Pope Leo XIV on Sunday expressed concern over the “alarming situation” in Ceuta and appealed for solutions capable of bringing peace, stability and justice to the Spanish enclave facing a major migration and humanitarian crisis.
“I am following with concern the alarming situation in Ceuta, praying to God that, through the intercession of Our Lady of Africa, solutions may be found to bring peace, stability and justice,” the pope said after leading the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on Aug. 2.
His remarks followed the arrival of an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 people from Morocco on July 30, many of whom attempted to reach Spanish territory by swimming around the border barriers.
According to figures provided by Spanish authorities, at least 67 people died, most of them by drowning. The influx overwhelmed the autonomous city’s capacity to respond and prompted authorities to install additional barriers near the El Tarajal border crossing.
The pope also renewed his appeal for an end to armed conflicts around the world.
“Let us continue to pray for peace, that wars may cease throughout the world and diplomatic solutions to conflicts may be found,” he said.
“Let us remember all the victims of hostilities, especially the weakest and most defenseless: children, the elderly and the sick,” he continued. “May the Lord comfort those who suffer and bless the work of those who bring aid and consolation.”
Pope Leo also recalled the Pardon of Assisi, the plenary indulgence traditionally associated with the Porziuncola chapel in Assisi, Italy.
“Saint Francis obtained this Indulgence from Pope Honorius III in 1216, having been inspired — while praying at the Porziuncola — by a vision of Jesus and Mary surrounded by angels,” he said.
“Let us thank the Lord for this great gift and treasure it, especially in this eighth centenary year of the Transitus of the Poor Man of Assisi, who died at the Porziuncola on 3 October 1226.”
Earlier, in his reflection before the Angelus, Pope Leo encouraged Catholics to rediscover the practice of blessing meals as a simple public witness to faith and a way of bringing the beauty of the Eucharist into everyday life.
“As we savor the grace of the Eucharist, let us commit ourselves to bearing witness to its beauty in our daily actions, beginning with blessing meals at the table with family and friends,” he said.
The pope reflected on the Gospel account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, explaining that Christ’s miracles reveal both his care for humanity and the salvation he offers to the world.
“When we listen to the Gospel, we frequently hear that Jesus performed signs, which are acts that reveal his special dedication to us and the salvation that he brings to the world,” he said. “The Lord is presented as the One who gives meaning to our lives, freeing us from evil and sin.”
Pope Leo said Christ’s healing miracles were not merely extraordinary acts but signs that the kingdom of God was near.
“By restoring sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, Christ is doing more than merely performing miraculous deeds; he is proclaiming to all that the Kingdom of God is near,” he said.
The Gospel, he continued, shows that Christ not only restores the senses but also fills them with good things, giving food to the hungry as well as sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf.
“The account of the multiplication of the loaves shows us that the encounter with the Lord is a nourishing experience,” he said. “In the desert, that is, when we are in need, Christ is the bread of life.”
The 12 baskets of food left over after the crowd had eaten, the pope explained, signify both the universal character of God’s gift and the constancy of his providential care.
“Christ truly satisfies humanity’s hunger, our hunger for truth and life,” he said. “His gesture teaches us that nothing is discarded when it is shared.”
Pope Leo contrasted that spirit of generosity with a culture driven by accumulation and waste.
“Hoarding and waste, on the contrary, are two sides of the same evil: greed,” he said.
He described greed as a spiritual sickness that dulls the senses and makes people indifferent to the suffering of others.
“This spiritual sickness numbs the senses, which become intoxicated with wealth, to the point of making people forget those who weep from hunger and cry out from thirst,” he said.
“And so, in the face of an opulence that reeks of decay, we find the outstretched hands of those who have no nourishment, the burned homes of those who have no peace.”
Against the “deserts of war and arrogance,” the pope invited Christians to contemplate the actions of Jesus during the multiplication of the loaves: looking to heaven, blessing the bread, breaking it and giving it to the disciples to distribute.
“In this miracle of charity, we recognize the characteristic actions of Jesus, which find their culmination in the Last Supper, for it was then that the Son of God gave us his very life as our brother in humanity,” he said.
The pope concluded by encouraging Catholics to make their summer vacations an opportunity for fraternity and service.
“In Jesus’ company, even vacations can become a time of fraternal serenity, if we reach out to our neighbors in need,” he said.
This story was first published in two parts by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated, combined and adapted by EWTN News English.