More than 100,000 Catholic youth erupt with joy at Pope's surprise popemobile entrance
The Catholic Herald• July 30, 2025
Pope Leo XIV surprised a huge crowd of more than 100,000 young Catholics when he unexpectedly showed up at a 2025 Jubilee welcoming ceremony.
The Pope emerged in St. Peter’s Square riding his popemobile at the end of an evening Mass that kicked off the Jubilee of Youth, a weeklong celebration for young Catholics, and which marks the first big youth event of his pontificate, reports the Associated Press (AP).
An estimated 120,000 young pilgrims who were packed into the square, upon sighting the Pope, "erupted in shocked cheers and chants", as the pontiff looped around the square and went up and down the boulevard leading to it on Tuesday, 29 July.
For 20 minutes, the pontiff “beamed, waved and clearly seemed to enjoy the outpouring of enthusiasm from his perch on the popemobile, as he took in the sea of cheering, flag-waving young people from around the world as the setting sun cast a golden glow over the basilica,” the news wire reports.
“The world needs messages of hope – you are this message, and must give hope to everyone,” the Pope told the young pilgrims in a mix of Spanish, English and Italian. “We want peace in the world. We want peace in the world!”
The Pope hadn’t been expected to meet with the young pilgrims as a group until this coming weekend, when he is due to preside over Masses marking the culmination of the Jubilee of Youth week.
On Tuesday, Mass had been celebrated by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Italian archbishop behind organising the Holy Year. But at the end of the Mass he urged those gathered to not leave the square yet, explaining that the Pope “had a surprise for us”.
The AP reports that downtown Rome is swarming with "energetic, singing and dancing masses of teenage Catholics", many of whom have come with Catholic Church, school and scout groups, and whose numbers are expected to swell to 500,000 by the weekend, AP reports.
It describes the Jubillee event as feeling like a “scaled-down World Youth Day, the once-every-three-year Catholic Woodstock festival that was inaugurated by St. John Paul II and maintained by every pope since”.
Events on Tuesday began with groups of Catholic influencers – priests, nuns and lay Catholics who use their social media presence to preach, analyse and discuss the Faith – passing through St. Peter Basilica’s Holy Door, a rite of passage for the estimated 32 million people participating in the Vatican’s 2025 Jubilee Holy Year celebrations, the AP reports.
It adds that Pope Leo met with some of the influencers earlier onTuesday when he thanked them for using their digital platforms to spread the faith – though he also warned them against neglecting human relationships in their pursuit of clicks and followers, while cautioning them to not fall foul to fake news and the “frivolity” of online encounters.
"You are here to renew your commitment to nourish Christian hope in social networks and online spaces,” Pope Leo said.
“Peace needs to be sought, proclaimed and shared everywhere – both in the places where we see the tragedy of war, and in the empty hearts of those who have lost the meaning of life and the desire for introspection and the spiritual life.
“Perhaps, today more than ever, we need missionary disciples who convey the gift of the Risen Lord to the world; who voice to the ends of the earth the hope that Jesus gives us; and who go wherever there is a heart that waits, seeks, and is in need. Yes, to the ends of the earth, to the farthest reaches, where there is no hope."
The Pope noted that a key challenge for online evangelists is to bring humanity into a culture increasingly shaped by technology.
“Always look for the ‘suffering flesh of Christ’ in every brother and sister you encounter online. Today we find ourselves in a new culture, deeply characterised and formed by technology. It is up to us – each one of you – to ensure that this culture remains human.
“Science and technology influence the way we live in the world, even affecting how we understand ourselves and how we relate to God and others. But nothing that comes from man and his creativity should be used to undermine the dignity of others.
"Our mission – your mission – is to nurture a culture of Christian humanism, and to do so together. This is the beauty of the ‘network’ for us,” Leo explained.
The AP reports that Pablo Licheri, who founded the Catholic Mass Times app that provides locations and times for Catholic liturgies around the world – and has registered 2 million downloads – remarked that he has been heartened by both Leo’s message of unity and the enthusiasm of young Catholics like him who have descended on Rome.
“I was especially moved to meet so many fellow Catholic influencers in person and to pray together with others who share the same passion for spreading the joy of God’s love,” he said after Tuesday’s Mass.
Photo: Pope Leo XIV arrives in the popemobile in St. Peter's square in the Vatican, 29 July 2025. (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images.)