Pope Leo XIV to Peruvian youth: Do not be afraid to be God's instruments

In a video message on the occasion of Peru’s National Youth Congress, Pope Leo XIV encouraged young people to not be afraid to be God’s instruments in rekindling the hope of many suffering hearts.

The message was shown as part of the July 30–Aug. 2 event, held in Chulucanas, a town in the Piura region, that brought together thousands of young people from throughout the country.

Chulucanas is the site of then-Father Robert Prevost’s first missionary assignment in northern Peru in 1985, when the man who would become pope — and who has held Peruvian citizenship since 2015 — arrived as an Augustinian missionary in this region entrusted to his order.

In his message, the pope thanked the country’s young people “from the heart, for having responded to this initiative, which renews and strengthens the life of the Church.”

“The motto bringing you together for this gathering is: ‘Be brave, Christ lives.’ It is precisely the certainty of the Lord’s living presence in our midst that is the inner fire driving us to be brave and to step out of the comfort of individualism — to become part of a community of brothers and sisters in faith, to forge true bonds of friendship, and thus bear witness that it is possible to live united in Christ,” Pope Leo declared.

“I invite you to open your hearts wide to welcome the gifts the Lord wishes to pour out upon you,” the Holy Father continued in his message.

“And do not keep what you experience during this event just for yourselves — do not let it remain only in photos on your phones or videos on social media; share it, reflect it in your lives, because today many people need that joyful and contagious witness that a young person in love with Christ can convey,” Leo encouraged.

“Do not be afraid to be God’s instruments in rekindling hope for so many — for so many suffering hearts,” he emphasized.

In closing, the pope entrusted the young people to “the maternal intercession of Our Lady of Evangelization. May she intercede for you, so that you may be Christ’s ‘salt and light’ in this beloved Peruvian land. May God bless you!”

Highly anticipated papal visit

Peruvians are preparing to welcome the Holy Father this November to the country where he served as bishop of Chiclayo and apostolic administrator of Callao, prior to his tenure as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops at the Vatican.

Although the Vatican has not yet officially confirmed it, the cities Pope Leo is expected to visit in Peru include Lima, Chiclayo, Piura, Cusco, and Pucallpa as part of a trip that is also expected to include stops in Argentina and Uruguay.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.