Teens Mia Smothers, Ezequiel Ponce, Micah Alcisto, Elise Wing, and Chris Pantelakis, and moderator Katie McGrady, right, take a "selfie" with Pope Leo XIV during a live digital encounter at Lucas Oil Stadium on Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Katie McGrady
Indianapolis, Indiana, Nov 21, 2025 / 15:20 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV answered questions from five teenagers at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis during a live digital encounter Friday morning.
Mia Smothers, Micah Alcisto, Ezequiel Ponce, Christopher Pantelakis, and Elise Wing asked Pope Leo questions and held a conversation with him on Nov. 21 as thousands of teens gathered in Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Holy Father discussed matters close to the teens' hearts including recovering from mistakes, giving worries to Jesus, distractions, technology, and the future of the Church.
Mia Smothers
Mia Smothers, a freshman from Joppa, Maryland, started the conversation with the pope by asking the first question.
"At first I was very nervous, but when I saw the Holy Father on the screen, I was like, 'It's all going to be OK.' Because I saw the emotion and how happy he was to be able to talk to us. So it just took the nervousness away," Smothers told CNA.
Smothers asked the pope about how people can recover from mistakes and accept God's mercy. He responded by reminding teens that "all of us struggle" and "none of us [are] perfect."
His answer was "very surprising," because "it showed that he also struggles, and it was another person's perspective on how they dealt with their problems," Smothers said.
The pope's discussion on technology really stood out to Smothers, she said, especially when he said "electronics cannot take away real connections." Smothers, who has nine siblings, said she hopes they apply the messages from Pope Leo to their lives.
"I want them to make connections and be more involved in the Church," she said. "Because as the pope says, we are the present and we're also the future. So I need them to understand and see if you put yourself out in the Church, great things will happen."
Pope Leo asked the students to ponder how they can build peace in the world, and to answer his call Smothers said she can "tell more people about God and tell them to bring more peace to people's hearts."
Micah Alcisto
Micah Alcisto from Honolulu told CNA "being a part of the history of the pope, and the first interaction of the pope in America, is truly surreal to me."
"Everything that he says is very heartwarming and touching." Alcisto highlighted that the pope even "cracked a little bit of jokes." He added: "I think it really broke the tension in the room. It grabbed everyone's attention."
"I never thought someone could speak so well and politely like him. And I think that's what makes a difference in people's lives is how you talk to others. … Everything about how he spoke to us, the lessons he gave, and how he related it all back to the Scripture and the Bible is definitely a one-of-a-kind experience," Alcisto said.
The pope told the students that he is praying for them, which Alcisto said gave him goosebumps. "Just to hear him acknowledge us … means so much. I've never really felt that way from someone, especially coming from Pope Leo. Never would I have thought he would have said that to me personally," he said.
Alcisto said he appreciated that the pope recognizes there is "a lot of authenticity in teens" like himself. Specifically, "our flame, our passion for religion and once you see a group of kids expressing their faith loudly, it makes everyone else want to do it," he said.
"I think that's what is special about us teens — we have the excitement, the flame with us to spread the word and the Gospel … It's really a blessing that he got to actually acknowledge it to us. I think it will give us more excitement to spread the Gospel and the faith," Alcisto said.
Ezequiel Ponce
Ezequiel Ponce, a high school senior from Downey, California, said he was surprisingly "super calm" when he was speaking with the pope. "I was taking in the information like if it was a personal mentor, like if he was right in front of me. I was listening. … I was really involved and engaged."
"Something that definitely stood out to me was when he said to find someone that you can truly trust and be honest with, especially … finding a friend or family member that will help you grow your faith with God," Ponce said.
"I was very excited to hear that he has us in our prayers, because I know that we've had him in our prayers," Ponce said. "So it felt like we already built a connection. He already established himself. Honestly, that just strengthened my faith."
As the group listened to the Holy Father, they "were all truly in it 100%," Ponce said. "My main takeaway was that what I'm doing right now is good, because he talked about being involved in the Church. That's how you can grow your faith. And that's honestly what I've been doing."
Christopher Pantelakis
"I was just out of breath. It was breathtaking," said Christopher Pantelakis, a high school junior from Nevada. He said he "couldn't really process" the experience as he was talking to Pope Leo.
While Pantelakis said he was incredibly nervous to speak to the Holy Father, he prayed beforehand to be at ease. "I was sitting there right before it was going to happen, and I was just like, 'God, please help me. Please guide me through this.''
As the conversations started, "I looked over at the people sitting next to me and all my friends that also talked, and it was so amazing to have this wonderful guy right here, the Holy Father, referring to us by our names and calling us his friends," Pantelakis said.
The pope "referred to us as his friends and he wasn't just stating something for an interview or something. He was directly talking back to us. He was answering our questions, and he was engaged in our conversation. You could tell he cared."
Pantelakis said he was thinking, "'this is a genuine guy right here.' It was just such an amazing thing to see."
Pantelakis asked the Holy Father about technology and said he appreciated when the pope said "that no digital experience could replace a hug or can replace the feeling of a human being."
Elise Wing
Elise Wing, a high school senior from Waterloo, Iowa, highlighted how the pope understands the youth. "Even before I asked him: 'How can young people be involved in that?' He had already answered," in the previous questions, she said.
Pope Leo "said that preparing for the future is in the sacraments right now. We have to have a relationship with Jesus, and that's through the sacraments and through communication with him to be able to come together as a full Church and tackle the future together," she said.
"There's so much that we need to prepare for in our hearts — spiritually and when we're facing struggles with connection. We talked about AI and technology and mental health. Those struggles are something that are continuing. They're going to be present in the future of the Church as well," Wing said.
The conversation was "so personal," Wing said. "Pope Leo said, 'We're looking for youth. We're looking for you, not anybody else. You.' The Holy Spirit was working because there was a very clear message."
"There's so much hope in the future. I think that Pope Leo really gives that message of hope in the way he responds to people and in how active he has been in sharing his perspectives," she said.
Pope Leo discussed how "the Church doesn't choose a political side," Wing said. "We are divided by politics in America. It's present. And even in high school, it's something that you can't ignore." She said the topic is "very appreciated by the younger generations."
"The Church is above that," Wing said. "It's about Jesus, not about which side you're on. I think that that unity and that peace of mind that he brings to a younger generation is something that is so profound.
"I was really struck by the way that everything the pope said reflected back to Jesus. It was not about him at all. He didn't dwell on the struggles, but he pointed it all back to the Lord and how the Lord is working in each of us here, now, and in the future," Wing said.
