Vatican City, Jan 6, 2026 / 03:45 am
Celebrating the solemnity of the Epiphany in St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV said God’s saving presence is revealed not “in a prestigious location” but “in a humble place” and urged Catholics to protect what is holy and newly born — “small, vulnerable, fragile” — in a world that often seeks to profit from everything.
“The child whom the Magi adore is a priceless and immeasurable good. It is the Epiphany of a gift. It does not occur in a prestigious location but in a humble place,” the pope said in his homily, delivered during a Mass that also included the closing of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, the last Holy Door to be shut at the end of the jubilee year.
Reflecting on the Gospel account of the Magi’s journey (Matthew 2:1-12), Leo contrasted the joy of those who seek Christ with the fear of Herod, who “tries to take advantage of the wishes of the Magi by manipulating their quest.”
“Fear does indeed blind us,” he said. “Conversely, the joy of the Gospel liberates us. It makes us prudent, yes, but also bold, attentive, and creative; it beckons us along ways that are different to those already traveled.”
In one of the final major liturgies of his first Christmas season as pope, Leo also warned against the spiritual dangers of a distorted economy that turns even humanity’s deepest longings into a commodity.
“Loving and seeking peace means protecting what is holy and, consequently, that which is newly born like a small, vulnerable, fragile baby. Around us, a distorted economy tries to profit from everything. We see how the marketplace can turn human yearnings of seeking, traveling, and beginning again into a mere business,” he said.
The pope pointed to the “stream of innumerable men and women, pilgrims of hope” who crossed the Holy Door during the jubilee and asked what the Church offered them — and what she must offer going forward.
“Millions of them crossed the threshold of the Church. What did they find?” he asked, adding that “the spiritual searching of our contemporaries, much richer than perhaps we can comprehend, invites us to earnest reflection.”
After the jubilee year, he continued, Catholics should examine whether they have learned to recognize God’s presence in those they encounter: “After this year, will we be better able to recognize a pilgrim in the visitor, a seeker in the stranger, a neighbor in the foreigner, and fellow travelers in those who are different?”
Leo also urged Catholics not to reduce churches to museums but to ensure they are places where faith is alive and hope is born anew.
“If we do not reduce our churches to monuments, if our communities are homes, if we stand united and resist the flattery and seduction of those in power, then we will be the generation of a new dawn,” he said.
Angelus: Replace the industry of war with the craft of peace
Following the Mass, Pope Leo XIV appeared at the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to pray the Angelus and again linked the Epiphany to the end of the jubilee year, emphasizing that Christian hope must be lived concretely in the world.
“Dear friends, the hope that we proclaim must be grounded in reality, for Jesus came down from heaven in order to create a new story here below,” he said.
In a pointed appeal for peace, he prayed: “May strangers and enemies become brothers and sisters. In the place of inequality, may there be fairness, and may the industry of war be replaced by the craft of peace. As weavers of hope, let us journey together towards the future by another road.”
After the Marian prayer, the pope greeted children and young people around the world on Missionary Childhood Day and thanked them for praying for missionaries and helping those in need. He also offered good wishes for serenity and peace to Eastern Christian communities preparing to celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar.
(Story continues below)
This story was first published in twoparts by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.
