Pope Leo XIV hails Roma, Sinti, and Travelers’ faith amid marginalization

Vatican City, Oct 18, 2025 / 13:10 pm (CNA).

At the Vatican’s Jubilee of Roma, Sinti, and Travelers, Pope Leo XIV praised pilgrims for their deep trust in God despite centuries of exclusion, telling thousands of participants that their witness renews the Church’s own faith.

“Today we all feel renewed by the gift you bring to the pope: your strong faith, your unshakeable hope in God alone, your solid trust that does not yield to the hardships of a life often lived on the margins of society,” Pope Leo said during the jubilee audience in the Paul VI Hall on Saturday.

About 4,000 pilgrims from more than 70 countries in Europe and beyond took part in the event, according to the Vatican. Musicians and dancers from Italy, Romania, France, Spain, and Slovenia filled the Vatican hall with lively music during the vibrant Jubilee celebration.

Pope Leo urged participants to continue placing their faith and hope entirely in God, saying they “can be living witnesses to the centrality of these three things: trusting only in God, not attaching yourself to any worldly possessions, and demonstrating exemplary faith in words and deeds.”

He added that the “heart of the Church, by its very nature, is in solidarity with the poor, the excluded, and the marginalized, with those considered society’s ‘discard.’”

“For nearly a thousand years, you have been pilgrims and nomads in a context that has progressively constructed development models that have proven to be unjust and unsustainable in many respects,” Leo said.

He added that so-called “progressive” societies have often relegated them “to the margins of cities, the margins of rights, the margins of education and culture,” even while those same societies have created “enormous economic inequalities… financial crises, environmental disasters, and wars.”

During the audience, the pope also spoke to pastoral workers who serve Roma, Sinti, and Caminanti communities, urging them “to carry forward with renewed energy the objectives formulated by the Fifth World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Gypsies,” particularly in education, family ministry, and intercultural dialogue.

He said he hopes “every diocese will develop adequate pastoral attention dedicated to the Roma, Sinti and Caminanti communities, for true integral human growth.”

At the end of his speech, Pope Leo took the time to answer a few questions from children taking part in the Jubilee. When asked how young people can be better friends with Jesus, he said that “seeking the help of the Church is a very important path to always being a friend of Jesus.”

“Jesus, through the Church, presents himself to us, and therefore loving Jesus, being a friend of Jesus, means being a friend in the Church: and so life in the Church, the Sacraments, the Holy Mass,” he said.

To another child who asked how it could be possible for children to grow up in a world without war, Pope Leo said peace begins with us.

“If we want to change the world, we must start with ourselves, with our friends, our classmates, in our families,” he said. “It’s very important that we always seek this capacity for dialogue, for mutual respect, and to promote the values that help us build a world of peace.”

The Jubilee of Roma, Sinti, and Traveling Peoples was organized in collaboration with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Migrantes Foundation, the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Vicariate of Rome, and representatives of the Pastoral Care of Roma and Sinti.

Celebrations will continue Sunday with a Mass at Rome’s Sanctuary of Divine Love, presided over by Cardinal Fabio Baggio and accompanied by Roma and Sinti musicians. A prayer service will follow in honor of Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla, the first Roma martyr of the faith.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/267257/pope-leo-xiv-hails-roma-sinti-and-travellers-faith-amid-marginalization