Pope Leo XIV is urging Catholics, especially those entrusted with public authority, to return to the heart of the Christian message and allow it to shape their daily duties from within.
Speaking at the Vatican to members of Rome’s Carabinieri, Italy’s national gendarmerie and a branch of the armed forces, the Holy Father reflected on the deep relationship between faith, conscience, and service. According to Vatican News, he thanked the officers for their work in maintaining order and security in Rome and the surrounding province, particularly during the demanding Jubilee Year.
“Indeed, it has been so for all of us who live in Rome: the witness of so many pilgrims has strengthened and uplifted us,” the Pope said, noting how the faith of visitors has renewed the city itself.
Looking back to the earliest days of Christianity, Pope Leo recalled how the Gospel first spread in Rome—even among members of the military. He described the Good News as “a new way of living and thinking; a God who is love, mercy, and forgiveness; a fraternity among all men and women that transcends every social and ethnic difference,” according to Vatican News.
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The Pope emphasized that the Gospel has historically transformed societies not by force, but through interior conversion. As reported by Vatican News, he explained that Christianity shaped civilizations “not through violent revolution, but through a peaceful transformation from within, through consciences and the conversion of hearts.” This transformation brought with it “absolute respect for life and for every human being,” as well as worship directed to God alone.
Addressing the challenges of modern society, Pope Leo asked, “Is this not what can and must happen in every age, even in the world and in the Rome of today?” He answered in the affirmative, pointing to the Second Vatican Council and the consistent witness of the Church as guides for our time, according to Vatican News.
He called on Catholics to rediscover the “essential core of the Christian message and spirit of the early Church to embody them in our world, so different and far more complex.” Quoting the Letter to the Hebrews, he reminded those present: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
In closing, the Holy Father encouraged the Carabinieri to carry out their responsibilities with integrity, urging them to perform their duties with an “upright conscience, faithful to the principles and regulations of the Carabinieri Corps and, as Christians, faithful to the Gospel, which fills every intention and every action with the charity of Christ,” according to Vatican News.
Entrusting them to the protection of Mary under the title Virgo Fidelis, the Pope imparted his blessing upon the officers, their families, and their work—an affirmation that public service, when rooted in Christ, becomes a powerful witness to the transforming love of the Gospel.
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