Marriage "not an ideal but the measure of true love between a man and a woman": Pope Leo XIV

Marriage as measure of true love

In his homily, Pope Leo XIV emphasized that marriage represents “not an ideal but the measure of true love between a man and a woman: a love that is total, faithful and fruitful.” He cited Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, noting that conjugal love “makes you one flesh and enables you, in the image of God, to bestow the gift of life.”

The pope highlighted several married couples as exemplars for today’s world, including Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, parents of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. He also remembered the Polish Ulma family, “parents and children, united in love and martyrdom” during World War II.

“By pointing to them as exemplary witnesses of married life, the Church tells us that today’s world needs the marriage covenant in order to know and accept God’s love and to defeat, thanks to its unifying and reconciling power, the forces that break down relationships and societies,” the pontiff said.

Practical counsel for families

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Pope Leo XIV offered specific guidance to different generations present at the celebration. To parents, he recommended being “examples of integrity to your children, acting as you want them to act, educating them in freedom through obedience, always seeing the good in them and finding ways to nurture it.”

Children received counsel to “show gratitude to your parents,” with the pope noting that saying “thank you” each day “is the first way to honour your father and your mother.”

To grandparents and elderly people, he recommended watching “over your loved ones with wisdom and compassion, and with the humility and patience that come with age.”

The Holy Father emphasized the family’s role in transmitting faith, declaring that “in the family, faith is handed on together with life, generation after generation. It is shared like food at the family table and like the love in our hearts.”

Prayer for peace amid global conflicts

Following the Mass, Pope Leo XIV led the Regina Coeli prayer, using the occasion to remember families suffering from war.

“May the Virgin Mary bless families and sustain them in their difficulties. I think especially of those who suffer because of war in the Middle East, in Ukraine and in other parts of the world,” he said.

The pontiff also commemorated the beatification of Blessed Cristofora Klomfass and 14 companion religious sisters of the Congregation of Saint Catherine Virgin and Martyr, who were killed by Soviet soldiers in 1945 in territories of present-day Poland.

“Despite the climate of hatred and terror against the Catholic faith, they continued to serve the sick and orphans,” he noted.

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During his remarks, Pope Leo XIV expressed particular joy at welcoming so many children to today's celebration, calling them sources of renewed hope. He praised grandparents and elderly people as “genuine models of faith and inspiration for young generations.”

Last updated Sunday, June 1 with corrected details and link for Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin.

AC Wimmer is the News Editor for Europe and Asia at EWTN News. The multilingual Australian, raised in Bavaria and South Africa, served as editor-in-chief of several news media outlets. A graduate in Philosophy and Chinese Studies from the University of Melbourne, the veteran journalist is a former Honorary Research Fellow in Communications at his alma mater and served on the Board of Caritas in Munich.