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We are living in days that call for the unconquerable faith of Abraham, and likewise, the faith of Ignatius and the Jesuit missionaries and martyrs, not to mention my predecessors who helped lay the foundations of the Church in these United States.

The United States remains an unfinished project—it is a country still being born. So too, the Jesuit mission here is unfinished—it is a story still being written by the Spirit. As we look to the next 250 years, I would humbly suggest that the Jesuits’ task is, not to dominate the national conversation, but to deepen it.

As members of bench and bar, as advocates and ministers of justice, you are uniquely positioned to help our nation move ahead, in genuine solidarity, in truth and freedom, with an unwavering commitment to the common good and human flourishing. You are in a position to help people, especially those in need, to believe once again in the soundness of our constitutional system in the fairness of our judicial processes, in the goodness of our republic.

But faith and reason, pulling together, teach us that there is a beauty deeper than appearances, a beauty that is deeply embedded in every human being. This beauty is beheld by the Divine Eye – it is beheld in the sight of God, the God who is Creator and Redeemer of each person without exception.

So let this venerable icon symbolize our hope today. We are, after all, Roman Catholics. We are thus embraced in Mary’s title, “health of the Roman people.” On this, the final day of our pilgrimage of hope, let us entrust to her every worry, every concern, every weakness that we brought with us from across the ocean.

We are in Rome as pilgrims celebrating the Jubilee of Hope. Let us see in the Rosary a Marian prayer that captures and expresses “Christ in [us], our hope of glory” (Col 1:27).

As the family of the Knights of Columbus, we have restored the symbol of Peter’s confession of faith. During this pilgrimage of hope, may the truth and reality of Peter’s confession be fully restored in us, so that it might shine forth daily with the renewed splendor of virtue and holiness.

What ties together these two saints for us concretely is the image of the Sacred Heart which we, the Knights of Columbus, restored. As we gaze upon the open heart of the Savior, the abyss of charity, we see abundant room for a Francis of Assisi, for an Ignatius of Loyola, for a Blessed Michael McGivney, and yes, for you and even me.

Saints are those who take Jesus’ words literally. St. Therese was just such a person.