LIMA (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV called on young Peruvians to not give in to the “dangerous suspicion” that following God means sacrificing their personal fulfillment and to reject the belief that they need to sin in order to experience happiness.
Addressing nearly 60,000 young people at a prayer vigil at the National Stadium of Peru in Lima Nov. 12, the pope urged them to “engrave in your hearts the words of Benedict XVI: ‘evil is always poisonous.'”
“At times, we wonder whether following God’s will means giving up our dreams. This fear can give rise to an even more dangerous suspicion: thinking that God is depriving us of something and that, in order to enjoy life fully, we also need to experience sin,” he said.
Tens of thousands of young men and women filled the stadium, singing and chanting, “Esta es la juventud del papa” (“This is the youth of the pope”). Local authorities said that in addition to the thousands in the stadium, another 300,000 young people were following the prayer vigil from the surrounding areas.
Volunteers helping at the stadium event donned yellow shirts and joined choreographed dances along the aisles, singing songs dedicated to Pope Leo.
Among those volunteers was Félix Silva, 29, of Lima, who took time off work and spent weeks rehearsing a choreographed dance to Peru’s national anthem for the papal visit.
“It’s unique, it’s once-in-a-lifetime. It’s wonderful to experience this here today with all these people, a packed stadium,” Silva told OSV News.
He also said that seeing Pope Leo return to the country where he once served as a missionary felt special.
“You can see the affection he has for us; you see the emotion in his eyes and everything. Besides, he is Peruvian — it’s great.”
Young people are called to be witnesses
Friends Dominica Elena and Kiara Vallejos, both 17, from Lima’s La Victoria district, attended the vigil alongside 16-year-old Luana Pucheta, an Argentine living in Peru.
“We have experienced vigils at our school before, but it has never been anything this big, and even less so with the pope,” Elena said.
Elena also told OSV News that a teacher at their school who previously lived in Chiclayo had met Pope Leo and described him as “a kind person, a really beautiful person.”
Vallejos, who said she used to find church “a little bit boring” when she was younger, added that her perspective changed as she grew older. “I see things in another way, like the real meaning of all of this is really, really magic, I think,” she said.
Vallejos added that it was moving to share the moment with peers “who have the same feeling, the same faith, and with two of my best friends.”
Welcoming Pope Leo to the event, Cardinal Carlos Gustavo Castillo of Lima noted that the vigil’s motto — “And the Word became young and dwelt among us” — is reflected in young people who are called “to be witnesses of that Word incarnate in their lives.”
“To you, Holy Father, who lived here from your youth as a seminarian and Augustinian missionary, we ask today, as our Holy Father and Universal Pastor, that you offer advice and respond to the concerns that the young people present to you and address to them a few words of encouragement that may make fruitful their journey of Christian witness with all young Peruvian believers, as well as those who are far and live different circumstances,” Cardinal Castillo said.
Young Catholics share their journey
Before delivering his address, the pope listened to testimonies from three young Peruvians who shared their personal stories of loneliness, grief and their search for purpose in life through faith.
Joao Meza, an 18-year-old medical student from Lima’s Lince district, spoke about his feeling of isolation and overwhelm and how he decided to “keep it all in” and not tell others.
Through his involvement at his parish, he discovered new gifts and found in dancing “a way to be closer to God with something I like and in this way can share a part of myself with others.” He also met people who supported him unconditionally and he began to understand that the hardships and falls of the past had a purpose and that “God is always there to act in our lives.”
Emily Herrera Marcos, a young woman from the Diocese of Carabayllo, spoke about drifting away from her parish after confirmation but then returning and getting involved in youth ministry.
However, a rapid succession of family losses — including her grandparents, an aunt, an uncle, a young nephew, a cousin and her best friend — left her feeling broken while trying to lead others.
In her pain, she realized that God’s love “accompanies me even when I’m afraid, have doubts and exhaustion.” She encouraged others to have an open heart and allow Jesus, who himself formed a community with his disciples, to walk with them.
