In what has become one of the most memorable gatherings of Pope Leo XIV’s young pontificate, more than one million young Catholics from roughly 150 countries converged on the Tor Vergata fields southeast of Rome Aug. 3 for the closing Mass for the Jubilee of Youth, a highlight of the Vatican’s Holy Year.
According to AP News, Rome initially anticipated half a million pilgrims, but the crowd swelled to a million sea of youth singing hymns, waving flags and camping overnight under the summer sky.
In the early-morning Mass presided over by Pope Leo XIV, the lively crowd warmed to his presence as he spoke fluently in Italian, English, and Spanish.
The vigil the night before had already teased the scale of the event; official figures cited 800,000 participants, but by Sunday, Vatican officials confirmed the presence of over one million young pilgrims, accompanied by 7,000 priests and 450 bishops.
According to Vatican News, drawing on the Gospel imagery of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Pope Leo began by inviting the youth to recognize that they are not meant for a static life, but for an adventure with the Lord, ever seeking the deeper fulfillment found only in divine encounter.
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“We are not made for a life where everything is taken for granted and static, but for an existence that is constantly renewed through the gift of self in love,” Pope Leo said during his homily.
“We feel a deep and burning thirst that no drink in this world can satisfy. Knowing this, let us not deceive our hearts by trying to satisfy them with cheap imitations! Let us rather listen to them!” he added. “Let us turn this thirst into a step stool, like children who stand on tiptoe, in order to peer through the window of encounter with God. We will then find ourselves before him, who is waiting for us, knocking gently on the window of our soul.”
Echoing St. Augustine, Pope Leo reflected on the nature of hope by highlighting that “the fullness of our existence does not depend on what we store up or, as we heard in the Gospel, on what we possess (cf. Lk12:13-21).”
“Rather, fullness has to do with what we joyfully welcome and share,” the Pope continued. “Buying, hoarding and consuming are not enough. We need to lift our eyes, to look upwards, to the ‘things that are above,’ (Col 3:2), to realize that everything in the world has meaning only insofar as it serves to unite us to God and to our brothers and sisters in charity, helping us to grow in ‘compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience’ (Col 3:12), forgiveness and peace, all in imitation of Christ.”
Then, turning toward the enthusiastic young crowd unfazed by the sweltering heat, the Pontiff reminded them, “Jesus is our hope.”
Quoting Pope Saint John Paul II, he added that it is He, “who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives” and to improve “yourselves and society” by “making the world more human and more fraternal.”
Pope Leo urged the youth to embrace friendship with Christ through daily prayer and acts of charity, mentioning the examples of Blessed Piergiorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis as models of holiness lived in ordinary life.
Concluding, sending the assembly home with resolve, Pope Leo challenged them to “aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are” and not to “settle for less.”
“You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you,” he added.
He then entrusted the youthful congregation to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Hope.
“With her help, as you return to your countries in the coming days, in every part of the world, continue to walk joyfully in the footsteps of the Savior, and spread your enthusiasm and the witness of your faith to everyone you meet!” he said. “Have a good trip home!”
The next World Youth Day will take place in Seoul, South Korea, August 3–8, 2027.
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