Pope in Pavia: "The city is both a gift and a task"

Vatican News

During his pastoral visit to Pavia on Saturday, Pope Leo addressed civic and religious authorities and the faithful gathered in one of the city's main squares, reflecting on the beauty of Paviaa. "The city is both a gift and a task", he said, noting that its monuments, schools, university, hospital, and parish centres all bear witness to a shared commitment to human dignity, education, culture, and solidarity.

A city built on relationships

Pope Leo highlighted the deeper meaning of the word "city", recalling its Latin root civitas, which points not only to a physical place but also to a human community. Society, he said, flourishes when citizens work together for the common good rather than pursuing individual interests. "Citizens are always fellow citizens", the Pope said, whilst emphasising the point that public life depends on a shared sense of responsibility.

Reflecting on contemporary challenges, he warned against indifference and civic disengagement, which risk weakening the social fabric. Instead, he called for renewed participation in public life and for a culture of service capable of preserving public spaces as places of encounter and dialogue.

"I care about our city"

Pope Leo then invited every resident to make a personal commitment to the wellbeing of the community. "Today I invite each of you to repeat within yourselves: 'I care about our city'," he said. The Pope linked this concern not only to people but also to the territory itself, praising the fertile plains surrounding Pavia and the generations of workers who have cultivated the land in harmony with creation.

Education and the search for truth

Speaking then of Pavia's distinguished academic tradition, the Pope turned to the city's university and its students. A true centre of learning, he said, must be more than an accumulation of knowledge. It should foster the integral development of the person and place humanity at the centre of scientific and intellectual progress. Every field of knowledge, he explained, corresponds to a form of care: medicine cares for the human body, law for the social body, and philosophy for human thought itself. The pursuit of knowledge, he added, ultimately leads humanity to deeper questions about truth and justice.

In this context, Pope Leo invoked Saint Augustine, whose spiritual journey remains a model for all who seek understanding. The Bishop of Hippo, he said, embodied a "healthy restlessness" that animates those who study, teach, and search for meaning. His life bears witness to the enduring dialogue between faith and reason, which the Pope described as inseparable. "One cannot believe without thinking, nor can the highest questions of reason be illuminated without faith," he said.

The Church as a home of charity

Turning to the local Church, Pope Leo described it as a welcoming home that embraces all people and serves those most in need. He said the Church in Pavia is called to be above all "a hearth of faith and a home of charity", especially for the poor, the elderly, and those who experience loneliness. The Pope also expressed gratitude for the many volunteers who contribute to the wellbeing of the community, praising their service as a sign of a city rich not only in material goods but also in virtue.

A history to be written together

Bringing his address to a close, Pope Leo reflected on the cross depicted in Pavia's civic coat of arms, describing it as more than a heraldic symbol. It serves, he said, as a reminder that the city's history is rooted in the universal value of Christian love.

That history, he concluded, continues to be written through cooperation between citizens, associations, public institutions, the Church, and successive generations.