Earlier this month, an event took place that should give us reason for reflection, hope and gratitude to God. On Aug. 3, Pope Leo met just outside of Rome with over an estimated one million young people in the largest gathering of his young pontificate. That evening, the Holy Father came to be with the participants at a vigil as part of the Jubilee of Youth, in this Jubilee Year of Hope.
Perhaps you didn’t see any coverage in the press of this remarkable moment. While it was covered in the Catholic press, the gathering of so many enthusiastic faith-filled and faith-seeking young people doesn’t seem to fit the secular media’s preconceived critical evaluation of the joy and power of the Catholic faith in the modern world. Still, that gathering is a testimony to the vibrancy that flows from friendship with Jesus Christ.
Those young people reminded the world that God is the God of life. That is not merely a slogan. For all of our scientific advances and growing references to artificial intelligence and human progress, we do not have and never will have, the power to create life. We can understand the science that precedes life, but the actual resulting life does not come from any earthly power. For that reason life, especially the capstone of creation which is every human made in the image and likeness of God, reminds us to honor and seek God.
The immense gathering of youth challenges some of the other headlines and realities of our society. In April, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) released statistics showing that the birth rate in the United States remains well below replacement level of 2.1 children per mother. The historic low birth rate for our country was recorded in 2023. This confirms what many notice and comment on regularly. We are an aging society.
And that trend is not limited to the United States. Just last week the BBC reported, “Almost a million more deaths than births were recorded in Japan last year, representing the steepest annual population decline since government surveys began in 1968.”
Our late Pope Francis focused on this issue when he convened the Jubilee Year of Hope. He emphasized prayer for more openness to children as part of our hope. He wrote, “A number of countries are experiencing an alarming decline in the birthrate as a result of today’s frenetic pace, fears about the future, the lack of job security and adequate social policies, and social models whose agenda is dictated by the quest for profit rather than concern for relationships. … the desire of young people to give birth to new sons and daughters as a sign of the fruitfulness of their love ensures a future for every society.”
At the same time, it is no secret that young people are falling away from faith in large numbers in our society. And the lack of young people at Mass in many places shows that is true in the Catholic Church as well.
But the effort expended and expenses undertaken by so many young people to come to Rome to be with the Holy Father, to attend his Mass, and to gather with others who share the faith is a sign of grace at work. It is also a call to the whole Church to give good example that encourages our young people.
That example includes the willingness to sacrifice for others. It involves also the willingness to share Jesus Christ and the sacraments as the source of our joy. It means priests and sisters living joyfully their vocations and inviting the youth to be open to the calling. And most especially, our hope is to model for our youth the joy of marriage, family and having children.
More than one million young people from all over the world came together to live their Catholic faith and be one with the Successor of Peter. This gives us real hope in this Jubilee Year.
