Focus on spreading the Gospel, Pope tells Italian bishops

May 29, 2026

Pope Leo XIV encouraged the bishops of Italy to sow the Gospel tirelessly and look upon the harvest with the gaze of Christ, rather than “lament the hardened ground.”

“Dear brothers, may the Holy Spirit grant us hearts that burn with the zeal of Christ; and may He raise up many holy workers to labor alongside us,” Pope Leo said to the Italian Episcopal Conference at the conclusion of its spring meeting in Rome.

“So, from this perspective, the priority is the Gospel,” the Pope continued. “Bringing the Gospel back to the center is the gift that gives enthusiasm to our lives as bishops and the urgency that drives us.”

In his address, delivered on May 28 in Synod Hall, the Pope encouraged the bishops to have the “courage of the essential.” He explained:

The courage of communities less concerned with preserving everything and freer to proclaim Christ. The courage of a catechesis that is a journey of initiation and ongoing formation in the Christian life. The courage of welcoming and missionary parishes, where families come together and are renewed by the life-giving force of the Gospel.

The courage of vibrant participatory bodies. The courage to listen to young people without taming their questions. The courage to let ourselves be evangelized by the poor. The courage of a national structure increasingly at the service of the missionary communion of the Churches in Italy.

A people is brought forth by mothers and fathers in the faith, by communities that know how to say, through their lives even before their words: “We have found the Messiah” (Jn 1:41). Italy needs this witness.

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• To Bishops of the Italian Episcopal Conference (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 5/28/26)
• Audience of the Holy Father with the participants in the 82nd General Assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference (Holy See Press Office, 5/28/26)