“No algorithm can ever replace a hug,” writes Pope Leo XIV in a message addressed to participants in the 36th Youth Festival underway August 4-8 in Medjugorje. The Vatican authorized pilgrimages to this Marian shrine in Bosnia in 2019. The Pope's letter, signed at Castel Gandolfo on July 9, 2025, was made public on August 4.
Referring to the motto of the Festival – “Let us go to the house of the Lord” (Ps 122:1) – Leo XIV explains that “this phrase speaks to us of a journey, of a desire that draws us to God, to the place where He dwells, where we can truly be at home, because that is where His Love awaits us.”
Quoting his spiritual master St. Augustine, the Pope speaks of the image of pilgrims who form “a single flame,” each communicating to others “the fire with which he burns.”
“No one walks alone: we encourage one another, we set each other on fire,” insists Leo XIV.
He asks young people not to be “solitary pilgrims” and not to allow themselves to be trapped by “an increasingly digital world, where artificial intelligence and technology offer us a thousand opportunities.”
“Remember: no algorithm can ever replace a hug, a glance, a real encounter, neither with God, nor with our friends, nor with our family,” insists the Pope, urging young people “to seek real encounters.“
He emphasizes that “the language of faith” for these young people who have come “from many countries” is “stronger than any barrier,” whether linguistic or cultural barrier.
“If any of you feel called to a special vocation, to consecrated life or to the priesthood, I encourage you not to be afraid to respond,” writes Leo XIV. “This call, which you feel vibrating deep within you, comes from God, who speaks to our hearts,” he assures them.
The normalization of pilgrimages to Medjugorje
Pilgrimages to Medjugorje, linked to Marian apparitions purportedly witnessed by several visionaries since 1981, have grown significantly since the late 1990s, after the Yugoslav War.
After much hesitation and caution, the Vatican finally gave formal authorization in 2019 for pilgrimages to this village in Bosnia and Herzegovina, recognizing the need for pastoral guidance for this phenomenon.
Two years earlier, Pope Francis had decided to appoint a “special envoy of the Holy See” to Medjugorje in the person of Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser, who became “apostolic visitator” in 2018. This decision was seen as a first step toward normalizing pilgrimages to this now very popular site, which cardinals had already begun to visit despite Rome's reservations.
On September 19, 2024, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a “nihil obstat,” giving a positive opinion on the experiences of pilgrims in Medjugorje, but without commenting on the authenticity of the apparitions. The Vatican urges caution regarding the message conveyed by the visionaries.
