This morning, the Jubilee Audience took place in St. Peter’s Square, presided over by Pope Leo XIV, in which the Pontiff met with groups of pilgrims and faithful from various places. The catechesis was centered on the theme “Sperare è partecipare – Alberto Marvelli” (“Hoping is participating”), thus continuing the meditations of the Jubilee Year of Hope.
“Christian waiting is not passive: God involves us in his story”
In his catechesis, the Pope recalled that the Church has begun the liturgical season of Advent, “school of attention to the signs of the times”, which teaches believers to recognize the Lord’s presence in history and to prepare for his final coming.
Leo XIV emphasized that the birth of Christ reveals a God who does not act from afar, but rather “involves” those he encounters: Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, John the Baptist, the disciples, and all those who opened themselves to his call. Therefore, he affirmed, “hoping is participating”. The motto of the Jubilee—“Pilgrims of Hope”—is not a mere slogan, but a program of Christian life, which involves walking, discerning, and acting.
The mission of the laity in reading God’s signs
The Pope recalled the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, which exhorts believers to read the signs of the times “not in isolation, but together, in the Church”. As he explained, God manifests himself in the concrete events of existence: he is not sought outside the world, but in daily reality.
He also insisted on the particular mission of the laity—men and women—called to discover God’s action in work, in social life, in challenges, and in everyday joys. “Jesus awaits us in the problems and beauties of the world”, affirmed the Pontiff.
Alberto Marvelli, model of active hope
The Pope centered the catechesis on the figure of the blessed Alberto Marvelli, a young Italian from the first half of the 20th century. Formed in Christianity in the home and in Catholic Action, an engineer by profession, Marvelli lived through World War II dedicated to aiding the wounded, the sick, and the displaced in the Rimini region.
After the conflict, he was elected councilor and put in charge of reconstruction, although he died tragically at the age of 28 when he was run over by a military truck while heading to a public event. Leo XIV pointed out that his life demonstrates that “hoping is participating”, and that serving the Kingdom of God “brings joy even amid great risks”.
“The world improves when we lose a little security to choose the good”, affirmed the Pope.
“No one saves the world alone”
Inviting an examination of conscience, the Pontiff asked the faithful to question whether they participate in good initiatives that engage their talents or whether they perform their services “with complaints and gripes”. The true sign of grace, he said, is the joyful face of those who serve with hope.
Leo XIV concluded by recalling that God does not want to save the world alone, although he could. Instead, he has chosen to associate believers with his work, because “together is better”. Active participation in the good—even if small—anticipates what Christians will contemplate forever when Christ returns definitively.
We now leave you with the words of the Holy Father:
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
We have just entered the liturgical season of Advent, which educates us in attention to the signs of the times. Indeed, we recall the first coming of Jesus, God with us, to learn to recognize him every time he comes and to prepare for when he will return. Then we will be together forever. Together with him, with all our brothers and sisters, with every other creature, in this world finally redeemed: the new creation.
This waiting is not passive. Indeed, Jesus’ Christmas reveals to us a God who involves: Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, and later John the Baptist, the disciples, and all those who encounter the Lord are involved, they are called to participate. What a great honor, and what a vertigo! God involves us in his story, in his dreams. Hoping, then, is participating. The Jubilee motto, “Pilgrims of Hope”, is not a slogan that will pass in a month! It is a program of life: “pilgrims of hope” means people who walk and hope, but not with idle hands, but participating.
The Second Vatican Council has taught us to read the signs of the times: it tells us that no one can do it alone, but together, in the Church and with so many brothers and sisters, the signs of the times are read. They are signs of God, of God who comes with his Kingdom, through historical circumstances. God is not outside the world, outside this life: we learned in the first coming of Jesus, God-with-us, to seek him among the realities of life. To seek him with intelligence, heart, and sleeves rolled up. And the Council has said that this mission is particularly that of the lay faithful, men and women, because the God who became incarnate meets us in the situations of every day. In the problems and beauties of the world, Jesus awaits us and involves us, he asks us to act with him. This is why hoping is participating!
Today I would like to recall a name: that of Alberto Marvelli, a young Italian who lived in the first half of the last century. Educated in the family according to the Gospel, formed in Catholic Action, he graduates in engineering and enters social life during World War II, which he firmly condemns. In Rimini and its surroundings, he devotes all his strength to aiding the wounded, the sick, the displaced. Many admire him for this selfless dedication and, after the war, he is elected councilor and put in charge of the commission for housing and reconstruction. Thus he enters active political life, but just as he is heading to a rally on his bicycle, he is run over by a military truck. He was 28 years old. Alberto shows us that hoping is participating, that serving the Kingdom of God brings joy even amid great risks. The world becomes better if we lose a little security and tranquility to choose the good. This is participating.
Let us ask ourselves: Am I participating in some good initiative that engages my talents? Do I have the horizon and breath of the Kingdom of God when I do some service? Or do I do it grumbling, complaining that everything is going wrong? The smile on the lips is the sign of grace in us.
Hoping is participating: this is a gift that God gives us. No one saves the world alone. And God does not want to save it alone either: he could, but he does not want to, because together is better. Participating makes us express ourselves and makes more our own that which we will contemplate forever in the end, when Jesus returns definitively.