“Before borders, definitions, and institutions, there are always people,” the Pope insisted at the Rimini Meeting, noting that “this awareness is at the heart of Christianity.”
“In love, there is never any coercion or indoctrination, never any seduction, deception, or recruitment,” insisted Leo XIV during his address on August 22, 2026, at the 47th Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, organized in Rimini by the Communion and Liberation (CL) movement. The Pope paid tribute to the insights of Father Luigi Giussani (1922–2005), the movement's founder, whose cause for beatification is underway.
Before heading to the auditorium for his official address, the Pope — who landed at the Fiera di Rimini heliport at 2:53 p.m. — took the time to visit the exhibits dedicated to St. Augustine and the French entrepreneur Léon Harmel. He then rode through the aisles of the Meeting to greet the approximately 60,000 people gathered throughout the various areas of this vast exhibition park. Receiving a warm welcome in one of the halls where several thousand people had gathered, the Pope noted that “the applause must first be for Jesus, because we are all disciples of Jesus.”
[Note: At time of publication, there is no official English translation from the Vatican of the Pope's address.]
Amused by the enormous crowd surrounding the Pope’s arrival, Luigi, a 73-year-old retired railroad worker, is delighted to relive the atmosphere of John Paul II’s visit in 1982, which he also attended. “I first encountered Communion and Liberation more than 40 years ago; there I found a formation in the spirit of community,” says this man who has been actively involved for several decades in this movement founded in 1969 by Don Giussani. “The presence of Leo XIV today is a gift of grace; it shows that our charism is close to his heart,” he testifies.
Seeing “people” before “institutions”
“Even today, peace is preserved and spread by people who love to come together and who are not afraid of confrontation,” explained Léon XIV, drawing inspiration from Pope Francis’s encyclical Fratelli tutti to highlight the insights of the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, now in its 47th edition.
“Before borders, definitions, and institutions, there are always people,” the Pope insisted, explaining that “this awareness is at the heart of Christianity.” He explained that the Christian faith is based on “the revelation of a God who is encounter, event, gaze, and experience, awakening in each person the desire to be loved and to love.” Thus, the Rimini Meeting is not “a kind of enclave,” but “a crossroads for the Church and for society, a gathering that gives rise to others and inspires new paths.”
“Following Jesus Christ in the wake of the tragedies and new beginnings of the 20th century” requires a realization: “One does not fight evil with evil,” Leo XIV insisted.
“Against the false realism that rearms minds, words, and nations, Catholic culture must today offer the realism of mercy, according to which there can be no enemies,” he emphasized. In the face of “everything that the culture of power has defiled,” a “conversion of the people” is both possible and necessary.
“Let us therefore free our shared life from mistrust, culture from arrogance, education from ideology, work from the idolatry of profit, and technology and finance from the business of death,” the Pope urged. He called for overturning “the unjust power structures that are the root cause of poverty, inequality, war, and environmental disasters” and for reining in “technological development when it becomes intrusive and destructive.”
Mercy as a force for transformation
Citing his recent encyclical Magnifica humanitas, the Pope urged us to understand that a “plan of mercy continues to unfold throughout history even today,” including “at the heart of the most rapid and unsettling changes marked by algorithms and global networks.”
He thus drew upon “the educational risk” mentioned by Father Giussani, who believed that “the educational method best suited to doing good is not one that consists in fleeing reality to affirm the good in isolation, but one that consists in promoting the good in the world.”
Leo XIV addressed young people in particular, recalling his encounters with youth in Lebanon, Africa, and Spain. “Love animates, urges, rouses from lethargy, inspires new vocations, and drives us to take risks. Get involved! Open yourselves to true catholicity by extending your bonds beyond any overly narrow sense of belonging,” the Pope urged.
Connection between love and freedom
“In love, there is never coercion or indoctrination, never seduction, deception, or recruitment,” Leo XIV assured. He affirmed that “love resides only in freedom, in living dialogue, and in the generous gift of self.”
He explained that the spread of the Gospel “is not a matter of numbers, even if one is moved by the thousands of your contemporaries who are seeking baptism in societies considered to be among the most secularized in the world,” he explained, alluding to the phenomenon of the catechumenate in France, the United States, and other nations.
“One encounters the truth only in freedom,” explained Leo XIV, noting that this connection is becoming increasingly clear “in a historical context that is rekindling the most human questions and an infinite desire for meaning, justice, and peace.”
Preserve the unity of the Church
“Dear friends, always love the Church!” the Pope repeatedly urged. “Love and preserve the unity of the ‘community’ through which Christ has joined you and draws you to Himself,” declared the head of the Catholic Church. He highlighted the importance of the synodal journey initiated in 2021 by his predecessor Francis at the diocesan level worldwide, “which also calls for the renewal of every associative group and every ecclesial movement.”
In the context of synodality, “authority is transformed into a service that honors diversity and fosters harmony,” the Pope explained. He thus urged the members of CL to continue their work of transformation “in the footsteps of your founder, by fostering unity among yourselves, with those called to guide the Movement, with the Apostolic See that has recognized you, and with the Successor of Peter.”
The Pope’s pastoral visit to this city on the Adriatic Sea continued at the Cathedral of Rimini, with a meeting with the sick, people with disabilities, and the poor supported by Caritas. His pastoral concluded at the port of Rimini, where he celebrated Mass.
