Napoli won their fourth “Scudetto” on Friday with a 2-0 home victory over Cagliari, edging out Inter Milan by one point in a nail-biting end to the season.

It marked the Holy Father’s first encounter since being elected Pope with officials of the Roman Curia, and the employees of the Holy See, the Governorate of Vatican City State, and the Vicariate of Rome.

Recognizing that each, in his or her own way, collaborates in the Successor of Peter’s work, the Pope warmly welcomed those gathered, and expressed his gladness.

“Each one contributes by carrying out their daily tasks with commitment—and also with faith, because faith and prayer are like salt in food: they give it flavor.”

The Holy Father also said he was very glad that many family members were also present, “taking advantage of the fact that today is Saturday.”

This first meeting of ours, Pope Leo XIV noted, is “certainly not the occasion for programmatic speeches,” but rather “an opportunity for me to thank you for the service you carry out, and this service, which I, so to speak, ‘inherit’ from my predecessors.”

The Holy Father pointed out that he arrived only two years ago, “when the beloved Pope Francis appointed me Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.” At that time, he recalled that he left the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru and came here to work.

“What a change! And now… what can I say? Only what Simon Peter said to Jesus by the Sea of Tiberias: ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you,'” he reflected.

Pope Leo receives curial officials   (@VATICAN MEDIA)

Popes come and go, Curia remains

“Popes come and go; the Curia remains,” Pope Leo observed.

This, he said, applies in every particular Church, to diocesan Curias, and it applies as well to the Curia of the Bishop of Rome. “The Curia is the institution that preserves and transmits the historical memory of a Church, of the ministry of its Bishops,” he noted, saying, “This is very important.”

Memory, he reiterated, is an essential element in a living organism, and is not only oriented toward the past, but nourishes the present and guides the future. “Without memory,” he said, “the path becomes lost, the journey loses its meaning.”

Cannot thank the Lord enough for vocation

Working in the Roman Curia, he said, means helping to keep alive the memory of the Apostolic See, so that the ministry of the Pope may be carried out in the best possible way. And by analogy, he added, the same can be said of the services of the Vatican City State.

He then highlighted the missionary dimension of the Curia and of every institution linked to the Petrine ministry, complementary to that of memory,.

“As you may know,” he shared, “the experience of mission is part of my life—not only as a baptized person, as it is for all Christians—but also because, as an Augustinian religious, I was a missionary in Peru. It was among the Peruvian people that my pastoral vocation matured.”

“I can never thank the Lord enough for this gift!”

The route, known as “Paths of Pope Leo XIV,” highlights the places where the Holy Father — formerly known as Bishop Robert Prevost — exercised his fruitful pastoral ministry in the Andean nation.

The route covers four of the country’s regions: Lambayeque, Piura, La Libertad, and Callao, key locations in the ministry of the man who is now Pope Leo XIV, the first Peruvian citizen to become pope.

Pope Leo XIV holds his first Wednesday General Audience and reflects on Jesus’ parable of the sower, stressing that God “does not wait for us to become the best soil.”

By Kielce Gussie

In his first General Audience as Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV continued with Pope Francis’ Jubilee series on the theme of “Jesus Christ, Our Hope.”

The new Pope carried on with his predecessor’s reflection on the parables of Jesus, which Pope Leo said “help us to rediscover hope, because they show us how God acts in history.”

A unique parable

Pope Leo focused on the parable of the sower—“a rather unique parable, as it serves as a kind of introduction to all the others.” He pointed out how this story reveals how Jesus communicates, and it can give us guidance on how to proclaim the Gospel today.

While parables are taken from everyday life, their goal is to convey something more profound. They encourage us all to “raise questions within us; they invite us not to stop at appearances.”

Reflecting on the story, the Pope urged everyone to ask themselves two questions: Where am I in this story? What does this image say to my life?

A sower goes out to sow

In this parable of the sower, Pope Leo XIV explained that we can see God’s power and the impact it has on us.

“Every word of the Gospel is like a seed sown in the soil of our lives,” he shared, highlighting that the soil is not only our heart, “but also the world, the community, the Church.” There is no aspect of life that remains untouched by the Gospel.

Pope Leo greeting pilgrims in the popemobile during his first General Audience   (@Vatican Media)

People from all walks of life and backgrounds came out to listen to Jesus tell this parable. This shows us that “Jesus’ word is for everyone, but it works in each person differently,” which Pope Leo explained helps us understand the parable better. Each of us can draw something from the parable no matter our situation in life.

Jesus is the Seed

In the story, where the seeds fall seems to be of little concern to the sower, which the Pope pointed out symbolizes how God loves each and every one of us. “We are used to calculating and planning things, but love doesn’t work that way,” he said.

Pope Leo emphasized that God “scatters the seed of His word on every kind of soil—meaning, in every one of our situations.” Whether we receive it with enthusiasm, superficiality, or fear, God trusts that at one point or another the seed will bear fruit.

God “does not wait for us to become the best soil.” Rather, He gives us His word over and over again, and His word is Jesus.

Van Gogh and his sunset

Closing his reflection, Pope Leo XIV pondered Vincent van Gogh’s painting, The Sower at Sunset.

“What strikes me,” he shared, “is that, behind the sower, van Gogh painted the grain already ripe.” The Pope called this an image of hope that somehow the seed has borne fruit.

In the center of the painting is the sun—not the sower, which reminds us that “God drives history, even if He sometimes seems distant or hidden.”

Remembering Pope Francis

Before praying the Our Father in Latin, Pope Leo XIV remembered his predecessor, Pope Francis, on the one month anniversary of his passing.

“And we cannot conclude our encounter without remembering with such gratitude our beloved Pope Francis, who exactly one month ago returned to the house of Our Father.”