Pope Leo XIV: holiness is 'not a privilege reserved for a few'
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USAPope Leo XIV said Sunday that holiness is a calling for everyone, not an achievement reserved for a select group, as he led the Angelus in St. Peter's Square on the Solemnity of All Saints.
"The Solemnity of All Saints, which we celebrate today, 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," the pope said. He pointed to the Book of Revelation's vision of "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages" (Rev. 7:9), and to the Beatitudes of Matthew's Gospel (Mt. 5:1-12).
The Church celebrates on November 1 not only the canonized saints, Leo noted, but also "the countless others who have not been formally recognized but are known to God." Quoting Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Spe Salvi, he said the saints, along their different paths, "have longed for 'the ocean of infinite love.'"
"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." The saints, he added, brought forth "actions and choices of love that transcend the calculations of greed and the arrogance of evil, which at times seems to prevail."
"Holiness is not a privilege reserved for a few, but a universal vocation that speaks to each of us where we live," Leo 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 entrusted the faithful to the Blessed Virgin Mary, praying she would accompany them "along the path to holiness, 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 pope recalled the beatification celebrated the previous day in Savannah, Georgia, of Pedro de Corpa and four companions, Franciscan friars killed in hatred of the faith in 1597 while evangelizing the Indigenous peoples of the Georgia coast. "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," he said. "Let us invoke the intercession of these martyrs for all missionaries of the Gospel."
Leo also spoke of a recent humanitarian operation to assist civilians in the city of Oleshky, expressing hope that the cooperation between the parties involved "will strengthen the desire for dialogue and lead to new concrete peace initiatives." He highlighted the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal — running from October 31 to November 13, the first Olympic event held on the African continent — calling it "a sign of hope coming from the world of sport," and noted the Mission with the Poor that the Friars Minor will hold in Rome from November 8 to 15.
Finally, ahead of the November 2 Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, the pope announced that he will celebrate Mass at Rome's Verano Cemetery. "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," he said, "and let us pray for the departed, especially those whom no one remembers."
Sources: Catholic World Report / EWTN News (Nov. 1, 2026); OSV News via The Catholic Telegraph (Nov. 1, 2026); Vatican Angelus text (Nov. 1, 2026).
Sponsored