This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience some delegations from the municipalities in areas of Central Italy affected by earthquakes.

The following is the address delivered by the Pope to those present at the meeting:

Address of the Holy Father

Dear brothers and sisters,

Ten years have passed since the tragic series of earthquakes that struck your regions. These events claimed hundreds of lives, caused widespread destruction and brought profound suffering to entire communities, which still bear the scars today.

Faced with this situation, I would first like to join you in listening to the Word of God, beginning with a text that plays an important role in the Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas (cf. no. 8). It is the Book of Nehemiah, which recounts the return of the people to a Jerusalem still in ruins following the devastation wrought by the Babylonians. Nehemiah teaches us a twofold approach. Firstly, the communal approach: the city, in fact, is reborn not through the efforts of a single person, but through the shared responsibility of the whole people. Furthermore, Nehemiah suggests to us that to rebuild, one must have a vision. In such dramatic circumstances, it is not enough to merely have good intentions or to rely on disorganized voluntarism. To rebuild, we must acquire eyes capable of discerning, amidst the ruins, the blueprint for a home and a city. It is the gift of a prophetic gaze that can perceive, beyond the rubble, something that no one else yet sees; a gaze that can discern, within the present evil, the good that it is both possible and our duty to realize.

I therefore encourage you to resume the journey with this dual perspective: on the one hand, the synodal approach in order to build together; on the other, the prophetic vision, which, starting from present needs, is able to look ahead and discern the common good to be actively pursued.

This is how the saints acted. Your land has been blessed by the presence of women and men of God, who knew how to live out these two dimensions and, throughout history, to turn evil into good. I am thinking, for example, of Saint Rita of Cascia or Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, who, through prayer and the proclamation of the Gospel, brought peace to families and communities devastated by hatred and violence. Moved by the same foresight, Saint Benedict had been able to reform and rebuild the Church and society through prayer and work, laying the foundations of what would become today’s Europe. Finally, eight hundred years after his passing, we remember Saint Francis of Assisi. Before the crucifix, he heard the voice of the Lord saying to him: “Go and repair my house, which, as you see, lies in ruins” (Second Life of Thomas of Celano: FF 593). He then set about physically restoring several small churches in the area, subsequently realizing that the “house” of which the Lord spoke was the Church herself, which was at that time undergoing a profound spiritual crisis.

The example of the saints reminds us that hope, if it is not to remain no more than a wish, requires, first and foremost, tangible and urgent responses. For this reason, ten years after the earthquake, we must devote all our energy to ensuring that the physical reconstruction takes place as quickly as possible, safely and transparently. Furthermore, for hope to be lasting, it requires a sense of direction: it must identify points of reference to guide the way forward.

In this regard, I would like to indicate to you the example of another biblical figure involved in the reconstruction of Jerusalem: the prophet Haggai.

Living shortly before the governor Nehemiah, he too called on the people to rebuild. Like Nehemiah, he addressed the religious and civil authorities and the people of the city, so that all might feel responsible for the common revival. His message, however, is very specific: Haggai urges the people, preoccupied with their own homes and individual needs, not to forget that centre which represented the heart of the Holy City, namely the Temple. Indeed, one cannot start afresh without first rebuilding that which gives meaning and foundation to a community. Otherwise, everything remains disunited and falls apart. It is therefore a matter of starting anew from the centre, of starting anew from God, from people, from the common good, and from relationships. Then our hope will be founded on the rock.

Dear friends, I encourage you in this work of reconstruction with the words of the prophet Haggai himself: “Take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you” (Haggai 2:4).

I thank you for your visit and, invoking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and your patron saints, I cordially bless you all and your communities.