Anyone who tuned in to the pope’s remarks on Saturday hoping for jokes about deep dish pizza or ketchup on hot dogs was left disappointed.
But if you tuned in looking for wisdom, hope, and encouragement, you got all that and more!
Pope Leo began by calling on all of us to live in communion with the Blessed Trinity through building up community and friendship.
He then turned to addressing the young people of our world.
Speaking of the isolation that is all too common in contemporary life, in particular the years sacrificed to the pandemic, the pope urged young people to seek out the unifying and enriching participation in a faith community they haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy:
“Coming together as friends, as brothers and sisters, in community, in a parish, and in an experience of living our faith together, we can find that the Lord’s grace, that the love of God can truly heal us, can give us the strength that we need, can be the source of that hope that we all need in our lives.“
“To share that message of hope with one another, in outreach, in service, and looking for ways to make our world a better place, gives true life to all of us, and is a sign of hope for the whole world.”
You can see the entire event from Saturday, including the pope’s video address, on the Archdiocese of Chicago YouTube channel. If you’d like to read his message, the entire text is available in today’s LOOP.
We heartily second Pope Leo’s call for community and pledge to help by gathering more and more Catholics together to live out our faith in public life.
And speaking of gathering, among our hopes is the hope someday soon to welcome Pope Leo home for an in-person visit.
There’s still time to sign our invitation asking the Holy Father to visit the United States. You’ll find it on our Pope Leo celebration page, along with great content about the first pope from America.
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