Pope: Sense of belonging more important than numbers of people in Church

The January edition of the Italian magazine, Piazza San Pietro, is dedicated to the theme of peace and in it, Pope Leo XIV responds to Nunzia, a 50-year-old Swiss catechist who wrote him a letter detailing her struggle to get families involved in the parish. 

In her letter Nunzia - who lives in Laufenburg, a small municipality with 620 inhabitants – explains how “in Switzerland, it is difficult to get parents involved and, sometimes, even children and young people to trust in God.”

“I sow seeds, but the seedlings struggle to grow. Children and families prefer sports and parties,” she writes, adding how families are often indifferent to religious practice and Churches seem to be increasingly emptier or populated by the elderly.  

Nunzia ends her letter by asking Pope Leo XIV to pray for the young people entrusted to her care and for herself, so that she may not be discouraged.