{"id":43156,"date":"2026-03-28T13:08:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T12:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/nieuws\/hope-doubt-faith-pope-answers-questions-from-young-people-in-monaco\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T13:08:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T12:08:00","slug":"hope-doubt-faith-pope-answers-questions-from-young-people-in-monaco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/en\/nieuws\/hope-doubt-faith-pope-answers-questions-from-young-people-in-monaco\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope, doubt, faith: Pope answers questions from young people in Monaco"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pope Leo speaks to young residents of Monaco, answering questions on faith and doubt, and urging his listeners to “pour yourselves out completely for the Lord and for others.\u201d<\/p>\n

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By Joseph Tulloch<\/b><\/p>\n

By around midday, thousands of young people from across Monaco were gathered in front of the Church of St Devota for an encounter with Pope Leo, the last event of a packed morning for the visiting Pope.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Four young residents of the microstate had been chosen to ask Pope Leo a question.\u00a0The first was Benjamin, a 22-year-old student and a practicing Catholic, who asked him for advice on \u201cremaining confident and holding on to hope\u201d in the midst of environmental problems and violent conflict.<\/p>\n

In his reply, the Pope emphasised the sense of \u201cunity\u201d, with oneself and with others, that comes from developing a relationship with Christ.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is love that gives stability to life,\u201d the Pope said: first and foremost \u201cthe fundamental experience of God\u2019s love, and then, by extension, the sacred and enlightening experience of mutual love.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Young <\/picture> <\/figure>\n

Young people wait for the Pope’s arrival \u00a0 (@Vatican Media) <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Prayer and reflection to ‘quiet the frenzy of doing and saying’<\/h2>\n

The next question came from Andreia, a 24-year-old Catholic originally from Portugal, who asked how, in moments of \u201cdoubt and inner emptiness\u201d, she could ensure that her faith \u201cremains firm and alive\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Pope, in his reply, stressed the importance of \u201cclearing the doorway of the heart\u201d of unimportant concerns in order to leave room for the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

This, he emphasised, \u201crequires prayer and moments of silence and reflection\u201d to \u201cquiet the frenzy of doing and saying, of messages, reels and chats\u201d \u2013 and also spending time in person with others, in order to \u201csavour the beauty of truly and genuinely being together.”<\/p>\n

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\"Pope <\/picture> <\/figure>\n

Pope Leo greets some of the young people gathered for the event \u00a0 (@Vatican Media) <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Hope ‘cannot be improvised’<\/h2>\n

The Pope then answered questions from Ethan, a 25 year-old man who will be baptised this Easter, and Sophia, a 35 year-old doctor.<\/p>\n

Both asked him about concrete ways of witnessing to the Gospel in their daily lives \u2013 Ethan wondering how to testify to the \u201clove which has changed our lives\u201d and Sophie asking how to grow in charity toward others.<\/p>\n

In response, Pope Leo stressed that \u201cwords and deeds of witness and hope cannot be improvised.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such actions, the Pope emphasised, \u201care not the fruit of our own efforts, but come from a profound relationship with God\u201d.<\/p>\n

If we are open to receive God\u2019s grace, the Pope emphasised, \u201cwe can trust that the precise words, as well as the strength needed to act, will come at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"The <\/picture> <\/figure>\n

The Pope reads his answers to the questions \u00a0 (@Vatican Media) <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

‘Self-giving’ as the secret to joy<\/h2>\n

Bringing his speech to a close, Pope Leo urged Monaco\u2019s young people to \u201cpour yourselves out completely for the Lord and for others.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cOnly in this way\u201d, the Pope stressed, \u201cwill you find an everlasting joy and an ever-deeper meaning in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

This meaning, he suggested, could play out at a national level too: \u201cMonaco is a small country, but it can be a great place of solidarity and a beacon of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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