Pope Leo XIV celebrates Corpus Christi

On the 22nd June 2025 in the esplanade of the Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, Pope Leo presided over Holy Mass and the traditional Eucharistic procession. In his homily, the Holy Father reflected on the Gospel episode of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, highlighting how Jesus responds to the urgency of hunger with "the sign of sharing".

"This is the logic that saves the hungry people: Jesus works according to God's style, teaching them to do the same", the Pope stressed, recalling that especially in this Jubilee Year, "the example of the Lord remains for us an urgent criterion of action and service: sharing bread, to multiply hope, proclaims the coming of the Kingdom of God".

The Holy Father indicated the importance of the Eucharist as the true, real and substantial presence of the Saviour, who "transforms the bread into himself, to transform us into Him". The celebration of Corpus Christi reminds us that "Corpus Christi makes us, that is, the Church herself, the body of the Lord".

The liturgical act ended with the Eucharistic procession which, as the Pope explained, is "a sign of this journey" where "together, shepherds and flock, we nourish ourselves with the Blessed Sacrament, adore Him and carry Him through the streets". The procession with the Blessed Sacrament traveled along Via Merulana towards the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where the Pope imparted the Eucharistic Blessing.

Read Pope Leo's homily

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