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FOR THE 40th WORLD YOUTH DAY
23 November 2025
“You also are my witnesses, because you have
been with me” (Jn 15:27).
Dear young people,
As I begin my first message to you, I would like
to say thank you! Thank you for the joy you
brought when you came to Rome for your Jubilee,
and thank you to all the young people who were
united to us through their prayer from every
part of the world. It was a precious moment for
renewing our enthusiasm for the faith and
sharing the hope that burns in our hearts!
Rather than being an isolated event, I hope the
Jubilee encounter marks for each of you a step
forward in Christian life and a strong
encouragement to persevere in witnessing to your
faith.
That same dynamic is at the heart of the next
World Youth Day, which we will celebrate on 23
November, Solemnity of Christ the King, with the
theme: “You also are my witnesses, because you
have been with me” (Jn 15:27). As pilgrims of
hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we
prepare ourselves to become courageous witnesses
of Christ. Let us begin a journey that will lead
us to the international World Youth Day in Seoul
in 2027. With this in mind, I would like to
focus on two aspects of witness: our friendship
with Jesus, which we receive from God as a gift,
and our commitment to be builders of peace in
society.
Friends, therefore witnesses
Christian witness arises from friendship with
the Lord, who was crucified and rose for the
salvation of all. This witness is not to be
confused with ideological propaganda, for it is
an authentic principle of interior
transformation and social awareness. Jesus chose
to call his disciples “friends.” He made known
to them the Kingdom of God, asked them to remain
with him, to become his community, and sent them
to proclaim the Gospel (cf. Jn 15:15, 27). So
when Jesus tells us, “Be witnesses,” he is
assuring us that he considers us as his friends.
He alone fully knows who we are and why we are
here; young people, he knows your heart, your
indignation in the face of discrimination and
injustice, your desire for truth and beauty, for
joy and peace. Through his friendship, he
listens to you, motivates you, and guides you,
calling each of you to a new life.
The gaze of Jesus, who always wants nothing but
our good, precedes us (cf. Mk 10:21). He does
not want us to be servants, nor “activists” of a
political party; he calls us to be with him as
friends, so that our lives may be renewed. And
witness arises spontaneously from the joyful
newness of this friendship. It is a unique
friendship that grants us communion with God, a
faithful friendship that helps us discover our
dignity and that of others, an eternal
friendship that not even death can destroy,
because the risen and crucified Lord is its
source.
Let us consider the message the Apostle John
gives us at the end of the fourth Gospel: “This
is the disciple who is bearing witness to these
things, and who has written these things; and we
know that his testimony is true” (Jn 21:24). The
entire preceding account is summarized as a
“testimony,” full of gratitude and wonder, from
a disciple who never reveals his name, but calls
himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” This
title reflects a relationship: it is not the
name of an individual, but the testimony of a
personal bond with Christ. That is what really
matters to John: being a disciple of the Lord
and feeling loved by him. We understand, then,
that Christian witness is the fruit of a
relationship of faith and love with Jesus, in
whom we find the salvation of our lives. What
the Apostle John writes also refers to you, dear
young people. You are invited by Christ to
follow him and sit beside him, to listen to his
heart and share closely in his life! Each one of
you is a “beloved disciple” for him, and from
this love comes the joy of witness.
Another courageous witness to the Gospel is the
Precursor of Jesus, John the Baptist, who came
“to bear witness to the light, that all might
believe through him” (Jn 1:7). Although he
enjoyed great fame among the people, he knew
well that he was only a “voice” pointing to the
Savior when he exclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of
God” (Jn 1:36). His example reminds us that true
witnesses do not seek to occupy the center
stage, nor to bind their followers to
themselves. True witnesses are humble and
inwardly free, above all from themselves, that
is, from the pretense of being the center of
attention. Therefore, they are free to listen,
to understand, and also to speak the truth to
everyone, even in the presence of those who are
powerful. From John the Baptist, we learn that
Christian witness is neither a proclamation of
ourselves nor a celebration of our spiritual,
intellectual or moral abilities. True witness is
recognizing and pointing to Jesus when he
appears, as he is the only one who saves us.
John recognized him among sinners, immersed in
common humanity. To that end, Pope Francis
insisted so often that if we do not go beyond
ourselves and our comfort zones, if we do not go
to the poor and those who feel excluded from the
Kingdom of God, we cannot encounter Christ and
bear witness to him. We lose the sweet joy of
being evangelized and of evangelizing.
