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Papal Insights | October 2026
Welcome to Papal Insights for this month. October was quite the whirlwind for Pope Leo XIV as it was announced that he would be having surgery on his lung to remove a growth which was later diagnosed as cancer. He did not stop for long, however, and after taking some time to rest and recover he is back in the saddle. Read below for our reflections on what he said last month. Please join us in praying for his health and mission.
Address – International Congress on the Care in Schools and Universities, 22nd October
Last month an international congress on Pastoral Care in Schools and Universities was held in Rome, and as delegates gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall, the Pope gave a short address. Using this address to focus on the current climate that young people are in, the Holy Father expressed that – although young people are characterised by ‘the enthusiasm, generosity and spirit of service so typical of young people,’ – there are a great number of them who ‘walk the corridors of our schools and universities…perhaps feeling anonymous’ due to any number of personal issues that young people may face.
Then exploring how our schools and universities are able to help with this, he explains that these schools and universities are ‘first and foremost a “home”, a familiar place where one is welcomed.’ Here the Pope is describing how these institutions should feel to the students in them, schools should not feel alienating to the students within them. At Caritas Brentwood we can say that we have seen this first-hand in our schools, and we have the seen the care that the school staff in the Diocese have shown to pupils in need, able to recognise behaviours in pupils that indicate forms of exclusion or marginalisation.
The Holy Father then went on to explain that the first ‘vocation’ for schools is the ‘common search for truth,’ he then explained that teachers and other educators must ‘stimulate the intelligence of young people’ and ‘value their questions.’ Here the Pope touches on something that we have seen and heard more of: students are not looking simply for answers, instead more and more, they are looking to go on a journey of education and development. The Holy Father went on to say that educators are called to accompany students through the: ‘gradual germination of thought, to teach discernment and to seek perseverance.’
The Pope Leo then stated that the first calling for educational institutions is the ‘common search for truth,’ which led him to exhort those working in educations to ‘stimulate the intelligence of young people’ and ‘to value their questions.’ Educators are called to accompany students through the ‘gradual germination of thought, to teach discernment and to seek perseverance.’ He reinforced this point by saying:
‘A significant number of young people today are as if paralysed by the fear of making mistakes, of not measuring up, of being misunderstood, of failing to live up to expectations. We live in a performance-driven culture that constantly compares and ranks people, sometimes in a ruthless manner…The educational process “is a long journey requiring patience, and therefore needs time for development and for engagement with reality beyond appearances”. We must “protect our young people … from that subtle temptation which renders human thought seemingly superfluous precisely when it is most needed” (Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas, no. 140).’
Returning to our experience of our diocesan schools, we have seen pastoral attention show exactly what Pope Leo XIV is calling teachers to do. Far too often, institutions are seen as a place where students are simply handed information and taught to remember it. The Pope makes it clear that this is not ordered to the integral good of the student.
Angelus – All Saints Day, 1st November
On Sunday 1st November the Church celebrated the Feast of All Saints. Celebrated on various dates since the days of the Early Church, the current date was fixed during the Early Medieval era to coincide with the completion of a new All Saints Chapel in St Peter’s Basilica.
Since the time of the Early Church an uncountable number of saints have gone to receive their heavenly reward, and it is from here that Pope Leo begins his reflection. He explains that the special occasion of All Saints ‘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 neighbours.’
Reflecting on the first reading from the Mass that day, he quotes the Book of Revelation on the amount of saints in heaven: ‘“a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages”’ The feast is not just for those saints who we have other feasts for throughout the Church’s calendar, but also for those ‘countless others who have not been formally recognized but are known to God.’ – The banquet of heaven is by no means empty.
Moving onto the Gospel reading for the day (The Beatitudes), he explains that these saints in heaven 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.’
The Beatitudes map out the qualities of the saints, whose lives were often marked different events and circumstances in which they had to make a choice on how they would act. Often the saints had to make hard decisions, standing up for what was right and what they believed in, but there has never been a patron saint of “having it easy.”
The Pope continues that, not only is the number of saints impossible to count but also that Holiness (what we might also call “saintliness”) ‘cannot be reduced to any calculation, for such is the good that all the saints have spread around them in the world.’ He then expressed that that Holiness/saintliness is ‘not a privilege reserved for a few, but a universal vocation that speaks to each of us where we live.’
We don’t become holy by aiming to escape our own situation, but instead we persevere towards saintliness by listening to and discerning what we are being called to do in the circumstances that God has given us, and we respond by living out the Beatitudes in our daily lives.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven." (Matthew 5:3-12a ESV)
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