Pope Leo XIV Urges Jesus Youth to Keep Apostolic Zeal

Pope Leo XIV received participants in the Jesus Youth International Conference 2026 on Saturday, October 24, in the Paul VI Hall. The audience marked the first meeting of the full Jesus Youth movement—its leaders and delegates—with the Successor of Peter.

The gathering celebrated the movement’s 40th anniversary.

From Kerala to Many Countries

Jesus Youth was founded in Kerala, India, in 1986 in the context of the Charismatic Renewal, through the spontaneous initiative of young people inspired by a personal encounter with Jesus. The Holy See recognized the movement as an international association of the faithful in May 2016. On October 23, 2026, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life granted definitive approval of its revised statutes. Over the past three years, members conducted a synodal-style consultation across the association. The movement is now present in many countries.

Discovering Jesus’ Love and Carrying the Mission Outward

In his address, the Pope praised the movement’s growth and said, “The starting point for every authentic renewal in the Church is one’s own discovery of Jesus’ love.” He pointed to joyful witnesses such as Ajna George, sustained by love for Jesus in the Eucharist.

He urged the young people, “Do not lose your apostolic zeal, but rather foster it and carry it to new countries.” He encouraged the promotion of vocations, including marriage understood as a call to holiness and the formation of missionary families. He called for preserving unity amid the diversity of cultures and languages, and asked priests and bishops to adopt a fatherly perspective on ritual differences.

The audience thus sealed both a jubilee and a new stage of ecclesial recognition, sending a youthful missionary body back to its local churches with a clear charge: remain rooted in a personal encounter with Christ and extend that zeal without fear.