Pope to Portuguese youth: Never stop dreaming of a land of peace and fraternity

By Isabella H. de Carvalho

Allow your restlessness to draw you closer to Christ and remember you are called to be holy, Pope Leo XIV told Portuguese young people in a video message released on July 26, 2026.

“Do not be afraid of the restlessness within you! Let it inspire you to draw even closer to Christ and to bear witness to the values of the Gospel. Firmly rooted in the Word of Jesus, reading the Gospel every day, never stop dreaming of a land where there is peace and fraternity, nor stop looking at the world with wonder, nor stop facing the future with the light of hope,” he said.

“Dear young people, do not let anything or anyone steal your hope!”

Pope Leo sent the video message in light of the Second “Rejoice - National Youth Day” meeting, taking place from July 24 to 26.

“Continue to have a joyful gathering there in the city of Lamego! And I hope to see you in August 2027 in Seoul,” he said, referencing the next World Youth Day, taking place in South Korea next year.

Be holy and dialogue with God

In the video message Pope Leo encouraged the young people to “keep moving forward,” noting the “restless spirit” that characterizes young people.

He invited them to reflect on important life questions by bringing this restlessness and any troubles they may have before God to dialogue with Him in moments of prayer and silence. 

Ask Him, “Lord, what do you want me to do in the Church and in the world? What is my vocation? Are you calling me to form a family through marriage? Or are you calling me to the priesthood? Or to religious life?’ These are important questions to ask,” the Pope insisted.

He also highlighted, however, that one must never forget “the one certainty that gives unity to our inner lives: God always calls us to holiness, and the saints are profoundly human. Therefore, be as truly human as Christ himself, and you will certainly change this world for the better.”

God awaits us in the deepest parts of our heart

Pope Leo also applauded the young people’s excitement and the fact that they are gathering in order “to keep alive the flame of the 2023 World Youth Day,” which took place in Lisbon.

“It is always something special to be with young people, because the enthusiasm of your faith is contagious,” the Pope emphasized, while remembering the Youth Jubilee in Rome in 2025 or his recent meeting with young people in Spain in June.

“The love you show for Christ is a source of comfort. It is wonderful, in our own day, to see young people like you filled with faith and unafraid to say it,” he said.

“It is beautiful to see that you have a deep thirst for truth and seek it with sincere hearts. It is beautiful to see that you hunger for justice and charity and are not satisfied with passing values. It is beautiful to see that you love beauty, especially that beauty both ever ancient and ever new: our God, who awaits us in the deepest part of our hearts.”

Christ “is with us, and He is the reason for our joy! He is the source of our unity. In Illo uno unum—“though many, we are one body in Christ,” he said, citing the letter of St. Paul to the Romans chapter 12, verse 5.

The Pope urged the young people to rejoice wherever they find themselves and invoked upon all the participants to the event an “abundance of heavenly graces.”