The Holy Father, and The Life of the World to Come

Homily of H.E. Most Rev. Charles John Brown D.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines

June 29, 2025 | Pope's Day Mass on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul

Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (The Manila Cathedral)

“You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Mathew 16:18).

Your Eminence Jose F. Cardinal Advincula, Jr., Archbishop of Manila; Your Excellency, the Most Rev. Mylo Hubert C. Vergara, Vice President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines; concelebrating priests; men and women in consecrated life; my esteemed colleagues in the Diplomatic Corps; Papal Awardees; brothers and sisters in Christ, one and all:

I am very grateful to His Eminence, Cardinal Advincula, for having invited me once again to celebrate Holy Mass here in Manila Cathedral, on the Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul, the Patrons of the City of Rome. This Pope’s Day, as we call it. As all of us are aware, today is a unique Pope's Day celebration, since it is the first of the Pontificate of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, elected to the See of Peter only last month, on May 8.

Our thoughts and our prayers this evening include, in a very special way, Pope Francis, who completed his pilgrimage on this earth on April 21; and who, as we know so well, was greatly loved and so appreciated by the Filipino people, in particular because of his historic visit here, some 10 years ago in January 2015. Let us all continue to pray for the repose of Pope Francis.

Now a new era begins with the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV. From the first moment of his appearance on the balcony above Saint Peter's Square in Rome, people all over the world have been captivated by his transparent sincerity and his radiant spirituality.

Pope Leo the Great

Those of you here in the cathedral this evening, who were also here last year for Pope's Day might remember that in my reflections on that day, 12 months ago, I preached about Pope Leo; but lest you think that I'm a prophet, which I am not. Let me remind you that the Pope Leo that I preached about was Pope Leo I, Pope Leo the Great. Who in the year 452, in the face of the imminent threat to the City of Rome posed by Attila the Hun, who was descending from the north of Italy with an immense army to sack and destroy the city of Rome, Pope Leo I went out from the city, traveled north to confront Attila with no weapons other than his authority as Pope, and the grace of his office as bishop. 

Tradition recounts that when Pope Leo finally came face to face with Atilla, a miraculous apparition took place. Attila saw hovering in the sky above Pope Leo, two miraculous, and for him, frightening figures. They were the two saints whom we commemorate this evening, the saints whose earthly lives had ended by martyrdom in Rome—Saints Peter and Paul. By whose blood, pagan Rome had been sanctified and eventually converted.

“O Roma felix! Quae duorum principum es consecrata glorioso sanguine.” (O Happy Rome! You have been consecrated by the glorious blood of the two princes of the apostles—Peter and Paul.)

Encounter of Pope Leo the Great with Attila, courtesy of Vatican Museums

In the apparition that Attila experienced, the two saints were holding large swords. As if to symbolize their protection of the defenseless population of the City of Rome, faced with almost certain destruction from the bloodthirsty invaders. Tradition tells us that at that moment, seeing the two saints in the sky above Pope Leo, Attila wavered, and grew fearful, and suddenly decided not to continue to Rome. So, the city was spared.

The Life of the World to Come

It was an important event in the history of the papacy. Because it was the moment in which it became clear that the role of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, was not simply and exclusively spiritual and liturgical; but that he had a civic responsibility to all the citizens of Rome. To ensure their safety and security, even on a political and diplomatic level. From Pope Leo I on, we see popes actively involved in the political and social issues of their time.

But does that mean, though, that the popes had forgotten their primary responsibility of having “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 16:19), of leading the followers of Christ to “seek first the kingdom of God and his holiness” (Mt. 6:33)? Or that the popes ignored the words of Jesus spoken in front of Pontius Pilate when the Lord says, “My kingdom is not of this world” (Jn. 18:36)? Not at all.

The primary role of the pope is to confirm his brothers and sisters in their faith. That means to show them the way that leads to the fullness of eternal life, symbolized by the keys of the kingdom of heaven. That is the goal to which we are all headed. That goal which we will confess in a few moments together in the Nicene Creed, which this evening, we will recite or sing in Latin. The final phrase of the Creed “the life of the world to come.”

Here is the crucial and obvious point: “the life of the world to come” goes through the ways of this present world in which we are now living. As the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) taught in the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes, “while we are warned that it profits a man nothing if he gain the whole world and lose himself, the expectation of a new earth (that is, the life of the world to come), must not weaken but rather stimulate our concern for cultivating this [world]” (Gaudium et Spes #39).

So, with this teaching in mind, we come to think about the other Pope Leos, not just Leo the Great of the 5th Century, but also Leo XIII of the 19th Century, and of course, Leo XIV of the 21st Century.

Pope Leo I, Leo XIII, and Leo XIV

On May 10 of this year, just two days after his election as Pope. In his first formal Speech to the Cardinals, in his meeting with them, Pope Leo XIV explained to them the reason for his choice of the historic name “Leo”, saying, “I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum, addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labour.”

So, the first Pope Leo went out of the City of Rome to defend the city against certain destruction at the hands of Attila. In the 19th Century, Pope Leo XIII issued his encyclical letter Rerum Novarum on the social questions of his time, focusing especially on the problem of the exploitation of workers in the context of the Industrial Revolution. Now, Pope Leo XIV is calling us to be vigilant in the face of the rapid development of information technology, especially artificial intelligence. In each case, a pope named “Leo” has reaffirmed the basic Catholic principle, that the proper and just ordering of society is of great importance, also in the light of eternity, our heavenly destination.

Just over one week ago, Pope Leo XIV met with politicians, Members of the International Inter-Parliamentary Union, and reminded them that politics has rightly been defined as, and I quote, “the highest form of charity,” the highest form of love. Because politics is a form of service. Service to society and to the common good. As such, can truly be seen as an act of Christian love. In the course of his address to the politicians, the pope touched upon the importance of “religious freedom and interreligious dialogue,” two points which are very important for us here in the Philippines.

He also stressed the importance of “natural law”. A law, as he said, “written not by human hands, but acknowledged as valid in all times and places, and finding its most plausible and convincing argument in nature itself.” Natural law, the Pope said, “constitutes the compass by which to take our bearings in legislating and acting, particularly on the delicate and pressing ethical issues” that concern our lives as people living together in society.

In this area, the Philippines can be proud of the fact that on matters like the right to life of a human being, from conception to natural death, and on the nature of the family, Philippine Law respects the natural law.

In addition, Pope Leo XIV also, once again mentioned the pressing issue of artificial intelligence. In the 5th Century encounter between Pope Leo the Great and Attila, we can see a symbol of the Church confronting the power of this world. A church that goes forth without any weapons except the truth of the Gospel and the witness of holiness. A church which, in her apparent weakness, triumphs over evil and opposition.

The words of Saint Paul in the Second Reading (2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18) for today's Mass apply equally to the Church herself, and to each of us as her members, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom”

So, my brothers and sisters in this Jubilee Year of Hope, here in this beautiful cathedral dedicated to Our Lady, let us beseech her, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, to watch over and to protect the Church, and to watch over and protect our newly elected Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. Amen.

Transcribed by Joel V. Ocampo