Pope Leo today highlighted yet again the “immense suffering” of the more than two million Palestinians in Gaza, and called on those responsible for the peace negotiations now underway to reach a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and an end to the war “as soon as possible.” He also expressed concern at “the rise of anti-Semitic hatred in the world,” following the terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester, England, this past week.

Moreover, the American-born pope, who is a descendant of migrants, insisted: “No one should be forced to flee, nor exploited or mistreated because of their situation as foreigners or people in need! Human dignity must always come first.” He said all this at the end of the Jubilee Mass dedicated to missionaries and migrants, which he celebrated in St. Peter’s Square, on Oct. 5, before tens of thousands of pilgrims and those engaged in missionary work in many countries and in helping migrants across the globe. 

Pope Leo also spoke about the situation in the Holy Land at the Angelus today. “I continue to be saddened by the immense suffering endured by the Palestinian people in Gaza,” he said. He was referencing the increasingly deteriorating situation in the Gaza enclave, where hunger, starvation, death and destruction are a daily reality. The war started almost exactly two years ago, on Oct. 7, 2023, with Hamas’ terrorist attack on southern Israel, which caused the death of more than 1,200 Israelis and the taking of 250 hostages. The Gaza Health Ministry estimates that, since that time, more than 67,074 Palestinians have been killed and another 169,430 have been wounded.

“In the last few hours, in the dramatic situation in the Middle East,” Pope Leo said, “some significant progress has been made in the peace negotiations, which I hope will achieve the desired results as soon as possible.” He was referring to the 20-point peace proposal launched by President Donald J. Trump, which both Israel and Hamas said they accept, and which Leo last Tuesday welcomed and described as “realistic.” Negotiators are due to meet in Cairo tomorrow to work out the details. Well aware of the complexity and delicate nature of these negotiations, the pope today said, “I ask all those responsible to commit themselves to this path, to ceasefire and to free the hostages.” At the same time, he urged everyone “to remain united in prayer, so that the efforts underway may put an end to the war and lead us toward a just and lasting peace.”

Yesterday, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, wrote a letter to the people of his diocese in which he welcomed this “possible new positive development: the release of Israeli hostages, of some Palestinian prisoners and the cessation of bombing and military offensives.” He described it as “an important and long-awaited first step. Nothing is entirely clear or definite yet; many questions remain unanswered, and much still needs to be defined.” He added, “We must not delude ourselves, but we are pleased that something new and positive is on the horizon.”

In his Sunday homily at the Mass for the Jubilee of the Missions and of Migrants, Leo said: “Today a new missionary age opens up in the history of the church. If for a long time we have associated with mission the word ‘depart,’ the going out to distant lands that did not know the Gospel or were experiencing poverty, today the frontiers of the missions are no longer geographical, because poverty, suffering and the desire for a greater hope have made their way to us.”

Leo said, “The story of so many of our migrant brothers and sisters bears witness to this: the tragedy of their flight from violence, the suffering which accompanies it, the fear of not succeeding, the perilous risk of traveling along the coastline, their cry of sorrow and desperation.” He added, “Brothers and sisters, those boats which hope to catch sight of a safe port, and those eyes filled with anguish and hope seeking to reach the shore, cannot and must not find the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination!” 

Then, in a highly significant statement, the Chicago-born pope who left the United States to work as a missionary in Peru said that today, “Mission is not so much about ‘departing,’ but instead ‘remaining’ in order to proclaim Christ through hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity. We are to remain without fleeing to the comforts of our individualism; to remain so as to look upon those who arrive from lands that are distant and violent; to remain and open our arms and hearts to them, welcoming them as brothers and sisters, and being for them a presence of consolation and hope.”

The first Augustinian pope said: “There are many missionary men and women, but also believers and people of good will, who work in the service of migrants, and promote a new culture of fraternity on the theme of migration, beyond stereotypes and prejudices. But this precious service involves each one of us, within the limits of our own means. As Pope Francis affirmed, this is the time for all of us to let ourselves be ‘permanently in a state of mission’ (“Evangelii Gaudium,” No. 25).”

He said that being in a permanent “state of mission” entails “at least two important missionary tasks: missionary cooperation and missionary vocation. “

First of all, he said, it is necessary “to promote a renewed missionary cooperation among the churches. In the communities of ancient Christian tradition, such as those of the West, the presence of many brothers and sisters from the world’s South should be welcomed as an opportunity, through an exchange that renews the face of the Church and sustains a Christianity that is more open, more alive and more dynamic.”

At the same time, he insisted that “all missionaries that depart for other lands are called to live with respect within the culture they encounter, directing to the good all that is found true and worthy, and bringing there the prophetic message of the Gospel.”

The Augustinian missionary pope recalled “the beauty and importance of missionary vocations.” He called in particular on the church in Europe to promote “a new missionary effort by laity, religious and priests who will offer their service in missionary lands.” He said there is a need for “new ideas and vocational experiences capable of sustaining this desire, especially in young people.” At the same time, he urged the Catholic churches in the global south “to discern with attention the vocational motivations of those desiring to become missionaries.”

He concluded his homily by imparting his blessing “to the local clergy of the particular churches, to missionaries and those discerning a vocation.” And by offering these encouraging words to migrants: “Know that you are always welcome! The seas and deserts that you have crossed, Scripture calls ‘places of salvation,’ in which God makes himself present to save his people. I hope that you find this face of God in the missionaries that you encounter.”

Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.