Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, was a hit with many young people, with a style that put aside pre-prepared speeches to engage in a back and forth with big crowds and who took tough questions from them about loss of faith, abortion and sexual abuse.

The pontiff celebrated the concluding mass of one of the most important events of the Holy Year as 1 million faithful filled the Tor Vergata esplanade in Rome on Sunday. View on euronews

Hundreds of thousands of young Catholics poured into a vast field on Rome’s outskirts Saturday for the weekend highlight of the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year: an evening vigil, outdoor slumber party and morning Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV that marks his first big encounter with the next generation of Catholics.