By Charles Igwe
Pope Leo XIV, on Tuesday afternoon, made a solemn pilgrimage to the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, the revered Roman church believed to house the remains of St Paul the Apostle. The visit marked another significant spiritual moment in the early days of his papacy.
After spending a quiet moment in prayer at the tomb of the Apostle to the Gentiles, Pope Leo presided over a brief but poignant prayer service, during which he delivered a deeply reflective homily centered on three foundational themes drawn from St Paul’s Letter to the Romans: grace, faith, and justification.
The Pope began his reflection by focusing on grace—God’s unmerited help. He highlighted how Paul’s dramatic conversion was not of his own making, but rather “the fruit of God’s prior love,” which reached out to him while he was still far from the truth of the Gospel. “Paul encountered Christ only because Christ first reached out to him,” the Pope said. He echoed the words of St Augustine: “We cannot choose unless we have first been chosen. We cannot love unless someone has loved us first.”
According to the Pope, this divine initiative is central to every vocation. “Without God’s help, we cannot lead truly good lives. Grace is the foundation of every calling,” he emphasized.
Turning to the second theme, faith, Pope Leo noted that Paul’s response to God’s call was not coerced. “When God appeared to him on the road to Damascus, He did not take away Paul’s freedom,” the Pope said. “Instead, He gave him the opportunity to respond freely. Salvation is not magic—it is born of a mysterious harmony between God’s grace and human freedom.”
The final theme of justification, which the Pope described as the process of growing in holiness, was illustrated through Paul’s transformation from persecutor to devoted apostle. Pope Leo urged Christians to imitate Paul’s radical conversion and love, encouraging all to “compete in showing love,” as Paul did, even to the point of martyrdom.
Concluding his homily, Pope Leo quoted Pope Benedict XVI: “God loves us. This is the great truth of our life; it is what makes everything else meaningful.” He affirmed that this truth undergirds every mission, including his own as the Bishop of Rome.
“May the Lord grant me the grace to respond faithfully to His call,” Pope Leo prayed, invoking the same zeal and humility that marked the lives of both Peter and Paul—pillars of the early Church and enduring models of apostolic mission.
