Love. Give. Forgive. And let us not lose heart if it is difficult, because with God all things are possible: Pope's reflection in joining Our Lady of the Lake festivities.
Joining in the celebrations for the feast of Our Lady of the Lake in Castel Gandolfo, Leo XIV took part in a boat procession on Lake Albano on the evening of August 29. After celebrating Mass to mark the feast, during which he called on the faithful not to conform to the mentality of the world, he joined in the procession with Our Lady, boarding the boat with the statue.
Leo XIV had celebrated Mass in the small church of Maria Santissima del Lago. Situated on the shores of Lake Albano in Castel Gandolfo, the church was consecrated by Paul VI in 1977. This Mass was held to mark the feast of Our Lady of the Lake, which is very dear to the local population. On Saturday evening, some 350 people, including a number of local authority representatives, were present in the open-air nave of the church.
As well as Paul VI, John Paul II also took part in this festival, which is held in the town where the popes’ summer residence is located. Neither of these two pontiffs, however, joined in the procession on the lake, which traditionally follows the Mass.
The relatively small statue of Mary depicts her looking toward the heavens, as she lifts the Infant Jesus toward her.
In his homily, the Pope had urged people to offer themselves to God through both their daily actions and those that are more extraordinary. The latter sometimes lead to martyrdom, as is "unfortunately still the case today for many Christians in various parts of the world," the Pope lamented.
Leo XIV went on to express regret that "not everyone understands the beauty, the goodness and the practical nature" of the call to "spread God’s charity throughout the world."
"Many think it is a utopia," he remarked.
For them, “turning the other cheek […] is for losers; giving in the face of rejection is naïve; and forgiving without limit is for the weak," he reflected. “This is hardly surprising,” since even for the first of his Predecessors, the Apostle Peter “it was difficult to accept this new and different way of thinking.”
Even when they are a response to injustices suffered, the Pope affirmed that "hatred and violence bring no good."
He urged the congregation not to conform to the mindset of the world, calling on them "to love, to give, to forgive."
“Let us not lose heart if it is difficult,” he insisted, assuring them that with God’s help “everything is possible.” Finally, the Bishop of Rome emphasized that God's power is particularly symbolized by “the procession across the lake that we are about to undertake,” which recalls the Gospel passage where Jesus walks on the water.
Procession at dusk
At the end of Mass, the Pope followed the statue of Our Lady of the Lake in procession, accompanied by the Bishop of Albano, Vincenzo Viva, and the parish priest of Castel Gandolfo, Father Tadeusz Rozmus. Several hundred people had gathered to await their passage.
Upon reaching the shore, the Pontiff boarded a small boat where Sister Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, was waiting for him. Accompanied by a fleet of boats of various sizes, he then crossed the lake which is nestled at the bottom of a volcanic crater and overlooked by the village of Castel Gandolfo.
The Pontiff left the shore as the sun disappeared behind the ridge. After a crossing of around 25 minutes, he reached dry land, where he blessed the faithful who had taken part in the procession.
The Pope will, exceptionally, spend the night in Castel Gandolfo and will lead the Sunday midday Angelus from here.
