The Blessed Virgin Mary’s Assumption points us to true beauty, Pope Leo preaches

August 15, 2026

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass at the Pontifical Parish of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo this morning and preached that the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Assumption points the way to true beauty.

The Assumption is the “fulfillment of the most perfect grace that God bestowed upon her at her Immaculate Conception,” Pope Leo preached. Many portraits of the Assumption “are inspired by the scene described in the passage from the Book of Revelation that we heard in the First Reading: ‘A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet’ (Rev 12:1), signifying that in Mary’s heart, heaven and earth, time and eternity, meet.”

The Pope continued:

To understand this, we must unite the two signs we have mentioned: the incorrupt body of the Mother of God and her immaculate heart. For it is the purity of the soul that, in Mary—as in us—by the grace of God, illuminates and transfigures the whole person, leading us to the glory of Heaven. The glorification of Mary, body and soul, teaches us that our true beauty does not lie in hiding the signs of aging, but in revealing the signs of love that never end, and are even impressed on our flesh

Calling for a reexamination of “many of the aesthetic standards, predominantly hedonistic and consumerist in nature, that the world imposes on us,” Pope Leo warned that “these standards risk trapping us in burdensome expectations.”

“In everyday life, we encounter people whose faces are marked by the years and by suffering, yet who are capable of radiating serenity, kindness and peace around them; just as we may observe others who are perhaps outwardly attractive but hard and cold at heart,” the Pope observed. “It is easy to see where true beauty lies and where, on the other hand, there is still a need for conversion, forgiveness and healing.”

Reflecting on true beauty, the Pope said:

If we truly wish to discover and nurture the divine beauty that surrounds us and for which we were made, and to share it with those around us, we must learn to see it in the wrinkles of an elderly person as in the tender face of a child as well, in the maturity of an adult as in the liveliness of a young person as well, in work clothes and tools as well as in festive decorations. We must listen to the unique love stories that each of these realities tells us, recognizing in them small glimpses of heaven.

Love is humanity’s most beautiful adornment. Love transfigures, transforms, ennobles and lifts us up, making us light, free and close to God, even amid life’s ups and downs.

The Pontiff concluded:

In her [the Blessed Virgin Mary’s] holy human nature, by the grace of God, we also see our nature; therefore, we too are called to live the same grace-filled life that she lived and to share in her glory.

When speaking of Christ’s resurrection, Saint Augustine urged the Christians of his time to make it the compass and focal point of their lives. He said: “Christ rose from the dead so that He might never die again […]. Change course, follow the light! Begin to rise from the very place from which he rose” (Enarratio in Psalmos, 126:7).

Let us accept his invitation. Let us follow the light of the Risen Lord, changing course if necessary. Let us do so, especially today, by looking to Mary, whom God has crowned with glory in body and soul, and whom he has given to us as Mother, guide, companion on our journey, and protector on the path to Heaven.

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a holy day of obligation except in those places where bishops, with the Vatican’s consent, have suppressed the obligation (Canon 1246). In the United States, the obligation to attend Mass on the feast day is abrogated when August 15 falls on a Monday or Saturday.

 

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Further information:

• Holy Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 8/15/26)