Pope Leo XIV held his first general audience on 21May 21, just 13 days after his election, emphasizing that God’s love transcends human calculations. During the audience, he reflected on Jesus’ parable of the sower, highlighting that God acts like a sower who “goes out to sow, but does not worry about where the seed falls”. This parable, Pope Leo XIV explained, teaches us about God’s way of working in history.
The Pope continued the theme “Jesus Christ, our hope,” initiated by Pope Francis, who passed away exactly one month prior. Pope Leo XIV analyzed the parable of the sower to illustrate how God works in history, encouraging the audience not to dwell on appearances but to look deeper. He emphasized that the word of the Gospel is like a seed cast into the ground, affecting not just individual lives but also the world, community, and Church.
Pope Leo XIV encouraged the audience to trust in God’s plan, just like the sower in the parable, and to have faith in the transformative power of the Gospel.
The audience was a joyful and deeply pastoral beginning to Pope Leo XIV’s weekly tradition. He greeted pilgrims with warm smiles and outstretched hands, touring the square in the Popemobile. Notably, Pope Leo XIV delivered his English remarks himself and addressed the crowd in fluent Spanish and Italian, drawing from his 13 years of pastoral service in Peru.