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Summer festival at St. Mary's Cathedral: Archbishop Heße on peace and questions about the future
On July 15, 2025, Archbishop Heße celebrated a summer festival in Hamburg with 200 guests and discussed Pope Leo XIV and current conflicts.
Summer festival at St. Mary's Cathedral: Archbishop Heße on peace and questions about the future
On July 15, 2025, Archbishop Dr. Stefan Heße held a summer meeting in the garden of the bishop's house at St. Mary's Cathedral, which was considered an important social occasion in Hamburg. Around 200 guests from various areas, including politics, business and social institutions, came to this celebration. Hamburg's First Mayor, Peter Tschentscher, took the opportunity to give a welcoming speech and emphasize the anchoring of the Archdiocese of Hamburg in the city. Tschentscher praised the over 200 social Catholic institutions in Hamburg, which are an expression of this deep roots and look after the community.
A central theme of the evening was the election of Pope Leo XIV, known for his vision of “unarmed and disarmed peace.” In this context, Archbishop Heße quoted the new Pope's greeting: “Peace be with you all!” and linked this to May 8th, the day the Second World War ended. Heße also addressed the current conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and other crisis regions and emphasized the urgency of Leo's appeal to build bridges and create encounters.
A bridge builder in the church
As Archdiocese of Paderborn reports, Pope Leo Archbishop Bentz emphasizes that Leo XIV pursues a strong bridge-building approach and sees himself as a servant of unity. This approach is strengthened by his close connection with Pope Francis, which reflects his missionary and merciful perspective.
In his first address as pope, Leo XIV emphasized closeness to those suffering and a missionary church. Bentz urges people to support the new pope through prayer, while in Paderborn there is palpable sadness about the farewell to Pope Francis. The election was announced with celebratory bells in the churches of the archdiocese, and according to Bentz, all church life will be festively decorated with flags on the day of his inauguration.
Challenges of today
Archbishop Heße named the topics that shape Pope Leo XIV's agenda: digitalization, artificial intelligence, global migration, environmental crisis and social inequality. He describes these challenges as anthropological and spiritual tasks that the church and society must tackle in the coming years. The evening was musically accompanied by the Lounge Jazz ensemble from Hamburg, which contributed to the social gathering and offered the guests a pleasant atmosphere.