in science, in art; even in the very life of the Church! I do not speak -writes St. Augustine. of the wicked who blaspheme Christ. Rare indeed are those who blaspheme him with the tongue, but many are those who blaspheme him with their conduct.

Some people even resent the expression Christ the King: for a superficial matter of words, as if the reign of Christ could be confused with political formulas; or because the confession of the kingship of the Lord would lead them to admit a law. And they do not tolerate the law, not even that of the endearing precept of charity, because they do not wish to approach the love of God: they are ambitious only to serve their own selfishness.

The Lord has been pushing me to repeat, for a long time now, a silent cry: serviam!, I will serve. May he increase our eagerness to give of ourselves, to be faithful to his divine call - naturally, without apparatus, without noise - in the middle of the street. Let us thank him from the bottom of our hearts. Let us address to him a prayer of subjects, of children, and our tongues and palate will be filled with milk and honey, and we will taste like honeycombs when we speak of the Kingdom of God, which is a Kingdom of freedom, of the freedom that he won for us.

cristo rey del universo solemnidad noviembre

Christ, Lord of the world

I would like us to consider how that Christ, whom - gentle Child - we saw born in Bethlehem, is the Lord of the world: for by Him all beings in heaven and on earth were created; He has reconciled all things to the Father, restoring peace between heaven and earth, through the blood which He shed on the cross.

Today Christ reigns at the right hand of the Father: declared those two angels in white robes to the disciples who were astonished contemplating the clouds, after the Ascension of the Lord: Men of Galilee, why do you stand there looking up to heaven? This Jesus, who has gone up from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have just seen him go up..

By Him kings reign, with the difference that kings, the human authorities, pass away; and the reign of Christ will remain for eternity, his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion endures from generation to generation.

The kingdom of Christ is not a figure of speech, nor a rhetorical image. Christ lives, also as man, with that same body which he assumed in the Incarnation, which he resurrected after the Cross and subsists glorified in the Person of the Word together with his human soul. Christ, true God and true Man, lives and reigns and is the Lord of the world. Through him alone everything that lives is kept alive.

Why, then, does he not appear now in all his glory? Because his kingdom is not of this world, although he is in the world. Jesus had replied to Pilate: I am king. For this I was born, to bear witness to the truth; everyone who belongs to the truth hears my voice.. Those who expected a visible temporal power from the Messiah were mistaken: that the kingdom of God does not consist in eating and drinking, but in righteousness and peace and the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Truth and justice; peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. This is the kingdom of Christ: the divine action that saves men and that will culminate when history ends, and the Lord, who sits on the highest point of paradise, comes to judge men definitively.

When Christ begins his preaching on earth, he does not offer a political program, but says: do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.; He instructs his disciples to proclaim this good news, and teaches them to pray for the coming of the kingdom. This is the kingdom of God and his righteousness, a holy life: what we must seek first, the only thing truly necessary.

Salvation, preached by our Lord Jesus Christ, is an invitation addressed to all: it happens as it happened to a certain king who celebrated his son's wedding and sent his servants to call the guests to the wedding.. Therefore, the Lord reveals that the kingdom of heaven is in your midst.

No one is excluded from salvation if he or she freely complies with Christ's loving demands: to be born again, to become like children, in simplicity of spirit; to turn the heart away from everything that separates us from God. Jesus wants deeds, not just words. And a strenuous effort, because only those who struggle will be worthy of the eternal inheritance.

The perfection of the kingdom-the final judgment of salvation or damnation-will not be on earth. Now the kingdom is like a sowing, like the growth of the mustard seed; its end will be like the fishing with the sweep net, from which -drawn to the sand- will be drawn, for different lots, those who worked righteousness and those who executed iniquity. But as long as we live here, the kingdom is like leaven which a woman took and mixed with three bushels of flour, until the whole lump was leavened.

Whoever understands the kingdom that Christ proposes, realizes that it is worth risking everything to obtain it: it is the pearl that the merchant acquires at the cost of selling what he possesses, it is the treasure found in the field. The kingdom of heaven is a difficult conquest: no one is sure of reaching it, but the humble cry of the repentant man succeeds in opening its doors wide. One of the thieves who were crucified with Jesus pleads with him: Lord, remember me when you have come into your kingdom. And Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise..

The kingdom in the soul

How great you are, O Lord and our God! You are the one who gives our lives supernatural meaning and divine efficacy. You are the cause that, for the love of your Son, with all the strength of our being, with soul and body, we can repeat: oportet illum regnare, while the song of our weakness resounds, because you know that we are creatures - and what creatures - made of clay, not only in our feet, but also in our hearts and heads. To the divine, we will vibrate exclusively for you.

Christ must reign, first of all, in our soul. But what would we answer if He were to ask: "How can you let me reign in you? I would answer that in order for Him to reign in me, I need His abundant grace: only in this way will every last heartbeat, every last breath, every least intense look, every most ordinary word, every most elementary sensation be translated into a hosanna to my Christ the King.

If we want Christ to reign, we must be coherent: we must begin by giving him our hearts. If we do not do so, to speak of the reign of Christ would be a mere lip service without Christian substance, an external manifestation of a faith that does not exist, a fraudulent use of the name of Christ, a fraudulent use of the name of the Lord. God for human compromises.

If the condition for Jesus to reign in my soul, in your soul, were to have a perfect place in us beforehand, we would have reason to despair. But Fear not, O daughter of Zion: behold thy King, who cometh sitting on a donkey.. Do you see? Jesus is content with a poor animal for a throne. I do not know about you, but I am not humiliated to recognize myself, in the eyes of the Lord, as a donkey: I am as a little donkey before thee; but I shall always be at thy side, because thou hast taken me by thy right hand., you lead me by the halter.

Think of the characteristics of a donkey, now that there are so few of them left. Not the old, stubborn, spiteful donkey that takes revenge with a treacherous kick, but the young donkey: ears stretched like antennae, austere in eating, hard at work, with a determined and cheerful trot. There are hundreds of animals more beautiful, more skillful and more cruel.

