By Joseph Tulloch
Pope Leo XIV began his pastoral visit to Pavia, northern Italy, with a visit to the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Golden Sky (Basilica di San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro), the 8th-century church where St Augustine is buried.
Gathered there were members of the Catholic faithful from Pavia and across the wider Lombardy region, as well as priests, religious, seminarians and bishops. After leading a short prayer and veneration of the relics of St Augustine, Pope Leo addressed those gathered.
Avoiding pessimism
The Church in Pavia, the Pope said, is one of “ancient tradition”, but nevertheless manages to “read the signs of these times”.
Those who likewise observe the present through the lens of ancient faith, Leo said, are able to arrive at a “deeper” reading of reality, one which allows them to avoid being “discouraged” by the problems they face.
The Pope thus encouraged his listeners to emulate Jesus, who, “in the midst of difficulties and incomprehensions”, was able to see divine Providence at work in creatures as simple as birds and flowers.
New structures
Pope Leo acknowledged the many “urgencies and commitments” facing parishes in the city of Pavia, but stressed the importance of bringing all activities “back to the centre”, namely Christ. Without this “cornerstone”, he warned, our actions risk becoming “scattered” and “focused solely on ourselves and our own efforts.”
This process of stripping back the Church’s work to its essential core, the Pope admitted, could mean “giving up some of the structures and security of the past”. He thus encouraged the Church in Pavia to value what is best in its history – such as the system of oratori, parish-run youth centres which, in the Lombardy region, continue to play an important role in local communities – whilst at the same time continuing to implement more recent concepts, such as synodality.
St Augustine and ‘the need to turn inward’
St Augustine, whose example “shines with precious light”, can be a guide throughout this process, the Pope said.
Leo suggested that the fourth-century North African saint can teach us above all the “value and primacy of interiority”. “Do not go outside of yourself”, he said, quoting Augustine’s De vera religione. “Return into yourself. Truth dwells in the inner man.”
This is a message, Pope Leo suggested, which is deeply relevant today, in a world where there is a universal need to “turn inward, to avoid losing ourselves … and to seek and find a meaning that guides our lives”. – Vatican News
