Pope Leo Urges Young Europeans to Embrace the Poor, ‘Touch the Suffering Flesh of Others’

Pope Leo XIV urged thousands of young Europeans gathered in Assisi to move beyond comfort and encounter Christ in the poor and marginalized, calling them to become a new generation of saints who transform the world through the Gospel.

According to Vatican News, the Pope delivered the message during Mass on August 6 at the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels for participants in Go!, the 2026 Franciscan Youth Meeting.

Reflecting on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, Pope Leo said Christians are called to listen to God, discern His will, and respond with courage rather than fear.

“We are here to overcome resignation and fear,” the Pope said. “Jesus calls us into a dialogue with His story so that we may write new pages of history.”

He encouraged young people to go “to the margins” of society, where injustice and inequality deprive many people of their dignity and hope.

“Assisi whispers that our lives can be transformed, unleash light, and repair the world,” the Pope said, recalling that it was in the Italian hill town that St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare, and countless others began lives of radical Gospel witness.

As reported by Vatican News, Pope Leo described the Church as the community where believers learn to recognize God's voice and courageously follow the Holy Spirit, just as the first disciples did.

He pointed to the witness of St. Francis and St. Clare, whose embrace of poverty was not a rejection of life but an expression of authentic Christian freedom.

“Today Europe and the whole world are looking to you for new saints,” the Pope told the young pilgrims. “Dare to believe in the word of the Gospel, become fully human with the freedom of Jesus Christ, and embrace Sister Poverty.”

The Pope also echoed the teaching of Pope Francis, quoting Evangelii Gaudium to remind participants that Christian discipleship requires closeness to those who suffer.

“Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others,” he said, warning against seeking “personal or communal niches” that distance believers from the pain of the world.

Pope Leo acknowledged that choosing the Gospel may lead to misunderstanding, even within one's own family, as happened to St. Francis. Yet he insisted that rejecting the “culture of power” and breaking down walls of division is not a betrayal of one's roots but a path to authentic freedom.

“To trust in God is to discover, like Francis and Clare, a world of brothers and sisters to be appreciated and served, not exploited and dominated,” the Pope said.

The 2026 Franciscan Youth Meeting has brought together thousands of young people from across Europe to pray, reflect on the Franciscan charism, and deepen their commitment to living the Gospel in today's world, Vatican News reported.