Greeting Rome’s Carabinieri, a law enforcement agency, at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to receive those “who serve in maintaining order and security in the metropolitan area of Rome and throughout the province.”
Though the Jubilee Year was particularly demanding, the Pope shared his joy that the Carabinieri were able to have an enriching experience both personally and professionally.
“Indeed, it has been so for all of us who live in Rome: the witness of so many pilgrims has strengthened and uplifted us,” he said.
Early days of Christianity
The Pope then turned to the early days of Christianity in Rome, when the Good News of Jesus began to spread in different settings, including the army. This Good News was “a new way of living and thinking; a God who is love, mercy, and forgiveness; a fraternity among all men and women that transcends every social and ethnic difference.”
One of Italy’s main law enforcement agencies, the Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie and is the fourth branch of the Italian Armed Forces. Pope Leo highlighted that they know what hierarchy, command, and obedience mean.
Similarly, he explained that the Gospel, throughout the centuries, has deeply influenced the structures, principles, and patterns of thought and behavior within the civilizations it entered. Yet, “it did so not through violent revolution, but through a peaceful transformation from within, through consciences and the conversion of hearts.”
Through this, the Gospel brought a fresh understanding of both God and the human person, marked by absolute respect for life and for every human being, together with worship directed to God alone.
In every age around the world
Pope Leo then asked the question: “Is this not what can and must happen in every age, even in the world and in the Rome of today?” His response was yes, and he noted that the Second Vatican Council and the teachings and examples of the Pope confirm this.
To do this, the Pope urged everyone to rediscover the “essential core of the Christian message and spirit of the early Church to embody them in our world, so different and far more complex.” As St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Closing his address, Pope Leo thanked the Carabinieri for their service, particularly around the Vatican and in the city of Rome. He encouraged them to always perform their duties with “upright conscience, faithful to the principles and regulations of the Carabinieri Corps and, as Christians, faithful to the Gospel, which fills every intention and every action with the charity of Christ.”
He entrusted them to the protection of Mary, Virgo Fidelis, and offered his blessing on each of them, their families, and their work.