PHOTOS | Pope calls for service to the marginalized in message for Fiesta Señor in the Philippines

Pope Leo XIV has urged Catholics to live out their baptism through service, particularly to marginalized communities, in a message marking the 461st Fiesta Señor celebrations in the Philippines.

In his message addressed to the Augustinian community of the Minor Basilica of Santo Niño in Cebu, the Pope expressed hope that the feast would inspire the faithful “to embrace the baptismal call to live a grace-filled life in Christ and in service to your brothers and sisters, especially those on the margins of society.”

Guided by the theme “In Santo Niño we are one,” he said the annual celebration should be “an opportunity to grow in appreciation of the sacramental grace of baptism that incorporates us into Christ, and thus makes us children of God and members of his Church.”

The Pope added that such witness through service would enable the faithful “to bear greater witness to Christ’s call to unity and reflect the life of charity of the Most Holy Trinity (cf. Jn 17:21-23).”

Fiesta Señor is marked by large public devotions across the Philippines, including celebrations at the Minor Basilica of Santo Niño de Tondo, one of the country’s oldest centers of devotion to the Child Jesus.

The Pope commended those gathered for the celebrations to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, and imparted his Apostolic Blessing “as a sign of joy and hope in the Lord.”

The message was conveyed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See.

All photos by Angie de Silva