Tor Vergata, Rome. - We heard once again the "battle cry" that from time to time generations of young people acclaimed with one voice the Roman Pontiff: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis and, for the first time, the newly arrived Pope Leo XIV. He has only been at the helm of the Church for 3 months, but long enough to captivate more than 1 million people from at least 146 countries at Tor Vergata, which became the heart of the world this weekend.
The images are moving, to say the least: a Pope entering with the cross, accompanied by young people from all corners of the world. Among the greetings from the popemobile, always with his warm smile and fatherly gestures. Images that give hope in the Jubilee year that bears his name.
"Each of us is called to confront great questions that do not have [...] a simplistic or immediate answer, but invite us to undertake a journey, to surpass ourselves, to go beyond [...], to a take-off without which there is no flight. Let us not be alarmed, then, if we find ourselves inwardly thirsty, restless, incomplete, longing for meaning and for the future [...] We are not sick, we are alive!", the Pope invited his youth in this Sunday's homily, taking up the words of Pope Francis at WYD in Lisbon.
Vigil
The Vigil was marked by an atmosphere of dialogue. The first was between the young people and the Pope, addressing three major concerns of our time: loneliness, fear and superficiality. The Pope's response: friendship, courage and the deep desire for happiness in everyone.
"The courage to choose arises from the love that God shows us in Christ. He is the one who has loved us with his whole being by saving the world and thus showing us that the way to fulfill ourselves as persons is to give our lives. Therefore, the encounter with Jesus corresponds to the deepest hopes of our heart, because Jesus is the Love of God made man."
Another dialogue was established between the Pope himself and his predecessors: he cited Francis, Benedict XVI and John Paul II. He also could not miss the dialogue with St. Augustine, a figure that he manages to transmit as a restless young man of today.
The main dialogue, however, took place in Eucharistic adoration, which combined moments of impressive silence among the 1 million young people at Tor Vergata with Eucharistic singing. Marco Frisina, 25 years after the Jubilee of 2000, continues to make it possible, together with his choir of the Diocese of Rome, to transform a crowd into a personal encounter with Christ.
All roads
The last few days were busier than usual in the eternal city: young people and families from all over the world walked the roads leading to the heart of the world.
Once again, the "All! All! All! All!" initiated by Pope Francis was sounded: different flags, languages, charisms and colors illustrate the face of the Universal Church, which has had its first great encounter with Leo XIV.
The Pope had already surprised the crowd in an unplanned appearance at the end of the Jubilee welcoming Mass on Tuesday 29th. "Our wish is that all of you will always be signs of hope in the world. Today we are just beginning. In the coming days you will have the opportunity to be a force that can bring God's grace, a message of hope, a light for the city of Rome, for Italy and for the whole world. Let us walk together with our faith in Jesus Christ," he said at the end of the tour of St. Peter's Square.
If all roads lead to Rome, it can be said that they all start from here. The encounters of a pope with his youth are in a certain way the mark of his pontificate: how can we not remember John Paul II with his "non abbiate paura!" at the beginning of his pontificate, in 1978? Or Benedict XVI kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament, firm, during the storm of the WYD in Madrid in 2011? Or Francis with his strong "Be protagonists. Play forward. Kick forward, build a better world!" at WYD Rio 2013?
"Dear young people, love one another. Love one another in Christ. Know how to see Jesus in others. Friendship can truly change the world. Friendship is the way to peace". This is the mark that Leo XIV wants to leave. This is the hope of the Pope, of the Church, of the world.