But Christ looked upon him, to present himself as king before the people who acclaimed him. For Jesus does not know what to do with calculating cunning, with the cruelty of cold hearts, with showy but hollow beauty. Our Lord values the joy of a young heart, the simple step, the voice without falsetto, the clear eyes, the attentive ear to his word of affection. Thus he reigns in the soul.

Reigning in service

If we let Christ reign in our soul, we will not become dominators, we will be servants of all men. Service. How I love this word! Serving If only we Christians knew how to serve! Let us entrust to the Lord our decision to learn how to carry out this task of service, because only by serving can we know and love Christ, and make Him known and make others love Him more.

How shall we show this to souls? By example: by our voluntary servitude to Jesus Christ in all our activities, because he is the Lord of all the realities of our life, because he is the only and ultimate reason for our existence. Afterwards, when we have given this witness of example, we will be able to instruct with the word, with doctrine. This is how Christ worked: coepit facere et docere, He taught first with works, then with his divine preaching.

To serve others, for Christ's sake, requires us to be very human. If our life is inhuman, God will not build anything in it, because ordinarily he does not build on disorder, on selfishness, on arrogance. We must understand everyone, we must live with everyone, we must forgive everyone, we must forgive everyone.

We will not say that what is unjust is just, that an offense against God is not an offense against God, that evil is good. But, in the face of evil, we will not answer with another evil, but with clear doctrine and good action: drowning evil in an abundance of good. Thus Christ will reign in our soul, and in the souls of those around us.

Some try to build peace in the world without putting the love of God in their own hearts, without serving the creatures for the love of God. How will it be possible to carry out a mission of peace in this way? The peace of Christ is the peace of the kingdom of Christ; and the kingdom of our Lord must be founded on the desire for holiness, on a humble disposition to receive grace, on a strenuous action of justice, on a divine outpouring of love.

Christ at the summit of human activities

This is achievable, it is not a useless dream, if only we men would decide to cherish in our hearts the love of God! Christ, our Lord, was crucified and, from the height of the Cross, he redeemed the world, restoring peace between God and mankind.

Jesus Christ remembers everyone: et ego, si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum, If you place me at the summit of all the activities of the earth, fulfilling the duty of every moment, being my witness in what seems great and in what seems small, omnia traham ad meipsum, My kingdom among you will be a reality!

Christ, Our Lord, is still engaged in this sowing of salvation for mankind and the whole of creation, for this world of ours, which is good because it came good from the hands of God. It was Adam's offense, the sin of human pride, that broke the divine harmony of creation.

But God the Father, when the fullness of time had come, sent his only begotten Son, who - through the work of the Holy Spirit - took flesh in Mary, ever Virgin, to restore peace, so that, redeeming man from sin, adoptionem filiorum reciperemus, We were constituted children of God, able to participate in the divine intimacy: so that it would be granted to this new man, to this new branch of the children of God, to liberate the whole universe from disorder, restoring all things in Christ, who has reconciled them to God.

This is what we Christians have been called to do, this is our apostolic task and the eagerness that should eat at our souls: to make Christ's kingdom a reality, that there be no more hatred or cruelty, that we spread on earth the strong and peaceful balm of love.

Let us ask our King today to make us collaborate humbly and fervently in the divine purpose of uniting that which is broken, of saving that which is lost, of ordering that which man has disordered, of bringing to its end that which is lost, of reconstructing the concord of all creation.

To embrace the Christian faith is to commit oneself to continue among creatures the mission of Jesus. We must be, each one of us, alter Christus, ipse Christus, another Christ, the same Christ. Only in this way will we be able to undertake that great, immense, unending enterprise: to sanctify from within all temporal structures, bringing there the leaven of Redemption.

I never speak of politics. I do not think of the task of Christians on earth as the sprouting of a politico-religious current - that would be madness - not even if it has the good purpose of infusing the spirit of Christ in all the activities of men.

It is the heart of each person, whoever he or she may be, that must be put into God. Let us try to speak for every Christian, so that wherever he is - in circumstances that do not depend only on his position in the Church or in civil life, but on the result of changing historical situations - he may be able to give witness, by example and word, to the faith he professes.

The Christian lives in the world with full rights, because he is a man. If he accepts that Christ dwells in his heart, that Christ reigns, the saving efficacy of the Lord will be strongly felt in all his human activities. It does not matter that this occupation is, as it is often said, high o low; because a human summit can be, in the eyes of God, a lowliness; and what we call low or modest can be a Christian summit of holiness and service.

Personal freedom

The Christian, when he works, as is his duty, must not evade or circumvent the demands of the natural. If with the expression blessing human activities If it were to be understood as annulling or hiding its own dynamics, I would refuse to use those words.

Personally, I have never been convinced that the ordinary activities of men should bear, like a false sign, a confessional label. Because it seems to me, although I respect the contrary opinion, that there is a danger of using in vain the holy name of our faith, and also because, at times, the Catholic label has even been used to justify attitudes and operations that are sometimes not honestly human.

If the world and all that is in it - except sin - is good, because it is the work of God our Lord, the Christian, struggling continually to avoid offenses against God - a positive struggle of love - must dedicate himself to all that is earthly, side by side with other citizens; he must defend all the goods derived from the dignity of the person.

And there is one good that he should always seek especially: that of personal freedom. Only if he defends the individual freedom of others with the corresponding personal responsibility, will he be able, with human and Christian honesty, to defend his own freedom in the same way.

I repeat and will repeat unceasingly that the Lord has freely given us a great supernatural gift, divine grace; and another marvelous human gift, personal freedom, which requires of us - lest it become corrupted, turning into licentiousness - integrity, effective commitment to develop our conduct within the divine law, for where the Spirit of God is, there is liberty.

The Kingdom of Christ is one of freedom: here there are no other servants than those who freely put themselves in chains for love of God. Blessed slavery of love, which sets us free! Without freedom, we cannot correspond to grace; without freedom, we cannot give ourselves freely to the Lord, with the most supernatural reason: because we feel like it.

Some of you who listen to me know me from many years ago. You can attest that all my life I have been preaching personal freedom, with personal responsibility. I have searched for it and I search for it, all over the earth, as Diogenes searched for a man. And every day I love it more, I love it above all earthly things: it is a treasure that we will never appreciate enough.

