Pope encourages priests, religious to learn from the Spiritual Exercises, put the Lord first

November 11, 2026

Pope Leo XIV encouraged clergy, religious, seminarians, and pastoral workers in Argentina to examine their lives in the light of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises.

In a November 10 address at the cathedral in Córdoba (video), Pope Leo recalled the historic influence of the Spiritual Exercises upon the Church there. He then offered reflections on different passages, including the Principle and Foundation the meditations on the Two Standards, the Three Classes of Persons, and the Election; and the Contemplation to Attain Love.

“Over the years, something paradoxical can happen: we work hard for God yet spend less and less time with him,” Pope Leo said. “We continue serving, celebrating and attending to so many necessary tasks, but we may end up relying more on what we do than on the One for whom we do it.”

He continued:

The Principle and Foundation then puts everything back in its proper place: our life belongs to God and finds its order only when everything else has him as its center. Let us therefore simply return to the Eucharist, to listening to the word and to that relationship with the Lord that sustains everything else. Let us tend to the fire that once kindled our vocation and not allow the pressures of daily life, weariness or routine eventually to extinguish it.

“Dear brothers and sisters, if the Spiritual Exercises teach us anything, it is that after examining our own lives before God, we must return to them transformed,” Pope Leo said. “Let us return to our communities with hope, freedom and a desire to continue serving. Perhaps we will not see all that God will do with what we sow today; nor did those who came before us see it, but without their dedication, we would not be here today.”

The Pontiff concluded:

May God find in us men and women willing to follow him and to be shaped by his love—people who do not “give up” until they become holy. The Lord has done great things in this land, and I am convinced that he will do many more. May Our Lady of Luján accompany us on this journey and help us to tell the Lord, through our lives, that he can continue to count on us. Thank you very much.

Following the meeting in the cathedral, Pope Leo was driven to the Ingeniero Aeronáutico Ambrosio L.V. Taravella International Airport. From there, he departed on a one-hour flight to Buenos Aires, the nation’s capital, where he had begun the day.

 

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Further information:

• Apostolic Journey to Argentina: Meeting with the Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Men and Women Religious, Seminarians and Pastoral Workers (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 11/10/26)
• Meeting with Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Men and Women Religious, Seminarians and Pastoral Workers in the Cathedral of “Nuestra Señora de la Asunción”, Departure from Córdoba and arrival in Buenos Aires (Holy See Press Office, 11/10/26)
• Pope to Argentina’s clergy and religious: ‘Let us not give up!' (Vatican News, 11/10/26)