"Leo experienced the brotherhood that we live on board every day. He ate with us, he listened to us, he seemed to really understand what we are trying to do."
On October 17, 2025, Pope Leo XIV boarded the Bel Espoir, a three-masted ship docked in Ostia, to meet with young people participating in a Mediterranean tour organized by the Archdiocese of Marseille. The Pope thanked the crew for being, like the name of their "training ship," signs of hope.
For two days, the Bel Espoir (Beautiful Hope) schooner was moored at the end of the breakwater in the tourist port of Ostia, away from the crowds, facing a peaceful and sunny sea. Chartered by the "Friends of Thursday-Sunday," an association founded by Breton priest Michel Jaouen in the 1960s to rehabilitate young drug addicts, the 29-meter-long three-masted ship had come from Naples, where it had welcomed 22 young Mediterranean people on board.
The young people, who came from various countries and cultural and religious backgrounds, discussed the difficult task of building peace, the theme of their trip, while participating in the life of the ship under the orders of a dozen accompanying adults. In a few days, they will arrive in Marseille, concluding a long journey of more than a year around the Mare Nostrum organized by the archdiocese of the Phocaean city.
Leo decides to join the tour
On the quay, there is a certain tension this Friday afternoon: security guards in suits stand alongside a dozen or so barefoot young people, their skin tanned by days at sea, as well as priests in cassocks and Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Marseille, who arrived at the last minute from France.
At the top of the central mast, the crew has raised the white and gold flag of the Vatican.
Pope Leo XIV's arrival late in the afternoon had been kept secret for a long time: The sailors only found out a few hours before arriving in the port of Rome. However, plans for a meeting between the Pope and the crew had been in the works for some time: Cardinal Aveline had presented the Bel Espoir's journey to Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2024, during a meeting attended by the then Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost.
The tour included eight sections, with stops in Spain, Greece, the Balkans, the Maghreb … and a final leg between Naples and Marseille, with a stopover near Rome. The Archbishop of Marseille had planned an audience at the Vatican, but after the election of Leo XIV, he suggested meeting them directly in Ostia.
As the sun slowly sank towards the horizon, the Pope arrived by car. He greeted the local authorities before being welcomed by the crew's songs and embarking to greet them one by one. The young people introduced themselves and explained to the Pope where they came from: Italy, France, Bosnia, Croatia, Spain, Palestine, Libya … In all, 14 countries around the Mediterranean were represented on board.
"The world today, more than words, needs signs and expressions that give hope. From the very name of this boat, as well as from the presence of all of you here today, you are indeed a sign of hope for the Mediterranean and for the world," the pontiff emphasized in his brief impromptu speech at the bow of the ship.
Thanking the young people for letting him be part of the "long journey" their ship has been on for over a year, he highlighted the positive experience of dialogue they have been able to enjoy on board, reminding them that dialogue means being able to "learn to talk to one another, to sit down, to learn, to listen, to express your own ideas and your own values, as well as to have respect for one another so that other people will feel that they are truly being listened to."
"How wonderful an experience it is to get to know people, as you travel literally around the Mediterranean being from different countries and cultures, and speaking different languages," the Pope said, praising their ability to learn to live together in respect, working out the difficulties of being "on a boat that is this small."
It is "a great experience for all of you as young people, but something that you can teach all of us," he reflected.
Noting that some of them came from Palestine, the Pope concluded with the need to "learn to live in peace." He asked them to be "promoters of peace" in a world "that more and more tends towards violence, hatred, separation, distance and polarization."
The meaning of Ostia for Augustine
The Pontiff was then given a full tour of the ship, visiting the upper deck and then the lower decks, where the cabins, galley, and wheelhouse are located, before joining all the young people in the mess hall — the dining room — for a long, private snack.
On the menu were pies, cakes, and bread baked by the crew members for their guest of honor — a feast shared while four young people from Palestine, Bosnia, Libya, and Italy offered the Pope their personal testimonies.
A guitar was then passed through a porthole, and the crew sang a song composed especially for Leo XIV in a lively chorus, concluding with applause and a moment of prayer. The Pope then returned to the dock, took a final photo with all the participants, and returned to the Vatican.
"Leo experienced the brotherhood that we live on board every day. He ate with us, he listened to us, he seemed to really understand what we are trying to do," said Amara, a Neapolitan originally from Ivory Coast who was very grateful to have been able to meet the Pope.
Quitterie, a 31-year-old woman from Marseille who works with associations supporting people with disabilities, reports that the pontiff told them a little about his youth in Chicago and "his taste for different cultures."
"He also emphasized how, before changing the world, you have to change yourself," she says.
Cardinal Aveline, expressing his great satisfaction with the meeting, emphasized the significance of choosing Ostia for this encounter with Leo XIV — it is, in fact, the city where St. Augustine and his mother St. Monica experienced a vision, and where, Monica a few days later passed away.
He rejoiced in the encouragement that this meeting represented for these young people, assuring them that they carried within them "an incredible potential for peace."
But I always remember a line from Saint Augustine – here we are in Ostia – who said: “If you want to change the world and make the world a better place, you have to begin by changing yourself.” I hope and pray that for each one of you, that was a lesson that you have also learned during this time. How do I become a better person? How do I become a promoter of peace? How do I become someone who lives as being really committed to promoting justice, fraternity, understanding, and respect for one another? And to say, I do that because of my faith in God and because of the Gospels. I believe Jesus Christ taught that very clearly, and he saved us all through his own suffering on the cross. He invites us to imitate his life and to serve one another. With that additional thought, I think we can indeed change the world. Thank you.
After a small impromptu celebration by the young people on the quay, the Bel Espoir set sail at sunset. It headed for Corsica, then Marseille, where the end of this great project, launched in the wake of Pope Francis' visit in 2023, will be celebrated.