When I speak of personal freedom, I am not referring with this excuse to other problems, perhaps very legitimate ones, which do not correspond to my office as a priest. I know that it is not my place to deal with secular and transitory matters, which belong to the temporal and civil sphere, matters that the Lord has left to the free and serene controversy of men.

I also know that the lips of the priest, avoiding all human banditry, must be opened only to lead souls to God, to his saving spiritual doctrine, to the sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ, to the interior life that brings us closer to the Lord, knowing that we are his children and, therefore, brothers and sisters of all men without exception.

Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. And I am not departing from my priestly office when I say that, if anyone were to understand the kingdom of Christ as a political program, he would not have deepened the supernatural finality of faith and would be one step away from burdening consciences with weights that are not those of Jesus, because its yoke is soft and its burden light.

Let us truly love all men; let us love Christ above all; and then we will have no choice but to love the legitimate freedom of others, in a peaceful and reasonable coexistence.

Serene, children of God

You will suggest, perhaps: but few people want to hear this, let alone put it into practice.. I know for sure: freedom is a strong and healthy plant, which acclimatizes poorly among stones, thorns or roads trampled by people. It had already been announced to us, even before Christ came to earth.
Remember the second psalm: Why have the heathen raged, and the people plotted vain things? The kings of the earth have risen up, and the princes are gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.. See? Nothing new.

They opposed Christ before He was born; they opposed Him, while His peaceful feet walked the paths of Palestine; they persecuted Him afterwards and now, attacking the members of His mystical and royal Body. Why so much hatred, why this preying on candid simplicity, why this universal crushing of the freedom of every conscience?

Let us break their bonds and shake their yoke away from us.. They break the gentle yoke, they cast off their burden, a marvelous burden of holiness and justice, of grace, of love and peace. They rage at love, they laugh at the helpless goodness of a God who renounces the use of His legions of angels to defend Himself. If the Lord were to admit compromise, if He were to sacrifice a few innocents to satisfy a majority of the guilty, they might yet attempt an understanding with Him.

But this is not God's logic. Our Father is truly Father, and is willing to forgive thousands of evildoers, provided there are only ten righteous ones. Those who are driven by hatred cannot understand this mercy, and strengthen themselves in their apparent earthly impunity, feeding on injustice.

He who dwells in the heavens will laugh at them, the Lord will mock them. Then he will speak to them in his indignation and fill them with terror in his wrath.. How legitimate is God's wrath and how just his anger, how great also his clemency!

I have been appointed by him king over Zion, his holy mountain, to preach his law. To me the Lord has said: You are my son, this day have I begotten you.. The mercy of God the Father has given us his Son as King. When he threatens, he is moved with tenderness; he announces his wrath and gives us his love. You are my son: he addresses Christ and he addresses you and me, if we decide to be alter Christus, ipse Christus.

Words cannot follow the heart, which is moved by the goodness of God. He tells us: you are my son. Not a stranger, not a servant kindly treated, not a friend, which would already be too much. Son! He gives us a free hand to live with Him the piety of a son and, I would dare to say, also the shamelessness of the son of a Father, who is incapable of denying Him anything.

That there are many who are bent on behaving unjustly? Yes, but the Lord insists: ask of me, I will give you the nations as an inheritance, and I will extend your dominion to the ends of the earth. Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them like a potter's vessel.. These are strong promises, and they are from God: we cannot conceal them. It is not in vain that Christ is the Redeemer of the world, and reigns, sovereign, at the right hand of the Father. It is the terrible announcement of what awaits each one, when life passes, because it passes; and to all, when history ends, if the heart is hardened in evil and despair.

However, God, who can always win, prefers to convince: Now, you kings, you rulers, understand this well; let yourselves be instructed, you who judge on earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and exalt him with trembling. Embrace the good doctrine, lest at last the Lord be angry with you and you perish from the good way, for his wrath is suddenly kindled.. Christ is the Lord, the King. 

We proclaim to you the fulfillment of the promise made to our fathers, which God has fulfilled before our children by raising Jesus from the dead, as it is written in the second Psalm: You are my Son, this day have I begotten you.....

Now therefore, my brethren, know that through Jesus is offered to you the remission of sins and of all stains from which you could not be justified under the Mosaic law: whoever believes in Him is justified. See to it that what is spoken in the prophets does not fall upon you: make reparation, you who despise, be filled with dread and be desolate; for I am going to accomplish a work in your days, which you will not believe in no matter how much you are told about it..

It is the work of salvation, the reign of Christ in souls, the manifestation of God's mercy. Blessed are those who accept Him!. We Christians have the right to extol the kingship of Christ, for even if injustice abounds, even if many do not desire this reign of love, in human history itself, which is the scene of evil, the work of eternal salvation is being woven.

Angels of God

Ego cogito cogitationes pacis et non afflictionis, I think thoughts of peace and not of sadness, says the Lord. Let us be men of peace, men of justice, doers of good, and the Lord will not be for us Judge, but friend, brother, Love.

May the angels of God accompany us on this - joyful - walk on earth. Before the birth of our Redeemer, writes St. Gregory the Great, we had lost the friendship of the angels. Original guilt and our daily sins had distanced us from their luminous purity,.... But from the moment that we recognized our King, the angels recognized us as fellow citizens.....

And since the King of heaven has willed to take our earthly flesh, the angels no longer shrink from our misery. They dare not consider inferior to their own this nature which they adore, seeing it exalted, above them, in the person of the King of heaven; and they no longer have any inconvenience in considering man as a companion.

Mary, the holy Mother of our King, the Queen of our heart, take care of us as only she knows how. Compassionate Mother, throne of grace: we ask that we may know how to compose in our lives and in the lives of those around us, verse by verse, the simple poem of charity, quasi fluvium pacis, like a river of peace. For you are a sea of unfailing mercy: the rivers all go to the sea and the sea does not fill up.

St. John Paul II: If you feel the call, do not silence it.

On the occasion of the feast of St. John Paul II, of the October 22nd, We recall one of his most emblematic and moving speeches addressed to young people. On May 3, 2003, in Four Winds (Madrid), St. John Paul II, in the twilight of his pontificate, launched a challenge of faith, hope and vocation to young people.

We review the full text of that speech, words that still retain their power to inspire young people of body and spirit.

