Pope Leo XIV speaks in front of the famous icon at the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
CNA Newsroom, Jun 1, 2025 / 19:56 pm (CNA).
PopeLeoXIVurgedFrenchCatholicstoembarkonaprofoundspiritualrenewalbyfollowingtheexampleofthreebelovedsaintsasFrancecommemoratedthecentenaryoftheircanonization.
InhisfirstmessagetotheFrenchbishops’conference,releasedbytheHolySeePressOfficeonSaturday,theHolyFatherhighlightedSt.JohnEudes,St.JohnMaryVianney,andSt.ThérèseoftheChildJesusaspowerfulmodelsforcontemporaryevangelization.
Thepopeemphasizedtheirsharedspiritualtrait:“theylovedJesusunreservedlyinasimple,strongandauthenticway”andexperiencedhisgoodnessindailycloseness.
ThepontiffpresentedthesesaintsasCatholicswhoselivesdemonstratethetransformativepowerofChrist’stenderlove.
LeonotedSt.JohnEudesasthefirsttocelebrateliturgicalworshipoftheHeartsofJesusandMary,St.JohnMaryVianneyasthepriestwhodeclared,“ThepriesthoodistheloveoftheheartofJesus,”andSt.Thérèseastheg
