Marking the first anniversary of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV concluded a pastoral visit to Pompeii and Naples with a call for social renewal, unity, and a peace grounded in justice and everyday responsibility. Speaking to an estimated 50,000 people gathered in Naples’ Piazza del Plebiscito, he described the city as both extraordinarily beautiful and deeply wounded.Arriving from the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Pope addressed civil authorities, Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, Archbishop of Naples, and the faithful.
He thanked the crowd for a welcome he likened to the “embrace” of Bernini’s colonnade in St. Peter’s Square, then turned to the city’s social and spiritual challenges.Reflecting on the Gospel account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Pope Leo XIV said Naples embodies both beauty and hardship. He noted “voices of poverty, fear, and disorientation” rising alongside the city’s beauty, comparing them to the tired, disheartened disciples who encountered Christ. “What truly matters?” he asked, urging citizens to rediscover meaning amid fatigue, indifference, and social fragmentation.
The Pope highlighted Naples’ paradox: a booming tourism sector that has not brought broad economic inclusion. He pointed to persistent inequality, unemployment, school dropout rates, lack of services, and the influence of organized crime as evidence of a “geography of inequality” affecting both the center and the peripheries. In this context, he stressed, strong public institutions are essential to restore trust, security, and opportunity.Yet Pope Leo XIV also praised the city’s “everyday heroes”—men and women quietly working for justice, truth, and dignity.
Their efforts, he said, must be linked into a shared “network of good” that strengthens the social fabric. He underscored the Church’s role as a “bond of communion,” especially through an educational pact involving civil institutions, the Church, and civil society. That collaboration, he insisted, must deepen for the sake of the city’s future.Central to his address was peace. Naples, the Pope said, is called to be not a “postcard city” but a “workshop of peace,” where reconciliation is built in neighborhoods, relationships, and concrete acts of justice and education. “There is no peace without justice,” he affirmed, “and justice is not complete without charity.”
He pointed to houses of welcome for vulnerable families and support centers for those in difficulty as living signs of peace expressed through hospitality, care, and new beginnings.Pope Leo XIV commended initiatives that make Naples a hub for intercultural and interreligious dialogue, including programs with young people from conflict zones. He praised the city’s tradition of welcoming migrants and refugees, calling it an opportunity for encounter and mutual enrichment rather than merely an emergency response.Throughout his remarks, he returned to young people as protagonists of renewal.
From cultural projects to parish initiatives and charitable service, he said, young Neapolitans are already creating “signs of a renewed city and a renewed Church.”Concluding the visit, Pope Leo XIV entrusted the people of Naples to the Virgin Mary and to San Gennaro, the city’s beloved patron saint, encouraging them to continue walking together with courage and hope.