Listen to God, ‘dare to obey the Holy Spirit,’ and ‘be new saints,’ Pope Leo preaches in Assisi

August 06, 2026

As his brief pastoral visit to Assisi today drew to a close, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels (video) and challenged the young people present to listen to God and “dare to obey the Holy Spirit.”

Reflecting on the Gospel reading of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Matthew 17:1-9), Pope Leo preached that “today we contemplate Jesus, who is transfigured precisely in conversation with the Father, with those who preceded him—Moses and Elijah—and with his contemporaries, the disciples.”

“The Church exists to lead us into this dynamic of listening and decision-making, in which we come to understand for whom we are to live and how we are to live,” the Pope continued. “The Church is the community in which we learn to discern the voice of God, which never simply coincides with our own opinions, and to dare to obey the Holy Spirit, who makes bold and creative all those who choose to follow Jesus.”

The Pope added that “while we are ‘disfigured by separating ourselves from him and from others, we are transfigured through the bonds that nourish and call us to life. Franciscan spirituality, in which you have been formed, is among the most attentive to restoring fundamental relationships with God and with all his creatures. Today, more than ever, this is a harmony that needs to be safeguarded and cultivated.”

Pope Leo then challenged the young people to “be new saints”:

Well then, dear young people, today Europe and the whole world are looking to you to be new saints. Dare to believe in the word of the Gospel; become fully human with the freedom of Jesus Christ; embrace Sister Poverty! The title of your gathering, Go!, is a mission, a sending forth onto paths for which we have no maps, because they are opened by listening to the heart, obeying the Holy Spirit, and following the Risen One wherever he has chosen to go before us. Go! Go! Or better yet: let us go! Let’s go to the margins, where the injustice and arrogance of a few deny the dignity and dreams of many, of far too many sons and daughters of God .

“Dear friends, may these days in Assisi remain etched in your memory, and may your return home, to the various countries of Europe to which you will travel, be like the descent of Peter, James and John from the high mountain of the Transfiguration,” the Pontiff concluded. “May your return be reflective, open to the future and committed to Jesus Christ. He trusts you, counts on you and remains always with you.”

 

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Further information:

• MEETING OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV WITH THE YOUNG PEOPLE TAKING PART IN THE “GO! FRANCISCAN YOUTH MEETING 2026” SANTA MARIA DEGLI ANGELI – ASSISI (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana)
• Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord - Holy Mass (Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, 8/6/26)