Pope's WYD message: Bring Christ questions and wounds dividing world
By Isabella H. de Carvalho
Open your hearts to Christ and allow His courage, peace and love to win over the darkness and suffering that exists in our world, Pope Leo XIV told young people in a message released on November 3 for the 2026 World Youth Day, celebrated on November 22.
“Bring to Christ your questions and your wounds, but also the wounds that tear apart your societies and set your countries against one another,” the Pope wrote.
“Bring to Him this creation that groans and suffers, the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, which Pope Francis taught us to hear. Share with Jesus your joys and hopes.”
“Do not settle for a life that falls short of the one to which Christ calls you,” he emphasized.
World Youth Day is celebrated annually at the diocesan level on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, which in 2026 falls on November 22. Every few years, it is celebrated internationally with a large gathering in a chosen city across the world, with the next edition scheduled from August 3 to 8, 2027, in Seoul, South Korea.
In this regard, Pope Leo’s message looked to next year’s event and reflected on its theme: “Take courage! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Signed on October 22, the feast day of St. John Paul II, Pope Leo's message quoted his predecessor by inviting young people not to be afraid and open wide the doors for Christ.
He encouraged them to not only make practical preparations to go to Seoul, but also to prepare their hearts and allow the theme of this event to accompany them in this coming year.
“Do not wait until you are perfect before opening yourselves to Him. He comes to meet you just as you are. Open your lives to Christ. Open your communities to Christ. Open the paths that lead to the hearts of the people you will meet,” the Pope insisted.
Christ walks with us across life's troubled waters
The Pope acknowledged that taking courage is not always easy, as “uncertainty or fear” can prevail in us and many young people “carry questions and concerns that weigh heavily” on their hearts.
He reflected that many we may be anxious about the future, feel pressured to be perfect or succeed, compare ourselves to “unattainable, manufactured ideals” or “curated images on social media,” or experience “loneliness, disappointment or the fear of not being good enough.”
In this context, the Pope called on young people not to despair and reminded them that even the disciples were scared – in the Gospel of John from which the theme is taken – when they were in a small boat in the middle of a stormy lake.
“Even before you begin to seek Christ, He is already seeking you, walking across the troubled waters of life,” he explained, adding that Christian courage doesn’t come from oneself but from Christ’s presence in our lives.
“Christ himself certainly did not live a life free from storms, nor does He promise us one. Yet no darkness or suffering is stronger than His love. He will never abandon you. He invites you into friendship with Him and asks you to entrust to Him your own journey and that of your communities,” the Pope assured.
Bring Christ’s gentle courage to wounded world
In this regard, the Pope recalled that Jesus comes to the disciples’ aid in the Gospel by walking on water and then encouraging them to take courage as He has overcome the world, meaning the “world of darkness,” or that “mysterious reality, present even in the human heart, that resists and opposes God.”
“This courage does not come from your own determination or strength of character. It comes from trusting in the One who goes before you; it is born of faith in Jesus Christ,” the Pope stressed, adding that His Resurrection brings life, truth, freedom, justice, and peace to humanity.
“Christ does not call you to flee from this world, but to see it through His eyes and touch it with His love, which heals all things. Allow yourselves to be moved and touched by the reality around you! Jesus did not love the world from a distance,” the Pope noted.
As we live in a world that is wounded, “marked by injustice, tensions and fears,” Pope Leo urged all Christians to follow Christ in His gentle courage, meaning showing love in the face of harshness, peace when confrontation seems more advantageous, and promoting hope when faced with cynicism.
Victory of giving oneself out of love
The Pope then reflected on what “victory” over the world means for Christians. It is not “being stronger than others, asserting ourselves or constantly having to prove our worth,” but rather loving freely “without counting the cost,” like Christ has done.
“By following the path opened by Jesus Christ, you too have no need to impose yourselves, to constantly prove your worth, to appear perfect or to conceal your weaknesses, doubts and limitations,” Pope Leo underlined.
“Have the courage to be your true selves before God and others. Your dignity does not come from the image you manage to create for yourselves. You are precious because you have been created in the image of God, known by Him and loved by Him.”
He insisted that once we discover this love, then we can give himself to others. The “freedom Christ offers” is “to move beyond an exclusive concern for yourselves and to open your hearts to the generous creativity of love.”
Courage of seeing our limitations
The Pope then focused on the “courage of humility,” allowing Christ to enter our lives and change them.
“A certain way of thinking tells us that we must do everything on our own, constantly working to improve ourselves and to develop a stronger personality and character. Yet this can ultimately lead us to believe that we are our own saviors,” the Pope emphasized.
Instead, he explained that the Gospel calls us to have the courage to accept help, acknowledge our limitations, pause and listen, and thus allow ourselves to be saved by Christ.
“Opening your hearts to Christ will not cause you to lose yourselves. On the contrary, you will discover more deeply who you are in God’s eyes and come to know yourselves as He sees you,” the Pope assured the young people.
“Turn, then, to the depths of your hearts. You will not lose your way, for it is there that God awaits you.”
The Pope stressed that when this occurs everything in one’s life is changed, even ordinary daily circumstances and one’s relationships with those around Him.
“Everything is transformed by love. Many regard love as a form of weakness, but Christ shows us that it is a source of freedom and strength.”
Break down the doors of your hearts and communities
Lastly, the Pope recalled that faith does not “dispel the darkness” but it also does not “leave us alone in it,” as Christ appeared to the disciples even when they had abandoned Him and were scared, locked into the Upper Room.
“Perhaps there are doors in your own hearts, and in the communities to which you belong, that remain closed because of disappointments, wounds, resentments or feelings of guilt,” the Pope wrote. “Christ comes to offer you His peace and to reconcile you with one another.”
“The gift of His peace fills us with a courage that the world cannot give, a courage through which, despite our wounds, fear no longer has the final word.”
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