Like his predecessor, Pope Leo XIV recently assured 200 vulnerable people—men, women, and nearly 40 children—accompanied by the Diocese of Rome and its charitable network, that “I came without a prepared speech, but I did come with hunger.”
Before he said a single word or blessed the food, Pope Leo XIV told his audience that he was not talking about a “hunger for lunch” during the encounter, which took place at Borgo Laudato Si, inside the Borgo Pontifical gardens of Castel Gandolfo, the Pope’s summer residence outside Rome.
“I hunger for justice, hunger for genuine charity.”
The first American to be appointed the successor of St. Peter underlined that it is a “hunger for justice, hunger for genuine charity, hunger for a church that actually knows how to open its doors.
“A Church where no one is treated like an enemy. Where forgiveness and reconciliation aren’t just words in a homily, but something people can actually live.”
Recall that Borgo village came alive after Pope Francis’ landmark Laudato Si’ encyclical on the environment and the poor, becoming a working center dedicated to ecological conversion education.
The Mass and meeting became a breathing version of that document and a direct encounter with people on the margins of society at the exact spot, signalling that Pope Leo is continuing what Pope Francis planted, ensuring that it endures.
The Holy Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Fabio Baggio, the Director General of the Laudato Si’ Center, and concelebrated by Archbishop Luis Marin de San Martin, the Pope’s almoner – in charge of his personal charity work and prefect of the dicastery for the service of charity.
Pope Leo XIV with the vulnerable families. Credit: (OSV News/Vatican Media/Simone Risoluti/NCR).
“Today we want to build a bridge, with you, with your families.”
He chose the living legacy of Laudato Si by feeding the hungry with both gracious words and food, as well as building a bridge among the faithful at one table.
Guests were treated to a guided tour of the facility. As the Leo went round to exchange pleasantries with adults and children, he acted upon the real meaning of the title Pontiff, which literally means “bridge builder.”
“Today we want to build a bridge, with you, with your families, with the kind of society we actually want to live in, a society of justice, a society where the causes of poverty can be eliminated, where the causes of the injustice still in our world can actually be addressed, not just managed, not just tolerated but removed,” he explained.
Framing the meal within the context of a continuous Eucharist with the same table and presence, Pope Leo also named, directly, what is working against the Church’s vision of unity and assisting the poor in the world.
“Our world is too often broken by violence.”
“Our world is too often broken by violence, by hatred, by discrimination,” he lamented while inviting everyone to respond to the gospel by actively working together.
“Let’s work together. Let’s keep striving to live this experience of church, of justice, of peace, of love,” Pope Leo emphasized.
Pope Leo prayed for all those who are in difficulty or suffering, asking that they too might find peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
The Bishop of Rome expressed appreciation to the organizers, saying, “Whenever we come together like this, whenever we share this spirit of encounter around the same table, the one table where Jesus is also present with us, we are truly building a different world, a world of hope, a world that is light.”
Editor’s Note: Featured photo is courtesy of (OSV News/Vatican Media/Simone Risoluti/NCR).
