In his first Corpus Christi Mass as pope, Pope Leo XIV called on Catholics to respond to the world’s hunger — physical and spiritual — by sharing the gift of the Eucharist and living out its message of hope and salvation. “We are called to share our bread, to multiply hope and to proclaim the coming of God’s kingdom,” he told the faithful gathered outside the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome on June 22, 2025, according to EWTN News.
Pope Leo’s homily drew deeply from the day’s Gospel reading recounting the miracle of the loaves and fishes. He said this miracle was not only about feeding the hungry but a sign that “Jesus proclaims that he will save everyone from death.” In the Eucharist, he said, “Christ is God’s answer to our human hunger, because his body is the bread of eternal life: Take this and eat of it, all of you!”
By traveling to his cathedral as Bishop of Rome and presiding over the Mass, Pope Leo emphasized the Eucharist’s role as a source of unity and mission. Following the liturgy, he led a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Rome to the Basilica of St. Mary Major — a public witness of the Church’s belief in Christ’s real presence in the Blessed Sacrament.
Reflecting on the miracle recounted in the Gospel, the pope said Jesus’ response to the hungry crowd overturns worldly logic. “The disciples offered only five loaves and two fish — a seemingly reasonable calculation that in fact reveal their lack of faith,” he said. “For where the Lord is present, we find all that we need to give strength and meaning to our lives.”
The Holy Father emphasized that the Eucharist is not magic, but the fruit of divine love: “Jesus’ gesture of breaking the bread is not some complicated magical rite; they simply show his gratitude to the Father, his filial prayer and the fraternal communion sustained by the Holy Spirit.”
He urged the faithful to imitate Christ’s generosity in a world marked by “the accumulation by a few” and “an arrogant indifference that produces pain and injustice.” Entire peoples, he said, now suffer “more as a result of the greed of others than from their own hunger.”
In the context of the Jubilee of Hope, Pope Leo urged concrete action rooted in the Eucharist: “Especially in this jubilee year, the Lord’s example is a yardstick that should guide our actions and our service.”
He also quoted St. Augustine, who described the Eucharist as “bread that restores and does not run short; bread that can be eaten but not exhausted.” In this sacrament, the pope said, “the Savior… transforms bread into himself in order to transform us into himself.”
Citing Lumen Gentium, he reminded Catholics that “all are called to this union with Christ, who is the light of the world, from whom we come, through whom we live, and toward whom we direct our lives.”
As the Eucharistic procession began, Pope Leo explained its deeper purpose: “Together, as shepherds and flock, we will feed on the Blessed Sacrament, adore him, and carry him through the streets. In doing so, we will present him before the eyes, the consciences, and the hearts of the people.”
He concluded with a challenge and invitation: “Strengthened by the food that God gives us, let us bring Jesus to the hearts of all, because Jesus involves everyone in his work of salvation by calling each of us to sit at his table. Blessed are those who are called, for they become witnesses of this love!”
