MESSAGE ON THE SOLEMNITY OF SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL 29 SEPTEMBER 2025

HIS EMINENCE FRANK CARDINAL LEO

During this Jubilee Holy Year we are encouraged to engage in pilgrimages, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and works of mercy, charity and justice. The feast of St. Michael is a natural waypoint for all three. Pilgrimage is not merely a physical trip, but a journey of the heart that involves conversion and confidence in God (Spes non Confundit, 5). The very name “Michael” calls for this conversion, purification and confidence. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is not mere moral bookkeeping or airing of dirty laundry, but a restoration of baptismal grace and recommitment of self. Again, it is the same clarity of vision and recommitment, the very light of Christ given at baptism that St. Michael bears against the “father of lies”. Finally, one of the four principal roles of St. Michael is to protect and defend God’s people. Our spiritual and temporal works of mercy — feeding, visiting, welcoming — are how we “push back” the darkness in the city we love. (cf. Spes non Confundit, 7-15). (an excerpt | source: www.archtoronto.org)