ASSISI, Italy — Pope Leo XIV called on young people gathered in Assisi to become "new saints," reject the culture of power, and help build a world founded on fraternity rather than domination.
The pope celebrated Mass on Thursday at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels before the Portiuncula, the small chapel closely associated with the life and vocation of St. Francis.
Addressing approximately 2,500 participants in the GO! Franciscan Youth Meeting on the feast of the Transfiguration, Pope Leo said Assisi has long drawn pilgrims because "everything whispers that our lives can take on a new form, radiate light and heal the world."
"It was here that the transformation of Francis, Clare and then thousands of other young people began," he said. "They embraced the Gospel sine glossa — we could say, in its simplicity — then the life of Jesus began anew within them."
Reflecting on the Gospel account of the Transfiguration, the pope said the young pilgrims had come to Assisi in search of direction and meaning.
"We have come here to understand where history is heading and where we ourselves are going," he said. "In the Gospel, we see that meaning can indeed be found, that a path can be glimpsed. Like Peter, James and John, we too have been brought a little aside, and Jesus is with us. What matters is his presence."
"Now, in Jesus' Transfiguration, God himself reveals his glory, which takes the form of a cloud that protects and envelops. He points to his Son and invites us to listen to him. The path of life is discovered by following him together."
Pope Leo told the young people that their days of prayer, meetings, and conversation in Assisi offered evidence that they were not alone.
"We are not alone! In recent days you have experienced this, since you have met and listened to one another, moving beyond the clamor of overlapping and conflicting voices to the art of conversation," he said.
"Today, we contemplate Jesus, who is transfigured precisely in conversation with the Father, with those who preceded him — Moses and Elijah — and with his contemporaries, the disciples."
The Church, the pope continued, exists to draw people into "this dynamic of listening and decision-making," helping them understand "for whom we are to live and how we are to live."
He highlighted the Franciscan tradition's emphasis on restoring relationships damaged by sin, division, and exploitation.
"Franciscan spirituality, in which you have been formed, is among the most attentive to restoring fundamental relationships with God and with all his creatures," he said. "Today, more than ever, this is a harmony that needs to be safeguarded and cultivated."
Pope Leo said St. Francis continues to attract people eight centuries after his death because of the profound humanity that led him to abandon familiar paths and follow Christ in a new and radical way.
"Dear friends, the reason why Saint Francis still draws us to himself, even eight hundred years after his death, lies in the grandeur of humanity that led him to abandon familiar ways in order to find a new path that is more consistent with that of Jesus," he said.
"Even in a town that had been Christian for centuries, such as Assisi, this seemed revolutionary."
The pope then issued a direct appeal to the young people gathered before the Portiuncula.
"Well then, dear young people, today Europe and the whole world are looking to you to be new saints," he said. "Dare to believe in the word of the Gospel; become fully human with the freedom of Jesus Christ; embrace Sister Poverty!"
The name of the youth gathering, he said, was itself a missionary command.
"The title of your gathering, Go!, is a mission, a sending forth onto paths for which we have no maps, because they are opened by listening to the heart, obeying the Holy Spirit, and following the Risen One wherever he has chosen to go before us," Pope Leo said.
"Go! Go! Better yet: let us go! Let's go to the margins, where the injustice and arrogance of a few deny the dignity and dreams of many, of far too many sons and daughters of God."
Following Christ may bring misunderstanding, including from one's own family or community, the pope cautioned. He insisted, however, that opposing injustice and division does not mean betraying one's roots.
"We may not be understood, even by those closest to us, as happened to Saint Francis," he said.
"Yet, breaking free from the culture of power, and tearing down the walls that separate human beings from one another, is never a betrayal of our families, towns or traditions. Instead, it means freeing them from their ghosts, from enemies invented out of fear or ignorance and from the violence with which people seek to impose their own limited order on a reality that surpasses us on every side."
"To trust in God is to rediscover, like Francis and Clare, a world of brothers and sisters to cherish and serve, not to exploit and dominate," he continued. "Not a world to defend, but to embrace."
Concluding his homily, Pope Leo encouraged the young participants to place every aspect of their lives at the service of what he called the "civilization of love."
"Unite the best energies of your magnificent humanity: your studies, skills, work, friendships, love and prayer, so that you can bring Saint Francis' vision to life in many different ways," he said.
The pope then recited the prayer commonly attributed to St. Francis, beginning: "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace."
At the conclusion of the Mass, Francesco Varone addressed Pope Leo on behalf of the young participants.
"During these days, we have prayed, listened to testimonies, formed friendships, and allowed ourselves to be challenged by the Gospel and by the witness of St. Francis, who right here at the Portiuncula learned to make his life a total response to God's love," Varone said.
"Today, all of this has found fulfillment in your presence. Holy Father, we young people need authentic witnesses, men capable of pointing us to Christ with their lives, not only with words."
"Your voice encourages us not to be afraid to choose the good and to believe that the Gospel can still change the human heart," he continued. "Thank you, Holy Father, because today you make us feel that we are Church. Thank you for being here in Assisi, in Mary's house; thank you for being among your young people."
Following the celebration, Pope Leo entered the Portiuncula for a period of silent prayer, greeted the faithful, and then departed for the Vatican.
This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
