In an unscheduled vigil appearance, Pope Leo closed the Jubilee Mass for Youth with a spontaneous appeal for global peace — marking a defining moment in the 2025 Holy Year.
As a person who has been to war I find this message very relevent and necessary. I hope these young people never have to go to war. But I look at children today and am sad for their future with climate change. My generation has not left a good world for them to inherent.
When you touch the hearts of the young and let them know that we must all be involved in looking for peace, it is very powerful. We all have a duty to search for it and believe that it is possible to achieve peace.
Here is a thought provoking article from old soldiers about the uselessness of war:
Last Soldiers of an Imperial Army Have a Warning for Young Generations.
“In their last breaths, no one shouted for the long life of the Emperor,” said Mr. Ozaki. “They called out for their mothers, whom they would never see again.”
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A pope stepping out after hours, calling a square full of young people to chant for peace? That’s not a photo op. That’s a crack in the armor of business-as-usual. It reminded me that real authority doesn’t come from schedules or statements, but from the courage to show up when no one expects it.
Some will say it’s just words. But words from a man like that, spoken in front of 100,000 hearts on fire, do something. They unsettle the usual. They pull peace out of the clouds and drop it right into the square, into the shoes of whoever’s listening.
If the Church is finally learning to listen with its feet and speak with its body, this might actually be a Holy Year worth remembering.
As a person who has been to war I find this message very relevent and necessary. I hope these young people never have to go to war. But I look at children today and am sad for their future with climate change. My generation has not left a good world for them to inherent.
Thank you for sharing, HB, and thank you so much for reading!
When you touch the hearts of the young and let them know that we must all be involved in looking for peace, it is very powerful. We all have a duty to search for it and believe that it is possible to achieve peace.
Celebrated with us. It was very moving event and this article reminds me of a very blessed event.
Thank you for this article. I was blessed to attend the World Youth Day in Denver in August 1993 where Pope John Paul II
Here is a thought provoking article from old soldiers about the uselessness of war:
Last Soldiers of an Imperial Army Have a Warning for Young Generations.
“In their last breaths, no one shouted for the long life of the Emperor,” said Mr. Ozaki. “They called out for their mothers, whom they would never see again.”
NYTimes Gift Article: Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/world/asia/japan-veterans-world-war-ii.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aU8.it0H.VNDAarV4rEBn&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
A pope stepping out after hours, calling a square full of young people to chant for peace? That’s not a photo op. That’s a crack in the armor of business-as-usual. It reminded me that real authority doesn’t come from schedules or statements, but from the courage to show up when no one expects it.
Some will say it’s just words. But words from a man like that, spoken in front of 100,000 hearts on fire, do something. They unsettle the usual. They pull peace out of the clouds and drop it right into the square, into the shoes of whoever’s listening.
If the Church is finally learning to listen with its feet and speak with its body, this might actually be a Holy Year worth remembering.