We pray that we may allow our hearts to be touched at Lent by the cry of our sisters and brothers living in poverty.
Pope Leo's Lent 2026 message takes as its theme: 'Listening and fasting: Lent as a time of conversion'
Dear friends, let us ask for the grace of a Lent that leads us to greater attentiveness to God and to the least among us
In preparation for Lent 2026, the Vatican has released Pope Leo's message, which is titled Listening and fasting: Lent as a time of conversion.
The message, which was released on 13 February, invites us to use this time of Lent to listen, to fast and to walk together in community.
Listening
“The willingness to listen is the first way we demonstrate our desire to enter into relationship with someone,” the Holy Father writes.
In reading Scripture and allowing God to teach us how to listen as he does, we can learn "to recognise and respond to the cry of those who are anguished and suffering."
Fasting
Turning to the subject of fasting, the pope writes that this traditional practice directs our desire to God and to doing good. Helping to free us from complacency, fasting keeps "our hunger and thirst for justice alive."
Pope Leo stresses that fasting must be lived “in faith and humility” and particularly proposes “a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbour.”
"Let us begin by disarming our language" the Holy Father writes, urging us to "strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities.”
A shared journey
Finally, the Pontiff focuses on the communal aspect of Lent, pointing out that the Bible often presents fasting and listening to the word of God as shared acts of repentance and renewal.
“Our parishes, families, ecclesial groups, and religious communities are called to undertake a shared journey during Lent,” Pope Leo encourages "in which listening to the word of God, as well as to the cry of the poor and of the earth, becomes part of our community life, and fasting a foundation for sincere repentance."
The Holy Father concludes with an exhortation to make our communities "places where the cry of those who suffer finds welcome, and listening opens paths towards liberation, making us ready and eager to contribute to building a civilisation of love."
Read the full text of the Pope's Lent’s message.
Lent Appeal 2026
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