Pope Leo’s homily at Final Mass in Equatorial Guinea
Malabo Stadium, Equatorial Guinea – Thursday, 23 April 2026
First Reading: Acts 8:26-40
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, ‘Be ready to set out at noon along the road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza, the desert road.’ So he set off on his journey. Now it happened that an Ethiopian had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he was a eunuch and an officer at the court of the kandake, or queen, of Ethiopia, and was in fact her chief treasurer. He was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and meet that chariot.’ When Philip ran up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘”How can I unless I have someone to guide me?’ So he invited Philip to get in and sit by his side. Now the passage of scripture he was reading was this:
Like a sheep that is led to the slaughter-house, like a lamb that is dumb in front of its shearers, like these he never opens his mouth. He has been humiliated and has no one to defend him. Who will ever talk about his descendants, since his life on earth has been cut short! The eunuch turned to Philip and said, ‘Tell me, is the prophet referring to himself or someone else?’ Starting, therefore, with this text of scripture Philip proceeded to explain the Good News of Jesus to him. Further along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘Look, there is some water here; is there anything to stop me being baptized?’ He ordered the chariot to stop, then Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water and Philip baptized him. But after they had come up out of the water again Philip was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Philip found that he had reached Azotus and continued his journey proclaiming the Good News in every town as far as Caesarea.
Gospel Reading: John 6:44-51
Jesus said to the crowd: ‘No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of the Father,
and learn from it, is to come to me. Not that anybody has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God: he has seen the Father. I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life. ‘I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’
Pope Leo’s homily
Dear brothers and sisters,The readings we just heard challenge us to ask if we know how to properly interpret today’s Scripture passages.
This is a serious and providential question because it prepares us to read the book of history together—that is, the pages of our own lives—which God continues to inspire with wisdom.
The deacon Philip asked a traveler returning from Jerusalem to Africa, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30).
The pilgrim, a eunuch of the Queen of Ethiopia, replied with humble wisdom: “How can I unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:31).
His question expresses both a search for truth and an openness and desire to learn.
Reflect on this man: He is wealthy like his land, yet he is a slave.
The wealth he manages is not his own; all he has is his labor, which benefits others.
He is intelligent and cultured, as evidenced by his work and prayer. However, he is not fully free. This painful reality is even marked on his body; he is a eunuch.
He cannot create life; he has dedicated all his vitality to serving a power that controls and rules over him.
Yet, when he returns to his homeland of Africa—which has become a place of servitude for him—the proclamation of the Gospel sets him free.
The Word of God he holds in his hands bears unexpected fruit in his life.
Through his encounter with Philip, a witness of the crucified and risen Christ, the eunuch transforms from a mere reader of Scripture — a spectator — into a protagonist in the story that captivates him because it concerns him personally.
The sacred text spoke to him, stirring a longing for truth within him.
Thus, this African man enters Scripture, which welcomes every reader seeking to understand God’s Word.
He steps into salvation history, which embraces everyone, especially the oppressed, marginalized, and least among us.
The written word then becomes a lived reality.
Through baptism, he becomes a child of God and our brother in faith.
Though he was a slave and childless, he was reborn into a new, free life in the name of the Lord Jesus. We speak of his salvation to this day as we read these Scriptures!
Like him, we have also become Christians through baptism, receiving the same light, that is, the same faith – through which we read the Word of God:
We reflect on the prophecies, to pray the psalms, to study the law and to proclaim the gospel through our lives.
Like him, we too have become Christians through Baptism, receiving the same light, that is, the same faith through which we read the Word of God: to reflect on the prophecies, to pray the psalms, to study the Law and to proclaim the Gospel through our lives.
All the texts of Scripture, in fact, reveal their true meaning in faith, because they were written and handed down to us through faith.
Reading them, therefore, is always both a personal and an ecclesial act; it is never something done in isolation or in a merely mechanical way.
