Facing the unknown, faithful can trust in God’s salvation, pope says October 7, 2025By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service Filed Under: News, Vatican, World News ROME (CNS) — God always comes to save and free his children and to help them say “yes,” like Mary, to his will, Pope Leo XIV said. “Even though we do not know what the future holds,” he said, “like Mary, we can always be trustful and grateful for his work of salvation.” Pope Leo XIV arrives at the chapel of the Domus Australia in Rome Oct. 6, 2025, to celebrate vespers on the eve of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii. (CNS photo/Vatican Media) Celebrating vespers in the chapel of the Domus Australia in Rome Oct. 6, the eve of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, the pope said, “this devotion to Our Blessed Mother holds a special place in my heart.” The pope visited the guesthouse owned by the Catholic Church in Australia to celebrate the feast day and to bless a recently restored image of Our Lady of Pompeii, which was donated by Blessed Bartolo Longo, a lawyer and former satanic priest who lived 1841-1926 and founded the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii. Pope Leo is scheduled to canonize him Oct. 19. Mary embodied the theological virtue of hope “through her trust that God would fulfil his promises,” the pope said. “This hope, in turn, gave her the strength and courage to spend her life willingly for the sake of the Gospel and abandon herself entirely to God’s will.” Even though “Mary did not know precisely how or when God would save his people,” he said, she remained faithful to God every day, living “in abandonment to God’s will, trusting that he would save his people according to his design.” “God never delays; we are the ones who have to learn to trust, even if it requires patience and perseverance,” Pope Leo said. “God’s timing is always perfect.” “God always comes to save and liberate us,” he said, as his plan has been brought to fulfilment in the mission of Jesus. “Moreover, he did not come simply to redeem us from slavery to sin, but to free our hearts to say ‘yes’ to him, just as Our Blessed Mother did,” he added. God the Father chose and “destined us in love to be his sons and daughters through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,” which is “to bring us to eternal life,” he said. As St. Augustine wrote, he said, “God created us without us, but he will not save us without us,” which means “we are called to cooperate with him by living out a life of grace as his sons and daughters, making our own contribution to the plan of salvation.” Read More Vatican News Pope Leo’s summer spiritual reading list recommendation: ‘The Practice of the Presence of God’ Poll: Pope has high favorability rating after AI encyclical; Trump dips over inflation, war in Iran Pope Leo urges Catholic universities to instill passion for the truth found in Christ Leo: Keep beautiful witness of Corpus Christi processions alive Pope Leo encyclical on AI shows need for humanity in healthcare, says expert Liturgical rites and symbols reveal God’s presence, Pope Leo says Copyright © 2025 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Print
