This year, Pope Leo has given the Church the beautiful gift of an encyclical entitled Magnifica humanitas. It has been called Pope Leo’s manifesto for the defence of human dignity in the AI age, but it so much more than that. It is fundamentally about the reality of the deep yearning all humanity has to see the face of God, whether we realise this or not. It is “hardwired” within us. It is an essential part of our humanity.  

The encyclical paints a picture of the grandeur of God writ large in the world, seen and experienced fully within His creation (namely us humans) and above all when we encounter the face of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Pope Leo makes clear that we face a pivotal choice: Will we build Babel or will we construct a city of God? 

The world in which we live is rapidly changing, and Pope Leo is calling us to ask one key question about what is unfolding: What are we building? Leo poses a few key questions worth considering: 

“Where are we going? Toward what goal do we wish to orient ourselves? What direction should we choose as people and as a human community?” (MH, 6). 

And to guide us through these questions, he offers two scenarios/characters: the building of the Tower of Babel and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. 

“With the heart of a shepherd and a father, I ask everyone to abandon the construction of yet another Tower of Babel and to join forces in building up the common good, so that humanity will never lose its beauty, and the world once again will come to recognize the human heart as the place where God desires to dwell.” (MH, 16). 

The Holy Father quotes St. Augustine’s famous line from The Confessions of St. Augustine: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Pope Leo is reminding us that human flourishing cannot be reduced to technological fulfilment; the human heart is ordered toward God (MH 11). 

As the shepherd and Father we need, Pope Leo is constantly pointing us back to Jesus. 

This beautiful encyclical, then, is reminding us of what the task and purpose of Home Mission Sunday is about – pointing us always to the beauty and joy of knowing Jesus Christ. This is the work, the mission, of the whole Church, it is the Great Commission, and comes into every area of life within the Church.  

About the Mission Directorate 

To help in this great commission, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has a mission team which is based at their secretariat in Eccleston Square in London. This office supports the bishops in their work to promote the proclamation of the gospel across England and Wales.  

The Mission team does this in several diverse areas, but all of which help to serve the kingdom of God. Catechesis and evangelisation; helping to deepen knowledge of the beauty of Holy Scripture; marriage and family life; the National Office of Vocations; loving and protecting the great patrimony of our historic churches and cathedrals; serving the liturgy of the Church; promoting Christian Unity and Interreligious dialogue; supporting the work of chaplaincy in Higher Education and in Prisons; and in supporting the work of those who do much to share the gospel with young people today.  

To aid the work of the directorate, there is an annual collection in every parish to help us in helping you. If you can, please be generous in supporting the work of the Mission team. We know there are many demands on your time and on your purse, but we remain truly grateful to you for any support you can give. The greatest support remains your prayers and your own dedication to sharing the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.  

St. Augustine tells us that God made us to make the times, not the times to make us, and unless we make the times better with the light of Jesus Christ, then the times will make us worse with the darkness of despair. Hope is despair overcome and the way we enkindle hope in the hearts of all is to believe.  

As Pope Leo is seeking to remind us in his first encyclical, our hope is not in something, but in someone, Jesus Christ, our saviour and our friend.   

Abbot Hugh Allan O.Praem
Director of Mission 

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