San Juan Pablo II jóvenes llamada de Dios en Cuatro Vientos en el año 2003
St. John Paul II with young people at Cuatro Vientos during his last visit: May 3, 2003.
Photo: Alfa & Omega.

Speech to the youth by St. John Paul II at Cuatro Vientos

1. Led by the hand of the Blessed Virgin Mary and accompanied by the example and intercession of the new Saints, we have journeyed in prayer through various moments in the history of the Church. the life of Jesus. 

The Rosary, in fact, in its simplicity and depth, is a real compendium of the Gospel and leads to the very heart of the Christian message: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3, 16).

Mary, besides being the close, discreet and understanding Mother, is the best Teacher to reach the knowledge of the truth through contemplation. The drama of today's culture is the lack of interiority, the absence of contemplation. Without interiority, culture lacks entrails, it is like a body that has not yet found its soul.

What is humanity capable of without interiority? Unfortunately, we know the answer all too well. When the contemplative spirit is lacking, life is not defended. and everything human degenerates. Without interiority, modern man endangers his own integrity.

Young people called to be the new Europe

2. Dear young people, I invite you to be part of the “School of the Virgin Mary. She is an unsurpassable model of contemplation and an admirable example of fruitful, joyful and enriching interiority. She will teach you to never separate action from contemplation, so that you will better contribute to the realization of a great dream: the birth of the new Europe of the spirit. 

A Europe faithful to its Christian roots, not closed in on itself but open to dialogue and collaboration with other peoples. of the earth; a Europe conscious of being called upon to be a beacon of civilization and a stimulus to progress for the world, determined to unite its efforts and creativity in the service of peace and solidarity among peoples.

Young peacemakers

3. Beloved young people, you know well how much I am concerned about peace in the world. The spiral of violence, terrorism and war still provokes hatred and death in our days. Peace -we know- is above all a gift from on High that we must insistently ask for. and which, moreover, we must build together through a profound inner conversion. Therefore, today I want to commit you to be peacemakers and peacemakers. Respond to blind violence and inhuman hatred with the fascinating power of love. Overcome enmity with the power of forgiveness. Stay away from all forms of exasperated nationalism, racism and intolerance.

Witness with your life that ideas are not imposed, but proposed. Never let yourselves be discouraged by evil! To this end you need the help of prayer and the consolation that comes from an intimate friendship with Christ. Only in this way, by living the experience of God's love and radiating evangelical brotherhood, can you be builders of a better world, authentic men and women of peace and peacemaking.

Encountering Christ transforms our lives

4. Tomorrow I will have the joy of proclaiming five new saints, sons and daughters of this noble nation and of this Church. They «were young people like yourselves, full of energy, enthusiasm and zest for life. The encounter with Christ transformed their lives (...) For this reason, they were capable of attracting other young people, their friends, and of creating works of prayer, evangelization and charity that still last» (Message of the Spanish Bishops on the occasion of the Holy Father's trip, 4).

Photo via: Vicens + Ramos

Dear young people, go with confidence to meet Jesus and, like the new saints, go with confidence to meet Jesus!, do not be afraid to speak of Him! for Christ is the true answer to all questions. about man and his destiny. You young people must become apostles of your contemporaries. I know very well that this is not easy. Many times you will be tempted to say like the prophet Jeremiah: “Ah, Lord! Behold, I do not know how to express myself, for I am a boy.Jr 1, 6). Do not be discouraged, for you are not alone: the Lord will never fail to accompany you, with his grace and the gift of his Spirit.  

It is worthwhile to dedicate oneself to the cause of Christ

5. This faithful presence of the Lord makes you capable of assuming the commitment of the new evangelization, to which all the children of the Church are called. It is a task for everyone. In it the laity have a leading role, especially married couples and Christian families, but evangelization today urgently requires priests and consecrated persons. This is the reason why I wish to say to each of you, young people: if you feel the call of God saying, “Follow me!” (Mc 2,14; Lc 5:27), do not silence her. Be generous, respond like Mary, offering God the joyful yes of your person and of your life.

I give you my testimony: I was ordained a priest when I was 26 years old. Since then 56 years have passed. So how old is the Pope? Almost 83! A young man of 83! Looking back on these years of my life, I can assure you that it is worthwhile to dedicate oneself to the cause of Christ and, out of love for him, to consecrate oneself to the service of mankind. It is worthwhile to give one's life for the Gospel and for one's brothers and sisters!

How many hours do we have until midnight? Three hours. Just three hours until midnight and then comes the morning.

6. In concluding my remarks, I would like to invoke Mary, the luminous star that announces the dawning of the Sun that rises from on High, Jesus Christ:

Hail Mary, full of grace!
Tonight I pray for the young people of Spain,
young people full of dreams and hopes. 

They are the sentinels of tomorrow,
the people of the beatitudes;
are the living hope of the Church and of the Pope. 

Holy Mary, Mother of the young,
intercede that they may be witnesses of the Risen Christ,
humble and courageous apostles of the third millennium,
generous heralds of the Gospel.

Holy Mary, Immaculate Virgin,
pray with us,
pray for us. Amen.

Prayer for the Pope

Prayer was already sustaining the early Church. That same night an angel came down to the prison, woke Peter, opened all the doors, and when he left Peter in the street, he disappeared from his presence. Herod's plans to kill Peter were frustrated; and the Church began to grow in all the territories bordering Israel.

The challenges of the new pontificate

Today we do not have any Herod who wants to do away with the Pope, but there are more than one with more power and more influence than the miserable -perhaps the best adjective we can apply to him- Herod, who try to influence him not to carry out the mission for which he has been chosen by the founder of the Church who has chosen him as its visible head: the Church of Christ. The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Commentaries and articles that lucubrate on whether he is conservative, progressive, etc., or what qualifier can be applied to him; and thus have an open channel to judge him in what he can do. Qualifiers that make no sense when it comes to living, or not living, the life and doctrine of Christ.

The weight of apostolic succession

From the very first day of his pontificate it seems to me that he has made it clear that the center of their entire mission, is to follow Jesus Christ, His mission in the Church is the same that Peter received: «to strengthen the Faith of all believers»; and to strengthen it by following the Magisterium of the Tradition of the two thousand years of life that the Church has been transmitting the teachings of Christ.

