Pope Encourages the Faithful to Aspire to Greatness

Pope Leo XIV drew the attention of the world in a bold homily Sunday that sought to inspire and comfort the more than 1 million people gathered in Rome for the Jubilee of Youth. 

“We are closer than ever to young people who suffer the most serious evils, which are caused by other human beings,” Pope Leo XIV said to the crowd, which was the largest he has personally addressed to date.

The pope’s address drew crowds that included about 7,000 priests and 450 bishops. It was the latest event of the Jubilee 2025, which is expected to bring about 32 million people to Rome to pray and celebrate the Catholic faith.

The new pope’s address follows in a long line of papal exhortations. In 2000, Pope John Paul II delivered an address in the very same field located in an outer part of the ancient Italian city.

The comments of the Catholic leader come as Christians around the world face persistent persecution. Last month, Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a congressional resolution that encouraged President Donald Trump to “prioritize the protection of persecuted Christians in United States foreign policy.” The Open Doors’ World Watch List 2025 concluded that more than 380,000,000 Christians around the world face significant levels of persecution because of their Christian beliefs. 

“We are with the young people of Gaza. We are with the young people of Ukraine, with those of every land bloodied by war,” the church leader proclaimed. The war between Russia and Ukraine has taken the lives of tens of thousands of people and cost billions of dollars.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church added that young people should strive for excellence. 

“Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are,” the pope explained. “Do not settle for less. You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you.”

Leo also encouraged those gathered to spread their “enthusiasm and the witness of your faith.”

The pope had previously discussed the challenges facing modern Christian witness.

“Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure. These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised, or at best tolerated and pitied,” the new pontiff said in his first homily as the vicar of Christ. 

The new Bishop of Rome speaks from experience, having been elected supreme pontiff at the relatively young age of 69 and as the first American to ever occupy the chair of Saint Peter. Pope Leo XIV is also the first member of the Order of St. Augustine to hold the highest office in the church. 

“My young brothers and sisters, you are the sign that a different world is possible. A world of fraternity and friendship, where conflicts are not resolved with weapons, but with dialogue,” the pope said.

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