At 12 noon today, the eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Holy Father Leo XIV appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

The Pope reflects on Sunday’s Gospel regarding the Church’s task to bring charity where there is misery, hope where there is affliction, and faith where there is mistrust.

Below we publish the words of the Pope introducing the Marian prayer:

Words of the Pope

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today’s Gospel (Mt 9:36-10:8) offers us a great gift, because it includes everyone who listens to it within the gaze of Jesus. It is an account that bears witness to the attentiveness of his sight, as well as telling us what he observes. We read, in fact, that Christ, “at the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned” (v. 36). Making himself our brother, the Son of God looks at people, he looks at humanity: he sees the oppression that crushes and the violence that strips away strength. He sees the wounds of wars and the emptiness of consumerism. He sees faces reduced to masks, families broken by evil, and young people misled by false ideals. Jesus sees and loves. He loves and suffers for us, with us: his compassion expresses not only fraternal closeness, but a will for redemption.

He, in fact, knows our heart and cares for it; faced with so many people like “sheep without a shepherd” (v. 36), Christ dedicates himself to everyone as the Good Shepherd and, as the master of the harvest, sends laborers into the field of the world (cf. v. 38). What is the work they must perform? To bring God’s consolation to those who suffer: to bring charity where there is misery, hope where there is affliction, faith where there is mistrust.

The Gospel mentions the names of the first twelve “laborers”; they are disciples who became apostles, that is, missionaries and preachers. Among them is Simon called Peter, the first, and also Judas Iscariot, the last, to remind us that one can follow Jesus and betray him, but the Gospel continues to be a living and true word for everyone. The Good News that crosses the centuries is identical, always young, fresh, and liberating: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 10:7)! Yes, it is near because in Jesus Christ, God becomes a neighbor to every man and woman, to every people and nation. When this Gospel is proclaimed and practiced, evil collapses like an illness that ends (cf. v. 8), like a night that gives way to the dawn, like death conquered by the Risen One.

In this way, the gaze of Jesus transforms reality: full of love, his initiative gives life to a new people, the Church, called to continue the mission of the apostles: “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give” (v. 8). Yes, the gift of Jesus is totally free, because its value exceeds all measure: it is impossible to deserve it or to “buy” it. This grace is the beautiful name of God’s mercy, which reaches us wherever we are, to guide us towards Him. “Ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Mt 9:38).

Dear brothers, the task of evangelizing is born from the gift of God, which in Christ becomes forgiveness for the world, service to the least and the poorest, and a commitment to justice. Let us ask for the help of the Virgin Mary, full of grace, so that we may respond with joy and courage to the mission to which Jesus calls us.

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters:

First of all, I express my gratitude to the Lord for the Apostolic Journey he allowed me to make to Spain. I thank the Spanish people, who welcomed me with great enthusiasm and devotion; and, in a special way, His Majesty the King. My affectionate gratitude also goes to the bishops, to the communities I visited, and to the entire Church in Spain. May God always bless Spain!

I also wish to remember some new Beati: the diocesan priests Venceslao Drbola and Jan Bula, from Moravia; and Jan Šwierc and eight companions, Polish Salesian priests. All have been beatified as martyrs because they were victims of persecution by totalitarian regimes due to their fidelity to Christ. Furthermore, yesterday in Mato Grosso, Brazil, Nazareno Lanciotti, a Roman missionary priest, was beatified; he too was a martyr, because he defended the poorest in the name of the Gospel. May the example and intercession of these courageous witnesses sustain the mission of priests and of the entire Church.

I assure my closeness to the population of the Philippines, affected a few days ago by a strong earthquake. I pray for the deceased and their families, for the injured, and for all those who suffer because of this calamity.

And now I turn my greetings to all of you, Romans and pilgrims from various countries!

I greet the members of the International Commission for Dialogue between the Disciples of Christ and the Catholic Church. May your reflections help us grow in communion.

I greet the pilgrims from the United States of America, in particular the faithful from New Jersey and the Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart in Miami, Florida. I greet the confirmation candidates from Bolgare, diocese of Bergamo, the “Casa de Maria” (House of Mary) community—whom Pope Francis used to call “the youth of the Immaculate”—and the parish groups of Santa Maria delle Grazie and Santa Francesca Cabrini in Rome.

I wish you all a happy Sunday!