Jesus is the Epiphany of God and true humanity, Pope tells pilgrims
January 07, 2026
Jesus is the Epiphany, or manifestation, of God and true humanity, Pope Leo XIV told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his holy day Angelus address (video).
The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, celebrated on January 6 on the General Roman Calendar, is among the holy days of obligation in the universal Church, except where bishops’ conferences have suppressed the obligation and transferred the feast to the Sunday after January 1 (Canon 1246).
“The life of God has been revealed in many times and in different ways, yet with definitive clarity in Jesus, so that we now know how to hope, even in the midst of many tribulations,” Pope Leo said during yesterday’s Angelus address, delivered at noon. “Kneeling like the Magi before the Infant of Bethlehem means, also for us, to profess having found that true humanity in which the glory of God shines forth.”
The Pope explained:
In Jesus, the true life appears, the living man, the one who does not exist for himself but is open and in communion, who teaches us to say, “on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:10). Indeed, the divine life is within our reach; it is made manifest so that we might be included in its dynamic freedom, which loosens the bonds of fear and enables us to encounter peace. This is a possibility and an invitation, for communion cannot be constrained. What else could we desire more than this?
Pope Leo also reflected on the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh offered by the Magi.
“The greatest gift is to give everything,” the Pope said. “We do not know anything about the possessions of the Magi, who came from the East, but their departure, their risk-taking and their gifts themselves suggest that everything, truly everything that we are and possess needs to be offered to Jesus, who is our inestimable treasure.”
The Pontiff concluded by reflecting on the jubilee year of hope, which had ended hours earlier:
For its part, the Jubilee has reminded us of the justice founded on gratuitousness, of the original jubilee prescriptions, which included a call for the integration of peaceful living, a redistribution of the land and its resources, and a restoration of “what one has” and “what one is” to the designs of God, which are greater than ours.
Dear friends, the hope that we proclaim must be grounded in reality, for Jesus came down from heaven in order to create a new story here below. In the gifts of the Magi, then, we see what each one of us can share, what we can no longer keep for ourselves but are to give to others, so that the presence of Jesus can grow in our midst. May his Kingdom grow, may his words come to fulfillment in us, may strangers and enemies become brothers and sisters. In the place of inequality, may there be fairness, and may the industry of war be replaced by the craft of peace. As weavers of hope, let us journey together towards the future by another road (cf. Mt 2:12).
Following the recitation of the Angelus, Pope Leo said that “on the feast of the Epiphany, which is also Missionary Childhood Day, I greet and thank all the children and young people who, in many parts of the world, pray for missionaries and are committed to helping their less fortunate peers. Thank you, dear friends!”
“My thoughts also turn to the ecclesial communities of the East, who tomorrow will celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar,” he continued. “Dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord Jesus grant you and your families serenity and peace!”
After greeting various groups of pilgrims, the Pope concluded, “To all of you, I express good wishes for the New Year in the light of the Risen Christ. Good wishes to all. Happy Feast!”
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