Marking the Feast of the Holy Family on Dec. 28, Pope Leo XIV urged families to ground their lives in the Gospel and guard the “flame of love” in their homes against modern myths of worldly success and power that he warned can foster isolation and despair.
Addressing thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus, the Holy Father reflected on the Gospel account of the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt (Mt 2:13-15, 19-23), contrasting the Holy Family’s obedient trust in God with the fear-driven brutality of King Herod.
“It is a moment of trial for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Indeed, the bright image of Christmas is suddenly almost eclipsed by the disturbing shadow of a deadly threat, which has its origin in the troubled life of Herod,” Pope Leo said. “A cruel and bloodthirsty man, who is feared for his brutality, but precisely for this reason, he is deeply lonely and gripped with the fear of being deposed.”
He described Herod as consumed by fear and interior emptiness, rendering him unable to recognize God’s saving work unfolding before him.
“In his kingdom, God is performing the greatest miracle in history, in which all the ancient promises of salvation are fulfilled,” Pope Leo said, “but he cannot see this because he is blinded by the fear of losing his throne, riches, and privileges.”
The Pontiff invited families to see the Holy Family not as distant or idealized, but as a living answer to a broken world — one he said is embodied in the despotic and greedy order represented by the tyrant Herod.
“In Egypt, the flame of domestic love, to which the Lord has entrusted his presence in the world, grows and gains strength in order to bring light to the whole world,” he said.
Turning to the present day, Pope Leo warned that the world continues to produce its own “Herods” through false promises of earthly successes that can leave societies fractured.
“Unfortunately, the world always has its ‘Herods,’ its myths of success at any cost, of unscrupulous power, of empty and superficial well-being,” he said, “and it often pays the price in the form of loneliness, despair, divisions, and conflicts.”
The Pope urged families not to allow these pressures to “suffocate the flame of love” in the home, calling instead for a daily life rooted in faith.
“In our families, we should cherish the values of the Gospel: prayer, frequent reception of the sacraments — especially Confession and Communion — healthy affections, sincere dialogue, fidelity, and the simple and beautiful concreteness of everyday words and gestures,” he explained.
“This will make them a light of hope for the places in which we live; a school of love and an instrument of salvation in God’s hands.”
Concluding his reflection, Pope Leo entrusted families throughout the world to God’s care through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, asking that they become for us an efficacious sign of God’s presence and charity.
After praying the Angelus, the Holy Father also called for continued prayers for peace, especially for families suffering because of war.
“In the light of the Nativity of the Lord, let us continue to pray for peace,” he said, asking prayers “for families suffering because of war, especially for children, elderly, and the most vulnerable,” and entrusting them to “the intercession of the Holy Family of Nazareth.”