Junno Arocho Esteves, CNS
Addressing approximately one million young people, Pope Leo XIV urged them to forge genuine relationships rooted in Christ rather than ephemeral online connections that can reduce individuals to a commodity.
"When a tool controls someone, that person becomes a tool: a commodity on the market," the Pope said during the evening vigil of the Jubilee of Youth on Aug. 2. "Only genuine relationships and stable bonds can build a good life."
Tor Vergata
The Pope arrived by helicopter at the Tor Vergata camp, about 13 kilometers southeast of central Rome, and was greeted with cheers from flag-waving young people. Many of them camped overnight, sleeping in tents and sleeping bags on the dusty field, just like the World Youth Day celebration held 25 years ago at the same location.
Countless young people kicked up the dust on the field as they approached the popemobile to catch a glimpse of the pontiff. The pope smiled and waved to the young people, occasionally catching objects and stuffed animals thrown to him.
Upon exiting the popemobile, he was handed the large cross of the Jubilee year, which he carried to the main altar, accompanied by dozens of young people.
The use of technology
After beginning the vigil with prayers, the Pope spoke with several young people who asked him three questions. Dulce Maria, a 23-year-old Mexican girl, spoke of the excitement of online friendships, but also of the loneliness that arises from connections that "are not true and lasting relationships, but fleeting and often illusory."
"How can we find true friendship and genuine love that will lead us to true hope? How can faith help us build our future?" he asked.
The Pope recognized the potential of the Internet and social networks as "an extraordinary opportunity for dialogue," but warned that these tools "are misleading when they are controlled by commercialism and by interests that fragment our relationships."
Drawing on his Augustinian spirituality, Pope Leo urged young people to emulate St. Augustine, who had a "restless youth, but was not satisfied with less."
"How did he find true friendship and a love capable of giving hope? By finding the one who was already looking for him, Jesus Christ," the pope said. "How did he build his future? By following the one who had always been his friend."
Firm decisions
Gaia, a 19-year-old Italian girl, asked how young people can find the courage to make decisions in the midst of uncertainty.
"Choosing is a fundamental human act," the Pope replied. "When we choose, strictly speaking, we decide who we want to be."
He encouraged the young people to remember that they were chosen by God and that "the courage to choose is born of love, which God shows us in Christ." The Pope recalled the words of St. John Paul II spoken in the same place 25 years ago, reminding young people that "it is Jesus they look to when they dream of happiness; He waits for them when nothing else satisfies them."
The Pope called "radical and meaningful choices," such as marriage, priesthood and religious life, "the free and liberating gift of self that makes us truly happy."
"These decisions give meaning to our life, transforming it into the image of the perfect love that created it and redeemed it from all evil, even death," he said.
Prayers for the deceased
Following his prepared address, Pope Leo XIV expressed his condolences for the death of two pilgrims. Pascale Rafic, an 18-year-old Egyptian pilgrim, died of a heart condition. That same day, the Pope met with the group of young Egyptians with whom Rafic had traveled to Rome.
Maria Cobo Vergara, a 20-year-old pilgrim from Madrid, Spain, died on July 30. Although the cause of her death was not mentioned in a statement released on August 1, the Archdiocese of Madrid indicated that the young pilgrim was suffering from "four years of illness."
"Both (pilgrims) chose to come to Rome for the Jubilee of Youth, and death has overtaken them in these days," the pope said at the vigil. "Let us pray together for them."
Treating Jesus
Finally, Will, a 20-year-old American pilgrim, asked the Pope how to "truly encounter the Risen Lord in our lives and be assured of his presence even in the midst of trials and uncertainties."
Recalling Pope Francis' papal bull for the Holy Year 2025, "Spes non confundit" ("Hope does not disappoint"), Pope Leo said that "hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come," and that our understanding of the good "reflects how our conscience has been shaped by the people in our lives."
He urged them to nourish their conscience by listening to the word of Jesus and to "reflect on the way you live and seek justice in order to build a more humane world".
"Serve the poor and thus bear witness to the good that we always wish to receive from our neighbor," he said. "Adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, source of eternal life. Study, work and love according to the example of Jesus, the good Teacher who always walks beside us."
He also invited the young people to pray to remain friends with Jesus and to be "a traveling companion for anyone they meet."
"As we recite these words, our dialogue will continue every time we look at the crucified Lord, because our hearts will be united in Him," the Pope concluded.
The vigil concluded with an adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which can be seen in the following video
