Never lose your missionary zeal, Pope tells Brazilian Catholic youth
July 27, 2026
Pope Leo XIV praised the annual Halleluya Festival for “bearing good fruits of evangelization: confessions, conversions, priestly and religious vocations,” and encouraged participants in this year’s festival never to lose their missionary zeal.
The Brazilian Catholic youth festival, organized by the Shalom Catholic Community, first took place in 1997. In a Portuguese-language video message to festival participants in Fortaleza, Pope Leo said:
Never lose this missionary zeal! In fact, it is this fervor that the Lord expects from all the baptized in the proclamation of the Good News.
In our days, there are still many people who need to know that it is Jesus who responds to their deepest longings, revealing to the human being the truth about himself. Therefore, proclaim with courage that a life without Christ is a life without grace! He is the Way, the Truth and the Life; it is He who gives meaning to existence and to all things. This is the faith that moves us and that is worth sharing with those we love and with those who need it most.
“It is possible, however, that as time goes by the enthusiasm experienced during the Festival will wane,” the Pope continued. “To keep the flame of faith burning and to witness the Resurrection to our friends and to those we meet, it is necessary to remain in the presence of God through prayer.”
“An authentic relationship with the Lord requires constancy, perseverance and the firm certainty that the Father in heaven never abandons us, but rather comes to meet us in his Son,” Pope Leo added. “So do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, he gives everything.”
This year’s festival took place from July 22 to 26; the Vatican released the Pontiff’s video message on the festival’s last day.
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