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Pope Leo XIV Urges Catholic Schools to Support Young People
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV called on Catholic schools and universities to be supportive environments where young people can find meaning and build a more just society.
Pope Leo XIV urged Catholic schools and universities to be places where young people can feel loved and seen, helping them build a more peaceful and just world, during a speech at the International Congress for Pastoral Care in Schools and Universities.
"Courage is born from a pact of trust: from the experience of someone who believes in you before you believe in yourself," the Pope said, recalling Jesus' choice of the 12 Apostles.
In a welcoming environment, students can understand and find meaning in reality and participate in the shared pursuit of truth, the Pope explained.
"The fruitfulness of the synergy between faith and reason," the Pope emphasized, noting that many young people today are paralyzed by fear of making mistakes or not living up to expectations.
"Beneath the armor that so many teenagers build around themselves to avoid suffering lies the desire to love and be loved," the Pope said, addressing participants at the congress.
"Wounded families, digital loneliness, feelings of inadequacy, or fear in the face of a future that seems uncertain," the Pope highlighted as challenges facing young people.
"Many walk through the corridors of our schools and universities and perhaps feel anonymous," the Pope continued, underscoring the importance of a supportive environment.
"School and university pastoral ministry is called to accompany the slow germination of thought, teaching young people to discern and to seek with perseverance," the Pope insisted.
"Help the young people you meet to become protagonists of a new way of inhabiting the world, builders of fraternity and of a more just society," the Pope encouraged.
"To love is not to spare the feelings of someone; to love is to will the good of the other.... We don’t say, ‘God is empathy’; we say, ‘God is love,’" the Pope emphasized.
What this adds
Pope Leo XIV also addressed the challenges of digital loneliness, broken families, and the fear of making mistakes in a performance-driven culture.
The Pope's message extends beyond Catholic people, focusing on social justice and the importance of discernment and perseverance in education.
Background
Pope Leo XIV has called on young people worldwide to register for the upcoming World Youth Day in Seoul, South Korea.
Pope Leo XIV has called on young people worldwide to register for the upcoming World Youth Day in Seoul, South Korea.
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What's confirmed
- Catholic schools and universities should be places where young people can feel loved and seen and then they can then help build a more peaceful and just world, Pope Leo XIV said yesterday.
- In a welcoming environment, a student can understand and find meaning in reality and participate in the “shared pursuit of truth,” he explained.
- Additionally, he noted, there are many “false teachers and misleading messages” that “promise to provide quick answers to young people’s questions”.
- “Quite a few young people today are paralysed by the fear of making mistakes, of not being good enough, of being misunderstood, or of failing to live up to expectations,” the Pope reflected.
- “Beneath the armour that so many teenagers build around themselves to avoid suffering lies the desire to love and be loved,” he said to participants in the two-day International Congress for Pastoral Care in Schools and Universities, organised by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, concluding at the Vatican today.
- In this context, the Pope underscored that Catholic schools and universities should be “first and foremost, a ‘home’ – a familiar place where people know they are expected and welcomed,” where “someone who looks you in the eye, remembers your name, notices your absence, and rejoices when you return”.
- “Help the young people you meet to become protagonists of a new way of inhabiting the world, builders of fraternity and of a more just society,” he encouraged.
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- “Many walk through the corridors of our schools and universities and perhaps feel anonymous,” he continued.
What's still developing
- February 23, 2026 By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: AI, Feature, News, social media, Vatican, World News Pope Leo XIV has urged priests to not to use artificial intelligence to write their homilies or to seek “likes” on social media platforms like TikTok.
- “Like all the muscles in the body, if we do not use them, if we do not move them, they die. The brain needs to be used, so our intelligence must also be exercised a little so as not to lose this capacity,” Pope Leo said in the closed door meeting, according to a report by Vatican News on Feb. 20.
- He underlined that for a priest “a life of prayer” is fundamental, adding that this means “time spent with the Lord,” not “the routine of reciting the breviary as quickly as possible.” The pope’s Feb.
- “It is not you: if we are not transmitting the message of Jesus Christ, perhaps we are mistaken, and we must reflect very carefully and humbly about who we are and what we are doing,” the pope emphasized.
- She participated in the Vatican’s international congress on pastoral care in Catholic schools and universities, held Oct. 22–23, 2026. | Credit: Courtesy of Carina Rossa “The fact that Pope Leo relaunched the Global Compact on Education has been very important in revitalizing this proposal,” she said.
- Pope Leo XIV has said that Catholic school teachers should be “models in life" as well as "models of faith" during what he described as a teacher's "pilgrimage of discipleship".
- 21, the pontiff will meet with authorities, interfaith leaders, workers, and Catholic communities during his visit.
- A Catholic priest can bless a gay or other unmarried couple as long as it is not a formal liturgical blessing and does not give the impression that the Catholic Church is blessing the union as if it were a marriage, the Vatican doctrinal office said.
- The Pope ‘expressed his solidarity with them and, through them, with all those who have suffered and continue to suffer from the wounds of abuse,’ the Vatican said.
- Though international pop star Céline Dion was touring through Paris the same nights as the pope, Leo drew a bigger crowd and a fervor tantamount to that of a rockstar at the Stade de France, inciting passionate cheers and more than a few teary eyes from the spectators.
- Pope Leo XIV welcomed an eclectic group of film and TV icons to the Catholic Church's HQ on Saturday to celebrate cinema, which he described as "a popular art in the noblest sense, intended for and accessible to all,” reported NBC News.
- “To love is not to spare the feelings of someone; to love is to will the good of the other.... We don’t say, ‘God is empathy’; we say, ‘God is love.’” This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.