Pope Leo XIV concluded the Jubilee Year by emphasizing that the hope it fostered must continue to shape the Church's journey. The Pope stated that the faithful must remain "pilgrims of hope" even after the official Jubilee concludes. Reflecting on the approaching Christmas, the Pope linked Christian hope to the closeness of God revealed in Jesus Christ, which promises mercy rather than threat. Hope is described as a living, generative theological virtue, essential for life, contrasting with forces like arrogance and fear which threaten and kill.
3 months ago
Pope Leo XIV delivered his final Saturday Jubilee Audience on December 20, 2025, in St. Peter's Square, marking the end of special Saturday audiences initiated by Pope Francis.1 2 3 The crowd was smaller than usual, possibly due to winter cold and fewer pilgrims.2 This occurred just before Christmas, tying into Advent reflections.1
The Pope emphasized that while the Jubilee Year concludes, the hope it instilled persists, urging faithful to remain "pilgrims of hope."1 2 3 He quoted St. Paul: "For in hope we were saved," describing hope as a life-giving theological virtue.1 2 Without hope, "we are dead"; with it, we "come into the light."1 2
Hope contrasts with evil, arrogance, and fear, which "threaten and kill" without generating life.1 2 3 God's strength "gives birth," making "to hope is to generate."1 2 Even suffering becomes "the suffering of childbirth," as history lies in God's hands and those who hope.1 2
Pope Leo XIV called for listening to "the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor," decrying wealth unjustly concentrated in few hands.1 2 3 God intended creation's goods for all; humanity's task is "to generate, not to steal."1 2 This groaning creation awaits transformation through hope.2
Christian prayer's Marian depth reflects Mary as "one of us who generates," giving face, body, and voice to God's Word.1 2 3 "Jesus wants to be born again" in believers, fulfilling creation's awaited birth.2 Mary, "our hope" in the Salve Regina, models seeing "this world become the world of God."1 2
Saturday audiences end, but the Jubilee continues until holy doors close: St. Peter's on January 6 by Pope Leo XIV, others soon after.3 Next ordinary Jubilee expected in 2033 for Christ's 2,000th anniversary.3
Explore the role of hope as a generative virtue in Catholic theology
Hope, as one of the three theological virtues alongside faith and charity, occupies a pivotal role in Catholic theology not merely as an isolated disposition but as a generative virtue—one that sustains, links, and propels the entire spectrum of Christian moral and spiritual life toward eternal beatitude. Rooted in God's grace, hope desires the kingdom of heaven as ultimate happiness, trusting in Christ's promises and relying on the Holy Spirit's aid rather than human strength alone. This infused quality elevates it beyond natural optimism, making it a dynamic force that prevents despair, purifies earthly aspirations, and fosters perseverance in virtue. Without hope, as Pope Francis warns, "all the other virtues risk crumbling and ending up as ashes," underscoring its generative capacity to uphold the virtuous life amid trials.
Catholic doctrine consistently defines hope as a theological virtue because its principal object is God Himself—both as the ultimate end of eternal life and as the efficient cause providing the means to attain it. St. Thomas Aquinas argues that hope attains "the supreme rule of human actions" by leaning on divine assistance for arduous goods, particularly eternal happiness, which consists in the enjoyment of God. This is echoed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit."
Unlike moral virtues, which observe a mean between excess and deficiency, theological virtues like hope have no such mean in relation to God; one cannot trust excessively in the faithful Promiser. The Compendium of the Catechism reinforces this: hope enables us to "desire and await from God eternal life as our happiness," meriting it through grace-enabled perseverance. As an infused virtue, hope transcends natural capacities, implanted directly by God to orient the soul toward supernatural ends. This divine origin renders it generative, transforming human longing into a confident expectation of beatitude.
Hope's generative role shines in its integrative function within the theological virtues. It acts as a "link that unites the beginning (faith) and the culmination (love) of the virtuous life," providing assurance for faith's truths and motivation for charity's self-gift. Faith adheres to God as the source of truth, charity unites us to Him through love for His own sake, while hope bridges them by expecting from God "perfect goodness" through His aid. In this triad, hope generates momentum: it sustains faith against doubt and propels toward charity by opening the heart "in expectation of eternal beatitude."
Pope Francis elaborates that hope answers existential questions—"What will become of me? What is the purpose of the journey?"—countering despair that renders virtues futile. Echoing Benedict XVI, he notes, "Only when the future is certain as a positive reality does it become possible to live the present as well." Thus, hope generates present virtue by anchoring it in eschatological certainty, preserving from "discouragement" and "selfishness" while fostering charity's happiness.
Beyond sustaining other virtues, hope generates Christian action by purifying natural hopes and directing them toward God. It responds to the innate "aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man," ordering worldly pursuits to the Kingdom. As Reinhard Hütter interprets Aquinas alongside Benedict XVI's Spe Salvi, theological hope perfects "small, ordinary hopes" by conforming them to the "great hope" of eternal union with God, who "encompasses the whole of reality." This elevation—gratia non tollit sed perficit naturam—transforms earthly endeavors into anticipation of divine fulfillment.
In practical terms, hope motivates "total fulfilment in God," embodying the "sojourner" who grows in divinization. It pairs with patience, avoiding "nostalgia for the past" or "discouragement," much like Simeon and Anna's persevering trust. Pope Francis's bull Spes non confundit affirms this: anchored in "life everlasting," hope views history as directed to Christ's return, generating lives of expectation: "Come, Lord Jesus!" Even moral analogues like magnanimity, a "natural virtue of hope," find completion in theological hope, stretching the soul toward great works under divine aid.
Aquinas addresses potential misconceptions, clarifying that hope, while expecting goods from God, refers all to Him as last end, avoiding presumption (relying on self) or despair (doubting power). It generates balanced virtue, not excess, since its object—God—is infinite. Critics like Moltmann, who see hope as overly individualistic, are countered by its communal thrust: hope empowers concern for the common good, mediating eschatological love in present actions.
In summary, hope's role as a generative virtue in Catholic theology lies in its graced power to sustain faith and charity, purify desires, and propel souls toward beatitude. By trusting God's fidelity, it prevents virtues from crumbling, links doctrine to practice, and infuses daily life with eternal purpose. As the Church teaches across centuries—from Aquinas to recent popes—cultivating hope ensures a vibrant Christian existence, ever oriented to the Lord who promises: "He who promised is faithful."