Through the people she ministered to in youth ministry, she discovered that Christ’s presence can be seen in “a person who approaches, listens and decides to walk next to us. And maybe, without knowing it, you are that presence in someone else’s life.”
Sister Luzbinda Ramos Zurita, a religious sister of the Ursuline Daughters of Mary Immaculate, told the pope about falling into depression after the sudden death of her mother. “With the wounds I had, I suffered a silent depression, the kind we are afraid to tell others about because of judgment or because it is sometimes hard to open up the heart.”
Seeing her not well, one of her brothers invited her to visit him in Lima and introduced her to two Ursuline sisters. While looking at one of them, she saw tenderness and peace in her gaze and thought, “This is it.”
Even though she dreamt of becoming a teacher and starting a family, she attended a vocation retreat, and through a process of formation she “started to discover how much God loved me.”
She experienced “God waiting for me with open arms as a Father waits for a daughter to return home.” The Peruvian nun now works in family catechesis, and reminded young people that “God does not take away anything and gives everything. He gives us true life.”
Passion, vocation and friendship
Thanking the three young Peruvians for their sincerity, Pope Leo said their testimonies are an opportunity to reflect on the Gospel story in which two disciples of John the Baptist began following Jesus and were asked by him: “What are you looking for?”
“What a beautiful question,” the pope said. “These are the first words spoken by Jesus in this Gospel. I would like each of you to hear that question as though Jesus were asking you today: What are you looking for? What do you hope to find? What do you hope for in life?”
The pope focused on three central points: passion, vocation and friendship.
Addressing the young people’s testimonies of grief and loneliness, Pope Leo noted that the word “passion” not only refers to love and enthusiasm, but also “reminds us of suffering, of experiences that seem to extinguish our desire to keep going.”
Encouraging Peru’s youth to “turn to Jesus” in moments of suffering, the pope told them to “not be afraid to speak to him honestly, even when you struggle to find words for prayer.”
“Seek, too, the company of those who love you: some sorrows need time and a helping hand,” he said. “Faith sustains us along this path and reminds us that suffering never has the final word.”
The pope noted that the testimonies given all “began with an invitation” either from a friend, an experience of service or an encounter with someone. In those moments, “learning to recognize the Lord’s voice is essential” and urged them to “set aside moments of silence before the Blessed Sacrament to encounter him.”
“Speak to him about your plans and allow his word to question you. Do not be afraid to ask him what he expects of you. He will call some to the priesthood or the consecrated life, others to marriage and to forming a family. All are called to put their abilities at the service of others,” he said.
Jesus ‘continues to invite you to walk with him’
Addressing those who feel that they “have made too many mistakes or that it is too late to begin anew,” Pope Leo called on them to “look to Jesus.”
“He knows your story and continues to invite you to walk with him,” the pope said. “You do not need to have your entire future worked out before you answer him. Take the step you can take today. Trust in his love and allow him to accompany you.”
Echoing Herrera’s reflection on the struggles of uplifting others in times of suffering, Pope Leo reminded young people that the Church “is born and lives from this friendship with Christ” and that “in her we find brothers and sisters who help us keep going.”
“We all need someone who will listen to us, encourage us when our strength fails or simply remain at our side,” he said. “So do not think that you must always appear strong, especially if you lead groups or accompany others. Allow yourselves to be cared for. Remember that Jesus, too, in Gethsemane, wanted his friends close to him in the hour of anguish.”
Concluding his address, Pope Leo also called young people to follow the example of St. Andrew, upon meeting Jesus, “went to find his brother Simon and told him: ‘We have found the Messiah,’ and he brought him to meet Jesus.”
“Do the same!” the pope exclaimed. “Think especially of those who are going through difficult times. A gesture of friendship can change the course of a life. Do not be afraid to speak about Jesus and to show through your lives how good this friendship between you and him is for you.”
Junno Arocho Esteves is an international correspondent for OSV News. Follow him on X @jae_journalist. Courtney Mares, Vatican editor for OSV News, contributed to this story.
