Vatican City, Sep 14, 2025 / 09:55 am

On Sunday, his 70th birthday, Pope Leo XIV presided at the recitation of the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square. From the early morning hours, the square had filled up with the faithful carrying banners, flags, and congratulatory signs to celebrate the pope’s milestone.

Leo was visibly moved when musical groups in the square played “Happy Birthday,” a gesture greeted with applause, cheers, and the waving of signs bearing messages of gratitude and blessing.

“Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Sunday! Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, commemorating the discovery of the Cross by Saint Helen in Jerusalem in the fourth century, and the return of the precious relic to the Holy City by the Emperor Heraclius,” the pope said at the start of his reflection.

He explained that the day’s Gospel (Jn 3:13–17) presents Nicodemus as “one of the leaders of the Jews, a righteous and open-minded person … He needs light and guidance: he seeks God and asks the Teacher of Nazareth for help because he recognizes him as a prophet, a man who performs extraordinary signs.”

“The Lord welcomes him, listens to him, and eventually reveals to him that the Son of Man must be lifted up, ‘so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life’ … adding: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life,’” the pope said.

“God saves us by showing himself to us, offering himself as our companion, teacher, doctor, friend, to the point of becoming bread broken for us in the Eucharist. In order to accomplish this task, he used one of the cruelest instruments that human beings have ever invented: the cross,” Leo said.

“That is why today we celebrate the ‘exaltation’: for the immense love with which God has transformed the means to death into an instrument of life, embracing it for our salvation, teaching us that nothing can separate us from him and that his love is greater than our own sin,” he added.

After leading the Angelus, the pope noted the 60th anniversary of St. Paul VI’s institution of the Synod of Bishops, expressing hope that “this anniversary will inspire a renewed commitment to the unity and mission of the Church.” He also extended greetings to pilgrims from around the world.

At the close, he turned to a more personal meaning of the day: “Dear friends, it seems that you know that today I turn seventy years old. I give thanks to the Lord and to my parents; and I thank all those who have remembered me in their prayers. Many thanks to everyone! Thank you! Have a good Sunday!”