By Kristen Ziccarelli, European Conservative. (Image: Icon of Cyril and Methodius/public domain)
Christians must enter or re-enter public life as protagonists—artists, parents, teachers, lawmakers—who show, rather than merely assert, the excellence of the Christian vision and the love it conveys.
n this Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Holy Mass and closed the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, officially concluding the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.
Although the physical door marking this period of renewal was closed, his message to the Church was that the path to hope remains permanently open. In his homily, he issued a call for the renewal of Christian civilization, specifically following the example of the Magi. He said, “If we do not reduce our churches to monuments, if our communities are homes, if we stand united and resist the flattery and seduction of those in power, then we will be the generation of a new dawn.”
This new dawn is a summons to reawaken the civilizational truth that since the birth of Christ, Europe has been shaped by the Christian faith. From its founding, the Church built the structures that transmitted belief, formed consciences, educated peoples, and ordered society. Both secular and clerical institutions emerged from this foundation, giving Europe its distinctive understanding of law and superior understanding of human dignity, authority, and freedom. Remove it, and Europe becomes a mere administrative zone with a memory problem.
This loss of memory explains much of Europe’s present disorientation. Perhaps this is why Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s remarks at last year’s Rimini Meeting earned her a standing ovation and struck a nerve across the continent. She said,
We can only seize this opportunity if the European Union is able to rediscover its soul and its roots (and, yes, that includes its cultural as well as its religious roots, which were culpably denied years ago), quite simply because you cannot define your role in the world and your mission in history if you don’t even know who you are.
Even beyond its borders, U.S. Vice President JD Vance struck the same nerve at last year’s Munich Security Conference, when he asked his European audience what it defends itself for. Not merely from whom or from what—but, as he asked, “What is the positive vision that animates this shared security compact that we all believe is so important?”