Pope Leo XIV arrived in Barcelona yesterday, where he encouraged young people to embrace their spiritual restlessness and trust in God’s presence amid suffering and mental illness. Source: Vatican News.
At a prayer vigil with young people at Barcelona’s Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium on Tuesday evening, Pope Leo responded to three testimonies touching on conversion, mental health, suffering, violence, and forgiveness.
Addressing Ferran, a newly baptised young man who spoke of the emptiness he experienced despite pursuing success and recognition, the Pope said that such restlessness is not something to be feared but embraced.
“We are made for the infinite”, he said. “That is why every finite horizon, every step, every achievement – while satisfying us – also propels us forward and invites us to keep searching”.
Pope Leo warned against what he described as the “idolatry of profit and performance” and the “cult of self-image”, calling them “anesthetics designed to numb our conscience and mould it to a certain vision of society”.
Instead, he encouraged young people to cultivate silence and interiority amid a culture of constant distraction.
“Look within”, he urged. “Try not to be overwhelmed by the pace of life and external temptations. Cultivate moments of silence, perhaps pausing for a few minutes each day to read the Gospel and speak with God”.
The second testimony came from Carmina, a young woman who spoke openly about her struggle with depression and a past suicide attempt. Asking where God can be found when darkness seems absolute, she described receiving what she called a “second chance” at life.
Thanking her for this courage, Pope Leo said mental health is increasingly threatened in societies that consider themselves advanced. “This is a sign that there is something deeply wrong with a certain notion of progress that subjects people to pressures, expectations and tensions that compromise healthy balances”, he said.
The Pope acknowledged that suffering can make it seem as though God is absent, but insisted that the Cross tells a different story. “The cross of Jesus tells us that God does not abandon us, that he is at our side, crucified with us in moments of pain and extreme loneliness”.
At the same time, he cautioned Christians against offering simplistic explanations for suffering. “We must not spiritualise pain, superficially attributing it to ‘God’s will’ or to some mysterious plan of his”, he said. “God does not want suffering. He carries it with us”.
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Pope in Barcelona: “We are made for the infinite” (Vatican News)
