Pope Leo XIV surprises thousands of young Catholics at Youth jubilee in Rome

In the first significant youth event of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV surprised tens of thousands of young Catholics by unexpectedly attending a welcoming ceremony for the Holy Year.

At the conclusion of an evening Mass that began the Jubilee of Youth, a weeklong celebration for young Catholics, Pope Leo appeared in St. Peter’s Square in his popemobile.

He circled the square and up and down the street that led to it, to the startled cheers and chants of the estimated 120,000 youthful pilgrims who had crowded the square.

In a brief off-the-cuff salute and blessing from the altar, he told the young pilgrims that they were beacons of light, hope and peace that the world needs today.

“The world needs messages of hope. You are this message, and must give hope to everyone,” he said in a mix of Spanish, English and Italian. “We want peace in the world. We want peace in the world!”

Leo, the first American pope, hadn’t been expected to meet with the young pilgrims as a group until the weekend, when he was to preside over a vigil Saturday and Mass on Sunday in the highlight of the Jubilee week.

Tuesday’s Mass had been celebrated by the Italian archbishop who organised the Holy Year, Archbishop Rino Fisichella.

This week, downtown Rome has swarmed with energetic, singing and dancing masses of teenage Catholic scouts, church and Catholic school groups whose numbers are expected to swell to 500,000 by the weekend.

Tuesday began with groups of Catholic influencers — priests, nuns and ordinary faithful who use their social media presence to preach and teach the faith — passing through the basilica’s Holy Door, a rite of passage for the estimated 32 million people participating in the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year celebrations.

Francis met with some of the influencers earlier Tuesday and thanked them for using their digital platforms to spread the faith. But warned them against neglecting human relationships in their pursuit of clicks and followers, and cautioned them to not fall prey to fake news and the “frivolity” of online encounters.