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Pope Leo’s Angelus Reflection for Trinity Sunday
St Peter’s Square = Sunday, 31 May 2026
2nd Reading for Trinity Sunday: (2 Corinthians 13:11-13)
Brothers, we wish you happiness; try to grow perfect; help one another.
Be united; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with the holy kiss. All the saints send you greetings.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Trinity Sunday Gospel (John 3:16-18)
Jesus said to Nicodemus: ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.
No one who believes in him will be condemned; but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already, because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.’
Pope Leo’s Angelus Reflection for Trinity Sunday
Dear brothers and sisters,
Last week, the Easter season concluded with the Solemnity of Pentecost.
Today, we celebrate the mystery of the Triune God, which gives us the chance to reflect on our journey.
We begin with the life of God, given to us in Christ Jesus.
This life is a dynamic and inexhaustible communion of faith that draws us in.
Indeed, the Spirit who unites the Father and the Son has been poured into our hearts.
Thus, the Church becomes a sacrament of communion—a place of encounter, love, and life where heaven and earth touch.
Today’s Gospel introduces us to Nicodemus, an influential figure in Israel, who was drawn to Jesus.
Eager to better understand this mysterious teacher, Nicodemus went to find him at night so as not to be seen, hoping to ask him questions.
The Lord welcomed him and took his search for answers seriously.
Jesus surprised Nicodemus by suggesting that an adult could be reborn and showed him that a life with God could transform his own.
When Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit, Nicodemus’ interior darkness was illuminated by the truth—the same truth that resounds throughout the Church in our celebration of today’s feast:
“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”.
And again:
“God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” .
Dear brothers and sisters,
In the mystery of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – we are at home, just as Nicodemus felt at ease in the presence of Jesus.
God’s life is marvelous and captivating. It brings peace to our restless hearts and allows us to encounter our brothers and sisters in the joy of the Spirit.
The Trinity helps us love everyone and everything.
We discover that every creature is made for communion, relationships, and encounters.
Conversely, we understand why division, polarization, and contempt for diversity bring destruction, sadness, and barrenness to the world.
Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, the council of high priests in Israel.
After hearing contemptuous words directed at Jesus in the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus urged everyone to listen to Jesus before condemning him.
Nicodemus had received the Spirit of communion from God through Christ himself.
This Spirit opens the heart to new truths and true renewal.
Those who do not welcome this Spirit grow old quickly, living in sorrow and feeling alone and joyless.
Today, however, is a day of celebration. God’s feast is also ours.
For this reason, Saint Paul wrote to the Corinthians, saying: “Rejoice, strive for perfection, encourage one another, and live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
After the Angelus prayer:
And now, with the prayer of the Angelus, we turn to the Virgin Mary: like her “yes” to the Divine will, may our “yes” to the love of the Most Holy Trinity also bear fruit.
