Vatican City: In a moving reflection during Wednesday’s General Audience, Pope Leo XIV highlighted the profound significance of Jesus’ descent into the underworld on Holy Saturday, describing it as the ultimate manifestation of God’s love for humanity.
“Death is never the final word,” the Holy Father proclaimed, explaining that Jesus, having suffered and died for humankind, did not stop there. He ventured into the very depths of darkness to seek those lost, entering a realm where only a divine light capable of piercing the gloom could reach. Pope Leo clarified that the underworld, in this context, is not a geographical location but a condition a state where life is drained, and pain, isolation, guilt, and estrangement from God and others dominate.
By descending into this “house of death,” Jesus engaged directly with the despair and brokenness of humanity. He took the inhabitants of the underworld by the hand, one by one, liberating them and exemplifying the radical tenderness at the heart of the Paschal message. “In this act, there is all the strength and tenderness of God’s love,” the Pope said.
Pope Leo emphasized that Christ’s descent is not merely an event of the past. The same Jesus who entered the underworld continues to enter the “daily hells” of human existence the struggles of loneliness, shame, abandonment, and the trials of life bringing the Father’s love into even the most painful and desolate moments. His encounter with Adam in the underworld, the Pope noted, symbolizes every possible encounter between God and humanity, in which God calls each person by name and leads them back into the light with infinite tenderness, like a father comforting a fearful child.
Holy Saturday, Pope Leo explained, is the day when heaven touches earth most intimately. Nothing is beyond the reach of Christ’s redemption not the darkest nights of life, nor the oldest sins, nor fractured relationships. Even the most compromised histories can be restored by divine mercy. The Pope concluded that this day represents the silent embrace of Christ, offering all creation to the Father to be renewed within His plan of salvation.
Through this meditation, Pope Leo XIV reminded the faithful that God’s mercy and love extend into every shadowed corner of human existence, transforming despair into hope and darkness into light.