Pope Leo to Altar Servers: Jesus’ Sacrifice on the Cross is the “Most Marvelous Reality of Our Catholic Faith”

“May your demeanor, your silence, the dignity of your service, the beauty of the liturgy, the order and majesty of the gestures, draw the faithful into the sacred grandeur of the Mystery.”​

ROME—August 25, 2025 — Pope Leo XIV today urged altar servers to deepen their friendship with Jesus Christ, to “engrave” on their hearts that He is the only Savior of the world, and to remember that His sacrifice on the Cross, renewed on the altar during every Holy Mass, is “the most marvelous reality of our Catholic faith.”

“The celebration of the Mass saves the world today,” he said, exhorting them to keep always in mind the grandeur and holiness of what is being celebrated, and to reflect it by their silence and demeanor.

Addressing the French National Pilgrimage of Altar Servers, in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father also invited the boys to be open to the Lord’s call to the priesthood, candidly telling them that “the shortage of priests in France, and in the world, is a great misfortune! A misfortune for the Church.”

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