Be "leaven of peace’ and a ‘sign of hope": Pope Leo XIV to Women and Men Religious

Vatican, 02 February, 2026 / 11:39 PM

Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged consecrated men and women to serve as “leaven of peace” and a “sign of hope” as he celebrated Mass for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in St. Peter’s Basilica and marked the 30th World Day for Consecrated Life.

The liturgy began with a candlelight procession, recalling Simeon’s words that Christ is “a light for revelation to the Gentiles,” as the pope processed from the basilica’s entrance toward the main altar in a dimly lit church “waiting” for the light of Christ.

In his homily, the pope reflected on the Gospel passage from Luke (2:22–40), where Simeon and Anna recognize and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. He described the scene as “the meeting between two movements of love: that of God who comes to save man and that of man who awaits with vigilant faith his coming.”

Leo noted that Jesus presents himself as the son of a “poor” family — a detail he said shows God’s respect for human freedom and his solidarity with human need: Christ offers himself “in full respect for our freedom and in full sharing of our poverty,” the pope said, adding that there is “nothing coercive” in the Lord’s action “but only the disarming power of his unarmed gratuitousness.”

Turning to those living vowed religious life, the pope said the Church asks them “to be prophets: messengers who proclaim the presence of the Lord and prepare his way.” He urged them to “empty” themselves for the Lord, invoking the prophet Malachi’s imagery of being “crucibles for the refiner’s fire and vessels for the launderer’s lye.”

Leo framed the mission of religious communities as especially vital in societies where faith and daily life “seem increasingly to drift apart,” calling consecrated men and women to witness that God “is present in history as salvation for all peoples.” He also emphasized the dignity of the vulnerable — the young and old, the poor, the sick, and prisoners — saying they have “their sacred place” on God’s altar and in his heart, and that each person is “an inviolable sanctuary” of God’s presence.

The pope pointed to religious congregations that remain amid conflict rather than fleeing, saying their steadfast presence can speak “more eloquently than a thousand words” to the “inviolable sacredness of life,” even where weapons thunder and “arrogance, self-interest, and violence” seem to prevail. He echoed Jesus’ warning not to despise “one of these little ones,” noting that “their angels in heaven always see the face of the Father.”

Leo also lingered on Simeon’s prayer — “Now, Lord, you may let your servant go in peace” — saying it teaches that genuine care for earthly realities cannot be separated from loving hope in eternal goods. Simeon, he said, saw salvation in Jesus and became free in the face of both life and death.

So too, the pope said, should consecrated people live with feet “firmly planted on the ground” while constantly oriented toward eternal goods that illuminate everything else.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.