POPE: THE CHURCH IS A 'CONSTRUCTION SITE' FOR A COMMUNITY TO BE BUILT WITHOUT HASTE

 

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Holy Mass at Rome's Cathedral for the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.

 

Pope: The Church is a ‘construction site’ for a community to be built without haste

Celebrating Mass on the occasion of the Dedication of the Basilica of St John Lateran, Pope Leo XIV reflects on the Church, urging the faithful to be ‘free from the criteria of the world, which too often demands immediate results because it does not know the wisdom of waiting’. ‘Jesus changes us and calls us to work in God's great construction site, wisely shaping us according to His plans for salvation.’ ‘In Rome,’ says the Pope, ‘there is a great good that grows’ beyond the hardships.

By Isabella H. de Carvalho

Digging “within ourselves and around us” so that we can then look to Christ and thus build “with humility and patience,” as “the millennial history of the Church” teaches us, a “true community of faith, capable of spreading charity, promoting mission, proclaiming, celebrating, and serving that apostolic Magisterium of which” the Basilica of St. John Lateran “is the first seat.” Pope Leo XIV reflected on the mission of the Church as a community of active believers in his homily during Mass on the occasion of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, celebrated on Sunday, 9 November.

In the presence of some 2,700 people, the Pope recalled the important history of the Cathedral, built at the behest of the Roman Emperor Constantine after he granted Christians freedom of worship in 313 AD, and then dedicated by Pope Sylvester I a few years later. However, Pope Leo XIV emphasised that this Basilica, the “Mother of all Churches,” “is much more than a monument or a historical memorial" but is instead “a sign of the living Church, built with chosen and precious stones in Christ Jesus, the cornerstone.” This “reminds us that we too, are ‘living stones here on earth… built into’ a spiritual temple,” he continued. “It is the ecclesial community, ‘the Church, the society of believers, [which] gives the Lateran its most solid and striking external structure’,” he explained, quoting St Paul VI.

Brothers and sisters, as we diligently labor in the service of God’s Kingdom, let us be neither hasty nor superficial.  Let us dig deep, unhindered by worldly criteria, which too often demand immediate results and disregard the wisdom of waiting.

Concelebrating with Pope Leo at the altar were Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome and Archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran; and Bishop Renato Tarantelli Baccari, Titular Bishop of Campli and Vice-Gerent of the Diocese of Rome. Approximately 160 priests and 10 Bishops also concelebrated.

In order to build, we must first look to Christ

The Pope began his reflection with the foundations of the Basilica of St. John Lateran. “Their importance is obvious and, even somewhat unsettling,” he explained, adding that those who built the Cathedral of Rome laid a sufficiently solid foundation on which to erect everything else, “digging deep, with great effort,” in this way preventing the structure from collapsing over time. For the Pope, this is a useful image because we too, “labourers in the living Church, we too must first dig deep within ourselves and around ourselves before we can build impressive structures.” Pope Leo quoted the second reading of the liturgy, taken from the first letter of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, in which he says that “no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.”

This means constantly returning to Jesus and his Gospel and being docile to the action of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we risk overloading a building with heavy structures whose foundations are too weak to support.

The Church as a construction site

The Pope then moved on to the Gospel proclaimed during Mass, taken from the Evangelist St Luke. In it, Zacchaeus, a “rich and powerful man” who “feels moved to meet Jesus,” climbs a tree to see Him among the crowd, “an unusual and inappropriate gesture for someone of his rank who is accustomed to getting whatever he wants at the tax office as though it were his due.” Pope Leo pointed out that for Zacchaeus “climbing among the branches” meant “his own limitations and overcomes the inhibitions of his pride.” In the event, he was able to encounter Jesus, an encounter that “marks the beginning of a new life” for him.

When Jesus calls us to take part in God’s great project, He transforms us by skillfully shaping us according to His plans for salvation.  In recent years, the image of a “construction site” has often been used to describe our ecclesial journey.  It is a beautiful image that speaks of activity, creativity and dedication, as well as hard work and sometimes complex problems to be solved.

In Rome, a great good is growing

For the Pope, this image of the construction site "expresses the real, palpable effort with which our communities grow every day, sharing charisms and under the guidance of their pastors." He also recalls how, even in the history of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, "there were critical moments, pauses, and corrections to projects in progress.’ Yet, he continues, ‘thanks to the tenacity of those who came before us, we can gather in this wonderful place."

In Rome, a great good is growing thanks to the efforts of many. Let us not allow fatigue to prevent us from recognizing and celebrating this good, so that we may nourish and renew our enthusiasm.  After all, it is through charity in action that the face of our Church is shaped, making it ever clearer to all that she is a “mother,” the “mother of all Churches,” or even a “mom,” as Saint John Paul II said when speaking to children on this very feast day.

He then reflected on how the Church of Rome is currently experiencing the “implementation phase of the Synod,” in which “what has matured over years of work now needs to be put to the test and evaluated ‘in the field.’” “This implies an uphill journey, but we must not be discouraged,” he said, adding that “instead, we should continue with confidence in our efforts to grow together.”

The importance of liturgy

Finally, Pope Leo highlighted “an essential aspect of the mission of a cathedral,” namely the liturgy, “the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed... the source from which all its power flows.” For the Pope, all the themes he highlighted in his homily are found therein: “We are built up as God’s temple, as His dwelling place in the Spirit and we receive strength to preach Christ in the world.”

Therefore, care for the liturgy, especially here at the See of Peter, must be such that it can serve as an example for the whole people of God.  It must comply with the established norms, be attentive to the different sensibilities of those participating and keep with the principle of wise inculturation (cf. ibid., 37-38).  At the same time, it must remain faithful to the solemn sobriety typical of the Roman tradition, which can do so much good for the souls of those who actively participate in it.

Quoting St Augustine's Discourses, in which he says that “beauty is nothing but love, and love is life,” Pope Leo emphasised that in the liturgy “this truth is emphasized in an eminent way.” He expressed his hope that “every care be taken to ensure that the simple beauty of the rites expresses the value of worship for the harmonious growth of the whole Body of the Lord” so that “those who approach the altar of Rome’s Cathedral go away filled with the grace that the Lord wishes to flood the world.”

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/pope-the-church-is-a-building-site.html