VATICAN CITY, Rome — Meeting with the young people of the Diocese of Rome, Pope Leo XIV enjoined the youth not to be content with superficial relationships but to seek the truth, goodness and communion that arise from encountering God and one’s neighbor.
In discussing modern developments worldwide, the American pontiff advised them to engage in actual relationships, telling them that “we are made for truth, not virtual connections.”
Upon arriving in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, the 70-year-old leader if the Catholic Church was enthusiastically welcomed by the youth who greeted him warmly and offered him a moving embrace.
Just days after the conclusion of the Jubilee Year, the meeting brought together thousands of young people—accompanied by priests, religious, and educators—both inside and outside the Paul VI Hall.
Pope Leo disclosed that shortly before the meeting he had received a message from his niece, asking how he manages to face so many of the world’s problems and whether he ever feels alone.
The answer, the Pope said, was found in the large crowd of young people in front of him.
He did not ignore the unease that many young people suffer regarding loneliness, disorientation and boredom, even amid crowds and constant stimulation from modernization and fast-paced developments in technology.
“When this grayness dulls the colors of life, we see that it is possible to be isolated even in the midst of many people,” he cited.
According to the Pope, loneliness shows its face when “one is not listened to, because one is immersed in the noise of opinions,” and when “one looks at nothing, because one is dazzled by fragmented images.”
Responding to the young people’s desire to know what they can do concretely to break the ‘chains’ that bind them, Leo was clear: “First of all, pray. It is the most concrete act a Christian performs for the good of those around them, for themselves, and for the whole world.”
He explained that praying to God “is an act of freedom that breaks the chains of boredom, pride and indifference.”
In ending, the pontiff reminded the young people who had warmly welcomed him that “it is God who kindles the fire of a burning heart, especially when Christians encounter Him in the Eucharist, in the Gospel and in the Psalms, enabling them to become the light of the world and the salt of the earth.”
