Pope: Migrant-St. Irenaeus brought Gospel to Europe

This June 14, Leo focused on St. Irenaeus, a native of Asia Minor educated by the second generation of bishops after the apostles, who came to serve the Christian community in Lyon in the late 170s. The audience, originally planned for St. Peter's Square, was moved inside the basilica due to the heat.

Taking up a text already prepared during the pontificate of Pope Francis, who elevated St. Irenaeus to the rank of Doctor of the Church in 2022, Leo XIV drew a parallel between the welcome given to St. Irenaeus in Lyon in the second century and the presence today of migrants “who are reviving the faith in the countries that welcome them.”

“The Gospel comes from outside,” and St. Irenaeus connected East and West, the Pope explained, seeing this as a “sign of hope, because it reminds us how peoples continue to enrich each other.”

He also emphasized that St. Irenaeus did not allow himself to be discouraged by “the doctrinal divisions he encountered within the Christian community” or by “internal conflicts and external persecutions.”

On the contrary, these difficulties led him to “focus ever more deeply on Jesus.”

Emphasizing that “ideas can drive people mad and words can kill,” he pointed out, however, that “the flesh of Jesus must be listened to and contemplated in every brother and sister, in every creature.”

By offering “eternal life in our midst,” Jesus thus makes it possible to create communion, even between people who are opposed to one another.

“Through the intercession of St. Irenaeus, let us build bridges in our cities where there are still walls, becoming instruments of unity,” urged Leo XIV in his greeting to French pilgrims.

And to Polish pilgrims, he added: