Pope addresses Melbourne youth gathering
Pope Leo XIV has offered warm wishes to Australian Catholics at the 2025 Australian Catholic Youth Festival which began in Melbourne on Sunday.
He told pilgrims to embrace their God-given identity and walk boldly as disciples in today’s world. “Our lives find their ultimate purpose in becoming who God made us to be, by living out his will,” said the pope. “You are not the result of a random process. Each of you is willed, each of you is loved, each of you is necessary.”
Pope Leo also urged young people not to be discouraged by cultural trends that dismiss traditional values or isolate individuals despite the promise of connection. “Technology may connect us,” he said, “but it can also leave us more isolated.
“Turn to God, especially through prayer and the sacraments. That’s where you’ll hear your Heavenly Father’s voice most clearly.”
Pope Leo concluded by calling on young pilgrims to draw inspiration from the lives of saints such as St Catherine of Siena, St Carlo Acutis, and St Pier Giorgio Frassati, and to return home ready to “build up the Kingdom of God in your local communities.”
Melbourne Archbishop Peter A Comensoli also offered a heartfelt welcome to the thousands of young people gathered under the banner of Pilgrims of Hope.
“Whatever reason has brought you here, somehow Jesus had a part in that,” he said. “You belong here. I want to welcome you to your new house—this house of the Church. And it’s your house too.”
Ukrainian Mykola Cardinal Bychok CSsR, closed the opening plenary sharing a personal story of growing up in a persecuted Church under Soviet rule.
“I remember watching my parents praying quietly—just simple, trusting faith,” Cardinal Bychok said. “Prayer became, for me, like oxygen—quiet, invisible, but necessary for life.
“Even the smallest whispered prayer reaches the ear of God. No government can ban it. No bully can break it. No social pressure can erase it. Your prayer is your strength. Your prayer is your freedom. Your prayer is your hope.”
Despite the inclement weather, thousands also took part in a 5km pilgrimage walk from St Patrick’s Cathedral to the Festival venue.
Accompanied by the World Youth Day Cross and Icon, which returned to Australia for the first time in 20 years.
The festival, which ended yesterday, also included more than 100 workshops, daily Mass, concerts, and sacred prayer experiences.
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