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Pope Leo XIV Urges Catholic Schools to Support Youth
· Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV called on Catholic schools to be supportive environments for young people.
Pope Leo XIV urged Catholic schools and universities to be nurturing environments where young people can feel loved and seen, helping them build a more peaceful and just world, during a speech at the Vatican yesterday.
"Catholic schools and universities should be first and foremost, a ‘home’ – a familiar place where people know they are expected and welcomed," the Pope said, emphasizing the importance of creating a supportive atmosphere.
He noted that many young people today are paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes, feeling they are not good enough, or failing to live up to expectations, and that beneath the armor many teenagers build to avoid suffering lies the desire to love and be loved.
"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, urging educators to recognize the challenges facing young people today.
Pope Leo XIV also highlighted the importance of faith and reason working together, and warned against false teachers and misleading messages that promise quick answers to young people’s questions.
"Courage is born from a pact of trust: from the experience of someone who believes in you before you believe in yourself," he added, recalling that Jesus chose the 12 Apostles not because they were brave but because He called them and, through his trust in them, made them capable.
"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.
"In a welcoming environment, a student can understand and find meaning in reality and participate in the ‘shared pursuit of truth,’" he explained.
"Wounded families, digital loneliness, feelings of inadequacy, or fear in the face of a future that seems uncertain," the Pope noted, highlighting the challenges young people face.
"Many walk through the corridors of our schools and universities and perhaps feel anonymous," he continued, emphasizing the need for personal connections and recognition.
"The Church celebrates a fruitful educational history but also faces the imperative to update its proposals in light of the signs of the times," the Pope wrote in a letter published in Italian on Oct. 28.
"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, organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, concluding at the Vatican today.
What this adds
The Pope's remarks come as he continues to recover from lung cancer surgery and as the Church faces ongoing challenges such as addressing sexual abuse and promoting peace in conflict zones.
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.
- 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.
- “Many walk through the corridors of our schools and universities and perhaps feel anonymous,” he continued.
- “The Church celebrates a fruitful educational history but also faces the imperative to update its proposals in light of the signs of the times,” the pope writes in the letter, published in Italian on Oct. 28.
- In a welcoming environment, a student can understand and find meaning in reality and participate in the “shared pursuit of truth,” he explained.
What's still developing
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- With doctors having cleared Pope Leo XIV for most of his scheduled activities, it remains to be seen how curial reforms will unfold in the coming months as leading Francis-era prelates surpass retirement age.
- The Pope said that "great things" happen in his hometown.
- Villanova University is a Catholic liberal arts university in Pennsylvania.
- 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.
- “When God gives [us] a saint, He’s calling other people to sanctity. So my thought is, OK, how is this going to be an impetus for the American Catholic Church and specifically for the Diocese of Peoria. So remember, God always gives gifts for a reason. It’s not just for us to say look at how awesome we are. No, it’s also, look at what God can do,” Henehan said.
- “With great joy and a spirit of hope, our diocese now sets its course toward World Youth Day 2027, preparing to offer our young people the opportunity to take part in one of the most vibrant and transformative experiences in the life of the church,” said Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez in a March 20, 2026, Florida Catholic column.
- 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.
- Letters from Leo is a reader-supported publication and the fastest-growing Catholic community in the country.
- In “ Église et immigration: le grand malaise,” published in 2017, conservative writer Laurent Dandrieu accused Church leaders of reducing Catholic teaching to an almost exclusive imperative of welcome while neglecting the major upheavals experienced by local communities.
- “The message of Pope Leo goes well beyond Catholic people; he speaks about social justice, for example,” said Leontine Joseph, 42, a fervent Catholic who came with two friends of Moroccan origin who grew up in Muslim culture.
- “We have had 62 deaths: 62 Catholic and Orthodox Christians who have died in this war,” the parish priest said.
Sources
- Cathnewslink
- Ewtnvaticanlink
- National Catholic Registerlink
- OSV Newslink
- The Catholic Heraldlink
- Vatican Newslink
- Ncregisterlink
- Ncronlinelink
- Ndsmcobserverlink
- Thefloridacatholiclink
- Entertainment Weeklylink
- Thelettersfromleolink
- Eurasiareviewlink
- Wballink
- Americamagazinelink
- OSV Newslink
- Catholic News World — video link