At the close of the Marian month, Pope Leo XIV led a prayer vigil last night, urging the faithful to continue their journey of faith with joy, devotion, and unity under the mantle of the Virgin Mary. Reflecting on the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, the Pope emphasized the Rosary’s power to root the Church in the Gospel and likened the prayerful pilgrimage to the biblical journey through the desert toward the Promised Land.

Joined by clergy, religious, and laity, the Holy Father encouraged all to let God’s Word guide their lives and to praise the Lord daily “with life and with the tongue, with the heart and with the lips.” He expressed particular gratitude to the Benedictine Sisters of the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery for their hidden, sustaining prayer.

“May the joy of this moment remain and grow in us,” the Pope concluded, entrusting the faithful to Mary’s intercession and the Lord’s continued guidance.

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV AT THE ROSARY IN THE VATICAN GARDENS

“Dear brothers and sisters,

With joy I join you in this prayer vigil at the end of the May Month. It is a gesture of faith with which in a simple and devout way we gather under the maternal mantle of Mary. This year, then, it recalls some important aspects of the Jubilee that we are celebrating: praise, the journey, the hope and, above all, the faith meditated and manifested unanimously.

You recited the Holy Rosary together: prayer, as St. John Paul II emphasized, from the Marian physiognomy and from the Christological heart, which “concentrates in itself the depth of the entire Gospel message” (Letter. Ap. Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 16 October 2002, 1).

And in fact, meditating on the Joyful Mysteries, during the journey, you entered and paused, as on pilgrimage, in so many places in the life of Jesus: in the house of Nazareth contemplating the Annunciation, in that of Zechariah contemplating the Visitation – which we celebrated today – in the cave of Bethlehem contemplating Christmas, in the Temple of Jerusalem contemplating the presentation and then the discovery of Jesus. They accompanied you, in the Hail Mary repeated with faith, the words of the Angel to the Mother of God: “Rejoice, full of grace: the Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28) – and those of Elizabeth who welcomes her with joy: “Blessed are you among women and blessed the fruit of your womb!” (Lk 1:42).

Your steps, thus, were marked by the Word of God, which marked, with its rhythm, the progress, the stops and the departures, just like for the people of Israel in the desert, on a journey to the Promised Land.

Let us look, then, at our existence as a journey to the following of Jesus, to follow, as we did tonight, together with Mary. And let us ask the Lord to be praised every day, “with life and with the tongue, with the heart and with the lips, with his voice and with his conduct” (S. Agostino, Discourse 256, 1), avoiding the distortions: the tongue intoned with life and lips with conscience (cf. ibid.).

I greet the Cardinals present, the Bishops, the priests, the consecrated persons and all the faithful. I wish to express, in particular, affection and gratitude to the Benedictine Sisters of the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, who with their hidden and constant prayer support our community and our work.

May the joy of this moment remain and grow in us, “in our personal and family life, in every environment, especially in the life of this family that the universal Church serves here in the Vatican” (Benedict XVI, Conclusion of the month of May, 31 May 2012). May the Lord bless us and always accompany us and may Mary intercede for us. Oh, thank you!”