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Put Jesus, the only Savior, at the center of your life, Pope Leo tells French altar servers
August 26, 2025
In an address to French altar servers in Rome for a jubilee year pilgrimage, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of friendship with Christ, the only Savior.
Pope Leo encouraged the altar servers to take “the time to speak to Jesus in the secret of your heart and to love Him more and more. His only desire is to be part of your life to illuminate it from the inside, to become your best friend, the most faithful. Life becomes beautiful and happy with Jesus. But He is waiting for your answer. He knocks at the door and waits.”
The Pontiff exclaimed, “To be ‘close’ to Jesus, the Son of God, to enter into his friendship! What an unexpected destiny! What happiness! What a consolation! What hope for the future!”
He continued:
You may be affected, yourself or those around you, by suffering, illness or disability, failure, the loss of a loved one; and, in the face of trial, your heart is in sorrow and anguish. Who will come to our rescue? Who will have mercy on us? Who will come to save us?... Not only of our sorrows, our limitations and our faults, but also of death itself?
The answer is perfectly clear and has resounded in history for 2000 years: Jesus alone comes to save us, and no one else: because only He has the power to do so—He is Almighty God in person—and because He loves us. Saint Peter said it forcefully: “There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we can be saved“ (Acts 4:12). Never forget these words, dear friends, engrave them in your hearts; and put Jesus at the center of your life.
Turning to the Eucharist, Pope Leo said that “the Church, from generation to generation, carefully keeps in mind the death and resurrection of the Lord which she witnesses, as her most precious treasure. She keeps it and transmits it by celebrating the Eucharist that you have the joy and honor of serving. The Eucharist is the Treasure of the Church, the Treasure of Treasures. From the first day of her existence, and then for centuries, the Church has celebrated Mass, from Sunday to Sunday, to remember what her Lord has done for her.”
Encouraging the servers to take their efforts seriously, the Pontiff spoke about the priestly vocation:
When you approach the Altar, always bear in mind the greatness and holiness of what is being celebrated. Mass is a time of celebration and joy. How, in fact, can we not have our hearts in joy in the presence of Jesus? But the Mass is, at the same time, a serious, solemn moment, imbued with gravity. May your attitude, your silence, the dignity of your service, the liturgical beauty, the order and majesty of your gestures, bring the faithful into the sacred grandeur of the Mystery.
I also hope that you will be attentive to the call that Jesus could address to you to follow him more closely in the priesthood. I am addressing your consciences as young, enthusiastic and generous people, and I am going to tell you something that you must hear, even if it must worry you a little: the lack of priests in France, in the world, is a great misfortune!
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