Conversion to God brings about hope for a peaceful world, Pope tells pilgrims
January 01, 2026
In his midday Angelus address today, Pope Leo XIV said that the 2025 jubilee year, dedicated to hope, “has taught us how to cultivate hope for a new world” (video)
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“We do this by converting our hearts to God, so as to transform wrongs into forgiveness, pain into consolation, and resolutions of virtue into good works,” Pope Leo said to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “In this way, God himself dwells in history and saves it from oblivion, giving the world our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.”
The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, celebrated on January 1, “directs our gaze towards Mary, who was the first to experience Christ’s beating heart,” the Pope said. “In the silence of her virginal womb, the Word of life presents himself as a heartbeat of grace.” He added:
God, the good Creator, has always known Mary’s heart and our hearts. By becoming man, he makes his heart known to us. The heart of Jesus, therefore, beats for every man and woman; for those who are ready to welcome him, like the shepherds, and for those who do not want him, like Herod. His heart is not indifferent to those who have no heart for their neighbor: it beats for the righteous, so that they may persevere in their dedication, as well as for the unrighteous, so that they may change their lives and find peace.
The Pontiff also spoke about the image of God in unborn children, stating that “the Savior comes into the world by being born of a woman. Let us pause to adore this event, which shines forth in Mary Most Holy and is reflected in every unborn child, revealing the divine image imprinted in our humanity.”
Referring to the World Day of Peace, Pope Leo called for prayers for peace “among nations bloodied by conflict and suffering, but also within our homes, in families wounded by violence or pain.”
“Certain that Christ, our hope, is the sun of justice that never sets, let us confidently implore the intercession of Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church,” the Pope concluded.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, Pope Leo again spoke about the World Day of Peace, thanking Italian President Sergio Mattarella for his new year’s peace message, and also thanking organizers of Italian marches for peace and other peace initiatives.
“Dear friends, with the grace of Christ, let us begin today to build a year of peace, disarming our hearts and refraining from all violence,” the Pope told pilgrims.
The Pontiff also recalled that 2026 marks the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi.
“May the Holy Mother of God guide us on our journey in the new year,” he concluded. “Best wishes to everyone!”
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