Pope Leo XIV urged Christians to engage confidently with culture and education during his general audience at St Peter’s Square on 28 October 2026, reflecting on the relationship between faith and human knowledge.
Faith and culture belong in dialogue
Continuing his catechesis on the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes, the Pope said the Christian message can take root within different cultures without being confined to any single cultural expression. The Incarnation, he explained, provides the foundation for this relationship.
He pointed to the Church’s historic contribution to education and to the development of universities. For believers, intellectual inquiry and spiritual formation should strengthen one another rather than be treated as competing pursuits.
A message for young Catholics
The address offers a timely challenge to students, artists and young people involved in Catholic communities: bring faith into conversation with contemporary culture while taking human and scientific learning seriously. In his greeting to Portuguese-speaking pilgrims, including visitors from Brazil, Pope Leo called on the faithful to place their gifts at the service of faith and human dignity.
His broader message was that the Church should value what is good, beautiful and true in every culture and contribute to society through learning, service and charity.
