We have to all learn to pray, insists Pope Leo on parish visit

In his homily, Leo described Lent as “an important stage in our journey following Jesus, until his Passover of passion, death, and resurrection.” This liturgical season, he explained, invites believers to renew the grace of baptism and to welcome the call to conversion, while God purifies hearts “through his love and through the works of charity he invites us to perform.”

Commenting on the Gospel episode of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, developed in the liturgy of this third Sunday of Lent, the Pope saw it as a metaphor for the thirst of all humanity, “wounded by sin but even more deeply inhabited by the desire for God.” According to him, man seeks God “like water,” sometimes even without being aware of it, whenever he questions the meaning of events or seeks the good.

In his dialogue with the Samaritan woman, Jesus does not merely respond to a material need. “While she was looking for water for each day, he wanted to give her new, living water, capable of quenching all thirst and calming all anxiety,” the Pope explained. This unexpected encounter, the Pope explained, reveals “the God of surprises,” who meets each person where they are and transforms their life.

The encounter profoundly transforms the woman: “Everything is transformed in the encounter with the Lord: the thirsty woman becomes a source, the outcast becomes a confidante,” Leo XIV said. Freed from her shame and filled with joy, she returns to the inhabitants of her village to bear witness to what has happened to her.

The Bishop of Rome thus recalled that this experience concerns every baptized person. "Through baptism, we have all received the grace of new water that washes away all sin and quenches all thirst." The season of Lent is therefore an opportunity to rediscover this fundamental gift that introduces us to Christian life. The Lord, he added, always accompanies believers ”where we live and as we are," healing wounds with mercy and enabling each of us to become a gift to others in turn.

Addressing the parish community more directly, the Pope acknowledged the social difficulties present in this neighborhood of Rome: situations of marginalization, material and moral poverty, concerns for young people exposed to illusions or discouragement. Many, he observed, are still waiting for “a home, a job that ensures a dignified life, safe places to meet, play, and build something beautiful together.”

In this context, the parish is called to be a place of welcome and hope. As at the well in the Gospel, he explained, men and women wounded in their dignity come to seek a sign of life. The mission of Christians is therefore to manifest the closeness of Christ and “his desire to redeem our existence from the evils that threaten it.” The word of the Gospel, he insisted, must help everyone to discern wisely between good and evil and to form “free and mature consciences.”

Before Mass, the Pope addressed the children and families of the parish. Referring to the question of how to encounter God in daily life, he assured them that “sometimes it is not so much we who must seek him: He is already seeking us.”

“It is very important that we all learn to pray,” said the Pope, inviting the faithful to speak to God with the prayers of the Church but also “with our own words,” entrusting to him the concerns, difficulties, and sufferings of daily life. He also encouraged the faithful to recognize the presence of Christ “in the person who suffers, in the person who has nowhere to live or sleep, in the sick person.”

The Pope praised the vitality of the parish, which he described as “a kind of garden where people can come to find Jesus Christ, find a community of faith and the help they need.” He particularly encouraged children and young people to reject violence, hatred, and all forms of harassment, emphasizing that building peace in the world begins first and foremost in everyday actions.

He also spoke to Caritas volunteers, paying tribute to them by explaining that their works are “signs of God's love for those who are often most vulnerable.”

“Each of you, even the oldest, sickest, or weakest person, has immense value, because we are all created in the image of God,” assured the Bishop of Rome, emphasizing the value of the presence and prayer of the most fragile. "Your voice, your presence, your prayers, even your suffering: all of this has great value in today's world," insisted Leo XIV.

Meeting with members of the parish pastoral council after Mass, the Pope recalled that the previous papal visit to this parish was that of John Paul II in 1982, the year of his own ordination to the priesthood in Rome. He also noted how a woman of the parish had reminded him that the date of his visit marked 10 months since his election as pope.

He stressed that the parish must always keep its doors open and show “a sign of God's presence in a world that is sometimes distant, that has perceived a little of this sensitivity, the awareness of this need to live with the Lord.”

He noted that changes in society, particularly increasing mobility, lead many families to “no longer have time to know Jesus, to know the word of God.” Parishes therefore face the challenge of calling and inviting those who are not regulars, accompanying “those who may never have known the gift of faith.” He particularly encouraged the members of the parish council to “embody the presence of the Lord” in this neighborhood on the outskirts of Rome.

The Pope was particularly enthusiastic about this visit, warmly thanking the young priest for his welcome. “We should have encounters like this every Sunday,” exclaimed the Pope before leaving, suggesting that he would make many pastoral visits to Roman parishes in the months and years to come.