During his April 8 General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV delivered a catechesis on the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, emphasizing that holiness is not reserved for a select few – it is the universal vocation of every baptized Christian.
Addressing thousands of pilgrims gathered at the Vatican, Pope Leo focused on Chapter Five of Lumen Gentium, which presents the “universal vocation to holiness.” He said all the faithful must strive for the perfection of charity and described charity as the very heart of Christian holiness.
“Holiness, according to the Conciliar Constitution, is not a privilege for the few,” he said, “but a gift that requires every baptized person to strive for the perfection of charity, that is, the fullness of love towards God and towards one’s neighbor.”
He said this holiness reaches its fullest expression in martyrdom, “the supreme witness of faith and charity,” and urged believers to be ready to confess Christ even unto death.
The Pope highlighted the essential role of the Sacraments — especially the Eucharist — as “nourishment that fosters a holy life, assimilating every person to Christ, the model and measure of holiness.” He quoted Saint Pope Paul VI, who said the Church calls all people to be “holy, that is, truly worthy, strong and faithful children of hers.”
“This is realized as an inner transformation,” Pope Leo said, “whereby the life of every person is conformed to Christ by virtue of the Holy Spirit.”
Turning to the reality of sin within the Church, Pope Leo said the Church remains “indefectibly holy,” though not yet in “a full and perfect sense,” but rather as one called “to confirm this divine gift during her pilgrimage towards the eternal destination.”
“The sad reality of sin in the Church, that is, in all of us, invites each person to carry out a serious change of life, entrusting ourselves to the Lord, who renews us in charity,” the Holy Father added. “It is precisely this infinite grace, which sanctifies the Church, that entrusts us with a mission to fulfill day after day: that of our conversion.”
He called for ongoing conversion, stressing that holiness is not merely an ethical effort but lies at the very heart of Christian life, both personal and communal.
The Holy Father devoted significant attention to consecrated life, described in Chapter Six of Lumen Gentium as a prophetic sign of the Kingdom of God. He praised the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience as liberating gifts of the Holy Spirit that free consecrated persons from self-interest, domination, and division, allowing them to witness radical discipleship and bear witness to the universal call to holiness.
“By conforming to this style of life, consecrated persons bear witness to the universal vocation of holiness of the entire Church, in the form of radical discipleship,” he said. “The evangelical counsels manifest full participation in the life of Christ, unto the Cross: it is precisely by the sacrifice of the Crucified One that we are all redeemed and sanctified!”
The Pontiff added that there is “no human experience that God does not redeem: even suffering, lived in union with the passion of the Lord, becomes a path of holiness.” He entrusted the faithful to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the all-holy Mother of the Incarnate Word, asking her to sustain and protect them.
At the conclusion of the audience, Pope Leo welcomed the April 7 announcement of an immediate two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran as a “sign of deep hope” and urged prayers for ongoing diplomatic efforts.
He said, “Only by returning to the negotiating table can we bring the war to an end.”
>> Pope Leo welcomes news of ceasefire in Iran, reiterates invitation to prayer vigil <<