‘You are loved by Jesus,’ Pope Leo tells anxious 18-year-old
May 20, 2026
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CWN Editor's Note: The new issue of Piazza San Pietro, the magazine of St. Peter’s Basilica, includes a letter from Pietro, an 18-year-old from Reggio Calabria, Italy, and Pope Leo’s response.
Pietro discussed his anxiety upon leaving high school, as well as his dream to start “a family united in the love of Christ.”
“I would like to say to you, first and foremost, a word that comes before all others: you are loved by Jesus,” Pope Leo responded. “Not in an abstract way, but personally, just as you are today, with your questions and your dreams, your fears and your desires. This love precedes you and will always accompany you; it does not depend on the choices you make or the paths you take.”
“Daily prayer, even if simple and few in words, listening to the Word of God, the celebration of the Sacraments and dialogue with wise people will help you to recognize which bonds to cherish and nurture, and which, without judgement, to prune,” the Pope continued. “Your dream of a family based on Christ’s love is a precious gift for the Church too; cherish it with confidence. The Lord does not disappoint the desires that He Himself has kindled in the heart.”
Pope Leo concluded, “I assure you of my prayers. I ask for you the grace of inner peace, of trust and of a clear vision of your life. I entrust you to Mary, who as a young woman learnt to trust despite harboring in her heart questions greater than herself.”
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