Youth, ministry leaders embrace Pope Leo’s message of hope after unique digital meeting

Pope Leo XIV listens to a question from Christopher Pantelakis from the Archdiocese of Las Vegas during a meeting livestreamed from the Vatican with 16,000 young people gathered at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis Nov. 21, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV encouraged American youth in a unique digital discussion Nov. 21, telling them that they were not only the “future of the church,” but “the present,” saying “your voices, your ideas, your faith matter right now.”

He spoke in response to questions from students in a 45-minute virtual dialogue at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis with an estimated crowd of 16,000 young people ages 14 to 18.

Katie Prejean McGrady, host of her show on SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel, moderated the discussion at Lucas Oil Stadium in which Pope Leo fielded questions from five high school students: Mia Smothers from the Archdiocese of Baltimore; Ezequiel Ponce from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; Christopher Pantelakis from the Archdiocese of Las Vegas; Micah Alcisto from the Diocese of Honolulu; and Elise Wing from the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa.

The questions touched on themes of technology use, artificial intelligence, forgiveness, hope and the Church’s future. The students developed them in meetings with other students and organizers, and they were sent to the pope in advance.

Elise Wing, who had asked the Holy Father about the future of the church, told reporters following the event that “walking up on that stage felt like history.” Wing said it was an honor that the pope “said our names,” and she found his response to her “personable and so profound.”

“He gave us so much hope for the future and for the Church and the coming ages,” she said.
Ezequiel Ponce, who asked Pope Leo for advice about perseverance in prayer amid difficult times, said he thought the pope “gave an incredible answer,” like “he was speaking directly to me.” He said he was sure the pope’s response “definitely resonated” with others.

The pope told Ponce, “Jesus does not just understand our struggles from a distance. He actually wants us to hand them to Him, because He loves us. And that kind of trust starts when we have a real relationship.” The Holy Father encouraged Eucharistic adoration and daily prayer, saying Jesus “often speaks to us gently in stillness.”

“Scripture says that faithful friends are like a strong shelter and a treasure,” he added, “I hope you are forming friendships like that, even during this conference, friendships rooted in faith, rooted in love for Jesus; whether it is a trusted adult or close friend, it’s important to speak honestly about what you feel, what you think, what you experience.”

Angela Pometto, director of the Office of  Young Adult and Campus Ministries for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, said the fact that the digital encounter happened said a lot about Pope Leo.

“It says that he knows the importance of investing in young people, even if it’s just the gift of his time. I’m sure his schedule in Rome is very full, but he made time to encounter the young people at NCYC in this way,” she said. “It was also beautiful how they included several young people in the process, both in discerning what questions to ask the Holy Father and in asking the questions. In a very real way, that was a moment of allowing the young people to be protagonists who are playing a leading role in the story. That was a beautiful opportunity for those young people. In that process, I think that the pope is leading by example, and as Church leaders, we need to seek ways to make similar opportunities available to our young people.” 

Pometto, who last saw Pope Leo XIV in Rome during the Jubilee of Young People this past summer when she led some 70 young adults on a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, watched the livestream from the Archdiocese’s St. Dominic Center Chancery near the Texas Medical Center in Houston, where Tim Colbert, director of the Office of Adolescent Catechesis and Evangelization also viewed the papal address.

“The Holy Father has spent much of his service to the Church outside of the U.S.,” Colbert said, “but he displayed a firm grasp of the challenges and joys of our young people today. Quite impressive. No doubt he will inspire many vocations through his grasp of our young people’s lives, his obvious care and compassion for them, and the wisdom he shares with them.” ​