Vatican City: In a heartfelt message to the Networks of Indigenous Peoples and the Network of Indian Theology Theologians, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to rediscover the Jubilee Year as a season of grace, forgiveness, and shared hope. The message, released Thursday, emphasizes the transformative power of faith and the call to live as a people united in Christ.
Recalling the vision of his predecessor, Pope Francis, the Pope highlighted the universality of the Church, expressed in the diversity of vocations, ages, and life situations including families, children, young people, the elderly, ordained ministers, and lay faithful. He noted that entering the Holy Door is more than a symbolic gesture: “We seek to enter, through faith, into the very source of divine love the open side of the Crucified One.”
Pope Leo XIV stressed that faith calls Christians to unity and brotherhood, citing St. Augustine: “It is in this faith that we are a people of brothers, one in the One.” Through this lens, he urged the faithful to reflect on history and present reality with hope, even amid trials and tribulations, as the Jubilee Year encourages spiritual renewal.
The Pope acknowledged the complex history of evangelization among Indigenous Peoples, marked by moments of both light and shadow. Citing St. Augustine, he reminded that even when the messengers of the Gospel faltered, “God Himself works grace.” The Jubilee, he said, offers a sacred opportunity to forgive, reconcile with the past, and give thanks for God’s mercy.
Emphasizing the importance of surrender to divine providence, the Pope noted that the Word of God has been planted in all cultures, flourishing in ways unique to each. Quoting St. John Paul II, he reaffirmed: “The power of the Gospel is transforming and regenerative everywhere. When it penetrates a culture, catechesis would be impossible if the Gospel had to change upon contact with cultures.”
Highlighting the role of dialogue, Pope Leo XIV said encounters with diverse peoples reveal the abundant life Christ offers, experienced in both human fragility and divine grace. He expressed gratitude for the contributions of Indigenous communities and Indian theologians, noting that their worldview reflects a profound longing for communion with the Creator a message the Church must embrace with discernment.
Invoking the concept of parrhesia, cherished by Pope Francis, the Pope encouraged the faithful to proclaim the Gospel boldly and without fear. He called on Indigenous Peoples to share their cultural, human, and Christian richness courageously, enriching the Church’s universal mission. “The Church is enriched by their unique voices, which have an irreplaceable place in the magnificent choir where all proclaim: Eternal Lord God, joyfully we sing to You, to You our praise,” he said.
Concluding his message, Pope Leo XIV entrusted the networks’ mission to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Star of Evangelization, who “showed how Jesus Christ made two peoples one, breaking down the wall of hostility that divided them.” He renewed the missionary mandate of the Church: “Go, and make disciples of all nations,” spreading the joy born from encountering the Divine Heart of Christ.
The Pope’s message stands as a call to faith, dialogue, and reconciliation, urging communities worldwide to embrace the Jubilee Year as a moment of spiritual renewal, unity, and joy in Christ.