Pope Leo XIV urges Catholic schools to welcome anxious, anonymous students

A call to Catholic schools and universities

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, 22 October, received participants in the International Congress for Pastoral Care in Schools and Universities at the Vatican. Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that 1200 people from 60 countries attended, and Rai said the congress, promoted by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, focused on interiority, the human use of digital tools and education for peace. The Pope asked Catholic schools and universities to help young people become active shapers of a new way of living in the world, builders of fraternity and of a more just society. He urged teachers and institutions to go beyond passing on content and to welcome, listen to and accompany their students. He said such institutions should first of all feel like home, a familiar place where someone is waiting for each student.

Anxiety and anonymity among students

The Pope described what he called existential distress among students, citing wounded families, digital loneliness, feelings of inadequacy and fear of an uncertain future. He said many students walk the corridors of schools and universities feeling anonymous. Turning to performance pressure, he said a culture of achievement that constantly compares and ranks people, together with a misunderstood meritocracy, leads many young people to give up before they try. He also warned young people against false teachers and misleading messages that promise quick answers to their questions. According to Greek and Spanish coverage of the speech, he said the first test of how one proclaims the word of the Lord is how one welcomes others, through someone who looks you in the eye, remembers your name and notices your absence.

Beneath the armour that so many teenagers build around themselves to avoid suffering lies the desire to love and be loved.

Italian context

The address came days after clashes in Milan, and it added to a debate in Italy about how to respond to the malaise many young people are experiencing. Il Fatto Quotidiano noted that the government of Giorgia Meloni answered the clashes with a tightening of security measures. Rai reported that the parents of young people detained after the Milan clashes said they had known nothing about what their children were doing. Commentators in the Italian press linked the Pope's words to that debate, presenting the speech as a call for the whole educational community, including families, teachers, institutions and Christian communities, to make room for listening and relationships.

The Pope's health

The Pope's appearance followed a medical procedure. Il Fatto Quotidiano said he was still convalescing after surgery at the Gemelli hospital to remove a lung adenocarcinoma, while La Razon reported that he had fully resumed his schedule after the lung operation. Despite this, he received the congress participants in person at the Vatican.

Courage is born from a pact of trust: from the experience of someone who believes in you before you believe in yourself.

Speaking to educators and academic leaders, the Pope encouraged them to stimulate young people's intelligence and to value their questions. He said Catholic institutions should help students experience the beauty of meeting Christ and the fruitful link between faith and reason.