- 14 November, 2026
November 14, 2026: Pope Leo XIV made a strong appeal for evangelisation during Holy Mass celebrated before around 500,000 faithful in Chiclayo, northern Peru, on Friday. The city holds special significance for the Pope, who served there for almost eight years, first as Apostolic Administrator and later as bishop, before being called to Rome by Pope Francis.
Around one million people filled the streets of the city to catch a glimpse of the Pope, while approximately 500,000 participated in the Eucharistic celebration.
“Here in Chiclayo, and throughout Peru, I invite you… to commit yourselves to sharing the living hope that is Jesus Christ and to let the Gospel ‘overflow’" from your villages, towns, and cities, proclaiming to all the "glory of the Lord,” he said during his homily.
The Church's Essential Mission
The Pope reminded the faithful that all Christians are missionary disciples and cannot remain indifferent “to the task of evangelization,” which he described as the Church’s “essential mission, her deepest vocation, and her very reason for being.”
Addressing the question of how Christ can be proclaimed in the twenty-first century, Pope Leo said, “The answer is through the witness of an authentically Christian and coherent life.”
Christ at the Centre
Pope Leo emphasised that Christians must place Jesus at the centre “of our proclamation and of our life.” He also explained that living a coherent Christian life is not simply a matter of personal choice but a grace that must be sought from the Lord and with which believers must cooperate.
He further reflected on the personal encounter with Jesus Christ, centred on the Last Supper, where Jesus awaits the faithful at “the table of the Word and the table of the Eucharist,” as well as through “ecclesial communion” and “fraternal welcome of our neighbour.”
“Evangelisation, therefore, does not mean imposing doctrines or trusting efficient strategies, but bearing witness to that real encounter with Christ,” he said.
The Pope added that this responsibility calls for attitudes of “humility and solicitude” and “profound respect for each person’s conscience and freedom.”
He also encouraged common prayer, particularly within families, explaining that “domestic churches” can lead to active participation in every aspect of community life.
Evangelisation Demands Charity and Truth
Pope Leo emphasised that evangelisation must be rooted in both charity and truth. “Without truth, love degenerates into mere sentimentality”; while truth without love “becomes rigid and cold.”
He further insisted that evangelisation today “must face the changing conditions and dynamics involved in the transmission of faith,” particularly in places where the transmission of faith has been abandoned.
Spreading the Joy of the Encounter with Jesus
Concluding his homily, Pope Leo reminded the faithful that missionary work must emerge from a genuine encounter with Christ.
“Dear friends,” Pope Leo said, “mission cannot be improvised. Indeed, we proclaim what we have encountered, the salvation we have experienced, the forgiveness of sins granted to us and the discovery of the true meaning of life, because ‘every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus’.”
“I pray that this love may set fire to the life of each one of us, so that, as baptised persons and as a Christian community, we may go out into the world and spread to others the joy born of our encounter with the risen Lord.”
Courtesy: Vatican News
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