{"id":86945,"date":"2026-09-27T08:08:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T12:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/?p=86945"},"modified":"2026-09-27T08:11:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T12:11:42","slug":"pope-you-will-leave-as-ambassadors-of-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/pope-you-will-leave-as-ambassadors-of-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope: You Will Leave As Ambassadors Of Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>From the Vatican:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Highlights -Lourdes Holy Mass and recitation of the Angelus Prayer, 27 September 2026 \u2013 Pope Leo XIV\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iOCar43nFcg\" width=\"200\" height=\"111\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article__title\">Pope to pilgrims in Lourdes: \u2018You will leave as missionaries of hope&#8217;<\/h1>\n<div class=\"article__subTitle\">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\u2019s redemptive action.<\/div>\n<div class=\"title__separator\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"article__text\">\n<p><b>Vatican News<\/b><\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cthe universal face of the Church,\u201d and he encouraged them to bring \u201cthe consolation of Lourdes\u201d back to their homes and communities.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<h2>Call to conversion<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cToday, not tomorrow, that we must repent,\u201d he said, explaining that God desires people to \u201copen our eyes and return to him.\u201d Conversion, he explained, means leaving behind paths on which we have lost our way and choosing \u201cthe way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pope Leo recalled Mary\u2019s words to Saint Bernadette: \u201cI do not promise to make you happy in this world but in the next.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 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,\u201d he said. At Lourdes, he added, crutches, wheelchairs and \u201chidden tears\u201d are not obstacles but places where people can encounter God\u2019s love. <em>[scroll for more:]<\/em><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><!-- spiritdaily.org --><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6350947343102800\" data-ad-slot=\"9237292177\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<h2>\u201cPenance! Penance! Penance!\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>The Pope also recalled Mary\u2019s repeated call at Lourdes: \u201cPenance! Penance! Penance!\u201d, noting that Mary asked Bernadette to undertake acts of penance not only for herself but also \u201cfor sinners.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Linking this appeal to the conflicts and suffering present in the world today, he asked: \u201cHow can our hearts not be moved by the conflicts that are spreading and destroying so many innocent lives?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet, he continued, the roots of evil are found in the human heart. \u201cIt is therefore human hearts that must change, beginning with our own.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is therefore human hearts that must change, beginning with our own,\u201d he said, stressing that penance is \u201can act of love, carried out in solidarity with the human family.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A call to the Church to recognise its faults<\/h2>\n<p>That call to conversion, Pope Leo said, applies to the Church herself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe must have the courage to begin with herself,\u201d he said, calling for humility in confronting the Church\u2019s \u201cdeep wounds, infidelities and painful errors.\u201d Recognising faults, he added, is essential to spiritual growth.<\/p>\n<p>And citing Saint Augustine, he said, \u201cDo not be content with what you are, if you want to become what you are not yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>The suffering of the sick at the heart of the Church<\/h2>\n<p>The Pope then turned particularly to those who are sick, telling them that their suffering can become a participation in Christ\u2019s redemptive work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDear friends who are sick, so many of you here in Lourdes are familiar with suffering,\u201d he said. Their trials and pains, when lived in a spirit of offering, can contribute to \u201cthe redemptive work that the world so greatly needs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn this way,\u201d Pope Leo added, \u201cyou are truly at the heart of the Church, and your role is irreplaceable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pope Leo concluded by telling pilgrims that they would leave Lourdes changed by their encounter with Mary and with one another.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou will not leave Lourdes as you arrived. You will leave as missionaries of hope,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cThe miracle of Lourdes\u201d is that it can \u201cawaken the joy of hope in the very midst of suffering and hardship.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the Vatican: \ufeff Pope to pilgrims in Lourdes: \u2018You will leave as missionaries of hope&#8217; In Lourdes, Pope Leo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-86945","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-news","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86945"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86947,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86945\/revisions\/86947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritdaily.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}