Pope Leo Urges Benedictines to Face Modern Challenges Through Prayer, Study, and Holiness

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass on Tuesday at the Benedictine monastery of Sant’Anselmo in Rome, where he called on monks to meet the demands of the modern world through a renewed commitment to prayer, study, and personal holiness. The celebration marked the anniversary of the church’s dedication and served as a reminder of the enduring spiritual mission of the Order of St. Benedict.

Sant’Anselmo Church, located on the Aventine Hill, was consecrated on November 11, 1900. It serves as both a residential college and the administrative center of the Benedictine Confederation, the governing body that unites Benedictine monasteries around the world. Upon his arrival, Pope Leo was greeted by Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder, who symbolically presented him with the keys to the church.

In his homily, the pope reflected on the origins of the monastery, recalling that Pope Leo XIII had envisioned the Benedictine order as a vital spiritual force for the good of the entire Church during the cultural and social upheavals of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. “Your ancient order,” Pope Leo said, “has always offered the world a model of peace, unity, and stability. The monastery has come to be seen as a place of growth and hospitality, even in the darkest moments of history.”

Turning to the present day, Pope Leo spoke candidly about the challenges confronting society, describing them as “unprecedented questions that test our faith and understanding.” He urged the monks to respond not by retreating from the world but by embodying the Benedictine spirit, a balance of contemplation and action rooted in Christ.

“To face today’s difficulties,” he said, “we must place Christ at the center of our existence and mission. From that act of faith comes prayer, study, and the daily effort to live a holy life.”

The pope called Sant’Anselmo “a beating heart within the great body of the Benedictine world,” a spiritual home where the Church remains at the center of all work and reflection. “In this industrious hive,” he said, “may Sant’Anselmo always be the place from which everything begins and to which everything returns verified and deepened before God.”

Pope Leo reflected on the symbolism of the church’s dedication, describing it as a sacred encounter between “the finite and the infinite, between man and God.” A consecrated church, he said, becomes “an open door toward eternity, a place where the human heart finds meaning and hope beyond the passing concerns of the moment.”

Citing the Second Vatican Council’s Sacrosanctum Concilium, the pope reminded the monks that the Church herself is both human and divine, active in the world yet devoted to contemplation. “The visible must be ordered toward the invisible,” he said. “The present reality must always point us toward the future city, the eternal home to which we are all journeying.”

He emphasized that this search for meaning defines every human life. “In the end, what we seek is not knowledge or power, but the truth that only the Father in heaven can reveal the truth found in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God,” he said.

Concluding his homily, Pope Leo encouraged the Benedictines to remain faithful to their mission of prayer and service. “We are called to seek Jesus and to bring others to Him,” he said. “When we do this with gratitude and love, this temple will become a true house of joy, where we share freely the gifts we have received.”

The Mass at Sant’Anselmo, filled with prayer and reflection, underscored the pope’s message that holiness and community life remain the strongest responses to a world in search of meaning.