“I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family,” said Leo XIV during the Mass in which he began his Petrine Ministry on Sunday, 18th May. It was a message in tune with the yearning for peace that the Holy Father shared several times during the first ten days since his election. To introduce himself to the world, the Pope chose the same words Jesus used when he made himself seen after his Resurrection: “Peace be with you.” Leo XIV explained that the peace of the Risen Christ is a peace that is “unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering,”[1] a gift that is meant for all, a gift that brings new life.”[2] And he promised: “I will make every effort so that this peace may prevail.”[3]
From CLAYSS-Uniservitate, we join the Pontiff’s commitment to building this peace through solidarity service-learning practices in all corners of the planet we can reach, sowing a culture of fraternity, “to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.”[4]
[3] Idem (2)
Official photograph of Pope Leo XIV ©Vatican Media – All rights reserved
