Full text of Pope Leo’s Regina Caeli address May 18

This is the full text of the Regina Caeli address given by Pope Leo XIV May 18 at the end of the Mass for the Inauguration of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome:

As we conclude this celebration, I greet and thank all of you, the people of Rome and the faithful from many parts of the world, who wished to participate. In particular, I express my gratitude to the Official Delegations from numerous countries, as well as to the representatives of Churches and Ecclesial Communities and other religions.

I extend a warm welcome to the thousands of pilgrims who have come from every continent for the Jubilee of Confraternities. Dear brothers and sisters, I thank you for keeping the great heritage of popular piety alive!

During Mass, I strongly felt the spiritual presence of Pope Francis accompanying us from heaven. Reflecting on our participation in the communion of saints, I recall that yesterday in Chambéry, France, the priest Camille Costa de Beauregard, was beatified. He lived from the end of the 1800s to the beginning of the 1900s, and was a witness of great pastoral charity.

In the joy of faith and communion, we cannot forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war. In Gaza, the surviving children, families and elderly are reduced to starvation. In Myanmar, new hostilities have cut short innocent young lives. Finally, war-torn Ukraine awaits negotiations for a just and lasting peace.

Therefore, as we entrust to Mary the service of the Bishop of Rome, Pastor of the universal Church, let us, from the “Barque of Peter,” look to her, Star of the Sea, Our Lady of Good Counsel, as a sign of hope. We implore her intercession for the gift of peace, for support and comfort for those who suffer, and for the grace for all of us to be witnesses to the Risen Lord.

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