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Pope at Regina Caeli: ‘Anticipate heaven on earth’

At the Regina Caeli prayer in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo says that faith “frees our hearts from the anxiety of having and achieving”, and calls on Christians to "reveal to all that fraternity and peace are our calling.”

By Moriba Camara, S.J.

At the Regina Caeli prayer for the fifth Sunday of Easter, Pope Leo said that Jesus’ words to us take on new meaning in the light of the Resurrection, much as they did for the early Church. “What once eluded or troubled the disciples now returns to their memory, warms their hearts, and gives them hope”, the Pope said.

Reflecting on the Gospel of the Last Supper in light of the Resurrection, Pope Leo highlighted Christ’s promise, which draws us into the great mystery of victory over death: “I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come back and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be” (Jn 14:3).

READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE POPE'S CATECHESIS HERE

A new logic of fraternity

The Pope contrasted the logic of the old world—marked by exclusion and competition—with that of the Kingdom of God: “In the old world in which we are still journeying, what attracts attention are exclusive places (…). In the new world into which the risen One leads us, however, what is most valuable is within everyone’s reach.”

This is a vision according to which every person is recognized in their uniqueness: “no one is confused with another, no one is lost.”

“Death threatens to erase one’s name and memory, but in God everyone is fully themselves. Truly, this is what we spend our whole lives searching for, sometimes willing to do anything just to get a little attention and recognition.”

The crowd gathered in St Peter's Square for the Regina Caeli
The crowd gathered in St Peter's Square for the Regina Caeli   (@VATICAN MEDIA)

Faith and freedom

The Pope then urged his listeners to trust in Christ: “Do not let your hearts be troubled… believe in God, believe also in me” (Jn 14:1).

Faith of this kind, he explained, “frees our hearts from the anxiety of having and achieving, from the illusion of chasing a prestigious place in order to have value.” Human dignity does not depend on social recognition: “each person already has infinite worth in the mystery of God, which is the only true reality.”

Heaven and fraternal love

The Holy Father also stressed that Christians are called to “anticipate heaven on earth and reveal to all that fraternity and peace are our calling.”

In this form of love, each person discovers their true identity: “amidst a multitude of brothers and sisters, each one discovers that they are uniquely made.”.

In closing, the Pope entrusted this message to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, asking her to pray that “every Christian community may be a home open to all and attentive to each person”.

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03 May 2026, 12:52

What is the Regina Caeli?

The antiphon Regina Caeli (“Queen of Heaven”) is one of four traditional Marian antiphons, the others being Alma Redemptoris Mater, Ave Regina Caelorum, and Salve Regina.

It was Pope Benedict XIV who, in 1742, enjoined the recitation of the Regina Caeli in place of the Angelus during Eastertide, that is, from Easter Sunday to the end of Pentecost. It is recited standing as a sign of Christ’s victory over death.

Like the Angelus, the Regina Caeli is said three times a day, at dawn, at noon, and at dusk, in order to consecrate the day to God and the Virgin Mary.

This ancient antiphon arose, according to a pious tradition, in the 6th century; it is attested in documentary sources from the first half of the 13th century, when it was inserted in the Franciscan breviary. It is composed of four short verses, each ending with an “alleluia.” With the Regina Caeli, the faithful turn to Mary, the Queen of Heaven, to rejoice with her at the Resurrection of Christ.

At the Regina Caeli on Easter Monday of 2015, Pope Francis spoke about the spiritual dispositions that should animate the faithful as they recite this Marian prayer:

“In this prayer, expressed by the Alleluia, we turn to Mary inviting her to rejoice, because the One whom she carried in her womb is Risen as He promised, and we entrust ourselves to her intercession. In fact, our joy is a reflection of Mary’s joy, for it is she who guarded and guards with faith the events of Jesus. Let us therefore recite this prayer with the emotion of children who are happy because their mother is happy.”

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Pray with the Pope

Regina Coeli

Regina coeli, laetare, alleluia.
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia.
Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia.
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Oremus:

Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui Domini nostri Iesu Christi mundum laetificare dignatus es, praesta, quaesumus, ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae.
Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Regina Caeli 

Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia.

The Son whom you merited to bear, alleluia,
has risen as he said, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia!
For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray

O God, who through the resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, did vouchsafe to give joy to the world; grant, we beseech you, that through his Mother, the Virgin Mary, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord.

Amen.