Pope Leo’s address at the conclusion of The Rosary in the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens
Saturday, May 31, 2025
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am delighted to join you for this prayer vigil at the end of the month of May.
This gesture of faith that brings us together in a simple and devout manner under the maternal mantle of Mary.
This year, it highlights some significant aspects of the Jubilee we are celebrating:
– praise, journey, hope and, above all, faith contemplated and expressed in unison.
Together, you have recited the Holy Rosary together: a prayer, as St. John Paul II emphasized, with a Marian character and a Christological heart, which “concentrates within itself the whole depth of the Gospel message” (Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, October 16, 2002, 1).
Indeed, as you meditated on the Joyful Mysteries during your journey, you paused in many places associated with the life of Jesus: the house of Nazareth, where you contemplated the Annunciation; the house of Zechariah, where you contemplated the Visitation — which we celebrated today — the cave of Bethlehem, where you contemplated Christmas; the Temple of Jerusalem, where you contemplated the Presentation and the Finding of Jesus..
You were accompanied by the words of the angel to the Mother of God, repeated with faith in the Hail Mary: “Rejoice, full of grace: the Lord is with you” (Lk1:28) — and the words of Elizabeth who welcomes her with joy: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Lk 1:42).
Your steps have been marked by the Word of God, which has set the pace for your progress, your stops, and your departures, just as it did for the people of Israel in the desert on their journey to the Promised Land.
Let us therefore view our existence as a journey in the footsteps of Jesus, to be travelled together with Mary, as we have done tonight.
Let us ask the Lord to help us praise him every day ‘with our lives and with our tongues, with our hearts and with our lips, with our voices and with our conduct’ (St Augustine, Discourse 256, 1), avoiding discord, and keeping our tongues in harmony with our lives, and our lips in harmony with our conscience (ibid.)
I greet the Cardinals, Bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and all the faithful.
In particular I would like to express my affection and gratitude to the Benedictine Sisters of the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, whose hidden and constant prayers support our community and our work.
May the joy of this moment remain and grow within us, “in our personal and family lives, in every environment, especially in the life of this family which here in the Vatican serves the universal Church” (Benedict XVI, Conclusion of the Month of May, May 31, 2012).
May the Lord bless us and accompany us always, and may Mary intercede for us. Thank you!
