Leo XIV at the All Saints Angelus: "Holiness is not a privilege reserved for a few"

On the Solemnity of All Saints, Pope Leo XIV prayed the Angelus at noon from the window of the Apostolic Palace with the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square (more than 25,000, according to Vatican News). At the heart of his reflection were the Gospel of the Beatitudes and one message: "Holiness is not a privilege reserved for a few, but a universal vocation that speaks to each of us where we live."

A family no one can count. The feast, the Pope said, "invites us to share in the joy of that countless family of men and women who, following the Lord Jesus, have made their lives a gift to God and to their neighbors." Along their different paths to holiness, "they have longed for 'the ocean of infinite love,'" to use an expression of Pope Benedict XVI (Spe Salvi, 12). "Today, in fact, we celebrate all the saints: those whom the Church has recognized as such as well as the countless others who have not been formally recognized but are known to God."

The saints in the Beatitudes. Reflecting on the day's Gospel (Mt 5:1-12), Leo XIV described them: "they are poor in spirit, yet rich in God's love. Their faces are streaked with tears, yet they find consolation in prayer. They are meek in the face of violence and rewarded by the Father. They hunger for justice, yet are filled in the depths of their consciences. They are ready to forgive and embraced by mercy. They are disarmed in heart, yet protected by God. They are peacemakers, called by name by God. They are persecuted and insulted, yet strong in faith and charity."

"Holiness cannot be reduced to any calculation." "It is indeed true that it is impossible to count this multitude of brothers and sisters, and not just in numerical terms," he said. "Holiness, in fact, cannot be reduced to any calculation, for such is the good that all the saints have spread around them in the world." What have they brought forth? "Essentially, actions and choices of love that transcend the calculations of greed and the arrogance of evil, which at times seems to prevail." The saints, he added, "are the most beautiful and powerful sign of the Kingdom of God that is coming — or rather, as Jesus teaches us, is already among us."

A vocation for everyone. "This blessed multitude embraces people from the most diverse backgrounds, cultures and walks of life," the Pope said. "This is the hope-filled message of today's feast: God sees the good that we do not see, knows stories that we do not know and reaches hearts to which we have no access." He closed by entrusting the faithful to Mary, "so that we may never grow weary of fostering peace, both in the most important situations and in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life."

After the Angelus: the Georgia martyrs. The Pope recalled that yesterday in Savannah, Georgia, "Pedro de Corpa and four companions, religious of the Order of Friars Minor, who were killed in odium fidei in 1597, were beatified." "Originally from Spain, they responded generously to the Lord's call to evangelize the peoples of the Americas, even to the point of giving their lives. Let us invoke the intercession of these martyrs for all missionaries of the Gospel."

The appeal for Oleshky. "In recent days, a humanitarian operation has been carried out to assist the civilian population in the city of Oleshky. I hope that the cooperation between the parties, which made this necessary humanitarian act possible, will strengthen the desire for dialogue and lead to new concrete peace initiatives." He then entrusted "to Mary, Queen of Peace and of All Saints, all those throughout the world who are suffering because of war."

Dakar and the Mission with the Poor. Leo XIV greeted the Youth Olympic Games under way in Dakar, Senegal, until November 13 for athletes aged 15 to 18 — "the first Olympic event to be held on the African continent" and "a sign of hope coming from the world of sport." He congratulated the Friars Minor on the Mission with the Poor, in Rome from November 8 to 15, for "placing the poor at the center, as the Lord Jesus did and as Saint Francis of Assisi did," and thanked the civil authorities and law enforcement for their cooperation.

Greetings. The Pope welcomed the Syro-Malabar faithful with their Pastors, giving thanks "for the growth of your communities throughout Europe," and greeted the "Capiteo" group from Borbiago di Mira (Venice) and the participants in the "Race of the Saints," organized in Rome by the Don Bosco Missions "to promote sport as an educational experience."

Mass at the Verano tomorrow. "Tomorrow afternoon, on the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, I will celebrate Mass at the Verano Cemetery," he announced. "During these days, let us feel united in the Communion of Saints with the immense family of our brothers and sisters who have gone before us on our earthly pilgrimage, and let us pray for the departed, especially those whom no one remembers."

Sources: Angelus text on vatican.va, Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 1 November 2026, Vatican News. Video: Vatican News. Image: Vatican Media.

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