Pope Leo: Encounter Christ as the Samaritan woman did
March 09, 2026
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass at the Church of Saint Maria della Presentazione in Rome (video) and encouraged the faithful to review their relationship with God this Lent in light of Christ’s encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:5-42).
“The thirst for life and love of the Samaritan woman is our thirst: that of the Church and of all humanity, wounded by sin but even more intimately inhabited by the desire for God,” Pope Leo preached in his Italian-language homily at the March 8 evening Mass. “We seek it like water, even when we do not realize it, every time we ask ourselves the meaning of events, every time we feel how much we miss the good we want for ourselves and for those around us.”
The Pope continued:
This man loves the Samaritan woman as no one had done before. While she was looking for the water of every day, he wanted to give her that new, living water, capable of satisfying every thirst and quenching every restlessness, because this water flows from the heart of God, the inexhaustible fullness of every expectation ...
In exchange for the thirst of before, full of bitterness and spiritual aridity, the Son of God offers as a gift a life renewed by the water that flows from the mercy of the Father. Everything is transformed in the encounter with the Lord: the thirsty woman becomes a source, the excluded becomes a confidant.
The woman full of shame is now filled with joy; the one who was mute in the village becomes a missionary for all its inhabitants. She would never have imagined that she herself, so disoriented and defeated by life, would one day be able to taste fresh water, a pure gift of God, becoming in turn a gift for others. How does this happen? By encountering Jesus, by dialoguing with him, the living Word of God made man for our salvation.
“Dear friends, with Baptism we have all received the grace of a new water, which washes away all fault and quenches all thirst,” Pope Leo added. “Like the Samaritan woman, so today in Lent we are given a time to rediscover the gift of this Sacrament which, like a door, has introduced us to faith and Christian life. As a good and caring Pastor, the Lord awaits us and accompanies us always, where we live and as we are. He heals our wounds with mercy and makes himself a gift for us, enabling us to become in turn a gift for our brothers and sisters.”
The Pope also encouraged parishioners to welcome others, as Christ welcomed the Samaritan woman. He said:
Starting from the Eucharist, the beating heart of every Christian community, I encourage you to ensure that parish activities are a sign of a Church that—like a mother—cares for her children, without condemning them, but rather welcoming them, listening to them and supporting them in the face of danger. May the word of the Gospel, which wells up in us as a source of truth, help each one to open our eyes, to know how to wisely evaluate what is good and what is evil, thus forming free and adult consciences.
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