By John Shaughnessy and Natalie Hoefer
INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) — Seventeen-year-old Isabelle Bedel jumped to her feet and shouted with joy, joining in the thunderous roar that resounded through Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Nov. 21 when Pope Leo XIV appeared on a huge screen from the Vatican.
He shared a smile and words of encouragement, advice and love for the more than 15,000 youths at the National Catholic Youth Conference.
Pope connecting with youth
Moments before the pope’s appearance, Isabelle talked about the awesome feeling of him taking the time to connect with youths, to show their importance to him and the church.
“The Catholic Church is a worldwide church. It’s all over the place,” said Isabelle, a member of St. Susanna Parish in Plainfield, Indiana. “And the pope in Rome seems so, so far away. And the fact that he’s going to be on a call with us here in Indiana, so close to home, it’s crazy how connected the church is. Even though it’s big, it’s connected.
“And it’s cool that us teenagers aren’t overlooked,” she told The Criterion, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. “The pope, that’s the big guy, and he’s just talking to us for us. It’s just so cool. We feel very looked out for and seen by such an awesome dude.”
That awesome feeling soared even more for Isabelle when the hourlong digital encounter ended and she reflected on what she considered the heart of the pope’s message.
Future of the church
“The main point that stood out for me from Pope Leo’s talk with us is how we are important and how every single one of us is needed for the future of the church.
“I really liked how he said at one point how the people around us have shaped our faith and kind of given us our faith. And I think that’s really important. He talked about faithful friendships and just how they refresh the soul.
“For me, I really want to be able to be that faithful friend for somebody else — because I know that’s helped other people build the church. I want to be like what other people did for me and influence other people’s faith.”
Youths filled with enthusiasm
That fire and enthusiasm filled other youths who shared the impact that Pope Leo’s conversation with five of their peers had on them.
Before the digital encounter began, 16-year-old Matthew Biehl hoped Pope Leo would touch upon the struggles that teenagers are dealing with in their daily lives.
After the encounter, Matthew voiced his appreciation that the pope focused on those struggles — and that God is with them through those challenges.
“My biggest takeaway from Pope Leo, I’d say, is that he was very eager and ready to speak with us even though he has a busy schedule and everything,” said Matthew, a member of St. Gabriel Parish in Connersville, Indiana. “I feel like he really emphasized the point that the youth are the present church, and that we need to carry that on in the future even with all the developments in the world — AI, technology, social media.
‘Take that to prayer’
“We have to remember what we are made for, and that God is always with us through that. I’ll try to remember what he has said and really take that to prayer and take it throughout my day and every day.”
Listening to Pope Leo, Gabriel Gonzalez realized he needs to focus his life more on his faith and his relationship with God.
“One of the biggest takeaways from Pope Leo’s message is that he talked about prayer and adoration,” said Gabriel, a member of Our Lady of the Greenwood Parish in Greenwood, Indiana. “Looking back, I feel like I need to do more in my day-to-day spiritual life.
Going to adoration more often
“I feel I’ve ignored that part of my spiritual life. Moving forward, I’m going to start praying more in-depth and doing more Scripture analysis. That really helps in your prayer life. And I think I might go to adoration more because that’s a one-to-one with God.”
In anticipation of Pope Leo’s appearance, 16-year-old Lillie Bischoff viewed the digital encounter as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see him this early in my life.”
When the encounter ended, Lillie embraced the opportunity she has to make a difference in people’s lives.
“The one thing that really stood out to me was how much Pope Leo encouraged us to not be afraid to live our lives and try to do God’s will, especially if it’s a vocation called to religious life, sacramental married life or priesthood,” said Lillie, a member of St. Gabriel Parish in Connersville, Indiana.
“One way that I can apply this to my life is to help others know and encourage them to listen to God’s will. Whether that’s in using silent prayer, like adoration, or just talking it out with them — to hopefully get them to do God’s will, so we can all reach heaven.”
Feeling for youths without faith
As she listened to Pope Leo share his encouragement, advice and love with all the youths at the National Catholic Youth Conference, Rylee Miller thought of all her peers who didn’t have the opportunity to hear him, and who don’t have faith as a foundation in their lives.
She focused on how Pope Leo called youths to bring others to the church.
“I feel that’s really important because some people get lost and don’t really go to church much or help out a lot,” said Rylee, 16, a member of St. Susanna Parish in Plainfield, Indiana.
“I know at our church, we really do a lot with the little kids, and I think that’s really inspiring that he’s calling us to come to our church and just to devote some of our time and some of our knowledge and share it with the world.”
It’s a ‘massive honor’
Marley Wyatt described “getting to be in the presence of the Holy Father” as “a massive honor.”
He hopes to make the most of that experience by trying to understand and honor the plan that he believes God has for his life.
“One thing I took away is that we’re not here by accident. God has a plan for us,” said Marley, 16, a member of St. Rita Parish in Indianapolis. “Of course, he has a plan for everything. But he also has a plan simply for us. He loves us. He wants us to do his will. And so, we must. Always.
“In my mind, I will do what he wants me to do. My thoughts don’t matter. The finite will bow before the infinite. That is all. I will surrender myself before God. I will perform his will more than mine.”
Questions from five students
During the encounter Pope Leo fielded questions from five high school students: Mia Smothers from the Archdiocese of Baltimore; Ezequiel Ponce from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; Christopher Pantelakis from the Archdiocese of Las Vegas; Micah Alcisto from the Diocese of Honolulu; and Elise Wing from the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa.
In case one of those five youths hadn’t been available, Nate Hollinden was an alternate for that role. And even though that didn’t happen, just being part of the experience of seeing and hearing Pope Leo is an experience he will treasure.
“All the people I’ve got to work with, it’s really been an honor to get to be with them,” said Nate, 15, a member of St. Paul Parish in Tell City, Indiana. “It’s been amazing.”
It’s been life-changing, too — a feeling many youths had after the digital encounter with Pope Leo.
‘You always have God to rely on’
“I really took out that you’ll always have God,” Nate said. “You’ll always have Jesus to fall back on even if you feel like everyone is not liking you, everyone is ignoring you. You always have God to rely on.
“You should try to never lose that focus. You should always stay positive and stay where you need to be in your faith. I’m going to try to show other people that if I can live my life in faith, and that I can stay positive, then hopefully that can get them to do the same thing.”
John Shaughnessy is assistant editor and Natalie Hoefer is a reporter at The Criterion, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. This story was first published in The Criterion and distributed in partnership with OSV News.
