CNA Staff, 07 June, 2025 / 7:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Leo XIV on Saturday urged Catholics to embrace the Holy Spirit as a source of freedom and grace, addressing a crowd of tens of thousands during his first Pentecost as pope and calling on the faithful to adopt “the way of the Beatitudes” to spread the Gospel message.
The pontiff addressed a massive crowd, estimated by the Vatican at around 70,000, in St. Peter’s Square on June 7 during a prayer vigil there as part of the festivities for the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations, and New Communities.
Pope Leo XIV leads Pentecost Vigil for 70,000 pilgrims from over 100 nations, marking the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations, and New Communities in St. Peter’s Square. pic.twitter.com/stIVqiHbOV
— EWTN Vatican (@EWTNVatican) June 7, 2025
He told the faithful that “tonight, we sense the fragrance of the chrism with which our foreheads have been anointed.”
“Dear brothers and sisters, baptism and confirmation united us to Jesus’ mission of making all things new, to the kingdom of God,” the pope said. “Just as love enables us to sense the presence of a loved one, so tonight we sense in one another the fragrance of Christ.”