Catholics from every inhabited continent gathered in Castel Gandolfo July 19 as Pope Leo XIV led the Angelus prayer from the papal summer palace in the small Italian hill town, where the pope reflected on how the kingdom of God grows through "the little things of daily life."

For many in the crowd that stretched from the town square in front of the palace down its main street, it was their first glimpse of the American-born pope.

"It's our first time outside Brazil. So it's all amazing," Vínicius Marques Diniz, 22, who traveled from Campo Grande, Brazil, with his family, told OSV News. "I'm very happy with this new pope."

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Edwige Koissy made the trip from Ivory Coast for a special pilgrimage with her elderly mother to pray in Rome's basilicas and holy sites. 

"It's an important pilgrimage for any Christian," Koissy said. "Seeing Leo for the first time is truly a joy."

--The kingdom of God grows quietly--

Pope Leo, speaking to pilgrims under the hot summer sun from in front of the summer palace, said the kingdom of God "comes like the smallest of seeds and thus calls for patience in accompanying these processes, so that we can recognize it in the little things of daily life and in the simplicity of ordinary existence." 

He said Christians sometimes long for God to act dramatically, "to intervene from on high, immediately uprooting the weeds of evil," but that God's kingdom instead "grows invisibly like yeast in flour."

"In fact, he is always with us, and his love is always ready to help us," the pope said.

--Small gestures amid a global crowd--

As Pope Leo made his way through the crowd after leading the Angelus prayer in Latin, he blessed rosaries, clasped hands and accepted a scout neckerchief from a Catholic scouting troop from Brittany, France, who had camped overnight in a nearby soccer field to be present for the prayer with the pope. 

"It was absolutely amazing. I shook his hand," Jack Lebon, 15, a high school student from The Highlands School in Irving, Texas, said.

His classmate, Brady Morgan, also 15, expressed excitement that the pope blessed his rosary. Their former teacher, Sara Mora, 25, currently participating in a missionary summer program with Regnum Christi, reflected on their encounter with the first American pope.

"He was so sweet and gentle and kind," Mora said.

Pope Leo, quoting Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, the future Benedict XVI, told the crowd that the path of the Gospel lies in embracing "the logic of the seed -- which is not that of success and greatness, but that of making ourselves small and serving others."

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"In this way, we will become like small seeds of the Gospel that sprout, and leavens of love that transform the dough of the world," Pope Leo said.

--Missionary pope inspires future missionaries--

The pope's words resonated with Salesian Sister Ruth del Pilar Mora, originally from Colombia, who brought to Castel Gandolfo a group of young sisters, including several from Vietnam, whom she is helping to prepare for missionary work. 

"I think Pope Leo being a missionary, he will continue to encourage all of us to be disciples, missionaries ready to go. And I like one of his messages: We cannot go out without going in -- (that) means to cultivate a strong relationship with Christ in order to go out to the whole world, to witness and to communicate the joy of the Gospel," Sister Ruth said.

She added that Castel Gandolfo felt like a fitting place to encounter the pope during his period of rest. "We need to rest and to renew our energies in prayer, in reading a nice book, in contemplating the beauty of nature," she told OSV News.

--A pilgrimage before the World Cup final--

People in the crowd enthusiastically cheered and waved flags from their countries. At one moment, Catholic pilgrims from Spain and Argentina alternated cheering their countries' names louder and louder. The two countries were scheduled to face each other in the final of the FIFA World Cup in the evening.

Two Argentine priests, Father Juan Giordano and Father Marcos Barrionuevo, made the pilgrimage to kick off a packed Sunday, praying with the pope in the morning and going to watch the World Cup final in Rome's Campo de' Fiori piazza in the evening. 

Regardless of the outcome of the game, the two priests have something to celebrate. "We are happy, celebrating 25 years of priesthood -- we came for this, to go on a pilgrimage," Father Giordano said. 

The priests said they are hopeful for a possible papal visit to Argentina in the fall, though the Vatican has not formally confirmed a papal trip. "We are all waiting for Pope Leo because we were waiting for Pope Francis in Argentina," Father Giordano added.

--A weekend of music, beauty, and rest--

Castel Gandolfo, perched above the deep blue volcanic Lake Albano in the Alban Hills about 16 miles southeast of Rome, has served as a papal summer retreat for centuries. 

The night before the Angelus, Pope Leo attended a concert held in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo, organized by the Diocese of Albano as a gesture of affection during his summer stay. 

Addressing the audience afterward, he said the concert was a reminder that "we can together offer beauty, which, coming from the heart, helps lift us up toward God."

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"Let us lift our eyes, our gaze, toward Heaven," he said. "Music, art, and beauty are truly tools that help us look toward God, through a movement that is truly one of the finest aspects of the human condition."

Pope Leo is scheduled to remain in Castel Gandolfo for his annual period of rest until July 27 and will lead another Angelus from the town on July 26, the Sunday before his return to Vatican City.