Pope at Canonisation Mass: Saints Keep the Light of Faith in Christ Burning

Vatican City, 19 October 2025 — Pope Leo canonised seven new Saints during a solemn Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, coinciding with World Mission Sunday. He called on Christians to remain steadfast in prayer and trust in God, even amid trials and tribulations.

The newly canonised Saints are Ignatius Choukrallah Maloyan, Peter To Rot, Vincenza Maria Poloni, Maria del Monte Carmelo Rendiles Martínez, Maria Troncatti, José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, and Bartolo Longo.

In his homily, the Holy Father reflected on Jesus’ question from the Gospel: whether the Son of Man will find faith on earth when He comes again. The Pope said this question highlights that faith is the “precious bond of love” uniting God and His people.

“Today we have before us seven witnesses—the new Saints—who, with God’s grace, kept the lamp of faith burning,” Pope Leo said. “Indeed, they themselves became lamps capable of spreading the light of Christ.”

He emphasised that while humanity’s “material, cultural, scientific, and artistic treasures” hold great value, they lose their true meaning without faith. A world without faith, he warned, would resemble “children without a Father”, devoid of hope and the desire for life.

For this reason, the Pope urged the faithful to persevere in prayer, describing it as essential to sustaining one’s relationship with God. “Just as breathing sustains the life of the body, so prayer sustains the life of the soul,” he said. “Faith, in fact, is expressed in prayer, and authentic prayer lives on faith.”

Pope Leo XIV acknowledged that Christians often face two temptations in prayer. The first is to be overwhelmed by the existence of evil and believe that God is indifferent to human suffering. The second is to treat prayer as a demand, expecting God to act according to one’s own interpretation of justice.

He said Jesus frees believers from both temptations through His prayer on the Cross—an ultimate act of surrender to God’s will. When faced with suffering or uncertainty, the Pope encouraged the faithful to transform doubt into prayer, recognising God’s presence wherever people endure pain.

“When we are ‘crucified’ by pain and violence, by hatred and war, Christ is already there, on the cross for us and with us,” he said. “There is no cry that God does not console; there is no tear that is far from His heart.”

Concluding his homily, Pope Leo XIV revisited Jesus’ question about faith on earth, urging Christians to live out their faith actively in every sphere of life. Faith, he said, sustains the commitment to justice and the desire for God’s love to redeem the world.

He prayed that the seven new Saints would intercede for all believers in their journey towards holiness, reminding the faithful that “faith on earth sustains the hope for heaven.”

Pope at Canonisation Mass: Saints Keep the Light of Faith in Christ Burning

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