ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 30, 2025 /
13:45 pm
Pope Leo XIV responded with a father’s heart to a 21-year-old Roman medical student who asked him “What does the future hold for us?” and “What can young people do to aspire to a better world, when there is so much injustice, tragedy, and war today?”
Veronica, whose dream is to be a doctor, wrote a letter to Leo XIV asking him these and other questions. She pointed out to him that all the current problems make it seem “impossible to live in peace,” according to the September issue of Piazza San Pietro magazine.
After encouraging Veronica to fulfill her dream of serving “the weakest and most unfortunate,” the Holy Father noted that her “questions are those on the hearts of many of your contemporaries. It is true that we live in difficult times: Evil seems to overwhelm our lives, wars claim more innocent victims.”
“But all this must not make us lose hope for a better world. As I have already said, quoting St. Augustine: ‘Let us live well, and the times will be good. We are the times.’ Likewise, the times will be good if we are good!” Leo continued.
“For this to happen, we must place our hope once again in the Lord Jesus. It is he who has stirred in your heart the desire to make of your life something great,” the pope emphasized.
“It is he who will give you the strength to improve yourself and the society around you so that the times we live in may be truly good,” the pontiff continued.
Recalling the 2025 Jubilee of Youth, which brought together 1 million people in Rome, Pope Leo XIV repeated “the invitation I made to you and to all the young people who came to Tor Vergata: ‘Cultivate your friendship with Jesus.’ It’s worth it. You can be sure.”
The Holy Father then asked Veronica to keep him “in the loop about your studies and your inner journey. I bless you from my heart.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Walter Sánchez Silva is a senior writer for ACI Prensa (https://www.aciprensa.com). With more than 15 years of experience, he has reported from important ecclesial events in Europe, Asia and Latin America during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.
E-mail: walter@aciprensa.com
