Pope Leo: Jesus Redeems the Darkest Places of Human Existence

Vatican City, Sept. 25, 2025: Pope Leo XIV reflected on the meaning of Jesus Christ’s descent into the underworld on Holy Saturday while delivering his catechesis during his weekly general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, September 24. Speaking to thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, he explained why and how this act of Christ redeems the darkest places of human existence. 

In his address, Pope Leo described Jesus’ descent into the “underworld” on Holy Saturday after His Crucifixion as the most profound and radical gesture of God’s love for humanity. He explained that Jesus not only died for mankind but also actively sought us when we were lost, entering the place “where only the power of a light capable of penetrating the darkness can reach.”

The Pope clarified that, in this context, the underworld represents not merely a place but a human condition defined by pain, solitude, guilt, and separation from God and others.

“By descending into hell, Jesus entered ‘into the very house of death to empty it and free its inhabitants, taking them by the hand one by one,’” Pope Leo said. “In this act, there is all the strength and tenderness of the Paschal message: death is never the last word.”

Linking this ancient salvific event to present-day suffering, the Holy Father emphasised that Christ’s descent continues to reach those enduring “the daily hell of loneliness, shame, abandonment, and the struggle of life.” He said the risen Lord can enter into these states to “bear witness to the love of the Father.” He highlighted the Gospel image of Christ encountering Adam in the underworld as “the symbol of all possible encounters between God and man,” in which God calls each person by name and guides them back into the light “with full authority, but also with infinite tenderness.”

Concluding his reflection, Pope Leo stressed that God’s mercy can touch everything:"Christ's descent into the underworld demonstrates that 'nothing can be excluded from His redemption, not even our nights, not even our oldest faults, not even our broken bonds,'" the pope said. "No past is too ruined, no history too compromised for mercy to reach it."He added that Holy Saturday signifies “the silent embrace with which Christ presents all creation to the Father, restoring it to His plan of salvation.”

Courtesy: Vatican News

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