During his Sunday Angelus reflection, Pope Leo XIV spoke on the Beatitudes as a path to authentic happiness, emphasizing that they offered hope to those the world often overlooked and revealed how God worked within human suffering to bring renewal and light.

Reflecting on the Gospel reading from Matthew, the Pope explained that Jesus’ proclamation of the Beatitudes was good news for all humanity. In a world marked by injustice, fear, and despair, the Beatitudes stand as signs of divine light that reveal God’s saving plan unfolding through Christ and are sustained by the Holy Spirit.

Pope Leo described the scene of Christ teaching on the mountain as a decisive moment in salvation history. There, Jesus offered laws written upon the human heart. These interior laws renew human life from within, restoring goodness even when circumstances seem broken or filled with suffering. It reminds the faithful that God’s grace remained active even amid apparent failure or loss.

The Pope emphasized that only God could truly call the poor, the afflicted, and the persecuted blessed. Worldly standards equate happiness with power, wealth, or success, yet God alone was the supreme good who gave Himself freely in love. Because of this, those who longed for justice and peace found their fulfillment in the Lord, He who judged with righteousness and established lasting peace.

Meekness, mercy, and purity of heart find their reward in God Himself. Those who endure persecution or falsehood are not abandoned, since God becomes their source of truth, redemption, and joy. Jesus Himself lived the Beatitudes fully, sharing the life of the poor, remaining gentle amid suffering, and offering peace even as He was rejected and crucified.

Through Christ, the Pope explained, the meaning of history was transformed. History is no longer shaped by those who conquer by force, but by God, who lifts up the oppressed and restores hope to those dismissed as insignificant. In this way, the Beatitudes reveal God’s closeness to those the world deems forgotten or beyond hope.

Pope Leo concluded by encouraging the faithful to see the Beatitudes as a measure of genuine happiness. He entrusted this path of discipleship to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking that she help believers live the Beatitudes with humility and trust.