Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

On this Solemnity of Pentecost, we are called to contemplate the gift of the Holy Spirit, which was poured out in abundance upon the early Church and is bestowed anew upon its members today, granting us light and strength throughout our everyday circumstances.

Let us reflect on an image of the Spirit that today’s liturgy sets before us: the Spirit opens doors. The Gospel, in fact, tells us that “the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews” (Jn 20:19). At the same time, the book of the Acts of the Apostles tells us that the Spirit came like a mighty wind (cf. Acts 2:2), which opened those doors, impelling the disciples to go out and proclaim the Good News of the risen Christ.

We can ask ourselves: what doors does the Holy Spirit open today?

The first door is that of God himself, for the Spirit gives us access to the mystery of God, as revealed in Jesus Christ. Through the gift of his Spirit, God grants us true faith, helps us understand the meaning of Scripture, reveals himself as our neighbor and allows us to share in his very life. The Holy Spirit helps us to have a personal experience of God, to encounter him in Jesus and not merely in the observance of a law, to recognize him within us, and to discover the signs of his presence in daily life.

The second door is that of the Upper Room, that is, of the Church. Without the fire of the Spirit, the Church remains a prisoner of fear, timid in the face of the world’s challenges, closed in on itself, and thus also incapable of entering into dialogue with changing times. The Spirit opens the doors of the Church so that it can be welcoming and hospitable to all, even to those who have closed their doors on God and neighbour, on hope and the joy of living. As Pope Francis recalled, we are called to be “a Church that blesses and encourages… The doors of the Church are open to everyone” (Homily at the Opening of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops,, October 4, 2023).

Finally, the Holy Spirit opens the door of our heart, helping us to overcome resistance, selfishness, mistrust and prejudice, while enabling us to live as children of God and brothers and sisters to one another. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, fraternity is born among individuals, groups and peoples of the Earth, and all speak the same language of love, which unites and brings harmony despite our differences.

Brothers and sisters, even in our own day, especially on this day of Pentecost, we must invoke the Holy Spirit and ask him to open all the doors that are still closed. We need to rediscover God as the Father who loves us, so that we can form a Church where everyone feels at home, and build a fraternal world where peace reigns among all peoples.

Like the first disciples, we entrust ourselves to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Dwelling of the Holy Spirit and Mother of the Church.

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After the Regina Caeli prayer

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today marks the Day of Prayer for the Church in China, which occurs on the feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians. She is venerated with great devotion at the Sheshan Shrine in Shanghai. Let us join our prayers with those of Chinese Catholics as a sign of our closeness to them and their communion with the universal Church and with the Successor of Peter. May the intercession of the Queen of Heaven obtain for the community of believers in China the grace of unity and grant them the strength to bear witness to the Gospel in their daily struggles, so that they may be seeds of hope and peace. In particular, I pray for the eternal rest of the victims of the accident that occurred recently in a mine in northern China.

To Mary Most Holy, Help of Christians, we also entrust the Christian communities of the Holy Land, Lebanon and the entire Middle East, who are suffering due to the ongoing conflicts.

And now I extend my greetings to all of you, the faithful of Rome and pilgrims from various countries! In particular, I greet the group of people with disabilities from Poland, as well as the pilgrims who came by bicycle from Kelmis, Belgium – well done!