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Pope Francis’ Homily for
First Vespers of the Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God
and Te Teum of Thanksgiving for 2024
St. Peter’s Basilica – Tuesday, 31 December 2024
“The motto of the Jubilee, “Pilgrims of Hope,” is rich in meanings”
This is the hour of thanksgiving, and we have the joy of living it by celebrating the Holy Mother of God. She, who treasures in her heart the mystery of Jesus, teaches us also to read the signs of the times in the light of this mystery.
The year that closes has been a busy one for the city of Rome.
Citizens, pilgrims, tourists and all those who were passing through experienced the typical phase preceding a Jubilee, with the multiplication of construction sites large and small.
Tonight is a time for a sapiential reflection, to consider that all this work, in addition to its value in itself, had a meaning that corresponds to Rome’s own vocation, its universal vocation.
In the light of the Word of God that we have just heard, this vocation could be expressed as follows: Rome is called to welcome all – so that all may recognize themselves as children of God and brothers and sisters to one another.
So, at this moment we want to raise our thanksgiving to the Lord because He has allowed us to work, and work so much, and especially because He has given us to do so with this great sense, with this broad
The motto of the Jubilee, “Pilgrims of Hope,” is rich in meanings, depending on the different possible perspectives, which are like as many “ways” of pilgrimage.
And one of these great roads of hope on which to walk is fraternity.
It is the road I proposed in the Encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” – Brothers All.
Yes, the hope of the world lies in fraternity!
And it is nice to think that our City in the past months has become a construction site for this purpose, with this overall sense: preparing to welcome men and women from all over the world, Catholics and Christians of other denominations, believers of every religion, seekers of truth, freedom, justice and peace, all pilgrims of hope and fraternity.
But we must ask ourselves: does this perspective have a foundation?
Is the hope of a fraternal humanity just a rhetorical slogan or does it have a “rocky” foundation on which we can build something stable and lasting?
The Holy Mother of God gives us the answer by showing us Jesus.
The hope of a fraternal world is not an ideology, it is not an economic system, it is not technological progress.
The hope of a fraternal world is Him, the incarnate Son, sent by the Father so that we can all become what we are, that is, children of the Father who is in heaven, and therefore brothers and sisters among ourselves.
And so, as we gratefully admire the results of the work done in the city – we give thanks for the work of many, many men and women who have done it, and we thank Mr. Mayor for moving the city forward.
We become aware of what is the crucial site. It is the site in which each one of us is involved.
This site is the one in which, every day, I will allow God to change in me what is unworthy of a son!
That is, what is not human and in which I will commit myself, every day, to live as a brother and sister of my neighbor.
May our Holy Mother help us to walk together, as pilgrims of hope, on the path of fraternity.
May the Lord bless us, all of us; forgive us our sins and give us the strength to continue on our pilgrimage in the coming year. Thank you.
