Pope Leo XIV spoke live and directly with young Americans Nov. 21 urging them to place their hope and trust in Jesus Christ, to enter more deeply in relationship with Him, and to love others by serving them.
“Dear young people! Dear friends! Good morning!” the pope said via video link from Rome to 16,000 young people and adult ministry leaders including 240 Philadelphians at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis as he began his historic digital encounter — his first with a live American audience.
After his brief address he answered questions from several young people, totaling a one-hour conversation watched by some 10,000 youths and their teachers at “pope rallies” in 15 Philadelphia-area Catholic high schools plus grade schools, along with millions of people around the world via broadcast and digital media.
EWTN along with Vatican Media produced the live digital encounter dubbed “Pope Leo Live: A Call to Unity and Peace!”
The morning had a touch of Philadelphia as Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez prayed with those in the stadium then introduced Pope Leo, and later concluded the event.
“Fill our hearts with your heavenly fruits, love, patience, peace, faithfulness, generosity,” Archbishop Pérez said in prayer over the gathered young people, “that we may submit ourselves to you.”
“We have no words to share our gratitude within our hearts for you being present with us,” he told the pope amidst a couple calls of “Let’s Go Birds!” from the assembled 14- to 18-year-olds and their adult leaders.
“We thank you for this first digital visit to the United States,” the archbishop added. “We hope you will help us by visiting us personally soon.”
Pope Leo’s visit via video technology included questions the teens posed about responsible use of technology, their Catholic faith, and their spiritual health.
“I often find myself sitting on my phone and largely scrolling,” Chris Pantelakis, a teenager from the Archdiocese of Las Vegas, admitted. “Everyone around me is the same or has a very similar problem.”
“Technology can really help us in many ways, and it can help us live our Christian faith,” Pope Leo replied from Rome, some 4,800 miles from his family’s roots in Chicago. “It helps us stay connected with people far away.”
Technology, however, “can never replace real in-person relationships,” he said, pointing out the necessity of “simple things (such as) a hug, a handshake, a smile. All those things are essential to being human,” he added, citing recently canonized St. Carlo Acutis as an example for young people to follow.
Micah Alciso from the Diocese of Honolulu shared questions of reliance on artificial intelligence and ChatGPT, and how best to use those tools for finding solutions to problems.
“Filters, guidelines, can help you but they cannot make choices for you. Only you can do that,” Pope Leo responded.
“AI cannot replace human intelligence. Don’t ask it to do your homework for you. It cannot offer real wisdom. AI will not judge what is truly right and wrong. It will not stand in authentic wonder at the beauty of God’s creation.”
There were plenty of moments of fun and levity. When co-presenter Katie Prejean McGrady asked Pope Leo near the beginning about aspects of his wardrobe and socks that she gave him, he responded in allusion to his favorite Chicago baseball team, “I only wear White Sox.”
Archbishop Pérez also wrapped up the Holy Father’s conversation by leading the assembled crowd in the chant “Leo! Leo! We Love Leo!” which was delivered to the same beat of a longtime ode to the Chicago White Sox
Young people took the in-between time to offer more serious questions, to which the Holy Father replied with compassion.
“In my experience, it’s been difficult to voice my mistakes. Is it hard for you to accept God’s mercy when you’ve made mistakes or let people down?” asked Mia Smothers of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Pope Leo XIV cited the Gospel story of the Prodigal Son and Pope Francis’ reminder that God never tires of forgiving people, even when we get tired of asking for forgiveness.
“Look to Jesus. Trust his mercy. Go to him with confidence,” Pope Leo reminded the assembled young people with extra encouragement to turn toward the sacrament of penance and reconciliation. “He will always welcome you home.”
“”I see my peers and even myself struggle with our faith. There are moments when a lot of us feel sad and overwhelmed,” said Ezekiel Ponce from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. “Friends and family often say, ‘Give my problems to the Lord.’ How can I give my problems, even when I feel like this?”
“(God) knows when life feels heavy,” Pope Leo said in reply. “Scripture reminds us that He is near to the broken hearted, even when we do not feel His presence.
“We have to spend time with Him in prayer. We have to have a relationship with Him. In quiet, we can speak honestly about what is in our hearts. In eucharistic adoration, you can look at Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He looks at you with love. He looks to us gently.”
Elise Wing from the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa asked about the Church’s pathway forward in the world.
“How can we as young people make sure we are part of the conversation about the future?” she asked.
With kind and enthusiastic reassurance, Pope Leo responded that when one faces challenges or worries about the future, “it might be good to remember the promise that Jesus once made to Peter when He said, ‘The gates of hell will not prevail against the Church.’ Jesus will always protect and guide His Church.
“You are not only the future of the Church, you are the present,” the pope told the youths. “Your voices, your ideas, your faith matter right now. The Church needs you. The Church needs what you have been given to share with all of us. If you want to help the Church prepare for the future, be involved today.”
Pope Leo took the final minutes after the teens’ questions to give honor to young people, further encouraging them to discern what they bring to the world by forming stronger connections and building the peace the world needs.
“You carry (Christ’s) presence into the world: joy, hope, with creativity,” the pope said. “Jesus also calls His disciples to be peacemakers, people who build bridges instead of walls. People who value dialogue and unity instead of division.”
Pope Leo’s quotation from the Gospel of St. Matthew, shared in the middle of the gathering, perhaps summed up how technology made possible a powerful moment of young Americans encountering the pontiff for the first time through a technology-driven question and answer session.
“When two or more gather in (Jesus’) name,” Pope Leo said, “He is with them.”
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