Together, guided by the Holy Spirit who inspired its composition and by Apostolic Tradition, which has preserved and transmitted it throughout the world, we read Scripture as the shared heritage of the Church.
Like the eunuch, we too can understand the Word of God with the help of a guide on our journey of faith.
This was the case with the deacon Philip, who “began to speak, and starting with this scripture, proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus”.
The African pilgrim read a prophecy that was fulfilled for him, just as it is fulfilled for us today.
The suffering servant spoken of by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 53:7–8) is Jesus. His passion, death, and resurrection redeem us from sin and death.
Jesus is the Word made flesh, in whom every word of God finds fulfillment. He reveals the original intention, full meaning, and ultimate purpose of God’s word.
As Christ himself said, “No one has ever seen God, except the one who is from God” (John 6:46).
Through the Son, the Father reveals his glory. God makes himself seen, heard, and touched.
Through Jesus’ actions as the Redeemer, God fulfills what he has always done: giving life.
He created the world, saved it, and loves it forever.
Jesus reminded his listeners of a sign of this constant care: “Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness”.
He is referring to the Exodus experience: a journey of liberation from slavery that turned into a grueling forty-year period of wandering.
The delay occurred because the people did not believe in the Lord’s promise.
They even longed for their life in Egypt (Exodus 16:3).
Under the Pharaoh’s rule, they had food from the land. However, God led them into the desert, where bread could come only from his providence.
Manna is thus a sign, a blessing, and a promise that Jesus came to fulfill.
This ancient symbol gives way to the sacrament of the New and Eternal Covenant: the Eucharist—bread consecrated by Jesus, who came down from heaven to become our nourishment.
Those who ate the manna died (John 6:49), but whoever eats this bread will live forever because Christ is alive! He is the risen one and continues to give his life for us.
Through the Passover of Jesus, the ultimate exodus, all people are set free from the bondage of evil. As we celebrate this saving mystery, the Lord calls us to make a decisive choice: “Whoever believes has eternal life” (John 6:47).
In Jesus, we are given an astonishing prospect. God gives himself to us.
Do I trust that his love is stronger than death?
By deciding to believe in him, each of us chooses between inevitable despair and the hope God offers us.
Our hunger for life and justice is satisfied by Jesus’s words: “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (v. 51).
Thank you, Lord!
We praise and bless you because you chose to become the Eucharist—the bread of eternal life—so that we might live forever.
Dear friends, as we celebrate this sacrament of salvation at this very moment, we can joyfully proclaim, “Christ is everything for us!”
In him, we find the fullness of life and meaning.
“If you are oppressed by injustice, he is justice. If you need help, he is strength. If you fear death, he is life. If you desire heaven, he is the way. If you are in darkness, he is light” (St. Ambrose, De Virginitate, 16:99).
Our problems do not disappear in the Lord’s presence, but they are illuminated.
Just as every cross finds redemption in Jesus, so too does the story of our lives find meaning in the Gospel.
Therefore, each of us can say today: “Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me” (Ps 66:20).
He always loves us first.
His word is the good news we have to proclaim to the world.
From the moment of our baptism, the sacrament of fraternal unity, the cleansing water of forgiveness, and the source of hope, all of us are called to this evangelization.
Through our witness, the proclamation of salvation becomes visible through action, service, and forgiveness—in short, it becomes the Church!
As Pope Francis taught, “The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.”
At the same time, sharing this joy makes us more aware of the danger of “the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. When our interior life becomes consumed with our own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others or for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt”.
In the face of such closed attitudes, it is precisely the Lord’s love that sustains our efforts, especially in the service of justice and solidarity.
For this reason, I encourage all of you, as the living Church in Equatorial Guinea, to carry on the mission of Jesus’ first disciples with joy.
As you read the Gospel together, proclaim it with passion, just as the deacon Philip did.
As you celebrate the Eucharist, bear witness to the saving faith through your lives so that God’s word may become good leaven for all.
