Pope Leo urges youth to seek ‘true peace’ and ‘perfect joy’

In a message to thousands of participants on the 50th anniversary of the Steubenville Youth Conferences, Pope Leo XIV encouraged young Catholics to seek “true peace” and “perfect joy” through a deeper relationship with God, drawing inspiration from the life and teachings of St. Francis of Assisi.

Hosted by Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, the annual conferences are large Catholic youth evangelization events for high school students in North America. Since their founding in 1976, the conferences have drawn hundreds of thousands of young people for worship, Eucharistic adoration, confession, catechesis, and fellowship.

This year more than 43,000 teenagers are expected to participate in conferences held in Steubenville and at regional sites across North America. There is no known record of any previous papal message to the Steubenville conferences.

In his message, the pope reflected on the witness of St. Francis of Assisi and wrote on two themes that defined the saint’s life: authentic peace and perfect joy.

Recalling St. Francis’ traditional greeting, “peace and all good,” the pope emphasized that true peace is a gift from God and flows from a relationship with Christ. He encouraged participants to seek moments of silence and prayer during the conferences to discover the peace that Christ promised disciples and to become instruments of that peace in their families, communities, and society.

The Holy Father also addressed the meaning of “perfect joy,” drawing on St. Francis’ teaching that lasting happiness is not found in material success, popularity, entertainment, or social media. Instead, he explained, true joy comes from knowing God’s love and remaining faithful even amid suffering, rejection, and hardship.

The pope recalled St. Francis’ explanation for what perfect joy is. He wrote: “One winter evening, as he was walking back to Assisi with Brother Leo, one of the first members of the Franciscan order, St. Francis began to give a long list of apparently ‘good’ things that do not lead to perfect joy. At a certain point, Brother Leo finally exclaimed, ‘Father Francis, I pray that you will teach me about perfect joy!’”

Then, the pope wrote, St. Francis recounted “a tragic situation that implied suffering cold, hunger, and rejection — the opposite of what you would expect — and added that if such difficulties are embraced with patience, without complaining, and with love for God, ‘This is perfect joy.’”

“Is it really possible to have joy in such difficult circumstances, we might ask? It is only possible if our life is founded upon our relationship with God as a loving Father,” the pope wrote.

“Only the love of God can provide us with true and perfect joy,” the pope wrote, reminding young people that they are precious in God’s eyes and loved unconditionally by him. He urged conference participants to deepen their relationship with Christ through prayer, the sacraments, and trust in God’s providence.

The message concluded with an invitation to discern God’s call. Whether to marriage, priesthood, religious life, or missionary service, the pope encouraged young people not to be afraid to respond generously if they sense the Lord calling them to a particular vocation.