Pope encourages Pavia’s citizens to seek the common good
June 20, 2026
After venerating St. Augustine’s relics in Pavia this afternoon, Pope Leo XIV visited Pavia Cathedral, where he adored the Blessed Sacrament and prayed before the relics of St. Syrus. He then addressed citizens of the northern Italian city in the Piazza della Vittoria (video).
“The people who live there constitute a society, that is, an organism that must be well ordered in its relations and laws,” Pope Leo said. “Being social means being in solidarity, behaving as authentic members: motivated by the common good and not by partisan interests.”
“Therefore, since the people are responsible for the public space, in the face of current challenges, let us ask ourselves what strengthens and what erodes our homes: let us ask ourselves what makes our society stable and what wounds us,” the Pope continued. “Otherwise, what belongs to everyone risks becoming nobody’s: when indifference seems to disintegrate our community, it is necessary to renew everyone’s active participation in city life.”
“The cross, which is in the coat of arms of your city, is much more than a heraldic symbol, it is a cultural synthesis: it reminds us that the history of Pavia is anchored in the universal value of Christian love; and it is a story to be written together, exercising a creative memory in the understanding between citizens and associations, between the Church and public bodies, between generations and cultures,” Pope Leo added.
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