Pope Leo had a tender and joyous meeting with some 600 kids and youth on Thursday, July 3. Half of the group were the children of Vatican employees enjoying their annual summer camp. The other half were Ukrainian young people spending time in Rome thanks to Caritas Italy.
The Pope signed many autographs for the kids, as well as posing for a number of pictures. He also answered questions they asked him.
Sitting on a chair at the bottom of the podium and surrounded by children cross-legged on the floor, he responded spontaneously to a few questions, especially recounting memories from his childhood.
In particular, he was asked if he went to Mass as a child. He answered that of course, he would go with his mom and dad. He added that he attended daily Mass at his parish school, admitting with his tone of voice that it made for an early morning, as it was a 6:30 am Mass. He noted that he enjoyed being with the other kids.
But even more than that, he said:
When I was six, more or less, I also started to be an altar boy at the parish.
Before going to classes, at school, which was a parochial school, there was Mass at 6:30 in the morning. My mother always woke us up and said to us, “Let’s go to Mass.”
So also serving Mass was always something I really liked, because already when I was young they had taught us that Jesus is always close, that our best friend is always Jesus, and that in the Mass it was a way to find, we could say, this friend, to be with Jesus, even before receiving First Communion.
In speaking to the young Ukrainians, the head of the Catholic Church expressed his sadness for their land "that is suffering so much because of war."
Alternating between English and Italian, Leo XIV called for “the experience of encounter," which requires "effort" to overcome differences. He encouraged the youth to “learn from an early age to live in mutual respect.”