Dear friends, I invite each of you to continue
to individuate Jesus’ friends and witnesses in
the Bible. As you read the Gospel, you will find
that they all discovered the true meaning of
life through their living relationship with
Christ. Indeed, our deepest questions are not
heard or answered by endlessly scrolling on our
cell phones, which captures our attention but
leaves us with tired minds and empty hearts.
This search will not take us far if we keep it
closed within ourselves or in narrow
confinements. The fulfillment of our authentic
desires always comes through going beyond
ourselves.
Witnesses, therefore missionaries
In this way, dear young people, with the help of
the Holy Spirit, you can become missionaries of
Christ in the world. Many of your peers are
exposed to violence, forced to use weapons,
separated from their loved ones, and compelled
to migrate or flee. Many lack education and
other essential goods. All share with you the
search for meaning and the insecurity that
accompanies it, the discomfort of growing social
and work pressures, the difficulty of dealing
with family crises, the painful feeling of a
lack of opportunities, as well as the remorse
for mistakes they have made. You can stand
alongside other young people, walk with them and
show that God, in Jesus, has drawn close to each
person. As Pope Francis often said, “Christ
shows that God is closeness, compassion and
tender love” (Encyclical Letter Dilexit nos,
35).
Granted, it is not always easy to bear witness.
In the Gospels, we often find tension between
acceptance and rejection of Jesus: “The light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not
overcome it” (Jn 1:5). Similarly, the
disciple-witness experiences rejection firsthand
and sometimes even violent opposition. The Lord
does not hide this painful reality: “If they
persecuted me, they will persecute you” (Jn
15:20). However, it becomes an opportunity to
put into practice the greatest commandment:
“Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you” (Mt 5:44). That is what the
martyrs have done since the beginning of the
Church.
Dear young people, this is not a story that
belongs only to the past. To this day, in many
places around the world, Christians and people
of good will suffer persecution, deceit and
violence. Perhaps this painful experience has
marked you as well, and you may have been
tempted to react instinctively by putting
yourselves on the same level as those who have
rejected you, adopting aggressive attitudes. But
let us recall the wise advice of Saint Paul: “Do
not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good” (Rom 12:21).
So do not be discouraged: like the saints, you
too are called to persevere with hope,
especially in the face of difficulties and
obstacles.
Fraternity as a bond of peace
From friendship with Christ, which is a gift of
the Holy Spirit within us, there arises a way of
life that bears the character of fraternity.
Young people who have encountered Christ bring
the “warmth” and “flavor” of fraternity wherever
they go, and anyone who comes into contact with
them is drawn into a new and profound dimension,
made up of selfless closeness, sincere
compassion and genuine tenderness. The Holy
Spirit enables us to see our neighbor with new
eyes: in the other person there is a brother, a
sister!
The witness of fraternity and peace that
friendship with Christ awakens in us casts off
indifference and spiritual laziness, helping us
to overcome closed-mindedness and suspicion. It
also builds bonds between us, urging us to work
together, from volunteerism to “political
charity,” to build new living conditions for
all. Do not follow those who use the words of
faith to divide; instead, make plans to remove
inequalities and reconcile divided and oppressed
communities. To that end, dear friends, let us
listen to the voice of God within us and
overcome our selfishness, becoming active
artisans of peace. That peace, which is a gift
of the risen Lord (cf. Jn 20:19), will become
visible in the world through the common witness
of those who carry his Spirit in their hearts.
Dear young people, in the face of the world’s
sufferings and hopes, let us fix our gaze on
Jesus. As he was dying on the cross, he
entrusted the Virgin Mary to John as his mother,
and John to her as her son. That ultimate gift
of love is for every disciple, for each of us. I
invite you to welcome this holy bond with Mary,
a mother full of affection and understanding,
and to cultivate it in particular by praying the
Rosary. That way, in every situation of our
life, we will experience that we are never
alone, for as children we are always loved,
forgiven and encouraged by God. Bear witness to
this joyfully!
From the Vatican, 7 October 2025, Memorial of
the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Holy Rosary
LEO PP. XIV
Copyright © Dicastery for Communication -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
The Holy See
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