We are all well aware of the problems that Pope Leo XIV has to face, which are a legacy of currents of thought, behavior and practices that have become established in various areas of the Church and society, which have relied on the weakness of pastors; and in some cases, unfortunately, not only of weakness, but also of bad example.

Evangelizing in a secularized world

Finding the best measures to solve all these problems, in addition to requiring a certain amount of time to think, consult, and discover the most appropriate channels to implement the possible measures; time about which the pope Leo XIV made a comment at the Audience on May 28, regarding the parable of the Good Samaritan.

«We can imagine that, after having stayed a long time in Jerusalem, the priest and the Levite are in a hurry to return home. It is precisely the hurry, so present in our lives, that often prevents us from feeling compassion. He who thinks that his journey must have priority, is not willing to stop for another».

jornada mundial de los pobres león XIV papa

The Pope: a man in need of filial support

It is only five months since his election, and it is logical to realize that he needs to think, to meditate, to consult, in matters as serious and grave as those he has encountered; and ask for many lights from the Blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In his homily at the Holy Mass at the beginning of his pontificate, and after pointing out that «We face this moment - he refers to the conclave - with the certainty that the Lord never abandons his people., He gathers it together when it is scattered and cares for it “like a shepherd for his flock” (Jer 31:10),” he adds:

«We have placed in God's hands the desire to elect the new successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, a pastor capable of guarding the rich patrimony of the Christian faith and, at the same time, of looking beyond it, to know how to face the questions, concerns and challenges of today. Accompanied by their prayers, we have experienced the work of the Holy Spirit, who has been able to harmonize the different musical instruments, making the strings of our heart vibrate in a single melody».

«I was elected without having any merit and, with fear and trepidation, I come to you as a brother who wants to become a servant of your faith and joy, walking with you on the path of God's love, who wants us all united in a single family.».

“Pedro estaba encerrado en la cárcel, mientras la Iglesia rogaba incesantemente por él a Dios” (Hechos 12, 5)

Prayer as communion and service

The Pope Leo XIV asks all Christians to pray for God's grace to flood their spirit when making decisions. on doctrine, on persons, to help all believers to be firm in the Faith and Morals that the holy Church has lived throughout the centuries, and to continue to discover the mysteries of love hidden in the Incarnation of the Son of God. This is their mission, the mission entrusted to Peter by Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Supporting the Pontiff

And like him, let us leave our prayers in the hands of the Mother of God, Mary Most Holy, as Pope Leo XIV did, when he prayed the Regina Coeli, at the end of the Mass at the beginning of his pontificate: «While we entrust to Mary the service of the Bishop of Rome, Pastor of the universal Church, From Peter's boat, let us contemplate her, Star of the Sea, Mother of Good Counsel, as a sign of hope. Let us implore through her intercession the gift of peace, help and consolation for those who suffer and, for all of us, the grace to be witnesses of the Risen Lord».

Ernesto Juliá (ernesto.julia@gmail.com) | Previously published in Religion Confidential.

World Day of the Poor: Do not turn away your face from the poor

On Sunday, November 16, the Catholic Church celebrates the ninth World Day of the Poor. This event, scheduled on the penultimate Sunday of Ordinary Time, has become a basic moment for reflection and pastoral action throughout the world.

Pope Leo XIV has proposed a motto taken from from the Book of Tobit: "Do not turn away your face from the poor"." (Tb 4, 7). The following is the full message that was signed on June 13, 2025 in the Vatican on the day of the memory of St. Anthony of Padua, patron saint of the poor.

Message of Leo XIV for the IX World Day of the Poor

1. «You, Lord, are my hope» (Salt 71, 5). These words come from a heart oppressed by serious difficulties: «You have put me through many troubles» (v. 20), says the psalmist. In spite of this, his soul is open and confident, because it remains firm in faith, which recognizes God's support and proclaims it: «You are my rock and my fortress» (v. 3). From this comes the unfailing confidence that hope in him does not disappoint: «I take refuge in you, O Lord, may I never be ashamed» (v. 1).

In the midst of life's trials, hope is encouraged by the firm and encouraging certainty of God's love, poured into hearts through the Holy Spirit. That is why it does not disappoint (cf. Rm 5:5), and St. Paul can write to Timothy: «We toil and struggle because we have set our hope on the living God» (1Tm 4, 10). The living God is, in fact, the «God of hope» (Rm 15:13), which, in Christ, through his death and resurrection, has become «our hope» (1Tm 1, 1). We cannot forget that we have been saved in this hope, in which we need to remain rooted.

Do not store up treasures on earth

2. The poor can become a witness of a strong and reliable hope precisely because they profess it in a precarious condition of life, marked by deprivation, fragility and marginalization. He does not trust in the securities of power or of having; on the contrary, he suffers from them and is often a victim of them. His hope can only rest elsewhere. Recognizing that God is our first and only hope, we also perform the passage of the hopes ephemeral to the hope durable. Faced with the desire to have God as a companion on our journey, riches become relative, because we discover the true treasure that we really need.

The words with which the Lord Jesus exhorted his disciples ring out loud and clear: «Do not store up treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume them, and thieves break through walls and steal them. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where no moth or rust can consume them., and thieves who drill and steal» (Mt 6, 19-20).

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Saint Augustine: may God be all your presumption

3. The most serious poverty is not knowing God. This is what the Pope Francis when in Evangelii gaudium wrote: «The worst discrimination suffered by the poor is the lack of spiritual attention. The vast majority of the poor have a special openness to the faith; they need God and we cannot fail to offer them his friendship, his blessing, his Word, the celebration of the Sacraments and the proposal of a path of growth and maturation in the faith» (n. 200).

Here we see a fundamental and totally original awareness of how to find one's treasure in God. Indeed, the apostle John insists: «He who says, “I love God,” and does not love his brother, is a liar. How can he love God, whom he does not see, who does not love his brother, whom he sees?» (1 Jn 4, 20).

