(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 06.06.2025).- On Friday morning, June 6, Pope Leo XIV received in audience — in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace –, the leaders of various Ecclesial Movements and organizations, who have come to Rome for the Jubilee dedicated to them and their members.
Below is the English translation of the Pope’s remarks.
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In the Name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!
Eminence,
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate, Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am pleased to welcome you to the annual meeting organized by the Dicastery for Religions, Family, and Life, along with you, moderators, international leaders, and delegates of the ecclesial aggregations recognized and erected by the Holy See.
You represent thousands of people who live their faith experience and their apostolate in Associations, Movements, and Communities. Therefore, I would like, first of all, to thank you for the service of guidance and encouragement you provide. Supporting and encouraging our brothers and sisters on the Christian journey involves responsibility, commitment, and often also difficulties and misunderstandings, but it is an indispensable and very valuable task. The Church thanks you for all the good you do.
[The Gift of Associative Life and Charisms]
The groups to which you belong are very different from one another, by nature and history, and all are important to the Church. Some were born to share an apostolic, charitable, or religious purpose, or to support Christian witness in specific social settings. Others, however, emerged from a charismatic inspiration, an initial charism that gave life to a Movement, a new form of spirituality and evangelization.
In the desire to associate, which gave rise to the first type of aggregation, we find an essential characteristic: no one is a Christian alone! We are part of a people, of a body that the Lord has constituted. Speaking of Jesus’ first disciples, Saint Augustine says: «They had truly become a temple of God, and not only individually, but all together a temple of God» (John in Psalm 131:5). Christian life is not lived in isolation, as if it were an intellectual or sentimental adventure, confined to our minds and hearts. It is lived with others, in groups, in community, because the Risen Christ is made present among the disciples gathered in His name.
The associated apostolate of the faithful was strongly encouraged by the Second Vatican Council, in particular with the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, which, among other things, states that «it is of great importance also because, both in Ecclesial Communities and in various environments, it often needs to be exercised with common action. In fact, the Associations erected for a common apostolic activity support their members and form them, in the apostolate, they order and guide their apostolic action, so that much more abundant fruits can be expected than if each individual worked separately» (n. 18).
Then there are the realities that are born from a charism: the charism of a Founder or a group of initiators, or the charism inspired by that of a Religious Institute. This too is an essential dimension in the Church. I would like to invite you to consider charisms in relation to grace, to the gift of the Spirit. In the Letter «Juvenescit Ecclesia,» which you are well acquainted with, it is stated that the ecclesiastical hierarchy and the Sacrament of Holy Orders exist so that «the objective offering of grace,» which is given through «the Sacraments, the normative proclamation of the Word, and pastoral care» (no. 14), may always remain alive among the faithful. Charisms, on the other hand, «are freely distributed by the Holy Spirit so that sacramental grace may bear fruit in Christian life in a diverse way and at all its levels» (no. 15).
Therefore, everything in the Church is understood in relation to grace: the institution exists so that grace may always be offered; charisms are raised so that this grace may be received and bear fruit. Without charisms, there is a risk that the grace of Christ, offered in abundance, may not find fertile ground in which to receive it. This is why God raises up charisms, so that they may awaken in hearts the desire to encounter Christ, the thirst for the divine life He offers us; in a word, grace!
With this I wish to reiterate, following the example of my Predecessors and the Magisterium of the Church, especially since the Second Vatican Council, that the hierarchical and charismatic gifts «are consubstantial with the divine constitution of the Church founded by Jesus» (Saint John Paul II, Message to the World Congress of Ecclesial Movements, May 27, 1998). Thanks to the charisms that gave rise to your Movements and Communities, many people have drawn closer to Christ, have rediscovered hope in life, have discovered the maternity of the Church, and desire to be helped to grow in the faith, in community life, in works of charity, and to bring to others, through evangelization, the gift they have received.
[Unity and Mission, in Union with the Pope]
Unity and mission are two cornerstones of the Church’s life and two priorities of the Petrine ministry. Therefore, I invite all Ecclesial Associations and Movements to collaborate faithfully and generously with the Pope, especially in these two areas.
First of all, by being a leaven of unity. You all continually experience the spiritual communion that unites you. It is the communion that the Holy Spirit creates in the Church. It is a unity that has its foundation in Christ: He draws us, draws us to Himself, and therefore unites us also within ourselves. Saint Paulinus of Nola spoke of this when he wrote to Saint Augustine: «We have one head, one grace that floods us, we live on one bread, we walk on one path, we live in the same house. […] We are one, both in spirit and in body, in the Lord, so that we are nothing if we separate ourselves from Him» (Letter 30, 2).
This unity, which you live in groups and communities, extends everywhere: in communion with the Pastors of the Church, in closeness to other ecclesial realities, making themselves close to the people they meet, so that their charisms always remain at the service of the unity of the Church and they themselves are «leaven of unity, communion and fraternity» (see Homily May 18, 2025) in a world so torn apart by discord and violence.
Secondly, the mission. The mission has marked my pastoral experience and shaped my spiritual life. You, too, have lived this journey. From the encounter with the Lord, from the new life that has invaded your hearts, was born the desire to make Him known. And you have involved many people, dedicating much time, enthusiasm, and energy to making the Gospel known in the most remote places, in the most difficult environments, enduring difficulties and failures. Always keep this missionary impulse alive among you: the Movements also have a fundamental role in evangelization today. Among you are generous, well-prepared people with experience in the field. This is a legacy we must make bear fruit, attentive to the current reality and its new challenges. Place your talents at the service of the mission, both in the places of initial evangelization and in parishes and local ecclesial structures, to reach many who are far away and who, sometimes without knowing it, await the Word of life.
[Conclusion]
Dear friends, I am pleased to meet you today for the first time. God willing, we will have other opportunities to get to know each other better, but in the meantime, I encourage you to continue on your journey. Always keep the Lord Jesus at the center! This is essential, and the charisms themselves serve this purpose. Charisms are functional to the encounter with Christ, to the human and spiritual growth and maturation of people, and to the building up of the Church. In this sense, we are all called to imitate Christ, who emptied Himself to enrich us (cf. Philippians 2:7). Thus, whoever pursues an apostolic purpose with others, or who bears a charism, is called to enrich others by emptying him/herself. And this is a source of freedom and great joy.
Thank you for who you are and also for what you do! I entrust you to the protection of Mary, Mother of the Church, and I heartily bless you and all those you represent. Thank you!
Translation of the Italian original into Spanish by ZENIT’s Editorial Director and, into English, by Virginia M. Forrester.
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