Message from the Holy Father
The pope (Latin: papa, from Ancient Greek: πάππας, romanized: páppas, lit. ‘father’)[2][3] is the bishop of Rome and the visible head[a] of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff,[b] Roman pontiff,[c] or sovereign pontiff. The institution is known as the Papacy. From the eighth century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of state of the Papal States, and since 1929 of the much smaller Vatican City state
Message of the Holy Father Pope Francis for Lent 2025
The following is the text of the Holy Father Francis’ Message for Lent 2025, on the theme “Let us journey together in hope”:
Let us journey together in hope
Dear brothers and sisters,
We begin our annual pilgrimage of Lent in faith and hope with the penitential rite of the imposition of ashes. The Church, our mother and teacher, invites us to open our hearts to God’s grace, so that we can celebrate with great joy the paschal victory of Christ the Lord over sin and death, which led Saint Paul to exclaim: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor 15:54-55). Indeed, Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is the heart of our faith and the pledge of our hope in the Father’s great promise, already fulfilled in his beloved Son: life eternal (cf.Jn 10:28; 17:3).[1]
This Lent, as we share in the grace of the Jubilee Year, I would like to propose a few reflections on what it means to journey together in hope, and on the summons to conversion that God in his mercy addresses to all of us, as individuals and as a community.
First of all, to journey. The Jubilee motto, “Pilgrims of Hope”, evokes the lengthy journey of the people of Israel to the Promised Land, as recounted in the Book of Exodus. This arduous path from slavery to freedom was willed and guided by the Lord, who loves his people and remains ever faithful to them. It is hard to think of the biblical exodus without also thinking of those of our brothers and sisters who in our own day are fleeing situations of misery and violence in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones.
Second, to journey together. The Church is called to walk together, to be synoda[2]Christians are called to walk at the side of others, and never as lone travellers. The Holy Spirit impels us not to remain self-absorbed, but to leave ourselves behind and keep walking towards God and our brothers and sisters.[3]Journeying together means consolidating the unity grounded in our common dignity as children of God (cf.Gal 3:26-28). It means walking side-by-side, without shoving or stepping on others, without envy or hypocrisy, without letting anyone be left behind or excluded. Let us all walk in the same direction, tending towards the same goal, attentive to one another in love and patience.
This Lent, God is asking us to examine whether in our lives, in our families, in the places where we work and spend our time, we are capable of walking together with others, listening to them, resisting the temptation to become self-absorbed and to think only of our own needs. Let us ask ourselves in the presence of the Lord whether, as bishops, priests, consecrated persons and laity in the service of the Kingdom of God, we cooperate with others.
Third, let us journey together in hope, for we have been given a promise. Maythe hope that does not disappoint(cf.Rom5:5), the central message of the Jubilee,[5]be the focus of our Lenten journey towards the victory of Easter. As Pope Benedict XVI taught us in the EncyclicalSpe Salvi, “the human being needs unconditional love. He needs the certainty which makes him say: ‘neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom8:38-39)”.[6]Christ, my hope, has risen![7]He lives and reigns in glory. Death has been transformed into triumph, and the faith and great hope of Christians rests in this: the resurrection of Christ!
Source: Vatican News:https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/02/25/250225b.html