It is a rule of faith and a secret of hope that all the goods of this earth, the material realities, the pleasures of the world, the economic well-being, although important, are not enough to make the heart happy. Riches often deceive and lead to dramatic situations of poverty, the most serious of which is to think that we do not need God and that we can lead our lives independently of Him. The words of St. Augustine come to mind: «...".«Let God be all your presumption: be destitute of Him, and so shall you be filled with Him. Whatever you possess without Him will cause you greater emptiness.» (Enarr. in Ps. 85, 3).

Christian hope, an anchor in Jesus

4. Christian hope, to which the Word of God refers, is certainty on the path of life, because it does not depend on human strength but on the promise of God, who is always faithful. For this reason, Christians from the beginning wanted to identify hope with the symbol of the anchor, which gives stability and security.

Christian hope is like an anchor that fixes our heart on the promise of the Lord Jesus., who has saved us by his death and resurrection and who will return again in our midst. This hope continues to point to the «new heaven» and the «new earth» as the true horizon of life (2 P 3, 13) where the existence of all creatures will find its authentic meaning, for our true homeland is in heaven (cf. Flp 3, 20).

The city of God, therefore, commits us to the cities of men. These must, from now on, begin to resemble it. Hope, sustained by the love of God poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (cf. Rm 5, 5 transforms the human heart into fertile soil, where charity can sprout for the life of the world. The Church's Tradition constantly reaffirms this circularity between the three theological virtues: faith, hope and charity.

Hope is born of faith, which nourishes and sustains it, on the foundation of charity, which is the mother of all virtues. And we need charity today, now. It is not a promise, but a reality to which we look with joy and responsibility: it commits us, orienting our decisions to the common good. Whoever lacks charity not only lacks faith and hope, but also deprives his neighbor of hope.

The greatest social commandment, charity

5. The biblical invitation to hope therefore entails the duty to assume consistent responsibilities in history, without delay. Charity, in fact, «represents the greatest social commandment» (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1889). Poverty has structural causes that must be addressed and eliminated. While this is happening, we are all called to create new signs of hope that bear witness to Christian charity, as did many saints of all ages. Hospitals and schools, for example, are institutions created to express acceptance of the weakest and most marginalized.

Today they should already be part of the public policies of every country, but wars and inequalities often prevent them from doing so. More and more signs of hope today are family homes, communities for minors, centers for listening and welcoming, soup kitchens for the poor, shelters, popular schools: how many signs, often hidden, to which perhaps we do not pay attention and yet so important to shake us out of indifference and motivate us to commit ourselves to various forms of volunteer work.

The poor are not a distraction for the Church, but the most beloved brothers and sisters., Because each of them, by their very existence, and even by their words and the wisdom they possess, provokes us to touch the truth of the Gospel with our hands. For this reason, the World Day of the Poor wants to remind our communities that the poor are at the center of all pastoral action. Not only of its charitable dimension, but also of what the Church celebrates and proclaims.

God has assumed his poverty in order to enrich us through their voices, their stories, their faces. Every form of poverty, without excluding any, is a call to live the Gospel concretely and to offer effective signs of hope.

jornada mundial de los pobres león XIV papa

Helping the poor, a matter of justice

6. This is the invitation that comes to us from the Jubilee celebration. It is not by chance that World Day of the Poor is celebrated towards the end of this year of grace. When the Holy Door closes, we will have to guard and transmit the divine gifts that have been poured into our hands throughout a whole year of prayer, conversion and witness.

The poor are not objects of our pastoral care, but creative subjects who stimulate us to find ever new ways of living the Gospel today. Faced with the succession of new waves of impoverishment, there is a risk of becoming accustomed and resigned. Every day we meet poor or impoverished people, and sometimes it can happen that we ourselves are the ones who have less, who lose what we once thought was secure: housing, adequate food for the day, access to medical care, a good level of education and information, freedom of religion and freedom of expression.

In promoting the common good, our social responsibility is based on the creative gesture of God, who gives to all the goods of the earth; and just as these, so too, are the goods of the earth. the fruits of man's labor must be equitably accessible. Helping the poor is, in fact, a matter of justice rather than charity. As St. Augustine observes: «You give bread to the hungry, but it would be better if no one were hungry and you had no one to give to. You clothe the naked, but would that all were clothed and there were no need to clothe anyone!» (Homilies on the First Letter of St. John to the Parthians, VIII, 5).

I hope, therefore, that this Jubilee Year can give impetus to the development of policies to combat old and new forms of poverty, as well as new initiatives to support and help the poorest of the poor. Work, education, housing and health are the conditions for a security that will never be achieved with weapons. I am pleased with the initiatives already in place and with the commitment that a large number of men and women of good will are making every day at the international level.

Let us trust in Mary Most Holy, Consolation of the afflicted, and with her let us sing a song of hope making our own the words of the Te Deum: «In Te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in aeternum -In you, Lord, I have trusted, I shall not be disappointed forever».

Vatican City, June 13, 2025, memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Patron Saint of the Poor. Leo XIV.

The connection with Dilexi Te

Pope Leo XIV's message for this World Day of the Poor is a document of theological density. He uses the figure of Tobit to remind the Church that love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable, and he situates the whole of the social action of the Church as the only coherent response to the Dilexi Te with which God has founded Creation and Redemption.

Pope Leo XIV asks parishes and dioceses not to limit the day to a collection, but to promote gestures of fraternity, such as shared lunches and listening centers. Pope Leo XIV uses this message to pastorally apply some of the principles of his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te (I have loved you).

If in Dilexi Te Pope Leo XIV explained that God's foundational love is a concrete act and not an abstract idea, in this message he concludes the logical implication of that idea: «If we have been loved first (Dilexi te) for a God who has not turned his face away from us, how can we turn our face away from him in whom Christ is present?».

Pope Leo XIV is clear in affirming that «charity is not assistance». It is not a matter of «giving what we have in excess, but of sharing what we are» and of «questioning the economic structures» that perpetuate exclusion.

Joseph Weiler: Europe's spiritual crisis

The Aula Magna of the headquarters of the University of Navarra in Madrid hosted the Omnes-CARF Forum on "The Spiritual Crisis of Europe". A topic that has aroused great expectation translated into the large audience that has gathered at this meeting.

