Since his election to the papacy on May 8, 2025, Pope Leo XIV has been speaking to many–dicasteries, homilies, audiences–and is quickly emerging as a compelling voice for the Church’s mission. An Augustinian friar with deep pastoral experience in Latin America, Pope Leo brings both spiritual depth and missionary zeal to his new role as the Vicar of Christ. While his pontificate is still in its early days, his public addresses already offer a vision for evangelization—one rooted in mercy, unity, the a call to “the frontier.”
Here are four of his most striking and formative statements on evangelization since assuming the Chair of St. Peter.
1. “Evangelization in our time must be a dialogue of mercy, not a monologue of judgment.”
– Regina Caeli Address, May 11, 2025
In his first Sunday Regina Caeli, Pope Leo set a tone that echoes and builds upon the pastoral heart of his predecessor, Pope Francis. Speaking to thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square, he reminded the Church that proclamation of the Gospel is most effective when it begins with mercy.
“We bring Christ to others not by condemning the world but by offering healing to its wounds.”(1)
This focus on healing rather than condemnation reflects Pope Leo’s lived experience as a missionary priest and spiritual director. His use of the phrase dialogue of mercy challenges the Church to be both clear in proclamation and compassionate in approach—modeling the merciful heart of Christ in every encounter. We are called to offer Christ the Healer, and I am delighted to hear him say this clearly and immediately.
2. “In the one Christ, we are one. This is the missionary spirit that must animate us: not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world.”
– Inauguration Mass Homily, May 18, 2025
At his papal inauguration Mass, Pope Leo offered a stirring homily that highlighted the inseparability of unity and mission. Addressing a global Church, he emphasized that evangelization begins with openness to others and a spirit of communion, not isolation or pride.
“We are called to offer God’s love to everyone,” he said, “in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.”(2)
Here, Pope Leo roots evangelization in a posture of humility and joyful invitation. He resists the temptation to retreat into sectarianism and instead calls Catholics to engage the world as one family in Christ—diverse in our home cultures but united in faith.
3. “We evangelize most powerfully through the witness of unity.”
– Ecumenical Gathering, May 15, 2025
During his first official meeting with leaders of other Christian communities, Pope Leo issued a simple but profound challenge to the Church: to make unity a lived witness to the Gospel.
“When the world sees us loving one another despite our differences, it receives the most convincing testimony to the Gospel we preach.”(3)
In a fragmented world and a divided Church, Pope Leo’s emphasis on ecumenism is not just a matter of diplomacy—it is evangelistic. By linking the credibility of the Church’s mission to its internal unity, he re-centers the ancient Christian insight that how we love one another is often more persuasive than what we preach. Unity, for Pope Leo, is not an optional add-on to the mission; it is its foundation. (And truly, I see this as an answer to our conclave prayer!)
4. “The peripheries are not the margins of our mission but its frontier.”
– Address to the Dicastery for Evangelization, May 9, 2025
Perhaps the most evocative phrase of his early pontificate came just one day after his election, in a meeting with members of the Dicastery for Evangelization. Reframing how the Church often thinks about its outreach, Pope Leo declared:
“The Church must be present where suffering is greatest, where hope seems most distant, and where Christ’s love is most urgently needed.”(4)
Further in this statement, Pope Leo flips the script on the Church’s orientation. Instead of seeing the “peripheries” as places of scarcity or crisis, he calls them the frontier—the cutting edge of mission. It is there, on the frontlines of suffering, that the Church most authentically lives out its calling.
A Pope for the Missional Age
These four quotes give a strong initial glimpse into the evangelizing heart of Pope Leo XIV. He seems to be a Pope who brings continuity with Pope Francis—especially in his concern for mercy, the poor, and the peripheries—but who also articulates a unique voice grounded in missionary experience, Augustinian thought, and pastoral realism.
In just a few short weeks, Pope Leo has reminded the Church that evangelization is not about power or perfection, but about proximity, humility, and love. His words challenge us to go to the frontier, to embrace unity, to speak with mercy, and to bear witness to Christ with joy.
I hope he continues to speak out of his uniquely missionary background. But I also hope he speaks out of his Augustianian heritage and teaches us all the holy passion of this great saint. St. Augustine, pray for us, and pray for Pope Leo XIV. Amen!
1.Vatican News, Pope Leo XIV at Regina Caeli: “Evangelization must begin in mercy”, May 11, 2025: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-05/pope-leo-xiv-at-regina-coeli-never-again-war.html
2. Vatican.va, Homily of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV at the Mass of Inauguration of His Pontificate, May 18, 2025: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2025/documents/20250518-inizio-pontificato.html
3. Vatican News, Pope Leo XIV: Now is the time for dialogue and building bridges, May 15, 2025: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-05/pope-leo-xiv-now-is-the-time-for-dialogue-and-building-bridges.html
4. Vatican News, Pope Leo XIV visits the Dicastery for Bishops, May 9, 2025: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-05/pope-leo-xiv-visits-the-dicastery-for-bishops.html
