Pope Leo: The blood of Peter and Paul binds the Church to unity

In his June 29 Angelus address for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Leo XIV emphasized that the Church’s mission is rooted in unity, a unity sealed by the martyrdom of its founding apostles.

“I would like to confirm on this solemn feast that my episcopal ministry is at the service of unity,” the pope said, “and that the Church of Rome is committed by the blood shed by Saints Peter and Paul to serving in love the communion of all Churches.”

Addressing pilgrims in Saint Peter’s Square, Pope Leo spoke of an “ecumenism of blood,” pointing to the many Christians who continue to face suffering and even death for the sake of their faith.

“Even today, throughout the world, there continue to be Christians whom the Gospel inspires to be generous and courageous even to the sacrifice of their lives,” he said.

Pope Leo turned to the figure of Christ as the true rock from which Peter received his name — “the stone rejected by the builders,” made the cornerstone by God. He noted that the basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul were originally built outside the walls of Rome, on ground once viewed as marginal and unworthy. 

“What appears great and glorious to us today,” he said, “was originally rejected and excluded because it ran counter to the thinking of this world.”

He said that discipleship means following Christ along the difficult road of the Beatitudes — meekness, mercy, poverty of spirit, justice, and peace — often marked by misunderstanding or even persecution. 

Yet in this path, he said, “God’s glory shines forth in his friends and continues to shape them along the way, passing from conversion to conversion.”

At the tombs of the apostles, the Pope said, the Church is reminded that greatness is born not from perfection but from repeated forgiveness.

“The New Testament does not conceal the errors, conflicts and sins of those whom we venerate as the greatest Apostles,” he said. “Their greatness was shaped by forgiveness.”

Pope Leo encouraged believers to see the Jubilee Year as a sign of God’s mercy and a call to ongoing conversion. He urged the faithful to foster unity through concrete acts of forgiveness and mutual trust, beginning within families and local communities.

“If Jesus can trust us, we can certainly trust one another in his name,” he said.

Pope Leo closed with a renewed call for peace: “Let us continue to pray that weapons may be silenced everywhere and that peace may be achieved through dialogue.”

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