The Omnes management thanked speakers and attendees for their presence and highlighted the intellectual and human level of Professor Weiler, who becomes the third Ratzinger Prize winner to attend an Omnes-CARF Foundation Forum.

The director of Omnes also thanked the sponsors, Banco Sabadell and the Religious Tourism and Pilgrimages section of Viajes el Corte Inglés for their support for this Forum, as well as the Master's Degree in Christianity and Culture of the University of Navarra.

"We see the consequences of a society full of rights but without personal responsibility."

Professor María José Roca was in charge of moderating the session and introducing Joseph Weiler. Roca pointed out the defense of "that a plurality of visions is possible in Europe in a context of respect for rights". embodied by Professor Weiler who represented Italy before the European Court of Human Rights in the Lautsi v. Italy case, which ruled in favor of freedom from the presence of crucifixes in Italian public schools.

The "European trinity

Weiler began his dissertation by stressing how "the crisis that Europe is experiencing is not only political, defensive or economic. It is a crisis, above all of values". In this area, Weiler explained the values which, in his opinion, underpin European thinking and which he called "the European trinity": "the value of democracy, the defense of human rights and the rule of law".

These three principles are the basis of European states, and are indispensable. We don't want to live in a society that doesn't respect those values, Weiler maintained, "but they have a problem, they are empty.They can go in a good direction or in a bad direction".

Weiler has explained this emptiness of principles: democracy is a technology of government; it is empty, because if there is a society where the majority were bad people, there would be a bad democracy. "Likewise, the indispensable fundamental rights give us freedoms, but what do we do with that freedom? Depending on what we do, we can do good or bad; for example, we can do a lot of bad things protected by the freedom of expression".

Finally, Weiler pointed out, the same applies to the rule of law if the laws it emanates are unjust.

The European void

Faced with this reality, Weiler has defended his postulate: the human being seeks "to give a meaning to our life that goes beyond our personal interest".

Before World War II, the professor continued, "this human desire was covered by three elements: family, Church and homeland. After the war, these elements disappeared; and this is understandable, if we take into account the connotation with, and abuse by, the fascist regimes. Europe becomes secular, churches are emptied, the notion of patriotism disappears and the family disintegrates. All this gives rise to a vacuum. This is the origin of Europe's spiritual crisis: "its values, 'the European holy trinity' are indispensable, but they do not satisfy the search for meaning in life. The values of the past: family, church and homeland no longer exist. There is thus a spiritual vacuum".

We certainly do not want to return to a fascist Europe. But, taking patriotism as an example, in the fascist version the individual belongs to the State; in the democratic-republican version, the State belongs to the individual.

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Christian Europe?

The constitutional expert asked himself in the conference if a non-Christian Europe is possible. To this question, Weiler continued, we can answer according to how Christian Europe is defined. If we look at "art, architecture, music, and also political culture, it is impossible to deny the profound impact that the Christian tradition has had on the current culture of Europe".

But the Christian root is not the only one that has influenced the conception of Europe: "in the cultural roots of Europe there is also an important influence of Athens. Culturally speaking, Europe is a synthesis between Jerusalem and Athens".

Weiler pointed out that, in addition to this, it is very significant that twenty years ago, "in the great discussion on the preamble of the European Constitution, it began with a quote from Pericles (Athens) and spoke about the enlightenment reason and the idea of including a mention to the Christian roots was rejected". Although this rejection does not change the reality, it demonstrates the attitude with which the European political class approaches this issue of Europe's Christian roots.

Another possible definition of Christian Europe would be if there were "at least a critical mass of practicing Christians. If we do not have this majority, it is difficult to speak of a Christian Europe. "It is a Europe with a Christian past," the jurist stressed. "At present we find ourselves in a post-Constantinian society. Now»said Weiler, «the Church (and believers: the creative minority) must look for another way to influence society.". 

The three dangers of Europe's spiritual crisis

Joseph Weiler has pointed out three key points in this spiritual crisis in Europe: the idea that faith is something relative to the private sphere, a false conception of neutrality which is, in reality, a choice for secularism, and the conception of the individual as a subject only of rights and not of duties:

1. Considering faith as something private

Weiler has exposed, with clairvoyance, how we Europeans are "children of the French Revolution and I see many Christian colleagues who have taken on this idea that religion is something private. People who say grace at the table but don't do it with their work colleagues because of this idea that it is something private".

At this point, Weiler recalled the words of the prophet Micah: "Man, you have been made to know what is good, what the Lord wants of you: only practice right, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8) and pointed out that "it does not say walk in secret, but walk humbly. Walking humbly is not the same as walking in secret. In the post-Constantinian society, I wonder if it is a good policy to hide the faith, because there is a duty of witness".

2. The false conception of neutrality

At this point, Weiler has pointed out this other "legacy of the French Revolution". Weiler illustrated this danger by giving as an example the field of education. A point on which, "Americans and French are in the same bed. They think that the state has the obligation to be neutral, i.e. it cannot show a preference for one religion or another. And that leads them to think that the public school must be secular, secular, because if it is religious it would be a violation of neutrality.

What does this mean? That a secular family that wants a secular education for their children can send their children to public school, financed by the state, but a Catholic family that wants a Catholic education must pay because it is private. It is a false conception of neutrality, because it opts for one option: the secular one.

It can be demonstrated by the example of the Netherlands and Great Britain. These nations have understood that the social rupture of now is not between Protestants and Catholics, for example, but between religious and non-religious. States fund secular schools, Catholic schools, Protestant schools, Jewish schools, Muslim schools..., because to fund only secular schools is to show a preference for the secular option».

"God asks us to walk humbly, not to walk in secret." Joseph Weiler, Ratzinger Award 2022.

3. Rights without duties

The last part of Professor Weiler's lecture dwells on what he refers to as the "an obvious consequence of the secularization of Europe: the new faith is the conquest of rights".

Although, as he has argued, if the law puts man at the center, it is good. The problem is that nobody talks about duties and little by little, it "turns this individual into a self-centered individual. Everything begins and ends in myself, full of rights and without responsibilities".

He explained: "I don't judge a person according to his religion. I know religious people who believe in God and who are, at the same time, horrible human beings. I know atheists who are noble. But as a society something has disappeared when you have lost a powerful religious voice."

