By Charles Igwe
In one of the earliest encounters of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV welcomed members of the Eastern Catholic Churches to the Vatican with the joyful Easter proclamation: “Christ is risen! He is truly risen!” Addressing representatives of the 23 sui iuris Churches in full communion with Rome, the Holy Father expressed his deep affection and admiration: “You are precious in God’s eyes.”
The Pope reflected on the rich diversity, spiritual heritage, and enduring hardships of the Eastern Catholic communities, many of whom continue to suffer persecution or displacement. “Looking at you,” he said, “I think of the diversity of your origins, your glorious history, and the bitter sufferings that many of your communities have endured or continue to endure.”
Quoting his predecessor, Pope Francis, he reaffirmed the value of the Eastern Churches, which are to be “cherished and esteemed for the unique spiritual and sapiential traditions they preserve, and for all that they have to say to us about the Christian life, synodality, and the liturgy.”
Pope Leo also invoked the teachings of Pope Leo XIII and St. John Paul II, underscoring the enduring importance of the Eastern liturgical and spiritual traditions in the life of the universal Church. He voiced particular concern for those in the diaspora who, having fled conflict or persecution, now risk losing not only their homeland but also their religious identity.
To address this, the Pope called on the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches to develop principles and guidelines to help Latin bishops support Eastern Catholics abroad in preserving their rites and customs. “It is vital that you preserve your traditions without attenuating them,” he emphasized.
Pope Leo passionately affirmed: “The Church needs you!” He highlighted how the Eastern Churches offer immense contributions, particularly through their liturgies steeped in mystery, their deep sense of the sacred, and their enduring traditions of penance, fasting, and mystagogy—elements, he said, that the wider Church must rediscover today.
He praised the “medicinal spirituality” of the East, which holds together the drama of human suffering with awe at God’s mercy. “Who better than you can sing a song of hope amid the abyss of violence?” he asked.
Echoing Pope Francis’ recognition of the Eastern communities as “martyr Churches,” Pope Leo lamented ongoing violence in the Holy Land, Ukraine, the Middle East, Tigray, and the Caucasus, calling the suffering of innocent lives—especially young people—utterly tragic.
But rising from this devastation, the Pope said, is a cry for peace—not merely his own, but one that comes from Christ Himself, who still speaks the words: “Peace be with you.”
“Let us pray for this peace,” Pope Leo concluded, “which is reconciliation, forgiveness, and the courage to turn the page and begin again.”
