Pope Leo XIV to youth of Monaco: 'Do not be afraid to give everything to God'

Pope Leo XIV met with young people and catechumens of Monaco at the Church of Saint Devota, the third public engagement of his one-day trip to the micro-state on March 28.

After listening to the testimonies of several young people, Leo XIV spoke of the figure of Saint Devota, the patroness of Monaco, describing her as “a courageous young woman who knew how to bear witness to her faith in the face of the violence of her persecutors, even unto martyrdom.”

“Good is stronger than evil, even when, at times, it may seem — in the immediate moment — to be getting the worst of it,” the pope said. “Moreover, [Devota] reminds us that the witness of faith is a seed capable of reaching and bearing fruit in distant hearts and places, far beyond our own expectations and capabilities.”

“In this very church, quite recently,” the pope said, “the memory of the Holy Martyr Devota has been joined by that of Saint Carlo Acutis — another young person deeply in love with Jesus, faithful to his friendship with Christ until the very end, albeit in a completely different era and in completely different ways.” 

“These two saints encourage us and urge us to imitate them,” the Holy Father said.

In the modern world, “faith encounters challenges and obstacles,” the pope said, “yet nothing can dim its beauty or obscure its truth.”

Responding to the testimonies of the youth, the pope highlighted “a fundamental aspect of the Christian life: the vitality of one’s relationship with Christ and, within that relationship, the sense of unity that is forged both within ourselves and with others.”

“The modern and post-modern eras have enriched us with many good things; yet, they also confront us with significant challenges — challenges we cannot ignore and which we must face with clarity and awareness,” he said.

“What gives solidity to life is love: first and foremost, the fundamental experience of God’s love, and then — as a reflection of that — the illuminating and sacred experience of mutual love.”

“And loving one another — while on the one hand requiring an openness to growth, and thus to change — on the other demands fidelity, constancy, and a readiness to make sacrifices in the daily rhythm of life,” the pope added.

“Only in this way does restlessness find peace, and the inner void become filled — not with material and fleeting things, nor with the virtual validation of thousands of ‘likes,’ nor with restrictive, artificial, or at times even violent forms of belonging.”

“We must clear these things away from the threshold of the heart, so that the healthy, oxygenating air of grace may once again return to refresh and revitalize its chambers, and so that the strong wind of the Holy Spirit may resume filling the sails of our existence, propelling it toward true happiness,” he said.

Earlier in the day the pope met with Monacoʼs royal family before meeting with Catholics at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Leo XIV is the first pope to visit the costal European nation-state in nearly 500 years.