Pope, in Rimini, pays tribute to Communion and Liberation’s heritage, calls it to embrace synodal renewal

August 24, 2026

Following his visit to the nation of San Marino on August 22, Pope Leo XIV made a pastoral visit to the Italian city of Rimini, where he addressed the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, an annual conference organized by the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation.

During his address, Pope Leo paid tribute to the legacy of the movement and cited themes emphasized by its founder, the Servant of God Luigi Giussani (1922-2005).

“You have not made the Meeting a sort of enclave: on the contrary, it has become a crossroads for the Church and for society, an encounter that multiplies encounters and inspires new paths,” Pope Leo said in his Italian-language address. “Let us thank the Lord for this living heritage, which gives you a great historical responsibility, in the greater communion of the Church, at the service of a humanity that hungers and thirsts for justice.”

At the conclusion of his address, Pope Leo called on the movement to embrace synodal renewal—a renewal, he said, that every association within the Church needs.

“I invite you, both within the Movement of Communion and Liberation, and in the particular Churches to which each of you belongs, to have this experience of walking together: each one listens, allows himself to be transformed by the faith of others and together, under the guidance of the pastors, new awareness, further steps, courageous obedience to the Holy Spirit matures,” the Pontiff said, adding:

Synodality is not the name of a process, but the nature of a people that in friendship and in the encounter with the other feels that it belongs to God alone. Then authority is converted into service, which honors diversity and facilitates its harmony.

This style is a real sign of the times in this troubled era. We bear witness that every charism is for the common good, that every wealth is multiplied if shared, that every fear can be overcome: we must make it tangible, credible, desirable.

You will be able to do this, dear friends, in the footsteps of your founder, cultivating unity among yourselves, with those who are called to lead the Movement, with the Apostolic See which has recognized you, and with the Successor of Peter. May the Holy Spirit educate us in the practice of communion.

 

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Further information:

• Pastoral Visit to the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples and to the City of Rimini: Meeting with Participants in the 47th Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 8/22/26)
• Visita pastorale del Santo Padre Leone XIV nella Repubblica di San Marino, al Meeting per l’amicizia fra i popoli e alla città di Rimini (Holy See Press Office, 8/22/26)