Pope welcomes young people to Rome for jubilee, thanks media for promoting truth

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Greeting tens of thousands of visitors crowded in St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV welcomed all the young people who arrived in Rome for the Jubilee of Youth.

"I greet with particular affection the young people from various countries who have gathered in Rome for the Jubilee of Youth, which begins tomorrow," he said after reciting the Angelus July 27.

The U.S. pope gave the same greeting in Italian, English and Spanish, eliciting huge cheers from the young people from each language group.

"I hope that this will be an opportunity for each of you to encounter Christ, and to be strengthened by him in your faith and in your commitment to following Christ with integrity of life," he told them in the different languages.

The Jubilee of Youth runs from July 28 to Aug. 3. While half a million people were expected to be in Rome for the start of the weeklong celebration, 1 million people were expected to attend the outdoor closing prayer vigil and Mass in Rome's Tor Vergata neighborhood. 

Pope Leo also greeted journalists from Vatican Radio, Vatican News and the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, who were working in a small, newly inaugurated news station under the colonnade in the square "to be closer to the faithful and pilgrims during the Jubilee Year."

He thanked the Vatican's news outlets for their service in more than 55 languages to bring "the pope's voice to the world."

"And thank you to all journalists who contribute to the communication of peace and truth," he said to applause.

The pope also reminded Catholics that the day marked the fifth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, dedicated to the theme, "Blessed are those who have not lost hope." 

"Let us not leave them alone, but instead, form a bond of love and prayer with them," he said. "Let us look to grandparents and the elderly as witnesses of hope, capable of showing the path for new generations."

Before the Angelus, the pope reflected on the Lord's Prayer, which reminds the faithful that "the Lord always listens to us when we pray to him."

"If he sometimes responds in ways or at times that are difficult to understand, it is because he acts with wisdom and providence, which are beyond our understanding," he said. "Even in these moments, then, let us not cease to pray -- and pray with confidence -- for in him we will always find light and strength."

He urged the faithful, "through prayer and charity, to feel loved and to love as God loves us: with openness, discretion, mutual concern and without deceit.