Leo XIV at the Angelus in Cusco: "You are at the beating heart of the Church"

"You are at the beating heart of the Church." With these words Leo XIV addressed the sick of Cusco on Sunday, 15 November, as he introduced the Angelus prayer in the square in front of the Basilica Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, before the image of the Señor de los Temblores, the Taytacha who is the city's patron. On the tenth day of his apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, the Pope reflected on the parable of the talents, spoke to priests and consecrated persons and offered a shroud for Cusco's most venerated image.

Homage to Alarcón. According to the Holy See Press Office, at 11:40 a.m. (5:40 p.m. Rome time) the Pope was driven to the Cathedral. Accompanied by the Archbishop of Cusco, Lizardo Estrada Herrera, he entered the Cathedral to pay homage at the tomb of Richard Daniel Alarcón Urrutia, the recently deceased Archbishop of Cusco. Opening his greeting, Leo XIV remembered him "with great affection and gratitude", entrusting him "to the loving intercession of Mary", and greeted the new archbishop, in office since 30 October. Later he said the city's sick had been "witnesses of the self-offering" made by Alarcón "to give life, united to the cross of the Lord" (our translation).

The parable of the talents. The Pope started from the day's Gospel (Mt 25:14-30). The coins of the parable, he explained, "represent everything the Lord has given us freely: our life, our faith, our vocation." He added: "if we want to sum it up in a single word, they symbolize his love, which He gives us so that we may make it grow in our lives and share it with others" (our translation).

To the sick: "What a great lie!" Speaking to those who suffer "in body and soul", Leo XIV challenged the view of a world "conditioned by the throwaway culture and material productivity", which sees illness "as a misfortune that diminishes a person's worth." "What a great lie!" he said. "In the light of the Gospel, illness, lived with faith and united to the mystery of Christ's Passion, is a path to grow in his love and to share it." And: "your suffering, offered with love for the salvation of souls, for vocations and for peace, becomes spiritual strength" (our translation).

To priests and consecrated persons. The Pope then turned to priests and men and women religious, who "have left everything to follow in the footsteps of the Master." Their talents, he said, are the Word of God, the Sacraments, the pastoral guidance of God's people and the evangelical counsels: "What an immense responsibility we carry in our hands of clay! Let us not be afraid to give our lives, to spend ourselves for Christ; in this way we will become visible signs of God's mercy. And this is the best way to promote vocations" (our translation).

The Taytacha and the shroud. Leo XIV recalled the earthquake of 1650, when "it was enough for the sacred image to be carried through the streets for the tremors to stop and for peace to reign again." Since then, he said, the people of Cusco and all of Peru know that in the Taytacha they have "a safe refuge in the face of any storm, a firm anchor amid the tremors of history." As a sign of communion he offered a shroud (sudario) to be placed on the image: "It is meant to be the Pope's caress for a people who know how to suffer with dignity and Christian hope. When you see the Lord of the Earthquakes clothed in this shroud, remember that the universal Church is with you" (our translation).

The prayer and the farewell. Before the Marian prayer, the Pope invited the faithful to learn from Mary "not to be afraid, not to bury the grace we have received", entrusting to her intercession "the health of the sick and the holiness of priests and consecrated persons", and concluded: "May God bless you, and may the Lord of the Earthquakes always keep your lives in peace!" (our translation). After the Angelus, the Press Office reports, he presented the shroud to the Señor de los Temblores, imparted the blessing and gave a gift. At the end he greeted a group of people with disabilities in the Plaza de Armas and travelled in an open car to Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport, where his departure for Pucallpa was scheduled. The official text reports no appeals after the prayer.

The address was delivered in Spanish. An official English translation has not yet been published: quotations are our translation of the official text released by the Holy See Press Office.

Sources: Holy See Press Office, Bulletin B0921; Vatican Media video and images.

#LeoXIV #Vatican