“Buona sera, buenas tardes, good evening!” he said after finishing a long ride waving to more than 120,000 ecstatic visitors filling St. Peter’s Square and the long, wide boulevard that runs between the square and Castel Sant’Angelo by the Tiber River.

The pope appeared at the end of a Mass presided over by Archbishop Rino Fisichella in St. Peter’s Square July 29 as part of a series of welcome celebrations for the weeklong Jubilee of Youth.

A rainbow of colours covered the streets and squares as different pilgrim groups wore coordinated colored T-shirts or hats, and scores of national flags billowed in the gusting evening wind.

“Jesus tells us you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world,” Pope Leo said in English.

“And today, your voices, your enthusiasm, your cheers, which are all for Jesus Christ, will be heard until the ends of the earth,” he said in Spanish to huge cheers.

“Today marks the beginning of a journey, the Jubilee of Hope, and the world needs messages of hope. You are this message, and you must continue to give hope to everyone,” he said.

“Let us walk together with our faith in Jesus Christ,” he said in Italian. “And our shouts must also be for peace in the world.”

“Let’s all say it: We want peace in the world!” he shouted, as the crowd responded, “We want peace in the world.”

“Let us pray for peace” and be witnesses to “the peace of Jesus Christ, the light of the world that we are all seeking,” he said, as the evening twilight turned to night and the waxing crescent moon appeared brightly.

It was Pope Leo’s second “surprise” appearance July 29, after arriving to greet the faithful at the end of a morning Mass presided over by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, marking the conclusion of the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers July 28-29.

The pope was scheduled to lead his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square July 30, and then lead an evening prayer vigil Aug. 2 and morning Mass Aug. 3 in Rome’s Tor Vergata neighborhood, where close to 1 million young people were expected.

Cardinal Tagle and Archbishop Fisichella lead the two sections making up the Dicastery for Evangelization as pro-prefects. The archbishop’s section has been in charge of organizing the Holy Year.

Before celebrating the evening Mass in the square July 29, Fisichella welcomed the young people on behalf of the pope, especially those who came from war-torn regions.

“May the fraternal embrace that unites us as one body reach those from Ukraine and Palestine and other countries,” he said. Two young men from Palestine wore the traditional keffiyeh, a wide scarf, over their shoulders during the Mass as they brought up the offertory gifts.

“Make sure to show them a sign of your friendship,” the archbishop said in his greeting before Mass.

To those who had to make many sacrifices to come to Rome, he said, “The Lord will not disappoint you. He comes to meet you — remain vigilant so that you may recognize his presence in your life.”

“Live these days with joy and spirituality, discovering new friendships,” and enjoying the city of Rome, he said.

“We are here to hand on the faith and to understand the great value that Jesus Christ brings into our lives. Let us respond with enthusiasm in these days: Rome, with all that it represents, is in your hands,”  Fisichella said.

“I would like everything you experience during these days to be cherished in your hearts forever, but don’t keep it just for yourselves,” he told the group from Peru during an audience at the Vatican July 28, the start of the weeklong Jubilee and the day Peru commemorates its independence from Spanish colonial rule.

He welcomed them to Rome, where they came as “pilgrims of hope,” and he recognized the sacrifice and hard work of their families and communities that had made the journey possible.

“We must learn to share,” he said. “Please, don’t let all of this remain just a memory, just some nice photos, just something from the past.”

He asked that when they return home after the jubilee celebrations, they share “the joy and strength of the Gospel, with the Good News of Jesus Christ.”

Each person by himself or herself is small, “but we are not alone; the Lord has wanted us to be part of a large family, the family of the church,” he said, so that, like clusters of grapes on the vine, “we can grow and bear fruit, aided by the Lord’s grace.”

During this joyful and important event for young people from around the world, he said, “all of you will have the beautiful experience of feeling part of the people of God, part of the universal church, which encompasses and embraces the whole earth, without distinction of race, language or nation.”

“Love and serve freely, in everyday life, in small things, in hidden ways, because you have experienced the joy of being loved first, and because you have received everything freely from God our Father,” the pope said.

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© OSV News / Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. 2025 – from CNS Vatican bureau, used with permission.

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