Without hope, we are dead; with hope, we come alive

 

 

 

“The Jubilee is coming to an end; however, the hope that this Year 

has given us does not finish: we will continue to be pilgrims of hope!”

 

Pope Leo XIV

 

 

 

The Popes and the new year: a time for thanksgiving and hope - Vatican News

 

Pope Leo XIV: Continue being Pilgrims of Hope

 

The beginning of 2026 also marks the conclusion of the Holy Year centered on hope. This virtue is not a door that closes, as hope does not die, and it is “generative,” emphasized Pope Leo XIV during the Jubilee audience on December 20, 2025:

 

“The Jubilee is coming to an end; however, the hope that this Year has given us does not finish: we will continue to be pilgrims of hope! We heard from Saint Paul: “For in this hope we were saved” (Rm 8:24).

 

Without hope, we are dead; with hope, we come to the light. Hope is generative. Indeed, it is a theological virtue, that is, a strength of God, and as such it does not kill, but gives birth and rebirth. This is true strength. What threatens and kills is not strength: it is arrogance, it is aggressive fear, it is evil that does not generate anything. The strength of God gives birth. This is why I would like to say to you, finally: to hope is to generate.”