Pope Leo XIV addressed the largest crowd of his pontificate in Rome’s outskirts on Saturday, telling an estimated 1 million young adults to “study, work, and love according to the example of Jesus” and to pray: “Stay with us, Lord.”
The pontiff was greeted Aug. 2 by joyous crowds on the 237-acre grounds of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, 10 miles east of Rome, where teenagers and young adults will stay all night in anticipation of the closing Mass of the Jubilee of Youth on Sunday morning.
Pope Leo, who arrived at the largest event of his pontificate by helicopter, drove through the grounds before the prayer service waving to cheering young people from the popemobile as the sun set.
He then carried the pilgrim cross of the Jubilee of Hope on foot from the crowd up to the 15,000-square-foot stage for prayers and Eucharistic adoration. The pontiff will return to the outdoor venue to celebrate the jubilee Mass at 9 a.m. on Aug. 3.
Clare Fletcher, 29, from Omaha, Nebraska, told CNA she was so grateful she decided to come to Rome for the Jubilee of Hope during the Jubilee of Youth.
“I’ve never been to World Youth Day, but everyone I’ve talked to is comparing the two,” she said.
She described the crowd as singing along to the hymns and worship music with joy.
Fletcher’s 24-year-old brother, Paul, who attended the prayer vigil with her, said he had “never seen an event of this scale and with this level of reverence.”
During the first part of the prayer service, Leo answered questions from young adults about friendship and loneliness, making good choices, and how to truly encounter Christ.
In his answers to the questions, one in each of the three languages he speaks fluently — Spanish, Italian, and English — Leo encouraged youth to seek good relationships with others and with God.
“And we can say thank you, Jesus, for loving us,” he said in a moment of improvisation in the midst of his prepared remarks.
“Each time we adore Christ in the Eucharist, our hearts will be united in him,” the pontiff added, and he recommended saying to the Lord: “Stay with us, because without you we cannot do the good we desire.”
Fletcher, who traveled to Rome with a group of young adult friends who work in Catholic schools, called the question-and-answers with Pope Leo “poignant and so relevant! Each spoke for us. Each spoke to our hearts.”
“This is a pope who knows the youth. His response was savvy, beautiful, and worth remembering, not to mention worth praying with for some time,” she said.
Leo’s advice to young people included having Jesus, “who always accompanies us in the formation of our conscience,” as a friend.
“If you truly want to encounter the risen Lord, then listen to his word, which is the Gospel of salvation. Reflect on your way of living, and seek justice in order to build a more humane world. Serve the poor, and so bear witness to the good that we would always like to receive from our neighbors,” he recommended.
“Adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, the source of eternal life,” he said. “Study, work, and love according to the example of Jesus, the good Teacher who always walks beside us.”
Elodie, from France, told EWTN News at the prayer vigil that the Jubilee of Youth felt like “a huge family.”
“You feel the heart of the Church beating. I think, really, it’s beautiful,” she said.
The Jubilee of Youth, held July 28 through Aug. 3, is the most-attended event during the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, with an estimated 1 million young adults, teens, and their chaperones flocking to Rome from 146 countries.
Leo left the vigil after 10 p.m., more than 30 minutes past the scheduled time. After Eucharistic adoration, the crowd broke out in loud chants of “Papa Leone,” Italian for “Pope Leo.”
Young Catholics began arriving at the site of the vigil as early as 3 p.m., where they braved sun, humidity, and temperatures in the upper 80s during an afternoon listening to live performances and the personal stories of young people from different countries.
During his remarks, the pope asked for prayers for two female pilgrims who died this week, a 20-year-old Spaniard, Maria, and an 18-year-old Egyptian, Pascale Rafic. He also asked the young people to pray for another Spaniard, Ignazio Gonzales, who was hospitalized in Rome.
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This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
