Leo XIV, one more young man, who asks young people “Do not be afraid!

Madrid, capital of youth. This is how one could sum up the “mood” that was in the air on Saturday afternoon and evening. Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly young people, awaited the arrival of Pope Leo XIV in Madrid. Lima Square with songs, dances, prayers and, above all, a lot of emotion. 

From 5:00 p.m. onwards, there were many people walking the streets around the Bernabeu area, asking about their area. A huge white cross, visible from almost everywhere, presided over the vigil, next to the image of the Virgin of the Almudena.

Enric Chenoll and Estenez (formerly Grilex) were the hosts of the “preview” to the arrival of the Pope. A few moments in which fragments of previous papal visits, testimonial videos and the hymn were played on the screens, placed along the Paseo de Castellana. 

Preliminary music and animations 

The vigil with the young people began at around 6:40 p.m., led by Guillem Climent and Aysha Rua. Young people from all parts of Spain, and also some from nearby countries, filled the area around the Plaza de Lima, in Madrid. 

The music, by artists such as Lola Tuduri, Ignacio Serrano, Inazio, Besmaya + Malmö, Beret or Siloé, enlivened the wait, before the recitation of the Holy Rosary, the Marian prayer par excellence, which contemplated the Luminous Mysteries, included by St. John Paul II. 

The Pope arrived at the Plaza de Lima after 8:45 pm. Leo XIV received the affection of hundreds of thousands of young people as he took the stage set up in the heart of Madrid. Together with him, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo Cano, and about thirty young people, who have enjoyed the privilege of accompanying the Pope in these hours. 

Cardinal Cobo: “We want to learn to respond as a Church”.”

The Archbishop of Madrid, Archbishop José Cobo, presented the young people who “arrive with the thirst of those who seek Christ, his Church and the embrace of a fraternity that gives meaning to life”. 

The Cardinal asked the Pope that “from his hand we want to learn to respond as Church, walking together and offering paths of accompaniment and life” and ended by thanking the Pope “for coming to help us raise our gaze. Thank you for confirming us in our faith, encouraging us in our mission and reminding us that the Spirit continues to act and that the Church continues to be sent”. 

The Pope became young with the young people. With great joy he thanked the young people for the fact that they were sharing their faith “with all young people”. 

The Holy Father's dialogue with the young people touched on various topics, such as the missionary past of Pope Prevost, but, with special emphasis, the young people wanted to know from the Pontiff how to listen to the voice of God and the mission of young people in the world. 

A new Don't be afraid! 

The Pope wanted to share with young people the impact on their lives of three saints: St. John Chrysostom, St. Thomas of Villanova and St. Toribio of Mogroviejo. 

Here the Pope reminded himself of St. John Paul II, when he forcefully shared with young people a new “Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid to think about a vocation to the priestly or religious life or to any other service in the Church,” the Pope stressed.

Of the former, the Pope recalled that he was impressed by “his splendid catecheses, which unite love for the truth and righteousness of life, and his courage in speaking before the Emperor, always telling the truth”. 

As for St. Thomas of Villanova, an Augustinian who “undertook an intense work of reform of the Church, especially of the clergy, exhorting his brothers to perseverance in prayer, chastity and obedience”, the Pontiff wanted to highlight the influence of his “ardent charity” that “has encouraged me in times of trial”. 

Finally, Robert Prevost pointed out how the life of prayer, together with the commitment to justice of St. Toribio de Mogroviejo, are for him “a model of dedication to the people”.

His memory of Peru, the Pope wanted to share, is mainly, “the testimony of faith of the people, marked by many difficulties, but full of hope. The encounter “with the wounds and joys of the people made me grow in the way of following Jesus. 

“God knows you and will answer you.”

Then, questioned about how to recognize the voice of God, the Pope stressed the need to seek “silence, which favors attention and recollection. When we seek silence, we decide what not to listen to and what noises not to allow ourselves to be distracted by. 

In addition to the silence, He called for a search for the truth, because “in many things in the networks the truth is not there”. 

“Be certain that God knows your voice well: He hears you and will answer you,” continued the Pope, who encouraged young people to move from interior monologue to prayer: “Our interior speech becomes prayer, praise and supplication when it is entrusted to the only one who can hear it. Prayer is a free voice precisely because it does not speak to give an account, to show that we are ready or to make us feel important. When we ourselves become prayer, the Lord answers us with his Word, who became man for us, affirming that he loves us with his whole being”.

The Eucharist, the “place to free the heart”.”

Thirdly, he encouraged young people to “listen to his living Word” and to cultivate Eucharistic devotion. “Eucharistic adoration, which we share tonight, is precisely the right place to keep silence, free our hearts and “be” ourselves before the Lord, dialoguing with him, so that he becomes eloquent in his love, made food for humanity”. 

In a context that some call a Catholic turn and in which young and not so young people are multiplying and are not afraid to manifest their faith, the Pope invited them to share “your spiritual journey, bearing witness to it with coherence of life: the will to follow Jesus will constantly renew you, especially in the hour of fatigue”. “No one is alone in following Jesus,” the Pope encouraged “Look how many of you are here!”

And he added, “If you pray with love, young people will appreciate the importance of prayer. If you burn with faith, you will transmit its living fire. If you remain faithful to your vocation, you will reflect its attracting grace”.

Royal saints 

The Pope also made a defense of real holiness, with the falls and turns to God of all kinds of people: “The faces of passionate husbands and fathers, of wise priests, of religious men and women dedicated to God to serve their neighbor do not shine in an idea, but in the holiness of a life put to the test”. 

Finally, the young people asked the Pope how to live a committed life and what is the mission that the Pontiff gives to young people. The Pope called them to overcome “fashion”, stressing that Christians “are free from fashion, because we are disciples of the truth; we are open to the future, because we know that death does not await us”.

Our freedom has its source in faith 

The Pope was happy and it showed, especially in his amusing and endearing “exits from the script”, as when he congratulated Fernando, the last young man to ask about his marriage and reminded the young people that “marriage is a great Christian vocation! Do not be afraid of marriage!”

Leo XIV made an impassioned appeal to faith and unity: “To live in this way, it is necessary first of all to interpret present society, living wisely, so that we can then transform it as witnesses to the Gospel. The young Christian, in fact, becomes luminous both in joy and in trial, giving flavor to reality because he inhabits it as a person who enjoys life within himself, without waiting for the taste to be given to him by wealth, pleasure or power. This is our freedom, which has its source in faith”. 

“Be human!” The Pope asked the young people “men and women of flesh and blood. Not appearances, but reliable faces”, looking “to the Apostles, to the first Christians, inhabitants of a pagan world”. This faith is what changes history, concluded the Pope, who was almost “knocked down” by the applause, before the Blessing with the Blessed Sacrament. 

The Holy Father signed the back of the cross of the young people before the moment of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the blessing, which were the centerpiece of this meeting of young people.

The Holy Father signed the back of the cross of the young people before the moment of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the blessing, which were the centerpiece of this meeting of young people. 

A blessing in which we have been able to see the Pope moved, as well as the hundreds of thousands of people who have made an impressive silence when the priest entered with the Monstrance. 

The reading of the Gospel was followed by a moment of emotional prayer and the singing of the Augustinian song “Tarde te amé”. The prayer continued for several dozens of minutes until the Blessing with the Blessed Sacrament during which the sound of the security helicopters could be heard. A special and emotional night that concluded with the hymn “Alzo la mirada” after a long and heartfelt applause from all those present. 

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