“As Bishop of Rome and Primate of Italy, it is significant for me to renew, with this visit, the strong bond that unites the See of Peter to the Italian people, within the framework of the cordial bilateral relations that exist between Italy and the Holy See, steadfastly marked by sincere friendship and effective mutual collaboration”, was the opening line of Pope Leo XIV’s speech at the Quirinal Palace. It was his first official visit as Pope to meet the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, who spoke immediately before him. Pope Leo thanked him “for your kind words and for the invitation to come here to the Quirinal, a palace so closely linked to the history of the Catholic Church and the memory of numerous Popes. In the Holy Father’s speech, as in that of the President, a spirit of profound respect and collaboration emerged between the Catholic Church and Italy, in the name of healthy secularism. Leo said that the relationship between the Pope and the Italian people is “a happy union rooted in the history of this peninsula and in the long religious and cultural tradition of this country.”
“My roots are in this country”,
he said, borrowing the words of this predecessor, Pope Francis, who uttered them in the same place and for the same occasion. The Pope thanked Italy for the “wonderful example of hospitality and efficient organization” it is providing for the Jubilee, and identified the “climate of cordial respect” as the hallmark of relations between the Holy See and Italy. This climate is enshrined in the Lateran Pacts, which will celebrate their centenary in a few years’ time, and were also mentioned in the President’s speech.
“I renew my heartfelt appeal to continue working to re-establish peace in every part of the world and to increasingly cultivate and promote the principles of justice, equity and cooperation among peoples which are its indispensable foundation”,
was the focus of the papal address, in which Prevost expressed his appreciation “for the Italian Government’s commitment to addressing the many situations of hardship linked to war and poverty, particularly the children of Gaza, also in collaboration with the Bambino Gesù Hospital”. The ‘first commitment’ of the collaboration between the Holy See and Italy is peace, in the face of wars that “are devastating our planet”.
“Let us look at the faces of those overwhelmed by the irrational ferocity of those who mercilessly plan death and destruction”,
the Pope urged to “listen to their cry and remember that every human being is a person, that is, a nature endowed with intelligence and free will; and therefore is the subject of rights and duties which flow immediately and simultaneously from his very nature: rights and duties which are therefore universal, inviolable, inalienable”. President Mattarella echoed this sentiment, calling for “a definitive end to hostilities and violence in the Gaza Strip” for the sake of overall stability in the Middle East and to revive the solution of one state for each of the two peoples, “the only one capable of allowing for a future in which everyone – Israel and Palestine – can find peace and security”.
In times of growing conflict, multilateralism is an “extremely important value” that the Italian state shares and must revive, as was emphasized in both speeches. Referring to the eighth centenary of St Francis of Assisi’s death, which will be celebrated next year, the Pope pointed to him as a model for addressing the urgent issue of caring for our “common home”. In his speech, the Pope discussed the political issues that need to be addressed in Europe — and Italy — which are grappling with a significant decline in birth rates.
“We require a commitment to promoting family-friendly choices at various levels, supporting their efforts, promoting their values, and protecting their needs and rights”,
the Holy Father continued. “’Father,’ ‘mother,’ ‘son,’ ‘daughter,’ ‘grandfather,’ and ‘grandmother’ are, in the Italian tradition, words that naturally express and evoke feelings of love, respect, and dedication, sometimes heroic, to the good of the domestic community and therefore to that of society as a whole”, stated Leo XIV, highlighting “the importance of ensuring all families the essential support of dignified employment, under fair conditions and with attention to the needs of motherhood and fatherhood”. Furthermore, life must be protected “in all its stages, from conception to old age, up to the moment of death”.
“I express gratitude for the assistance this country offers with great generosity to migrants,
who increasingly knock on its doors, as well as its commitment to the fight against human trafficking”, thanked the Pope.
“There is a certain tendency, these days, to undervalue, at various levels, the models and values that have developed over the centuries and that shape our cultural identity, sometimes even attempting to erase their historical and human relevance”, he admonished in the final part of his speech. “Let us not disdain what our ancestors experienced and what they passed on to us, even at the cost of great sacrifices”, the Pontiff asked: “Let us not be captivated by massifying and fluid models, which promote only a semblance of freedom, only to make people dependent on forms of control such as passing fads, commercial strategies, or otherwise” he appealed. “Italy is a country of immense wealth, often humble and hidden, and therefore sometimes needs to be discovered and rediscovered”, he saluted in conclusion.
