Leo XIV: «The heart of Jesus beats for every man and woman.”

Pope Leo XIV inaugurated the new year with a message focused on peace, hope, and inner renewal, in which he invited the faithful to begin 2026 as a true “era of peace and friendship among all peoples.”.

“Dear brothers and sisters, happy new year!” began the Pontiff, framing his message in the passage of time and the responsibility to live it meaningfully. He warned that without a sincere desire for good, “it would be meaningless to turn the pages of the calendar and fill our agendas,” and emphasized that the new year only takes on meaning when it is oriented toward the common good and reconciliation.

Last days of the Jubilee

In his reflection, Leo XIV referred to the Jubilee that is coming to an end, from which, he said, the Church has learned “how to cultivate hope for a new world.” This hope is not abstract, but concrete: “turning our hearts to God, so that we can transform grievances into forgiveness, pain into consolation, and resolutions of virtue into good works.” In this way, he added, God dwells in history and rescues it from oblivion, giving the world the Redeemer.

The Pope focused his message on the figure of Jesus Christ, “the Only Begotten Son who becomes our brother,” and who enlightens “the consciences of good will” to build the future “as a welcoming home for every man and woman who is born.” In keeping with the Christmas season, he turned his gaze to Mary, “the first to feel the heart of Christ beat,” and evoked the mystery of the Incarnate Word, announced “as a heartbeat of grace” in the silence of her virginal womb.

A beating heart

In a passage with a marked spiritual tone, Leo XIV recalled that God, by becoming man, reveals his own heart to us, and that “the heart of Jesus beats for every man and woman”: for those who welcome him, like the shepherds, and also for those who reject him, like Herod. “His heart is not indifferent,” he said, "it beats for the righteous, so that they may persevere in their devotion, and for the unrighteous, so that they may change their lives and find peace.".

The Pontiff invited us to pause and adore the mystery of the Incarnation, which “shines forth in Mary Most Holy and is reflected in every newborn child,” revealing the divine image imprinted on human beings. From this contemplation, he called for a choral prayer for peace on January 1: “especially among nations bloodied by conflict and misery, but also in our homes, in families wounded by violence and pain.”.

He concluded his message by entrusting to Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, the plea for a reconciled world, with the certainty that “Christ, our hope, is the sun of justice that never sets.” Pope Leo XIV then imparted his blessing, extending his wish for peace and hope to the city of Rome and the whole world.