Every year, International Youth Day celebrates the creativity, courage, and leadership of young people around the world. This year, its themes of empowerment and global solidarity, where Pope Leo XIV addressed thousands of young pilgrims during the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries. His words were not just encouragement for those present — they were a rallying cry for every young person, in every corner of the world, to embrace their mission as “the salt of the earth, the light of the world.”
Speaking to a vibrant crowd, the Holy Father declared: “Your voices, your enthusiasm, your cries — all of them for Jesus Christ — will be heard to the ends of the earth!” This invitation reaches far beyond the Eternal City. It calls on all young people — including those who serve as digital missionaries in their communities — to become bearers of hope and builders of peace.
The Pope reminded us that the world urgently needs messages of hope. “You are that message,” he said, commissioning young people to bring hope to everyone they encounter. This hope is not passive; it is active, concrete, and embodied in the daily choices we make — choices that, for Laudato Si’ animators often mean advocating for creation care, climate justice, and the dignity of every human person.
For the Laudato Si’ Movement, this call affirms the importance of digital spaces in our mission. In a world where environmental degradation and social injustice can easily dominate headlines, our voices must proclaim an alternative narrative — one rooted in the Gospel and in integral ecology. We are called to give voice to love: love for God, for our neighbor, and for our common home.
The Pope’s insistence on being “signs of hope” mirrors our own mission to inspire ecological conversion. It is a reminder that hope is not naive optimism; it is a disciplined commitment to the truth that God’s grace can renew the Earth and heal the wounds of injustice. This aligns perfectly with our work — whether it is planting trees in vulnerable communities, advocating for fossil fuel divestment, or organizing prayer campaigns for climate action.
Pope Leo XIV also placed peace at the center of his message: “Let us all say together: We want peace in the world! Let us pray for peace.” This is deeply connected to the care of creation. The ecological crisis and the cry of the Earth are inseparable from the cry of the poor, the cry for justice, and the cry for peace. As digital missionaries, we are tasked with making these links visible to the world.
In closing, the Holy Father invited young people to walk together in faith, carrying light into every corner of society — from the streets of Rome to the farthest reaches of the digital world. For us in the Laudato Si’ Movement, this means every post, every livestream, every online gathering can be a channel of grace.
In this Jubilee of Hope, may we, too, give voice to love. May our online witness inspire action, deepen faith, and renew the face of the Earth.