Pope Leo leads 1 million young Catholics for Jubilee Mass - LifeSite

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Mon Aug 4, 2025 - 10:41 am EDTMon Aug 4, 2025 - 9:19 pm EDT

ROME (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV led over 1 million young Catholics in prayer this weekend as the American pope offered Mass closing the weeklong Jubilee of Youth.

“We are not made for a life where everything is taken for granted and static, but for an existence that is constantly renewed through gift of self in love,” Leo XIV told the amassed crowds of Jubilee pilgrims on Sunday.

Sunday’s Mass at Tor Vergata a little outside of Rome marked the closing of the full schedule of events that began last Tuesday for the Jubilee of Youth. Earmarked as one of the chief moments on the Vatican’s calendar of Jubilee events, it was billed as akin to a World Youth Day, albeit on a slightly smaller scale.

Nevertheless, “small” was not the word used to describe the crowds that gathered to greet the pope. The Vatican informed the press that over a million young people were present at the Tor Vergata site on Saturday through Sunday that saw them gather for a prayer vigil with the Pope before camping out overnight and remaining in situ for the early morning Mass.

Pilgrims from over 150 countries had been amassing in Rome thoughout the week for the pinnacle of the Jubilee events this weekend. Tor Vergata – the site of Pope John Paul II’s World Youth Day in 2000 – was readied for the million-strong crowds by large-scale security preparation from the city of Rome. According to the Vatican, 7,000 priests and 450 bishops joined the pontiff at Mass on Sunday.

Walking for several hours in order to reach the field, pilgrims took up positions in the site through Saturday afternoon in preparation for Leo’s arrival that evening. Music performances and testimonies were given from the stage during the many hours preceding his arrival by helicopter from the Vatican.

After being greeted with customary enthusiasm, Leo fielded three questions from representatives of the crowd: in Spanish, Italian and English.

Speaking about the link between good relationships and the truth, the pope quoted from St. Augustine to note that “there is no friendship that is authentic if that is not in Christ. And the true friendship is always in Jesus Christ with truth, love and respect.”

“Love one another in Christ! Know how to see Jesus in others,” he added.

The crowd of pilgrims joined Leo in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the prayer vigil before he departed for the Vatican.

Returning Sunday morning to offer Mass, Leo continued his themes of friendship, relationship with God, and the meaning of life:

There is a burning question in our hearts, a need for truth that we cannot ignore, which leads us to ask ourselves: what is true happiness? What is the true meaning of life? What can free us from being trapped in meaninglessness, boredom and mediocrity?

Drawing from St. Augustine once again – as has rapidly become a predominant theme for the Augustinian pope – Leo stated that “the fullness of our existence does not depend on what we store up or, as we heard in the Gospel, on what we possess. Rather, fullness has to do with what we joyfully welcome and share.”

“Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are,” he urged, citing the example of soon to be canonized Blesseds Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati. “Do not settle for less. You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you.”

Proffering final words to the Jubilee pilgrims at the close of Mass and at the Angelus, Leo commended the young people as being “the sign that a different world is possible: a world of fraternity and friendship, where conflicts are not resolved with weapons but with dialogue.”

“Bring this joy, this enthusiasm to the whole world. You are salt of the earth and the light of the world! Take this greeting to all of your friends, to all of the young people who need a message of hope,” he said.

European pilgrims were particularly prominent, but special mention was given to those hailing from South Korea, which is to host the next World Youth Day in 2027 from August 3 through 8.

Leo’s welcome by the Jubilee pilgrims was likened to that given to a rock star, and others opined it had become the highlight of his as-yet young pontificate.

Much focus was given to the vibrancy of the events, but a more somber note also formed part of the proceedings. While addressing the crowds, Leo also highlighted the death of two pilgrims who had passed away in Rome while attending the Jubilee. Maria and Pascale – young women from Spain and Egypt, respectively – died during the past week.

With news of Pascale’s death emerging first, Leo received a group of her fellow pilgrims in audience on Saturday, offering his prayers for her soul.

The Jubilee of Youth had originally included the canonization of Blessed Frassati, but due to all such processes being delayed upon the death of Pope Francis, Frassati will now be canonized with Carlo Acutis on September 7. The canonization Mass is likely also to draw large crowds of young people, similarly to those seen in late April at what was to have been Acutis’ canonization but instead became Francis’ funeral.

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