The Peace and All Good Column

Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., is the seventh Archbishop of Atlanta. In “Peace and All Good,” he shares pastoral reflections.

Over the past few months, one of the things that I have noticed about our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, is how well he relates to people of every age and circumstance. His presence both energizes and electrifies every person he has contact with, as he blesses newly married couples at weekly audiences and caresses babies, both at gatherings and as the popemobile traverses St. Peter’s Square.  

His prayerful, gentle and compassionate nature is especially evident with the sick, as we witnessed in his recent visit to a hospital in Rome where he spent time with a young Spanish pilgrim who had collapsed at a youth festival. He visited with the young man and his family, praying with them. He then proceeded to visit all the patients in the same oncology ward, blessing patients and their loved ones, doctors and nurses and everyone he encountered.  

  At his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, he hosted a dinner for the poor and proceeded to wait on them, reminding them of how precious they are in God’s eyes. After the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, that claimed the lives of two young students and injured several more, he expressed his grief and spiritual closeness to the community, and especially to the families who had lost loved ones. Following his weekly Wednesday audiences, he greets bishops and priests, consecrated religious and lay faithful, giving each person his complete and undivided attention.   

We have all become familiar with the chants of the crowds, “Papa Leone! Viva el Papa!” “Pope Leo! Long live the Pope!” It is both beautiful and edifying to witness how the Holy Father has grown into the papacy, and the gentle, unassuming way he walks in the “shoes of the fisherman,” as successor of St. Peter and the Vicar of Christ.   

In every homily and speech, he makes fervent pleas for peace in the world, especially in the Holy Land and Ukraine, as well as other troubled parts of the world. Pope Leo see himself as a bridge builder or “Pontifex”—an ancient title for the Pope—uniting people to God and to one another.    

In late July, the Holy Father hosted a youth rally in Tor Vergata Park, an open field on the outskirts of Rome. More than one million young people from about 146 countries traveled to the Eternal City to be with the pope.   

Earlier that week, the festival began with a welcome Mass in St. Peter’s Square, celebrated by Archbishop Rino Fisichella. At the end of the Mass, the archbishop announced that a “special visitor” wanted to greet the pilgrims. To the delight of the crowds, Pope Leo appeared in the popemobile, traveling through St. Peter’s Square and down the Via della Concilliazone, greeting and blessing pilgrims from all parts of the world. As the Holy Father was driven through the crowds, many shed tears of joy.  

Later that week, on the first evening of the youth festival in Tor Vergata, Pope Leo processed through the young people with the Blessed Sacrament, and more than a million people knelt in silent prayer and adoration before our eucharistic Lord. As he arrived by helicopter at the field earlier that day, video footage released by the Vatican showed a visibly moved pope looking out at the crowds as the helicopter circled the field before landing.   

Accompanied by 200 young people, he carried the Jubilee Cross. At the Prayer Vigil, the pope encouraged the crowds: “Saint Augustine says, ‘No friendship is authentic if it is not in Christ’…Friendship in Christ is not just helping others build the future, it is our guiding star. Dear young people, love one another in Christ. Know how to see Jesus in others. Friendship can truly change the world. Friendship is a path to peace.”  

During the closing Mass, the Holy Father invited us “to open our hearts wide to Christ, to allow him to enter, and then to venture forth with him, toward the eternal spaces of infinity.” In hearing these words, I was reminded of what St. John Paul II had said many years before: “Open wide the doors to Christ! Do not be afraid! Do not be satisfied with mediocrity! Put out into the deep!” These words were echoed by Pope Benedict XVI of blessed memory, “The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness!”   

These words of Pope Leo and his predecessors are a reminder to all of us that what is essential in life is friendship with Christ. This is what sustains us in this life and is the key to eternal life. 

United in love for Christ 

On Sunday, Sept. 7, Pope Leo will canonize Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, two saints, one from the 20th century, and the other from the 21st century. These young men led completely different lives but were united in their love for Christ and their ability to impart that love to others. Both were true friends of Jesus Christ who inspire us to this day. 

Blessed Carlo, who died at the age of 15, used his love of technology and the internet to spread the beauty of the Eucharist and the truths of the Catholic faith. Carlo had a deep devotion to St. Francis of Assisi, whom he considered a spiritual model, and whose love for the Eucharist and the poor he sought to emulate.  

Blessed Pier Giorgio, a man of prayer and deep charity, was known for his devotion to the poor, his love for the outdoors and his joyful spirit as a lay Dominican. He was recognized for his commitment to prayer and study, his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and a tender love for the Blessed Mother. 

These new saints will stand as bright lights for today’s generation and those to come. Blessed Carlo and Blessed Pier Giorgio remind us that holiness is possible in every age and that the greatest adventure of life is not found in what the world offers but in following Christ with courage and conviction.  

At the close of the youth festival in Rome, Pope Leo imparted this charge: “Aspire to do great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less. Then you will see the light of the Gospel grow every day, within you and around you.” Surely, the Holy Father was thinking about these two young men who will be raised to the altar as saints on Sept. 7.  

Pope Leo, Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati remind us that Christ is our hope. They teach us that the only important thing in life is friendship with Jesus. May Christ, the friend who never abandons us, inspire us to live lives of holiness, loving and caring for one another. And may he guide us in fostering a future radiant with hope.