Pope Leo XIV will make a pastoral visit to Assisi on Thursday, 6 August, to meet thousands of young Europeans and encourage them, in the spirit of Saint Francis, to dream boldly and embrace a life of faith, purpose and service. The visit will close four days of encounters, workshops and opportunities for sharing as part of the “GO! Franciscan Youth Meeting.” The gathering will bring about 2,150 young people aged 18 to 33 to the city of Saint Francis from 3 to 6 August. The Pope will answer young people’s questions and preside over Mass, inviting them, as he did a year ago during the Jubilee of Youth at Tor Vergata, not to settle for a mediocre life.
A “holy restlessness” for today’s youthOrganizers say many young people today lack strong desires and have stopped dreaming about their future. Friar Luca de Pasquale, one of the organizers of the GO! meeting, told Vatican News how important it is for them to hear from the Pope, who can speak to them about the fullness of life. He also highlighted the value of looking to Saint Francis as a model of “holy restlessness.” “Francis is fascinating. What attracts people to him is his simplicity, his ability to speak to the lives of young people as though he were one of their peers and, above all, the fact that Francis was always a great dreamer,” Friar Luca said. “He was never a young man who simply settled for what life offered, and that is something that fascinates many young people.”
The Holy Father will arrive early on the morning of 6 August at 8:30 at the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels, which houses the Porziuncola chapel. Francis restored the chapel, lived there, founded the Order of Friars Minor and died there. The visit also falls during the 800th anniversary of Francis’ “Transitus,” which the Franciscan family is marking this year. The Pope will spend a brief moment in personal prayer inside the Porziuncola. He will then go out into the square to address the crowd, who cannot enter the Basilica due to capacity limits.
There he will listen to three young people from different parts of Europe who will put questions to him on three subjects.Afterward he will meet privately with members of the Franciscan families. Around 10 or 10:30 he will preside over Mass in the forecourt of the basilica. It will also be the Solemnity of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The crowd will include participants in the GO! meeting, those arriving after the 44th Franciscan March for the Pardon of Assisi, and others coming especially for Mass with Pope Leo XIV. Organizers describe it as something like a Franciscan World Youth Day. Four days of listening, workshops, and a “missionary charter”In the days before the Pope’s arrival, young people will take part in workshops on peace, forgiveness and vocation.
The first evening will include an introduction by the Bishop of Assisi, Archbishop Felice Accrocca, and Professor Marco Erba, placing the experience in the context of the Chapter of Mats of 1221.On 4 August the focus will be on listening, and on 5 August on “active” workshops where participants can speak and express themselves directly. A special “Burning Bush” chapel will be open for visits between workshops, and there will be perpetual Eucharistic adoration at Saint Mary of the Angels throughout the event, along with two exhibitions.One exhibition, organized by the Friars Minor of Umbria and Sardinia, presents Francis through his own words in the Testament. The other, prepared by students from Lombardy, highlights people who brought light through the Gospel amid situations of war.After Mass and the Pope’s departure on 6 August, organizers will present the young people with a “missionary charter.”
It will be a synthesis drawn from the workshops that participants can put into practice in their local communities across Europe and beyond.The meeting is open to both believers and non-believers. Friar Luca explained that seeing how Francis continues to attract people beyond the boundaries of faith led organizers to invite those who might want to “take a step beyond prejudice, reconnect with the important things in life and perhaps encounter the Lord.”
For many young people, Francis speaks to issues they care about: care for the environment, a radical relationship with Christ, charity toward the most vulnerable, and respect for women.“Francis touches upon subjects that are very contemporary and highly relevant: care for creation, respect within relationships, and seeing and feeling ourselves to be brothers and sisters in a context increasingly marked by individualism,” Friar Luca noted. “These are all themes that speak profoundly to people today.”The risk, he added, is “making Francis say things that he did not say or attributing to him an identity that is not truly his.”