But "in non-secularized Europe," explained Weiler, "every Sunday there was a voice, everywhere, that spoke of duties and it was a legitimate and important voice. This was the voice of the Church. Now no politician in Europe could repeat Kennedy's famous speech. We will be able to see the spiritual consequences of a society that is full of rights but no duties, no personal responsibility".

Recovering a sense of responsibility

When asked what values European society should recover in order to avoid this collapse, Weiler appealed, first of all, to "personal responsibility, without which the implications are very important". Weiler defended Christian values in the creation of the European Union: "possibly more important than the market, in the creation of the European Union was peace".

Weiler defended that "on the one hand it was a very wise political and strategic decision, but not only that. The founding fathers: Jean Monet, Schumman, Adenauer, De Gasperi... convinced Catholics, made an act that showed faith in forgiveness and redemption. Without these sentiments, do you think that five years after the Second World War, French and Germans would have shaken hands, where did these sentiments and this belief in redemption and forgiveness come from if not from the Catholic Christian tradition? It is the most important success of the European Union".

joseph weiler crisis espiritual de europa

Joseph Weiler, a biographical sketch

An American of Jewish origin, he was born in Johannesburg in 1951 and has lived in various places in Israel as well as in Great Britain, where he studied at the universities of Sussex and Cambridge. He then moved to the United States where he has taught at the University of Michigan, then Harvard Law School, and New York University.

Weiler is a renowned expert in European Union Law. Of Jewish faith, Joseph Weiler, married and father of five children, is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and, in our country, has received honorary doctorates from the University of Navarra and CEU San Pablo.

He represented Italy before the European Court of Human Rights in the Lautsi v. Italy case, in which his defense of the presence of crucifixes in public places is of particular interest for the clarity of his arguments, the ease of his analogies, and above all, for the level of the reasoning presented before the Court, stating, for example, that "the message of tolerance towards others must not be translated into a message of intolerance towards one's own identity".

In his argument Weiler further emphasized the importance of a real balance between individual freedoms, characteristic of traditionally Christian European nations, which "demonstrates to countries that believe that democracy would force them to shed their religious identity that this is not true."

On December 1, in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis will present the Ratzinger Prize 2022 to Father Michel Fédou and Professor Joseph Halevi Horowitz Weiler.

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María José Atienza, Director of Omnes. She has a degree in Communication, with more than 15 years of experience in Church communication.

November 9: Diocesan Church Day 2025

Diocesan Church Day is an opportunity to remember the mission of each diocese as a local community, centered on faith, solidarity and the spiritual accompaniment of all its members. Through the work of priests, seminarians and communities of the faithful, dioceses are the beating heart of the Church, a place where faith is lived in its closest and most personal dimension.

«You too can be a saint.» is the slogan of the Diocesan Church Day which the Church celebrates this year on Sunday, November 9. The secretariat for the support of the Church invites us to connect holiness with our daily lives.

In Spain, we celebrate this day on the second Sunday of November. And this year its motto is: «You too can be a saint.» mainly promoted by the Spanish Episcopal Conference .

The diocese: local heart of the Church

The diocese is the ecclesial unit that brings together the faithful of a given region under the direction of a bishop. In it, the priests are in charge of spiritually guiding the faithful, administering the sacraments and making Christ's love present. Each diocese, although it has its own particularity, is part of the universal Church, and its mission is to build the community of believers, transmitting the message of the Gospel in a concrete and accessible way to all.

The diocese is also a place of communion, where the laity, consecrated and clergy unite to work together in evangelization and service to those most in need. This work is vital to strengthen the social and religious fabric, promoting justice, peace and fraternal love.

The importance of seminarians in the formation of the Church

Cosmas Agwu Uka, sacerdote diocesano de Nigeria
Nigerian seminarian undergoing formation in Rome.

One of the pillars of the vitality of the dioceses is the formation of new priests. Seminarians, young men preparing to embrace the priesthood, are the future of the Church. Their studies cover not only theological knowledge, but also human and spiritual formation, essential elements to bring the Word of God with authenticity and closeness to the communities.

This is also a good time to reflect on the importance of seminarians and to support them in their journey of discernment. Their vocation, guided by the Holy Spirit, is a generous response to the call to serve others, and their good instruction is essential for them to carry out the pastoral mission of the Church with dedication and love.

Formación de lacios en la iglesia diocesana

Being well-formed: a fundamental pillar for diocesan mission

Formation, both for priests and seminarians, is key in the process of building up the diocesan Church. This instruction is integral and encompasses academic, spiritual and pastoral aspects. In the dioceses, a constant formation is sought, which allows clerics and seminarians to face the challenges of the modern world without losing the essence of their Christian vocation.

Moreover, it is aimed not only at future priests, but also at the laity, who, through education in the faith, are trained to be authentic disciples of Christ. The study of the laity is essential so that they can live their faith in a committed way and be agents of change among their friends and family.

A call for generosity and commitment

It is important to remember that the Church is not only a global institution, but a local community lived and experienced in each diocese. Priests, seminarians, and all members of the diocesan community are called to be missionary disciples, bringing the Gospel message to every corner. Support for seminary and seminary instruction, as well as collaboration with dioceses, is essential so that this commitment continues to be a source of life for the Church and society.

Assisting the diocesan Church with formation

Dioceses are the place where vocations are forged, faith relationships are nurtured and a community based on Gospel values is built. This November 10, let us celebrate the vocation, work and commitment of all those who make possible the mission of the Church in its closest dimension: the diocese.

Formation for seminarians and diocesan priests

The CARF Foundation plays a fundamental role in the studies of seminarians and diocesan priests around the world, supporting the vocational journey of those who feel called to serve the Church through priestly ministry. Through its work, the CARF Foundation contributes to the integral preparation of these future priests, offering them the necessary resources for their academic, spiritual and human studies, which will bear so much fruit when they return to their diocesan churches.

Thanks to the generosity of our benefactors, diocesan priests have the opportunity to receive a complete formation that prepares them to serve with dedication and love the communities they entrust to their ministry. This collective effort is vital to strengthening the mission of the Church and, by extension, the Universal Church.

Assisting the diocesan Church with formation