\u201cPope Rallies\u201d<\/a> to gather all the students together for the 45-minute dialogue with Pope Leo.<\/p>\nWith the young people joining from their schools and adults from their homes, millions are expected to witness the Pope\u2019s \u201ccall to unity and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Explaining more details with Archbishop P\u00e9rez on the press conference\u2019s panel was Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Holy See\u2019s apostolic nuncio to the U.S.; Archbishop Charles Tompson of Indianapolis and host of the NCYC; Montse Alvarado, head of EWTN News; and Christina Llamas, head of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, which is presenting the conference.<\/p>\n
In her remarks she said the conference and the pope\u2019s presence show that \u201cthe Church is listening, not just speaking. This encounter is not a media event, it is (a) moment where one universal Church walks with the young Church in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conference is not only a gathering to encourage young people, but it also points out two challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday Catholic youth ministry stands at a crossroads,\u201d Llamas said. \u201cThe need for accompaniment has never been greater yet the investment of time and resources doesn\u2019t always reflect that reality. Many young people love the Church but they struggle to find a place where their voices are heard, their gifts are entrusted and their questions are welcomed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite these challenges and the dilemma of fewer paid youth ministers than in the past and \u201cgrowing secular pressures,\u201d according to Llamas, she said \u201cthere are powerful signs of renewal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Youth ministry throughout the Church in the U.S. is evolving from programs to relationships in which young people are becoming \u201cprotagonists in their own faith journey,\u201d Llamas said.<\/p>\n
She added that teens are \u201cstepping away from the noise of the world to encounter Christ and one another. That choice alone is a sign of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Archbishop P\u00e9rez anticipates that the questions and concerns of young people speaking directly with Pope Leo will echo the thoughts of youths he has encountered in his own ministry as a priest and bishop.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung people want a place in the church,\u201d the archbishop said, adding that they believe older generations of Catholics don\u2019t fully welcome them. \u201cThey want to be seen, heard and valued. They want to be loved by the Church. We say we love them, and we do. But somehow we need to demonstrate that in a better way.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get much better than the pope coming in live to say to them that the Church loves them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cardinal Pierre offered his insight into this generational tension by observing that many older Catholics encountered Jesus Christ through their family and Church structures like parishes and schools. But that experience is often no longer the case with the young.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow a lot of young people are encountering Jesus outside the Church,\u201d including through the media, Cardinal Pierre said. \u201cIt\u2019s a new world, a new religious experience. Which Church will they come to? Will they be received by the Church to go out and deepen their experience?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Church must continue to reach out as Pope Francis taught. \u201cIt is not the usual Church experience\u201d for youths, the cardinal said. \u201cWe are not just entertaining inside the house. We have to go out (of the house), to reach out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Llamas said the vitality of the Church \u201cwill depend on whether young people find companions who believe in them as deeply as God does.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is why the coming conference and Pope Leo\u2019s live, digital presence is so important.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Holy Father can make time to listen, so can we,\u201d Llamas said. \u201cThe encounter involves a Church that listens first, accompanies always and invites every young person to belong, to believe and to be sent forth.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Matthew Gambino \u2022 Posted November 14, 2025 In one week, American Catholics will witness an unprecedented event…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34663,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[21628,2387,21629,21630,21631,20549,69,71,70,1841],"class_list":{"0":"post-34662","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-aops","9":"tag-archbishop-nelson-j-perez","10":"tag-ewtn","11":"tag-montse-alvarado","12":"tag-national-catholic-youth-conference","13":"tag-ncyc","14":"tag-philadelphia","15":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","16":"tag-philadelphia-news","17":"tag-pope-leo-xiv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}