This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the directors and staff of the Floreria and the Building Office, to whom the Pope addressed the following greeting:

Greeting of the Holy Father

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Peace be with you.

Good morning everyone! Happy Sunday, and welcome!

Dear brothers and sisters of the Floreria and the Building Office, with your family members. There is also the singing accompanying us, which is very beautiful... May it continue.

In a moment, we will share the Angelus prayer with all the faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Square. First, however, I am pleased to greet you and thank you for the work you do with such dedication. As managers, employees and workers in these two operational sectors of Vatican City, you have shown great passion for your tasks, especially during the Jubilee Year that has just ended. Thanks also to your joint commitment, millions of pilgrims were able to experience the passage through the Holy Door in an orderly and peaceful manner, participating fruitfully in liturgical celebrations, audiences and other events.

The gratitude I express to you from my heart becomes an incentive for future projects, which relate to both the constant updating of technical and logistical services and the careful maintenance of the Vatican premises, especially the spaces dedicated to prayer and meetings with the Pope. The decorum of the areas and the security of the structures find their highest meaning in the support given to the devotion of the faithful and the pastoral work of the Church. In particular, Saint Peter’s Basilica is a sacred place that needs to be preserved above all as a temple of contemplation, recollection and spiritual awe. The square in front of it, which embraces the world with its magnificent colonnade, is the “calling card”, as they say, of our welcome to everyone.

I therefore invite you, as you carry out your daily work, to join with me in thinking of those who pass through the places you care for, and to pray for them. Indeed, faith and prayer give full meaning to everything we do.

Dear friends, the work you carry out every day certainly represents a discreet and precious service for the Pope’s apostolic mission. In fact, it is part of the complex activity of the Governorate and the Directorate for infrastructures and services, which I commend for their diligent management of many duties within the Vatican State. Each in our own way, especially in times of trial, let us remember that we are members of a single body, whose purpose is to bear witness to the Gospel according to the command of the Lord, the Good Shepherd and Head of the Church.

As a sign of my gratitude, I heartily bless you, your family members who are accompanying you today, and your work. Many thanks.