Pope to Barcelona charity workers: Life Is a path we walk together
By Linda Bordoni
A child's questions about life, suffering, forgiveness and God's plans opened the way for a personal encounter between Pope Leo XIV and the charitable heart of the Church in Barcelona on Wednesday afternoon.
Meeting Diocesan Charity and Welfare organisations in the Church of Sant Agustí during the fifth day of his Apostolic Journey to Spain, the Pope listened to testimonies from those engaged in serving the poor, the elderly, migrants and the marginalised before responding to a letter written by a six-year-old boy named Renzo.
But before addressing the child's questions, Pope Leo paused to express his gratitude and affection for the community gathered around him.
"Here, truly, I feel at home," he said. While acknowledging that the Augustinian church naturally held special significance for him as a son of Saint Augustine, the Pope shared a personal memory dating back more than forty years.
"The first time I came to this church was in 1984," he recalled. "I was travelling overland from Rome to León and said: 'There is a church of Saint Augustine in Barcelona, let's visit it.' It was closed." Today, however, he continued, it is open, and he expressed his joy for what he has found. "How beautiful it is to find a church with an Augustinian community and with so many people who live here, who praise God, who find community, welcome and integration through this church and its social ministry. Thank you all, truly!"
Life is not a solo performance
Among Renzo's questions to the Pope was one about football. Although he admitted that tennis remains his preferred sport, Pope Leo spoke fondly of his years in Peru, where he followed local football teams and even played with seminarians.
"A little sport is good for everyone," he said. "We need to find ways to preserve our health in body, mind and soul."
And with the World Cup set to begin the following day, the Pope used football as an image for life itself. "Life is not a race to shine on our own," he said. "It is something that is played as a team."
And observing that even the most talented player ultimately fails if he refuses to involve others, and turning to the volunteers and charitable workers present, he thanked them for embodying that spirit of cooperation and service, noting that, "Someone may be a star, but if he never passes the ball, he does not allow others to enter the game, and he will probably lose."
Every child is God's dream
Renzo also wanted to know whether the Pope had ever dreamed of becoming Pope when he was young."I don't think I ever thought about it," Pope Leo replied with a smile, adding that what he did remember was an early desire to give his life to God.
"From childhood, I felt the desire to dedicate my life to God," he said, explaining that only gradually did he discover the path that would lead him to the priesthood and to the Augustinian Order.
"Every child is a dream of God. You are too, Renzo," he continued, suggesting that children ask themselves a more important question: whether they want to be friends of Jesus.
"Friendship with Jesus gives us joy, makes us free and helps us discover, step by step, the vocation and path that God has prepared for each one of us."
Facing suffering with hope
The most challenging question posed by Renzo concerned suffering and why bad things happen to some people and not to others.
Pope Leo acknowledged that no easy answer exists. Reflecting on Christ's own life, he noted that Jesus "went about doing good" and yet was rejected, condemned and crucified." But the story did not end there," he said. "He rose on the third day and conquered evil and death."
For Christians, the Pope explained, suffering is never the final word. "Even though there is suffering, God never abandons any of His children," he said, encouraging those present to trust that Christ accompanies them through every trial and prepares eternal joy beyond pain and loss.
Grandparents must never be left alone
Another of Renzo's questions touched on grandparents, whom he said, "should never be left alone." He praised the countless grandparents who care for grandchildren while parents work and who quietly transmit faith, love and values to younger generations.
"Let us not allow loneliness and abandonment to become normal in the lives of older adults. That is something very sad," the Pope said, noting that the responsibility to care extends beyond family ties and embraces every elderly person who risks being forgotten.
Forgiveness that frees the heart
Responding to a question about forgiveness, the Pope recalled Jesus' teaching that Christians must forgive "seventy times seven," although "Forgiving does not mean saying that what was wrong was right," he explained, "Nor does it mean allowing someone to continue doing harm."
Forgiveness, he added, prevents hatred from taking possession of the heart and opens the way to healing and peace. "When we forgive, we imitate the example of Jesus, who forgave those who crucified Him."
Charity reveals the face of Christ
The Pope also turned his attention to the mission of the charitable organisations gathered in Sant Agustí, and, thanking them for their work, he drew on the spirituality of Saint Augustine, and he reminded them that Christian life begins not with human effort but with grace.
"Being Christian is, above all, a gift, a grace," Pope Leo said.
From that grace, he explained, flows the responsibility to love others and to recognise Christ in those who suffer. "The Christian, besides being kind and gentle, must be compassionate, love selflessly and seek the good of others."
Pope Leo XIV praised the work carried out across the Archdiocese of Barcelona and stressed that the Church's charitable mission becomes especially urgent at a time when society often seems to have lost sight of the sacred dignity of the human person.
That dignity, he insisted, does not depend on wealth, ability or social status but on the fact that every human being is created in the image of God and loved by Him, adding that "The human person is at the centre of the Church's action."
While acknowledging the importance of material assistance, the Pope reiterated that those living in poverty and marginalisation also hunger for spiritual accompaniment. "They need not only material aid and moral support but also God, His friendship, His blessing, His Word, His Sacraments and a path of growth and maturation in faith."
Before taking time to exchange words of gratitude and greeting with the many lined up to thank him for his presence, Pope Leo encouraged the charitable workers to continue their mission alongside their pastors, urging them to be "credible witnesses of Christian hope," and to reveal, through their service, the justice and peace of God's Kingdom.
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